[Interview] MOSHI MOSHI NIPPON Interviews “Musubizm”—An Idol Group with Catchy Lyrics and a High Fashion Sense
(Starting from left: Mai Imai, Nami Yamada, Misa Kimura, Rurika Miyajima, Eru Shiina)
Nami: Of course! Musubizm aims to deliver Japan’s kawaii culture to the rest of the world. We do lots of this through things like our live concerts and with our outfits!
— What kind of songs do you generally make?
Misa: We have a lot of upbeat and exciting songs, but we also have songs from a number of different genres. Our new 3rd single is rooted in 80s synthpop with a kawaii touch in the music. Our previous single “Mahou no Kagi wo Te ni Iretara” was kindly made by Shouhei Hatakeyama from The Mirraz and has more of a band sound to it. I’m happy if all kinds of people can enjoy our music.
— What’s your favourite thing about your 3rd single “Kimi ni Yume CHU♡XX” which just came out on June 27th?
Eru: I thought that it was really cute when I first listened to it. Later, I thought that it left a really strong stylish impact. A scene forms inside your head from the lyrics, so I felt that all three of the songs were very girly.
— Which song is the easiest to sing?
Eru: For me, the easiest to sing might be “Koakuma na LOOK”. All of our songs up to now have had really upbeat choruses, but I get to sing Koakuma in a more relaxed way.
Rurika: For me it’s the title song, “Kimi ni Yume CHU♡XX”. It has a high tone and the chorus is really easy to sing. And I also like how the lyrics capture the reality of a girl’s everyday life!
Mai: The choreography for “Kimi e 100%” is cute. We make a heart shape with our hands for part of it. People join in with us doing it when we perform live, but I really like it when they look shy when doing it.
Nami: I find the fans doing it really cute when watching from the stage!♡
— I heard that your 3rd single is on repeat at Takeshita Street!
Eru: It sure is. “Kimi ni Yume CHU♡XX” is part of the BGM for Takeshita Street. What’s more is that it’s being played pretty loud, and 4 times an hour.
— Have you heard it yourselves?
Mai: I listened to it while walking through Takeshita Street before I came here, but it makes me a little embarrassed (laughs). There’s even a narration before the song starts that says “We are Musubizm,” so I think even people hearing it for the first time would realize that I’m part of the group.
Rurika: It might just be the perfect tempo for walking when listening to it!
Eru: It’s a catchy song, so I think it will stick in your head.
— The chorus certainly does have that kind of catchy tone that would make it stay in your head even after you leave Takeshita Street.
Eru: It made me think that we could brainwash all of the JK’s [female high school student] with it (laughs).
Misa: It will be playing until July 2nd, so I hope that JK’s walking through Takeshita Street will like it!
— You really have taken over Takeshita Street (laughs). Moving on, I was really surprised to hear that SIIILON were in charge of your outfits this time.
Eru: We’ve had a lot of outfits with a Japanese taste to them until now, but we went all out with hearts this time to fit with the song. And the see-through skirts are cute too! Girls seem to like it, too.
Rurika: They do. Girls often kindly complement us on how cute they are.
Misa: And the balloon sleeves are SIIILON’s speciality.
— I see that all of your tops are the same but your skirts are different colours.
Nami: Normally we all wear the same colours, but this time we got to pick our own for the skirts and chokers!
Eru: And this is the first time the shape of our outfits have all been the same.
Misa: The designs and skirt lengths are different for every outfit we wear, but we went with matching this time. There’s a lot of synchronization in the choreography for the song, so it makes us more uniform. We feel more like a group. I hope everyone can feel our unity like we’re an 80’s idol group as we perform our 80’s-style song.
— With these outfits and your new song in hand, where can people hope to see you next?
Misa: We’re currently holding release events for our single “Kimi ni Yume CHU♡XX”. We are performing live every day between June 26th and July 2nd where you can come and see us for free. We’re also performing both days at “Idol Yokochou Natsu Matsuri!! ~2017~” on July 8th and 9th at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse. After that we’re scheduling to perform at lots of summer festivals.
— Do you have a song to recommend for first-time listeners?
Eru: I think a lot of people first heard our second single “Mahou no Kagi wo Te ni Iretara,” so I might recommend that one. There’s some ‘driving’ moves in the choreography which are easy to learn, so I’d definitely like to see people joining in with us for that at concerts.
Misa: The music video is fun and too. People like it so that makes me happy.
— Musubizm are also popular overseas. What other countries have your performed in?
Nami: San Francisco and Los Angeles in America, and London in England.
— When you performed in those places, did you feel that they were any different to performing in Japan?
Mai: They really get on board overseas!
Eru: Even people seeing us for the first time were dancing, so that got us pumped too!
Misa: We have a lot of foreign fans who became hardcore fans after coming to like us. They come and see us perform in Japan and make the effort to spread among fellow Japanese idol fans
— How do you communicate with your foreign fans?
Eru: When we meet with them at tokutenkai or handshake events after a concert, we do have fans that speak to us in Japanese, but there are also fans that only speak English, so we use gestures or try our best to speak in simple English. Feelings are conveyed through the handshakes so I think it’s okay! (laughs) Also, our leader here Misa Kimura can speak English, so we look to our leader and her facial expression when we’re in trouble (laughs).
— She’s a leader you can rely on. Do you have a message for your fans overseas?
Nami: I’m so happy at the comments we receive on Twitter from people telling us things like they have bought our CDs. But we haven’t been able to go abroad recently. I feel very strongly about going to see everyone and communicating with them in person. Please wait a while longer!
Eru: I want to go to around Asia too, like Taiwan.
Misa: The idol business is booming in France, so I want to try going to Paris!
— Finally, please tell us what’s next for Musubizm.
Misa: There are places in Japan where we have little experience with performing there, so I’d like to try and do something like a Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka tour. We’re going to be performing at various festivals in summer, so I want to deliver the idol genre to not just idol fans, but to other people too. We want to steadily perform at a big venue, so I want to make this year the year to spread the know about Musubizm!
■Information
Musubizm
“Musubizm” are a 5-member idol unit who formed on December 19th, 2017. Their main mission is to tie (‘musubi’) Japan’s ‘kawaii’ culture to the rest of the world. They have departed Harajuku and are currently focusing on touring to tie kawaii everywhere they go. And they will tie it to you too!
■Musubizm / “Kimi ni Yume CHU♡XX”
On Sale: June 27th, 2017
Price: A-Version – ¥1,080 / B-Version – ¥1,080
<Tracklist>
【A-Version】
1. Kimi ni Yume CHU♡XX
2. Kimi e 100%キミへ100%
3. Kimi ni Yume CHU♡XX -Instrumental-
4. Kimi e 100% -Instrumental-
【B-Version】
1. Kimi ni Yume CHU♡XX
2. Koakuma na LOOK
3. Kimi ni Yume CHU♡XX -Instrumental-
4. Koakuma na LOOK -Instrumental-
Musubizm Official Website: http://musubizm.asobisystem.com
Related Article:Musubizm release music video for new song “Kimi ni Yume CHU♡XX”—It’s also playing at Takeshita Street in Harajuku!
Related Article:“Musubizm” will release their 3rd single “Kimini MuCHU♡XX” on the 27th of June, 2017!!