Ryokuoushoku Shakai, songwriter Haruko Nagaya and keyboardist Peppe, are the next leading performers of Ryokuoushoku Shakai. Billboard JapanThe Women in Music interview series highlights leading women in the Japanese music industry. The initiative was launched this year in the same spirit as Billboard's annual event that began in 2007, with a mission to celebrate women who continue to forge new paths in the field. JapanMusic acts through contents including interviews, live performances and panel discussions.
explore
Watch the latest videos, charts and news
The four members of Ryokuoushoku Shakai - two women and two men - formed the now hugely popular high school band and celebrated their 10th anniversary in music this year. The J-pop group continues to rise, successfully performing their first headlining show at Tokyo's prestigious Nippon Budokan in September.
But Nagaya admits that she's been hitting a wall until recently, and felt like she couldn't go on unless something changed. She talks about how she overcame those hurdles and shares her newfound insights in this interview with Billboard Japan, while Peppe looks back as she watched her fellow bandmate grapple with different expectations and come to terms with some of her breakthroughs through candid discussions among the members.
Can you tell us about the women you look up to?
Haruko Nagaya: Lee will be (J-pop singer-songwriter) Ai Otsuka. I have always loved music and singing since I was a child, but after encountering Ai Otsuka's songs, I was drawn to music even more. She fell in love with her very catchy song "Sakuranbo" (Cherry) and she has this gap between her sweet first impression and her down-to-earth personality that shows through her Kansai accent. She also appeared to have a great deal of curiosity and those aspects were really attractive to me. Even now, I find women who have that kind of distinct individuality and unique gap that I felt with Ai Otsuka at the time exhilarating, and I would like to be too.
baby: I didn't really like one particular person growing up. Instead, I created this picture of the type of person I like by picking and listing the good qualities of different people. It's as if I'm trying to incorporate as many of those adjectives as possible into that list to get myself closer to that picture in my mind. If I were to explain the photo in a nutshell, I think it would be "a generous woman."" I think when I make choices in my daily life, I subconsciously think, "What would a decent woman do?" I want to continue to accumulate the little things like studying English, reading books, and perceiving people's gaze as much as I can.
I'm sure there are listeners who consider you two women who inspire them. Do you think being a woman affects your musical activities?
Survivors: When I write lyrics, it means it's from a woman's point of view, obviously. A man can write words with a woman as the subject, but I imagine the substance will elude him, so I think there is importance in expressing my sincere feelings. Also, as a general trend, more and more guys are able to hit high notes cleanly and their vocal range is expanding, so I'm frustrated that there's a limit to the lower notes I can reach as a singer.
baby: These kinds of biological differences are limited, right? As a keyboardist, it is sadly true that my hands are smaller than men's. But this is a given, so I make an effort to show my authenticity through my way of expression, like the way I play.
Survivors: I also feel like people seem to expect me to present myself in a very specific way. I'm moved by the performances and performances of bands that reveal their true selves and the things they carry inside in such an honest and honest way, but the things that are brought out that way aren't just the pretty parts, right? There is a depth that is enhanced by expressing even the not-so-pretty parts. But maybe I'm also putting up a barrier, and it's like the people around me expect me to be a certain way.
baby: Nagaya and I talked about this recently. I wasn't aware of it, but when I thought back on it after she mentioned it, I could sympathize with her in some ways. She's our singer and she's had a lot of media, so she must have felt that way a lot.
Survivors: There is a part of me that is approved of presenting myself in a way that people expected, like uploading sketchy content to social media to get feedback. But even though I was the one doing it, there was a time when I couldn't be truly happy when people wrote things like, "You're so beautiful" as a compliment. I was like, 'This isn't what I want you to see, I want you to listen to my songs and look at what's inside of them, full force.'" It was frustrating for me that the "ideal Haruko Nagaya" and "the perfect Ryokochoku Shakai" had become so ingrained in everyone's minds.
Did you share this feeling with your bandmates?
baby: We all discussed it before the Budokan concert. I thought it was hard (navigating) but there were some things that I realized because she told us and we all became aware of her. I'm sure every member handles it differently, but I'm glad I now know how that felt.
Survivors: I remember Pepe kindly saying, "We (the other members) were relying too much on those public expectations." We are hungry people who raise us to high expectations and it's easier to (go) with them. There is no turning back this way. But I couldn't go on like this, so I decided to do my best to attend the Budokan show. I didn't care if my makeup or hair was messed up, or if my face looked weird, I just walked out until there was nothing left inside. Now I try to stand on stage in order to convey what's inside, even if my show is rather low.
Peppe, what was it like for you watching your bandmate change up close?
baby: I felt her passion for music. There were times I consciously wore pants to avoid being feminine, but maybe I didn't think about things like that as deeply as they were. Even though we're in the same band and we're both women, we don't feel 100 percent the same way, and I have my own way of moving forward. In that sense, I think the band itself would fall apart if we didn't know how each member was feeling at any given time, so I'm glad she told us that. We were able to talk about it with all the crew in addition to the band members present, so maybe it was time for a change.
Survivors: It was a relief to be able to talk about it. I was able to eliminate a lot of hang-ups and change my behavior on stage, which helped as well. I think the same applies to the words I mentioned earlier. I want to convey real feelings by exposing even the most pathetic and ugly parts of myself, even if I'm a woman. I want to sing about everything, including the part of me that craves to be strong but it can't always be that way.
Not that I only want to reach women, but I believe that by (letting it all out), music will be relevant to both men and women. There was a time when I thought of changing the first person in the lyrics to "poko" (generally used by men) to reach a wider audience. But now I want to create things that reach people in a deeper way, not just through a particular word choice.
In this sense, Ryokuoushoku Shakai is a group supported by many people regardless of gender.
Survivors: How people feel about sex can vary from generation to generation. We don't hear a lot of biased opinions from our fans, so I think many of them have balanced values. Since we started the band, we've been playing music with the hope that it will become a household word, so we're grateful and happy that so many people are listening to our songs now, regardless of age or gender.
baby: this is exactly right. But in terms of the industry, sometimes I feel like the percentage of women is still low. As a mixed gender band it would be nice to have female staff around, but they are not always easy to find. Now I don't mind so much, and when I don't feel well, I don't hesitate to talk about it.
This veers off the topic of music, but until recently, the main host on (Japanese) TV was always a man and his assistant was a woman. I hope we can achieve this kind of balanced society where competent people can do their jobs in appropriate positions regardless of gender.
Perhaps we are in a transitional period when many things change. Looking back now, if you were to give yourself advice in the first year of your career, what would you say?
Survivors: Sometimes I wish I had spent my youth in this day and age. Things seem to be getting more lenient. People are in different fashion styles and hairstyles and have different values. The general feeling is more accepting of people as they are. I really enjoy this feeling.
baby: When we were students, it was like everyone was chasing the same thing, which created a trend. It was scary to stray from this line.
Survivors: right NowAnd the A variety of styles are accepted, so it's easier to do whatever you want. I wonder what it would have been like if I had spent my youth in these times, but I guess I feel that way now that I've reached this age. If I were still that age, I would probably feel some kind of peer pressure. But I want to say to my ex-self, "You set your own limits and narrow your possibilities."
Listen to exclusive curated playlists Haruko Nagaya is here And the Bibi here.
This interview by Rio Hirai (SOW SWEET PUBLISHING) appeared first on Billboard Japan.
Source link
0 Comments