"Doubting the growth that's right in front of you"
Reol appears in the 4th installment of the recruitment project "Follow Your Heart & Music". In response to the theme of the project "Challenge", Reol offers the new song "Utena", for which she collaborates with dancers MIKUNANA in the Music Video. Natalie spoke with Reol about her thoughts on Utena, which was written to "express civilization through music".
"A long awaited dance collaboration"
--What kind of impression did you get when you heard the theme of "Challenge" for this installment of the recruitment project "Follow Your Heart & Music".
I thought "Thank you" for the theme of "Challenge". But, on the other hand, I'm not a very positive person, so I didn't know what I should do. The song I released last year "Saisaki" also followed the theme of "Challenge". This time, I wanted to express "Challenge" in a slightly different way. In fact, for last year's "Follow Your Heart & Music", I checked the MV in real time. Passepied collaborated with a Calligrapher, and Kami-sama (Kami-sama, I have noticed) made a very interesting video.
--While watching the other MVs for "Follow Your Heart & Music", what kind of collaboration did you want to do?
For about a year, I'd been thinking I wanted to collaborate with a dancer. With this project, my wish has come true.
"Expressing civilization/culture through music"
--You've provided a new song "Utena" for "Follow Your Heart and Music". Was this song written for the project?
Yes. The concept was already there, but it's a new song written with the "Challenge" theme in mind. In the beginning, I spoke with GigaP, who co-wrote the music and handled the arrangement, and said I wanted to make a strange song. I heard that 5 pairs of Artists were participating, so I wanted to aim for the top position, and asked him what kind of music we should create. After "Jijitsujo" (Full album released in October, 2018), I was planning to record 4 songs for a new CD. I wanted to make a conceptual sound source that forms one work across all 4 songs. I thought it would be interesting to express the 4 major civilizations with a 4 track CD by incorporating one thing from each civilization that they are known for. It's not something that is taken directly from Mesopotamia or Egypt, but more of a sense of these 4 civilations inside myself. With this in mind, when I received the offer from "Follow Your Heart and Music", I wrote the new song "Utena" using the idea I had for one of the civilizations I was going to create.
--I see. However, In Utena, there are lyrics that cast doubt on prosperity itself, right? You don't think the development of a civilization is something to enjoy.
It's from the perspective that civilizations that advance too much will be destroyed. I question whether human beings degenerate when things become too convenient. When I did a live performance in China at the beginning of this year, I dropped my iPhone somewhere. Surprisingly, not many people can speak English, so translating is impossible without and iPhone. I can't communicate, so I can't find out where I am. A long time ago, it was convenient to travel abroad even without a Smart Phone. Now, I realized that it's become too much of a convenience, and I felt like I degenerated as a human being.
--Then that personal experience was the inspiration for the lyrics to "Utena".
When things are made more convenient, is it not said that humans have made progress? I wrote "Utena" with this theme in mind. Utena means "high place", but it's closer to the tendency of humans to build a tall building to express their power. I was thinking "Is there a deep relationship between human desire and buildings" when I rote Utena.
"Working with Professionals"
--Why did you choose MIKUNANA as your collaboration partners?
From the beginning, I had decided to collaborate with dancers. While I was looking for someone to present an offer to, I saw NANA-chan in the MV for Clean Bandit's "Solo". Even though she was dancing in the style of a Maiko (*Apprentice Geisha), NANA-chan danced with allot of emotion. I was fascinated by her power of expression, so I decided to make an offer to the Unit that NANA-chan is a part of along with MIKU-chan. If I'm playing the role of the "Master" who's creating the "Utena", then I wanted MIKU-chan and NANA-chan to play the role of ones assisting me.
--Up to this point, you've showcased dancing during your live performances and in your MVs. What was most stimulating about this collaboration?
I was already stimulated before we even started working on the project. First of all, the two of them are very stoic. I think that people who compose music are similar in this respect. I had to train my body, and I was allowed to join in their group lesson. Even though I'm their senior, I learned like I was a junior.
(*The interviewer uses the word "Shigeki" which means "stimulus". I'm not quite sure how she and Reol are using it. There might be a better word to replace it with like "inspiration" or "excitement", but I decided to keep the original word. It sounds weird, but it's more of a literal translation)
Since the 2 members of MIKUNANA-chan are tall, when I'm in the center, it creates a nice conctrast.
Because of our physical differences, it was difficult to fill in movements in the choreography. By incorporating Vogue-like movement, MIKUNANA helped me to shine in the center position. The Director, Toshi Atsunori, wandered around and kept moving the camera, and MIKUNANA would immediately respond to whatever his requests were. For example, he might ask for some free movement with a desk, and allow them to improvise. Their response to things like this were very professional.
--How much were you involved in the production of the MV?
I asked the Director, Toshi, to create some images using CG, and project them using LED screens. The storyboard artist did a great job, so I just made corrections where I thought it didn't line up with the world view of "Utena". Toshi Atsunori took care of the overall presentation of the MV itself.
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