u/VastForce690

I had a friend who said we’d spend our vacation together in Italy, but they ended up not being able to go, so I suddenly had nothing to do… hence the solo project (laughs).

-First of all, how did you end up doing a solo project?

Tommy: It started at the end of last year, when we had a hot spring meeting in Hakone to decide the brilliant green’s plans. The two guys were going to spend the summer writing songs and recording, while I usually just spend that time fooling around, and they asked me, “Why don’t you try doing a solo project during that period?” Then it became one of those “Well, if I were to do a solo project…” conversations, you know how those things get carried away in a party atmosphere, with everyone throwing around ideas like “Wouldn’t this be cool?” And somehow what came out of it was: “It’s gotta be glasses.”

-Huh!? Glasses?

Tommy: Well, if you’re doing a solo project, you kind of have to do something a little weird, right? But I didn’t want to wear wigs or completely change my style of clothes, so when it came to disguises, glasses felt like the answer. Like, “Glasses! Definitely glasses!” We started building this slightly awkward, nervous character with wrinkles forming right here between the eyebrows.

-…And that’s how the solo project moved forward?

Tommy: But actually, I was planning to go to Italy that summer. I desperately wanted these socks from Miu Miu, and when I went to the store to buy them, they were already completely sold out by reservation, and I was devastated. I had to have them!! So I got one of my office worker friends to take time off, and we were supposed to spend our summer vacation together in Italy, but then she ended up not being able to go. So suddenly I had nothing to do… and that became the solo project (laughs). It was basically like, “Well, this is my only option now.”

-So if you’d gone to Italy, you probably wouldn’t have done it? (laughs) But I mean, wasn’t this something you’d wanted to try outside of the brilliant green anyway?

Tommy: Not really at all, it honestly just happened naturally like this. Originally, back in Hakone, I was saying, “I want to do covers of Strawberry Switchblade songs,” but the people around me were like, “If you’re going to do it, why not make original songs instead?”

-I see. So, how did it feel singing over programmed/electronic tracks?

Tommy: The Brilliant Green’s songs have a certain emotional atmosphere, and there are parts where I already have a specific idea in my head of “this is how I should sing it.” There are lots of places in those songs where emotions can come through, where you can really pour feeling into the performance. But this song was just too carefree, and there wasn’t really any place to put “myself” into it (laughs). I’d be singing it really straightforwardly while internally thinking, “What do I do? What do I do?” and before I knew it the song would already be over and into the second half. So… I ended up singing it very naturally (laughs), without calculating anything. That’s why it feels really natural. It’s not the kind of song where you’re meant to sing with deep emotion anyway.

-So rather than emotion, it’s more about energy and fun.

Tommy: Yeah. It was my first experience doing something like that, so it felt really fresh.

-Do you have any rules for how you approach your solo work?

Tommy: Not really, as long as it doesn’t overlap with the brilliant green. Honestly, even death metal or something super gothic like Marilyn Manson would totally be possible.

-Really? (laughs) And the glasses too?

Tommy: Right, as long as there are glasses (laughs). But my real main job is still the brilliant green. This is more like a part-time job to me (laughs). Like, I already have a proper home to go back to.

-Ah, so it’s something you can do precisely because you already have your main project.

Tommy: Exactly. That’s probably why I can do it without overthinking too much… though I doubt the staff sees it as a “part-time job.” There’s still a decent amount of money being spent on it (laughs).

-(laughs) Also, this CD is being released bundled with a DVD.

Tommy: Yeah. Visually, too, I kept saying things like, “These glasses fit this song.” And I was also saying, “I want to release a DVD and a video.” But I never imagined they’d actually be bundled together… Apparently hardly anyone else was doing that, so they thought maybe they’d try it experimentally. If you package it together, people are more likely to recognize the music when they experience it alongside the visuals, right? Like, “Oh yeah—the glasses!” (laughs)

-And in the music video, you’re dancing together with cheerleaders, right?

Tommy: That was already decided back at the hot spring meeting: “The backup should be cheerleaders, and the uniforms have to be red!” (laughs) More than anything, I absolutely didn’t want to be singing completely alone onstage, I wanted people behind me. So it became, “Cheer for me! ‘Go Tommy!’” (laughs). And I’m kind of like the mastermind behind the scenes, or the boss. I look cheerful on the surface while secretly doing slightly bad things, that was the character setting (laughs). That’s why I’m drinking alcohol out of a flask and stuff… We were already talking about that back at the hot spring too.

A slightly plain-looking girl in glasses suddenly appears, for some reason accompanied by a squad of cheerleaders!
Her name is Tommy february6. It’s the solo project of Tomoko Kawase, vocalist of the brilliant green.

With pop dance numbers that take a completely different approach from the band, a relaxed vocal style that feels effortlessly natural in the best possible way, and visuals overflowing with her playful sense of humor, the project showcases another side of her charm.

Although it started from a casual idea, every song turned out strong enough to be a potential single, with an impressively high level of quality.

Well, this whole story behind Tommy february6’s first solo project was one long series of anticlimactic moments and laugh-out-loud stories, overflowing with Tommy’s unique personality. But even though it all began with such a lighthearted attitude, the music itself ended up being remarkably polished, proving once again that she’s not someone to underestimate.

According to Tommy herself, the sound was handled entirely by a “talented new group” called MALIBU CONVERTIBLE, with programming and electronic production at the center of the sound.

Track 1 is an electro-pop tune overflowing with an unmistakable 1980s flavor, complete with amusing talk-box/vocal-modulator effects. It’s a candy-coated pop song that stands in complete contrast to the analog warmth and bittersweet atmosphere of the brilliant green.

Then there’s Track 2, driven by a groove-heavy rhythm with strong black-music influences, and Track 3, a cover of Strawberry Switchblade. Every track feels powerful enough to stand on its own as a single.

Also, this CD was released as a special two-disc package bundled with a DVD, apparently the first major-label release of its kind at the time. The DVD includes fun promotional videos featuring Tommy and her cheerleaders, along with choreography videos and other bonus footage.

Interview & text by Yu Aoki.

TITLE:

Gossiping with friends, it’s those kinds of ordinary things that I actually love.

Tomoko Kawase-san

Tomoko: Since middle school, I’d been helping out as a vocalist for my friends’ band, but I never thought about becoming a musician, and can you believe I hardly listened to music at all? But it’s true. After all, the first record I ever bought was Dr. Slump Arale-chan! There’s something wonderfully ordinary about having such a typical first record experience. I really love fortune-telling, and when I had my fortune read, they told me that whenever I try to make things happen myself, I fail. But if I just sort of go with the flow in life, the people around me will move things forward for me. Though that’s kind of lonely too, because it means I’ve never really had dreams of my own (laughs).

In truth, she never even wanted to leave her hometown of Kyoto, but reluctantly moved to Tokyo after being told, "We can’t debut without you." She says she only started writing lyrics because ‘the other members kept saying, “Come on, just do it as a joke, as a joke.”’ Kawase really does seem to live exactly as her fortune predicted. In fact, when it comes to lacking ambition, she might be a truly rare kind of musician.

Tomoko: The three of us are just a close group of friends making things we like, and since people are willing to release them for us, we just say thanks and keep going. I don’t really have any awareness of being a musician, and I don’t even feel like I’m in a band. I’m a woman, after all, so there’s this sense of security that I could just get married someday and that’d be fine. If the guy could support me, I’d retire immediately, of course. Just spacing out with close friends, gossiping about people and stuff… I think that kind of thing is nice. Ordinary is best. I never really liked being in front of people to begin with.

As for songwriting, she says, "There’s no message in it, and I don’t write about myself." She explains that she matches up vowel sounds and pieces words together like a puzzle, yet it’s amazing that lyrics like those can come out of that process. Even her casual reply "Well, that’s because I’m a pro" was funny.

By the way, the biggest thing on her mind lately is their first-ever live tour, which will take place in November.

Tomoko: I think it’d be fun to do something like bingo during the show (laughs). Since we’re not that confident in our playing, it could be a way to communicate with the audience. Well, that’s just my hope, anyway. And maybe an open Q&A corner too (laughs). We’ve got to make it fun. Since it’s our first time, I think the audience will probably be nervously watching over us too. We’ll probably be totally stiff on the first day. And then the moment it’s over, the three of us will burst into tears onstage together. I think it’ll probably end leaving everyone with a really good impression, though (laughs).

The three members of the brilliant green are incredibly close, love complaining, aren’t pretentious at all, and genuinely seem to have fun together. I hope they never change.

Tomoko: Because we complain so much, people think we’re unserious, but actually we’re three very earnest people who never spare any effort, so we’ll keep doing our best without forgetting where we started.

Tomoko Kawase Born February 6, 1975, in Kyoto. She was scouted as a vocalist by the current members, Shunsaku Okuda (bass, leader) and Ryo Matsui (guitar), and together they formed the brilliant green in 1995. They made their debut in September 1997 with the single Bye Bye Mr. Mug on Sony Records. On September 19, they released their first album, the brilliant green. Her hobbies include karaoke, and her go-to songs are by Namie Amuro.

I recently bought a scanner, which will finally allow me to scan all my magazines and upload a bunch of new Tommy images and translations to the internet! I hope you all enjoy them!

Now for the interview...

So this time, it was decided that a second single would come out.

Tommy: Yeah. Actually, after the first single (Every Day At The Bus Stop), we were preparing activities for The Brilliant Green, but it seemed like there was demand for this instead (laughs). We advertised it as a “summer-only project!” but things ended up changing completely. Plus, I really wanted to release an album, so I gave in to the temptation (laughs).

When it was suddenly decided that you'd make a second single, did you struggle coming up with ideas for the concept?

Tommy: As a visual motif, last time I used cheerleaders, so I wanted to do sports-themed stuff in general. Last time we did a guerrilla live show at a soccer stadium, and I got to watch the match too. I got so excited from that experience that I decided, “I want to make soccer uniforms!” Also, I got the chance to collaborate with AIBO-chan (Note: this release also includes the theme song for the TV anime Piropo, starring AIBO, Tommy Feb Latte Macaron), and that temptation was there too...

Sounds like it’s all temptations with you!

Tommy: At that point it felt like there was no other option. It felt like everything was naturally leading in that direction (laughs)

This time the songs also feel darker, or more bittersweet compared to the previous release.

Tommy: Right. Last time the songs had a strong “80s pop star” feeling, but this time it goes a little further back, into a New Romantic kind of style. But honestly, I didn’t know anything about that genre at all. Even when I was played the songs, I didn’t realize they belonged to that kind of style. We shot the promotional video recently, and only five days beforehand I learned, “Oh, this is New Romantic!” Then I thought, “Well if that’s the case, we have to do it properly!” so I had them completely redo the set in a rush. And in the background there are Black dancers holding golden pom-poms. Because, you know, it’s the ’80s.

An ’80s-style cheerleader!? And in the middle of all that, Tommy is still the girl wearing glasses?

Tommy: I’m dressed normally (says bluntly). If I went all-out too, it would become excessive. My policy is “I like creating elaborate worlds, but I don’t do it to myself” (laughs).

This whole concept feels like “a journey through time with Tommy.”

Tommy: Yeah. At first, because people had such a strong image of the brilliant green, it was difficult getting the staff to understand what I wanted to do. Last time there were tons of corrections to the storyboards, but this time even when I explained things only five days beforehand, everyone was totally okay with it. Even while writing lyrics, I was vaguely conscious of an “’80s feeling,” so I used phrases like “JUST IN MY LONELINESS” and “DON’T STOP THE MUSIC” . Expressions people nowadays don’t really use anymore. I was more focused on the way the words sounded.

Ahh, the way the lyrics suddenly switch into English really captures that era too. So when you expressed your own version of the ’80s through lyrics, this is what came out?

Tommy: A big part of it is that I didn’t actually experience that era in real time. So it’s more like a vague impression of it (laughs). If I had seriously studied it and written from that perspective, it would’ve become too authentically ’80s, and then I’d wonder, “Is there really any meaning in doing that now?” But if you work only from an image, it ends up feeling fake or kind of cheesy, and I thought maybe that’s actually what makes it good. That part is the same as last time.

Still, starting such an impactful solo project must’ve made people say all sorts of things.

Tommy: For a while everyone kept saying, “Does this mean The Brilliant Green is breaking up?” and honestly I thought, “Come on...” People seem to assume “doing a solo project = being dissatisfied with your current situation,” but I’m not thinking about it that deeply. If I took it that seriously, it’d just become exhausting.

So it feels more like “a form of play”?

Tommy: It really feels more like a club activity. Even if you love your home and family, you still sometimes want to try living alone, right? Emotionally, it’s close to that kind of impulse.

Yeah, it kind of feels like renting a room near your parents’ house.

Tommy: Exactly! Like somehow you still end up eating dinner back at your parents’ place anyway (laughs). Tommy february6 uses ideas that are all like, “You seriously went that far with it!?” If I did this as my main thing, it’d probably become really exhausting. I’m only able to play around this much because I still have The Brilliant Green. I just hope that atmosphere comes across to people outside of it too...

If this were your main project, it’d probably start feeling kind of painfully over-serious.

Tommy: Like having really intense eyes or something (laughs). Or seriously going abroad to study in America. I’d never do that. At the end of the day, I’m just a normal person. I guess people just have different definitions of what it means to be serious. I’m only “seriously playing around,” the same way someone seriously plays sports. I think it’s good if the playfulness feels dynamic and over-the-top. But at the same time, there’s also a little part of me that wants to “win,” which makes it kind of complicated (laughs).

u/dataprocessingclub