{"id":4507,"date":"2022-04-01T03:16:34","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T03:16:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/?p=4507"},"modified":"2022-04-01T03:16:45","modified_gmt":"2022-04-01T03:16:45","slug":"blog-interview-mr-kiji","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/2022\/04\/01\/blog-interview-mr-kiji\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog interview: Mr. Kiji"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n
Hello, Mr. Kiji. \u00a0how are you?<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Hey there! I’m fine. I am in perfect physical condition.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Congratulations on the release of \u25a0Yin! How does it feel?<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
I am very happy and fulfilled to have found my own style, which I have been searching for a long time.<\/div>\n
I’m also grateful to Jon, the owner of Solar, who has helped me find my own unique style.<\/div>\n
I’m very interested in what kind of scene and who will be listening to this EP.<\/div>\n
If I could, I would ask everyone who has heard it what they think of it.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
What is your favorite song?<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
The Endpoint of Elegance is the first track. It is the track on the EP that best expresses my personal style.<\/div>\n
The others, of course, I like as well, and I think they are the best compositions of the songs, each with its own personality and role. I think they are the best compositions, because they are the seven tracks that won out over a huge number of bad ones.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
What was the easiest and most difficult part of the recording process?<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
It took about a year to record. Recording itself is always smooth and fun.<\/div>\n
But sometimes I think it’s difficult because there are so many intriguing things in today’s society.<\/div>\n
I want to watch a lot of movies, and I want to watch silly web pages.<\/div>\n
There are so many temptations now. But I have to turn it all down and focus on the music, because that’s the most important thing.<\/div>\n
Once I start recording, I have no other interests than music.<\/div>\n
OPN, an artist I admire, once said that making music feels like a gift every day, and I think that’s so true.<\/div>\n
I am so happy to be able to make music.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
You are an artist from Japan, how did it all start?<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
I originally played guitar in a band. At the time, I loved the tight, good feeling sounds of bands like The new master sounds and gilscott heron. I still love them.<\/div>\n
It was the French electro movement around EDbanger records that started my electronic music career. I was only 17 or 18 at the time, but artists like Justice and boysnoize were very popular in Japan, and I was incredibly attracted to them. They were real stars for me. I also loved fashion.<\/div>\n
After that, I listened to all kinds of electronic music.<\/div>\n
I think Theo Parrish and OPN in particular have a direct influence on my music.<\/div>\n
There are many artists I respect, but I still especially look forward to listening to Theo and Daniel’s new albums.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
What did you listen to growing up?<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
When I was a child, I had a Carpenters CD at home, so I listened to it a lot. After that, I was listening to the same things that were popular in Japan with all my classmates at school. But when I was in junior high school, a girl friend of mine lent me the best of suga shikao (a Japanese funk-rock artist), and I remember the first time I listened to music by myself.<\/div>\n
From there, I listened to every great disc I could get my hands on at the local rental store.<\/div>\n
At the time, I still didn’t know what was good about Prince, Pink Floyd, etc.<\/div>\n
I listened to as much music as I could get my hands on every month.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Your sound is based on electronica. What synthesizers do you use for recording?<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
I use a software synthesizer, ARP Odyssey, to produce most of the sounds.<\/div>\n
I don’t really understand the difference in sound between hardware and software.<\/div>\n
I feel that software is better suited for me because I can instantly produce the sounds I want to produce. I can save my settings.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
How do you start a composition session?<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
I have a clear goal in mind, and I don’t just work on it.<\/div>\n
It is a process of trial and error, day after day, until I get a texture that I think is good.<\/div>\n
Sessions can start with a rhythm, a vocal sample, or anything else.<\/div>\n
My music is somewhere in between ambient, outsider house, and many other styles. So there are tons of tracks that I have completed but rejected. I reject any track that I feel I could have made without me.<\/div>\n
It’s not music where a good bass drum and a good hi-hat are all you need. It’s really difficult.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
COVID has had a huge impact on the creative industry, what kept you motivated?<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
I’ve always made music at home and I’m not the type to go to parties often.<\/div>\n
So, making music itself was not affected before and after COVID.<\/div>\n
But I stopped eating out and traveling to avoid infection.<\/div>\n
So when I’m not making music, I’m taking more walks with my girlfriend. We walk in the park and eat take-out bread. After COVID, I’ve become more familiar with the species of birds that live in Japan.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
What have you learned about yourself over the past couple of years?<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
I’m turning 30 next year, and more and more things don’t work out if I don’t make plans.<\/div>\n
When I was in my early twenties, I could devote hours to something just on impulse, but now I realize that I often waste time if I don’t plan well.<\/div>\n
So I have to plan and stick to a time schedule.<\/div>\n
I eat dinner from 7pm to 7:45pm.<\/div>\n
Make music from 8pm to 11pm.<\/div>\n
Go to bed at 01:30.<\/div>\n
And so on.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Have you learned any new skills?<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
I’m learning a lot of things in order to meet the label’s requests for releases on Solar Phenomena, and the same can be said for the projects I’m working on now.<\/div>\n
It’s a constant process of trial and error, trying to figure out how to reflect my own style in a sound that not only fits the left field sound, but also fits the label.<\/div>\n
I am very thankful to my bosses for their accurate feedback. They give me the opportunity to grow.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
What music are you listening to now?<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
I’ve been listening to ambient tracks a lot lately. I don’t listen to ambient music to soothe myself, but to get excited musically. I’ve been listening to Jana Irmert’s The Soft Bit a lot lately.<\/div>\n
Her detail is amazing. It’s really beautiful.<\/div>\n
I’m listening to new music every day, but there’s just too much to say about it all.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
What are you looking forward to doing next?<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
I’m working on finishing the project I’m working on for the next release.<\/div>\n
After that I will work on some ambient tracks.<\/div>\n
After I finish that project, I’ll work on the album. I only have 2 songs done yet.<\/div>\n
It will be the first album that will be a collection of all my styles up to this point.<\/div>\n\n\n
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