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[[This article is a translation of ako’s interview with Rolling Stone Japan on 2024/06/07. The author is Takayuki Okamoto, and this interview was done before the release of her major debut album GENE, set to release in July 2024. Translated half of the way through as its a long one, but lots of good info on ako here ☻]]

You have been active as an independent artist since 2020, but this year you made your major debut. Have there been any changes in your creative process?

a子：After joining a major label, I became very conscious of starting from writing the melody to make music that is more accessible to a wider audience. I used to write songs from the backing track, but now I am more conscious of making the melody line stand out. I recorded “LAZY” in this way. For the track side, the sound of the guitar and overall vibe is a bit European (*UK rock). I aimed for a similar style to Bloc Party or Two Door Cinema Club, so I paid attention to the guitar tone and drum sound when recording.

Were you drawing inspiration from a new style for your music to go along with your major debut?

a子：I wanted to give my music a European feel because that’s what I’m into at the moment. But, usually I listen to new music when it comes out or when someone shows me interesting music that I’ve never heard before. We have always been paying for the recording and music videos out of pocket, but now that we have joined a major label, the weight of receiving money from other people made me tremble. It was a different kind of responsibility from when I was doing it all myself; It felt different because people other than my own team were involved. I started to create while thinking, “Let’s nail it this time”!

By “team,” you mean the creative team “londog” that you lead, right? When I first learned about you, I thought you made all the music by yourself. How did you come to work as a team?

a子：I was thinking about doing music since I was in high school. I am from Hyogo Prefecture (*near Osaka), so I worked part-time for about a year after leaving high school to save enough money for moving to Tokyo. But I felt like it would be too hard to create the level of music I wanted on my own, so I started searching for someone who would do it with me. I didn’t even know where to begin. While writing songs, and not really being active as a creator, I would make it a habit to visit jazz bars and go to places that musicians would seemingly gather.

The people I met at those places brought the band members and introduced me. I wanted someone to make tracks, someone to play behind me when I sing, and then a photographer, makeup artist, and stylist so that we could make our own music videos.

We went around asking people “Let’s do it together!”, and that’s how the current members of “londog” came together. The songs are pretty much written by myself and Nakamura-san (Eiji) who is the keyboard in the band. We closely communicate with each other on how to make the music, and for music videos, we rely on Yuki Yoshida from the Video Team. She has a very ambitious personality and we think together about how to make the music video, what to do in it, and how to do it artistically, so the team is divided into two parts: the musical side and the visual side.

For the music side, it seems you could almost be considered a solo band. Why do you choose to do it this way? Your songs have a strong band sound to them.

a子：It’s something like, “it isn’t smart thinking you can make a living from just being ako” for me. It’s important to do and receive work outside of the band, that’s our real job, is how I feel. We’ve been working as a team of 12 for quite a while now, and because I’m a solo artist, the members kindly think that “what ako wants to do is correct”. If we were officially a band, I think that would be hard. And, there’s many in the team who want to do other work. I want them to work with me to hone their skills, and if they feel that working as a londog is not for them, they can always tell me. Our current goals are very high, so we are working together to improve the quality and technical aspects of our work.

I was able to see your performance at Shibuya’s “Synchronicity 24” the other day. What was it that made you start singing in your signature whisper voice?

a子：When I first moved to Tokyo, I was very worried. I didn’t like my voice at all, and I was always searching for the best way for me to sing. Then I suddenly remembered an artist named Melanie Martinez. I saw her on the American TV program “The Voice” when I was in middle school. The other auditioners had a powerful voice that sounded very American, but Melanie had a husky voice and a unique way of singing. She was able to win because she was different, and she had a special charm that set her apart from the other contestants.

I thought I might never make it to being an artist because I wasn’t confident in my singing. When I moved to Tokyo, I remembered that I felt there was a different path for me after learning about Melanie’s creative view. Also, at the time, Billy Eilish was making a break in the industry with her whisper music, and I thought, “I can go into the pop scene with this kind of singing style”. Dream pop was also very popular at that time, and all of my favorite artists in that area, such as Men I Trust and The Marías, sang in a whispery style. I thought, “I might be able to do this too,” so I practiced a lot, and I thought, “With this style, my voice sounds like the voice I really like,” so I settled on my current style.

The reason you take time for doing your sound checks must be because of all the aspects you need to think about, like how to make sure the instruments don’t drown out your voice.

a子：That’s exactly right. The band members are probably having a hard time, especially our drummer, who I think is playing with a lot of restraint. I am also the type to checks things very carefully, but the one person in our band who understands everything musically and studies other instruments is the band leader, Nakamura-san. He makes the tracks with us, and he makes sure that the vocals are heard well. However, I still haven’t been able to perform in a way that allows the vocals to be heard clearly, so I am still doing a lot of trial and error, and there are times when I think, “For the next live performance, let’s try a different method that I’m thinking of now.

[[I might translate more later on, but for now go stream Gene!! peace]]