Today, 1st December, we celebrate the release of OTO MAYUMI‘s first album, an Italian and Japanese singer! We chatted with her for an exclusive interview! Here is a chance to discover her music and know her career better.
OTO MAYUMI: Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube
TN: Thank you for this interview! Let’s talk about your music and your inspiration now that your new album is out!
OTO MAYUMI: Thank you for the opportunity! I’m ready!
In some interviews you said you started writing music when you were 13. Do you remember a precise moment in which you thought: “This is my career”?
I always liked singing, also because my parents are musicians and singers (of classical music, so a completely different genre).
Actually, when I was a teenager, I always dreamed of being an actress, so I auditioned for a talent agency in Japan, the Tokyo Theatre Academy, and I went there every week to attend acting lessons.
Although I always loved music, I also liked writing poems and, for every audition I did, as speciality I would present some songs. For a long period of time I never thought I would be a singer.
When I was 15, through some experience, I noticed I had some limits regarding acting, especially concerning motivation; I reflected on what I could do, as you say when you marry, “in sickness and in health”. I realized that what I wanted to do was music, singing most of all. Then I understood that if I wanted it to be a job, it was better if I was ready to do it in any mental state.
Other than doing covers and being part of conventions and festivals, you were a Youtuber for years. What are your memories of that time?
I was so motivated. I followed some Japanese Youtubers since forever and I dreamed of being one too, both out of passion and because I wanted to promote myself.
I had a lot of fun and I learned many things, not only how you act in front of a camera but also how to talk, and especially (something very important to me) how to edit a video, as well as understanding and managing the public’s reaction for example in their comments.
Let’s talk about what happened in November 2022: you started a new path to reach the release of your first album. At that time, you published the song “Haisuikou no gomi”(排水口のゴミ). Can you talk about how you created this track?
First of all, at that time, I didn’t have any self-confidence nor a clear vision that would lead to an album (it’s the first time for me), even though I would have loved that. This first single was supposed to be out at the end of 2016 at first. However, a lot of things happened, but, through that, I had the opportunity to meet my current producer, who made a dream of mine come true, that is releasing an album.
I wrote “Haisuikou no gomi” in a dark period of my life… maybe you got it on your own. I don’t want to go into details, but I will tell you that I was in a situation in which I fought to reach a goal and at the same time I was harshly criticized and insulted every day for my choices.
As I was frustrated I had a shower, that then lead me to the inspiration for this track.
You then published “Fukuro” (Owl) e “Zenbu in 2023. In both you talk about powerful topics, like depression and the meaning of life. What inspired you to write the lyrics and to compose the melody?
First, I want to say that the creation of my songs always starts from the lyrics. Usually, in those moments, I do not even have any kind of inspiration of the melody. I put “on hold” what I wrote, then, whenever I want, I reread it. If I’m satisfied after days, weeks or even months (it depends on when I reread it), those lyrics are “approved” to be composed. All of my songs are based on this “selection process”.
Having explained that, I wrote “Fukurou/Owl” after “Haisuikou no gomi”, in 2016, when I managed to reach my goal. This helped me a lot to let of go of remaining parts of my depression, as if there were some scabs on my injuries.
After that, I created “Zenbu”, that, however, was completed (lyrics wise) the next year, in 2017. The last chorus brought “the curtain down”; it was initially written on purpose with an open ending, as if it was a movie.
“Zenbu” is like a metaphorical song about my acceptance of the situation I had to face and all the choices I had to take, especially through my depression. To give an answer on how you feel in depression and how you overcome it I created an ambiguous chorus; however, it was “criticized” by my then boyfriend (now my husband), who said that he would have liked a definitive and concrete answer in that last chorus.
I understood his doubts and I took things in hand, trying to find an answer, an opinion on the matter. I chose to do that because in the end the fact that I did not give an answer (that is, to leave an open and ambiguous ending) it was like not facing the situation to the “final battle” and it was like I didn’t really find a solution for the situation I faced.
In the end, I was satisfied by the ending and by the message I shared, so I think it was a really constructive criticism.
Let’s talk about “Datte”, your fourth and last single before the album. It’s your first ballad. Was its writing and recording a challenge if compared to the previous songs or was it easier?
Let’s start by saying that I was never good at writing love songs, because I was literally sick by what I was writing. However, “Datte” was a song that magically convinced me. It was written spontaneously, in an honest way, without hiding my feelings in metaphors.
Usually I compose and arrange songs with a music program with my PC. I use rock band instruments. However, for this song I started with the sound of an acoustic guitar.
In 2021 you collaborated with FURAMI on the song “Tsukuyomi” (ツクヨミ). Tell us about that experience.
The collaboration started after I received his offer on Instagram.
I immediately checked his discography and I was impressed by his work ethic.
At first we talked online, then we saw each other in real life. The song creation was quick and fluid, there was a lot of inspiration, a lot of motivation and respect on each other’s modus operandi.
We are on good terms still: sometimes we go out to eat (since we are from the same region) and we also eat arrosticini (a typical food from Abruzzo). I would love to collaborate with him again, maybe with a different sound compared to “Tsukuyomi”.
Your first album has two titles: one is for your international audience (“Good and Bad Shades”) and one is in Japanese (“Hai, iie” (灰、良い影)). How do you manage writing songs and promote in different languages (Japanese, English and Italian)? What language are you more comfortable with, music wise? Also, can you explain why you chose two different titles for your album?
Music wise, my chosen language is without a doubt Japanese. I feel extremely comfortable using that language.
As for promotion activities, my husband helps a lot; he is practically my press office manager. Unfortunately my knowledge of English is not perfect (although I would like to learn it properly one day), so he deals with that. I just examine and choose things with him and we give each other advice.
As for the titles choice, let’s start from the concept and the message of the album. I want to clarify that this is not a concept album, I don’t even think I would be able to create one, but when I reflected on the common theme that my songs had, I found my main concept, which is describing the “grey side” of people.
We all live by feeling different emotions, sometimes even opposite ones. I think that the world isn’t only black or white, there is always the other side of a coin, a bit like the yin and yang: something can be positive but also negative, and viceversa.
I defined this as “grey side”, a grey colour that has several shades, so I decided that I wanted to put the word “grey” in the title. “Grey” in Japanese is “hai-iro”, which is composed by “hai”=ashes and “iro”=colour” (ash-coloured). After that, I combined the idea that “hai” in Japanese also means “yes” (although it is written with a different kanji), and I created this short sentence, that is “Yes (and) no”, so “Hai, iie”. I then wrote these two words using kanjis that have a different meaning than “yes” and “no”, to create a second interpretation: “hai”=ashes, “ii”=good, “e”=shadows.
As if to say that ashes create beautiful shadows/shades.
Using “Hai, iie” in the Western version of the album wouldn’t have made sense because a lot of people wouldn’t have understood the double interpretation, so I decided to “translate” it and make it as similar as possible to the original version. For that reason, outside Japan, the album is called “Good and Bad Shades”.
Tell us about the concept of the album, both graphically and musically.
In the previous question I explained the musical part.
Here I will add some details; however, as I usually tell people, I want my audience to feel free to interpret my songs however they like.
You can find a short description of each songs in their videos on Youtube. If you think about it, it seems like the order of the tracklist reflects another concept, even without doing it on purpose. Let me explain it: the first track is an ironic criticism of people who take the liberty to judge others, even though they are the one who lie to themselves; the second track (“Haisuikou no gomi”), is an ironic self-critique, in which one describes themselves as the sewage of a drain. The third track talks about a girl’s “wrong” love for a boy she has sex with; however, he is already in a relationship. The fourth track (“Datte”) is about a pure love and the fear that it can come to an end… and so on and so forth.
The tracklist order was chosen music wise, not for the content of the songs; however, fate decreed that this order would give an “other side of the coin”.
Graphically, you can notice my messages and choices through the physical album. The cover does not really need an explanation (it’s black and white, grey, in different shades); the pictures in the booklet were carefully chosen to go with the lyrics. It’s nice to notice that all the Japanese lyrics are written in white, while the Italian translation is in black.
I know no one will notice, however (this was random too!) the last picture, the one that goes with the last track, it’s both the opposite of the cover (because it’s in colour) and it’s a spoiler for the second album. But I won’t say anything more. Please, enjoy this first production that I created!
What are the activities that we can look forward to in the future?
Live wise, I will hold some concerts in Japanese live houses.
Online wise, I will try to promote my career through social networks, like Instagram and Twitter.
Finally, leave a message to your Italian and international fans!
I would like to thank all of the people who supported me until now and those who will continue to support me. Without them, I would not have been able to reach this goal.
I hope you will like the album, that it will move you and give you pause, not because I want to teach you anything, but because I would like you to think about the reason I chose certain topics.
Enjoy the album and have fun!
ありがとうございます！是非たくさん聴いてたくさん楽しんでください！♪
