INDEX
The Importance of Being True to Yourself, Contemplating the Essence of Living as a Woman
-There are six songs so far. And the last recording was done in March this year.
Miran: Yes, that’s right. By this time, I had a clear idea of what direction I wanted the album to take, so I started to finish the rest. We had been working basically in Kansai, but we all gathered in Tokyo and invited Yusuke Okada (BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON) as a new drummer.
-The songs we recorded were “A Night of Giving,” “My Heart,” and “Umi ni Naru” (Becoming the Sea), We recorded four songs, “The Night You Are Given,” “My Heart,” “Become the Sea,” and “Angel’s Kiss. What direction did you see for the album?
Miran: I think that many of the songs on “Ducky” were sung with “you” as the main character rather than my feelings. When I sang about my feelings, the songs tended to be dark, so I wanted to swing towards a brighter side.
-When I interviewed you two years ago, you said that “Sail Wind” (2020) was dark because it showed your subtly conflicted self around the age of 20.
Miran: Yes, yes. But around the time “Falling in Love” was written, I wanted to sing about myself with importance, and I became confident that now that I had more experience, I could write a song that would not be dark. The title “WATASHIBOSHI” is also related to the fact that I wanted to create a work in which I am thinking about the night sky and the starry skies. That’s why the first person in most of the lyrics has been “I”, but in “My Heart” and “Tenshi no Kiss” I consciously sing “I”.
-I feel that the lyrics of “My Heart” are especially sunny and even tough. ＜Especially the part “I’ve grown up to the point where people say I’m mature, my heart has hardened, and I want to be the same tomorrow.
Miran: Yes, I feel that we have created a strong song. All of these four songs would look good with a band, and because I enjoyed this last recording session, I felt that if I moved to Tokyo, I would be able to perform live with the band members, which helped me decide to move to Tokyo. We worked on the album while building relationships, and thanks to everyone’s support, I feel like I was able to give 120% of what I can do now. I am very satisfied with what I was able to achieve with the band this time, so I would like to make my next album by recording at home.
-Miran: I think it has been a year of challenges, but now that you have been active and met new friends, you can see a new landscape again.
Miran : Outside of music, it was also significant that I became good friends with Minami Obara, with whom I am now doing a series of exchange diary entries in NiEW. As I talked with her about many things, I began to think about the importance of being honest and the meaning of my life as a woman, and I actually wrote the lyrics to “My Heart” while thinking of Ban-chan. Meeting Lan-chan was one of the most joyful moments of the last year.
-I think it is a big change for you to be able to affirm yourself like that. I would like to ask you a little more about the reason for this.
Miran: There were so many things that I didn’t know if I could do or not, but there was nothing that I couldn’t do. Of course, not everything was done to my satisfaction, and I am indebted to the help of many people, but what I was able to do was done, and I give myself a big pat on the back. I am now able to inspire myself with the undeniable fact that what I have accumulated through the repetition of this process is still there. But I am always on the edge. When I feel like I’m going to break, I call all my friends. And they all laugh at me because they are all on the same edge. I tell them that I have no choice but to do it, and now I’m managing somehow.
-I can see the same sense of urgency in the serialization of your work with Mr. Obara. How did you become friends with Mr. Obara in the first place?
Miran: I went to a bookstore near my house at the time, and they happened to be holding a book signing to celebrate the publication of Ban-chan’s essay collection “Is This a Life? I took the opportunity to get his autograph, bought the book, and read it, and it was really good. I wanted to get to know this person, so I contacted her on SNS and we hit it off, and we ended up going out to dinner. Meeting Yoru-chan was one of the best things that happened to me last year.
-It was an amazing coincidence. What was it about Mr. Obara that inspired you?
Miran: You have a very cool way of life and a firm idea about making money doing what you love. As a craftsman, I also feel that I have to live a strong life, and I was really happy to find someone I could talk to straight away about that.
-Since you moved to Tokyo, I often see you on Instagram with other artists such as Kanafan of kiss the gambler and Nagisa Murakami. It’s nice to have reliable friends who are also singer-songwriters.
Miran: They are a reassuring presence that I can go see if I get lonely. I’ve been friends with both of them for the past year or so, and I’m just as grateful for them as I am for Supper.
However, I also feel that we are all very different in the way we approach music. I want to sell my music so that many people can enjoy it, but Nagisa seems to value music in her daily life. Kanafan just wants to play interesting music!i think we are different in age. Our ages are also slightly different, and I am the youngest, so I am spoiled and inspired by her.
