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Satoko Shibata interview

柴田聡子 インタビュー

interview & photo: Masanobu Nishino
Text by Akiko Inoue
 

About my impression of Yokohama

 
— Mr. Shibata, you currently live in Koganecho, but honestly, what are your impressions of Koganecho and Yokohama?
Shibata: I really like it. I'm from Hokkaido, but after going to school in Tokyo and moving to Kochi, Yokohama is my favorite city. It feels a bit like a local city, and there are some questionable places nearby, which is nice.
 
— After graduating from university, you worked in Kochi for half a year and then came back here. Why did you choose Yokohama instead of Tokyo?
Shibata: Originally, I had no intention of living in Tokyo. I thought Yokohama was great. Also, I found a place where the rent was really cheap.
Thanks to that, I am able to do what I do now.
 

About the 2nd album currently in production from the 1st album “Satoko Shibata Shima”

``I think it was fluffy. Let's make it! I really don't have a strong heart like that...''
 
— Her first album ``Shibata Satokojima'' was released on an indie label and sold an unusually large number of copies, but personally, I think she sings about her own experiences and the people around her, but she's a recluse. It didn't feel like that, but I got the impression that it was moving fluffy here and there. The CD jacket also featured a photo of a remote island, but as I listened to it, I thought it wasn't a lonely image, but rather an image of people floating freely.
What kind of image did you have in mind for that album?
Shibata: Actually, on that album, I only sang and played. The reason for making that album was when I was going to Kochi for work, I wanted to make it to commemorate it, and various people including Hiroki Misawa and DJ Puri Puri came together. They did it for me, but I recorded 10 songs in 3 days and went to Kochi, and from there they left it to me to do the arrangements over time.
 
— When it was completed, there were a lot of different sounds overlapping each other.
Shibata: That's right.
 
–At first, it was to commemorate your departure to Kochi.
Shibata: I think it was more like a commemoration, or rather, it came true in a certain flow, and I was feeling a little fluffy about it. I feel like I'm following everyone.
 
— You are currently recording an album, and I heard that in your first album, “Shibata Satokojima,” you were strongly influenced by the power of those around you. What do you think of this, your second album?
Shibata: This time, I'm thinking of performing, recording, and mixing myself.
 
— Your university friends also participated in your first album, right? Were there many music lovers at your university? I think this also appeared on the official website of MEDIA PRACTICE .
Shibata: Yes. I think she was born well.
 
Used by Shibata
 

□About MEDIA PRACTICE

``I think it's possible if you have the right people. ”
 
— The official website for Tokyo University of the Arts' graduation exhibition "MEDIA PRACTICE 2011-2012," in which Mr. Shibata participated, achieved the remarkable feat of winning the Special Jury Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival, which is unusual for a website for a university graduation exhibition. But where did the idea to create a theme song when creating a site come from?
Shibata: I don't know what it was, I think we were talking about it in the public relations team, and it probably boiled down to something, but when everyone was like, ``What should we do?'', a lot of people happened to like music, and... ``Okay, let's make a theme song,'' and I decided that it would flow in the direction I liked... (lol)
 
— It seems like we had a mutual friend called music that helped us overcome the difficult situation we were in (lol)
Shibata: I think I just liked sessions and wanted to do them, but I think I was stuck on how to promote them. I felt that the way we had been doing it until now wouldn't work, so we started talking about singing it, so we decided to come up with a theme song, so we got together and set up a day where we had a session all night long. By chance, I decided to write a song about obscene dialogue, and a snippet of that song came up, and I thought it might be good. Like... So, the song was created, and before I knew it, I had a website like that.
 
–In a sense, it was born out of a difficult situation.
Shibata: Yes, but I don't really remember that process.
 
- But rather than trying to create a song from scratch, it seems like we just looked for a way to make a difficult situation fun and ended up with something great.
Shibata: Well, I think it was like that.
 
— Putting the songs more front than the exhibition content...lol
Shibata: (laughs) I'm glad it worked out in the end. I think everyone was thinking that we had made a good song... I was like, ``This is really good.''
 
— But in the end, you won the award!
Shibata: That's amazing, isn't it? It's surprising that there was such a response... Everyone worked hard on the videos and recordings, but we weren't thinking about awards or anything, and when we released them, there was a great response, mainly on Twitter. That's amazing, I thought it was just one shot when a famous person tweeted something, so I was surprised.
 
— It seems like there were a lot of tweets saying, “What the heck is this!” instead of saying things like “It’s good.”
Shibata: I received an email from the person who was creating the website saying something like, "The access is amazing!" I remember being so happy. Also, it seems like everyone stayed there for a really long time because they listened to the song all the way to the end. (Reflecting) Those were good days...
 
— The MEDIA PRACTICE homepage was created because we found the right people.
Shibata: I really think so. But I thought it was something like that. I think we can do it if we have the right people.
 

□About the live performance

``I'm really blessed and I'm happy to think that my life has been good. ”
 
— Are there any musicians who have influenced you?
Shibata: I can't really think of anything like that... People like Yumin and Seiko Matsuda... They're not maniacs at all...
 
— You have worked with famous people up until now, and this time you will have a live performance with Seiichi Yamamoto on June 2nd (Sunday) at Chat Noir in Hinode-cho. What made you and Yamamoto decide to perform together?
Shibata: I participated in the album of a unit called Ya-to-i and when I met Mr. Yamamoto, I asked him to do it.
a! However, the answer to your previous question may be Mr. Yamamoto. I've loved you since high school.
 
— I guess that's what happened.
Shibata: I love it. The first time I heard Mr. Yamamoto was on an album of playing and singing called ``Nazo Nazo,'' and it was shocking. A friend lent it to me, and I still listen to it every now and then. I love it.
 
— This upcoming live will be a really happy one, being able to perform with people I like so much.
Shibata: It's like a dream. I feel that way every day, but I'm happy to think that I'm truly blessed and that my life is good.
 
— This is a live performance together with Yamamoto-san. Will the two of you sing together?
Shibata: It still feels like it's undecided.
 
— We stopped talking earlier, but how did you come to be involved with ya-to-i?
Shibata: There is a person who has been helping us with public relations since the 1st album, and that person is deeply involved with Moon Riders, so when ya-to-i was re-activating, I was contacted through that person. I did. I was happy.
 
Used by Shibata_1
 

□About performance works

``I think it's valuable to have words. ”
 
- Changing the topic, I think you were a good performer when you were a student, but how are you doing these days?
Shibata: Recently, I haven't done anything close to that shape.
 
- I've seen the performance several times, and I think there's a strong theatrical element to the performance, and for people who only have the impression of Shibata-san singing in his usual way, it's like, ``Ah, Mr. Shibata, you also do things like this.'' I think it's a content that will surprise you. Is there a difference between the two types of Shibata-san: the one who writes songs and the one who performs?
 
Shibata: I don't know if that's the answer, but the performance during the graduation project seemed contrived... I feel like I can't do something like that unless I do it on purpose, and lately I've been feeling a bit uncomfortable with that, so I've been distancing myself from performing. No, I'd rather think that I don't care about expressing myself... I think I'm still clinging to myself, but I want to become that way eventually. Even now, I find it fascinating to see the mysterious things about humans and animals. Living things are mysterious... Strange things usually happen. There's something like telepathy...
 
— In order to explore that area of interest, I was doing both music and performance, but do you feel like the performance side is starting to feel a bit strange?
Shibata: No, I don't think so. Schools have a lot of freedom, so whatever you do, you can get people to watch it, and it works, but when you go out, it's a little different. I can sing, but I can't do that kind of performance right now because I don't want to do that kind of performance if it comes off as too obvious, unreasonable, or fake. is.
 
— With a gallery or something like that, there's something about being a place where you can do things like that, but universities are more like a classroom than an exhibition space, so that kind of space was perfect for me. I wonder if there is such a thing.
Shibata: No, I think that's probably just being spoiled. That's why I feel like they were able to do it with that level of quality.
 
— If there is space, would you like to perform again?
Shibata: I feel like all I have to do is come up with something good that I can do naturally... I don't think there is anything like that to begin with, and I don't know how to do it, but I'm interested in it. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, so I'm just trying to figure out the direction. I'm currently trying to figure out what would be the most fun way to do something like that.
 
- I thought that even with the music and lyrics added to the song, the parts that can't be fully expressed can be expressed in the performance.
Shibata: I think there is a simpler way. I think it's valuable to have words. Lately, I've been thinking that in the end, it's all about words. I don't think that's the case though. It goes back and forth. Either way. I think the only thing I can do is put out what feels right.
 

Performance: “Illustrated/Sixth Sense for Dogs and Children” / 2012
 
— Personally, I really like Shibata-san's performance.
Shibata: Really? I really can't stand anything other than singing. Conditions like this. The other day, I submitted an article to someone who said it looked like "depersonalization syndrome," so I looked it up, and I got scared because I thought the symptoms were quite similar to mine. There's a strange sense of objectivity that comes from feeling like you're being watched by someone else, and I feel like there are three of us watching over each other at all times. However, when I'm singing, it feels effortless and easy, but when I'm talking, it's the worst.
 
— How do you feel when you are writing lyrics?
Shibata: I don't usually write poems, but I do write in a diary. I guess it's the me I am when I'm writing in my diary and when I'm singing, the me I can forgive.
 
— Isn't that exhausting?
Shibata: It's tiring. That's why there are nights when I can't do it all... Ah, but even if I say that, I live a carefree life (lol)
 
— When you compose a song, do you write the lyrics first? Does the melody come first?
Shibata: Sometimes the music comes first, sometimes the lyrics come first, and of course there are times when they come at the same time. It really varies, but it's difficult to write lyrics to other people's songs.
 
- It's not a sound that comes from me.
Shibata: I don't really know how to say the words, and I simply can't get them to say anything meaningful. I once had the opportunity to write the lyrics for a new song for a unit called Ya-to-i when they resumed their activities, but the lyrics had almost no meaning, and I wrote them just based on their sound. In the end, I think I came up with a piece of my own meaning... When I told Toru Okada (note: Ya-to-i member and Moon Riders keyboardist) that I didn't have any lyrics, he said, ``Maybe there are words that are included in the melody, so give it your best.'' I remember being told that. In the end, I ended up writing the temporary song for about 10 minutes. I don't know which one is better.
 

□About what I am currently addicted to

— What are you most passionate about right now?
Shibata: I have no hobbies, but I wonder if it's recording...
 
— Do you try out various equipment?
Shibata: Well, I'm trying out various things. I don't have enough to collect, but I think it's time to spend the money now. When you spend money, you get high and it's quite fun (lol)
 
— I started to feel like I was listening to an amazing confession (lol)
Shibata: No, but I don't spend that much money, but I do spend almost a total amount of money.
 

— What is your favorite thing you have bought so far?
Shibata: I had the most fun buying an AKG microphone. That's the only microphone I have, but it's become the standard for my sound, so it's fun to try out other microphones. I never really thought this sound was good until now, but now I can hear it. Oh, I was recently lent a guitar, and it was handmade and super cute.
 
— Lately, you've been experimenting with various sounds.
Shibata: I feel like I've come to terms with it.
 

□About recommended spots in Kanagawa

 
— Now, this is the last question, Mr. Shibata, what are your recommended spots in Kanagawa Prefecture?
Shibata: There's a Chinese restaurant in Yokohama called Chuka Ichiban that's open 24 hours a day, and when I'm in Yokohama for a drink, I always drift off and end up there. I feel like I've been poisoned, but I kind of like it (lol) It's way too cheap, even if we all go out drinking, it's only 800 yen per person! If there's nowhere else to go, that's the best place to go. It's gone so far that it's almost like I'm addicted (lol)
 
— Mr. Shibata from “Chuka Ichiban”, please tell us your recommended menu.
Shibata: Paiko fried rice! ! When I went there first, I was told that I must try the paiko fried rice, so I did. I also recommend the cutlet curry.
 
–I’ll try it next time! Thank you for your time today!
 
Used by Shibata_5
 
<Live information>
http://magcul.net/event/shibatasatoko/
 
Date and time: Sunday, June 2nd Performance starts at 19:00 (doors open at 18:30)
Location: Hinodecho Chat Noir (1-76-1 Hinodecho, Naka-ku, Yokohama)
Price: 2000 yen in advance / 2500 yen on the day (1 drink order separately)
Cast: Satoko Shibata, Seiichi Yamamoto
Reservation: Telephone 045-242-9784 (18:00-24:00 *Closed on Sundays)
<This event has ended. 〉
 
4N8A0923
 
4N8A0935
 
In fact, Ms. Shibata sometimes works at the bar as ``BAR Satoko'', albeit irregularly.
If you want to see it in person, it might be a good idea to check the schedule on the website and try to go on that day.
 
(Editor's postscript)
 
This day's interview was in the morning, so after saying goodbye to Mr. Shibata, I immediately went to "Chuka Ichiban" for the interview. Although it has been in business for 52 years, it has a very dignified exterior, but the signboard has a friendly message that says, ``When you want it, when it tastes good, we're open 24 hours a day.'' When I entered the store, it was full even though it was around 1pm, and the faint Showa scent made me feel like I had traveled back in time. Mr. Shibata's recommended pie komen and cutlet curry are truly filling. Actually, this is a single item. The set also comes with half ramen and a hot spring egg for an additional 100 yen. That's unbelievable pricing. The taste is also quite addictive, so it's easy to see why people keep coming back. It was ``Chuka Ichiban,'' which has maintained the same taste since its founding.
 
Copy of paiko fried rice
 
Copy of cutlet curry
 
■ Chuka Ichiban Main Store (3-43 Akebono-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture)
http://tabelog.com/kanagawa/A1403/A140306/14011829/
Phone: 045-261-0968
Access: 5 minutes walk from Bandobashi Station on the municipal subway / 260m from Bandobashi Station