INDEX
Beyond the Metrics: Music That Falls Between the Cracks
The film also touches on the core feeling behind Gomi’s music activities. One line that stood out was, “If a song is good, people will listen to it, and they’ll pay for it.” Why do you believe that?
Gomi: It’s because there’s something in music that can’t be explained. Some music just has a quality that can’t be captured by theory or logic. When I listen, I’m searching for that magical “wow!” — that feeling — which is why I buy records or go to shows. That doesn’t mean I’m obsessed with recordings or possessive about owning them.
It’s the kind of thing you can’t really put into words, like thinking, “Tonight’s live was incredible.” But it exists — undeniably — and I’m still searching for it today.
Gomi: I hope that someone can hear that feeling in my music. I really can’t explain it, but if it’s there, I believe it can reach anywhere. Whether it’s through streaming, CDs, or even word of mouth, a good melody can endure.
That’s the amazing thing about music, and it’s what I’ve always believed in. Nobody knows exactly how to cast that kind of magic, which is part of what makes it so interesting. And of course, you can’t measure it in numbers.
LOSTAGE and its music exist based on those values, and so does your belief in “good music.” At the core of this idea of exchanging feelings through music, what kind of sense does it come from?
Gomi: I think it’s basically because of loneliness. The human desire to have someone listen to you, or to listen to someone else — that’s built into us. For me, it comes from having music as a place to exist, from the original experience of music where listening allowed me to forget everything else.
That loneliness isn’t just about being alone, right?
Gomi: No, it’s more like a chronic feeling. Like I say in the film, you can’t create your own place by yourself. My place is made by someone else, and by being there, I become a place for someone else too.
The word “place to belong” seems to perfectly capture LOSTAGE’s music, and it’s used symbolically in the film as well.
Gomi: When I’m struggling, I can’t fully control things myself. Luckily, I have many places where I belong, and that’s what keeps me going. That’s why this film was made, why people come to our shows, why there are people who take an interest, and why I have friends and family. I think that’s a really fortunate thing.
I don’t always consciously think about it, and I don’t think most people do, either. It’s just something that, over time, becomes apparent. For me, it’s not exactly an answer, but more like a reward. And I feel like that’s what I wanted to understand through music, at least now.
Surely there are people all over Japan who listen to LOSTAGE as if entrusting their own sense of belonging.
Gomi: There are at least 5,000.
And these are 5,000 people whose faces you can see, whose hands you could reach.
Gomi: It’s not just an abstract sense of belonging. Some people have even moved to Nara because we exist. Music might have been the spark, but there’s a concrete impact on someone’s life, so you can’t be careless. You have to be aware of what you do, and the influence you have on others, while doing it.
