Perfume “Polyrhythm” interview for CDJournal

reporter: Takagi Shinichiro
publisher: CDJournal
published: September 13, 2007 (interview conducted August)

Perfume on the girly perspective behind their new single: “We want people to feel it with their bodies”

With the idol appeal of their cute looks and the high musicianship of their Nakata Yasutaka (capsule)-produced songs as their weapons, Perfume is capturing the hearts of everyone from the Akiba crowd to stylish music lovers, attaining firmly rooted popularity all the while. In their new single “Polyrhythm,” that musicality has reached even greater heights. Now, having been used as a Japan Advertising Council commercial song, there’s no mistaking that this will be the release to open up new doors to these girls.

―― I understand that it’s been four years now since you made your debut with the single “Sweet Donuts,” but what have these past four years been like for you?
Kashiyuka: We put our all into each and every thing we did, and we were so busy handling it all that they went by before we knew it.
A~chan: We did a lot of street lives and in-store lives over those four years, and I think the Perfume everyone is being introduced to now exists because we had those experiences. There are people who say we have a “cool” image nowadays, but I don’t believe that we want to erase our past in Akihabara, and I think we’re progressing down a good path thanks to having been through all of that.

―― Selling out Daikanyama Unit and so forth during that time, you started to see clear signs of your fans increasing, too.
Nocchi: We’re glad. But I do think “What made Perfume so great to them?” sometimes (laughs).
A~chan: It probably wasn’t wholly based on what we’d done, but various people — like Kimura Kaela-san, for example — talking about us in various places and spreading the word about us, so I think their support had a lot to do with it as well.

―― You also made an appearance at Summer Sonic this year.
Kashiyuka: Yeah… We’re really happy about that, but then it’s also kind of like, “Huh? Did we really go?” It hasn’t sunken in for us yet.
Nocchi: I know! We already went, but it feels like something that should still be ahead of us.
A~chan: Oh! And the food area was so awesome, with sushi and tempura and…
Nocchi: Donuts!
Kashiyuka: They had soba there, too.
A~chan: And the juice — they had foreign canned juices all lined up in a row.
Kashiyuka: We really enjoyed ourselves with all of that (laughs).

―― (laughs) How about your performance?
A~chan: At first, we’d all thought, “Nobody there will know anything about Perfume, so even if they come to check us out, we probably won’t get more than fifty people or so.” But when we saw the audience, a ton of people had shown up to see us. Then when we were finished on stage, they all got up and left, so it was like, “Oh, they came just for us.”

―― Taking everything you’ve said so far all together, your popularity honestly hasn’t hit you yet, has it?
A~chan: We aren’t popular!
Nocchi: We don’t show up in the media too much, so maybe that has something to do with why we haven’t been able to grasp it.

―― Your way of speaking and everything is so natural. I’m a little surprised by that.
Kashiyuka: It’s probably that when you listen to our music and see our CD jackets, they’re really elaborate, so people might have an idea of us as being cool, but we’re actually just normal college girls. Maybe that gap is extreme for some people…

―― Your new song “Polyrhythm” is being used in a commercial for the Japan Advertising Council, and you appear in the commercial yourselves as well.
Kashiyuka: It never occurs to me that that commercial is airing across the whole country at the same time as I’m watching it myself. It doesn’t really feel real.
A~chan: When we see it on TV, we’re like, “Ah!” (in a frozen pose)
Nocchi: Our breath catches (laughs). But I think this commercial is a good chance for people to find out about us, and the visuals feel like a music video, so I’m glad that they’ll be able to see Perfume looking Perfume-like.
A~chan: Having Perfume act in an environmental ad deepens the mystery of it, so if people saw it and thought, “What is this commercial? Oh, it’s for the environment,” maybe they’d take some interest in recycling, too.

―― The song stands out for its rather unique aspects in its own right, but what did you think when you heard it for the first time?
Nocchi: None of us three knew what “polyrhythm” meant in the beginning, so we thought, “Does it have something to do with polyethylene bags? Nakata-san must be thinking about recycling, too.” (laughs)
Kashiyuka: Plus, people who listen to the song might think their CD player is broken (laughs).
A~chan: Maybe they’d start to feel sick if they heard it over and over again (laughs).
Nocchi: So we don’t want people to listen to it quietly, but feel it with their bodies instead.

―― Your lyrics have also gone from the abstract style of 2006’s “Electro World” to a much girlier perspective.
A~chan: For sure. Like with “Linear Motor Girl” and stuff, I have no idea what any of that means (laughs).
Kashiyuka: Nobody can relate to that (laughs). When I think of it that way, the coupling track on this single “SEVENTH HEAVEN” is really relatable, and it feels like a good song for girls to me. Saying that, I’d actually like for men to listen to it as well. Like, “Girls get butterflies in these kinds of moments.” The lyrics are from a girl’s perspective, but I think even guys’ hearts would be touched by them. ...Why does Nakata-san know how girls feel so well, though?
A~chan: It isn’t Nakata-san writing them, I’m sure of it. Somewhere beneath Nakata-san, there’s a reeeeeally tiiiiiny and cute girl, and she has to be the one writing them (laughs).
Nocchi: That’s how much he really understands a girl’s feelings. So much it’s scary (laughs). I think this is a good opportunity to have people get to know the new Perfume. We’d like to show our old fans, “We’ve grown up again!”
A~chan: But we’re not doing that to sell — we’re happy just to be a part of Perfume in itself. So I always want to stay like this as Perfume.

Perfume's recommended releases

Nocchi
Tokyo Jihen, Killer Tune

Kashiyuka
InK, InK PunK PhunK

A~chan
Sukima Switch, Greatest Hits