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An Era in Need of Healing and Restoring the Body Through Sound
I recently had the chance to see your live performance, and I felt a strong sense of “healing.” It also felt like your music was gently slowing down the rapid pace of society. How does performing with MANAKANA now differ from when you were performing with CHAI?
MANA： When we were with CHAI, it was more about the feeling that “excitement is the right state,” but now, for me, the theme is “relaxation.” That’s something I really need right now. What hasn’t changed since the CHAI days is that I’m still creating music that speaks to what I personally need. I’m making music based on themes that I think are necessary for both myself and everyone else.
KANA： The frequency of music is something you can’t see, but it resonates with the body, organs, and the heart. The frequencies we created in CHAI were probably meant to excite or make people feel happy, but now, I want to create music that calms both the body and the heart, something that also resonates with the soul.
Do you feel that we’re living in an era where healing is necessary for everyone?
KANA: With the spread of COVID-19, I felt like we were in a time where invisible viruses couldn’t be treated with medicine. During that time, I practiced yoga and mugwort steaming. I wanted to take what I had absorbed and experienced and start putting it out there. As focusing on boosting immunity became more important, meditation and mindfulness became popular, but I felt that healing the body with “sound” hadn’t really entered Japan yet. So, I think what we’re doing might align with the times.
Sometimes, while offering a counterpoint to mainstream ideas, you two have always been a step ahead of the times, continuing to share the sounds and messages that people truly need. That stance has been with you since the formation of CHAI.
MANA: I’m so happy to hear that!
