- 4 months ago
After his second album ‘Love All Serve All’, the Japanese alt-pop star felt like he’d said all he could in his native language – and questioned whether he’d continue as an artist. A chance songwriting opportunity helped point him in a new direction, and eventually, to his third record, ‘Prema’.
Fujii Kaze joined NME for the latest edition of our In Conversation series to dive into ‘Prema’, working with A.G. Cook and Tobias Jesso Jr, and the love contained within his new record.
Fujii Kaze joined NME for the latest edition of our In Conversation series to dive into ‘Prema’, working with A.G. Cook and Tobias Jesso Jr, and the love contained within his new record.
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00:00Hopefully I can make one more English album, definitely, yeah, because only nine tracks is kind of sad.
00:19Hi, I'm Rhianne Daly and I'm joined by Fujikaze for the latest in Enemies in Conversation video series.
00:25Hi, Kaze, how are you doing?
00:27I'm good, how are you?
00:28I'm great, thank you.
00:30Welcome to London.
00:32You performed two shows here the last couple of days, how were they for you?
00:36Yeah, I love the people, I love the city, I love the venue, it's so like old-fashioned and vintage, I love that.
00:46I'm still trying to figure out how to perform, like I still don't know what to do on stage, but yeah, I tried my best and yeah, people were so lovely, so yeah.
00:58You seemed very comfortable on stage last night, it didn't seem like you didn't know what to do.
01:01No, no, no, no. I tried to look chill and peaceful and everything, but yeah, inside I'm kind of panicking or something, yeah.
01:13During the set you're covering Amy Winehouse's Love is a Losing Game.
01:16Yes, yes.
01:17Why did you choose to cover that song? What does it mean to you?
01:20Yeah, like it's very London, yeah. I really admire her and I really really love her works.
01:32Yeah, she only has two albums. I love all of her music and especially I love that song.
01:40I'm really happy to perform the song in London especially and Amy Winehouse has a live recording album in that venue, so it's crazy.
01:52Yeah, were you thinking about that when you were performing the song last night?
01:55No, it's, it was nerve-wracking. Yeah, it was, I think I am so brave to even do that.
02:04Definitely.
02:05Yeah, right, yeah.
02:08But you pulled it off, so it's all fine.
02:10Thank you, thank you. I tried, yeah.
02:13You once told a friend that you were going to focus on making it in Japan until your late 20s and then you would come overseas after that.
02:20Oh, wow, yeah, how do you know that?
02:22The research.
02:24But Going Overseas did kind of start a little bit earlier for you with the success of Shinonoga Iwa in 2022.
02:32What was the experience of that song kind of going viral unexpectedly like for you?
02:36Oh, yeah, it was so unexpected.
02:39Yeah, I didn't care much about like TikTok or short kind of contents before, but yeah, I realized how big it can be, the platform can be or for the music business as well.
03:00And so I'm expecting and yeah, it's like all the sudden blessings from God or something.
03:09Yeah, it brought you a lot of positive things, but I also read that it brought you kind of a lot of confusion as well in terms of like what you wanted to do next or whether you should even continue as an artist.
03:19Yeah.
03:19What was it about that experience that kind of left you feeling so lost?
03:22I don't know, like, yeah, I already released two full-length albums and I felt like I could say everything I wanted to say at that time, especially in Japanese.
03:40And yeah, I'm totally lost and what is the next step, next chapter for me as an artist.
03:52I didn't know because I'm kind of satisfied with what I have done.
03:58I always think it's important to feel satisfied and content all the time, but it can be tricky sometimes for the career or start a new thing or something.
04:13Yeah.
04:13What made you decide to continue then and what made you kind of want to keep going and do something else and make eventually a prema?
04:20Like, thankfully, I got an opportunity to make a new song for the sports or basketball team.
04:29Yeah.
04:29Yeah.
04:30That helped me a lot because I, like, life, it was like life told me, oh, you still got to do something or there's still something you can do.
04:46So, the opportunity or the offer to write a song helped me a lot, yeah, to continue as an artist.
04:56Yeah.
04:56Because without that kind of offer, I wouldn't know what to do, so, yeah.
05:03Yeah.
05:04On I Need You Back, one of the songs on prema, you sing about apathy and passion dying.
05:09Does that kind of connect to where you were when you were feeling lost and not knowing what to do next?
05:15Yeah, absolutely.
05:17I'm very clear and honest on the song.
05:23It's very, yeah.
05:24Yeah, I was, yeah, I was very kind of indifferent.
05:30I simply lost all of my passion or energy, so I tried to figure out the way to bring it back to me.
05:44Yeah.
05:44Yeah.
05:46And that I Need You Back, the lyrics directly reflects that kind of state of mind, yeah.
05:55What was that like when you lost the passion and you lost the energy?
05:59Was it kind of scary for you, like, not knowing if you would continue to be a musician?
06:04It wasn't even scary.
06:07It made me think, like, yeah, contentment or satisfaction can be sometimes tricky.
06:15I've always been happy with my career and everything.
06:21And that kind of happiness took my passion away.
06:27It's very real, but, yeah, it's the honest feeling, yeah.
06:31Prema is your first English language album, and you've spoken before about kind of wanting to try and make music in English
06:38being something of, like, unfinished business for you or, like, something you want to fulfill before you die.
06:43Yeah.
06:43What was so exciting to you about the idea of making music in English?
06:48Why did you really want to try and do that?
06:50I don't know.
06:52I simply grew up with all of the English songs.
06:55So how nice it could be to write some songs in English and release an album fully in English.
07:06Like, making English songs and making an English album itself was, like, my dream.
07:13So, yeah, but I almost forgot about that because of all of the kind of chaotic situation and all of the people around me or all of the environments reminded me that I still got something to do with my life.
07:37So, yeah.
07:37Yeah.
07:37Yeah.
07:37In terms of writing in English versus writing in Japanese, what's the feeling of, like, writing in a language that isn't your native one?
07:45And how does that kind of, I guess, open up new ideas or things for you to explore that you maybe wouldn't think of in Japanese?
07:51I can be more simple and clean when I think, even think in English.
07:59And I love the feeling because I want, I want to be a simple person and my, I want my song to be simple and clean, not very complicated.
08:11And, yeah, writing and thinking in English makes me, I'll make my vision kind of clear.
08:18And I also wanted to know what other people would write to my melody or something.
08:26Yeah.
08:27I'm kind of curious about that.
08:29So, I want to try to write my music with someone else.
08:35Yeah.
08:36And you did work with other people on this album, like A.G. Cook, Tobias Jesso Jr., two of the people that you worked with.
08:41What was your experience like working with them?
08:44Oh, thank God.
08:46They're all chill and peaceful.
08:49So, very easy.
08:51It was very easy process.
08:53It was, it went so smoothly, everything.
08:57Yeah, like, especially the production process.
09:01I wanted to get involved with my music deeper and deeper than ever before.
09:12So, it felt like we, we created together, not completely leave it to them or anything.
09:22Yeah.
09:23In the past, would you not share your opinion so much with the producers?
09:28No, actually.
09:29But I sometimes compromised or.
09:33Yeah.
09:34Yeah.
09:34Because the producer is more experienced and I've always been a part of every creation.
09:46Yeah.
09:47But this time, I feel like I had a more like deeper connection with all of my music.
10:00Yeah.
10:00And a lot more responsibility as well.
10:03How did, like, that feeling of responsibility kind of change, I guess, how much attention to detail you were putting into the music, I guess?
10:11I made all of the judgment or decision about all of my details from every instrument to even the cover art of the album.
10:29My previous album's cover was shot in studio.
10:35So, I wanted to shoot this cover of this album in my own house.
10:41Oh, nice.
10:42Yeah.
10:43Because this album felt so close to me, like way closer than before, luckily.
10:52And, yeah, I wanted to, I want, I wanted them to feel the same way.
10:59So, yeah, I wanted to take a picture at my house.
11:06Yeah.
11:07And, yeah.
11:08Musically, Prema sounds very 80s.
11:10There's some New Jackson, New Jackson in there, some disco, some like 80s synth pop.
11:15How did the sounds of the 80s and artists from that decade inspire this album?
11:20Oh, I love the passion that era had.
11:24I felt like they're always trying to do something new and something innovative.
11:32Look at Michael Jackson's music video, Madonna's music videos.
11:37Yeah, they're so creative and, yeah, full of passion for the art and creativity.
11:46And I love to bring that kind of feeling back to this era.
11:54I really love the energy and passion that 80s music has or 80s art has.
12:02So, I felt like I needed that kind of energy to, yeah, continue as an artist to make another album.
12:12So, yeah.
12:13Yeah.
12:14You've said before that you felt like you had to be kind of cool and on the cutting edge of your music in the past.
12:20Why did you feel like that at that time?
12:24I don't know.
12:25Because I feel like my writing style is kind of old fashioned.
12:29I created all of my music with the piano.
12:32Yeah.
12:33And I am influenced by a lot of older kind of music.
12:37Like sometimes it can be 1930s jazz or something and or 1960s Japanese old pops or something.
12:48Yeah.
12:49So, I wanted to mix that kind of old fashioned style of writing with the kind of cutting edge production.
12:58Yeah.
12:59Yeah.
13:00Yeah.
13:01I think it's, I think it's interesting to mix that kind of feel.
13:06But I already did that kind of thing with my previous two albums.
13:13So, I wanted to, yeah, show some respect for the kind of nostalgic vibes and 80s vibes, 90s vibes that I've always been admired.
13:26Yeah.
13:27Prior to Prima, you had never made a song from scratch with another writer or another producer, another musician.
13:32What was the, your experience of that process like going into the studio with someone else and building something out of nothing?
13:38Yeah.
13:39Hachiko is one example of that.
13:43Yeah.
13:44Hachiko is actually is the only one song that I worked with from scratch with another people.
13:52I'm now feeling like I have, I have to do that more often because it gave me some very unexpected kind of ideas.
14:04So, I want to be more flexible and open to challenge, open to do something new and something challenging.
14:15Yeah.
14:16And Hachiko went so smoothly.
14:20I never thought about putting a little bit of Japanese into my English songs.
14:28Yeah.
14:29So, yeah, it was a brilliant idea and it kind of bridges my Japanese career into something new.
14:40So, yeah, I'm really thankful for that kind of opportunity.
14:44Yeah.
14:45Yeah.
14:46That idea came from Tobias Jesu Jr. when you first started writing the song.
14:49Yeah, absolutely.
14:50And then you finished the song off by yourself, I think, later on after watching the film about Hachiko, the dog.
14:55Oh, yeah.
14:56How did the film kind of help you finish writing the lyrics for that song?
14:59Yeah, I was kind of very impressed by they met finally each other in heaven or something.
15:11So, I'd rather like to focus on that kind of positive and peaceful side of the story.
15:21I want this song to feel like we finally met each other and we can do anything from now on.
15:31You and me together finally and we can conquer everything or that kind of invisible type of feeling.
15:44Yeah.
15:45I wanted to emphasize that.
15:48The song is also a message to your fans and kind of a thank you to them for waiting for you.
15:52What does it mean to you that so many people have been kind of waiting for you for three years for new music or a new album?
15:57I mean.
15:58My fans are so patient, you know, because I only randomly dropped a little bit of singles for these three years.
16:11And yeah, I've always wanted to make another album, but it took so much longer than I originally hoped.
16:24And I want them to feel excited for the new chapter.
16:30So, yeah, I wanted to share the kind of excitement with them.
16:35The title Prema comes from the Sanskrit for Love.
16:39Your previous album titles are kind of like messages, I guess, for an ideal world almost.
16:44How would you say that this title kind of connects with those titles and also the general message that you want to share as an artist?
16:51My first previous albums, my two previous albums title also related to kind of Hindu philosophy.
17:03And Prema is also kind of related to Sanskrit and Hindu kind of culture.
17:11And it's totally they connect with each other in my own world.
17:18But yeah, it's not very obvious.
17:21So I knew, I always knew that if I, if I could release my third album, the title would be Prema.
17:31I wanted to be your 100% love, like pure love, like a little bit higher kind of love rather than just a relationship between man and woman or something.
17:48I don't know, but I always wanted to feel that kind of love, like how you love, like spiritual kind of love inside of me.
18:02So it's very important for me to call this album Prema.
18:08You turned 28 recently, but you said on Instagram that you are going to remain 27 until the album is out.
18:16What is the significance of your 27th year to this album?
18:19I basically love the number type, number.
18:24Yeah, it's my third album.
18:26And I also wanted, wanted it to be like solid nine track album, nine tracks album and like three by nine will be 27.
18:40Yeah.
18:41There's also a term called 27 Club, right?
18:46Amy Winehouse is a part of it.
18:48I imagine like, wow, if this third album is going to be my last, what would, what kind of songs do I want to put or make for the album?
19:05So I also felt like it took my 27 whole years to even make this album, not only two or three years, but yeah, my philosophy, my spirituality took my whole life to kind of realize that.
19:28So, yeah.
19:29One of the songs on this album is Forever Young, one of my favorite songs on this album as well.
19:34Wow.
19:35The last song I think that you wrote for it and the last song you decided to go on the album.
19:40Yeah.
19:41What was it about that song that you thought it had to be on the record?
19:44You mean Forever Young?
19:45Yes.
19:46Yeah.
19:47Oh, wow.
19:48During the tour, Asia tour, I visited Bali Island.
19:56And I don't know, that energy that Island had somehow inspired me, that kind of song, like melody.
20:10I always wanted to find some good closing track for the album.
20:16I wanted it to be optimistic and kind of a little bit nostalgic and definitely with the summer feeling because I've always wanted to make a summer record.
20:32So, yeah.
20:33When the melody came, when the chorus melody came, like.
20:39Yeah.
20:40I thought it would be a perfect track and perfect closing track for the album.
20:49Yeah.
20:50Yeah.
20:51I just kind of, I just felt that.
20:54Obviously, you've got a lot of big achievements in your career so far.
20:58And one of them was last year when you played two solo shows at the Nissan Stadium.
21:03You played there before, of course, in 2021 to know one as part of a live stream during the pandemic.
21:09What was the experience of those two very different events, I guess, at two different points of your career?
21:15Like, how did they compare to each other?
21:17Yeah, that one in 2021 is so long ago.
21:22I don't even remember that live performance.
21:26Yeah.
21:27Yeah.
21:28But I felt like it was like making a video for, cover video for YouTube or something.
21:39I've always did that.
21:42Yeah.
21:43Yeah.
21:44Making cover video alone in my room.
21:48Yeah.
21:49So, I didn't feel lonely or anything.
21:54But last year, yeah, I finally couldn't meet my friends.
22:04I met my brothers and sisters in the very big room.
22:10So, that is definitely my, definitely one of my favorite shows that I've ever done.
22:18So, very summer, feeling good out and outside.
22:25So, yeah, I really love that experience.
22:28Yeah.
22:29Where do you go from here when Prema is released?
22:32What is the next kind of achievement for you that you want to gain?
22:36What do you want to do and explore musically as well, I guess?
22:40Yeah.
22:41Yeah.
22:42Hopefully, hopefully I can make one more English album.
22:47Definitely.
22:48Yeah.
22:49Because only nine tracks is kind of sad.
22:53Yeah.
22:54To make another album, hopefully in English.
22:59I don't know about the future, though.
23:02Yeah.
23:03Yeah.
23:04I hope God, God leads me somewhere.
23:08Yeah.
23:09Yeah.
23:10I kind of leave it to Him.
23:12Mm-hmm.
23:13And do whatever you want me to do or something.
23:16Yeah.
23:17Smart.
23:18Well, we'll find out, I guess, in the future then.
23:20Yeah.
23:21Thank you so much for talking to me, Kaze.
23:22It was really great to speak for you.
23:23Thank you so much.
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