Thanks received by this post:
Message reputation : 100% (5 votes)
Contemporary artists SCANDAL talk about their outlook on work and love
10 years ago. Those of the same generation accessed [the Japanese social networking site] mixi with their sparkly, decorated flip phones; wore sheepskin boots in the winter; and reminds us of the good-looking guys in the drama "ROOKIES"... There weren't many people who looked up to SCANDAL, an actual high school all-girl band who wore school uniforms like us while singing. It's been 10 years since then. The girls have become adults together with us. This is JJnet's first interview with these girls who have reached the jucture in their lives of celebrating the 10th anniversary of their major label debut. For our first meeting, we had them talk about their current state of mind that had them taking on new challenges, as well as their current love lives.
First, let's review the members of SCANDAL!
SCANDAL is a four-piece all-girl band who had their major label debut in 2008 with 『DOLL』. The following year, their song 『Shoujo S』 was nominated for Best New Artist at the Japan Record Awards. In recent years, they have garnered attention as fashion icons, and currently produce their own apparel brand called 「Feedback!」.
Our jobs = the band. Having a job doing what you love really is a lot of fun
HARUNA: We made our major label debut wearing school uniforms, and last year was its 10th anniversary. As both we and the band have gotten older, we established our new record label "her." When we were on the verge of our 10th anniversary, we had vague thoughts of wanting to do something new, and something we could be excited for. We naturally came to the idea of "Let's make music in a new environment!"
RINA: We established a new label because we wanted to challenge ourselves in a positive way in order to make even newer music, and make it more freely than ever before. We went ahead with preparations while feeling excited.
TOMOMI: We were able to do what we loved for work, so, looking back, it really has been a lot of fun.
RINA: Music has always been the center of our lives ever since we were middle and high school students. We've always kept at it because we love it, and it feels like that's supported us. Of course, there were also times when we couldn't write lyrics, and times when nothing was going right... Even so, we couldn't give up because the band is important to us. That's why I think that there are so many things we've been able to see because we've been continuing to work hard in our teens and 20s.
If we have plans for both work and with a boyfriend, we'll choose work. In the future we want to be a band even when we're parents
MAMI: When we talk to each other privately, we often talk about work and about our songs (laughs).
RINA: We mainly talk about work, but we do talk about all kinds of things. Stuff like, "Where have you gone recently in private?", and about love. Since we all live close to each other, we often meet up at nearby cafes.
MAMI: We can't stop talking when we meet up. We also talk the entire way back home (laughs). We talk about things we can sympathize with because we're band members, like work and love. I personally talk about work the most, though...
RINA: That's probably the same for all of us.
MAMI: For example, even if your boyfriend invites you out to eat, if you have work to do then you'll choose work. So, if you have a relationship where you can both understand one another, isn't that love and work successfully balancing each other?
TOMOMI: It's nice if it seems like, "I can do my best because I have this person!" You can make your partner happy by working hard. It's great to have a relationship where you can both grow together by being together.
HARUNA: Both giving your all in love and with your work is ideal. Although it's tough, it's necessary for both of you to be prepared to continue on.
MAMI: I think that the four of us will eventually experience marriage and childbirth, but right now our work comes first. Our environment was newly changed with the establishment of our new label, and the things we can do have expanded so much, so we would like to concentrate on our music and band activities.
HARUNA: We want to also grow as a band while having experiences as women. Even if we become mothers someday, I hope we can juggle that with being in a band.
