[MAGAZINE] Kyomoto Taiga (SixTONES) - AERA (1 August 2022) cover interview

[dreamweavernyx]

I've been wanting to work on some of the interview coverage for Ryuusei no Neiro, and I thought Kyomo did a great job in his interview here! It's a really serious conversation touching on things like his work ethic and the songwriting process, so I hope you enjoy~

~

“I will definitely stand on the stage”: Kyomoto Taiga’s full-powered resolution

He has taken charge of the starring role and the music composition for the original musical “Ryuusei no Neiro”, which opens this August. He’s said that he began working on the music for this production at least a year ago. These are the things he keeps in mind as he continues to be active in both movies and stage productions.

~

He has taken on the challenge of being both the starring role and the music composer for the original musical “Ryuusei no Neiro”. This unprecedented idea to wear two hats came from a suggestion by Takizawa Hideaki, who is overseeing the musical’s production.

Kyomoto: Takizawa-kun has been listening to the songs I’ve composed even before he started to work behind the scenes, and he’s given me advice on them. This time around, he suggested to me, “How about you try making the music for a stage show?”. It made me really happy that he’d remembered that I have a dream of going into music composition, and also to have been given the huge responsibility of creating the theme song, which is what sets the tone for the entire production.

He began composing and writing lyrics around 9 years ago. At that time, he could never have even imagined that he would be asked to take charge of the music for a stage production.

Kyomoto: I did dream of being actively involved in both the acting and production fronts, but I never would have thought of taking on both acting and the music for the stage production at the same time. Composing songs for a stage production is different from composing and writing a solo song, and it’s not that you can just write down whatever you want to convey; there’s a need to make sure it ties back into the story of the production. The moment Takizawa-kun made the suggestion, I felt a wave of interest well up within me, and I told him, “Please let me do this”.

He has been preparing since a year before the show’s opening.

Kyomoto: I settled on the melody line and arrangement for the theme song a lot faster than I had thought. But I couldn’t write any lyrics until the script had reached some degree of completion, so for the time being I just sang “la la la” (in place of the lyrics).

Firing up the booster engines

Kyomoto: I created lyrics for a total of 7 songs, including those that used motifs from or rearrangements of the theme song. The creation of songs and the work of acting uses two entirely different sets of skills, so I did struggle. I did also feel the strictness of having a deadline, the realisation that when you have a deadline you’ll feel this pressed.

It was difficult to put a variety of lyrics to a melody line that resembled the theme song, for the songs that contained rearrangements (of the theme). The lyrics for the actual theme song were stuck in my head, so I’d just end up repeating the original lyrics, and I did worry that I might accidentally mix up the lyrics when singing the songs during the show. Everything was left up to me, so I did find that interesting. Since my name has been listed as being in charge of the music, I’d like for people to say “The music was wonderful, too”, so I tirelessly did my best.

Up until now, he’s been fixated on the idea that “In acting, you don’t let any part of yourself bleed through, but in music you show 100% of yourself”. What was expected of him this time around was not just to get completely into character, but also to create the music.

Kyomoto: To write the songs conveying not my own feelings, but the words of the character, Lipa*, whose role I play – I couldn’t imagine what that would be like until I tried writing some of the lyrics out. But once I’d settled Lipa’s sentiments within myself, it felt as though the booster engines had been fired up, and the lyrics swiftly tumbled out of me. It’s precisely because I wasn’t writing as myself, that I was able to overcome thoughts such as “I want to say this bit in a cool way” or “I want to use a catchy phrase”; and I was able to write prolifically while riding on that momentum. If I thought to myself that, “Lipa would definitely say “I like you” here”, then I’d just write down “I like you” at that exact point. I looked at Lipa objectively, and was able to make determinations like, “This word would suit him”.

[ T/N: I’ve been unable to locate a standardized romanisation for Kyomoto’s character’s name so I’ve done my own. ]

He wants to “share his worries”

Kyomoto: I’ve realised anew that the times when I feel like I want to write lyrics, are when I feel like I can’t get a handle on my feelings, or when I’m holding on to something that I’ve got no way of spitting out. It’s somewhat like I’m asking myself questions and answering them through the lyrics; so my notes (function on my phone) are filled with quite a number of negative lyrics.

It’s important to sometimes use pretty words as an escape route for your own feelings, but I think that it’s alright to write songs with a view to sharing your worries or struggles, too. There’ll definitely be people who listen to such songs who would be saved by them, thinking, “I really get that feeling”.

For example, there’s a song titled “SUNRISE” that I sang in our concerts in 2017 that hasn’t been filmed before, and even now I get people telling me they’d like me to sing it again. I think it would be nice to do that up properly as an actual (recorded) song someday. It’s precisely at the times when I’m worrying, that I’d like to cherish the messages that get born from that.

While he’s expanding his artistic horizons as an idol, actor and music composer, he’s also accomplished an appearance of his own in a serious movie for the movie “TANG”, which opens in theatres on 11 August. The star of the movie is a senior from the agency, Ninomiya Kazunari.

Kyomoto: I’ve always been a ‘viewer’ of Ninomiya-kun’s works, including the drama “Ryuusei no Kizuna”, and I’d never thought the day would come when I would get to act alongside him directly. He made the atmosphere (on set) easy to act in, and that was a great help to me. I was very moved (by that), and I thought to myself anew that he truly is a very steady, wonderful person. I watch movies fairly regularly and I quite like them, and “TANG” is a work that made me fired up to throw myself deeper into its world.

He shook free and played the role

The role he plays in the movie is an incredibly narcissistic robot designer, Hayashibara. His intense quirks helped to spice up the movie.

Kyomoto: When I met up with the director, Miki Takahiro, he told me, “I’d like you to play a narcissist in an exaggerated fashion”, and gave me ‘homework’ like “Please go think of some poses that only Hayashibara would do”. What I worried about was how to play such an unrealistic character in the same scenes as the more realistic roles played by Ninomiya-kun and Mitsushima Hikari-san, without creating a feeling that something was off. “Exaggerated” and “fake” are merely a hair’s-breadth apart, after all. I wondered if Hayashibara was meant to also bring in the comedic element, and so in the end I shook free (of those worries) and played the role while thinking that I’d like for people to laugh at him.

His busy days continue. His relaxation is the time he spends with his beloved dog.

Kyomoto: I do play games as a way to take a breather, but I feel like those are nothing more than a makeshift method (of relaxation). What makes me feel the most refreshed is spending time with my beloved dog, especially when I’m feeling particularly pressed. My dog doesn’t like going for walks at night, so I’ll carry her in my arms and walk around the house once or twice, but even just by doing that I’ll feel soothed.

Stage productions are one of his life’s work; but of them, he says: “No matter how many times I stand (on stage), I’m at least half-filled with fear”. How does he deal with that?

Kyomoto: When I lose motivation, I think it negatively affects the quality of my work, and my physical condition as well. That’s why, I think that what’s more essential than anything else is to believe in myself. In a way, there’s a part of me that will try to tide things over by fooling myself into confidently moving forwards. At the same time, though, I’d like to have the spare bandwidth to be able to pick up on the kindness and struggles of the rest of the company.

He definitely will not give up

Kyomoto: However, the fact that I’m still saying “I need to believe in myself” up till now, means that there’s still some part of me that doesn’t believe in myself fully just yet. If, say, there’s a part of me that worries about whether my voice will crack onstage, if I’m able to flick on the confidence switch in a flash by thinking, “I can definitely do this”, then I can avoid the issue to some degree.

I have many areas I’m uncertain of, and many things to work on, but I won’t give up. I’ll definitely stand on the stage for “Ryuusei no Neiro” come the 2nd of August. I’ll definitely stand up there. So, that being said, what should I do about it now? I’d like to work backwards from that, and focus on my role without letting a single day go to waste. If I don’t put my all into it, then I won’t learn all that I could learn from this experience. So I’d like to set a daily goal for myself, like, “Today I’ll definitely accomplish this”, and clear each and every one of them, so as to bring me through not just the opening of the show, but all the way to the final performance.

Comments

[sidneyalesandra.livejournal.com]

thanks