A circle of friends connected by gut touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On August 31, media artist Ryo Fukuchi introduced Akihiro Miki, drummer of the instrumental band “neco sleep” and graphic designer. We asked him about how he started playing the drums, why he joined “neco sleep,” and the merits of being both a drummer and a graphic designer.
INDEX
From starting out as a drummer in Konami’s “Drum Mania” to finding a job by no means.
Celeina (MC): First of all, let me introduce my profile. I am a graphic designer, visual artist, and drummer for the instrumental band “neco sleep. He majored in visual design at university, and after working for Konami Digital Entertainment Co. He is currently based in Tokyo from Kansai.
Takano (MC): You are involved in a really wide range of activities. Which came first, your interest in graphics or drumming?
Miki: I got interested in music first, so I started with drums.
Celeina: When did you start playing drums?
Miki: I think I started playing drums in the winter of the second year of junior high school, partly because I got interested in music from commercials, and partly because I heard the theme song of a TV drama, which made a band I liked form, and I thought I would give it a try.
Celeina: Heh. What kind of artists’ music were you listening to at the time?
Miki: “Yume” by THE BLUE HEARTS was playing on a TV drama, so I started listening to that and then to THE HIGH-LOWS, since they were THE HIGH-LOWS at that time.
Takano: So that was it! You never know what will be the trigger.
Miki: And as for the drums themselves, it was around the time Konami’s “Drum Mania” came out in arcades, so one of the triggers for me was to try that and see if I could do it.
Celeina: Do you mean that you encountered a drum game in a video arcade when you were in the second grade of junior high school?
Miki: That’s right.
Takano: That was Konami’s Drum Mania, and you later joined Konami?
Miki: I got in.
Takano: Is that possible? (laughs)
Celeina: Wow! (laughs) You skipped from the eighth grade to getting a job, but during that time, did you actually touch the drums and even join a band?
Miki: I formed a band with my classmates and played in it for a long time.
Takano: And what kind of work did you do at Konami?
Miki: At Konami, I was assigned to the arcade game department. My main work was not the contents of the games, but the logos that glowed on the game machines, stickers on the game machines, and other printed materials.
Takano: You mean designing game cabinets?
Miki: Yes.
Celeina: Is this exactly what it means to turn what you love into a job?
Takano: It feels like fate.
Celeina: When you joined the company, did you talk about this episode as you went along?
Miki: I think I did. I tried to use everything that was available (laughs).
Celeina: Wow (laughs). When did you join the instrumental band “neco sleep”?
Miki: About a year after I joined Konami.
Takano: So you have already joined the band as a member of society.
Miki: That’s right.
Celeina: But wasn’t your first year with the company pretty busy at work?
Miki: No, I remember that I was surprisingly not that busy in the first year. It gradually became busier and busier.
Takano: What made you join NECO Sleep?
Miki: I am the second drummer. At the time, the drummer quit and the band itself was on hiatus. After that, there seemed to be a movement to reopen the band, and I saw on SNS that they were looking for a drummer, so I sent an e-mail.
Takano: Did you know any of the band members?
Miki: When I was in high school, we played together in a band, but we never talked. We had bandmates in common, and they thought we were close, so we went out for a drink.
Celeina: Wow! I didn’t know that was possible.
Takano: But I guess that’s how close we were in terms of vibes.
Miki: Because he is a person! I was told (laughs). He said, “As for the drums, well, you just need to practice.
Takano: I see (laughs).
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Playing in a band while working
Takano: What caught my attention was that I am also an artist, but I am a DTM. The reason for this is that when I started to play music after I became a working adult, I thought it would be difficult to get together and practice with a band. How did you coordinate such things?
Miki: It is hard to get together. We have six members now, three in Osaka and three in Tokyo.
Celeina: Oh my.
Miki: So we sometimes practice with three members at each location, and sometimes we come in the day before a live performance and spend a few hours in the studio.
Takano: So the three of you get together at one of the locations for live performances?
Miki: Yes, that’s right.
Takano: But it’s still a lot of work, isn’t it?
Celeina: We have to move around too. At that time, when you were working at Konami and playing in a band, how was your work-life balance organized?
Miki: Even at that time, there were other members who were also working at the company, so I had heard before I joined that basically we would only play gigs on weekends. So we would work during the weekdays, and on weekends we would often play live shows or practice.
Celeina: It may be important to have a good routine.
Miki: Yes, it is.
Takano: Among the listeners who are listening to this now, those who are working and busy and don’t have the courage to play in a band may get courage after listening to Mr. Miki’s story.
Celeina: Indeed. And now that you are independent from Konami, you are working as a freelance visual designer, and your Instagram is really cool. Are there any jobs that left a lasting impression on you or made you happy?
Miki: I have always loved music, so I was very happy when I was asked to do the jackets for ELLEGARDEN’s distribution.
Celeina: Wow! That’s nice.
Takano: You yourself are also involved in music, and it’s great to be connected with a graphic designer, isn’t it?
Miki: Yes, it is.
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The unique charm of a shared office
Celeina: I understand that you are now an independent designer, but basically, do you work alone? Do you work alone, or do you sometimes work in a team?
Miki: I tend to work as a team. Sometimes there is a person in charge of direction who thinks about how the project should be done, and other times I work with people who want to create this kind of service.
Takano: Are you the type of person who goes to an office to work?
Miki: Right now, I rent a shared office and work there.
Celeina: I’m a bit curious about shared offices. Are you a heavy user?
Miki: Yes, I am. Basically, I go there every day.
Celeina: Is working at home different from working in an office?
Miki: It is different. I can do graphic design at home if I wanted to, but I can also chat and see what other people are working on, and since there are other people in the shared office besides graphic designers, we can communicate and sometimes come up with ideas. Also, there is a pattern of bringing in other people to work on different jobs.
Celeina: So the shared office is such a friendly place.
Miki: Yes, it is. Some days it’s like we’re playing.
Celeina: Sounds fun! I’ll have to check it out.
Takano: I thought I’d take a look too (laughs).
Celeina: That sounds good. Now, I would like to send you a piece of music. I would like to send you a song by NECO Sleeping, in which you participate as a drummer.
Miki: We released a new album “The Key to My Parent’s Home” in April this year, and I would like to introduce a song from it, “Even if I Grow Up.
