INDEX
Expressing Emotions Through Song: Tomigashi’s Perspective
-I feel like there is an aesthetics of subtraction. In “minamisenju” you sing, “The words I’ve squeezed out are too helpless and too worthless. I think you are aware of the uncertainty of words in your lyrics. That’s why I thought that you describe the world by using instrumental music in some ways.
Togashi: That’s right. I don’t have words that come out at the drop of a hat, and I’m not very good at speaking. But there are many moments when I think, “I wish I could have said that,” and the words I speak at that moment are not 100% linked to my feelings. I think I want to express myself in aspects other than lyrics, because lyrics are not meant to be read, so I have to delete the parts that don’t fit the sound.
-Do you and Robert comment on Togashi’s lyrics?
Kawai: I say what I feel discordant by not being able to hear and the parts that don’t fit the sound, but I don’t read the lyrics.
-I see⁉ Why don’t you read them?
Kawai: I like to read poetry books, but I simply can’t get interested in them. I once tried to create a bass line based on the lyrics. As a result, I thought I knew what I was doing. That being the case, I don’t think I need to take lyrics as sentences. I am not avoiding it.
Robert: I don’t comment, but I like to read the lyrics, so I read through them properly.
Togashi: I don’t comment at all. But I appreciate it when I get opinions about the placement of sounds, not the content of the lyrics. Sometimes I get used to hearing a melody while I’m working on it, and I can’t fully scrutinize it.
-I am not a fan of the ” righteousness” that repeatedly changes me in “Whale” and “111511” that says, “I will continue to live in someone else’s image. I feel like you are expressing your own life with others and your own self that is shaped by the presence of a third party.
Togashi: The words came out on their own, so maybe they are latent in me, but I am not aware of it. But I don’t think I am trying to convey a message or anything at all; I think it is introspective. But I do think that the third party can be a stranger or myself.
-Thank you very much. We are looking forward to seeing your live performances in the future.
Kawai: Now that I have successfully completed the album, I would like to practice live performances. If I can’t make it sound good live, it’s meaningless, so I want to make it sound good.
Togashi: Lately, I’ve been arranging new songs, even though I’ve been in the studio all the time.
Kawai: It’s not so good to be arranging all the time. I feel like we can do some interesting things, though. downt has a weird balance where the drums are the foundation and we don’t have to match, but recently there have been times when I think it’s the ideal balance. I have a feeling that we will be able to do a lot of new things musically, and I am looking forward to it.
downt Underlight & Aftertime
Release date: 2024.03.06
Item number: PCD-25384
Price: ¥2,750 (¥2,500 without tax)
1.underdrive
2.Whale
3.4:50 AM
4.prank
5.Yda027
6.Purgatory ex
7.mizu ni naru
8.8/31(Yda011)
9.twists and turns
10.111511
11.13th month
https://p-vine.lnk.to/tmghLU
