"I couldn't wait!": What Riho Sayashi learned while writing songs in the covid era
The interview took place on December 14, 2021
Since last year, everyone has experienced difficulties meeting people due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Artist Riho Sayashi says that the pandemic made her reconsider how she spends her time, as she "couldn't wait to talk to friends" and felt lonely at times. We asked Sayashi-san, who says that "leading a normal life isn't something we can take for granted at the moment", to look back at 2021, and tell us how she is feeling now.
Covid made me realize the importance of human interaction
Q: Please tell us about your work as an artist during the covid era.
A: The impact of the pandemic has been much greater, and longer than I had imagined. You know, last year, I had events in 4 cities other than Tokyo (Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka), but they were cancelled. When I heard about the decision to cancel them, I couldn't hold back my tears in front of my manager. I was looking forward to it, and it made me really sad. I realize how much an artist's career is made by their fans, and I feel that the time I can spend with them is very important.
What made you sad?
I simply realized that my life is richer when I am around people. In this new situation, it is possible to continue living your life without meeting anyone, if you don't want to. I noticed that I spent more time at home during the lockdown.
However, when I was at home, I would feel lonely, and when I was chatting online, even after a meeting was over, I would sometimes think "I wish we could keep talking".
How did you deal with that loneliness?
I became more proactive in contacting my friends. We couldn't talk as much, since we couldn't meet in person, so I valued our interactions. It's a bit of a cliche thing to say, but in this situation, leading a normal life isn't something we can take for granted. I couldn't wait to talk to people. When I contacted someone and then received a reply, it would make me so happy.
Emotion and reason
You are working on an album, where you wrote the lyrics yourself. How did you feel about that?
The first thing I thought about is how draining it is. Writing a song takes a lot of work. It's not something one person can do alone, and I am glad there were a lot of people involved in the process. It also changed the way I speak and behave to the staff.
I am a rather shy person. I am the type who has a hard time hitting the send button on an email to someone I'm working with for the first time. But communication is very important when writing songs, and I had to communicate what I was thinking.
In the past, when performing, I would be using my emotions more, but now that I am also writing songs, I have to act with reason as well. I don't just think "this is beautiful" or "this is cool", but also "why is this beautiful?" or "why is this cool?"
As I was writing, that back and forth, increased at once.
This year, I thought I want to lead a "teinei" life
What did you cherish the most about last year?
The most important thing I felt was the need to cherish every moment of daily life, things that we often don't pay much attention to. The time spent with fans, but also the time spent at the live shows. I feel every moment is precious.
I am very wasteful with my time, and the experiences I had made we want to lead a "teinei" life.
How do you waste your time?
There's a huge gap between my hard-working self, and my lazy self. When I'm focused, I can work without any rest, but once I'm lazy, I can remain that way for days, and become very inefficient. So I have to push myself hard and say "No!"
How have you changed compared to how you were a year ago?
Since the interview we did almost a year ago, I think I've gained confidence. I had said in that interview that I have become an adult, and now it kind of feels like a childish thing to say.
But the fact that I thought like that a year ago, and now I think differently, is a sign of growth.
Riho Sayashi (Artist): Born in Hiroshima prefecture in 1998; Joined Morning Musume in 2011 at the age of 12; Graduated from the group at the age of 17 in 2015; Studied in New York; Resumed her activities in September 2020; In 2021 established her own independent label SAVO-R and released her first mini album "DAYBREAK" in August; Her second mini album "REFLECTION" will be released on January 12th, and her tour in Tokyo, Osaka and Hiroshima will take place from January 15th to January 23rd.
No comments:
Post a Comment