森久保 祥太郎

Showtarou Morikubou has released a new song “I’m Nobody” for the first time in about two years as a solo artist. I heard a hot story that I will clarify. We will also deliver a close report of the jacket shooting!

Thoughts overflowing from the closed drawer of solo activities. As “Buzz Vibes” was active in 2019, did you put a lot of effort into producing solo music for the first time in a while? Morikubou: That’s right. “Buzz” and “Solo” are so contrasting in terms of songs and singing style that even while I was doing “Buzz” activities, there was a growing desire to say, “This is more effective in the so mouth,” or, “I want to do something like this.” I had a strong desire to produce a solo song as soon as possible.

The title song is for the anime “Appare-Ranman!” Was there some difficulty in putting what Morikubou-san had warmed up into the anime world? Morikubou: Yes, there was. First, I received some images from the production side of the animation, and a piece of paper was attached to the materials such as the scenario and the plot, and the thoughts and desired melody that I wanted to express through the work were country-style. It was spelled out. There was something about the content that inspired me, it doesn’t mean that I deviate from the musicality that I want to do… So, I suggested, “If what I want to express matches the image of the production side, let me do it, and if it doesn’t work, it’s fine.” In the end, I’m glad it worked out well. This song wouldn’t have been born if it hadn’t been for the tie-up, so I’m lucky in the sense that it broadened the range of my music, and it’s a very important song.

How do you make music? Morikubou: I conveyed the image to Hitoku Inoue-san, who has been supporting my sound for many years, and left everything else to him. The one that came up once was a little too modern, so I asked him to give it a little more straightness. As always, the song turned out better than I imagined.

When writing the lyrics, did you have a strong awareness of the anime world? Morikubou: After grasping the world view of the work, I was rereading the storybook to write the lyrics, and a little while ago, an episode caught my eye when I got together with my classmates from high school and all the boys. I felt that it was very similar to the environment surrounding the main character, Sorano Appare, so I wrote the lyrics from the perspective of Appare.

What kind of episode was it? Morikubou: When I looked at the graduation album for the first time in a while at that gathering, there weren’t any pictures of me smiling. My high school days were full of fun memories, and I had a lot of good friends. I was giving off an aura like, “I’m not the man who’s here forever (laughs). Looking back on those days, I think I had a strong desire to leave high school early and go further. I wanted to start a band; I want to be able to make a living at a play. That kind of feeling, “Is this place really where I belong?”

I see. Morikubou-san’s thoughts are reflected realistically. Morikubou: While writing while remembering myself in my teens, I wrote a message from my current point of view in the chorus. I think that by mixing elements of different temperature with the passionate taste of “burn your soul!” It feels like there are two main characters across ages.

The coupling song “PANIC KITCHEN” is an intense rock song that is full of Morikubou-san’s personality. Morikubou: The staff told me, “Please do whatever you like with the coupling”, so I wanted to make a song that would liven up the live. First, I asked Hitoku-san to create a song that could interact with the audience, rather than composing it violently. There was something about it that was very lively and arousing, but I couldn’t find the answer until the last minute of the recording, as to what kind of worldview lyrics I wanted to express. At that time, the name “PANIC KITCHEN” came to mind. This is a hastag that Junko Hamaguchi-san, who I’ve been doing radio with on BayFM for a long time, sometimes uploads on Instagram, meaning “cooking while panicking.” Since the lyrics are glaring, I thought it would be better to make the title pop, so I borrowed the name. I got her consent in her post-mortem report (laughs).

I’m curious about the content of the lyrics (laughs). Morikubou: If you look at the world these days, there aren’t many cool adults, they lie and cheat. He doesn’t want that to happen, but maybe he’s on the sidelines. What should I do to show my cool back to the children and juniors who will be responsible for the future? I compared this kind of commandment to myself in a restaurant. A song that I was able to make while having fun in a good way, including the recording. If you sympathize, I want you to shout together at the live. Since Appare likes machines, I wanted to create an atmosphere where something is created there, even thought it has a cluttered feel, so I shot it at an actual motorcycle shop. The place is filled with the owner’s personal guitar, alcohol, snow bikes, pinball machines, and many other things and thoughts. It was impressive that the shooting ended so quickly (laughs).

Please tell us about your enthusiasm for the live tour “Kokoro Naked Night Singing ~ Phase 8~ scheduled for October. Morikubou: I want to sing soon. But on the contrary, there is a part that I feel is difficult. Because for me, “Phase 6” was the culmination of my live performances. I’m proud that I was able to bring out something that has been nurtured and matured together with the songs, band members and fans. “Phase 7” was full of new songs, so I think that’s part of it being fresh, but what kind of topics should we raise this time. On 20 June 2021, it will be 20 years since I started my solo music career, so I hope it will be a live that will gain momentum towards that.

Do you have any concrete plans for the 20^th anniversary? Morikubou: Up until now, I’ve never said to myself, “I want to do this because it’s the XXth anniversary.” It’s not that I’m ignoring, it’s that I’m not obsessed with it. But 20 years is an adult when compared to life. That’s why I will do something even if no one says anything! It’s been a good year to look back on, so I want to show everyone what I’ve been doing for 20 years with gratitude.