INDEX
From Struggling to Enjoying: Music’s Impact on Her Interactions
Listening to music or reading a book is a personal choice to engage with things you love, but conversations can go in unexpected directions. I feel like you’re someone who can find the surprise in that.
xiangyu： Totally! When I overhear people’s conversations on the train, I sometimes find myself thinking, “Oh, this person is contemplating that.” And, for instance, during the evening rush, I like to imagine, “Is this person heading home, or are they off to meet someone for fun?” I really enjoy those little moments of daydreaming. I’ve always found them fascinating.
I feel like your creations stem from your interactions with others. One line in your release comment, “It’s not about good or bad, but the way people engage with the last piece, even if it’s past its prime, is uniquely theirs,” really struck me. The coldness of enryo no katamari feels different from the coldness of eating a solo meal ordered through Uber Eats. Without Koichi Mitsuoka, this album might not have come to life, and your debut album would likely have taken a different shape. Would you say that relationships with others are central to your creative process?
xiangyu： I think I’ve come to realize that it’s something essential for me. I’ve always liked people and been interested in them, and I’ve always wanted to talk to all kinds of people, but I was terrible at communication. People who only know the current version of xiangyu might be surprised, but I really struggled with it in the past. However, after about seven years of making music, I’ve slowly started to understand how to navigate relationships, how to connect with others, and how to communicate my feelings. I’ve started to really enjoy engaging with different people, including the audience. So, I believe that this album became a work that really values dialogue and connection with others.
When I made my last EP, it was more of a project where I solely focused on what I personally found interesting. It was very introspective, and I wasn’t thinking about collaborating or sharing with anyone. But this time, from the very beginning of the album’s creation, I had many conversations and thought about how my perspective on what I find interesting might look from other people’s viewpoints. That, I think, is a major difference.
How did you build these conversations?
xiangyu： I had many people listen to the tracks, and I also collaborated with artists I like to create some of the songs. The conversations with Koichi Mitsuoka were part of it, and I also took into account the reactions of live audiences. When I went on tour in different regions, I’d ask, “What do you do when you encounter the last piece of food—enryo no katamari?” I absorbed the values and thoughts of different people and stored them in my mind.”
