INDEX
Collaborations with Sheena Ringo and Kenshi Yonezu for the Theme Song for “The Boy and the Heron“
– You also participated in the recording of SexyZone’s “Honne to Tatemae,” for which Ringo Sheena provided the music.
Ishiwaka: This spring, Sheena was on his 25th anniversary tour, and we recorded the song with the members of that tour. First, I received a demo, and I started by thinking about how I would reproduce it. I sometimes guessed that she made the whole demo while imagining the groove of each player, and when I reproduced it, she was very happy and said, “That’s what I wanted to do! I reproduced it, and the artist was very happy. I realized once again how much I love being involved in the process of realizing what an artist wants to express.
– What was it like to work with Sheena?
Ishiwaka: When we first played together on the first day of rehearsal for the tour, I thought, “She is really full of music. As we proceeded with rehearsals, she would sometimes give us detailed ideas for fill-ins, such as comparing us to great historical and world-class drummers. She has a tremendous amount of knowledge about that, and she also knows an awful lot about playing other instruments. During rehearsals, he always had a keyboard by his side, and would tell Masaki Hayashi, the piano player, about harmonies, saying things like, “The voicing of this chord is like this,” while playing the chord himself.
For staging and direction, she was also very detailed in directing everything from the accessories of the supporting members to their shoes. I was also impressed by that, and I could understand why everyone involved respects her so much.
– One of your recent works that surprised me was “Globe” by Yonezu Kenshi, the theme song for Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film, “The Boy and the Heron.” It was not announced until after the film’s release, but how did you go about the actual production and recording of the song?
Ishiwaka: Well, I didn’t know about it until right before the movie was released. Could it be that song? I saw it on Twitter and I was like, “Oh my God, maybe it’s that song!”
– [Laughs]. Was it really like that?
Ishiwaka：When we recorded the song, I thought, “This must be one of the songs that will be on Yonezu’s new album,” and we went to the studio as usual and had fun recording drums. Thank you for your hard work! I’ll take apart the setup!” I was surprised because I had forgotten what I had played and when it was going to be released. “Omg, Ghibli?” I was surprised because I had forgotten when I was going to release it and how I played it.
– [Laughs].
Ishiwaka: Of course I thought, “You should have told me! (laughs). But if I had been informed at the beginning, I might have thought something unnecessary like, “Do I have to show the Ghibli feeling I think I have? As a result, I am glad I could keep the performance very natural.
– What was Yonezu’s production process like?
Ishiwaka: I am often called in when the arranger, Yudai Bando, is present. Bando was my senior in high school (Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music High School). I was sometimes involved as a percussionist in contemporary music pieces he composed at school. We were close enough to go to karaoke and movies together, and it is deeply moving for me that we are now working together at the forefront of the pop field because of our activities at that time.
As was the case when I first played on Yonezu’s “Electric Shock” (2020), I am always thrilled when unexpected miracles happen on Yonezu’s stage and things turn out to be interesting. I always wonder what will happen today. I always wonder what will happen today.
Bando is amazing. He has won tremendous awards as a contemporary music composer and is also involved in hip activities that everyone is familiar with, so I think he is in a state of unrivaled talent.
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