Interview with Mogamigawa Tsukasa

The visual kei enka singer Mogamigawa Tsukasa, who is also known as the drummer of THE MICRO HEAD 4N'S, has recently released his first full album as a solo artist. He sat down with JaME to talk about the release, his thoughts about connecting enka and rock music, and more.

Several months have passed since our last interview. Please tell us about what you have been up to since the last time we talked.

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: I have been doing many campaigns, lives, TV and radio performances in enka. Along with that, I was also active as a drummer. To put it simply, I was able to do many things without any rest. Well I did have some days off. (laughs)

You released your first enka album Oku no utamichi recently. How did it feel when you held your first enka album in your hands?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: Up until now for about 16 years I was active in bands, and to hold my solo work, and moreover an album, it was a happiness that cannot be described in words. It was also a strange feeling thinking that this is my album, alone.

What was the most fun about recording this album? Were there any fun episodes you can tell us about?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: For all the songs, I could sing with pleasure. It was so fun to sing, as much fun as I have when I play drums. Singing was the most fun. As for an episode, I had bronchitis during the recording period, and I coughed a lot. I was performing shows during this time as well, but going into recording with it was hard.

For Oku no utamichi, you chose to cover songs that originated from the Tohoku region. Why did you decide to cover these songs?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: First I wanted to choose songs that would represent Japan, but I come from Yamagata, which is in the Tohoku region, and there are many famous songs from there that I decided to sing. I wanted to show my gratitude to the place that gave birth to and brought me up, which is of course Yamagata but also the Tohoku region, so I decided to choose from famous songs of this region.

There must be many songs in the Tohoku region, how did you chose the ones that you covered specifically?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: I chose from songs that I used to listen to when I was a child, and that I love a lot. Also, when you say Tohoku, you think of the Great Tohoku Earthquake, which happened in 2011. There is a song that was born from this event, called Hana ha saku, and I thought that I had to include this song if I was singing of Tohoku. Also I haven’t sung it in the past, but listening to Kita no hanayome makes me very happy, so I included this song as well.

Miso shiru no uta sounds like a lot of fun. How was the recording process for it?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: I sung this song at events several times, and I could record it easily. This is a song originally sung by Sen Masao, who is also from Tohoku and who has a strong accent, so as a Tohoku person I tried to speak in the dialect during the speech parts, but I have assimilated to Tokyo too much, so I was not sure whether I really spoke in the “real” Yamagata dialect. I thought I have become too much of a city dweller and was a bit worried about it. I should’ve really had a stronger accent!

On the album, there is an English version of your own composition MATSUPOIYO. How did you prepare yourself to sing in English?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: I have received the English lyrics before the recording … Apparently “matsupoi” is “shining ever bright” in English, I was just practicing this phrase the whole time, as I say it in the last line. To be honest, I don’t know much about English, so it was difficult for me to judge how well I have done. Sometimes I see on TV when foreigners who cannot speak Japanese try their best to speak it, and I thought, I must sound the same but the other way round. But I think that if your feelings are transmitted, that’s the most important thing.

If you get another opportunity to record cover songs, which enka songs would you like to cover?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: It depends on the theme of the release I make, but in any case—this may be egoistic—I want to sing the songs that I like. I want to sing very enka-like songs, as well as popular songs without kobushi (note: a term for a type of melisma in enka), I want to sing a wide variety of songs.

When you were recording this album, what was different or new to you as compared to recording visual kei or rock music?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: My part is different, and recording vocals was a first for me, so everything was new. It’s difficult to pinpoint the differences, because my part is not the same. In any case it was a lot of fun and I was happy doing it!

Some artists say that they are a different person when they are on stage and off stage. For you, there are two roles as TSUKASA and Mogamigawa Tsukasa. Would you say that these are two different people or are you still the same?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: I think there is a switch, but my position towards being on stage is the same. The warming up that I do before going on stage is very different, obviously. It’s like the difference between an athletic club and a culture club (note: as in clubs in high school). The fact that I want to present entertainment to people is the same, but the spirit before going on stage is different. Preparing for drumming is very physical (explains while swinging arms as in drumming), but for enka I am very calm. It’s like my “static” and “dynamic”—when I drum it’s my wildest part that comes out, and for enka it’s my calm side.

Due to your solo venture into enka, many foreigners got curious and started to take an interest in enka as well. Do you feel like you're some sort of bridge between rock and enka?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: Really? (excited) If you think about it, normally enka and rock are very different, but in me they were tied from the beginning. I understand the feelings of rock fans who don’t listen to enka, and enka fans who don’t listen to rock, but I like both, which is why I am doing this. For me they are the same. The way they sound is different, but the soul part of it … For “J-rock” it’s Japanese people who are writing this rock music, so there is somewhere a part of the Japanese “bushi”, the melody is written by Japanese people, so this part comes out in rock as well. For enka, which is sometimes called the “Japanese blues”, it is similar, so both of them are essentially Japanese music. So I am more surprised at why no one has been doing this until now.

Would you have any advice for foreigners who are starting to listen to enka, regarding things which they should know or pay attention to when listening to this genre?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: I just made my debut so I cannot say things that are too big, but I think from the past Japanese people have been cherishing the Japanese history a lot, so I would like enka to give you a hint about what Japanese culture is like. Even in Japan there is an opinion that enka is “old”, and there really are many old songs, but I think from them you can also learn about history, for example things like what kind of things Japanese people were sensitive to in the past. So I want you to enjoy it as a part of the Japanese culture. But I would also like you to have a taste of the unique to enka singing style, in which the voice is slightly “behind”.

It is said in general that music is a universal language. How do you see it?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: Of course I agree with this. Even if you don’t understand the words, when you put the words in to a melody, the melody speaks to you. Moreover, when you look up what was being sung, like “So this is what they were singing!”, you can have a revelation there. I think the melody is something that gives language more persuasive power. I believe that music has this power.

On December 25th, your live X'mas Kayou Show ~Oku no Happy Road♪~ will take place. What can your fans expect? Did you plan anything special for this Christmas live?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: Please expect SHUN (laughs). He is my bandmate, and we have a kind of skit corner together. If I say anything about it the expectations would rise, but everyone always says that they like this corner, so you can look forward to it.

Any Christmas wishes for yourself?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: Next year I would like to appear in something big like "Kouhaku"! Also, I would like to go overseas as much as I did before, when I used to go overseas a lot. I want to see the smiles of overseas fans.

You have a concert planned for January 16th in Taiwan. This would be your first appearance overseas in enka …

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: Yes, previously I have been to Taiwan twice in rock bands, when we played a one-man show and also with bands like MUCC.

So since it’s your first time as an enka singer, is there anything you are nervous about, or anything you are looking forward to in particular?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: I am not feeling nervous about Taiwan as there are many people who speak Japanese there, and as I said previously, music crosses borders, so there is no problem with the language barrier. I also have a feeling they may know Japanese enka! Last time I went to Taiwan and got into a taxi, the radio was playing Kitaguni no haru in Taiwanese. I was happy because they seem to like Japan a lot. So I am not worried. I am really looking forward for many people to coming together and smiling at my songs. Also, if I have time, I would like to go to reflexology massage. I went when I was in Taiwan before, so I wanted to refresh the memories.

How do your future plans look like?

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: I will make some announcements about plans for next year at the X'mas Kayou Show at Shibuya STAR LOUNGE on December 25th, so please look forward to them!

To wrap up our interview, please leave a message for all JaME readers.

Mogamigawa Tsukasa: There is a lot of music all over the world, and enka is a style of music not many rock fans get in contact with much. I will be doing both enka and rock from now on, and I want rock fans from all over the world to know the Japanese culture of enka, and I hope you have fun listening to it. I will do my best to make sure more people know about Japan, so please support me. I am doing my best every day, waiting for the day when I can see all your faces, and until that day please listen to my album and wait for me! I will definitely fly all over the world!

JaME would like to thank Mogamigawa Tsukasa, as well as Prime Music, Universal Music Japan and Massive One Inc. for making this interview possible.

A preview clip for Oku no utamichi can be watched below.