Through music, I was able to have discussions with people from all walks of life.
While posting videos of your cover songs on YouTube, did you also write original songs at the same time?
Purple Now: I had been making songs to play along. But I had a vague feeling about it. In the process of creating songs on the guitar, I had drawn out the structure of the song, with a drum beat here, a piano there, and strings there. However, I couldn't give it shape on my own. I felt frustrated. Even if I asked someone to listen to my original songs, I could only express myself by playing along, so I could only deliver about 10% of the potential that I had in mind.
I think you mean that you can only play the skeleton of the song, right?
Purple Now: When I was having these problems, my father told me to try DTM and gave me a computer.
And from there, you started arranging music on your computer.
Purple Now: Yes, it was. I was finally able to draw out the potential of the songs I had in my head with 100%, and I was very moved by it, and music became more enjoyable. That's how I created the songs "Golden Time" and "Aemir.
At that time, while uploading YouTube videos, the number of views gradually increased, and you must have felt a positive response.
Purple Now: It was around this time that the covers were getting rather few reactions. So I thought it was time to release some originals. That's when I started to learn DTM. Then I uploaded "Golden Time" to TikTok.
Why TikTok and not YouTube?
Purple Now: TikTok was just getting popular. Then the buzz started, and I could feel the response. I was actually worried. I wondered, "Is this a viable song? I was worried about whether it would work as a song.
What do you mean by that?
Purple Now: I wanted to create music that I myself wanted to listen to, and that I had never heard before in this world. Because it was music that I had never heard before, I was not sure if it would be accepted, and I also wondered if it could really be music in the first place. I also wondered if it could really be music in the first place. I really wanted to do something genreless. That's why I was relieved when I saw the buzz on TikTok and realized that it could be used as music (laughs).
That peace of mind is a great motivator, isn't it?
Purple Now: As I got better at DTM, the quality of my songs got better and better. I felt that I was evolving.
Murasaki: Your songs have great melodies, your vocals are amazing, your lyrics make me think, and your tracks are complex but cohesive, making them easy to listen to.
Purple Now: I don't think there is anything new, so I want to combine various elements. I think that finding combinations that only I can make is what makes it new and interesting. I value my own personality.
I felt that the lyrics of "Ordinary People" were particularly so, as if you were conducting social issues in a pop manner and looking at the world from a bird's eye view.
Purple Now: That is true. The Internet is commonplace for our generation, and we have access to a wide variety of information. I like X (formerly Twitter) the best, because I think it is a tool that gives us a glimpse into various human societies. I get a lot of ideas from it.
However, I think that social networking sites can be dangerous. It requires literacy.
Purple Now: Since I was a student, I have been navigating the waters of various social networking sites, so I think I have been well-trained in that area. I grew up receiving these comments directly in real time, so I am used to looking at things objectively.
It has already become the norm, or at least the way it is supposed to be.
Purple Now: That's right. The reactions on each social networking site are different, and the choice of words is totally different, which means that the audience is surely different. That to me is proof of the world or diversity.
I was also impressed by your ability to combine all the ideas you got there into a single song. You have a lot of expressive power, don't you?
Purple Now: I try not to make the songs too dark. Many of my songs have lyrics that are antithesis or satirical, so I try to put them on a bright pop song. I think the words are easier to get into your head and reach you that way.
My father loved Bob Marley, and when I was a small child, he taught me that he was a man who sang cheerfully about the difficult situations and harsh and heavy events in Jamaica at that time. So Bob Marley has lived in me since long ago, and I have great respect for him.
It's great that you are able to verbalize and communicate this so well.
Purple Now: My father and mother were people who could verbalize various things and say them clearly. Whether it was right or wrong, my father and I would often discuss philosophical topics and things that had no answers. Since there was no one at school with whom I could talk about such things, I gradually developed a desire to talk with various people, and I thought that music would be accepted honestly by everyone. No matter how strong an idea is, when you listen to it as lyrics in music, it comes through easily.
The song "Ordinary People" is a song that invites discussion. People who listened to the song commented on it in various ways. I myself was reminded of some of them, and some of them wrote that they were encouraged by them. I was very happy that the issues I raised encouraged someone. It is also fun to be able to discuss things with people from all walks of life through music.
You are using SNS in a positive way, aren't you?
Purple Now: Feedback is very important, and it may give birth to a new song. I want to update my philosophy and thinking more and more, and that is what I look forward to in life.
