Green-yellow society

The evolution and deepening of the green-yellow society does not stop. Green-yellow society's 3rd album "Actor", which will be released one year and nine months after the release of the previous work "SINGALONG", will be released with a voracious spirit of challenge and curiosity while all the members are steadily growing as musicians. The 2021 of Ryokshaka (green-yellow society), which has faced a different sound approach, is crystallized. Including the drama "Emergency Interrogation Room" theme song "LITMUS", "Asahi Super Dry The Cool" CM song "Zutto Zutto Zutto", anime "Hanyou no Yashahime" ending theme "Ketsusho", etc. Although this work also includes close-up songs, there is also a powerful message that "affirms your life" throughout the whole story. How did "Actor", which can be said to be one of the achievements of Ryokshaka, who is celebrating the band's 10th anniversary this year, been completed? We talked to all the members.

－“Actor” can be said to be the culmination of Ryokshaka, who has been greedily incorporating various sound approaches.

Nagaya: Until now, it's always been a sense of "eat and eat". It was a study of how to incorporate various kinds of music into green-yellow society. With this album ``Actor'', I think I've reached a phase where I can make the most of what I've researched. Kobayashi: When we started the band, we were like, "Let's make something weird." Even if it's difficult, if it makes the music better, let's try it. From there, I gradually began to put the spotlight on Nagaya songs.

－The previous album “SINGALONG” (released in 2020) was exactly that kind of work.

Kobayashi: That's right. On top of that, everyone's songwriting skills have improved this time, so it's an album that is both musically cohesive and strange. Anami: This time, the source material is easy to understand. For example, if it's a "character", talk about wanting to do something like old soul/funk. peppe: Everyone should have a common understanding. Anami: Yes. That's why peppe's "waltz in a la mode" is a classic. Nagaya: I was able to make such things systematically. Until now, it was a series of things like "this is what happened".

－I became able to aim for what I wanted to do.

Anami: Yes. It's exactly the feeling that "I want to do" comes first, and that sound is embodied. With "SINGALONG", there were songs like "Mela!", "inori", and "Ippo" among the band-like songs, and I felt like I was stepping outside of the band little by little. world. I think it's huge that there were so many people who said they liked that kind of song. Based on that, for example, "LADYBUG" (released in February 2021, the song included in the 3rd single "Yuisho") incorporates South American sounds, and after breaking out of the shell one by one, it leads to "Actor". There is a place where I arrived. Originally, the four of us didn't just come together to do band music, so I hope that through this album we can convey the desire to take on more and more challenges other than that.

－What about peppe? What kind of evolution do you feel in this album?

peppe: This time, it was great that we were able to communicate with the arranger through our own announcements. Until last time, we often added our own opinions after receiving a proposal. Now we are able to put out what we want to do by ourselves. The songwriting with the arranger has changed to something like plus alpha & new (laughs).

- Has anything changed in your songwriting approach?

Kobayashi: We wanted to include items in the lyrics that were easy to understand. I want to create a song that gives you a sense of the world after listening to it.

- Indeed. I think this album has a lot of songs with strong lyrics. Ichisei-san's "Landscape", "Your focus is/my blind spot" is really good.

Anami: It's nice over there. Kobayashi: Actually, I thought the first chorus of "Landscape" was the best, so I wrote it. But when I search my ego, that one resonates more. It's a pleasant shock. In my opinion, I want the first chorus to be a little more spotlighted (laughs). "The scenery you see is your background". This is similar to “Bukobo” (a song that Nagaya provided for Kiyoe Yoshioka (Ikimonogakari/Vo)), but people know things they don’t know, and people pay attention to things they don’t notice. I wanted to express that people are attracted to people who can give them away. I wish I could express something like the reason why I have to be that person.

－What you just said, "Why you have to be that person", is a theme that also leads to the title of the album "Actor".

Nagaya: Ah, yes.

－Did you come up with this title as the songs came out?

Nagaya: We have a lot of tie-up songs this time, and when we were about to make an album, it was a theme that came up with the tie-up songs lined up. The word "Actor" came from the fact that there are various characters in each song. From there, the song "Character" was born.

－"Character" was composed by Shingo-san and peppe-san.

Anami: I wanted something that would make you jump and dance at the beginning of the album when you saw the whole picture of the album. I'm looking for something that's fashionable, but that also has the ability to sing properly. You worked in the studio with peppe, didn't you? peppe: Yes. Imagine a school in America with lots of people dancing. Kobayashi: Like "High School Musical". Anami: Ah, I'm the same. peppe: Just like when I made "Mela!", I made a few patterns before going into the studio, but I think I overthinked it a bit. Rather than something that came out naturally, it felt like it had been made into something, so I said, "I want to recreate it by myself." Anami: It's better to do it with the tension as if you came to play for a while. "I'm going to the convenience store right now, so make it while you're at it," and leave me alone (laughs). peppe: At that time, I said, "We have to have fun." Anami: That's right, it shouldn't be a job. peppe: So, that day, while walking in the rain, I got really wet and felt blue, so I changed the tension to the point where I wanted to turn that feeling into a sound. Then suddenly flashed the intro. From there, I made it all at once. Nagaya: When making this song, I also said, "I want persuasiveness." Up until now (with the people who listened) it was "Let's have fun together", but we want to make songs that can incite everyone a little more. This song has elements of black music, and it had a thumping feel to it, so I thought I'd be able to add those lyrics.

- The chorus "Everyone needs you" is just such a phrase.

Nagaya: The phrase is easy to understand and catchy. If we had put it out a few years ago, we probably wouldn't have gotten the message we wanted. I thought it would be a little more fluffy, or maybe it would be conveyed with a light sense of tension. Also, I think we may have been embarrassed. But now I wrote it thinking that I might be able to deliver it with a straight meaning.

－The lyrics were co-written by Nagaya-san and Ichisei-san.

Kobayashi: I wanted to make the lyrics the same as "Mela!", so I wrote a rough outline of what I wanted to write, and asked Nagaya to put it into words. I did, but... Nagaya: "Mela!" went well with that, but it didn't go well this time. Kobayashi: I would like you to remove the lyrics and just play the melody. Is there a Japanese word for "character"? It's a melody line. Nagaya was the only solution. No other words here. Nagaya: Yes, it was difficult. But after those words came out, the theme of the song became clear.

－It must have been important for this chorus to fit in with the melody, but at the same time it fits in with the theme of the album. They say that just being alive has meaning.

Nagaya: Right. I have a feeling that I want to deliver this, but I wanted you to say this first. I wonder if I wanted to be able to say that.

- That's what I wanted to ask. Were the lyrics of "Character" something that Nagaya-san wanted to tell himself, or were they words that he wanted to say to people who are said to have low self-esteem in the world today? ? What?

Nagaya: I think it's both. Now that SNS has become complicated, I also feel that it has become very difficult to live. You can only see the shining parts of various people. There must be some parts that aren't. That is why there are many people who are troubled by comparing them. It's the same when I look at my friends around me, and I think it's especially true in Japan. Low self-esteem and low self-esteem. Kobayashi: Nagaya himself says that if he debuts now, he won't reveal his face or name. Nagaya: Yeah, I definitely won't put it out.

- How is that possible?

Nagaya: That gives you more freedom. When I do it under my real name, when someone says something about the song, I feel like I'm being denied. If I can replace it with something that isn't my true self, then perhaps there will be no more scary things. However, I think there are lyrics that can only be written by the true self, so I don't know which one is better.

－Yeah, "Yureru" is one of those songs, isn't it? I think that the meaning of the album as a whole will change completely if this one song is included in this album or not.

Nagaya: Yeah, right. Just when I wrote "Yuru", it was the timing when the production of the tie-up song had settled down. Why don't we all make it freely once? Talk to me. So I wrote it without really thinking about it. There is a lyric that says, "It would be nice if everyone was unhappy." You can't write that kind of thing in a tie-up song, can you?

- Indeed. In everyday life, I am invincible! It's a song that delicately sang the moment when you can think like that, and the swing of your heart that becomes depressed because there's no value in living.

Nagaya: You wrote it very honestly.