Miran, renowned in NiEW for her exchange diaries with Ban Obara in “With Cheeks on the Windowsill,” initially crossed paths with the author during the release of her EP “The Day I Played with a Peachy Pelican” (2021). This marked her inaugural interview, where, despite certain areas of immaturity in songwriting and arranging, her commanding singing style and genuine joy in public expression and interaction set her apart from other singer-songwriters. In essence, she seemed destined for a protagonist’s role.
Fast forward two years, and Miran’s endeavors have expanded rapidly. Under the production of Keiichi Sogabe (Sunny Day Service), “Low Airplane” became the theme song for the movie “Ai ni Neri” (It’s All About Love), leading to her album debut with “Ducky.” Subsequently, she consistently released singles and even ventured into acting, gracing the red carpet for her role in the film “Strange Lovers from a Different Planet.” While rooted in the Kansai region, she made a significant move to Tokyo this year.
Her latest album, “WATASHIBOSHI,” completed amidst this whirlwind of activity, eloquently captures the ongoing narrative of her growth and evolution. In this extensive two-and-a-half-hour interview, Miran reflects on her musical journey over the past year and shares her sentiments about this latest album.
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A Determined Approach: “Let’s Do It!”
– “From your previous album, ‘Ducky,’ released last March, to your latest album, ‘WATASHIBOSHI,’ it seems you’ve maintained a rapid pace with live performances and single releases. How would you describe your own journey and experience during this time?”
Miran: “Ducky” was also an album that I worked very hard to complete, but it passed in an instant. In September, we released a single, “Natsu no Boku ni Mine ni” (To Me in the Summer).
– I hope you keep up the momentum and keep going and going.
Miran: We had a schedule to complete this album, so we were just trying to get through to this point.
is a singer-songwriter born in 1999. In 2020, she released her first album “Houfu”, which was produced by home recording, followed by the release of many other albums. He produced and released his second album “Ducky”. Later, with Yusuke Kume (Special Favorite Music) as producer, she released “Natsu no boku ni mo me ni”, “Lemon tree”, and “Like it or not”, which were featured on Fuji TV’s “Love music”, and she also wrote an exchange diary with writer Ban Obara in the culture media NiEW. On December 13, 2023, he will release his new album “WATASHIBOSHI”.
-What did you do as motivation in the midst of that busy schedule?
Miran: I remember last September to October was the busiest time for me. I had a part-time job, did a lot of recording and studio practice, had a lot of live shows, and even traveled to Nagoya. But I think I can manage somehow. I knew that if I didn’t manage this schedule as a matter of course, I wouldn’t be able to go on to the next one, so I was like, “I’ll do it! I’ll do it! I am stronger now.
-I started working with Yusuke Kume of Special Favorite Music (SFM), who produced “WATASHIBOSHI,” on the album “Natsu no Boku ni Mimo” (released in September 2022), which I mentioned earlier. Miran: “Ducky” was released in September 2022.
Miran: “Ducky” was a work that we made while regularly going into the studio for sessions, and we managed to make something interesting despite being burned out, but when it came time to work on another album, I thought, “I can’t take full responsibility for this…! I can’t take full responsibility for this…! I thought, “I can’t take full responsibility for this…! I decided to ask for help from others. I knew that Kume-san does a lot of production and commercial work, so I thought I would like to ask him for help, and Shinya Ogino, who did the mix for “Ducky,” introduced me to him.
-So you started working with Kume for the album from there.
Miran: No, at first we were only going to do “Even for Me in Summer. Mr. Kume was living in Osaka at the time, so I visited him at his home and we had a great time talking and working on the arrangements. I thought, “I want to ask him to do the whole album.
-What kind of communication did you have for “Natsu no Boku Nimo”?
Miran: I told him that I wanted to keep the elements of acoustic guitar playing, and that I wanted to include a lot of key points so that it would look good live. Kume-san came up with the band arrangement, and I was so impressed with the balance of the drums, guitar, and bass that I thought, “This is something I couldn’t do with “Ducky.” I was so impressed that I thought, “This is something I couldn’t do with “Ducky.” Since “Meet the Dragon” was already in the works, the arrangement and recording was done quickly and easily, as if it was an added bonus.
-How did you proceed with the recording process for the album, starting with these two songs?
Miran: We were planning to release a few singles before the album, so we recorded a second time in October 2022 and a third time in Tokyo in March 2023. I hadn’t thought about moving to Tokyo at all, but the people who supported me kept moving to Tokyo. Mr. Kume and Yuto Sawai (bass guitar) of Nekko-Sen also moved to Tokyo. I started to wonder if I should move to Tokyo.
