INDEX
“TINY LAND”: Tracks Reflecting Shetona’s Present Journey
-Why did you include a remix of Sitona’s debut song “morning moon”?
Shetona: To show Shetona Yui’s “whereabouts”, I thought it would be easier to convey the message if I reconstructed the songs I wrote when I first started my career with today’s techniques. I also wanted the lyrics to be heard clearly, so I decided to use a simple repeating rhythm pattern for the backing track. I wrote the lyrics when I was a sophomore in college, I believe. I had been often envied and bullied since I was a child, and I would often recall how I felt at the time and go “Oh …… shindo” every once in a while. I wrote this song to be a good-luck charm for myself, and I wanted to make it a good-luck charm for myself as well.
-“Blue Monday” has a hip-hop beat and jazzy vocals.
Shetona: Originally, “Blue Monday” was based on a free soundtrack that Shingo Suzuki of Origami PRODUCTIONS had released on Corona Disaster. It had a very dark atmosphere, but I took only the melody and put it on a newly created track, and this is the final version. I love the mysterious Chinese scale-like sound of the 4-degree harmony in the chorus.
The Latin-tinged brass is based on the song “I Learnt Some Jazz Today” by Tessellated, which became an AirPods commercial. It ended up with a completely different vibe (laughs). The rap part of the song is like all the complaints of a strong working woman. It’s not even close to the level of a real rapper (laughs), but it has a good feel that is unique to Yui Shetona.
-What did you think of singing “THEATER,” which is littered with words you like, such as “soundtrack” and “theater (movie theater)”?
Shetona: I love movies and soundtracks, and when I thought about how I could use them in a song, I thought of the movie theater as a part of my life, and I tried to put into words the feelings of the audience watching the scenery that I am seeing right now, which is actually an image projected on the screen of the movie theater where I am trapped. Perhaps there is no “world” outside this movie theater. This “world” that we are in may actually be a projected image of someone else’s consciousness. I wanted to write such philosophical lyrics. I also wanted to make this kind of dark, simple, and rugged hip-hop track.
-Groovin’ Weekend” is a single song that was released last September.
Shetona: I wanted to make lyrics that sounded good and had a pleasant feel to them, but you couldn’t understand what they were saying (laughs). That’s exactly the influence of what Suchmos and WONK are doing. Incidentally, the phrase “I can’t dance… Oh, it’s just the same steps…” came to me when I was thinking about people who are clumsy but do their best to dance.
-You mentioned that you are interested in working behind the scenes.
Shetona: I would like to try my hand at providing music to other artists and producing. I love Kenmochi Hidefumi of Wednesday’s Campanella. He has an outstanding ability to produce and draw out music, changing his style completely depending on the vocalist. I admire his way of working. When I want to write a song that might ruin the image of the song if it is released as “Shitnayui,” I feel it is best to have another vocalist and get involved as a producer. I would like to challenge myself to do that someday.
-Lastly, you will be performing a live recording in April. You are performing live with a band now, aren’t you?
Shetona: Yes, we are a 5-piece band, with two members of the ” #1 Beat a Day ” rhythm section. Tarow-one, a rhymesmith who was also my instructor at university, introduced us to each other and said, “We are of the same generation, and it would be fun to work together. We went into the studio for a session and hit it off. I am still new to live performances, but I would like to keep the arrangements, atmosphere, and groove that can only be heard there.
Yui Shetona TINY LAND
LABEL：Trigger Records
FORMAT：Digital
release date：March 1, 2024 (Fri.)
Included songs
1.Coffee Time
2.morning moon remix
3.Blue Monday
4.THEATER
5.Groovin’ Weekend
Distribution link: https://linkco.re/4E150GrX
