Their 10th original album
MIRROR is finally complete, following their 15th anniversary. Unlike other forms of media, here in "her" Magazine we talked to the members as casually as possible with a closer sense of distance. They're where they're at right now because they've experienced so much. We will directly bequeath those sentiments exactly how they are.
──You've been looking back on the past in every volume of this magazine, so I'd like to talk about the present and future as much as possible while keeping the overall picture to a minimum. But first, you've reared SCANDAL to 15 years of age; what do you feel when you look at the band from a bird's eye view?MAMI: To start with, I didn't expect us to rear it to 15 years of age, so it feels like I should say thanks (laughs).
HARUNA: I wonder if our rebellious period is over now. But that really did happen during these past 1-2 years. We fought against some things, but it feels like we've now finally have our feet on the ground and have settled down.
──Looking back on your early days, do you wonder why things were the way they were at the time?HARUNA: I really do, especially in regards to myself. The band formed when I was 18. In the 10 years following that, I really wonder why I was the way I was in my twenties. I wonder why I was so worried and impatient, and what I was afraid of. All of that has come out naturally in the past few years.
TOMOMI: I was 16 back then. We had already experienced all sorts of things as students, which is why we thought of ourselves as adults to some extent. But as we've gotten older and become full-fledged adults and see 16-year-olds these days being active in the scene, we feel respect and also worry at how crazy it is to leave your parents' side while you're still young. So, even in regards to ourselves back then, it makes me think, "You've done well (so far)" (laughs).
RINA: I've been in the band for over half of my life so far. Because of that fact, I've learned to acknowledge and affirm myself. I still think we're kind of alone [as far as having bands similar to us], especially since there aren't any other female drummers who have been playing since they were 15 (laughs). There are a few things that we have in common with others, but there's no one else who can share our story completely. After all, though, the things we overcome add to our confidence. Because SCANDAL's been around for 15 years, I think that the number of people acknowledging us from the outside has finally grown bigger. That's why keeping things going can be a source of nourishment and strength.
──What would you say to yourselves at the time?HARUNA: Hmm. Maybe that nothing you're doing is wrong. All of our experiences are connected to the present. There's no point in thinking about this and that.
MAMI: I think we had worries like that, but I don't really remember any of them. I'm talented in forgetting things that I don't like (laughs). We're the type of people who can maintain a good mental balance, which I think has been the case for a long time now. And after 10 years we've finally developed a mentality where we're able to affirm ourselves. Actually, we really liked playing instruments when we first started out, and there were a few times I thought it would have been better if we started out by choosing the band members ourselves. But right now I very much think that things are fine the way they are. The way we formed is pretty unusual, and in the beginning a lot of things were said about us because we're girls, but it all turned out well. It seems like that for everything. So, maybe I'd say [to my past self], "Keep working hard" (laughs).
──TOMO, what do you feel when you look back on the past?TOMOMI: We were armed to the teeth. We didn't know much about being a band, so I feel like we were completely armed with songs, sounds, makeup, and an easy-to-understand, rebellious spirit, like, "Rock is totally this, right?" That was fine at the time, but we ended up full of complexes from that. After that, we had so many different experiences, finally gained confidence, and were able to be more natural. We worked pretty hard. At any rate, we were always enthusiastic (laughs).
MAMI: Cute (laughs).
TOMOMI: I was happy with that because we were filling up on a bunch of gasoline in the beginning. I had longed to be like overseas divas when I studied singing at our dance school, which is why I also had a complex about my voice. Even after joining the band I was trying too hard to show what I acquired from my lessons, but I just couldn't get into it. I accepted my voice around the time our second album came out. I was born with this kind of voice, so I decided to just go on ahead with my own natural voice. I've likely had that kind of moment several times... I feel really natural now (laughs).
HARUNA: I really do think that we were heavily armed (laughs).
MAMI: That was our means of living.
HARUNA: Yeah, you can't do that unless you're young.
TOMOMI: Once you're an adult, on the other hand, you can't make it through life unless you're your natural self. So perhaps it's better to try on different personas while you're young (laughs).
──This is now like an interview with reformed delinquents (laughs).All: (laughs)
HARUNA: I can understand that, though (laughs).
MAMI: It feels like we've done something wrong (laughs).
HARUNA: After all, gaining experience is important. We might not have stuck around if it had been smooth sailing for us.
──RINA, what do you think?RINA: I just want to say that I was able to graduate from school (laughs). Back then I worked so hard for the band that I couldn't keep up with my school life. My days were filled with anxiety. Also, I wonder if it'd be conveyed if I said that the four of us can make many dreams come true. I was both worried and excited to make my major debut as a drummer. I wondered if it was okay. As a result, I think I grew up differently than how I had imagined I would. Even so, since I'm able to experience a lot of the things that I want to do, I would say to my past self to try opening up a little more (laughs).
──Conversely, would you say that your thoughts were constrained?RINA: Yeah. I had transferred to a high school in Tokyo and went to school by train, but I would inadvertently cry when changing trains (laughs). I think I had too much on my plate. I always wondered why I couldn't do more. But now I want to say to my past self to do things properly in your own way and be more forgiving of yourself (laughs).
──That's all for reminiscing on a bigger scale. This is the third volume of "her" Magazine after the launch of your imprint label "her." I'd like to ask a bit about the past 2-3 years. I'm sure the pandemic starting from 2020 was especially a big thing for you guys.TOMOMI: I felt very depressed at one point. I couldn't listen to anything other than our own music.
MAMI: It's okay even if you don't listen to it.
TOMOMI: That's not the case (laughs). Even so, music helped me out later, but since a lot of things were really difficult at that time, I hit rock bottom when I thought if there was something that should take priority over being entertained. I wondered what we were doing.
MAMI: For the first two months of the pandemic, we thought, "Now's our chance! We'll write a ton of songs. If we can't play concerts, we'll release some music." But we couldn't write anything at all...and gave up halfway. We felt like dying, not being able to write songs. We were blaming ourselves so much. But after we were like, "There's no helping that we can't do it" and gave it a rest, we started to feel better. Though, being a band and all, we do need to keep writing songs. That's why we started looking for something we
could do. We decided to challenge ourselves by doing something outside of just music, and to put out videos with content that we could make ourselves. We did Instagram Lives that turned into exclusive content for our fan club, and we also started the "her" Diary series on YouTube. We were looking for what we could do positively at the time. I think it was all for the best since we made new discoveries.
──Music is born during everyday life, after all. When everyday life stops, it gets difficult to write songs.MAMI: Exactly. Nothing can come from a life of only breathing in the outside air when you go to the market.
TOMOMI: The pandemic's still ongoing, after all (*Date of interview: Nov. 2021). We didn't know what we should shed a light on. We didn't know what the right answers were. Even though we listened to uplifting songs that looked towards the future, nothing struck a chord for us in 2020. I think it's only been recently that we finally got out of that funk and know what we want to sing about.
HARUNA: That time frame for me, on the other hand, helped me out quite a bit. I think that taking a pause was necessary. I think that my internal conflicts and impatience that I've had for a little over 10 years, starting from our debut, had carried on for quite a bit. We were all reset and I was finally able to be grateful for and be emotionally moved by a lot of things. I also felt that I was finally able to regain the feelings I had lost. Conversely, I realized once more that I want to be a person who makes others happy with music, and impresses them with performances on music programs. I was able to reconfirm what I originally wanted to be. Of course, as a band, we had to stop doing a lot of things. The pandemic has definitely not been a good thing, but it was also a very fruitful period of time for me. It was a necessary period of time.
RINA: I realized again that concerts are an important part of my life. It was also a sad and difficult period, but I got out of it gradually and started writing "eternal," so I was more interested in words and obsessed over them. I searched for words that I'd be satisfied with. It was a lot of work, but now I think it was a really good experience. After that, I started to be able to express who SCANDAL is via insanely delicate expressions. It also gave me a ray of hope that we can still do this even as we get older. Up until now, we used to play a lot of powerful songs with aggressive sounds. We had goals like, "We gotta show what we're made of at festivals!", or "Let's surprise everyone with a killer song!" But by spending time like we did, I realized that there's more to our feelings than just those. There are times when we feel as fragile as glass, and as an all-girl band, we want to find styles of music we can continue to play naturally. It was a big thing for us to be able to try things out like that, though we were prepared to be told things like, "Play more intense rock songs!" I'm happy that our fans really took it all in. We were able to make those songs feeling that everything's okay (laughs) while accepting it all. We were able to take much consideration into ourselves, feel down, and then make a comeback.
──You were able to reflect on your current honest feelings. Now then, I'd like to bring up MIRROR, completed in your current whereabouts. "eternal" is a song that shows SCANDAL's own kind of answer to the pandemic, isn't it? It's also the first song you released for your 15th anniversary. Did you all share the same awareness in having this song be your next start? You can feel the beginning of your next phase via the music and lyrics.HARUNA: I agree. We're aware that we were able to change up our production process and feel a new wind blowing for us. Because we're a band, we have more than one way of expressing ourselves. And because we each reflected on ourselves, we were able to respect each other as individuals. It also was a year where we got to properly affirm that the band SCANDAL can have more than one side to it. We were able to make this song because we were all able to tell this kind of story. We also all officially entered our thirties that year. We talked about whether we should continue things as is, or decide on a duration for it. In the end we decided that we'll do as much as we can. "eternal" was born as we thought about what kind of approach to take.
──I think it's quite difficult as a band to grow by lithely accepting different aspects and changes. After all, because listeners like your sound up to that point, it wouldn't be odd if many people would reject those changes. However, I don't think SCANDAL fans are in that range anymore. In a good way, it doesn't matter what SCANDAL does anymore—or rather, it's amazing that you've built this kind of relationship in the form of a band with your fans.HARUNA: I really think that the fans noticed it before we did. Even if it's not something they're conscious of, I think they're interested in and support our humanity. That's why we thought we had to be our natural, true selves. We didn't realize that in the first place because we had a complex about it, but perhaps even things like that may have been viewed by the fans from a parental sort of perspective.
TOMOMI: When I read fan letters or DMs, I think that we and our fans share similar feelings. Although we don't directly know each and every person, it feels like we're soulmates.
──It's like familial bonds are being born. Getting back to talking about the album, the second single you released in 2021, Ivory, features lyrics and music by MAMI. This is also a work that overcame that "period of time when you weren't able to write songs" you talked about earlier, right?MAMI: We used to write songs with concerts in mind, and then we couldn't hold any. Everyone gets loud and sweaty at our shows, after all. I then tried to think about making songs that we could play in the future, but that was also difficult to do. I didn't know what to aim for when making music when that key point of ours went away. So, I didn't feel like we should be doing an intense, band-like song. "eternal" was born under those circumstances, and I then started thinking about how I should make a song with that same calm mentality. That's how "Ivory" came to be. I recorded myself humming while taking a bath, and my feelings at the time brought forth the lyrics as is. It was a very natural phenomenon.
──Though it's a true-to-life, personal story of MAMI's, I'm sure it must also be a song that helped out everyone a lot.HARUNA: I think so. It's not too positive, it's not pushing for something, and it makes you feel very calm. We just wanted to give meaning to something and express something strongly. It turned out to be a great challenge for us.
──Did this change your stance on songwriting again?MAMI: The speed at which we make songs hasn't changed at all (laughs). Though we still have a lot of rules, it seemed to be okay to imagine a future where we could play concerts where everyone's able to finally move their bodies around. It may not be realistically possible yet, but we were able to embrace that hope and make "one more time." We just wanted to make a song that you could dance to. We also wanted to dance ourselves (laughs). We thought it was about time emotion-wise (laughs).
──At what stage was "Ai ni Naranakatta no sa" written? That way of breaking up—you can still stay together like this, but staying together like this isn't enough—feels like a modern take on love. It's not like you break up because you've grown to hate the other person.MAMI: The melody for it actually already existed when "Ivory" was made. I had been wondering which lyrics should come first. A lot of people I knew were ending their relationships around the beginning of 2021. I heard a lot of things from them. This song was written with all that in mind. If I were in their shoes I wondered what I would think, what would be tough about being in love, and also that feeling indifferent would be extremely painful. I recalled the experiences that my friends told me about, as well as my own feelings.
──This album features songs with each of you on lead vocals. Like MAMI, was it difficult to make those songs?TOMOMI: I thought, "Don't choose words." I feel like the words I wanted to use were limited. There was a period when I mentally wanted to do something but didn't know what. I think that production itself was really difficult after our production period started. I thought it would be good if I could give it a natural feel as well. It took a lot of time (laughs).
──Then, did you also make "Ai no Shoutai" at that time? I think soundwise, including the horns, it's very TOMO-esque.TOMOMI: Since becoming an adult, different kinds of love and affection have been born within me. Things like friends having children, people marrying a loved one, feelings towards pets, etc. I was taught so many things by seeing all these people around me whose surroundings had changed. I put out those kinds of feelings. Soundwise, it's totally to my liking (laughs).
──"Prism" features lyrics by RINA, music by TOMOMI. It's been quite a while since this pairing's happened, hasn't it?RINA: Not since "Bitter Chocolate," I think? This was one of the three songs that we wrote after our concert at Osaka-Jo Hall. The lyrics were written at the hotel we stayed at before the concert. I thought about our current mindset and stance towards the venue. We stand on stage just the way we are, perform and put into words exactly what we're feeling, and are free to unleash what we want to do as we like. Those are our strengths right now. Those are the feelings we've attained. I thought it'd be a waste if those feelings weren't turned into a song. I'm happy I got to write a song with TOMO for the first time in forever, and it's meaningful for us to sing it as we are right now. I think it's a great song.
──Changing up songwriting pairings like this, and also having all of the members write and all sing lead are all SCANDAL's strengths.All: Exactly.
RINA: We can do it while helping each other. It's nice when someone who's able to do it writes when they can.
──This album has strong aspects like that. Among those, what's the reason why you decided to sing "Kanojo wa Wave"? It's been quite a while [since you were last on lead vocals], right?RINA: We go to the studio for rehearsals every week, and after one of them, MAMI listened to the demo. She said, "RINA, why don't you sing this one?" I was like, "Oh, makes sense," and gave it a shot. This is the first full song I've sung since "I want you," so it's been five years, I think?
──It really goes well with this computer music dance tune. Did you make it from a pre-programmed track?RINA: Yes, I made a lousy demo of it using GarageBand without understanding how to use it (laughs). I'm not good with machines and can't use them well, but I had no choice but to do it. Like, I didn't even know how to save it (laughs). I decided to do it. But I've always wanted to make a song called "Wave." For a very long time I had been thinking of making a song that used that word. When you think of waves, you think of freedom. You can touch them but can't grab them. They can't be caught by anyone. I think that's wonderful. Though it's abstract, I wanted to make a song using something that people could imagine, and I decided to write a song about a girl who has that unfettered kind of mindset.
──"Yuugure, Tokeru" features lyrics and music by HARU. Were you able to tackle songwriting smoothly?HARUNA: Although I'm not the type that normally writes songs, it wasn't all that hard for me. Still, I thought that this song should be one to be left behind right now as one of my works. Just about a year ago, I would take walks with my dog at the same time every day as the pandemic was happening. I had a lot of opportunities to absent-mindedly think about stuff while watching the sunset. It was then that the expression "Dusk is melting" suddenly came to mind. The words "dusk" and "melting" put together makes for an absurd expression, but it oddly struck a chord with me. I was like, "What's with this? Dusk isn't something that melts, but why do I feel this way?" I'm not the type that expresses a lot of things with words, but I've come to think that everything's about catching hold of and choosing things instinctively. The 10 years following our debut was a period of time when that part of me was causing me pain. Having to write down the things I was thinking, having to put things into words and vocalize them... That was quite difficult for me. But I wanted to express that there definitely are others like that aside from myself.
──You wanted to express something that you couldn't express.HARUNA: Yeah! I wanted to express something that I couldn't express. So, I couldn't put it in direct words but thought there might be some emotions that people could understand, so I started making the song. It was born during that time in my life. But I thought, "If I make it like this, I'll be told that it's the 'era of wind'." Until now, this era was one where we were required to verbalize things, but now the world's changing. We're sharing emotions. I was relieved that this kind of mood is coming not only to myself but also to all sorts of people.
──"Ao no Naru Yoru no Sukima de" starts with the sound of water and makes you experience a color that's as blue as the ocean depths.RINA: I wrote this song without thinking of releasing it. A lot of things have happened in the small world of all-girl bands in the past 1-2 years. I myself sometimes think that music and bands are so important that they're keeping me alive and that I might be killed by it all (laughs). It's fun because there's music, but there are times when it's hard because there's music. I wrote this when I was in that kind of mood.
──The drums get very emotional midway through.RINA: Yeah, for sure. I like that shoegaze-like feel, so I wanted to create that kind of atmosphere and give it a slightly noisy feel. We first debuted it at our Osaka-Jo Hall concert. It's hard for me to talk about this song, though... We spend our lives playing music, so it's okay to run away from it all. I wrote about that sort of feeling using words as I fancied, and it felt a little like I was writing a short story or literature.
──The title track "MIRROR" summarizes these songs, wouldn't you say?RINA: It was actually the last song we made. It contains our newest feelings, and it's also a song worth listening to because we wanted to make a song that would serve as the face of the album.
MAMI: We talked about wanting a band-like song that included our new tastes while also affirming SCANDAL up until now. I made [the music] while referencing the sounds of overseas bands. The intense sounds within me are limited right now. But, we've never done this kind of rhythm with this kind of tempo before, and it's like our new anthem. We took a slightly different approach with this song, and I hope that it'll do well during our concerts, too.
──It feels like your next course of action after "eternal" was made apparent with "MIRROR." After 15 years, how do you perceive what comes next?HARUNA: We don't have that "Let's do this for the next few years!" feeling that we used to have, but that's exactly why we think we can do anything. It hasn't been very long since we've been able to understand and affirm ourselves, so I'm looking forward to how we'll grow in the future. We're wondering what we—and I—can do now. We haven't been able to go overseas since getting into this mindset. I can't wait to see what kind of approach we'll take in this state of things. There's still so much to look forward to. It took a while, but we really like how we are right now.
TOMOMI: Because we hadn't been able to play concerts for so long, I thought again about how much I love concerts. When we don't have concerts to play, it really feels like we're suffocating. I feel alive when I play concerts, so the only thing I'm thinking of is that I just want to play more and more of them (laughs).
RINA: We've always jokingly said that we'll break the Guinness World Record [for longest active all-girl band], but since that would be amusing, I really do want to do it (laughs). SCANDAL is special and unique, and I hope we can keep living our lives as part of SCANDAL peacefully for as long as possible. It'd be great if there was some kind of surprise or reward [for doing so]. Almost all of our dreams have come true. We feel so accomplished. From here onwards is an adventure into the unknown territory of all-girl bands. On top of that, I hope we can get as many people as possible to listen to us, and that there are more moments when we can help someone out or make ourselves happy. I think that's all.
MAMI: I wonder how things will go (laughs). I honestly can't really imagine it myself. The dust hasn't settled yet, but we played a concert at Osaka-Jo Hall for our 15th anniversary, completed our 10th album, and will be starting a tour. I wonder what will make things feel new as we do things going forward—that's kind of where we're at. We don't really have any plans established, nor know what we want to do. Whatever happens, happens. It's not that we're not motivated, but it feels like that kind of timing. We'll go with the flow (laughs).
──Fans already want SCANDAL to be just as they are, and there's this kind of relationship where they're sure to enjoy whatever you do, and whatever music you make.RINA: Some people say, for example, "You guys should play more intense songs!" We understand those feelings. On top of understanding that, the band is quite literally our own lives. We no longer view things from the perspective that we need to write a hit song. That is how we live as a band. We have a lot of different phases. You can listen to us whenever you'd like, and you're free to come and go as you please. It's difficult, but it's absolutely necessary for us to make music that's honest to ourselves in order for us to keep going for a long time. That's why we'll continue to do all sorts of things. I think we'll keep going through a ton of changes.
──You're quite sincere with your fans, aren't you?RINA: Yes, because we've never made any songs where we're like, "You like this, right?" We're just playing music that's true to us. We know that there are many fans who understand that, which is why I want them to always keep an eye on us.
──We wanted to make this interview as rustic as possible, but in the end it wrapped up quite nicely (laughs).HARUNA: Yes, we're quite diligent (laughs).
──All right, let's close this with a very casual question. What made you the most happy in the past year? (laughs)MAMI: My older brother had a kid (laughs). And, they were born on August 10th!
HARUNA: We share the same birthday (laughs).
──Wow, how auspicious!MAMI: Yesterday they called me to show the baby's
first eating ceremony. At 31 years old, I experienced a baby's first eating ceremony for the first time (laughs).
All: Wow (laughs). Applause, applause.
RINA: In the same vein, my little sister's getting married! (laughs)
MAMI: What a happy thing!
TOMOMI: My little brother might get back with his ex-girlfriend! (laughs)
All: Ahahaha (laughs).
No one knows what's on them until they're developed, so look forward to it
For HARUNA who lives with her dog Lady, will it be a dog-related item? It might also be a fashion item for women
There is a possibility that something really crazy might arrive because it's something of MAMI's, so please be aware before applying that no returns are accepted
It may also be related to DAISY PROJECT, the project that she presides over for the purpose of supporting women
" There were all sorts of objects and toys in the store.
" RecycleGallery NEWS Karasuyama has a wide variety of vintage, antique, and/or designer furniture; home appliances; tableware; miscellaneous goods; antiques; and clothing in a warehouse-type building. Since most of the items are one-of-a-kind, of course, you can enjoy encountering each of them at that time.
"
Then, she suddenly pulled in 3 all at once. "Wow, I can't believe bait fishing is so much fun! Even beginners might be able to enjoy it plenty
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(TOMOMI)
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(MAMI)
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