Interview] Suzuko Mimori releases new album "tone! A colorful compilation of the past five years!

Suzuko Mimori, who celebrated the 5th anniversary of her debut as an artist this year, will release her 4th album "tone." It is a powerful work that includes 4 singles and coupling songs released since October 2015, plus 7 new songs for the album, and the writers of the new songs include HISASHI (GLAY), Shikura RIPE, and others.
Until now, Suzuko Mimori has established a clear concept for each album. However, this time around, each creator has taken the liberty of creating their own ideas, resulting in a rich variety of songs, and as the album title suggests, this is one album where one can enjoy the changing shades of color!

I want to continue to be the Suzuko Mimori everyone wants to see!

─ ─ First of all, congratulations on the 5th anniversary of your artist debut.

Mimori: Thank you very much. I've been taking my time with my music activities for the past five years, so it doesn't feel like it's happened in the blink of an eye, but on the contrary, I feel like I've finally come this far. We have released albums consistently and have been able to hold live concerts every year, so the years have been so rich in content that I can clearly remember each year.

─ What do you think has changed between when you first debuted and now?

Mimori: When I debuted, I didn't really understand the image of Suzuko Mimori as an artist. I felt like I was riding in a boat that everyone on the Mimori team had prepared for me, saying, "This is the way it should be," but as I performed more and more live shows, I began to feel within myself that I wanted to do things differently. As we went on to perform more and more live shows, I began to have more and more ideas about what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. Compared to when I debuted, I think my independence as an artist has grown considerably.

─ ─ You have come to understand the direction of Suzuko Mimori as an artist, haven't you?

Mimori: That's right. I want to be what everyone wants me to be, and I want to meet everyone's expectations, and I have come to think that this is the direction I want to take.

─ ─ When I saw your live performance "Tropical Paradise" last year, I also felt the spirit of entertainment to entertain the audience.

Mimori: I had a lot of fun at that live performance, and I made many suggestions such as "I want to become a mermaid and be born out of a shellfish! I made a lot of suggestions like "I want to become a mermaid and be born from a shell! I felt very happy when I saw that all the fans enjoyed that stage.

─ In terms of the music, there seem to be a lot of songs that are intended to entertain the fans.

Mimori: Yes. After all, I want to sing a lot of songs that will get people excited at live performances.


──Do you feel that you have achieved the future that you had imagined at the time of your debut?

Mimori: At the time of our debut, we had no idea what would happen five years from now. So, my desire has been growing every year, and I'm having trouble (laughs).

─ Did your desire to do more things increase as you gained more experience?

I am not 100% satisfied with my current position after 5 years of experience, but I feel that I am in a blessed environment where I can do what I want to do while having fun. The Mimori team is tight-knit and we are like comrades. I would like to continue to challenge new things in the future, and continue to be the Suzuko Mimori that everyone wants to see.

─ ─ "The Suzuko Mimori everyone wants to see" is an important point.

Mimori: I don't want to remove that point. This album has a different feel from the past albums, but I think it is filled with Suzuko Mimori's personality.

───Is the 4th album "tone." different from your previous albums?

Mimori: I have been releasing conceptual albums, like my 1st album "I love you" was a collection of love songs, or my 2nd album "Fantasic Funfair" and 3rd album "Toyful Basket" were based on the concept of amusement parks and toy boxes, but this time The single songs that were to be included in the album ranged from soft and gentle to cool, so I tried to create the album without setting a concept for the album as a whole. Since there are so many different types of songs on the album, I chose "tone." as the album title, which means "hue" or "tone.

───How did you decide on the title "tone.

Mimori: Actually, I first came up with a title like "Princess Chameleon" (laughs). I thought that mimicking various things would suit the voice-over artist.

─ ─ Even so, "Chameleon Princess" has a strong impact (laughs).

Mimori: Because she is an insect (laughs). The staff said to me, "Chameleon is a bit like ......," and I simply rejected the idea. When I wondered if there was any image that would resemble a chameleon, the color chart came to mind. I said to the staff, "Oh, that's a tone," and they said, "That's fine," and so we came up with "tone. At first, I named it "tone" to mean "hue," but then I realized that it could also mean "tone," and I think it turned out to be a very good title for the album.

─ ─ The order of the songs was also wonderful, and I was able to enjoy the various musical styles, changing shades little by little.

Mimori: The new songs for the album were also created freely by the respective artists, and I think it became a colorful album. There were moments when I wondered if I could handle the mix of cute and cool songs, but when I put them together, they turned out very well. We were able to create a good balance of cool songs in some parts, and some lighthearted songs in others. I'm looking forward to seeing which songs everyone will recommend, and I wonder if that will help me branch out in the direction I'm going in the future.