昔から御贔屓にして下さっている方なら聴き飽きたかもしれないだろうが、
「花のにおい」(The Smells of a Flower)も10周年特別バージョンとして殆ど新しく収録し直した。
私にとって自らの曲の中で一番思い入れが深い曲だからだ。 古参ファンのかたは是非初期との違いを感じ取って頂ければ、と思う。
I released my first solo album as Kudo Kamome on July 7, 2020. I was also still in a band called Seagull at the time. I didn’t know anything about digital recording and started purely out of curiosity
I bought the bare minimum equipment needed to record and started using Garageband without reading the instruction manual.
The first song I ever recorded was “The Smells of a Flower”. A new version of the song on Thread or Yarn. I made 8-bit loops on my Nintendo Gameboy. I didn’t know how to record direct, so I just pointed the microphone at the Gameboy. I tapped out drum patterns, played guitar, and made basslines on my 1-octave MIDI keyboard. I recorded vocals and mixed the song myself. Actually, I still can’t play keyboard. Guitar is the only instrument I would say that I can actually play. Through trial and error, I eventually finished the song. I surprised myself. (I was able to make a whole song by myself!) At the time, Myspace was popular. Later I learned that this is what is called Social Networking or SNS. I was as uninformed about these things back then as I am now. I started uploading my songs there as a sort of “archive”. One day, I got a message. “I like your music very much! It would be great if you could come to Tokyo to perform”. I couldn’t believe it. I never expected to get feedback about my music. I felt that if there was even one person who liked my music, i would go to Tokyo by myself and perform. That was the first time I performed live by myself. First time solo, first time in Tokyo (at the time, I lived in Kobe).
The first venue I played was Shinjuku Jam (now closed). It was a place that I always wanted to play at. My favorite band Spitz used to play there a lot, so I contacted the venue and booked a show. It was a day time show. I was very nervous for my first solo show, but it was very fun. There was somebody there to listen. That is the most important thing to me. I decided to leave the band i was in to pursue music as a solo artist.
I believe that I have grown in the last 10 years. For example, my music was distributed throughout Japan, I played an in-store show at Tower Records, and started releasing music on Twin Capital in 2017. People overseas were starting to listen to my music. As a rule, I always want to move forward and never backwards.
Thread or Yarn is a collection of songs from various stages of my life. It consists of songs that I wrote when I first started, even before I joined Seagull, to songs I wrote recently. It also includes songs featuring other artists. Why did I decide to release my 10th anniversary album through a label and not independently? Before being with a label, I did everything on my own, which is not a bad thing, however… From working with other people, I was able to discover many things about myself. When I was making my first album with collaborators, I was not used to working with others, so I got into many arguments. I remember saying “That’s it. I quit.” But there was at least one person listening, so I continued working half confident, half skeptical. I worked hard to earn trust and respect.
The response was great. I was grateful that it was reviewed by many different media. It exceeded all of my expectations. By my second label release, I was getting used to working with people and was excited with the process. Working with a label allowed me to work with other people, whether it be remixes or features. I am grateful for the response from overseas.
Perhaps, people who have followed me from the beginning, might be tired of “A Smells of a Flower” , but this new version is completely different. This song has a special place in my heart. I hope that long time listeners can appreciate the changes from the first version of the song.
I asked Aux Mirari, who I respect very much, to remix Please. Their version gave me goosebumps. I have only gratitude for them. (The original version is on my Soundcloud page).
I collaborated with Cedrics on Attention. This was an unreleased demos from my Cedric's collaboration album Blackout from last year. Of all the songs we demo’ed, we decided to release Rolling and Superstar. I kept thinking about Attention from those sessions and decided to put it on Thread or Yarn.
Candy Apple and Shooting Star are from when I first started writing songs. I pulled them out of my notes. They were experiments on what these songs would sound like if I recorded them now. They share a spirit that is different from my spirit now. It was nostalgic and fresh at the same time.
Anorexia is a track with Downstate and Hamacide. I received this beat when I was first approached by Twin Capital years ago. At the time, it was difficult for me to put a melody to the track. I ended up working on another track, which ended up up being Mellow Old from my Apple Sleep album. I am very happy that Anorexia has come to form on this album. Maybe this is “growth”.
The last track, “My Closet” was first released last year on July 7, 2019. My actual closet is overflowing with colorful vintage clothes. My walls are covered with antique hats. Old trinkets are all over the place. From the time i started buying clothes, I only went to vintage shops. Not much has changed since then. I went through my adolescence surrounded in all of these colors, learning to write songs. As an adult, I am still surrounded by trinkets, my guitar, and my daydreams. Even though my feelings and perspectives may have changed, my roots have not. “My Closet” reflects this idea.
July 7 2020… my 10th anniversary… 7 songs… It seems like a good place to place a comma in my life journey.
I am starting my 11th year. For my next anniversary, I still want to be making music that is “me”
I hope you all enjoy this album.
I have experienced a so many things in the last 10 years, and I wonder what lies ahead.
I am filled with excitement.
Thank you all so very much.
Kudo Kamome
credits
released July 7, 2020
Art Direction by Kudo Kamome
Cover Photo by Hamacide
Mixed by Hamacide except for "Please (Aux Mirari Remix)" and "Anorexia (In a Coma Version)"
Mastered by Yosi Horikawa
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