Notice
The purpose of this page is to publish an interview with KOKIA for archival purposes that was originally published free of charge on a web page. However, we will promptly delete the page upon request from the copyright holder.
Source
- Original URL: http://www.fullcast.co.jp/cv/interview_02_01.html (dead link)
- Source URL: a backup in WebArchive (in Japanese)
The First Voice: “I knew I would become what I am today since I was little.” (2006)
- Header title: Music is just like words. It has to be conveyed.
- Subtitle: Another Independent. Monologue, Part I. A musician KOKIA. Photos by Hidemi Ogata.
She is like a marathon runner. You shouldn’t be fooled by her cute looks. She thinks about how she can convey her songs to the audience, and never gives up. You will be overwhelmed by her professionalism as she continues to sing even if she faces trouble and suffering in her careers.
KOKIA: It is difficult to talk about how I became a musician because it is so complicated. But, after starting this job, I think… even though I am able to do what I want to do, there are always something painful and troubling. I would think it is important to keep going.
— How did you get started in music in the first place?
I took violin lessons when I was little, and it was like a request from my grandmother, who told her grandchildren to keep practicing whatever they wanted for 10 years. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get good at it, and of course it doesn’t matter if you don’t become a professional. But, just keep practicing for 10 years.
— She is very nice grandmother, isn’t she?
The reason that my grandmother said so is because she has believed that, after practicing 10 years, anyone will be able to see things that you couldn’t see before. That’s what I have been told since I was little.
— But, you didn’t like playing violin very much, right?
But I think it was a worthwhile thing right now to keep continuing for more than 10 years. Then I started playing the piano, started writing songs, and made my debut while I was still in college.
— I heard that other grandchildren have been doing something for 10 years too.
Sometimes that words of grandmother weigh heavily. It maybe an exaggeration to call it a setback. But, even if you have something to worry about, you can choose your own way, at any moment. Right?
— Do you mean, for example, that you quit or run away?
But because we can always choose our own way at any moment, we can try a little harder. That leads to new results.
— When did you start playing the violin?
I think when I was about two and a half years old.
— You were born in a music-loving family.
Born into a family of music lovers, I learned to play the violin. I also like to play the piano. I enjoyed writing songs and singing… It was not like the Jokyo Monogatari (*) that “I’m going to go to Tokyo and become a singer!”. From a rather young age, when I saw some stage, I thought, “Oh…, I’m sure I’m going to be like that”.
- (*) Translation note: the so-called “Jokyo Monogatari” is a kind of idiom meaning a story about a person who comes from the countryside and succeeds in Tokyo. In kanji, it is written as 上京物語, and 上京(Jokyo) means “comming to Tokyo” and 物語(Monogatari) means “a story”.
— Wow, that’s amazing. It’s also amazing that you can make that happen. By stage, do you mean regular pop music?
I mean any entertainments, like musicals including classical music. Not only music, but also movies. Every time I see a movie, I am moved, even as a child. I thought that I would become a person who would work to entertain and move people in that way, and I wanted to do the same thing too.
— How old were you when you started to think that way?
Hmm, I guess when I was in kindergarten or elementary school.
— So, you had an intuition about it.
I still live by my intuition. I am the type of person who trusts my intuition. There are many situations that it does not work, though.
— Did you have specific favorite artists?
Michael Jackson was a great influence on me as an entertainer. He still gives us a lot of topics, but it’s amazing when he goes that far.
— Michael Jackson!? It’s surprizing to me to take into account that you were in elementary school.
The first CD I ever bought was Michael Jackson’s “BAD” (Note: Released in 1987. No.1 album charted in 25 countries and 5 singles charted No.1 in the U.S.). I bought the imported version of it and I was so moved by it that I thought I was going to be like this person.
“Music opened the door in my heart.”
— You studied abroad in the U.S. for a short period of time when you were in the fifth grade and the eighth grade.
KOKIA: I lived in a dormitory by myself for a few months to study music. Looking back and thinking about that time, I want to thank my mother.
— It seems to me that your mother has a lot of courage to send a fifth grade girl to the U.S.
But my experience in the U.S. was a tremendous human growth event. It is only a few months for studying music, but that experience also shaped the way I think and the way I interact with music, which constituites about a third of my musical life.
— I see.
It was like I can break out of my shell. I had been constricted by the Japanese education system, but at that time I was very free.
— You mean, for example, “Music should be played in a soundproof room”?
I personally think that, for example, there are noise problems in the neighborhood, or students are forced to practice for hours a day to be good at playing music. But in the U.S., we practice music in nature. How can I say…, it is like we transcend language barriers and play music together. We can really communicated with each other through music.
— What was the school like?
What I really liked about that school was that it was not only about music, but it was all about entertainment. Some wanted to be actresses, some dancers, some painters. Everyone came to the school to pursue various arts.
— I see. So in many ways, you have changed the way you face music.
Another good point was that it is not easy for fifth grade girl to be away from their parents, is it? Then you experience things you don’t usually think about, such as how much you appreciate your parents. Everynight, I am alone in bed and wonder, “Oh…, what is my mom doing?”
— At that time, there were only collect calls and letters.
The Internet was not as widespread as it is now. I was very grateful to receive just one letter a week. So…, I chose each words carefully. Even a casual conversation on the phone is very gratifying. These feelings are reflected in the worldview of the lyrics I create now.
— It’s a great story!
Ah yes, there is another story. When I first arrived in the U.S., I was in a culture shock and shut down for about two weeks. I was quite a sociable person, but I was so frustrated that I couldn’t speak English… It made me sad.
— And there were no Japanese at all…
But one day, a classmate brought my violin case, opened the case, and offered the violin to me. She gestured for me to play. I wondered what she was doing, so I played it, and she started playing the piano, and her friend started playing the flute, and it was like a session.
— Ah-ha!
I think, by doing so, she told me that “Our common language is music, isn’t it? Everyone is here to play music, so we can have fun communicating with each other through music”. It’s strange, but after that day, I am able to speak English as well!
Music took away a pain in her heart. Such original experiences have made KOKIA’s today. And the next story is about her debut. (“The Second Voice”, to be continued!)