SIRUP offers words of encouragement to the younger generation living in the present day: “It’s okay to feel restless, as we, as seniors, will figure things out somehow, so for now, enjoy life!” Rooted in R&B, Hip Hop, and Neo Soul, SIRUP continues to convey his own feelings and straightforward messages to society. In a project initiated by FRISK titled “#Words_I_Want_to_Convey_to_My_Past_Self,” SIRUP participates by writing a letter to his younger self when he first started making music.
Within the letter lie the many struggles and conflicts faced throughout his life, along with the growth experienced amidst numerous changes. He candidly reflects on the ideal form of society we should strive for. While delving into his life experiences that couldn’t be fully expressed in the letter, he shares how he has confronted various struggles and anxieties, offering a message to those living in an unstable society. Embedded within are hints to instill hope and confidence in the future and one’s choices, urging them to move forward.
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Navigating Hopeless Childhood
-I have the impression that Mr. Sirup is one of the artists who is constantly expanding the scope of his activities, appearing at numerous music festivals and events, and collaborating with artists and brands in Japan and abroad. He also embodies SIRUP’s message of “leave no one behind” by sending out social messages on social networking sites and on stage. You must have gone through a lot of experiences and changes to reach the SIRUP of today. What kind of things were you hoping for or struggling with before you started your music career in earnest?
SIRUP: I started to remember things very early, and I had a very strong ego from the age of about 5. Because of that, I think I was very observant of my surroundings. I feel that I was most despairing about life when I was in the 6th grade of elementary school. At the time, “Azuki-chan” (*) was popular, and everyone in elementary school was copying it, whether or not to go out with each other. With these changes in my surroundings and many other things, I had no hope for the future at that time.
However, I had always been the type of person who had a tremendous amount of baseless confidence in myself, so I thought that with the energy and communication skills I possessed, I would be able to make it work. So, when I was in high school, as the head of the brass band, I tried to break the bad habits and norms of the people around me and society, and created an environment where “just do what you have to do and have fun the rest of the time. I always had such confidence, but when I turned 20 and started singing in clubs, I began to feel realistic about the serious problems in the music industry and became increasingly conflicted.
*This manga was serialized in the girls’ manga magazine Nakayoshi from the August 1992 issue to the April 1997 issue. Original story by Yasushi Akimoto, illustrations by Chika Kimura.
His versatile vocal style effortlessly transitions between rap and singing, seamlessly blending Neo Soul and R&B with hints of gospel and hip-hop. This fusion results in a sophisticated sound that defies genre boundaries. SIRUP’s music resonates universally, offering a feel-good experience for all listeners.
-How do you feel you have been able to keep your confidence so strong in the midst of all the changes and absurdities in your surroundings?
SIRUP: Being the youngest child, I was spoiled a lot, and I think my natural personality and sociability also played a big part. When I was in elementary school, I had some successes that gave me confidence, such as coming up with the choreography for the class dance and winning a big award for a picture I drew.
-I think everyone has had successes regardless of size, but what would you judge as a success?
SIRUP: I can only speak from my own criteria, but success may be the feeling of having gained something, or having your heart lighten up a little or feeling good. For example, even now I sometimes paint pictures, and I feel refreshed when I paint as I go without being particular about it, and I consider it a success when I finish the painting and it remains as an output. In more mundane things, I feel that doing two loads of laundry is also a success, and if it’s still lunchtime, I feel it’s even more of a success. Even if nothing goes well, doing something will always lead to progress, so it is better to do it than not to do it. If something is left behind or something is learned, I consider that to be a success experience.
Since I was young, I’ve always cherished my own space. Growing up in a single-parent home meant I spent a lot of time alone, and I found solace in solitary activities. Singing was a quiet passion of mine from elementary school, but it wasn’t until around age 16, encouraged by the praise of those close to me, that I felt the urge to share my voice with the world. It wasn’t until I was about 20 that I finally took the plunge onto a stage, performing at a cozy local club. Even now, those memories often flood back to me.
SIRUP’s handwritten preface for the letter will be showcased at FRISK’s “Kotoba Exhibition for Jibun from Those Days” at BONUS TRACK in Shimokitazawa beginning April 11th. (click here for details).
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Inspired by Life and Death: “I Choose to Live Pursuing My Passions”
-I think there were a number of times when you had to make choices in your life before you started singing in clubs. While many people around you were choosing to get jobs, did you have such a choice?
SIRUP: Until I was in high school, I had a vague idea that I would have to find a job. I really wanted to enter a music college, but the tuition was too expensive, so I went to a college near my house. I went to a college near my house. My mother wanted me to go to college because we were a single-mother family, and she supported me, so I thought I would do my best until I got there. But at the same time, I was determined to do my best in music.
When I was thinking about job hunting, I sometimes wondered if I would be able to write better songs if I found a job, but I felt that I was making gradual progress as a musician, and at that time I was involved in a major moped accident. At that time, I felt like I was living or dying, and I strongly felt that I wanted to live doing what I loved anyway. That made me determined, and in the end, I did not apply to any companies for job hunting.
-When you chose not to look for a job, there were probably people around you who chose to find a job. How did you view such career paths at the time?
SIRUP: I was concerned about the difference between the choices of those around me and my own. I would get anxious and my feelings would be taken away, but in the end I would not change my choice, which is my fundamental character. I would get anxious and confused, but I didn’t pretend those feelings didn’t exist, and even absorbed them and used them for my output. I was anxious, but I knew I had no choice but to do it, and I knew it would definitely be more fun for me.
-Was it because you had someone who was a role model that made you think, “It’s definitely more fun to do what I want to do?
SIRUP: When I was little, I used to follow my older brother around all the time, and at some point he started to spread me around [laughs], and from there I started talking to older people in the park and playing with them. In this way, the biggest thing for me was not belonging to one community from a young age, but absorbing the values of various people and meeting older people in life who had many different options.
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Age Constrictions and Norms: Products of Singular Values
-You wrote a letter to your old self under the theme of “Words I want to deliver to the people of those days.” In the letter, you wrote, “If I was not in my ideal situation at 25, I would have thought about quitting singing. Why did you make the decision to turn 25, and what kind of situation did you consider ideal?
Not all of it was enjoyable; there were plenty of tough moments too. I came close to abandoning the idea of pursuing singing as a career multiple times. Now, in hindsight, I realize age is irrelevant. But back then, I often thought, “If I haven’t achieved my ideal by 25, maybe it’s time to switch paths.” During those uncertain times, such thoughts weighed heavily on my mind.
Excerpt from SIRUP’s letter (“#WordsIWantToReachMyselfBackThen” presented by FRISK)
SIRUP: When I was around 20 years old, I had the image of 25 years old as a “super adult. I wanted to repay my mother as soon as possible, and I wanted to be as close to my ideal situation as everyone else was at 25, three years after graduating from college. At that time, my ideal was to become a musician “known by everyone on TV,” which is the opposite of what I am doing now. The only thing we had in common was that we wanted to be able to make a living just from music.
-When I was 20 years old, I thought of myself as a 25 year old, and I might have had the image of being a “super adult. How did you feel when you actually reached the age of 25 in the ideal situation you had in mind?
SIRUP: I was a “super kid” at all. I was often scolded by my peers, and I was still very selfish [laughs]. However, in my mind, turning 25 or 30 was a kind of turning point for me. I made a CD and released it digitally, which was still a novelty at the time, and people were able to listen to it online, and I was invited to perform in Tokyo. I did not reach my ideal situation, but I could feel progress, and that made me want to work a little harder.
-In a way, you set a milestone for yourself at the age of 25, so perhaps it was a sense of trying something new at that point in your life.
SIRUP： When I think back on it now, I wonder if that was the case. I was still in a hurry, and it was hard to make a living on music alone, and I had to work a lot of part-time jobs. Also, around that time, there was an extreme suppression of clubs in Osaka due to the Entertainment Establishment Law, and the clubs that were filling up every week were all shut down*. Witnessing such senseless oppression by society, I felt a sense of urgency to leave something behind and to continue. This was just before I reached my target age of 25, so I wanted to try something tangible, to do something I had not done before thinking about the future.
*An example is the well-known crackdown on Osaka Club NOON in April 2012. In 2016, the Supreme Court confirmed their innocence. That same year, considering “changes in public awareness regarding dancing” (Cabinet Office), the Entertainment Businesses Control Law underwent significant revisions.
-How did you face the curse of age?
SIRUP: Until I was 25 years old, I felt the curse of age. But from that time, I gradually started to stop focusing on what people around me thought of me. If I change my priorities in terms of what I want to do in accordance with what someone else says I should do socially/age-wise, I will not be able to make the effort to do what I want to do, and it will be difficult to achieve the results I want to achieve. At the time I began to realize this, I stopped choosing choices that were considered “the right thing to do,” which I did not want to do, although I was anxious about it.
-As you get older, society and those around you may put pressure on you to “get married” or “make a yearly income,” despite what you want or what your choices are. However, the reason I was able to choose what I wanted to do and continue to search for my own form of happiness was due to the fact that I have seen many people make various choices since I was a child.
SIRUP: No matter how I look back, I feel that I have gained a lot from communicating with people. That time leads to my happiness, and it is also a stress reliever. The curse of age and many norms are made up of a single set of values, so by communicating with many different people, I can gain a variety of values. By doing so, I think I am learning more and more that I can decide my own values.
