Top Posts Tagged with #crossing threads

MeseMoa. - The dark world view spun together with halyosy and Bunkei

This is an interview from Music Natalie published on 24th October 2019. Here’s the link for the original Japanese text and the photo gallery.

I’ve done my best to translate it but there are still a few places that I’m unsure about. If you notice any mistakes please let me know and I’ll do my best to rectify them.

MeseMoa. have released their new single 'Crossing Threads'. The complete opposite of their previous release 'Heisei Paradigm Change', which brilliantly expressed the beginning of the new era, this single is a dark number about a complicated romance set to a serious melody. Their heartrending voices and beautiful harmonies make the finished piece worthy of a listen.

To commemorate the single's release, in addition to the 9 members we invited the songwriter halyosy, who has been working with them since their days as Musumen., and the YouTuber Bunkei, who directed the music video, to join us for an interview at Music Natalie. We of course heard about episodes from the song's production and highlights of the MV, but also about how they came to be a team and how it feels to work together.

Interviewer: Kawakura Yukiko

Photography: Soga Mime

The reason he began writing songs for MeseMoa.

· First, could you tell us about how halyosy and MeseMoa. met?

Nibansenji: Originally he was friends with Shirofuku, right?

Shirofuku: Right. We were both active on NicoNicoDouga.

halyosy: Shirofuku was uploading dance covers as an 'odorite' and I was uploading vocal covers as an 'utaite', but we often watched each other's videos. Actually, I wanted to see him dancing live, so I went to see him perform at an event in Akihabara long before Musumen. became a thing *laughs*

All: What!?

Aoi: You're just a fan!

halyosy: Ahahahaha. After that we exchanged contact details, and then one day we went to karaoke together.

Tomitake: How was it? Were you disappointed? *laughs*

halyosy: Not at all. I was surprised when he shoved the table out of the way and suddenly started dancing in the karaoke booth though.

Nichan: Heh!?

Aoi: So Shirofuku can be that active…

Nozakibento: And? What did you dance to?

Shirofuku: I'm pretty sure it was by Perfume. After that we discussed about performing together at one point, and halyosy even composed a test song for it, right?

halyosy: Yeah, I remember that.

Shirofuku: Before Musumen. began, I was in a trio called perfumen, so he brought along an EDM type song influenced by Perfume. I was amazed by how high quality it was. In the end we never released that song, but when Musumen. was born I knew I wanted him to be the one to make our songs.

· So that's how it all began.

halyosy: I kept telling him that I wanted to make a song with him, so later on he came to me and said, "Actually, I'm thinking about forming a dance cover group," and asked if I would write an original song for them. That was the beginning.

Aoi: And that turned into our 1st single 'War Cry ~What's Wrong with Pretending to be an Idol!~'

halyosy: Right. But at first it was just meant to be a commemorative thing. We were kind of joking around *laughs*

· But from then halyosy became something like MeseMoa.'s exclusive songwriter.

Shirofuku: That's right. We're always so grateful to him!

halyosy: And I to you.

· When did the members other than Shirofuku first meet halyosy then?

Kimagure Prince: I think the first time I properly spoke to him was the recording for 'War Cry ~What's Wrong with Pretending to be an Idol!~' He was really famous on NicoNicoDouga, so of course I knew a bit about him already.

Nozakibento: I was really nervous that first time.

halyosy: Really??

Nozakibento: Yes, because you were such an amazing person……

Tomitake: 'were'?

Nozakibento: Of course you still are now! *laughs*

The new songs are a challenge from halyosy

· Now that you've been working together for over 6 years, what is halyosy to MeseMoa.?

Tomitake: Ummm, a very close friend?

Aoi: A papa?

Kimagure Prince: A slightly older brother?

Aoi: Eh, only 'slightly'……?

halyosy: I always get teased like this *laughs*

Tomitake: He takes it like a champion though. No matter how much we tease him, he accepts it without an issue.

halyosy: Wahahahaha

· What do you think about the appeal of halyosy's songs? Maybe there are parts that draw out your own abilities, or songs that resonate with you?

Kimagure Prince: I get that a lot.

Tomitake: halyosy's songs often include our own feelings or obstacles we're facing at the time in the lyrics, so we can always sense ourselves in the songs. There's quite a deep meaning.

Nokkuso: He also decides carefully who gets which part in the song. Like, he'll get someone to sing certain lyrics because it suits them as a person, or something.

Shirofuku: In regards to overall quality, halyosy is really particular. I'm sure other songwriters can be fussy too, but he puts so much care into the most minor sounds or lyrics. That's why whenever we get to hear the demo songs, they're immediately recognisable as halyosy's songs.

Tomitake: halyosy songs are very characteristic.

halyosy: I'm glad to hear it. By the way, I'm always surprised to see which sounds the choreographers choose to pick up on. That's why I can't even be careless when it comes to the fine details.

Tomitake: Like how sometimes they don't focus on the main sound, but the rhythm in the background?

halyosy: Exactly that. I often watch the dance and think, 'Wow, they really chose to use that bit?'. Another difference between writing for MeseMoa. and for other artists is that when I'm reaching the final stages of production, I get sent a video of the members performing the choreography so I can check that there's no gap between the music and the video.

MeseMoa.: Really?!

halyosy: Say for example there's a part where the formation suddenly spreads out wide, then I know that the music for that section is important, so I can brush it up for the final piece. The production of the song progresses at the same time as the production of the performance.

Nichan: I feel kind of overwhelmed. I didn't realise you went quite that far with the details for us.

Tomitake: Also, every single song is really good! Each one is easily superior to the last.

Nichan: What I personally think is characteristic of halyosy's songs is his frequent repetition of phrases. The songs are catchy and linger in your mind.

Forgeru: I also sense from the songs that he's trying to get us to challenge new things. It's always exciting to receive a new song, and it really feels like we're taking a step forward.

Kimagure Prince: It's like we're being tested, but in a good way.

halyosy: I'm so happy to hear that. I don't often get the opportunity to hear their impressions on the songs in person like this.

· Do you also feel like you're setting challenges for MeseMoa.?

halyosy: I am. Every time I see them live, their skills have improved again and it makes me consider what I could try and work with for the next song. For a recent example, when I saw them singing, dancing and acting for a musical, the songs had really beautiful harmonies. I was surprised to hear a chorus that made such good use of their 9 voices, so I decided to create that effect myself, and that turned into songs like Aurora Kyokugidan and Pacific Tenboudai.

Crossing Threads was born from wanting to make something dark

· What side of MeseMoa.'s charm are you hoping to demonstrate through Crossing Threads?

Nibansenji: This song especially was made because of how well halyosy understands us all. For example, because my voice is quite low and husky, he gave me parts that make best use of that. The dialogue at the beginning also came about because Oshoi (halyosy's nickname) said he wanted to hear a certain side to my voice.

Tomitake: My parts were also really easy to sing. He made them all in the most comfortable register for me.

halyosy: That's the 'I need them…' part, isn't it? I got them all to sing in their preferred register and then combined them to make harmonies.

Forgeru: Because he's known us for so long, he has a perfect understanding of the breadth of our voices.

Nozakibento: And also what makes each person unique

Kimagure Prince: This is kind of a different story, but he often takes notes of the random things that we say during recording sessions. Even when it's a really pointless conversation, he stops us so he can write it down.

· Do you use those kind of things in the lyrics?

halyosy: I've done that, yes.

Kimagure Prince: Also he does this kind of research by asking us about recent relationships within the group.

Forgeru: Often I hear, 'Who have you been close with recently?' or 'Which member are you hanging out with the most?' *laughs*

Tomitake: He's also thinking about the wishes of the fans *laughs*

· What were your impressions of the new song?

Nibanseji: To be honest, my first thought was that this was another difficult song. But also that if we could properly express what Oshoi had made for us, then we could show yet another new side to ourselves. Because of those thoughts I was able to work hard on this song.

Tomitake: For me it was more like, 'Finally!!'

Nibansenji: The first time I heard it I knew you'd love it.

Tomitake: It's exactly my taste. I love it so much that I listened to the demo version over and over. I feel like our recent singles can be split into either really bright and cute songs, or really dark and miserable songs. I personally prefer the darker songs, so for me this was like the moment I'd been waiting for.

· halyosy, where did the original concept for Crossing Threads come from?

halyosy: (to Bunkei) It's finally your turn! Please go ahead.

Bunkei: Then I'll tell you my side. I first got involved in the creation of MeseMoa.'s songs around the time of Muddy Water (released in August 2017). First a meeting is held with me, halyosy, and MeseMoa.'s producer. That's when the producer will announce what kind of thing they want to try next, but sometimes those ideas are concrete and sometimes they're just based on a general theme. This time they said they wanted to make something dark.

Aoi: That's vague! *laughs*

Bunkei: To start with we worked off the basis of a dark theme, and from there we discussed what kind of music we wanted to use, or what we wanted to express in the music video. Then a few months later halyosy returned with that 100 point-worthy song. It's amazing how he always makes something worth full marks.

halyosy: This time we particularly wanted to emphasise the visualisation of the single, so I just did my best to make the most fitting BGM.

The variety of MV interpretations is also enjoyed by the members

· Could you tell us some secret episodes from the production of the music video?

Bunkei: Because halyosy always produces 100-point-worthy songs, I'm desperate to respond in kind. Since he played a lot with the music again, I felt like I had to figure out something similar for the MV…… But there just wasn't enough time to produce the video that Crossing Threads deserves. The lyrics are so deep that I honestly wanted to pack the video with as much as possible, so much so that a 2 hour movie would probably have been more suitable.

halyosy: I'd love to see that.

Tomitake: If halyosy's songs are involved then I'd love to watch a movie that just uses music as its motif. I think it could stand alone as its own work.

Kimagure Prince: I'd like to try that one day. Back to this MV though, I think this is the darkest content we've included so far. It's been a while since we made something where we don't smile even once, and even when we weren’t filming everyone appeared kind of serious.

Bunkei: There wasn't even anyone messing around really, was there?

Tomitake: Even those of us who usually joke around were repressing ourselves *laughs*

Bunkei: Perhaps the general mood of the song was also helped by the atmosphere of the location.

Nozakibento: But for the dance scenes and the parts where we're moving around, everyone balanced it out. Personally I really like the interlude where Aoi, Pun-chan and Forgeru are dancing as a trio. Their dance styles usually differ, but this time they were beautifully in sync, so I really hope people can see it soon. It makes me want to shout Bravo!

All: *laughter*

· The main part of the MV sees Nibansenji in the central role. The drama scene where he clashes violently with Aoi left a huge impression.

Aoi: I shouted so much during the filming of that. I wasn't actually supposed to, but I just naturally did it without realising.

Nibansenji: His shouting shocked me so much that I found myself drawing back.

Bunkei: That was kind of overwhelming *laughs*

Nibansenji: The acting scenes this time were all really difficult. I felt like all the people involved in creating the song, the music video and the dance had slightly different interpretations. If I include my own thoughts, then there's 4 different interpretations to work with, so while acting I was worrying about which one I ought to rely on most. I'm sure there's no right answer, and Oshoi himself said that he likes it when multiple different perceptions come together, so in my mind I was just telling myself to do what I thought was best……but that was still difficult.

· Does halyosy purposefully not tell you his interpretation of the song?

halyosy: That's right. No matter which song, I never tell 100% of my interpretation. That applies to Bunkei as well. I'd like him to express the story so that it can be interpreted in many ways, so I deliberately try not to reveal the basis of my thoughts. There's also the sense that I'm writing the lyrics as the first step in the creative process, then comes Bunkei's video as the second step, and the enjoyment of the fans becomes the third step……I like the way it spreads.

Tomitake: Have you seen the comments section on YouTube? The discussion around various theories is amazing. Lots of people are making connections with some of our previous songs and creating their own stories out of it. If I have even a little bit of spare time I like reading those theories *laughs*

Bunkei: Ahahahaha. It's interesting to see how various songs are connected according to the fans. Like halyosy, I also hope that people will be able to watch the video and interpret it in their own way. Perhaps they're naturally connected simply because halyosy, the members and I are involved in each of them, and perhaps also because in the music videos so far I've often chosen the roles based on each member's character.

Nibansenji: If each person who watches it can have fun by creating their own stories……then I'm fine with that.

Tomitake: It's also fun for us to read about too! Sometimes people come up with incredibly interesting stories, so once I started reading I can't get to sleep!

Bunkei: Some of the stories are so good that it makes me a little jealous *laughs*

I'm definitely going to make the very best video for them!

· Having all these people gathered together for an interview is a really valuable moment, so finally we'd like to ask MeseMoa.'s creative support halyosy and Bunkei for a message to the members.

halyosy: The combination of my music and Bunkei's videos is of course designed to draw out MeseMoa.'s current abilities, but also contains the hope of getting more people to find out about them. I do feel a sense of pride that we're the ones who can draw out those different sides to the members, but don't you agree that the most important thing is to help people find them through the song and the MV? That's the starting point necessary to get people to come to their live performances. I'm constantly thinking about what kind of things we can attempt, so I hope people are looking forward to the next time. I hope I can level up my songs at the same pace as everyone's improvement in singing ability.

Bunkei: I was originally uploading dance covers on NicoNicoDouga in the same world as the members, so to think that we would meet again and form this kind of relationship…you just never know what'll happen in life, but I'm really glad about it. I'm confident that I can understand everyone the best as a director, so I always think that I'm definitely going to make the very best video for them. Each time halyosy produces a different type of song, and each time the members tackle it and take themselves up a level, so rather than supporting them it feels more like I'm growing alongside them. Let's all get halyosy to nurture us together!

MeseMoa.: Woo!! *applause*

Kimagure Prince: (to halyosy) What do you think?

halyosy: Leave it to me!!

All: *laughs*

halyosy: I say that, but I also want to keep everyone together until I've finally finished with all the ideas that I have in my mind.

Kimagure Prince: I'm so happy right now, because I can really sense how much the two of them care about MeseMoa. We too must do our best so we can respond to those feelings.

We're like major artists now

· What are your thoughts on MeseMoa.'s future plans and enthusiasm?

Shirofuku: Having completed our previous hall tour (T/N: You can read the report of the Pacifico Yokohama concert here in Japanese), I feel like we demonstrated our growth very quickly with this new single. This is mostly in reference to the dance and the vocal harmonies, but in this single we attempted some of the things that we'd challenged on the tour as well. First of all I would like people to really enjoy Crossing Threads, and after that our live house tour TIME TRAVEL.6 will begin in November. We're playing smaller venues that basically knock off an entire 0 from the capacity of Pacifico Yokohama, but I think that playfulness or spirit in general is very MeseMoa. so I'm happy with it. I hope this will be a tour where we can do the things we want to and continue to level up.

Kimagure Prince: Because it's a live house tour, I'm looking forward to performing at a much closer distance to the audience. The tour's title is TIME TRAVEL.6, so we intend to perform songs that are so rare and nostalgic that they might seem like an illusion to some fans. I'd really like people to come and have fun with us.

Nichan: On a personal note, I think we were able to sell out Pacifico Yokohama, our largest capacity venue so far, because of everybody's cooperation, so I'd like to visit various places in the country to say thank you.

Kimagure Prince: There's also our plans for next year……

halyosy and Bunkei: Wait, what?

Kimagure Prince: I can't say anything publicly yet, so can I whisper it to you? *whispering*

halyosy and Bunkei: Eh?!

· I suppose that means the readers will have to guess based off those reactions.

Kimagure Prince: That's right *laughs* Sorry.

Aoi: We ourselves thought, 'Damn, we're like major artists now.' *laughs*

Kimagure Prince: But also, we're going to have to work hard for this. We're gonna get fired up.

Forgeru: Let's roll up our sleeves again and get cracking.

Nokkuso: Next year we'll all be working harder together, so for now please come and have fun with us on our live tour!

Trending Tags

Last Seen Tags

#crossing threads

Trending Tags

Last Seen Tags

#crossing threads