jealous of cats

AIMYON: A lot of things have happened in the world, and it feels like five years have passed without me intending it, but I've gotten older and feel a bit more mature than I did back then, and I feel like I'm able to welcome everyone as a proper host. I've never been the type to be shy around people, but I think this time I was able to get even closer to everyone. Five years ago I didn't really want the people I was playing with to see my live performance, but this time I wanted them to see my live performance. I've been playing with my current band members for a long time now, and I've gotten to the point where I can change the set list at the last minute and do all sorts of things flexibly, and I wanted the people I was playing with to see that.

There were many special moments in all the performances, but the tour finale where they performed together with Spitz is the most unforgettable. They have been professing their respect for the band for a long time, and have deepened their friendship through their talk with Masamune Kusano and their appearance on "Rock Rock Konnichiwa!", so it was finally time to play together with the band they admire. Moreover, Spitz surprised everyone by covering "Kimi Wa Rock Wo Kikanai" and AIMYON covered "Magic Words," making it a truly memorable day.

AIMYON: I was really surprised by the cover of "Kimi Wa Rock Wo Kikanai". This time, Yonige and Sumika covered my songs as a surprise, so I honestly had hopes that "maybe". But it was kept completely hidden from the set list and rehearsals, so I thought "It probably won't happen today". I was watching the live performance from the wings, and at the time I was just enjoying the concert as a normal fan, so when the drum fill of "Kimi Wa Rock Wo Kikanai" came in at first, I thought it was a Spitz song (laughs). I was like, "The next song has started...huh?" and my reaction was a little delayed, I never expected that they would actually cover it.

I've been doing a lot of different things up until now, and there have been a few moments when I thought, "It's finally paid off," like the live performance at Koshien Stadium, but I've had another moment where I thought, "Maybe all the worries were for today." When you're an artist, you often say things like, "I wish I could teach myself back then." That's exactly it. Even if I taught myself back then, I think I would say, "Again. That's impossible," but I once again realized that there are dreams in the world of music.

AIMYON has previously said about "Kimi Wa Rock Wo Kikanai" that "When I wrote this song, I thought I could make it as a singer-songwriter," but at the same time, she also said that the background to the song's creation was "listening to Spitz's 'Sakimenai' as a big factor." And "Kimi Wa Rock Wo Kikanai" has indeed become one of AIMYON 's signature songs, and singing along to it at live shows has become a staple, but during the time when people could no longer speak due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become a kind of symbol in a negative sense. However, now that we have gone through such a season and everyone is able to sing along to this song again, and Spitz has covered this song, it gives the impression that the story of "Kimi Wa Rock Wo Kikanai" has finally come to an end.

AIMYON: It's really finished. Without "Sakimenai" "Kimi Wa Rock Wo Kikanai" would not have been born, and I seriously can't imagine my life without Spitz, that's how big they are. Of course, I was really happy from the moment the joint performance was decided, and when I actually entered the venue, our dressing rooms were next to each other, so I was so nervous before the performance that I seriously couldn't leave the dressing room (laughs). Having such a great senior that I admire makes me want to work harder, and that's what the lyrics of "Sakimenai" are about. I still can't wake up from this feeling. In my case, especially, there are artists that I have admired, and I think that I am able to do my job as an artist because their music has become my blood and flesh, and although it may be presumptuous, I felt the same way about Akiyama Ritsuki-kun this time. I have been able to stand on stage with many seniors up until now, so I want to do the same for them. That's why I invited Ritsuki-kun.

Still feeling excited, Aimyon has completed her fifth full album, "jealous of cats" her first in two years. The 13 songs, including the theme ai no hana for the TV drama series "Ranman," "Anone Totto-chan: The girl at the window," the theme song Unmet: A Neurosurgeon's Diary," are a record of her fulfilling activities over the past two years, when she has regained her former daily life. This is also AIMYON 's last album in her 20s, as she will be turning 30 on March 6 next year.

AIMYON: I wasn't really conscious of my age. Recently, I've been told that in interviews, and I'm like, "That's true," but I think I did well to have 5 albums and 16 singles while still in my 20s. I don't know about other people's paces, but I'm the type of person who is happy to have more of my own work, so I keep a note of the songs I've written so far on my phone, and I'm really happy to have my discography growing. I think it's easier to understand my history by looking at the album jacket than by tracing my history in a chronology, so I'm really grateful that I can release singles and albums at a good frequency. I think there were times when I thought, "I want to do this while I'm in my 20s," but rather, there were so many things I didn't think I could do while I was in my 20s, or rather, I was able to do things I never even imagined, so I feel like I would be punished if I asked for more (laughs). The final of my next tour is in February, and I'll be 30 one month later, so I'm looking forward to seeing what I'll think when I get off the last stage of my 20s.

Prior to the release of the album, the new theme song for Calpis, "Lucky Color," was released in advance. Mitsume's Motoi Kawabe arranged the album song for the first time, and the music video, which was created with a "cat" motif by Tonda Hayashi Ran, who is well known for his artwork, also attracted attention.

AIMYON: I was given the image of "blue sky" for the song, but Her Blue Sky" and this time I also sing "sky" in "ai no hana", so I tried not to be too conscious of it. In the end, "sky" is included, but with regards to "blue", I wrote it as "blue = Lucky Color".

Whenever I work with Moto-kun, he always brings together members I've never met before, so it's fun to record with a fresh feeling (DYGL's Yosuke Shimonaka and Yotaro Kaji, and BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON's Yusuke Okada participate). The average age is much lower than with other songs, and the arrangement is a bit indie-like, so in that sense it felt fresh. It was the first time I did a song other than a coupling song with Moto-kun, and he was happy that it was going to be a CM song, and he praised the song a lot, so I was happy.

On July 29th, the theme song for the drama "Furitsumore Kodoku na Shi yo" (Falling Lonely Death), "Zarame," will be released in advance. The music video for this song, directed by the video artist Motoki Hoki, who also works as the vocalist for Bialystocks, features AIMYON playing five different versions of herself. AIMYON commented, "I hope that in my own way, I can give people a little hope at the end." The lyrics, "Where can I pull out this nameless blade that's stuck in my heart?" and "I can't predict what angle they'll aim at me from," bring to mind the current situation surrounding social media.

AIMYON: I read the original manga first, and the main character has a lot of darkness and complexes in her past and present, so I wrote about myself now, hoping that there would be some overlap between the main character and me. Of course, I wanted to get close to the drama, and I wrote it hoping that the drama and my current feelings would link, but basically it's mostly about me.

As this activity will soon reach its 10th year, SNS is something that has been inseparable from me, and I don't hate it at all. It's very convenient, and I think it's the best way to spread my music, but if you use it in the wrong way, it could be the end of everything, and if you accept everything, you won't be able to hold on. That's why I've been thinking about my distance from SNS every year, and the more I look at it, the more depressed I get, and it's like looking at my boyfriend's phone, there's nothing good about it (laughs). The lyrics feel like they're just writing that, and "Anonymous Blade" is a blade that takes what anonymous people who don't know the faces or names of people say and turns them into a blade, and because it's not a famous sword, it's not sharp, so it cuts in a way that gouges the wound. I'd rather be dissed like "Hey! You're good!", but they write words that are bitter and cut like a rusty sword. There are people who continue to be pierced by those anonymous blades, and there are times when I feel that way too.

AIMYON, who has over 6 million followers across X, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, is one of the icons of the internet/SNS era. However, due to her fame and presence, "I like AIMYON 's lyrics that say ____" has become an internet meme, and we cannot help but wonder how she will deal with this situation.

AIMYON: At first, I found it completely funny, but as it spread, hurtful words and incredibly vulgar words started appearing. Of course, most people would know at a glance that it's not my song, but I thought, "What's the point of this spreading?" I take my lyrics very seriously, so when I think that a certain number of people might think, "Is AIMYON really singing these kind of things?", it's not funny after all. That's still happening, and I got irritated and tweeted about it again recently, but now I've made a social networking site for my fan club, so I'm posting there an incredible amount every day (laughs).

The lyrics of "Zarame" are exactly the same, and I wonder why I finally got to where I am, but now I have to endure more things, and why telling the truth makes me evil. There's a part of me that accepts that it can't be helped, but I've started to feel that way more and more. This song was made from the lyrics and the music, so I couldn't come up with a title, but I happened to see the kanji for "coarse snow" written in a book I was reading. Coarse might have a strong image of sugar, but for me the image of it stinging won out. It's rough, it feels gritty. I chose this title just based on that feeling. I think that things that hurt you or that you find painful don't melt easily. I say "will they melt someday," but they probably won't. The experiences you once experienced will remain with you, but how do you live with them?

Among the songs debuting on the album are "Firely Tuesday"), "Nisemono" (Fake), and "Asa ga Hate" (I hate mornings), which depict the relationship between men and women in Aimyon's AIMYON style. "Firely Tuesday" is set to a rock melody and threatens the person who left her saying "I won't forget you," while "Nisemono" is full of regret, saying "I think you're someone else" to the person she spent the night with. The storytelling is unique, as is "Asa wa Hate," which depicts a person who only comes home in the morning, but this song has a special background.

AIMYON: I'll probably keep writing about relationships between men and women that can't be shared with others, like "Firely Tuesday" or "Fake," for the rest of my life, and I feel like, "Listen to this as an interesting story." I mix non-fiction and fiction when I write, so it doesn't have to be relatable, and it's just fun to write songs like this. However, as for "I Hate Mornings," it's a little different. I once met an acquaintance in private and heard him talk about his insomnia. He dreamed of a life where he could be active in the morning, but he would always end up sleeping in the morning, so when he had insomnia, he hated mornings. But after his son was born, he inevitably started living a morning life, and that's how he came to like mornings. The words "I hate mornings" stuck with me, and that's why I wrote this song. Of course, I'm using those words to create a new story, but just like that acquaintance at the time, the protagonist of this song also wants to have hope in the morning, and at the end he sings, "May the morning be more wonderful."

Personally, I like it so much that I think "this is the lead song," and I called (arranger) Masato Suzuki. YUKI's "Parade ga Tsuzuku Nara" has a song called "My Eyes Are Black," and I really like that song. By chance, my band member Eve Eve (Fumihiro Ibuki) was playing the drums, and when I said to the director, "YUKI's song was really good," he said, "That's Masato Suzuki, isn't it?" and apparently they've known each other for a long time, so he asked, "Would you like to ask him?" I really wanted to ask Suzuki to do "Asa ga Hate," and it turned out to be a great arrangement, so I'd love to work with him again.

"Firely Tuesday", "Nisemono" and "Asa ga Hate" were written in 2020 and 2021, but the song written the longest among the songs on this album is "Ekimae Kissa Poplar". Originally written in 2016, this song features a cute exchange between a man and a woman set in a coffee shop, and with the help of the arrangement by Sunday Kamide, who has also worked on "Futari No Sekai" in the past, it is a must-have for early fans.

AIMYON: This song was a bit difficult to arrange, so we decided to go into the studio together, and I wrote it while playing with Junpei Komiyama, the drummer, Sunday, and myself. I asked Sunday to sing the chorus during recording. I like the two-voice male and female, and I had Moto do it in "Satsuki" before, but this is a really old song, so I thought it might be fun to play around with it a bit more, and I requested wind instruments as well. During recording, the phrases I played on the guitar were included on the piano, and I think we were able to create it in a student band-like way. The motif of the coffee shop is Hansel Cafe in Koshien, a shop I often mention, and the interior is almost Audrey Hepburn-like, so that was the image I had in mind. I don't think I can write these kind of cheesy lines or narrative-like parts now, so it feels like I asked my past self to provide me with a song.

The album closes with the title track "Cat and Jealousy". This is the first time that the song title has become the album title, but there is no special meaning to it. The title comes from "cat teaser" of course. The arrangement is by Tomiyo, who also worked on "Zarame" and DISH//'s "Cat" in the past.

AIMYON: I have a cat named Unippe at my parents' house, and all my fans know him, but I moved to Tokyo at the same time as Unippe, so we don't live together. So sometimes when I go back to my parents' house and try to hold him, he never comes and just pricks me. But one day, I was sleeping in the living room holding a dog, and suddenly he licked my cheek, and I thought, "What?" and it was Unippe. Cats licking your face is a sign of affection, so it's easy to apply that kind of cat personality to love, and it can be an idea, like, "You don't like me at all, but you lick my face at night?" But cats have rough tongues, so if you keep getting licked, it hurts so much that your tongue turns red. So I say, "I don't want your kiss, I don't want it, it hurts as much as the first time." But in the end, I'm also captivated by the charm of cats, and the protagonist of this song is jealous of cats. DISH//'s ``cat'' was created first, and it's hard to beat that, so it could also be interpreted as ``jealous of DISH//'s ``cat'','' but it would be dangerous if you made something like that yourself (laughs).

The song "jealous of cats" sings, "Is it bad to be jealous jealous of cats? I don't care who the other person is," which means that the protagonist of Aimyon's songs is always thinking strongly about someone. Whether it's "ai no hana," "Anone," "I'm Going to See You," or the opening number of this album, "Show Me All You Got" which sings, "Why do the things I don't know increase after I show you everything," the protagonist of AIMYON 's songs is always thinking strongly about someone. After the COVID-19 pandemic, when people could not meet in person, it seems like we have returned to normal life over the past two years, but in the meantime, digitalization has progressed and it seems like the distance between people's hearts has rather grown. Even the disputes that occur on SNS could be said to represent such an era. That's why I think it is very meaningful that "jealous of cats," which is filled with strong feelings for someone, will be released in 2024.

AIMYON: I didn't write songs with the times in mind, but now that you mention it, you're right. Basically, in my songs, the protagonist thinks too strongly of the other person. They think too strongly and it makes them sick, or they think too strongly and they end up all alone, or basically they think too much and it makes them go crazy. I feel that way about songs that have a counterpart, where the story branches out depending on the strength of their feelings. I wonder if that way of writing hasn't changed since "Anata Kaibo Junai Uta ~Shine~".

What I found interesting about the interviews I did this time was that I wrote songs like "Firely Tuesday" and "Asa ga Hate" in 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. In a remote interview at the time, I was asked, "Has the atmosphere of the songs you write changed since the world has become like this?" and I stubbornly answered, "It doesn't affect me at all." "My songs can basically be written at home, so I can write them even if I can't meet people." But maybe things have changed without my intention, but after the interview, I was able to confirm that nothing has really changed, or rather, I wondered what kind of songs I was writing at that time, like "Firely Tuesday" (laughs). So, I don't know what the world will be like from now on, but I've gained confidence that I can continue to write songs like this without changing, and the way I write songs is not influenced by the world. Of course, if something big happens to me, it might change. I think that if something like getting married or becoming a mother happens, something will change, but I won't know until I actually experience it. But at least, I want to continue writing my own songs without being influenced by the movements of the world.

TEXT: Atsushi Kaneko