Interview] From now on, I want to be as excited as I want to be!　Marei Uchida released her third album "HIKARI" filled with a sense of liberation!

It has been three and a half years since the release of her second album "Magic Hour," and now the full album by Marei Uchida is complete! We want to blow away the stagnant atmosphere that has covered the world for the past few years and go to a place where the light shines and enjoy music as much as we want. The album contains a total of 15 songs, including new songs born from this desire, as well as previously released singles. The total length of the album was 1 hour and 6 minutes, making it a very voluminous work.
A live tour following the release of the album will be held in 2022. Her music, full of hope, is sure to lift the spirits of many listeners!

In the three and a half years since my last album, I feel that both myself and the environment around me have changed a lot.

──Your second album "Magic Hour" was released on April 25, 2018, so this is your first new album in about three and a half years.

Uchida Three and a half years, it feels strange, like it was a long time, or like it passed in a blink of an eye, but I myself have changed a lot. I think I have changed a lot, and I think it shows in this album. I used to be the type of person who never wanted to let go of the hand I once held with the staff and other people I met on the job, but I think I have shed that way of thinking and feel more comfortable. This album contains songs from the time when I had not yet become comfortable to the present, so I can see the transition in my thinking. I found that very interesting when I listened to it myself.

─ The oldest song on the album is "youthful beautiful" (title track of the 8th single released on October 17, 2018).

Uchida It's amazing to know that "SSSS.GRIDMAN" was broadcast 3 years ago. When I was making "youthful beautiful," I wanted to change from the person I am now. I put aside everything that colored me, and shot the music video wearing a white T-shirt, jeans, and heels because all I had was my femininity. But then again, I had to carry many things with me over time. I experienced various encounters and partings, and I also made choices about what I had. Although our work is not like a job transfer, the environment changes day by day, and there were times when I had trouble keeping up with the changing surroundings. However, I think it was during the past three and a half years that I gradually freed myself from such suffering.


─ The album contains 5 title songs from singles from "youthful beautiful" to "Strobe Memory" (12th/released on May 12, 2021), "Flag Ship" (9th coupling), "Love for All Stars" (10th coupling), and "Strobe Memory" (12th/released on May 12, 2021). The album contains 15 songs, 7 of which have already been released. Of the 15 songs in total, 7 are previously released songs.

Uchida: I think we have released many singles in the past three and a half years. I feel that I have steadily released singles one by one, making music that was necessary for me at that time.

─ ─ There are eight new songs. What kind of songs do you think you have gathered?

Uchida: There were songs that were decided based on a clear concept, and others that led to new encounters with creators, resulting in 8 songs with a wide variety of styles. One of the most significant of the songs was the one about "going back to the basics". I felt that we were reunited with songs that were full of the character of Marei Uchida.

─ The second song, "Never ending symphony," is a return to the roots, with lyrics, music, and arrangement by R.O.N., who composed and arranged the first single, "Souken Innocence.

Uchida I would also say that the 14th song, "YA-YA-YAN Happy Climax! This song was written and composed by Q-MHz and arranged by Q-MHz and Yashikin, the same production team that composed our second single "Gimme! Revolution" was led by Tomoya Tabuchi, who composed the second single "Gimme! Revolution", and he made it into a song like version 2 of "Gimme! Both songs are reworkings of the worldviews of the first two singles, so I was very enthusiastic about recording them.

─ Why did you decide to go back to your roots?

Live 2021" in February was one of the triggers for me. I love the moment when the audience gets excited at a live performance, and I realized once again that I want to create a very happy and enjoyable space. This song embodies that, so I went back to my roots. But when I first heard "YA-YA-YAN Happy Climax!" from producer Akihiro Tomita, I thought the tension of the song was too high and "not quite right for my current mood" (laughs).

─ ─ As the title suggests, it is a very high-spirited song (laughs).

Uchida: Many of our recent singles, such as "Heart Beat City," had a calm atmosphere, and the lyrics were focused on the current world, so I wondered about the tension of this song. Now I'm glad we included it, and I can't wait to perform this song live.

─ ─ "Never ending symphony" is an emotional rock number.

Uchida: The English lyrics that are partially included in the song are also effective and cool. The lyrics look back to the moment when I made my debut as an artist and convey the idea that I have not forgotten how I felt back then. If you see me singing them now, I think you will have a flashback to those days, and you will feel that I have grown up from them.

─ ─ In terms of the lyrics, I think what you just said is condensed in the part "I love that time when I was barefoot, I'll never forget it".

Uchida When I think back on my ability to express myself back then, I wonder if I would have been able to sing this song. I was gasping for breath just singing one song, "Wound Innocence" (laughs). The black gothic one-piece dress I am wearing in the music video is also a bit too close to "Wound Innocence," and at first I thought it was a bit gaudy, but when surrounded by the color guard in white and waving bright red flags, the contrast stands out. I was glad to see the contrast between the white costume and the bright red flag waving color guard.


─ I heard that "Never ending symphony" was recorded in the same studio as "Wound Innocence".

Uchida That's right. I remember that I really struggled when I recorded "Wound Innocence" in that studio, so I felt that I had grown up here as well. This studio had red walls and a rock-like interior. That made me feel good. The key of "Never ending symphony" is high and difficult. But I didn't want to lose the momentum of the song, so I sang it in the original key.

I heard that people naturally feel more excited when they are surrounded by red.

Uchida: I understand, it does burn (laughs). (Laughs) Whenever I perform live, I always wear red nail polish. I feel like it gives me energy.