'If I Sing It, It's Akibakei! Haruko Momoi completes a new song she wants to sing in 2017! Interview with Haruko Momoi on her new single "Hoshizora Dancing

As the original Akibakei artist, singer-songwriter Haruko Momoi has been at the forefront of the Akibakei scene since her debut in 2000. Her new single "Hoshizora Dancing," released on November 8, 2017, is packed with an unforgettable pop and straight-ahead rock sound.

The title track, "HOSHIZORA DANCING," is a song about the thrill of a premonition of love, and the coupling track, "D-I-Y ~Kimi Iro ni Tsumete~," is a song about the DIY spirit that only Ms. Momoi can bring. Ms. Momoi, who not only sings the song but also wrote the lyrics and music for both songs, talked a lot about her thoughts and message behind the songs!

Akiba-kei" is a spirit that transcends genres!

─ ─ How did you feel when you sang the new song "Hoshizora Dancing" in front of your fans, which you performed at a recent live concert?

Momoi: I usually write songs while thinking about when I should sing them at a live performance, but this time I had the image of performing the song after the most exciting song, so I was happy to be able to do that.

The previous song "Jun-Ai Marionette" was the opening theme for the TV program "Anikarubu! (Animax), a TV program in which I appear regularly, so I was imagining that I would encounter various things in line with the theme of the program. So I created a song that I would like to play at a live show.

─ Many people have a strong image of your music as "the Akiba style," or a so-called "hammering sound," but I have the impression that in the past few years, your music has become more band-like and live sounding. In the past few years, however, I have the impression that the band and live sound sensations have become stronger. I feel that these sensations have exploded especially in the past two albums.

Momoi: In the past, there were not many people making music with such psychedelic or 8-bit sounds, and I thought it would be interesting to incorporate them, so I was proactive about it, but now I think it would be better if they appeared only when necessary.

People often say to me, "You always do things the same way, don't you, Momoi-san?" But I don't think they would say that if I did the same thing all the time. I think they say that because I have done something new and different in my own way.

I have been battling the same dilemma since the breakup of "UNDER17," and I have been thinking, "This is what moe is! This is what Akiba-kei is! I think that if the people who send out the work become "this is moe" or "this is Akiba-kei," then the pioneering of that genre is over.

For example, if you are bound by the idea that "moe is the one with pico-pico 8-bit sounds" or "moe is the one with little girls' voices", you are parodying your own past.

As I sing in "Sekaiju no AKIHABARA de," there really are "AKIHABARA" all over the world. When I was invited to an event overseas, I was actually guided to such places, and I thought, "Oh, this is definitely AKIHABARA! It's like, "Oh, this is definitely AKIHABARA!

I think the reason I am invited to events in those places is because I have been calling myself "Akiba-kei" since around 1996, and people overseas recognize me as the "real Akiba-kei.

So, I should be more confident and say, "I am Akiba-kei! I want to appeal to people that "Akiba-kei" is not about "this kind of sound," but about a kind of "spirit" that transcends genres! I want to make a statement that this is Akiba-kei.

That's how "Hoshizora Dancing" was born.

─ ─ "No matter what I do, if I do it, it is Akiba-kei.

Momoi: I have recently reached a point where I feel that I can have that level of confidence. Still, there is a part of me that wants to live up to everyone's expectations. The overlap between the two is what makes my songs pop.

HOSHIZORA DANCING" is actually about an otaku

─ ─ "HOSHIZORA DANCING" is a beat rock song with a pop melody that also has a nostalgic feel. What was the main point or message you focused on in the production of the song?

Momoi: The song "There is no such thing as a life without mistakes," is something I really believe. I am sure everyone has times when they wish they had done what they should have done back then, and at my age, I have had such experiences, but I still feel that "I am here now because of what I did back then, so it can't be helped" and "I have to make it better with who I am now". I personally think that the melody of the chorus is very good.

Personally, I think the melody of the chorus is very good, so I tried to keep that melody in mind. My previous work "Jun-Ai Marionette" is more like a combination of the band's sound and my voice, but for "Hoshizora Dancing," I thought from the beginning that I would just focus on the melody and the vocals.

─ ─ The refrain part of "Chest is Burning" is catchy, isn't it?

Momoi: If we did it that way, it would leave room for the audience to do something when they came to the concert.

─ ─ When you write a song, do you write it with the expectation that your fans will get excited at a live performance if you write it in this way?

Momoi: Well, in the past, it wasn't common for fans to get excited at live performances, so I would write songs with the idea of "How about getting excited like this? But nowadays, they get excited freely in completely different places than I expected. So this time, little Momoi is only in the "MUNAMIWAGI! I made a blank space and made it look like a "MU-NO-WAGI! I dared to create a blank space so that the audience can get excited in any way they want.

─ At first glance, the lyrics seem to be a song about the beginning of love that could apply to anyone. ......

Momoi: The lyrics are analogous to ordinary love, but the main character in this song is an otaku who has found a new character or thing to love (laughs).

─ Ah!　So it's "a love that will never be fulfilled.

Momoi: I'm very conscious of that kind of thing...The Beatles' "Hey Jude" is a song by Paul McCartney about John Lennon's son Julian, but when normal people hear it, it sounds like a song about comforting a friend who has a broken heart. I think that's what pop music is all about. I think that's what pop music is all about. By not mentioning specific names or words, it becomes a work that can be listened to by everyone. That is what I always want to create.

──Momoi-san, I have the impression that you often sing straightforward songs about the mental images of otaku, but that is not the case this time, is it?

Momoi: There was a time when it was fun to make people "grin" by using words that only young people and those who understand them would understand, but now that many other people are doing that, it seems as if the first one to do so wins. It is also normal to see "line" in idol lyrics. When I was singing "Mail Me," this was the only song that talked about e-mail, and the only other one was Aya Matsuura's "Dokkidoki! When I first heard it, I thought, "A major idol is singing about e-mail!　This era has finally arrived! I thought, "This is finally happening!

However, I don't think it's the right time for me to use such words to bring out newness to the song. It would be great if people would think, "This is also very Momoi, isn't it? It's difficult, though.

─ ─ It is true that around 2000, e-mail was still only used by a limited number of people.

Momoi Nowadays, everyone is using "LINE," rather than e-mail. A while ago, I included the word "My Miku" in the lyrics of a song called "Pluto in Love," but I think people may already be saying, "I don't know what you are talking about.

─ ─ By using proper nouns, there is a possibility of losing the timeless universality of the song.

Momoi It depends on which side you take. Do you want to make it interesting and say, "This was the time when people were talking about my miku," or do you want to make it something that can be sung at any time? Since "Mail Me" was my debut song, I was afraid to use the term "matching terminals," but I'm glad I did because people still say "terminals" today (laughs). I think it's good to be nostalgic in the sense that it captures the era.

But on the other hand, I think it might be fun to take a different tack and make a song that is like an airwave song, using current events and buzzwords from each year on a whim.