森久保 祥太郎

It’s been about two months since his previous work, “I’m Nobody.” The new single “Way Out” is attractive with hard rock taste typical of Morikubou-san. Morikubou-san, who continues to run non-stop, told us a lot about the thoughts he put into this one piece!

It’s the first time you’ve shot a music video that has moved you so far. “Way Out” has a completely different atmosphere than the previous one, and it’s a number with a strong rock colour. What was the concept behind the production? Morikubou: I had a lot of things I wanted to convey, so I wanted to do a solid song with a lot of words in it, so I ordered that kind of song. I think there are two directions for entertainment in this kind of closed-in situation. One is to provide fun and bright things. The other is, on the contrary, by presenting something that can only be drawn at that time. I always do, but what I’m feeling right now, I want to put that out. There is no prospect of the future, everyone is stuck, but tomorrow will come. That’s why I used the word “Way Out” to mean “exit”. Rather than doing nothing and just wait for tomorrow, it is also my own determination to do what I can and move toward the exit one step at a time.

If it weren’t for the current social situation, it could be said that this song would not have been born. Morikubou: Last year, I was talking with the office staff about what kind of year 2020 would be, and I suggested that we should examine our existing values. I reconsidered whether things that I had taken for granted until now were okay. I wanted to try it, and when I was talking about updating my sense of values, I was in situation called Covid-19, and I had to put it into practice myself. Adopting a new set of values can be scary, so if I hadn’t been pushed to this point, I might have thought, “Well, that’s fine.”

The MV is also recorded, what kind of atmosphere does it have? Morikubou: I returned to the ruins after a long time (laughs). It’s a building whose plans fell through in the middle of its construction, and the exposed concrete is wet from rain leaks. I didn’t make any suggestions, partly because he’s a director I always ask for, but the storyboard turned out to be more than I had imagined.

Were there any memorable events during the shoot? Morikubou: There is a scene where I wander through the ruins and arrive at a scene where a video is projected onto a concrete wall. I didn’t know what it was, but it was a live film from my past… Many things came to my mind in an instant, and I was deeply touched. The director said to me, “I want you to make a clenched fist as you watch the video and say, “Let’s do it!” It may be the first time that the shooting of the MV moved me so much. This CD, which could only have been produced in 2020, is closely related to the jacket shooting.

Now that you’ve worn it, what left the biggest impression on you? Morikubou: I was tied up in various ways (laughs). I’m just tied up, so it’s fine, but it seems like it’s more difficult to tie up (laughs). But the design idea is cool, and even though you can only see my hands on the jacket, when I open the inside, I’m there. Even on the set, everyone acted and offered their opinions regardless of their original work, and I got the strong impression that they really created it together.

Could you also talk about the coupling song? Morikubou: “World Line” was one of the candidate songs for the previous work. Unfortunately, it wasn’t used, but it’s a good song, so I thought I’d keep it, and now it’s back. The arrangement was originally quite acoustic, but it was rearranged and recorded with a more electric sound. The lyrics have something in common with “Way Out”, but it’s up to you to judge and decide everything! I wrote it on the theme.

How about another song “Alright”? Morikubou: At first, I was planning on composing it myself, and I wanted it to be a funky and splashy song. However, it was a time when the world was in a self-restraining mood, and I was having a hard time getting into the mood. Around that time, I happened to pass through the scramble crossing in Shibuya in the middle of the night. The impression was so strong that it swallowed me up. So, just before the deadline, I cried to Hitonori Inoue-san and asked him to compose it. That’s why this song was born out of my desire to say, “It’s okay,” and to reassure myself by saying it repeatedly. “Alright” is a light word, but it can be a big deal depending on the person’s view of life. It can be a great source of encouragement. I’m getting older too, so I’d be happy if people could feel at ease when listening to this song. Looking back on these three songs, this CD would have been born only in 2020. I’m supposed to be singing what I’m thinking at the that time, but this time I feel it especially strongly. I want to create a new value as a distribution standard.

The “Ore Sama” scheduled for September is also in the form of distribution, but it will be held. For Morikubou-san, what kind of existence is “Ore Sama”? Morikubou: “Ore Para” has the image of the culmination of a year, but “Ore Sama” is completely a festival. Even when we held it in the past, I enjoyed the feeling of being able to host such a festival, such as interviewing guests who stayed behind the stage and finished their turn. This year, due to the social situation, it was streamed without an audience, but I didn’t want to make it a cheap version of a live show. Of course, the original live is for everyone to gather and share the atmosphere. I think there are things that can only be done through distribution. For the time being, there will probably be various restrictions on holding live concerts, and instead of putting up with streaming because we can’t watch it live, we decided to create a standard for streaming. That’s what I said at the beginning, the update of values.

Unfortunately, the nationwide tour that was scheduled to start in October has been cancelled, but please give a message to all the fans who were looking forward to it. Morikubou: Entertainment is the first and foremost in situations involving live and death. It may be useless even if it is truncated. Even though I’m involved in entertainment, I think so. However, when I try to rise from the bottom again, I think that it is absolutely required. I have no intention of stopping entertainment for the sake of that day. Even if it’s difficult to hold live shows now, the moment I meet everyone again, I think I’ll be filled with tremendous energy. I’m looking forward to it, and I’m going to be ready to run at any time. Let’s all do what we can and move forward step by step!