PROFILE
Born in 1989, trackmaker and MPC player, in April 2016, he released his first album "Pushin'", produced with guests from artists with whom he has a connection, and recorded long sales. In September 2018, he also released his second album, "Eutopia," produced with guest artists from Japan and abroad. In addition to producing his own works, he also produces and collaborates with other artists and creates music for commercials.
stutsbeats.com/
PROFILE
Born in 1990 in Kobe, Japan. He started his music career in junior high school and performed at WIRE, the largest techno event in Japan, when he was a junior in high school, as the youngest performer in the event's history. Later, "Mercury feat. Minister Onomatopoeia" reached No. 1 on the iTunes Store singles chart overall. Since her major label debut, she has expanded her activities to include collaborations with Chisato Moritaka, Noko no Ko (Sacred Kamattechan), Takashi Fujii, and others, as well as the theme song and accompaniment for the movie "Sleep or Wake Up" In 2020, she released a digital mini album "TBEP" in March.
tofubeats.com/
Contrast."
This is STUTS' first mini-album in two years. In addition to Yusei Takahashi, Akihiko Aoki, Keigo Iwami, and Sota Kira, who were the band members of the one-man live concert held at "Shibuya WWW X" in January this year, Satoshi Takeshima joins the band for this album. STUTS will perform a vocal song for the first time, as well as play an instrument and mix an instrumental song for the first time.
This time it became a very personal work. (STUTS)
. Your mini-album "Contrast" has just been released. Why was your name suggested by Mr. STUTS to be the person to talk with this time, tofubeats?
STUTS: You are active as a track maker, and you also sing yourself. You do everything from track production to vocals and mastering all by yourself, and I simply respect your stance, so I thought I would like to talk with you about it.
tofubeats: Oh, no, don't give me that kind of praise (laughs).
Are the two of you acquainted in the first place?
tofubeats:
Last year, we were shooting a PV for VaVa's song "Biscuit" together, and we talked a lot while we were waiting for the shoot. We talked a lot during the waiting time, and I was allowed to go to his house.
I have known your music for a long time. I get the impression that you are more of a "musician" than a trackmaker. I am not so particular about rawness, but STUTS has it. For example, I really like J Dilla as a track-maker, but I don't think I can do it like him. But I feel that kind of vibe from STUTS.
I am amazed that you started out as an MPC player and now play a variety of instruments. I think you are often seen as a trackmaker like me, but it is interesting that we are so similar yet so different from each other.
STUTS: Wow, I'm glad to hear that . Thank you .
You are both trackmakers, but your music is completely different. But, on the other hand, do you feel that you have something in common?
tofubeats: Some of the songs on "Contrast" you did everything up to the mix, didn't you? In that sense, we may have something in common.
STUTS: Yes, that's right. I usually do the mixing myself, but this is my first time doing the vocals, so I'm impressed that you, tofu, have completed everything from vocals to mastering all by yourself (laughs).
A: Normally, the role of a trackmaker and producer is to create a track, feature an appropriate vocalist or rapper, and have a mastering engineer adjust the sound quality, right? But you both do all of this yourselves.
tofubeats: . I feel like I ended up doing everything myself, though.
STUTS: Yes, I understand. I feel that the desire to do everything on my own was growing, and I interpreted it as if the weight of such feelings became heavier with "FANTASY CLUB" after the first and second albums. I sympathized with such a movement of the heart. On the surface, I am a trackmaker, but when I started doing vocals and mastering, I started to step out of that box.
What exactly do you mean when you say, "I'm starting to want to do everything on my own"?
STUTS: It's hard to put it this way, but when I participate in other people's work, I can keep my own desires in check, but when I do my own work, I have a hard time keeping them in check, especially when I invite a featured artist. I have a hard time finding the right balance, especially when I call in a featured artist.
tofubeats: Yes, I totally understand. When I am making my own music, I become more and more particular about what I am doing, and it becomes a hassle to produce while sharing my opinions with others (laughs). (Laughs.) I find it hard to communicate with others. (Laughs). I thought that if I was going to fall apart because of that, I might as well just work on it until I was satisfied with it, even if I wasn't very good at it. However, I am not a good singer, so I sometimes feel conflicted about whether it would be better to ask someone else to do it for me (laughs).
STUTS: In my case, there are many songs that I would like to feature, but I have always wanted to release other songs as well. However, it is probably more correct to say that I ended up creating these songs as I went along, rather than that I started out trying to create them on my own. After the release of the second album, "Eutopia," it turned out to be different from what I had envisioned for the next album. I am no longer in control of that.
tofubeats: I was very surprised when I listened to the new album, and when I went to your one-man show in January, I saw that you were playing synths in a band formation. So I thought it was going to be a band album, but it was totally different. I thought it would be a very personal work. Perhaps it is due to the timing of the album.
STUTS: . the song itself was ready before all the fuss over Corona. However, the process of creating the song was exactly what was happening in the world, so to a certain extent, it may reflect the time period. I myself feel that this time it has become something very personal.
You performed a one-man show in January with a band. Did you make use of this experience in the creation of this work?
STUTS: Yes, the fourth and fifth tracks, "CONTRAST, Pt. 1" and "CONTRAST, Pt. 2," were recorded live at that time.
tofubeats: The way you created it is interesting , isn't it? I feel that this song also plays a role in the slightly different atmosphere from your previous works.
STUTS: Yes, I agree. I felt that this kind of approach had never been done before. I wanted to convey the passion of a live performance.
tofubeats: I would say that the songs in this album are very much in the STUTS style, especially the ones that you sing by yourself. This may be a matter of personal preference, but I really like songs in which I do everything myself (laughs).
STUTS: Thank you (laughs).
tofubeats:
. something I've been thinking about for the past two years or so. I believe that pop music is strengthened when many people are involved. For example, if many people are involved in a single project and share their opinions with each other, I think it is possible to create a work that will be well-liked by many people. On the other hand, it is extremely risky to do everything by oneself. However, it is more personal and interesting to work that way.
I myself prefer the latter. There is a competition sponsored by Red Bull where contestants ride original vehicles and compete in terms of speed and creativity. I am more attracted to interesting rides that are created by someone on their own, like the Red Bull competition, rather than super high-tech rides like the Shinkansen, which are created by a variety of people who have put their heads together (laughs).
This time, you rap on the song "Vapor". When I heard it live, I thought "Oh! I thought, "Wow! I think it is a very personal song, and I think the inclusion of that song changes the way the other songs are heard.
