MEG “OK” interview for hotexpress

reporter: Hiraga Tetsuo
publisher: hotexpress
published: October 5, 2007

Collaborating with some of the most distinguished artists in the club music world and designing her own apparel brand, MEG is steadily establishing her position in the industry. I often see articles which introduce her this way, but actually interviewing her face-to-face, she struck me as a fun-loving girl at heart. You’ll also read about her creating music and clothing with a desire to excite the world here, but I found that this really is the core of who she is.

Girlhood of MEG

I’ll also be touching on your new release “OK,” of course, but as this is your first appearance here on hotexpress, please allow me to ask some questions about your personal history. To start, what is your earliest memory of making something or expressing yourself creatively in some way?
I started out making robots out of empty sweets boxes or pudding cups when I was in preschool. The preschool I went to gave us a lot of creative work. I spent a long time there ever since I was two years old, so I was a bit like the leader of the pack (laughs), but I have memories of crafting often from that period on.

What kind of girl were you in your early childhood?
I would play while wearing skirts that my mother made for me. I remember wearing skirts that spun and spread out as I twirled to the point that my panties were completely visible (laughs). I just liked fluttery skirts. They were all I wore. I liked cute things like that ever since I was young. But I always had short hair.

From fashion to music, there are many different cultures throughout society, but what would you say your interests were as a young girl?
I learned classical piano from the time I was three years old. At the time, though, I wasn’t interested in singing yet. So if I were pushed to choose, I remember making a bunch of things. And I drew pictures. Yeah, not so out of the ordinary (laughs).

(laughs) So it’s not like you were notably artistic ever since you were little.
Yes, I wasn’t such an astonishing child (laughs).

Were there any performers or artists you admired? 
Kyon-Kyon [Koizumi Kyoko], I suppose. I thought she was living in a really dazzling world. But your idea of that always changes.

Incidentally, what was the first CD you ever bought? 
Namae wo Tsukete Yaru by Spitz. It had a cat on the cover. 

Then what music did you grow up listening to?
I was around elementary or middle school age when I bought Spitz’s Namae wo Tsukete Yaru, and while I always loved Spitz, I borrowed an oldies compilation album from a friend later on and got really into that. So I listened to stuff like Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” and France Gall a lot. It wasn’t popular with the people around me whatsoever, but I went through a big phase with it. Neil Sedaka was on that album and I really fell for his voice and melodies. But I listened to the regular music they played on TV, too. I don’t think I had any overwhelming preference.

When did you first realize that you wanted to make music yourself? 
It was a while later that I thought about doing music. Even after I started testing the waters, I didn’t really feel like I was “doing music” — it felt like an extension of the crafting I already did. Trying something I’d never done before. That was how it felt to me, so I never thought of it like “only” singing or “only” doing music especially.

A debut secret story of MEG

You told me some of your first creative memories earlier, but what was the decisive event that made you want to work in the industry you’re in now?
Nothing really comes to mind (laughs). But I want to offer something fun to everyone. Whether through fashion or music, I want to create something that puts some spring into people’s lives, thrills them and lifts their spirits. There’s no difference between when I’m designing clothes and when I’m making music in that sense. In the future, I may do something else, but when that time comes, my axis will stay the same: “I want to make something exciting.” That’s the feeling I get.

Did pursuing those feelings lead you to where you are in the present?
Yes, I think so. I’m often asked what I most want to do at the end of the day, but lately I think the desire to make things that excite people is the axis of my work. That’s something I realized looking back on myself.

From what I know of your debut, you came on the scene in 2002 with “Scanty Blues,” but did you do any modeling or entertainment-related work before then?
No, I released one CD on an indie label, but I got my start through a nationwide audition looking to discover people with various talents. I was scouted by people from my old management office there and then it just kind of went like “let’s give music a shot.” At the time, I guess I was curious what would happen if I auditioned. Then I ended up debuting along the way. So I think I was just lucky (laughs).

(laughs) Right from your debut, though, you felt like someone who really had her own unique world inside of her to me.
I think a lot of that came from [producer] Okamura Yasuyuki-san’s skill. Okamura-san felt like the essence of a true artist to me, and I learned so much from him. He asked me how I wanted things to sound and the resulting track became my debut song.

If I’m not mistaken, you said you “wanted to do everything yourself” in several interviews at the time of your debut. How do you feel about that nowadays?
That’s wrong. It’s a lie (laughs). 

(laughs)
I just had no choice but to do everything (laughs). I had no manager back then. So there were times when I’d have to handle my schedule by myself, and that’s how I learned that adults break their promises easily (laughs). Both my parents are elementary school teachers, so every adult I met as a child was a teacher whether I was at school or at home. So I believed adults kept their promises like they told children to do, and that’s what I thought being an adult was, but when I got to Tokyo, it was like, “Huh?” I was like, “There are all these people not doing what they promised like it’s no big deal!” (laughs) That made me think I needed to be the reliable one.

You were given a big shock so soon after your debut.
It really was a shock. That was the biggest shock I experienced coming to Tokyo. But whenever there are juniors below me, or whenever I’m above someone else in a position of power or seniority, I think, “I refuse to make them feel like that!” Those at the top really have to be dependable for others.

I do feel a little like I’m interviewing a salaryman, I have to say. 
(laughs)

A theme of MEG

Well, maybe all of those struggles were worth it in the end. Right now, you’re collaborating with some of the most distinguished artists in the club music world, designing your own apparel brand and steadily establishing your position in the industry. What do you think about your current circumstances?
When I debuted in 2002, I couldn’t picture how anything would turn out and I never even imagined I’d be in a place like the one where I am now. I just chased after one thing at a time and did my best to return what I was given in my own way, but in doing that, I met all kinds of people and, somehow or another, it’s like all of it led me to this point. That was how I came to have my own store, too. 

Hearing the voices of my fans through my store and my blog and getting to find out their thoughts as I’m doing more live shows, there’s a give-and-take that leads me to what I should do next. That happens little by little, though. Putting something out into the world and getting a response to that becomes the energy I need to take my next step. So rather than wanting to be a certain way for myself, I’m very interested in how I can make things enjoyable for girls of my generation and what sort of things they like, and it feels like I was able to come this far through that.

I want to provide fun that interests everyone. I think of both clothing and music as a way to have fun, and in that sense, while it’s not a communication tool, I make all sorts of things in the hopes that they can serve as a means for further exchange of ideas. But I’m not a very “hungry” person (laughs), so I can’t spend every night going to club events.

(laughs) So you’re going to make that a trend in that world.
You know, I searched everywhere and I couldn’t find anything, so I guess my hairstyle just isn’t popular at all from the looks of it (laughs). But I think about how it’d be interesting to have something like that, and then I think about how if Doraemon made a store, it’d probably be the most profitable and things like that (laughs).

In this connection, are music and fashion a pair that can’t be parted from your perspective?
It’s actually harder for me to think of them separately, and I think it’s rarer for people to only like music and have no interest in fashion or only like fashion and be completely uninterested in music. I’m better able to relate to people who like both. I imagine the packaging of my music as it would look in someone’s home or car and think about what artwork or music would be best for those circumstances.

For example, I chose to produce “OK” with Nakata [Yasutaka]-kun because my aim was to create music that could be used to get everyone going in a club or having fun at a party. I want to share that pleasure with those who know of me from fashion magazines and are coming to see my shows for the first time, too. The theme of “OK” and my upcoming album is music you can enjoy whether you listen to it at home or at the club.

Uh, watching the music video for your new song “OK” — I’m not really meaning to butter you up, but either way, I thought it was a ridiculously cute video.
It is. It’s catchy! This time, be it the music video or the cover or the art direction, I feel so little hesitation or indecisiveness you could give it the subtitle “guaranteed no doubt about this single” (laughs). I feel the same about the sound. It feels like everything inside of me is clear, like I have no doubts.

I felt this in the song “OK” itself as well, but is cuteness and girlishness another of your themes right now?
I think if anything I like tended to come through in my work easily, that would be it. I also mentioned how I’m interested to know what girls from my generation like a little while ago, but girls like cute things. That’s a point of commonality between us, so I think it showed itself in “OK” this time as well.

Um, I’ve never considered something like this before, but there was something I thought of while listening to your new song and watching the video. Cuteness is happiness, isn’t it? Like that alone can make you happy.
That’s true (laughs).

Like it’s something this generation needs.
I think so. I ultimately think of music as one way to have fun, and if that’s the case, it should be enjoyable. My state of mind right now is like, “Why make your mood worse on purpose?” Living should be more fun. I feel like that. 

Do you tend to feel like the world would be better with more of those things in it?
I want people to always have strength and vitality. I think, “You don’t have to go out of your way to listen to gloomy songs when you’re in good spirits!” A bright, energetic life is most important. ...I’m talking like an old person, though (laughs).

OK of MEG

(laughs) In order to deliver that happiness to the world, your new single “OK” was released on October 3rd. First off, what impressions or thoughts did you have of the song “OK” upon its completion?
That it definitely wasn’t a mistake to work on it with Nakata-kun. I was glad we made it together. This was a song I’d kept in reserve with only the arrangement left to do for a long time. It was written about two years ago. Then, when I was working with Nakata-kun on my last single, I remembered this song and thought it’d work well with a similar style. The production went shockingly quick, though. His use of my voice and the vocal effects on it was very close to what I’d imagined for the song, so I had that trust in him to understand what I wanted to create and deliver that in a greater form even without me saying anything. Then with this sound, the completed cover art and the matching heart theme, I thought, yeah, this turned out well as a cohesive work.

With composition by Tsutaya Koichi and arrangement and production by Nakata Yasutaka, the single features some of the hottest music creators of the moment, but to have the chance to work with these two must’ve taken some rather exciting lead-up in itself, didn’t it?
I’ve actually been friends with Tsutaya-kun since he was in CANNABIS, so when CANNABIS disbanded, he gave me a CD of demos he’d been working on at the time. This song was among those, and I held onto it for a long while. Because I intended for this release to have a happy, uplifting mood and work in a club setting as well as at home, I thought I should have Nakata-kun finish it. The demo Tsutaya-kun gave me had a strong melody to begin with, so it left a big impression on me. I thought it was a good song.

By the way, how did you and Nakata Yasutaka-san meet?
I’ve known Nakata-kun since about two or three years ago. He was at the press event of a designer acquaintance we both shared, and I walked in the fashion show there. I met Nakata-kun at the afterparty following the fashion show. Since then, we just go out to eat together from time to time (laughs).

I’ve interviewed Nakata-san in the past as well, but he doesn’t place any restrictions or barriers on what he expresses. He’s very free. Do you feel compatible in that respect?
Yes. It goes unbelievably smooth working with him. I find myself thinking, “Should the songs really be coming this easily?” (laughs) So my new album is completed already as well. There are even songs on it that we finished all the way up to the mixing within three days. Also, I’ve always been this way, but for me, it takes a lot of courage to leave things up to other people. I guess that means I must really trust Nakata-kun to be able to let him do everything.

It’s the same with fashion, but it’s not like I went to school for any of this. Despite that, what’s important isn’t that part but what you go on to develop from there, so I think that mindset of not being tied down to the established rules is very modern and feels “flexible” in a way that really resonates with me. I do believe new things are born from a place of flexibility. Well, I haven’t exactly talked to Nakata-kun about any of that while we were working either (laughs), but I feel something very familiar in the approach he takes to things.

So will we be seeing a lot of Nakata-san’s name in the credits of your works from now on?
My next album is going to feature total production by him, so he’ll be behind all of the songs. Some of them are pretty different from what he’s done before now, and I feel like he must’ve given a lot of thought to my character while making them.

Incidentally, “OK” is also your first release since changing record labels, so how are you liking your new environment?
I feel happy! I can meet a bunch of new people this way. And I’ve been thinking again that music is something you really can’t do alone. The scope is different from clothing, too, because there are honestly tons of staff working towards the same goal from places you can’t see. I’m really feeling that right now.

Then, as we’re now at the end, please give a message to our readers!
I’ll be releasing an album at the end of the year, but before then, I hope you’ll enjoy listening to this single “OK” and watching its music video. There’s also some funny choreography, so I’d be happy if you memorized that and danced along with me when I perform it live.