Nino More 09/2010
More: Nino: It 09/2010
Episode 21: Reset
Perhaps it's the fault of finishing two long movie filmings. Nino comes [to the shoot] extremely refreshed, expression beaming. Even facing the camera, his smile is gentle and extremely like his real one. A few days after his 27th birthday, it was an afternoon of bright sunshine in the beginning of summer.
This year's birthday started with a 'kanpai'. The evening of the 16th, work finished with Arashi around 11PM, and after that I went to the home of an arranger who works as a music instructor to record my solo for the album. I suddenly remembered, and said, "I'm just about to turn 27," so s/he said, "Then let's start your song once you're 27." So while we drank shochu we talked about nothing, and the moment it turned midnight on the 17th, we had a toast. We started writing the song, and when dawn came we'd mostly finished it.
A speedy composition. It's one of his characteristic styles.
Rather than characteristic I'd say it's haphazard? (smiling) That arranger and I have worked together since I was 20, so we were saying "We've known each other a long time" while standing by the equipment, drinking while we talked. During that, if an idea hit, I'd sing into the microphone right away, and then go back to where I was and start drinking again, like a rhythm. (smiling) Of course sometimes I write songs with guitar, but it's interesting to write music like this from humming something. I'd say, "That song recently, that was good," and hum it. But because I was drunk it'd stray well away from what I'd meant to hum, and at some point become an original song. (smiling) And then from there we'd be hit with new ideas. Once you get the melody, then you put in the chords, give it an arrangement, and make it into music. When recording, I got to put in my request for who would play the instruments. It's a piece where the piano is central*, so when I asked a player that I like, he said that he'd play for me! I really think that's great. And I check the tone quality meticulously through headphones. With song writing, there's a lot of work and procedure, but I like each of the steps, I find them interesting. I want to work on music as much as time allows.
I think my personality comes through in solo songs that I take seriously.
In comparison to writing music, he's aware that he's not good at writing lyrics. I've been thinking about the lyrics ever since my birthday, but they're still incomplete. As he says this he retrieves a bundle of A4-sized papers from his bag and shows them to us. Each paper is full of words that have been written and erased, written and erased, leaving marks behind.
Lyrics are difficult. To start with, choosing words for a song is the opposite of what you do with dramas and movies. In a drama if you have a line which makes you want to cry, you match it with sounds [music] that makes you feel like crying, whereas with music you have the sound first, and you have to pick the words to match the flavor of the music. It's difficult trying to find words that fit the sound, that are rousing, after the fact. I'll tell you a secret: the keyword for this solo is "pair look". But before I decided on that word I worried over it for a long time. I searched out words, calling a lot of people I knew as I tried to find it. Even now, I'm not sure if it was the best choice…
In this song, in the lyrics, does it make one think of Ninomiya Kazunari?
I think it does. When it comes to writing solos, no one gives me any instruction. When I write music I tend to be fixed on simple themes and draw them out, I think. They may sound friendly, but in truth my goal is to write songs that are complicated down to the details. Thinking that way is quite like me, right? Surely solo musicians have tried to write similar music. That's why I definitely can't deny the music I've made. After all, that's who I am, and I've put a lot of effort into them. (smiling)
The more we hear, it becomes clear that writing music is something he enjoys from the bottom of his heart. An idol with the heart of an artist, Ninomiya Kazunari. When he said as a Junior, "I wanted to be a director, a creator," surely that was an expression of his true desires?
I really do love it. I only wear a watch when I'm writing music. It feels good to have my right brain and left brain revolving, and time passes by in a flash. Like all things, in music, like in love, it's not all wonderful moments, but you surpass that, and to see what form it becomes is something that I enjoy.
Perhaps we've come to understand the reason for his beaming smile.
Before my birthday it was busy, and there were lots of things going on….. Once turning 27, feeling something new and creating a song with it, I've taken my experiences and emotions up until now and, in a good way, feel like I've reset them. That's kind of cool~ to be able to refresh yourself by writing a song. (smiling) Even in turning 27 nothing really changes, but to be able to write a song, and pass a day like that, I feel like I'm living a good life.
* I have to admit that I can't say this as a positive fact, because the word Nino used is one that kind of confused me. There's piano, anyway, but I don't know that I can say for sure that it's primarily a piano piece.
Episode 21: Reset
Perhaps it's the fault of finishing two long movie filmings. Nino comes [to the shoot] extremely refreshed, expression beaming. Even facing the camera, his smile is gentle and extremely like his real one. A few days after his 27th birthday, it was an afternoon of bright sunshine in the beginning of summer.
This year's birthday started with a 'kanpai'. The evening of the 16th, work finished with Arashi around 11PM, and after that I went to the home of an arranger who works as a music instructor to record my solo for the album. I suddenly remembered, and said, "I'm just about to turn 27," so s/he said, "Then let's start your song once you're 27." So while we drank shochu we talked about nothing, and the moment it turned midnight on the 17th, we had a toast. We started writing the song, and when dawn came we'd mostly finished it.
A speedy composition. It's one of his characteristic styles.
Rather than characteristic I'd say it's haphazard? (smiling) That arranger and I have worked together since I was 20, so we were saying "We've known each other a long time" while standing by the equipment, drinking while we talked. During that, if an idea hit, I'd sing into the microphone right away, and then go back to where I was and start drinking again, like a rhythm. (smiling) Of course sometimes I write songs with guitar, but it's interesting to write music like this from humming something. I'd say, "That song recently, that was good," and hum it. But because I was drunk it'd stray well away from what I'd meant to hum, and at some point become an original song. (smiling) And then from there we'd be hit with new ideas. Once you get the melody, then you put in the chords, give it an arrangement, and make it into music. When recording, I got to put in my request for who would play the instruments. It's a piece where the piano is central*, so when I asked a player that I like, he said that he'd play for me! I really think that's great. And I check the tone quality meticulously through headphones. With song writing, there's a lot of work and procedure, but I like each of the steps, I find them interesting. I want to work on music as much as time allows.
I think my personality comes through in solo songs that I take seriously.
In comparison to writing music, he's aware that he's not good at writing lyrics. I've been thinking about the lyrics ever since my birthday, but they're still incomplete. As he says this he retrieves a bundle of A4-sized papers from his bag and shows them to us. Each paper is full of words that have been written and erased, written and erased, leaving marks behind.
Lyrics are difficult. To start with, choosing words for a song is the opposite of what you do with dramas and movies. In a drama if you have a line which makes you want to cry, you match it with sounds [music] that makes you feel like crying, whereas with music you have the sound first, and you have to pick the words to match the flavor of the music. It's difficult trying to find words that fit the sound, that are rousing, after the fact. I'll tell you a secret: the keyword for this solo is "pair look". But before I decided on that word I worried over it for a long time. I searched out words, calling a lot of people I knew as I tried to find it. Even now, I'm not sure if it was the best choice…
In this song, in the lyrics, does it make one think of Ninomiya Kazunari?
I think it does. When it comes to writing solos, no one gives me any instruction. When I write music I tend to be fixed on simple themes and draw them out, I think. They may sound friendly, but in truth my goal is to write songs that are complicated down to the details. Thinking that way is quite like me, right? Surely solo musicians have tried to write similar music. That's why I definitely can't deny the music I've made. After all, that's who I am, and I've put a lot of effort into them. (smiling)
The more we hear, it becomes clear that writing music is something he enjoys from the bottom of his heart. An idol with the heart of an artist, Ninomiya Kazunari. When he said as a Junior, "I wanted to be a director, a creator," surely that was an expression of his true desires?
I really do love it. I only wear a watch when I'm writing music. It feels good to have my right brain and left brain revolving, and time passes by in a flash. Like all things, in music, like in love, it's not all wonderful moments, but you surpass that, and to see what form it becomes is something that I enjoy.
Perhaps we've come to understand the reason for his beaming smile.
Before my birthday it was busy, and there were lots of things going on….. Once turning 27, feeling something new and creating a song with it, I've taken my experiences and emotions up until now and, in a good way, feel like I've reset them. That's kind of cool~ to be able to refresh yourself by writing a song. (smiling) Even in turning 27 nothing really changes, but to be able to write a song, and pass a day like that, I feel like I'm living a good life.
* I have to admit that I can't say this as a positive fact, because the word Nino used is one that kind of confused me. There's piano, anyway, but I don't know that I can say for sure that it's primarily a piano piece.