Signed checkee present】Takeshita Kajiwara also challenges himself to write lyrics and compose music! A piece that is like a roadmap of my life - Interview with Takehito Kajiwara on the occasion of the release of his mini-album "Road Movie" (Part 1)

Takehito Kajiwara released his 2nd mini album "Road Movie" on September 28, 2022. In this album, he wrote the lyrics for two songs and also took on the challenge of playing the same songs.

Akiba Research Institute looks back on the production of the album, which strongly reflects Mr. Kajiwara's own musicality, and discusses the key points of the album, focusing on his thoughts on each song and behind-the-scenes stories about the recording, music video, and jacket shooting.

T.Y.: First of all, I would like to ask you about the title of your album, "Road Movie". When did you decide on the title?

Kajiwara: The title came later this time. We started by selecting and producing the songs, and then worked out the concept after the songs were finished. Of course we had a certain axis in mind, but we decided to come up with a title based on the inspiration we got from the finished songs. First, we chose three songs that had been written, and then I wrote the music myself.

T : Did you listen to the atmosphere of the three songs first, and then find the right balance between them?

Kajiwara It had been a long time since I had written a song from scratch, so it simply took a long time to complete the work, which is one of the reasons why the order in which the songs were completed was so slow. It was really hard work (laughs). (Laughs.) It took a long time because I had to repeat the process over and over again, sending what I had played on the acoustic guitar to the arranger, having him work on it, adding my own stuff, and then putting it back together again.

Once I had all the songs, I thought, "Well, what should I title them?" I felt that each song was close to my life. I decided on "Road Movie" because I wanted to make a theme out of what I had felt and experienced in my life, not something that dealt with fantasy, but something that was born out of the path I had taken in my life, including a song I wrote when I was a college student. I also chose a handwritten title because I thought it would be better to have a human touch than to have a tight title. That's one of the reasons why I always use a handwritten style.

TM: In the last interview, you said that you wanted the music to be "close" to the listener.

Kajiwara Yes, that's right. I thought it would be better if it was something that was more like me, so I wanted to keep the feeling that it wasn't too set in stone, rather than something that had a solid shape.

Taken together, I think the cover gives the impression of getting lost in the world of the album, which is wonderful. How did you come up with this shape this time?

Kajiwara We shot the jacket at the same time as the music video, but like the title, we didn't have a clear concept from the beginning. We shot the jacket in a variety of situations and worked with the photographer to find something that fit the image. Since I am very particular about what I want, I had a lot to tell them, so I thought it would be best to try various things to find the best fit, rather than to decide on one thing and then shoot.

TM: Did you have an image of nighttime in mind at first?

Kajiwara: To be honest, I was thinking that daytime would be fine. But the song "otona," for which I shot the music video, had the image of being in between the conflict of wanting to be a child and having to become an adult, so I thought that night would be a good choice.

──How was the shooting of the music video?

Kajiwara: It was shot in a dark place, so I couldn't really imagine what the video would look like. But I think the music video turned out very well. The concept of "otona" is the feeling of swaying between a child and an adult, as I mentioned earlier. I am now 27 years old, but to tell you the truth, there is a part of me that wants to stay the same as when I was 17 or 8 years old, and there is a part of me that feels like I will always be a child. In a positive sense, I could say that I have not changed, but in terms of communication and the way I deal with people, which are necessary for living in society, I cannot remain a child forever. I feel that the nighttime town combined with the scene of the children trying their best to become adults is a nice touch to the film.

TM: Why do you want to be 17 or 8 years old?

Kajiwara It's because I want to have the sensibility and feeling I had when I was in high school. For example, back then, there were many things that troubled me in a very small community: in school, in the community, and in my family. Nowadays, our environment has expanded, we communicate with many different people, and our worries have increased, but I feel that I was able to focus on smaller things back then. I don't want to forget that feeling, and I don't want it to fade away.

Tatsuya: About "Umi no End Roll" and "Kimi to Boku to Boku to Bokutachi no Kiseki", what are your impressions of the songs and the recording process? Could you tell us about your impression of the songs and the recording process?

Kajiwara "Umi no End Roll" is the first track on the album, and it was also the first to be finished. Mr. Fuwari (Dream Monster), who wrote the coupling song "Orange" for the first single, knew the mood of the lyrics, the feeling of the time, and how I wanted to revise the song, so he was able to give me the right image. I have the impression that the song went exactly as I had envisioned. The song was released just before "Anisama 2022" because I wanted people to have a chance to listen to it before the end of the summer.

When recording "Kimi to Boku to Bokutachi no Kiseki (You, Me, and Our Kiseki)," I talked at length with Yosuke Yamashita, who wrote the song, about where to take the theme. When I read the lyrics, we agreed that it could be taken as a romantic element, or it could be taken as a response to something larger. In the end, we came to the conclusion that it would be better to think of it as a song for fans. Of course, I would like to leave it up to the imagination of the recipients and let them listen to it freely, but when I thought about the image I wanted the song to have when I was recording it, I decided that I wanted it to be directed toward the people who love me. It was also easy for me to imagine that the song would be a song that I could move and sing at live performances.

I was able to imagine the image of a song that can be moved and sung at live performances. Is "Wasurenai Hito" a brushed-up version of a song you wrote when you were a student?

Kajiwara Yes, it is. The first song was already written with drums, bass, guitars, etc. I left the first part as it was, changed the lyrics and arrangement of the second part, and then changed it a lot by adding more arrangements and so on.

Kajiwara Is the reason why you changed the lyrics and arrangement so much, because the situation and feelings are different from when you created the song?

Kajiwara That's part of it. I wanted to keep the feelings I had back then, so I didn't change the first part. Looking back on that time, I thought about how I would write the song now, and added to it or changed the arrangement. Originally, it was a straightforward band arrangement, but I added more instruments and made it more dramatic. I myself like songs that simply convey the message, and I have done many such songs in the past, but this time I felt like being dramatic, so I gave it a try.

Do you think there is a possibility that some of the songs you made in the past will be released in the future?　I was just wondering how much stock you have (laughs).

Kajiwara Not a lot, but I guess you could call it a small piece. There are quite a few pieces of music, so if there is an opportunity, I may modify them and release them.

T : I think it is valuable for your fans to be able to feel the past and present Kajiwara by using past songs as a basis for your music.

Kajiwara Sometimes artists say, "I made this when I was in high school. I think there are things that can be changed and arranged now, so I would like to keep those kinds of songs in mind.

I'm looking forward to it. Could you tell us about the production process of "Bokura no Melody," which you created from scratch?

Kajiwara This was the most time-consuming song to make, partly because it had been a long time since I made a song from scratch. I'm not the type of person who can just sit down at a desk and say, "Let's make it!" So I kept that in the back of my mind while going about my normal daily life, waiting for a moment when I remembered something and came up with an idea (laughs). It took time to get to that point first, and then even more time to communicate with the arranger. ...... It was a repetitive process of creating and throwing things together. We talked about keeping this song simple and using a band arrangement, but in the end we wanted to make it a bit quirky, so we used a variety of sounds to make it more impressive.

T : Could you tell us what first came to your mind as the key point of this song, the chorus, the introduction, the lyrics, or the melody?

Kajiwara There is a chord in the song that goes down like a staircase, and when I was playing the guitar, I thought, "I like the way it goes down. When I was playing the guitar, I thought to myself, "I like the way it goes down." From there, I gradually created a melody that fit. While working on the melody, I also wrote the lyrics at the same time. I was kind of humming the tune, but I started to flesh it out in words, so once I had an image in my head, I was able to write the lyrics and the music at the same time. It took a long time, but I was really satisfied with the result!

Continue to the second part of the interview!
⇒ " If this is such a fun live, I don't want to end with just two songs" - Interview with Takehito Kajiwara on the release of his mini-album "Road Movie," released after his first Anisama performance, Part 2.

(Reporting and writing by Shinobu Tanaka, Photography by Shohei Kanazawa)

Product information

2nd mini-album "Road Movie" / Takehito Kajiwara

Release date: September 28, 2022 (Wednesday)

◆Manufacturer: Avex Pictures, Inc.

◆LIVE disc (Limited First Edition)

Mini album + Blu-ray 7,460 yen (tax included)

CD]

1_End roll of the sea

2_otona

3_Bokura no melody

4_Kimi to boku to bokutachi no kiseki

5. Wasurenaiinaiyou

6. Wasurenaiinaiyou -Acoustic Guitar ver.

7. Bokura no melody -Acoustic Guitar ver.

Blu-ray Disc

Live footage of "Takehito Kajiwara 1st ONE MAN LIVE Here I am at you" and bonus tracks will be included.

◆MV disc

Mini album + Blu-ray 3,520 yen (tax included)

CD] 1.

1_End roll of the sea

2_otona

3_Bokura no melody

4_Kimi to boku to bokutachi no kiseki

5_Wasurenaiinaiyou

Blu-ray Disc

Music Video and making-of video will be included.

Normal Edition

Mini Album (CD) 2,420 yen (tax included)

CD] 1.

1_End roll of the sea

2_otona

3_Bokura no melody

4_Kimi to boku to bokutachi no kiseki

5. Wasurenai na basho

Please note that the contents are subject to change without notice.

Outline of Present Campaign

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Commemorating the release of Takehito Kajiwara's mini-album "Road Movie," an autographed checkerboard present!

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