INDEX
“I Might Just Be an Ordinary Middle-Aged Guy” – Ataku
The sixth track, “Kawatare,” can be interpreted as relating to hometowns and family. What were you thinking when you wrote this song?
Ataku： This song is more about what I want the younger generation to consider. I’d like it to be sung at graduation ceremonies. Usually, you only start to feel grateful to those who raised you after growing up and gaining some life experience, but I hope the younger generation can think about these things earlier.
The idea of “toward the younger generation” is very symbolic. Is the motivation to “share something with someone” something that has emerged for you now?
Ataku: …It’s embarrassing.
-[laughs].
Ataku： I’ve always been making songs that “don’t say anything.” So if this EP is something that actually says something to someone, it’s very embarrassing. Maybe I’ve become an old man. …But there must be something there, right? I feel like I have to say something. It might have something to do with my niece and nephew.
In my hometown in Akita, there’s a small candy store, and there’s a national highway between my house and the store, without any guardrails. I remember crossing that road with my niece and nephew, who were only about 3 or 5 years old, holding their hands and taking them to the candy store on a snowy path. At that moment, I thought, “If something happens to them because of my negligence, they’ll die.” I realized, “I have to protect them to some extent.” Those moments could be significant. The feeling of “I have to say what I can say” might be in me. It’s quite embarrassing.
In the past works of daisansei, this EP feels like the one where you’re trying to say something to others the most.
Ataku： Back then, I was only singing to my former self. So, maybe this is a big change.
After feeling the end of youth, when you think about how to take the next step, the idea of “saying what you can say” seems like it could be a very powerful force.
Ataku： Yes, I definitely think that’s true. But when I really think about it, this is just an ordinary change, isn’t it? Maybe I’m just an ordinary middle-aged guy.
You’re not ordinary, Ataku.
Ataku： That’s true, I’m not ordinary. Alright, alright, alright…
-(laughs).
Ataku： Well, I do think that, in the end, I’m quite ordinary. I thought I would stay the same as I was back in middle school for the rest of my life, but there are parts of me that do change in an ordinary way. There’s both happiness and frustration in that… that’s how it feels.
