I sometimes wonder what it would be like to collaborate with an overseas artist, as a duet maybe. I’d like to try things that I haven’t tried before.
This is the second of a two-part interview feature with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, focusing on her recent and future activities – click here for part one, where she discusses her first decade!
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is now in her 11th year since her groundbreaking debut with 2011 single “PonPonPon.” She is currently in the midst of celebrating the recent release of her album “Candy Racer” and her latest single “Maybe Baby” – a tie-in with the videogame spinoff anime series “Ninjala.”
On April 16 and 23, she will perform alongside Billie Eilish and Doja Cat at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, before returning to Japan to complete a 30-date domestic tour. For Kyary, who has performed numerous overseas tours since her debut, these will be her first shows outside of Japan since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic – a welcome return to the global stage for Japan’s most unusual pop star.
In part one of this two-part series, Kyary reflects about the past decade or so and how she got to where she is today. She talks about her feelings for her future as a music artist and fashion icon.
How do you feel your music has changed, in particular with your latest album, “Candy Racer”?
The new album is a new challenge for me! For example, the song “Dodonpa” features a lot of voice percussion, and the title track “Candy Racer” has a sort of “Neo Tokyo” image that I thought might give fans overseas a sort of Tokyo Olympics type image of Japan.
I think [Yasutaka] Nakata-san has been conscious of my upcoming appearance at Coachella and tailored the music on the new album for an overseas audience.
Last of 2 parts
Part 1: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu: Looking Back on a Decade of Kawaii Cool
This is the second of a two-part interview feature with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, focusing on her recent and future activities – click here for part one, where she discusses her first decade!
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is now in her 11th year since her groundbreaking debut with 2011 single “PonPonPon.” She is currently in the midst of celebrating the recent release of her album “Candy Racer” and her latest single “Maybe Baby” – a tie-in with the videogame spinoff anime series “Ninjala.”
On April 16 and 23, she will perform alongside Billie Eilish and Doja Cat at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, before returning to Japan to complete a 30-date domestic tour. For Kyary, who has performed numerous overseas tours since her debut, these will be her first shows outside of Japan since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic – a welcome return to the global stage for Japan’s most unusual pop star.
In part one of this two-part series, Kyary reflects about the past decade or so and how she got to where she is today. She talks about her feelings for her future as a music artist and fashion icon.
How do you feel your music has changed, in particular with your latest album, “Candy Racer”?
The new album is a new challenge for me! For example, the song “Dodonpa” features a lot of voice percussion, and the title track “Candy Racer” has a sort of “Neo Tokyo” image that I thought might give fans overseas a sort of Tokyo Olympics type image of Japan.
I think [Yasutaka] Nakata-san has been conscious of my upcoming appearance at Coachella and tailored the music on the new album for an overseas audience.
Most J-pop artists usually work with a variety of songwriters and producers, but the advantage of working exclusively with Nakata for all of your music means you have a much more cohesive sound. (Nakata is also the sole producer of Perfume, as well as his own project, Capsule.)
How does it feel to work with him?
I have been a fan of Perfume and Capsule since I was in high school, so over the past 10 years I have been delighted to have him producing my music. He creates so many wonderful songs for me, and with so much variety.
Nakata-san is so talented, and I respect him so much. Also, both my music and Perfume’s music are popular overseas. And of course we share the same producer, so I feel that Nakata-san’s music is well suited to overseas audiences.
Do you ever feel you would like to work with another producer or try a different style of music?
https://cinecittacinema.org
Yes, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to collaborate with an overseas artist, as a duet maybe. I’d like to try things that I haven’t tried before.
Anyone in particular?
I like this French group called Yelle very much, and I listen to their music a lot. They came to see me when I was performing in France, and they told me that they’d like to collaborate with me sometime. I’d love to set up a France x Japan collaboration with them.
You were booked to perform at Coachella 2020, but the festival was canceled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and indeed the 2021 festival as well. Now you have announced that you will perform at Coachella 2022 at last. As someone who has been performing overseas regularly since early in your career, the past two years must have been really tough. How do you feel about being invited back to Coachella this year, and also finally performing overseas after such a long break?
2020 was set to be a big year for me. I was going to perform at a festival in Mexico, and Coachella, and from there I had intended to perform overseas even more and find new audiences around the world. Then when everything was canceled due to the pandemic, I was so upset. It was like my career was frozen.
When I told A-chan from Perfume that I was feeling down, she told me that it’s not only me who is frozen in time, but all of Japan and the whole world, and that I shouldn’t be depressed by the situation.
That woke me up. And so, during this time when the clock has stopped for all of us, I am finding new inspiration, and I want to put on an incredible performance at Coachella. I’ve been watching videos of Coachella sets by people like Beyoncé and Ariana Grande, and thinking of ways to enhance my own performance. I want to bring the Kyary Pamyu Pamyu show that everyone is hoping for.
