INDEX
The Journey of “Gokigen”: A Self-Produced Album Four Years in the Making
-What was the concept behind the album “Gokigen” to be released on the 15th anniversary of your career?
Merlion: I started out with the idea of making an album for Merlion beginners, in which all the songs could be considered singles. I wanted to do pop music in the middle, something I had somewhat avoided facing head-on until now.
-What do you mean by “pop music in the middle” for Merlion?
Merlion: Takako Matsu and Kyon Kyon (Kyoko Koizumi) ……. I also loved “Ponkickies” (a Fuji TV show) when I was little. A compilation (“Ponkickies Melody”) containing songs from the show was often played at home. I think that feeling of repeatedly listening to Kazuyoshi Saito’s “Walking Home” and Denki Groove’s “Popo”, which I didn’t really understand but somehow enjoyed, might be the kind of pop music I was aiming for.
-You said that all the songs are singles, but in fact, they are a compilation of songs that have been released for distribution over the past few years. Among them, “Hanagotoba” is the oldest, released in January 2018.
Merlion: In the past few years, we have been releasing songs as they were completed. In the past, due to budgets, deadlines, and lack of ability, there were parts that I thought I could have been more particular about later, but this time I definitely didn’t want to regret it. I spent a lot of time and money finishing each song without compromise, and as a result, it took almost 4 years from the time I started working on it.
-What was the main part that took you the longest?
Merlion： This was actually the first time I self-produced a full album with a band sound. I asked Hiroki Misawa (LABCRY) to produce “Breathe It In, Be Stronger” and Yusuke Sato (Camera=Mannenpens) to produce “Boy Meets Girl. This time, I was very particular about everything I did, so it was very difficult to make it.
-The band sound is unified by GUIRO’s Yoshiro Atsumi (bass), Hiroki Ishikawa (drums), Miss Heavenly (cho), Hibiki Aratani (tp), and Yu Taniguchi (key). In addition, MC.sirafu’s steelpan and Izumi Matsui’s percussion on “Umi e Umi e Umi e Umi e” and Masao Izumi’s banjo on “Rain Cloud to Sunny Day” add to the variety. There is a lot of variety.
Merlion: Until now, my musical knowledge was limited and I couldn’t write music scores, so I could only work with musicians who were good at what they did and who could understand what I was doing just by listening to me play. But since I am a solo artist and not in a band, I would like to work with a variety of people. So in 2020, I started taking online music theory lessons with flutist Takumi Matsumura, and little by little, I am now able to offer my services to the right people for my songs.
Merlion: So now, my band formation has two axes, and in addition to the recording members, my recent live performances have been with Ootsuka-kun (Stereogirl) on bass and Karaki-san (Superyou) on drums. We will also be playing a one-man show at WWW in Shibuya, Tokyo in June with the latter lineup.
