In my journey through the wonderful world of Johnny & Associates, the group SixTONES has become one of my absolute favorites. There’s just something incredibly special about them and their sound.
So, when I got the chance to speak with two of the members Yugo Kochi & Juri Tanaka, about their newest single CREAK, literally flew toward the opportunity, and it was just as magical as I hoped it would be!
The clip seems inspired by the drama “Knockin’ on Locked Door” (ノッキンオン·ロックドドア), what are the key points you wanted to highlight?
Juri Tanaka: The lyrics are mysterious, and the drama is about detectives investigating seemingly unsolvable cases, which I tried to stay particularly aware of when I was in the recording studio. The keyhole from the promo image was something I wanted to focus on to create the song, and I wanted to give off that same vibe while also making it a uniquely SixTONES-style song.
Yugo Kochi: The choreography got really playful, especially with the use of the door. There are secrets hidden within it, so you have to take a closer look to find them all!
There’s a lot of CG in the clip, it’s a challenge. How did you approach this during filming? Are you proud of the result?
Tanaka: So, this was actually pretty hard. The director showed us an image before we started filming that walked us through what it was going to look like and how we each would fit into the scene, but all there was on set were giant green curtains. Acting like someone or something was there when there wasn’t was something I hadn’t done since I was a kid playing pretend. It was different from our location shoots, but still a lot of fun.
Kochi: I had difficulty trying to figure out the right perspective. I was very close to the camera because if I was too far away, I’d end up looking really small. Judging the difference wasn’t easy, but I love a challenge.
Tanaka: The director was truly wonderful about helping us figure everything out so we could focus on the performance parts. When I finally saw the final cut, I have to say it turned out way better than I imagined or expected.
Kochi: We were told to have fun and move around freely. Even though it was a green screen, I had an idea of what it would look like, and of course, the director knew exactly what they were looking for. I am really proud of how it turned out.
Your solo songs “MUSIC IN ME” and “Sorry” were written by yourself, what made you decide to choose such themes? What message did you absolutely want to convey through your lyrics?
Tanaka: In the original demo it was an English song, and of course I’m not a native English speaker so when I listened to the song I tried to stay focused on the sound of the tones, and thought about what kind of emotion I wanted to convey with my own lyrics and the type of character I wanted to portray, which I knew right away should have a little R&B mixed in. I’m a little bit rough myself, and I want the song to feel a little rough too.
Kochi: I didn’t write the lyrics myself, but I was influenced by my love for Japanese hip-hop. This is my first solo song, so I wanted people to get to know me, as myself, apart from the group overall. I also thought about where I am in my life, the situations I’ve been through, and how much the support of my group mates and fans means to me. I wanted to sing a song filled with gratitude for everyone in my life, so that’s what was going through my mind when I recorded it.
More SixTONES soon so…
Stay Tuned!
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