[Insert Name] Speaks

Please kindly do not repost or reupload elsewhere, especially seeing as this is something from the guys own channel in the first place.

"When I was a kid, there was a tree with a branch gnarled into a ring next to my family home that I used to shoot hoops through. I never amounted to much as a basketball player, so it's pretty wild to think that ten years on, I'd get to be involved in the sport in this way. I'm humbled by the opportunity and ever so grateful for it.

This song was born from all the feelings that gradually built up within as I imagined all the athletes striving to become the best at what they do and also actually from going to see a few games myself.

And as the creation process moved forward, the overwhelming love and respect that I was feeling grew to encompass not only athletes but also each and every living being on earth who are doing their best to live.

The translation is done in a way that emulates a rough approximation of what his dialect and slurred speech may sound like in EN. Lots of creative liberties were taken obviously as there isn't a correct way to translate quirks in speech pattern so I can only do it the way I feel it comes off to me. I also left a number of his stumbles and hesitance in because they are such an essential part of his somewhat bumbling personality. Guy is far from a smooth operator and I wanted people to experience that as well.

I'm sorry if this makes reading a little difficult but hopefully this is an overall fun ride for everyone. :) He does switch back and forth between his usual quirky lazy hillbilly speech pattern and more proper enunciation every so often when he needs to sound more formal, usually when he's reading something off the script. Maybe you'll notice maybe you won't. Lol. Er, I'd recommend liberal use of the pause button.

Also, I did not sub any of the JP songs he sung in EN including his own cos there's the rest of the Internet for those (and I also just really wanna avoid developing carpal tunnel.) Well, save for that last cover he did at the end of the show just cos.

I used the only video I could find of this show, which is a Chinese sub (that the EN subs are placed over*) from a Chinese streaming platform. So a big thank you to the people who made it available.

*Apologies if this causes some visibility issues. I've got my reasons for doing this. But I picked the text colors I did to improve it as much as I could.

Having said all that, here's wishing Kaze a blessed 26th with a present for his fans! ^_^

- Fujii Kaze's All Night Nippon 0 (aired 30 May 2020)

Source: [Fujii Kaze's ANN0 - 30 May '20] (For those unable to see this, feel free to download from here.)

Kindly do not reupload and/or repost.

Kaze: We're gon'be talkin 'bout the album HEHN but 'afore that, ahma rea' out this email here.

Question from listener (read out loud by Kaze): This one's from Eno. "What was the initial impression you had of one another when you first met?”  

Kaze: D’ye remember? 

Yaffle: Didn’t we meet at my studio? 

Kaze: Yea, yea, we did. 

Yaffle: I remember I only knew you from what I’ve seen on YouTube... 

Kaze: Ritey, rite, rite, rite... 

Yaffle: Ngl, I legit thought you were gonna be one of those dudes who’s all full of themselves. 

Kaze: Oh ye mean like the ones who’d go, “Yo, sup, Yaf?” Like they’re all that? 

Yaffle: Yeah like you’d be stabbing your arm down at me from above for a handshake. 

Kaze: Ok... 

Yaffle: Was what I imagined you’d be like but what I got was this meek and shy dude whom I could barely hear talk. Talk about a complete 180. 

Kaze: Well, that’s who ah am. 

Yaffle: You seemed like the stereotypical artist type to me at first.  

Kaze: Ah see. An' did ah live down t'yer expectation? 

Yaffle: That was just my initial impression. Because as time passed, your talking voice started getting louder... 

Kaze: Hehe yea... 

Yaffle: Then I realized that you were more flexible than you initially let on and my thoughts about you gradually began to change. 

Kaze: Ah see. Ah remember 'twuz jus' the two o' us talkin an' one o' the first things ah thought 'bout ye wuz that ye were very good at askin questions. 

Yaffle: Huuuh... 

Kaze: It felt like ah wuz naturally bein led thru an interview. Like, ye actually dug pretty deep down. 

Yaffle: Oh yea... 

Kaze: Ye were askin me stuff like what mah beliefs were... 

Yaffle: Oh right, I wanted to know where your thoughts and beliefs lie... 

Kaze: The fact that ye were a producer ah wuz able t'get into topics like that wit' wuz actually a huge relief. That’s the impression ah had.

Yaffle: Oh okay... 

Kaze: Like, 'twuz comfortin to know that ye were someone who wuz open t'knowin ‘bout stuff like that.  

Yaffle: I see... 

Kaze: So that wuz back when we first met and didnae know much ‘bout one 'nother yet. Here’s where the ball really gits t'rollin.

Yaffle: Right. 

Kaze: Wha' wuzzit again. Rite, let’s talk ‘bout the process o' makin the album HELP EVER HURT NEVER. 

Yaffle: K! Did you think we’d actually end up making a whole album? 

K: Nupe. Ah only wanted t'put out songs ah thought were worth puttin out an' mebbe en' up havin a collection o'those put out at some point.  

Y: Oh, you mean like a collection of just A-sides? 

K: Rite, that. Ah figgered if ah jus' concentrated on puttin out one good song at a time, ah’d eventually reach a point where ah’d have 'nuff fer a great album. 

Y: We recorded the whole thing on a 3-term basis, remember? 

K: Yea, it happened 'cross three separate terms.

Y: The initial set was NaN-NaNw, MOH-EE-WA and Yasashisa. 

K: Yep, yep. 

Y: Then they were followed by Choshinochatte, Tokuninai and...what was it again? 

K: Kae...rou...mebbe? 

Y: Yeah, it was Kaerou. 

K: Riiiite, rite, it *wuz* Kaerou. 

Y: And then the last five came... 

K: Yea we jus' rapidly shot them out like bullets 

Y: Yeah like rat-tat-tat-tat-tat! 

K: Yea like that hehe. 

Y: But we actually had about a year. I mean it was a 3-term period but it totaled to about a year. 

K: Yea, yea, that’s rite. 

Y: So during the first two terms, I really didn’t think it would eventually become an album. 

K: Yea we didnae think it at all. 

Y: I for one certainly didn’t think I’d end up working on it right until completion. 

K: Rite, rite, 'twuz still pretty early... 

Y: Cause at first, I was actually only asked to come in on a trial basis. Ah, this was before we met, by the way. 

K: Rite... 

Y: I was given this bunch of demos that sounded like a home recording with just this guy singing with piano accompaniment and then told to pick the one I like best. 

K: Rite, rite. 

Y: Back then, my first pick was MOH-EE-WA. 

K: That’s rite! 

Y: I told them that was my pick. 

K: Rite, that’s what happened! Ye picked MOH-EE-WA an' Yasashisa. 

Y: Well, MOH-EE-WA was my initial pick. When they later asked if that was it or if there was another, that was when I picked Yasashisa. But for some reason they gave me NaN-NaNw instead. That was what it was like from my end. 

K: Ohhhh so that’s how 'twuz...truth wuz, ah wuz actually havin me some anxiety issues ‘round that time... 

Y: Oh, really? 

K: Yea...the affection ah had t'wards mah songs were kinda too strong an' ah really wanted that feelin shared, adamant that people who dun' feel the same aren't people ah wanna work wit’. Ah even sent an email detailin my feelins, y’all. Cuz they were sendin mah songs one after ‘nother to this Yaffle sound producer guy so ah wanted desperately t'clearly get ‘cross what ah felt. It started out wit' sumthin like, “I am sending you this email in the hopes of further explaining some things to you about NaN-NaNw.” An' towards the end 'twuz like, “I know full well that this may sound ridiculous on many levels but I strongly believe that this song, together with the other two songs that were also selected, is going to be one that’s extremely important to both myself and to various other people. Please, I implore that you give it the love it deserves.” Sumthin like that.  

Y: Yeah...I definitely remember reading that. 

K: Ya remember? 

Y: Yeah, yeah I do. I recall. 

K: Readin all this out loud is so embarrassin tho...anyway ye replied, "I understand well all that you have said. Please rest assured that everything I am given to work with, I make sure to pour my entire heart and soul into and give them all the love they require. Let’s work together to put out some of the best works we can. Looking forward to an excellent partnership.” 

Y: Hm. That’s simpler and more concise than I remembered. My wording, that is. LoL.

K: Heh. Anyway, 'twas this part, “I make sure to pour my entire heart and soul into and give them all the love they require.” It struck a chord in meh an' had meh convinced.  

Y: Oh really? 

K: Yea. Cuz ye dun' really show yer feelins much which makes it hard t'know what yer thinkin most o' the time. So hearin that ye were actually goin all out an' pourin yer entire heart an' soul inta em wuz comfortin which made meh think ah should try trustin ye a lil mo'. 

Y: I see. I think I might have reacted to the whole email thing a bit negatively at first.  

K: Fer reals? 

Y: Yeah. When it first came, I expected it to sound something like, “Ya better do this properly! Don’t be half-assing it, ya hear?!” Which I was planning to retort with a, “What, you think I’m doing this just to mess around??” But then you were really polite and careful with the way you phrased it. 

K: Yea, like ah said earlier, ah wuz feelin super worried so ah wuz pretty much like an anxious parent goin, “Please, please take good care o'mah babies!” So if ah had ta be honest, yer prolly not wrong an' ah was basically sayin, “Ah’m beggin ye PLEASE do this prop'ly!”  

Y: Well, it was only like that in the beginning ‘cause we were both still very new to each other back then.  

K: Yea... 

Y: Plus we were going to be making songs together and all... 

K: That’s exactly rite... 

Y: So we had all these things going on between us. 

K: Yea, we sure did... 

[FIN]

The first time I saw Kaze perform live was at a show with an audience of about a hundred. Advance tickets were sold out. Setlist was comprised of well-known covers and the original songs he was already performing live back then were NaN-NaNw and Choshinochatte.  The immensity of his skills needs no introduction, and whether it be witnessed within videos on YouTube or live in front of an audience, his desire to entertain and deliver high quality enjoyment to the audience is an overpowering one. 

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From that point at the very beginning to the LOVE ALL SERVE ALL Stadium Live four years later, it’s been a long journey of carefully finding ways to introduce the existence known as Fujii Kaze to the world. It’s a process that involved many long discussions, sharing of ideas and working around issues which were all done as a team (Kaze himself included, of course), and it still continues to this day.  I could tell from the get-go through the very first performance I experienced that Kaze already had it all: singing ability, piano skill, audience engagement, you name it. But the more I learn about him as a person, the more apparent it became that he isn’t somebody who can or should be simply thrust to the world, as the chances of it leading to grave misunderstanding is pretty high.  As such, I figured it‘d be wiser to first show people what he is able to offer as a musician, instead of simply suddenly unveiling to the world who he essentially is as a person. It was just a gut feeling I had. 

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Another aspect I had to consider was the fact that he’s been uploading videos of himself performing piano covers on YouTube since little, so anyone who knew him from those would only know him as a cover artist there, as he hadn’t shared any of his own original works. As someone who got to hear his original songs pretty early on, I had to tackle the issue of how and when best to present them, as I felt the initial performances that would introduce him to the world should be centered on them and not the covers that he does.  If a number of people got to hear his music first, then perhaps the time for us to introduce him to a wider audience would come. But would people really understand simply from listening to his music? 

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See, even for me, it took a while before his nature finally sunk in. In the earliest stages, I didn’t know anything apart from what I was able to see on the surface. Even now, I cannot confidently claim that I know everything there is to know about him.   The way he thinks and lives and the fact the he is a vegetarian, I couldn’t help but to stop and ask myself how old this kid really is. Based on physical appearance alone, he doesn’t look particularly out of the norm age-wise, but the moment I got a better glimpse of his mentality, the number my mental calculation came up with was 109. And the more I got to know him, the more certain of it I became. What’s scary is, this was the impression that I got right from the time I first met him and, even until now, it hasn’t changed. I know I sound absurd but even as the depth of his soul seems bottomless, there are also very simple things that he’s somehow managed to remain completely ignorant about. This yawning gap that he has, it‘s pretty astounding.   This is veering off topic a little but here’s a recent example:  Kaze: Would ye mind stoppin by a convenience store? Ah wanna withdraw me some monies.  --At the parking area of a convenience store-- Me: Aite, imma wait here for ya.  --5 minutes later-- Me: (What’s taking him so long? He said he was only gonna make a withdrawal.)     --A wild Kaze then hesitantly appears at the entrance. Looking lost, he shuffles his way back.-- Kaze: Ah couldnae wit’draw nothin. None o’ these cards seem ta work. :((   Me: Wha? Why? It clearly says ATM there on the entrance.  --And so I ended up going in with him-- Kaze: So ah wuz tryna insert mah card in ‘ere... Me: ...this is a Loppi. It’s a ticket machine, not an ATM.  Kaze: Ooooh! No wonder it wuz spittin out tix instead~~!  And this isn’t the only example. Things like this happen a few times on an almost daily basis. Anything that doesn’t bear a significant interest to him, he is completely ignorant about.  

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HELP EVER HURT NEVER was released in 2020.  And in 2022, it was followed by LOVE ALL SERVE ALL.  Both albums carry his core message. It is delivered musically-- embedded within the words, melodies and music videos. According to him, everything he feels he wants to sing about up to this point, has already been sung.   The LOVE ALL SERVE ALL Stadium Live in October is where we wanted to showcase everything Kaze had to offer musically. But just as we were thinking that, in came the docomo future project “KAZE FILMS,” through which the song “grace” was born. What’s even more amazing is that the director, after listening to the song, proposed that the music video be shot in India, a place that bears significant meaning to Kaze, being a big part of his roots. (I’ll be talking more about the music video itself in another entry.)  The origin of Kaze’s mindset, I feel, lies in India, where his family visited while he was still just a foetus sleeping within his mother, and where they went again to give thanks not too long after he finally came into the world.  

When the idea to hold this stadium concert was greenlit, Kaze and I first spoke about making it something that introduces both albums, with an emphasis on LOVE ALL SERVE ALL, and we’d base the infrastructural setup on Kaze’s mindset, turning it into a visual representation of sorts.  All the things that make Kaze who he is: his vegetarianism, his love for animals, and his Indian-based mindset, how do we apply these concepts to this stadium concert?  All other aspects other than the musical one were still only WIP right up until the beginning of September, and while whatever we could move forward with we did, the design aspect was still cloudy so it was absolutely serendipitous that we somehow ended up actually being able to visit the country mid-September.  

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I intend to journalize this trip here someday but for now, I’ll just say that the people who went with us were the film crew who shot NaN-NaNw in NYC, Universal’s Higashi-san, the graphic designer behind all of Kaze’s professional releases and merch so far, Motty Marui-san, the cameraman Ono-san, and the hairstylist-cum-makeup artist Matsuno-san, who was joining a Team Kaze project for the first time. With the creative team in tow, and through the sights that we all took in together with Kaze in India, we were finally able to determine the direction of the overall thematical design to take for the show.  The LASA flag, the staircase leading up, the décor in the SERVE ALL Area, the fresco decorating the stadium itself, the décor in the LOVE ALL Area, the smaller flags and banners, the sounds and the smells.   

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With this, the time where we can finally show to the world Kaze's inherent nature in the most visual form possible is finally upon us.  

Good evening.

Yesterday was the final rehearsal for the Viva La Rock 2021 stage!  

So stoked cause it’ll be a reunion with some of the stage crew whom we hadn’t worked with since the last show of the HEHT tour at Okayama Civic Hall! 

(image taken from Kaze’s app) 

This time, we’ve got a small crew comprising of stage director Ono-chan, sound PA Momi-san and Keisuke-san who’s in charge of sound monitor, Le Manipulator Ishii-chan (who stood in for Hiko-san), lighting specialist Suzuki-san and the Daichi-crew, the professional roadie crew in charge of instrument handling, and last but not least, Dachio (tl: Kento Yamada, director of a bunch of Kaze’s MVs and his concert documentaries and basically Team Kaze's go-to person for anything visual-related, aka Dutch or Dachio). 

However, Elizabeth Miyaji showed up at the studio as well, even if I don’t remember asking him to come.  

Me, confused: Eh? Why are you here? 

‘zabeth: I’m here because Yamada-san asked me. He said, “Everyone’s gonna be there! So you gotta be, too!” 

Wow! This is really heartening to hear! 

Very few things feel better than people showing up without you having to ask! 

Thinking back on it, this was what it was like back when they were shooting Running for Budokan. 

Back then, when I first asked Kento Yamada-san (the guy we like to affectionately call Dachio) to shoot the concert footage of the Budokan show, I remember also asking him something along the lines of, “It’d be really great if you could also shoot some backstage footage as well.” (At this point, we didn’t actually have any real plans to release backstage footage yet.) 

And ‘zabeth, he just showed up at the studio along with Dachio one fine day. 

Come to think of it, ever since I first laid eyes on him, I’ve never seen him without a camera  hanging 'round his neck. 

‘zabeth, does this mean you’ve been snapping shots and filming us all this time even when we weren‘t aware?  

Because it wasn’t just Kaze, whom we expected the footage to be centered on, but there were also countless pictures and footage of the rest of us BTS staff, almost all of which were taken candidly. 

From the endless amount of footage, then came the passionate editing.  

Which eventually led to the documentary itself. 

From ‘zabeth’s positioning and Dachio’s direction, the wonderful piece of work called Running For Budokan was born.  

‘zabeth and Dachio, you guys are awesome! 

Given how frequent I appear in it, though, I think it's best that I explain some things.

In the documentary, what people will see is a loud-mouthed middle-aged man, and a somewhat timid, rather shy and quiet, but pleasant-seeming young man. Just for the record, Kaze isn’t usually as quiet and timid as he comes off in there, no sir. He gets agitated sometimes by certain things and even I, at the grand old age of 46, get told off by him at times! 

But I digress. Under the ever-changing circumstances, we finally came to the stage where we wrapped up rehearsals, with nothing but hope to go on that the show will be able to go on without a hitch. 

Here’s the van loaded with equipment after rehearsal, along with the hopes and prayers of Kaze and his team! 

(image taken from Kaze’s app) 

Fujii Kaze’s all packed and ready to impress! 

...just, you know, saying. 

- he joined the basketball team in his first couple of years in middle school but by his third year, he was the captain of the go-home-straight-after-school club

- high school was way too far from home (apparently it was a 2-hour commute by train one-way) for him to even consider after-school activities so the only club he joined was the Eng one which only required a once-a-week participation on Sunday, and might as well have been a ghost sorta club since it basically didn't do much else other than existed

- high school was pretty much like a music university with the kind of courses and lessons they offer (more than half the courses offered are music-based courses)

- couldn't be arsed to come up with lyrics for the second half of Kiriganai and so copied and pasted the first verse instead but it was hard to notice thanks to Yaffle's creativity and also the director of the MV

- working with Yaffle is a stimulating experience because the guy has interesting ideas and while they may not always see eye to eye with their individual ideas, it's always good to share different ideas

- he spent most of his middle school years fooling around with his friends (this wasn't detailed in the radio show itself so here's some extra info: in middle school he and a bunch of friends fancied themselves comics and came up with their own routines which they'd show the entire school and apparently they sucked because they got booed more than applauded)

- NaN-NaNw was written with the purpose of it being a debut song in mind, which he wrote in between the time when he graduated from high school to when he left Okayama for Tokyo

- he actually already has a huge repertoire of melodies that he composed with the intention of providing lyrics in English to at some point so now these unfinished songs exist in limbo with English-sounding gibberish as placeholder for proper lyrics

- he's also got some songs that he's written in Japanese from when he was still in high school

- his folks were pretty shocked that he could sing when he finally came out to them as a singer

- he's always had the intention to sing because even as a little kid he's always liked songs with vocals better than instrumentals but his parents (or rather his dad) seemed to think he'd be a pianist instead

- he's always been dead set on being a singer, never once entertained the idea of becoming a pianist

Good evening, one and all!

The other day, I talked about working on two music videos in a single week in this Staff Journal. As today is the last day of 2020, looking back on what the year was like, it dawned on me that it was a year where our concerted efforts lie mostly with shooting these videos. We've released seven of them so far so I thought we could take a short trip down memory lane and recount what crazy 2020 was like for us.

It's been just about a year.

Since Kaze's first individual concert that was held at LINE CUBE in Shibuya, that is. This was the show Kaze decided to first announce to the world his original song, NaN-NaNw. It goes without saying that the first music vid that's going to be released would also be that of NaN-NaNw. As someone whos's been making and uploading videos on YouTube all by himself all this time, it's a matter of course that he has very clear ideas on what he wants in this first music video.

Calling ourselves Team Kaze, a small team of staff all came together and brainstormed on everything right from the concept, to the director, to the location.

Call it great timing, but we were able to find ourselves a director willing to take on the job and we were able to have a series of in-depth discussions with them.

See, not only is the entire song in Japanese, it's also sung in a rural dialect. But. The location is NYC. (Kaze himself wasn't too particular on the location though.)

The final story concept was something that came about after many in-depth back-and-forths between Kaze and the director to brush it up. Casting auditions including for the role of the angel were held at the location city right up to the last minute when, three days before we were due to travel to the shooting location, the original director had to bail on us for reasons I'm not able to disclose.

※Please refer to the vlog on YouTube to find out a bit about the progress we were able to make with said director and the concept of the song itself.

Remember, this was Kaze's very first music video. And it's slated to be shot at an overseas location, no less. But here we are, served with this shocking news, three days before we had to show up on set.

"Let's just give up on NYC and rethink the concept from scratch while we search for a new director. I mean, we could just delay this whole thing, couldn't we?"

Were some of the suggestions brought up within the team at the late night discussion table. But Kaze wiped everything clean off it when he said:

"Ah can't think o' another concept that'd work wit' this song."

By the way, just so you know, I actually tabled a suggestion where we go to India with a skeleton crew and shoot with just a single camera instead. But it got voted down pretty quickly which was just as well. Lol.

SEP Nakagawadani-san, Itabashi, the cameraman Kamiike-san, the lighting engineer Takahashi-san and Chris, who took over directorial duties, accompanied us on this journey with its beginnings full of ups and downs, starts and stops. The location coordinator Chika-san and Michael were also a huge help.

(Img taken from Kaze's app)

Here's a little anecdote from the shoot I thought I'd share:

You know the emotion-sharing scene where Kaze was in this room surrounded by a whole bunch of the cast who were all dressed in white? That was actually the very first scene shot which Kaze was initially none too happy about. He complained to me, "Ah never once imagined that the very firs' scene o'mah very firs' music vid wud see me lip-syncing in fronna whole buncha foreign peeps ah've ne'er met X(." He sounded nervous and I probably didn't imagine that hint of agitation I detected in his tone, either.

Also, because shooting was around Christmas season, NYC was alight with decorations. Which complicated things for us as the music vid had absolutely nothing to do with the holiday and we now had to be extremely careful to avoid anything to do with it getting into any of the shots.

When shooting the opening scene of the music vid, the image Kaze, the director and the cameraman each had for it in their respective minds were all different so tensions were slightly strained until everyone eventually came to an agreement.

Reckon it can't be helped, since the original director is no longer on board.

The last scene shot was at the subway. After wrapping up, everyone in Team Kaze and the film crew all felt as though we've created something pretty dang awesome.

And we weren't imagining it either because as a result, NaN-NaNw  won this year's MTV Video Music Award Japan for the R&B category. I can't even begin to describe how happy this made us all.

(Img taken from Kaze's app)

This song and its MV turned out to mark a good start for us all so it felt like all the things we went through for it paid off.

After we've returned to Japan, without waiting for the music vid's release on 24 Jan, we went on ahead and dove headlong into pre-pro for MOH-EE-WA.

Since MOH-EE-WA is a song with hip-hop vibes to it, we figured we could engage a director who's at home with the genre, preferably someone young? Were some of the things Kaze and I talked about and it just so happen we were fortunate enough to have crossed paths with one Spikey John earlier, who not only hail from Okayama just like Kaze, they're pretty much the same age, with Spikey having been just one school year above.  We met him some time in early Jan.

But, whether it was the folly of being about the same age, or both being extremely dedicated to their craft, as things turned out, they were pretty far from smooth-sailing. Having been able to meet the man was a highly fortunate thing in itself still, though. Lol.

Basically it's like this:

The ideas Spikey thought were great, Kaze didn't see eye-to-eye with.

The things Kaze wanted in, Spikey didn't think much of.

For someone who's usually pretty chill, Kaze got uncharacteristically worked up by the communication issues he seemed to be having, at one point going, "There's no way ah can work wit' someone ah can't co'municate on equal terms wit'. Wha he expect me ta do? Git down on mah knees an' beg?"

And from Spikey's end, it was, "Yanno, maybe I'm not the right guy for this."

So while trying to placate Kaze on one hand, on the other I spoke with Spikey to help him gain a better understanding of Kaze. It took several meetings but the two were gradually able to close the gap between themselves and understand where the other was coming from.  Once they've gotten to the point where they've gained respect for one another, well, I'm sure you were all able to see the work that resulted for yourselves.

After the video's official release, Kaze well and truly considers Spikey as one of his bros and Spikey proclaimed himself a Kaze fanboy.

(Img taken from Kaze's app)

Goes to show how important it is to trade ideas, even if they clash.

Whoa, seems like I've been going on forever about this and I'm not even near the end yet. Mind if I took a break? I'll continue in the next entry, promise!

Oh right, since we're looking back on the past, I figure I should let you all in a bit on how Kaze and I met.

"Oh hey, so I've been pretty into this young dude on YouTube lately," Asako Miyazaki, the guitarist-cum-vocalist of SHISHAMO, the band I was managing back then, told me one day. That was how I first learned about the existence of one Fujii Kaze. If memory serves, that was probably around the end of 2017.

Back then, I was just like, "Oh, is that so?" But half a year later, in the summer of 2018, I found myself reaching out to him, and was promptly rejected as he told me, "A bunch of people who claimed to be from the industry have already gotten in touch, so I think I'm good, thanks."

Me, dejected: D8 T___T

So I placated myself by thinking that it didn't have to be me, that he'd for sure be able to meet someone worthy, who could do proper justice to his talent.

But Asako, bless her generous soul, wouldn't hear of it and urged me to not give up, telling me , "Dude. Don't just throw in the towel. Keep trying."

"Wow. That's really big o' her. Me, ah wouldn't be able to find it in meself to jus' han' mah own man'ger over ta someone else," was what Kaze said when I told him about it later. But really, this is just one of the countless things that make Asako an extremely cool person.

After that little push from behind, I gathered up my will to try again and eventually managed to get to a point where he was willing to meet with me at Okayama Station to hear me out.

There, we settled into a cafe and spoke at length and, on that very same day, he brought me home to meet his folks.  In the days after, I made a few more visits to Satosho to explain to Kaze and his folks my ideas and hear what they have to say as well. We communicated a lot and, well, here we are.

They say that fate or destiny is what brings people together and I can't stress enough the truth and importance of that. Thinking back on what led us here this New Years Eve has just renewed my conviction of it.

Lastly,  I'd like for you all to know that the warmth you have so generously shown us was what kept us going throughout this whole year. Trust me when I say we can't begin to thank all of you enough. Really, thank you all so very, very much! I hope you'll continue being generous in your support through 2021, as well.

Looking forward to seeing you all in tomorrow's piano livestream!

Just a month-or-so plus since I've learned of him, I've purchased both his albums in physical format (and I very rarely ever do that), despite wallet-emptying shipping charges (that's the problem with the Japanese music industry smh) and listening to them over and over. Not even once was I compelled to skip a single track. I've never heard an artiste whose B-sides, while being B-sides, are so good they should be in a class of their own. Dude and his music, all of them, seriously have some insane groove and vibes.

I've never been much of an R&B or jazz listener (though I do have favorite tracks from these genres) but this guy mixes them in along with other genres so well, and in ways noone else inside or outside of Japan had thought of, without it sounding experimental in the least (that's the thing with jazz and why it's so hard for mainstream listeners to get into...it's interesting but there's just usually way too much going on in it), that it's, well, genius, pretty much.

His songs sound both old and new at the same time and have something in them for everyone. They're also imbued with so many interesting music things that whether it be a professional musician or a casual listener, it never gets boring even after multiple listens. They're also easy to sing along to if you're not particular about output quality but hella hard if you are. Oh and they all also sound so different from one another, you'd think you're listening to music composed by different people and not a single 25yo stoner-esque dude...

Don't even get me started on his lyrics. And his piano-playing. And his singing. This guy is just insane levels of talented. I seem to really admire this sort, especially if they come complete with good character and a nice personality. Like a certain professional figure skater.

So for those of you who already fans of him, and those of you who don't know of him but are interested to find out (not that there are so many of you here, this being Tumblr and all xD), stay tuned. ;)