INDEX
Nurturing Essential Skills in an Age of Consumption
-How did you spend the year after graduation? Did you have any confusion about the transition from being a student to a working adult?
Shetona: As a student, I knew that I was protected by society, but when I graduated, I realized that if I did not challenge myself in various things, I would be left behind. For example, now is the time when music is also consumed. If you can’t create a song that catches the ear within the first 10 seconds of the introduction, it will be challenging to get people to listen to it.
I think it is important to make music a viable business and to create uncompromising works of art as an artist. In order to balance these two, I think it is necessary to cultivate, for example, the ability to draw out someone’s talent as a producer and the ability to read the times, as I just mentioned. I began to think about these things more after graduation, and I became quite nervous about music.
-Are you currently working while you are working as an artist?
Shetona: I work as a system engineer and teach music theory at my alma mater. I monitor how younger students than myself usually listen to music at my alma mater. They listen to music at double speed on YouTube, for example, and I can’t keep up with them (laughs), but it is a very valuable experience in terms of surveying their awareness.
-Do you sometimes get inspiration for your expression from things other than music?
Shetona: I used to paint in the past, so I often go to art museums for a walk, and ideas sometimes come to me then. But I also unconsciously analyze and listen to music that comes through my earphones while I walk. Recently, I am interested in visual images and fashion, and also idols. At first, I was listening to idol songs in order to learn J-POP arrangements, and I got hooked (laughs). It’s inspirational and soothing, and it’s also a good way to learn about the behind-the-scenes work, like “There’s also this way of presenting it. Someday I would like to produce a total production for an artist.
