EXCLUSIVE: Interviews With All 4 Anisong Artists at I Love Anisong Sydney 2019!

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Have you been to Australia before?

No, it’s my first time. I’ve had friends from Australia, so they’ve always told me how great a country it was and so I always wanted to go, and I’m just so happy to be here.

Have you tried vegemite?

I haven’t tried it yet. Do you recommend it?

I would say yes, but be careful. It’s not like a normal spread, so you should put butter on bread, and then very thinly spread the vegemite. You might not like it, but you can brag to your friends; I ate it, I ate vegemite.

Oh awesome, awesome!

Which artists are the primary influences behind your style of music?

I have a lot of influences, anywhere from classical, to folk, to rock, pop, J-rock, anime. I’m a very vast listener and am a fan of a lot of different types of artists. My mother used to listen to Enya [an Irish singer] when I was younger so I have a lot of Enya in me. Unfortunately Enya isn’t really in any of my singing! Also The Beatles, punk rock, J-rock, and I’ve been listening to a lot of EDM lately.

Including yourself, there are a couple of examples of foreign, or artists with foreign background making it big in Japan (e.g. Monkey Majik, Sally Amaki) what do you think are the incentives and barriers for and against foreign artists, or artists with foreign background in relation to entering and staying in the Japanese music industry?

The music industry is very unique in Japan and sung very differently from the world. Foreign artists might be used to the way music is done elsewhere, but Japan is very very fast paced; there’s a lot of scenes, the releases are like, boom boom boom, you release an album every year, while in America it’s every 3 to 5 years. So, I think it’s the pace of how things are done is a bit of a barrier sometimes. But otherwise, the people who are successful are the ones who do what they want to do and not adjust too much to the culture. I think it works better when you try to be who you are and do what you want to do.

I was thinking that you were talking about the pace of the music itself, because it is much faster in Japan, tempo wise.

And to keep up with that sometimes is very, very difficult.

What are the biggest differences when performing in Japan and overseas? What do you like about both?

Japan is my debut country, so they’re used to what my lives are like, and they’ve seen me a couple of times and understand a lot of things. A lot of the time when I go overseas, it’s my first time there, maybe half  the crowd may not know me. It’s always a hurdle and a challenge to myself to make sure that the entire crowd is having a great time. I think in the end, it doesn’t really matter where I’m performing as long as everyone’s having a great time, and I’ve never regretted a concert I’ve done in my life.

Is there a particular goal you want to reach in your career?

Everyday, I tell myself that my ultimate goal is to be able to connect with as many people as possible, and to make connections even more vast. I to be honest don’t set future goals, because I think there is no limit to where you can be, and I just want to go as far as I can.

Since this is the Sydney Manga and Anime Show, what are your top three manga and anime?

Next page: Minori Chihara