ORESAMA is a male-female music duo exploring a new style of J-pop. Hideya Kojima writes the tracks while vocalist Pon provides the lyrics. They are known for performing ‘Wonder Drive’, the opening song for the 2017 spring anime Alice & Zouroku, and ‘Trip Trip Trip’ for 2017 summer anime Mahojin Guru Guru. MANGA.TOKYO were lucky enough to interview them on behalf of their increasing number of fans around the world. We asked them to tell us how they create their impressive music and to share some behind-the-scenes stories.
Pon: Not at all. On the contrary, we chose the name ‘ORESAMA’ because we wanted to be seen as imposing at least on stage. Neither of us are bossy at all offstage.
Kojima: I hope we give off that self-confident aura on-stage because there is a chance to enjoy an extraordinary experience and to have a moment of self-insight there. We want to feel like that for just that time.
Kojima: People around us would struggle to deal with us if our ‘ORESAMA’ switch was on all the time. [laugh]
Pon: That’s right. We get comments from many countries on YouTube and Twitter. I also got a message from a Korean person saying, ‘I’ll come to your release party.’ I also met someone who came from the US to see our live show. We’re delightfully surprised by all of them.
Kojima: Although I can’t understand every single detail, every time I read comments from overseas, I feel that they’re supporting us with each word they use, which make us feel really happy.
Kojima: To be honest, I’m not at this moment. What I want to create with ORESAMA is ‘quality J-pop.’ I listen to a variety of overseas music which I admire and am under the influence of. However, I take creating music with an excellent melody seriously. I think such music would attract more attention abroad. I’m conscious about creating the ultimate J-pop music with ORESAMA.
Pon: Firstly, Kojima composes the music and I choose one which I like and write lyrics for it. Occasionally, I write lyrics first, and he composes music for them.
Kojima: We are both comfortable in this way. Although we discuss some minor interpretations, we believe in each other and respect each of our sensibilities. Therefore, things go smoothly when we work on the music separately.
Kojima: Whether it’s commissioned work or not, she is naturally good at expressing herself with lyrics. I can relate to her lyrics, which transcend gender. Considering the response of our listeners, I’m sure they feel the same.
Because Pon expresses the inner-self of a protagonist straightforwardly, I think female listeners feel particular empathy towards her songs. Furthermore, she is good at expressing herself with lyrics rather than sentences.
Kojima: She is brilliant at utilizing the subtle differences in her lyrics. I focus on melodies when I compose music, and not only is she excellent at providing lyrics that emphasize them, but also the lyrics themselves are fantastic.
Kojima: Exactly. I think she consciously chooses words which bring out the best from the melodies.
Pon: I understand the importance of word choice. For instance, I may choose to use sugoku instead of totemo [N.B. two words that both mean ‘very’, with the former having a stronger nuance and being less formal] because it delivers the exact meaning and sounds more powerful when sang with a particular melody. I try to use words which become lively to sing both in meaning and sound.
Pon: His music captivates us. The first 5 to 10 seconds are the most important part of the music; they have to impress the listeners. We stream music nowadays, and many songs are forgotten easily. Kojima knows that, so he composes music which can impress the listeners at the very moment they start listening. When I write lyrics, I choose a piece which grabs my attention immediately from the music he has composed.
Pon: I write lyrics for only the pieces which grab my attention.
Kojima: Not only does she not write lyrics for all my music, sometimes she doesn’t even reply when I send it. In that case, I start over. Her response to my music is easy to understand. [laugh]
(Next Page: ‘How I express my music within a space of 89 seconds, while grabbing the listeners’ attention.’)
The first season of the new year is just one month away from its finale. It was a great start with many amazing titles that made these past months worth the extra hours we put in front of our sets. Now, it is time for the cold wind to give way to the pink hues of the sakura tree and for the Winter 2018 season to give the anime baton to Spring 2018.
