YU-KA Interview: Talks ‘Sunshade’ EP

Born in Okinawa, Japan, within the yr 2000, singer-songwriter YU-KA spent her early years in America and Switzerland. At age 15, she took up the acoustic guitar, and she or he began writing her personal songs at age 17. She started really throwing herself into music upon profitable a particular award in a film theme song-writing audition. “Hoshizukiyo,” which she launched in February 2023, took the No. 1 spot on Billboard JAPAN‘s “Obtain Songs” chart, making it her greatest hit. 

The title monitor of her newest EP, Sunshade, was produced by ONE OK ROCK’s Toru and is the theme music of the TV collection Smiling Matryoshka. The 24-year-old musician is equally targeted on each her musical actions in Japan and abroad, bringing a separate mentality to every. Billboard Japan just lately had the chance to speak to her about her newest launch, an encapsulation of the place she is now. 

What’s the idea behind the Sunshade EP? 

YU-KA: After I wrote my first album, Brighter, a whole lot of the lyrics I wrote had been actually grand in scale. The most well-liked music on the album, “Hoshizukiyo,” was a hovering love music. With the brand new album, I needed to make one thing extra private. I needed to write down lyrics about love at a one-to-one stage — the extent of “me and also you.” The art work displays that, too. I’m not sporting some kind of attractive costume, only a T-shirt. It’s made up of pure pictures taken in on a regular basis settings, lower and pasted collectively like a patchwork. I needed to offer it that handmade, unadorned really feel. 

I simply adopted my coronary heart wherever it led in writing “forget-me-not,” and I believe it brings me again to my pure roots. The lyrics to “Clouds” are all in English, and I really feel like that music ties in to my indie days. On the time, I used to be doing a whole lot of stay reveals, attempting a whole lot of new issues, like utilizing a looper and matching English lyrics with easy chord progressions. I believe the music’s sound is related with that time of my life. On the flip aspect, I used to be re-examining J-pop after I wrote “Sunshade”, “Tsuraikurai,” and “Yet another time.” I like each Western music and J-pop, and I needed to write down music that lies someplace in-between, however I additionally took on new challenges by working within the vein of J-pop. 

Do you have got totally different goals if you’re singing in English than if you’re singing in Japanese? 

YU-KA: I rely lots on no matter phrases the melody and the music deliver out of me. Particularly after I’m co-writing abroad, I have a tendency to write down the lyrics utilizing phrases that I’m drawn to, or phrases I need to sing due to how they sound. With English, I discover that very straightforward. In “Clouds,” I needed to make use of a whole lot of phrases, like writing in a diary. You may match in additional phrases with English than with Japanese, so since I needed to pack the lyrics in, English was the way in which to go. Additionally, I believe writing a music like this connects to my very own roots and actually expresses points of myself. The music’s lyrics embrace “Tokyo” and “scramble crossing,” so despite the fact that the music is in English, I believe I’ve put in components which can be a true-to-life depiction of my life in Japan. 

“Sunshade” has 4 traces that begin with “Ne,” (a Japanese expression that’s just like a softer model of “Hey”). I discovered that use of repetition in Japanese to be significantly efficient. 

YU-KA: Up to now, a whole lot of my songs blended English and Japanese, however these days I’ve been feeling that simply utilizing Japanese alone sounds cool. The “Ne” a part of “Sunshade” would have been simpler to write down if the lyrics had been in English, however I targeted on writing in Japanese, and, I believe, that’s why I used to be in a position to provide you with these lyrics. I’m significantly keen on that a part of the music. Deciding what Japanese to make use of when working with a smaller variety of notes is an fascinating course of. It’s like writing a waka or tanka (Japanese poems). I loved determining how one can categorical myself inside these limitations. I believe that, by means of this course of, I’ve develop into in a position to categorical issues that I couldn’t categorical earlier than, after I was mixing Japanese and English lyrics. 

You wrote the lyrics for each “Tsuraikurai” and “Sunshade,” and Toru from ONE OK ROCK wrote the music, proper? I perceive that you just’ve written with Toru a number of instances prior to now, too. What had been some takeaways out of your newest collaboration? 

YU-KA: After I was making my main label debut (“lullaby,” produced by Toru), I used to be simply working like loopy. I didn’t know which finish was up. However working with Toru, I at all times have a wealth of experiences. For instance, I’ll go in considering I haven’t modified however it would open my eyes to how a lot I’ve modified, or I’ll go in considering I’ve gotten used to one thing, and I’ll discover myself butting up towards a wall. 

How did the writing course of go? 

YU-KA: “Sunshade” is a tie-up music for a TV collection. The method of writing a tie-up music includes creating one thing that goes past your personal skills alone, so I really feel prefer it brings lots out of you. I needed to make the lyrics somewhat cryptic, however then I believed that they wanted to convey the place I used to be, what I used to be doing, what I needed to do. So the lyrics turned an increasing number of concrete as I labored on the music. That strategy of rewriting was additionally a whole lot of enjoyable. 

You’ve travelled forwards and backwards between Japan and different nations. You grew up within the US and Switzerland, and also you travelled to Sweden when making the album. What points of Japan, and of different nations, do you want with regards to environments for creating music? 

YU-KA: After I was in Sweden, I used to be working actually quick, making one or two songs a day. It constructed up my explosive energy — my capability to take off operating. In Japan, then again, I really feel like I spend much more working with every music, battling how one can enhance it and always making refinements. After I co-wrote with non-Japanese folks, I used to be anxious that I’d be overwhelmed and simply let myself get swept away, chucking up the sponge, however really the other was true — the core components of me which can be constants, and the components that make me who I’m, would stay. I write music earlier than I discuss to the folks I’ll be working with, so the melody traces and the interactions I’ve whereas we’re engaged on the music are like a self-introduction for me. The best way that I wanted to immediately introduce myself by means of my music was an actual eye-opener and helped me develop. 

You’ve carried out on the SXSW for 2 years operating, and also you’re an lively musician abroad. What sort of musical actions do you need to do in Japan and in different nations? 

YU-KA: As an artist, the way in which I’m in Japan and the way in which I’m abroad are like mirror photographs. After I’m in Japan, the truth that I lived abroad, and the way in which that have impacts my music, are like part of my persona. Abroad, the truth that I’m Japanese and take heed to J-pop units me aside. I believe that going forwards and backwards between these two environments makes my very own musical sensibilities extra clearly outlined. 

Going forwards and backwards between Japan and different nations, I generally ask myself what it means to be true to myself, however I believe who I really am is what comes out of me after I simply act naturally. That’s why after I’m abroad, I consider myself as a Japanese artist as I make and carry out my music. I need to attain a place that I’m uniquely suited to and to create works that basically convey what I intend, to each Japanese and abroad audiences.

—This interview by Reina Murakami first appeared on Billboard Japan