INDEX
Finding Joy in Providing Comfort Through Music
Back to the music, what was the inspiration behind the song “Shukufuku”?
Salasa: Over the past year and the year before, I experienced the loss of close family members and my beloved dog, and went through a breakup. Of course, I felt sadness, but I also realized that life encompasses such experiences. Even within sorrow, I find moments of happiness and see colors in the sky that seem more profound, which makes me feel moved and like I don’t want to miss those moments. This sense of finding meaning in the midst of sadness became the theme.
When it rains during my solo concerts, I often say, “It’s a blessing rain for those who came.” So, “Shukufuku” (blessing) is a familiar term for me. Connecting it to everyday farewells or the death of someone feels very natural to me.
The song captures the sense of various farewells in life.
Salasa: I wrote the lyrics “Forgive our deaths here,” and a breakup with a partner feels like a small death in the sense of them disappearing from our lives. It’s puzzling why losing someone close to us is so painful, but I think that’s okay. Knowing that life will eventually end gives me solace. No matter how many mistakes I make or how sad I get, just believing that it will all end eventually helps me not to feel overwhelmed.
In this song, the subject shifts between “I,” “we,” and “you.” It seems that there’s not a strong sense of ego in your songs overall. How do you position the presence of “I” in your music?
Salasa: I often write songs with the sense of a different self or a larger presence that saves, forgives, and accepts me. I rarely write from the perspective of my true, personal self. In that sense, the subjects and perspectives in my songs might be quite multifaceted.
Sadness and pain are often seen as things to be overcome, forgotten, or removed, but it seems that Salasa’s music, with its theme of “Live Bluely,” acknowledges these emotions as simply being there. How did this perspective develop?
Salasa: Looking back, there were people who reached out to me during times when I couldn’t see the way forward, and that changed my life. The thoughts I had during difficult times have shaped my current beliefs. I also resonate with the idea that, like in Hawaiian indigenous culture or the Taiji symbol, both negative and positive aspects have equal mass, maintaining balance.
Salasa: Those who advise forgetting or avoiding negative feelings might actually be overemphasizing their importance. Since everyone encounters negativity, I hope my music communicates that it’s not something to be overly weighed down by. I also create songs as a personal reminder to maintain this viewpoint.
In the song “Yokan,” there’s a lyric that says, “This path continues; it happens to everyone.” Throughout the album, it feels like the focus is not on “I am uniquely hurt right now,” but rather on the idea that “everyone experiences pain as a normal part of life.”
Salasa: Yes, everyone experiences pain. My songs aren’t meant to be a reminder when you’re feeling upbeat, but if they can bring comfort when you’re feeling down, that would make me happy.
