PROFILE
An alternative rock band composed of Moeka Shiotsuka (Vo, Gt), Yurika Kawanishi (Ba, Cho), and Hiroa Fukuda (Dr, Cho). They are an alternative rock band consisting of Moeka Shiotsuka (Vo, Gt), Yurika Kawanishi (Ba, Cho) and Hiroa Fukuda (Dr, Cho). They have been active as an indie band and have been a member of F.C.L.S. (Sony Music Labels) since 2020. In 2023, they will be in charge of the ending theme for the second season of the "Shibuya Incident" of the TV anime "Jujutsu Kaisen". In 2024, he toured Asia for the first time, gaining popularity beyond Japan.
. trying my best to explore what I want to express and to evolve.
I recently had the opportunity to attend your live performance at Liquid Room, which was celebrating its 20th anniversary. I was impressed that both of you seemed to be enjoying your live performance rather than playing it cool.
Kawanishi: This year was the third time for us to perform at the anniversary of Liquid Room. We always include our favorite songs in the set list, and we are relatively free to play whatever we like. On tour, we actively include songs from the new album, and at festivals, there are many first-timers, so we include our best-known songs. But that day was a celebration, so one of our goals was to have fun together.
I had an image that you usually perform with a sense of tension in your live performances, including the direction, etc. , so I felt I could see a different side of you. The sound was also very good.
Salt Mound: On tour, there are venues of various sizes, and we do our best in those venues, but since we come from a live house background, it is fun to perform at a place like Liquid Room.
Hitsujibungaku's environment seems to have changed drastically in the past few years, what do you think about it as a participant?
Salt Mound: I feel like I have more followers on Instagram (laughs). I was also happy to be able to perform overseas.
Kawanishi: . I enjoy going abroad to places I have never been. Even though it is my first time in a new place, many visitors come to see me, and they all sing along with me.
Last year, you were in charge of the ending theme for the second season of the TV anime "Jutsu Kaisen" (Shibuya Incidents), and recently you also worked on the ending theme for the second season of "Suishinoko". . In this way, I think you have become more active as a major band. . Even so, I get the impression that you are still doing what you want to do without changing your musical style much.
Salt Mound: Many of the musicians around us are very dexterous and can handle difficult things, but we can't do very difficult things. So when I hear music that has been created with such attention to detail, I am simply amazed. I think we should be able to do it better, too. However, we are trying our best to evolve as a band by exploring what we want to express within the limits of what we can do.
Kawanishi: . but I'm always particular about the melody, and I think it evolves with each song I write.
Is that true of the new song "Burning" as well?
Kawanishi: The same is true of "Burning" and the songs we have written for tie-ups in the past. I think that the melody of the songs that people can listen to has evolved a lot.
Salt Mound: Thank you so much for having a member say that to me (laughs).
Do you have any thoughts on the Japanese music scene? There used to be many more three-piece bands like Hitsujibungaku with a straightforward rock sound, but I think there are only a few nowadays.
Kawanishi: Such a simple band with only three instruments is indeed a rarity in the major Japanese scene.
Salt Mound: . I feel lucky. I know I'm repeating myself, but this is all we can really do, so when I heard the opening of "Mysterious Child" created by GEMN, I thought, "This is it! I thought, "This is it! It expresses the world of the original work well, and the song transcends the concept of an A-melody, B-melody, and chorus within 90 seconds. I felt like I was trapped within the 90-second frame, and I struggled with that at times.
So I really wish I could be more detailed. I also look at charts and listen to a lot of music, and I like milet, and I think tuki's voice is wonderful, and I also listen to Zutomayo (I wish it was always midnight), and YOASOBI's "Biri-Biri" is my favorite, but I can't make it. I can't make that song. We are doing what we can do in our own way.
