[Press Conference] Kei Takebuchi as Main Guest Star at 25th Gelar Jepang Universitas Indonesia
Date: Saturday, 3 August 2019 (13:15 ~ 14:00 Jakarta Time)
We had the opportunity to attend her Press Conference. It was held in Indonesian and supported with a Japanese Interpreter, I translated her answer to English for overseas fans in this site. Please check the full Q&A session below. All photo credit: @bagusrezandi_street
Q: Currently, you are focusing on pop music. Do you have plans to try a different genre of music? A: Yes, my genre of music is pop. Even so, I would like to challenge myself to try another genre or collaborate with other musicians if there are some possibilities.
Q: How do you feel when the event’s committee contacted you and invited you to perform in Gelar Jepang as the main guest star? A: Of course, I was really surprised. I couldn’t believe it at all. Even though I am aware that I have fans in Indonesia, I have never imagined that I would be invited to such a big event in Indonesia.
Q: What is your idea and inspiration when you are writing the song “in this blanket”? A: “In this blanket” is mainly based on my feelings when I was a little child. Then, I compared those feeling to my current feelings while doing my solo career when I have to be stronger by myself. So, I wrote the song while remembering myself in the past and contemplating my current self.
Q: What is the difference between your current solo career and previously working as a group? A: Of course I enjoyed a lot of things when being in the group, I can express my will but we have a producer to lead us. The difference when I become a solo singer is I have to take responsibility for everything I do. What kind of music, what kind of direction, activities and so on are on my hands. So, I have to be stronger than before while reflecting on my own ability.
Q: What is your turning point so you decided to become a solo artist and leave your previous group? A: Actually, it is my childhood dream to become a solo singer-songwriter. While being part of the group, I always dream that I can be a solo singer-songwriter someday. I had been singing together with Goosehouse for 8 years. As those 8 years passed, I came to the realization that I couldn’t give up my dream so easily. Then I made my decision.
Q: Since when you learned music and who is your biggest influence in music? A: I love to sing ever since I was born. My first performance in front of the audience was during high school and my biggest musical influence is Utada Hikaru.
Q: Why did you decide to start doing cover music on Youtube? A: Because I like to sing, I want to convey my feeling towards the song I sang, so the listeners could have similar feelings with me. I want to sing the song that I like, and share it with others and enjoy it together.
Q: Your fans are not limited within Japan, but you have lots of fans around the world. How do you feel about it? A: Actually, I still haven’t really felt it yet. This is the first time I went overseas outside Japan as a solo artist. So, even though there are lots of overseas fans commented on social media, I would not understand how many fans are there. That’s why when I see them in front of my eyes like here in Indonesia, I could not believe it at all. Therefore, I would like to go around countries and meet my fans directly to verify.
Q: What is the definition of “music” for you? A: Everything is a miracle. I love to sing ever since I was a kid and that’s all I have. So, when the listeners want to hear me sing, and the fact I do love singing is a godsend. That’s like a miracle. So, “music” is a tool for me to connect with other people.
Q: Do you have any future plan or another project that you are doing right now? A: Using Indonesia as my starting point, I would like to go to other countries as well. Sing together with each person in each country while making Youtube contents that makes everyone happy. I always read fans’ message and request in the comment, so I hope to be able to continue to make contents that could unify us together.
Q: What kind of things in Indonesia that you see interesting? A: All of the committees are so kind and show me around, but the most interesting part is the “traffic” (laugh), especially, the bike and car. For example, you could find four people riding a bike together. That was interesting. Also, I recorded a video for Youtube yesterday in front of University of Indonesia and everyone helped me a lot. That was a very nice experience.
Q: After you came to Indonesia what kind of difference and similarities between Indonesia and Japan in general? A: There are lots of differences I found (laugh). But the most positive difference I found here was the sign at the convenience store. It was written “Thank you for keep it clean” or “Thank you for not doing blablabla”. However, in Japan, the sign will be written as “Please do not make it dirty” or “Don’t do blablabla”. That way of delivering the message was very nice. Then, a similar point is people. Everyone was so gentle, so I could sense the deep connection with the people.
Q: During your career as a musician, what kind of experience is the happiest? A: Such a difficult question. To be honest, when I leave Goosehouse I was so worried that the fans will also leave me. I was so scared when I am going to announce that I am going solo. Of course, the fans will ask me the reason or scold me. However, after I announced it, the fans all around the world and, of course, many from Indonesian as well, they told me “Ganbare” or “You can do it”. That was the happiest moment in my life.
Q: Do you have any other activities or hobbies besides your music career? A: Absolutely, sleep (laugh). It is whether I am sleeping or play around with my dog. Sorry, it was such a boring thing (laugh).
Q: What is your special preparation for your performance tomorrow? Do you have a ritual? A: I will do image training. Imagining the rehearsal from the beginning till the end within my head. Also, prepare my breathing to sing. Control my respiration flow multiple times, so it will be ready when I sing.
Q: Within your solo career are you going to focus only with originals song or plan to continue doing covers song? Also, may I ask you to sing a little bit now? A: Of course, my main focus will be making my original song. However, since I also know doing cover song is a nice thing to do, I will keep doing it from now on.
Okay, I will a part of my song in acapella. (Kei sang one part of the song) Thank you!
