Interview with the teenage rap singer DAOKO who has an active music career in Shibuya.

09.October.2016 | FEATURES / MUSIC

DAOKO is a teenage rap singer who attracts mass support on social network sites by young people mainly in Shibuya, which is known as the center of Japanese pop culture. She has started becoming popular through collaboration work with m-flo, which is a famous Japanese band. She is providing musical pieces for the movie called “Kawaki,” and is in charge of the music together with TeddyLoid for Studio Color’s short film “ME!ME!ME!” directed by Hideaki Anno. She made her major debut in 2015 and started appearing in public at the end of that year. Her remarkable live concerts, which utilize lots of technology, are watched not only by people in Japan but also outside of the country with keen interest.  

 

She released a new single this September called “Moshimo Bokura Ga Game No Shyuyakude/Daisuki with TeddyLoid/BANG!” which includes four different songs. This single reflects her thought which appeared after her major debut that she wants to be closer with the audiences in front of her. Her music sound represents 2010’s SHIBUYA/TOKYO which is categorized as in between rapping and singing, and also in between hip-hop, electronic music and Japanese pop music.

 

How did you get interested in music?

My father listens to a variety of music. That’s how I first heard Ringo Shiina who made a big impact on me when I was little.  At that time, I think my father was more likely to listen to club music such as techno or house music though.

 

Your father has good taste.

Does he? I think he was probably what is now called subculture boys. I wouldn’t say my taste of music is totally the same as his, but his music had a big influence on me. Since then, I started watching NicoNico Douga. I found myself enjoying the fact that there are so many different channels, and I tried rap singing on the nico rap category. I was proactively willing to listen to many different types of music since I joined an independent record label, LOW HIGH WHO?, when I was in the first grade of my high school.

 “Shibuya” and Tokyo, known as the center of Japanese pop-culture, are used in DAOKO’s song’s lyrics. Do you think it’s important to your music that you grew up in this area?

I didn’t go to the Shibuya neighborhood often until I started working in music. Even though I’m from Tokyo, I think Shibuya is the area where many people with the latest fashion gather. Since I was a part of an independent record label, I had my first live concert at PARCO’s 2.5D studio in Shibuya; which has been closed for rebuilding since August. I started doing live concerts once or twice a month since then, and Shibuya started to influence me. I gradually started feeling like Shibuya is my home.

 

How did you come up with the unique flow that goes between rapping and singing?

I don’t know. The reason I started working in music was the video I posted on NicoNico Douga, and I learned how to rap by watching other people’s videos. That might be affecting that.

 

So the fact you started rapping before acquiring technical knowledge affects your music now?

That’s probably true. I like rap music. I started listening to “NITRO MICROPHONE UNDERGROUND,” “King Ghidorah,” and “Otokoaka GAMI” after being part of an independent label, but I don’t think people listen to these types of rap music in their daily lives. For example, hip-hop music is categorized as a type of pop music outside of Japan. There are some songs that don’t have a clear line between these two different genres of music. I often hear this type of music when I go out in town, so the fact that I don’t have any roots as a rapper enable me to create original rap which doesn’t fall into any established music category.

 

Triple A-side single called “Moshimo Bokura Ga Game No Shyuyakude/Daisuki with TeddyLoid/BANG!” will be released on September 14th. Is there anything that influenced your new songs?

I had 80s U.S. pop music in mind when I created “Moshimo Bokura Ga Game No Shyuyakude,” and Mr. Kojima: one of the ORESAMA’s band members, finished off my original pop music by interpreting it into modern ideas. This song consists of many different elements such as the introduction part that has electro-ish sound, and the rap part that has break-beat. “Daisuki” consists of the track which has modern bass sound created by TeddyLoid and melody which has a traditional folk song taste. I think this incongruity sound is new to everyone. I collaborated with TeddyLoid on “ME!ME!ME!” before, and I was hoping I would be able to work with him again. This song is used in the TV commercial for “HAL Specialized College of Technology and Design.” I thought hard about how I could impact the viewer during only a 15 second commercial and I ended up asking him to make an aggressive sound.

 

What about “BANG!”?

I started feeling that I want to communicate with my audiences more after my major debut, so I added a part that everyone can clap to so they have a sense of unity. It is boring to put cheerful lyrics in this kind of music, so I purposely put dramatic lyrics of a girl’s perspective to make a contrast. I expressed feelings that every girl can relate to.

 

After showing your face in public last year, you have had more of a chance to express yourself in music videos. For example, I think the music clip for “BANG!” has Ringo Shiina’s influence.

 

I didn’t say I like Ringo Shiina at all, but the music video’s director, Yuichi Kodama, might consider her to be the root of my music career. I think singing through a loud speaker like Ringo Shiina sounds mysterious in this song. I wasn’t comfortable showing my face on music videos at first and I struggled like “I don’t know what to do,” but my feelings have certainly changed and I want to be face to face with my audience.  It was my music style to hide my face using special stage effects in my live concerts.  I had a clear screen put in front of me with objects motion graphics and lyrics on it, which caused the stage people to have to deal with me carefully.  With the wall I literally felt like there was a wall between me and the audience.

 

I understand.

I’ve already come up with some ideas for new songs, and I want my audiences to enjoy my live concerts even more. I think this positive atmosphere is reflected on this new single, and I would like everyone to enjoy watching me as before, and also enjoy experiencing my music at the same time.

———

 

Her music shows potential for being a new type of music full of attractiveness of Shibuya’s street culture that you can’t find outside of Japan. Why don’t you give it a try and experience this pop world? You’re going to get hooked on her music.

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    FRUITS ZIPPER, a new idol group from ASOBISYSTEM’s KAWAII LAB project, has a simple concept: “From Harajuku to the World.”   This summer, the group’s track Watashino Ichiban Kawaiitokoro took off on TikTok with the music video racking up over 500 million plays, propelling the girls into the idol spotlight. Along with regular monthly performances, tickets for the girl’s first solo concert in September and their second solo concert in November were sold out immediately. FRUITS ZIPPER is scheduled to go on tour in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka in February 2023, and even the fashion industry has become obsessed, with the group serving as the seasonal ambassadors for Samantha Vega starting in August 2022.   Only six months after its debut, the members of FRUITS ZIPPER are already taking their first steps outside of Harajuku. Their first overseas trip was to Thailand, called the land of smiles.    FRUITS ZIPPER performed as one of more than 50 artists representing Thailand and Japan at the THAI-JAPAN ICONIC MUSIC FEST 2022 from October 21 to October 23. The music festival was held to commemorate the 135th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Japan.   Four different stages were set up during the event, and FRUITS ZIPPER managed to attract fans not only from Japan, but from Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Myanmar, the Philippines, and other Asian countries. Many guests even knew the choreography to a number of FRUITS ZIPPER songs, including, of course, Watashino Ichiban Kawaiitokoro. The audience was thrilled when the members addressed them in Thai, and a collaboration interview video shot with local idols was also taken. It’s now available on FRUITS ZIPPER’s TikTok channel, so check it out!   We sat down with the seven members of FRUITS ZIPPER to hear about their best memories from Thailand!    

    -How did you feel about your first overseas trip to Thailand?

      Noel Hayase“It was our first time performing in Thailand. Not many people knew who we were and we were far away from home, but people welcomed us with open arms. So many people came to watch us, and I was happy to see the audience dancing along to the songs!”   Yui Sakurai“When I became an idol two years ago, Thai fans really supported me. Back then, I told them I’d love to come to see them, but I never got the chance. I’m happy that I was about to finally achieve that goal, or my dream, I guess, of going to Thailand to meet all of those fans. There were so many more people waiting for me than I could have imagined, and even though we couldn’t communicate very well with the language barrier, we could easily communicate through music. I was so happy.”   Karen Matsumoto“So many non-Japanese fans came out to support us! Even though they didn’t speak Japanese, they did their best to tell us they were rooting for us, and that they loved us. I was so happy, I can’t wait to go back!”   Mana Manaka“This was my first visit to Thailand, and part of me felt a little uneasy since everything felt so different when compared to live shows in Japan. I was allowed to take pictures and to really use my voice, and the stage configuration was really confusing. But everyone in Thailand was super welcoming and kind, and I was so happy to see them trying to learn Japanese. They’d listen to me talk and nod, looking me in the eyes, even if they didn’t understand what I was saying. It was a wonderful trip that reminded me how excited I am to travel abroad. I hope I can see everyone in Thailand again, thank you so much!”   Luna Nakagawa“Even though I’ve been an idol for a while, this was my first trip overseas. Going to Thailand had always been a dream of mine, but at the same time, I was nervous. I didn’t know what kind of fans I’d find there, or if there would be any fans at all. But the Thai people were so unbelievably kind. During our performance, a girl held up a board that said ‘Lunapi’ and waved a purple penlight. She shouted that she was looking so forward to meeting me, and it made me so happy.We started to share information with the Thai people after our performance was decided, but it seemed that they had known about us before that. I felt that so many people had been excited about coming to see us, and now I just want to go to Thailand again to see everyone a second time. Kob kun kaa!   Amane Tsukiashi“This was the first time I had visited Thailand, and I thought it was so beautiful. Seeing ICONSIAM was unbelievable–the biggest building I’d ever seen! I was so happy to see the fans, and so many told me that they had been waiting to meet us. Thank you so much.”   Suzuka Chinzei“Before going to Thailand, I wondered how many local people knew about FRUITS ZIPPER and how many would actually come to see us. When we actually took the stage on the first day, there were so many Thai people, and Japanese people too! Since I was able to use my voice to the fullest in Thailand, I was thrilled when the audience could sing along with the ‘Ne, ne, ne’ part in Watashino Ichiban Kawaiitokoro! This live show was so unique to Thailand, and it felt so much freer than live shows are in Japan right now with all the restrictions. Since there was a language barrier, I wanted to put all of my feelings and emotions into my performance. I felt like I could communicate with the audience with my eyes, and those three days of performances were so unforgettable. We’ll be back and we’ll be even stronger, so wait for us until then! Kob kun kaa!   FRUITS ZIPPER is on course to become a smash hit not only in Japan, but around the world.