[TRANS] Talking Rock! (Jan 2021): SixTONES Special Feature
SixTONES
This month’s bookend special is SixTONES who are making their first appearance on our magazine! They made their debut in January with the double sided A single “Imitation Rain/D.D.” with Snow Man, which also included “Imitation Rain” that was produced by X JAPAN’s YOSHIKI, and that single both topped the Oricon charts and became a million hit! Their 2nd single “NAVIGATOR” (July 2020) and 3rd single “NEW ERA” (November 2020) also consecutively gained first place on the charts and have also been invited to the year end “NHK Kouhaku Utagassen” for the first time! Furthermore, one full year on from their debut, their 1st album “1ST” will be released on January 6, 2021! They were already popular before their debut, and are an idol group who made their big break with their major debut. From listening to their previous singles, and luckily their 1st album “1ST” in advance, I can’t say if I was surprised or shocked to the core, but their expression of the rock ballad “Imitation Rain” that combined turbulence and beauty, and the vocal sense of the 6 members were all wonderful; and their skill to harmonise perfectly whilst capturing the beat and infusing their emotions to the sounds was quality on another level! I had only interviewed Kanjani∞ and Ae! Group’s Masakado Yoshinori before, and am a total novice on Johnnys (bitter smile), but they are a vocal group who’ve exceeded the image of idol groups for me! Now with my strong interest in SixTONES, the interview this time was conducted in 2 groups: Kouchi Yuugo & Jesse & Kyomoto Taiga and Morimoto Shintarou & Matsumura Hokuto & Tanaka Juri. On top of that, this is a 2-issue consecutive publication linked with our next issue, released on January 6; this time we delve into topics like their feelings one year on from debut, how they arrived to the completion of “1ST”, their music roots, what group they wish to be and what music they want to express. They told me loads!
■Kouchi Yuugo · Jesse · Kyomoto Taiga
-- We have an orthodox question for starters: you debuted with the wonderful song “Imitation Rain” which was provided by X JAPAN’s YOSHIKI-san (the double sided A single “Imitation Rain/D.D.” with Snow Man in January 2020). From there, you made constant releases with your 2nd single “NAVIGATOR” (July 2020) and 3rd single “NEW ERA” (November 2020)! They all brilliantly achieved first place on the weekly Oricon charts, and you now have your commemorative 1st album “1ST” to soon be released on January 6, 2021. Looking back on this year of huge success, what are your first thoughts?
Kouchi: Shall I say that it went by in a flash; we had spent 10 years as Johnnys Juniors, where it was a lucky thing to receive even 1 song in a year, and to now receive and record song after song with 3 singles and our first album really feels like a dream. I think this will relate to the upcoming questions, but we were given the opportunities to choose the songs ourselves for the coupling songs for the singles and for the first album as well. Being able to approach various things like that and making progress as well has made this year gone by in a flash, and feeling “what a blessed and extravagant time it’s been!” are my honest thoughts at the moment!
Jesse & Kyomoto: Ohh! (Starts clapping with respect in their eyes)
-- Ohh! (I start clapping along with them too) As expected of the leader! And as expected of the MVP of “NEW ERA’s” MV! (laughs)
All: Hahaha (laughs).
Kyomoto: You know a lot! (laughs)
-- I checked out SixTONES’ official YouTube channel (laughs). In the ‘“NEW ERA” viewing party’ where all of you watched the recently completed MV, there was a moment where you introduced that the Director-san said that Kouchi-kun’s performance was the MVP for this MV!
Kouchi: Yes (laughs). Thank you very much (laughs). And so, what I just talked about were my thoughts on this past year. I think the other 2 will give you even better answers!
Jesse: You’ve turned on the pressure (laughs).
Kyomoto: I’m not sure if I can surpass that (laughs).
-- No no (laughs). Let’s work hard and surpass it! (laughs). So, what are your thoughts Kyomoto-kun?
Kyomoto: It was exactly so that being able to showcase even one new song at concerts and stage plays during our Junior days made us very grateful. Amongst that, it wasn’t like we devoted our life and soul to it, but we treated each song like as if we were releasing a single. And as Kouchi mentioned, like “JAPONICA STYLE” (the first MV unveiled on the YouTube channel “Johnnys Junior Channel” in November 2018. The song is also included in the limited edition of their single “NAVIGATOR”.) for example, the 6 of us had chosen the songs ourselves from the demo tapes. So when our debut was decided, there was a part of me that was honestly uncertain about how involved we could be with the music production and song selection, but the staff-san trusted us deeply, and this time too, we were able to choose almost all the songs ourselves.
-- That was exactly the thing I was curious about when Kouchi-kun mentioned that earlier, have you always been choosing the songs for your own works?
Kyomoto: That’s right. Of course, the title tracks for our 3 singles were suggested to us, and even the title track “ST” for our 1st album was decided on through discussion with the staff-san. Apart from those [title] tracks, the 6 of us had chosen all the other songs by ourselves.
-- I see!
Kyomoto: The staff-san were quietly watching us on in a good sense, and respected our opinions. Moreover, I think that receiving praise for each single that we’ve released also gave us more confidence in ourselves. That’s why I think this year has opened up our music, or rather, I feel that we were able to understand music a step deeper!
Jesse & Kouchi: Ohh! (Claps with respect in their eyes)
-- Ohh! (I clap along too), are we going to clap each time? (laughs)
All: Hahaha (laughs).
Kouchi: He surpassed it [my comment] (laughs).
Kyomoto: I surpassed it? Yay! (laughs)
-- And Jesse-kun’s going to do even better (laughs).
Jesse: Ehh (laughs). Well, we had thought when we were Juniors that if we weren’t able to debut, we’d hoped “SixTONES” would be able to continue doing concerts at the least, but now that we were able to debut this year, I’d say being able to release our CD was the biggest thing. People who came to our concerts would be able to hear our Junior songs, but as expected, there would be little chance for non-concertgoers to listen to them. I think there are people who listen through our YouTube, but we aren’t listed in karaoke if we don’t have a CD debut. So being able to let our fans listen to our music normally through a CD makes us very thankful. Besides that, as the other 2 mentioned, the fact that “we’re able to choose the songs so personally!”. I strongly want to continue showcasing ourselves whilst being grateful of being in such a blessed environment.
-- I see!
Jesse: I don’t know how to say it, but in a positive sense, SixTONES wants to be perverts towards music.
Kouchi: Ohh, that’s a good one (laughs).
Kyomoto: He surpassed it (laughs).
Jesse: That’s why we chose a wide variety for the album tracks. We went pretty hard with songs that have all-English lyrics, and ones that aren’t Johnnys-like too. It’s certainly an important thing to follow the path that our senpais laid, but we want to create our own road too and make people think “there’s a group like this in Johnnys too!”. On top of that, expressing ideas like “we sing songs like this too!” through this album and making us a presence that you can’t ignore would be good.
-- That’s exactly the “presence that you can’t ignore” I felt leading up to this interview!
Jesse: My, that makes me really happy!
Kouchi: It does!
Kyomoto: Super duper happy!
-- By the way, I’m also highly curious about this, but what music have each of you listened to till now?
Kouchi: I didn’t have much interaction with music before I joined Johnnys. I had my head deep in sports. But amongst that, I often listened to energising songs by Orange Range and Porno Graffitti and such in my teens. And recently, underground Japanese rappers… I quite like listening to music of artists who only have a small number of followers and only have their music available on YouTube. Those sort of people often have honest lyrics, and their efforts to grow bigger parallels with a part of our Junior history too, and it resonates with me. So whilst I’m sending them support by listening to their music, there’s also me who’s receiving energy from them. I often listen to the lyrics in particular recently.
Kyomoto: I joined Johnnys (May 2006) and submerged myself in the Johnnys world till I was a middle schooler, so the songs I listened to of course were Johnnys, but my dance and vocal practise tracks were all songs of our senpais too. When I was in middle school 3rd grade, my friend said “let’s make a band!” for our school festival and I got excited, so I kept it a secret from the company (laughs) and wilfully played as a band in our school festival. At the time, my friend recommended Mr Children, RADWIMPS, flumpool and such to me, and I desperately learnt their songs since I was the vocalist; this led to me realise the greatness of bands. From there, I immediately listened to The Pillows and Triceratops, or otherwise Maximum the Hormone. I listen to Johnnys songs as well of course, but since then, I’d started to listen to Japanese rock more widely. Moreover, I’d want to listen to all their albums once I fall for them (laughs). So I would borrow them from my friends and listen to all of them properly.
-- It would take quite a bit of effort to listen to all of their songs if it’s a long-running band (laughs). Like The Pillows (laughs).
Kyomoto: You’re right (laughs). That’s why I’m still listening loads, and that’s really fun.
-- What about Jesse-kun?
Jesse: There was always some sort of music playing at home. My father would put on Michael (Jackson), Eminem, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Johnny or the like when he was working out.
-- Other than Eminem, all of those names were big hits and I often listened to their music when I was growing up (laughs).
Jesse: That’s right. So I’d naturally listened to rather older good songs. Because of my grandpa and grandma too, I’d watched The Drifters reruns with them and when Sawada Kenji-san appeared as a guest, I thought he was cool and searched up about him. Or there was Oda Kazumasa-san too. I listened to a wide range of music regardless if it was Western or Japanese. In any case, I’m always listening to music. It’s like, I can’t live without sound, or rather, I dislike that feeling. I always listened to music when I was on the way to school as well. Moreover, when I continued listening, I came to notice the instruments in the background and realise “ah, it makes this sort of sound”, or think “it’s surprisingly simple”.
-- Uh-huh. It’s like the sound can be very twisted and heavy, but you realise it’s actually a rather simple chord progression when you listen to it more and more.
Jesse: That’s it, that’s it. I think that’s what’s interesting. So there are times where I listen to something simply because it’s cool, or times where I listen to it because the music’s structure is interesting.
-- I see. For example, do you share the music you each like?
Kyomoto: We don’t really do we?
Kouchi: You’re right. Everyone already does before we go to a job, but we often listen to music backstage as well when we have the time. For example, I’d ask Jesse “who’s singing this song that’s playing right now?”, but it doesn’t feel like he’s sharing his music with us purposely.
Jesse: That’s really up to ourselves, or rather, we all listen to the songs we like at our own wishes, and that as a result leads to SixTONES music… well I can’t say how much it links to it, but I suppose there’s a merit in there.
-- I see! By the way, you made your debut this year in January, but your establishment was in May 2015. Did you have discussions about the group’s direction at the time?
Kouchi: We didn’t really talk about it in particular. But we were in the older tier amongst Johnnys Juniors at our establishment. It wasn’t an unspoken rule, but we had watched our senpais leave the company and join the workforce when they graduated highschool. I was already a university student and just when I was thinking about what to do, the 6 of us were gathered together to form SixTONES and I thought to take a bet. I considered this the final step of my Johnnys career and thought to devote myself to it. I think everyone had such intense feelings too, so our solidarity was stronger than other Junior groups and personally, I believe the fans felt that, as did the staff of our company.
Kyomoto: In a positive sense, SixTONES was brought up by Johnny-san with a hands-off policy. There wasn’t any particular advice like “try this” for our group’s colour, it was about us ourselves experimenting first. He would give us feedback like “it was good” or “try it more like this” afterwards, but in general, we were given the chance to do things as we wished.
Jesse: Changing our hair colour to our will was since our Junior days too (laughs).
Kyomoto: Yeah yeah (laughs). So in a good way, we didn’t worry about what others thought and were able to challenge the things and songs that we thought were cool. That all stacked up and we slowly began to receive support from fans, and I think that’s led to what we have now. We don’t take action in anticipation of what SixTONES will be like in 5 years, in 10 years time; I think that challenging whatever we think is cool at that particular moment is what’s brought us here.
-- Watching the members of SixTONES, I see that everyone has strong personalities. But there’s no one who stands out in particular. I feel that balance has been perfected already in the first year of your debut, and think that’s a terribly excellent thing.
Jesse: For example, when we’re asked “what is SixTONES-likeness?”, fans would often comment “it’s SixTONES-like” when we perform or unveil a song, but we don’t really know [what it is] ourselves. I think that’s what’s interesting on the contrary. Like there’s no need to deliberately strive for “likeness”.
Kouchi: Yeah. It’s like, the good thing about SixTONES is that each of us continue excelling in our fortes. For example, we’re terrible at dancing in sync (laughs). If we were told to dance with other Johnnys Junior groups, we’d be the only ones out of sync and stick out like a sore thumb (laughs), we’re supposed to be dancing the same choreography but we’d all be scattered because our personalities all shine through. That might be one of our group’s characteristics on the reverse. We’re always each thinking about what would be cool instead of trying to be in perfect sync. So we’ll do our damnedest for the things we want, but wrap up on the things that we aren’t good at (laughs).
Jesse & Kyomoto: Hahaha (laughs).
-- But in a good way, that means the each of your personalities have bonded to create a groove that is unique to the group.
Kouchi: I think so. But well, there were many things we failed at due to that too (laughs). In any case, we’re freely doing our best at whatever we can do right now.
Jesse: And challenging more and more things that we find interesting. Whilst we still do the things that Johnny-san had established, we thankfully have our own YouTube and Instagram channels too, so I hope to use them properly and create new things that are unique to SixTONES. But well, music is still the top priority to SixTONES out of all that.
-- I see! In regards to music which holds such importance, it began with YOSHIKI-san’s wonderful composition and producing!
Jesse: I was very grateful. And it was having both “debut” and “produced by YOSHIKI-san” come at me at the same time; it was the best surprise. Furthermore, the tonality and melody line for “Imitation Rain” is truly amazing. Debut songs are generally bright pieces, but I think this was a song that we were able to receive because it was from YOSHIKI-san.
-- It has passion and it has beauty - the balance of them is the best!
Jesse: Yes! It’s like a killer move for our debut single. I consider it to be a song that only SixTONES can sing and dance, and is also a song that’s broadened SixTONES’ musical charm.
Kyomoto: And from there, it’s like we were able to express yet another side with “NAVIGATOR” and “NEW ERA”.
-- Exactly! Your 2nd single contrasts against your 1st with an exhilarating SF-like dazzle and exhibits a progressive rock sound, and your 3rd single starts with a Japanese-like intro that blends an oriental, or even exotic taste before leading to the bridge that mellows out, and that development is very comforting; what is showcased in this first album is the expansion of SixTONES music range, and the multifaceted songs that take that a step further!
Kouchi: Yes! You’ve surpassed it!
Kyomoto: He surpassed it!
Jesse: He surpassed it!
-- “Surpassing it” has been the keyword so far (laughs), but more from the 3 of them about their 1st album “ST” which includes tracks from those 3 singles, will be continued in our next issue released on January 6!
■Morimoto Shintarou · Matsumura Hokuto · Tanaka Juri
-- We have Morimoto-kun, Matsumura-kun and Tanaka-kun’s interview next, but just as I asked the other 3 earlier, what are your thoughts looking back on this year from your debut?
Morimoto: In any case, it feels like we’ve been going nonstop the whole time. There was the stay-home period midway, but even then we continued to do what we could; it felt like we were in a marathon and on top of that, it felt like we were still running at the water stops (laughs) since we tried to involve ourselves in various things without break. We were able to release CDs and I have an image of us as a group and as individuals working on something all the time. And all of that went by in a flash too. That’s what I felt.
Tanaka: I think we were able to do many jobs that heavily specialised in music. The range of our jobs other than that of course expanded and levelled up too, but producing a CD for sale wasn’t something we were able to do in our Johnnys Junior’s days after all. Thanks to that, we were able to appear on music shows, play our music to the public and on the radio, and most recently, we had our “Imitation Rain” MV played on America’s MTV - I think it was a year where music had always taken the lead and put us in the spotlight. I have a strong sense of fulfilment from that.
Matsumura: Something about this year was the huge change that we are now able to release CDs, but we’ve been active as a group since 2015, so it’s somewhat like another stop on our journey and that nothing has changed at all. What I’m saying is that I feel like we were able to debut without changing our group’s beliefs and direction. We never lost sight of our core and it feels like SixTONES as a group rose one rank stronger, and amongst that in particular, we were able to spend more time involved with music compared to past years.
-- I see! By the way, to a degree, did everyone expect such amazing feats from this year, or did it exceed your expectations? How is it?
Matsumura: Hmm, well as Shintarou mentioned before, we had the stay-home period midway, and it’s something that none of us could do anything about, so it was hard to imagine how things would go in the year. And indeed, our 2nd single’s release date was changed due to that.
Tanaka: It was originally planned for a June release, but it was adjusted to be released around 1 month and a half later.
-- That’s right. In addition, your nationwide debut tour, “TrackONE -IMPACT-“, held across 5 cities and 18 shows from January to March, had announced that the Hokkaido and Shizuoka shows were postponed, but ultimately they had to be cancelled.
Tanaka: Yes. Something different may have come forth if we had completed it.
Matsumura: True.
Morimoto: But there was nothing we could do.
Tanaka: But, how should I say this… I had a vague idea of what we wanted to be like when we would be able to debut, but actually experiencing it and reaching such unimaginable places. There were some things that went as I imagined, but looking back at it all, I feel that we were able to be active in bigger ways than we imagined, and especially in exploring music.
-- I see. What music did everyone listen to up till now in the first place?
Matsumura: It’s always been Japanese music for me. I listened to J-pop, bands and idols too, and I like vocaloid-sounding sub-culture-like music as well. I’d never listened to Western music.
-- Is it because you simply didn’t have the chance to listen to Western music?
Matsumura: Well it’s simply my preference. I like Japanese music’s melodies, and the fact that I don’t know what Western music is singing about (laughs).
-- Well that’s true (laughs).
Matsumura: I think it’s fine that we each have differing opinions. I like Japanese music at any rate.
Morimoto: I take no notice of the genre or if it’s Western or Japanese music; I’ve listened to music based on whether I vibe with it or not. I don’t often get affected by the lyrics and choose the music based on the melody or backtrack and BPM to find “this, I like this!”. And I’m the type to repeat the one song forever when I like it. So when I was a student and liked Justin Bieber, that’s all I would listen to. Lately, I’ve consciously tried to listen to more types of music to broaden my knowledge, but there’s still more Western music than Japanese music [that I listen to]. I don’t know what the lyrics say, but I don’t really check the lyrics so (laughs). I listen for the sound and feel.
-- Then, how about Tanaka-kun who has brilliant rapping skills?
Tanaka: I started listening to music when I bought a music player and connected it to my older brother’s computer, and what I listened to there was Hannya-san, Zeebra-san, KREVA-san and DABO-san.
-- Oh, is that so!
Tanaka: That’s why the music I first became aware of was hip hop. When everyone was listening to GreeeeN’s “Kiseki” or EXILE, I was listening to Hannya-san and Zeebra-san the whole time. Rather than getting hooked on hip hop, it was more that I was captivated by the singing style of rap. For example, RIZE has a rock-sounding rap-like singing style don’t they?
-- Yes. It’s a form of the so-called mixed rock.
Tanaka: So in that sense, I’ve listened to quite a lot of rock as well. I listened to ONE OK ROCK, coldrain and SiM often and I practised copying that vocal style too. But from there, I began to want to know more about hip hop, and I’m rather surrounded by it at the moment.
-- For example, since hip hop is strong music that gives impact in all aspects such as beat, vocal style and looks, I think there’s quite a clear divide between the people who agree and disagree with the genre. What are your thoughts on this?
Tanaka: There are people who think it’s scary music right? Shall I say there’s this idea that hip hop = music done by scary people. But what I listened to initially were all each to their own. There was pop-like and stylish KREVA-san, and then there was also Hannya-san who would incorporate humour in his raps. On the contrary, Zeebra-san and DABO-san were aggressive, but they had their own distinctions, so in that sense, I thought it was “interesting!”. Well, there was the fact that that was the only music I had in my player too (laughs). But the fact that I simply thought it was cool and interesting played a big part.
-- I see! It’s unique that all 6 of your favourite music is completely different!
Morimoto: That’s true. And we don’t share it either.
Tanaka: Yeah. We understand that we all have our own likes for music.
Morimoto: I think that also links back to our own personalities.
-- On top of that, it’s not just limited to your music preferences, but upon checking your performances and unique videos on your official YouTube channel, it shows that you each have strong personalities. But there’s no single person who stands out in particular and the balance is really well tuned; there’s this image of you all being brought together well. I feel that it usually takes 2, 3 years into debut for everyone to develop their personas and settle in their roles, but SixTONES already had that down pat from your debut single… I see! In that sense, it links back to Matsumura’s comment of “we’ve been active as a group since 2015, so it’s somewhat like another stop on our journey and like nothing has changed at all”.
Matsumura: That’s right. We’ve been working as a group for a few years already. I think that balance formed naturally until we debuted.
Tanaka: Also, the 6 of us are from the same generation, so we had hung out, gone shopping, ate meals together and such before we were established as a group. The fact that we somewhat understand each other from the past plays a part too. So even when we became a group, there wasn’t any particular discussion about the group’s direction.
Matsumura: Yeah. We didn’t talk about it in particular.
-- That’s what the other 3 members replied when I asked them earlier.
Morimoto: Though of course, I think everyone each had strong feelings deep down.
Tanaka: It’s like, in a positive sense, everyone is doing their best to look the coolest without any interest in the other members; it might sound horrible when I put it like that but (laughs). No matter how Hokuto performs or how Shintarou expresses himself, I think it’s fine as long as I look cool. And although that sounds like we’re in shambles, I think it’s one of SixTONES’ strengths.
Matsumura: Yes. I once used this example often in the past, but when we’re performing one song at a concert, it’s like the 6 of us are each performing a solo song at the same time. It feels like each of us has our own expression.
-- And then, the 6 of you clash those personalities together?
Tanaka: That’s exactly the case. In other words, showing off our coolest self = SixTONES looking cool. It’s not about the 6 of us trying to do something together to make SixTONES look cool, but shall I say, it’s about each and every one of us bearing SixTONES on our backs. With all 6 of us thinking “if I look cool, then SixTONES will look cool!”, it inevitably led us to all move in the same direction.
-- I see! I understand that stance very well! Such members of SixTONES made your debut in January this year. Furthermore, it was a debut with YOSHIKI-san’s amazing composition and producing!
Morimoto: At any case, I thought “that’s amaaazing!” when I first heard about it. And “I can work with such an amazing person!”. And because it’s YOSHIKI-san who is active on the global scene, people from all over the world will take notice of “Imitation Rain”, plus high expectation levels, and I thought that I had to properly rise up to the occasion. So whilst I was happy, there was a lot of pressure too (laughs). But in the end, it was a single that I happily made feeling excitement within that special nervousness.
Tanaka: We don’t consider our CD debut to be the goal nor a start, but simply a checkpoint with a high hurdle, but saying so, we’ll only ever have the one debut song. To have YOSHIKI-san, who is known by everyone, to participate in it was honestly the best experience. On top of that, “Imitation Rain” was greatly different to the music that we’d done till then, and I strongly feel it would be a song that we’d probably never be able to adopt if not for YOSHIKI-san’s involvement. In that sense, our music’s range was widened thanks to that, and in a way, it’s as if we won’t be able to do a song like “Imitation Rain” again, or rather, even if we skill up and gain experience over the next 20, 30 years, it would still be a unrivalled song that we couldn’t surpass. I believe it’s a song that’s become like treasure to SixTONES.
Matsumura: That’s why I think encounters are truly important. If not for the encounter with YOSHIKI-san, then this song would’ve definitely not been born. Although I don’t know what such encounters and opportunities may bring us in the future, I want to treat it importantly. So in many ways, looking back, “Imitation Rain” was a song that gave us many possibilities.
-- Wildness, passion, beauty and grace all coexist in that song. I felt that it expressed a strong SixTONES-likeness. In particular, I thought beauty and grace were already within SixTONES’ subconscious.
Tanaka: It’s exactly the song that people have come to describe that side of us as SixTONES-like. Up till then, there was the image that SixTONES = hard tunes. And to provide impact on top of that, it was like power play, or rather, the idea to show strength that exceeded everyone’s expectations was formed. With this debut song, I think we were able to approach things from a completely different angle and exceed expectations. And I realised that it was actually possible.
-- And from the reaction to that, it also linked to your next 2 singles and SixTONES’ music continued to widen.
Matsumura: Yes. And it widens even more in our 1st album (laughs).
-- That’s right! It’s so colourful and filled with expression that you can’t tell which song is the real SixTONES anymore! We’ll be talking loads about this 1st album that’s packed with such surprise and emotion and excitement in our next issue released on January 6!
Related: Talking Rock (Feb 2021)