On May 12, 2011, "Strobe Memory," the ending theme song for the TV anime "SSSS.DYNAZENON," which began airing in April 2021, was released by Marei Uchida. This emotional number was written, composed, and arranged by the same singer-songwriter RIRIKO who wrote "youthful beautiful." During the recording, she dared to try singing with less emotion.
She also says that the music videos (MVs) for the coupling songs "Canary" and "Strobe Memory," in which many female creators participated, were also singles in which she was able to express herself in many different ways than in the past. We interviewed the always spontaneous Marie Uchida.
Strobe Memory" is a song that honestly expresses my innermost thoughts and feelings.
Strobe Memory" is the ending theme song for the TV anime "SSSS.DYNAZENON" that started in April. The lyrics, music, and arrangement are by singer-songwriter RIRIKO. You wrote, composed, and arranged "youthful beautiful," the ending theme of "SSSS.
Uchida: Yes, RIRIKO provided the music for this song as well, following the trend from "youthful beautiful. The song starts quietly with just piano and singing, but it opens up toward the chorus, and it is very pleasant to feel the emotions flow naturally. The lyrics are not very wordy, but they honestly express what's on my mind and have a youthful feel to them. I really liked the song when I sang it.
───The lyrics and the sound are full of adolescence. The fast-moving piano is also very good.
Uchida It's beautiful. DYNAZENON" when we recorded it, so when I listened to "Strobe Memory" without taking it apart, I got the impression that I was kind of alone. I felt that it portrayed a protagonist who is alone in her room, pondering her thoughts, and unable to make a move in her daily life as she worries about what to do. Even so, the lyrics convey the idea that it is a very precious thing to be strong in one's desire to reach out and grab what one wants to grab.
─ ─ The lyrics seem to project your feelings onto the shining lights of everyday things, such as street lamps, traffic signals, and the color of the sky, don't they? Indeed, the image of the main character trying to reach out to the light came to mind.
Uchida There are many beautiful and glamorous things in the world, and I think it is important to not just seek them in our hearts, but to run and grab them. I often feel this when I sing my own songs, so I could really relate to these lyrics.
───There comes a moment in the latter half of the song when the main character, who has been troubled for a long time and remembering the beautiful past, starts running. The lyrics and melody have a liberating feel to them, and they really hit home.
Uchida: There is a sense of release of something that has been bottled up in your heart for a long time, and it is rewarded here. Whether you have reached the place you want to be or have given up, the atmosphere of the song changes drastically.
─ ─ That's the part that doesn't play in the 90-second size of the opening of the anime, isn't it?
Uchida That's right. So you have to listen to the full version to get to the part, and I'm looking forward to seeing how much the lyrics are connected to the future storyline of "SSSS.DYNAZENON.
─ ─ How was the recording process?
Uchida: I was really worried about how to sing the right way. In my past songs, I have often directly expressed my feelings such as "I love you," "I miss you," "I want to be with you," etc., but this song depicts feelings that are not so black-and-white. So, instead of singing as I felt, I kept holding it in and holding it in, and even in the chorus, I felt it was better to sing in a restrained manner.
─ Did you find a new singing style for yourself while singing the song over and over again?
Uchida Yes, that's right. I thought, "This is the best way to sing this part. It was difficult for me to sing at 70% of my usual level.
Uchida──Your vocals are filled with various emotions while you keep your voice down, aren't they?
Uchida Yes! That's why I couldn't get a pleasant facial expression when I sang (laughs). The song is not refreshing at all. The tune of the song is refreshing, though (laughs). (Laughs.) The emotional expression of the song was really not a simple one.
─ ─ I thought this song was rock in the sense that the emotion was directed inward.
Uchida Yes, I think it is rock, too. The previous single, "Heart Beat City/If the Clouds Clear Someday" was a song that fit me musically, but in terms of the muddiness inside, this song is probably more like me (laughs). I think of myself as the type of person who crawls on the ground. I don't always feel happy or joyful, and when I am writing songs, I have a kind of "what the heck is wrong with me" attitude. So, I feel that these songs are closer to my feelings.