contemode plus Made in COLKINIKHA equals COLTEMONIKHA: Nakata Yasutaka and Sakai Kate. The pair, who unveiled a supreme collaboration with their previous release, freely express the atmosphere of their “now.” Each of them is a 50-50 proponent of their vision. Taking over from where their last work left off, their evening fantasy reflects what the duo identifies as “cute,” transitioning into a darker, sharper worldview. Melancholic yet bouncy; the coexistence of transparency and poison. The emotions that spring from that place flow side-by-side, never losing their depth. That is the even-tempered reality that also carries through to capsule, and such realism signifies their present all the more. Now with more freedom than ever before, welcome to COLTEMONIKHA’s second stage.
―― Conceptually, you based your first release around things like high-grade chocolate and colors in the range of black, white and silver, but what was your outlook this time around? Nakata: This time, we had a common perception of “cuteness” between us. Sakai: If it’s pink and white with lace or something, that’s not cute. Nakata: Just that — if something is only cute and nothing more, then it’s not really all that cute. There has to be a contrast or some kind of dark side to it. Sakai: But you don’t want to make it syrupy. I really love cuteness mixed with a venomous taste, though.
―― Nakata-kun, can you tell us your personal impression of Kate-chan’s voice? Nakata: I do think it has a cute feel to it, but if I had to choose, I’d say that it feels more along that ill-tempered line (laughs). Her lyrics are also completely different from what I write and she uses a lot of mumbly-sounding words to express them. That aspect of them is really good, and it makes them sound all the more sassy. But her voice is fairly sharp, so even if I create a really hard sound, her voice still comes through without the need to offset it with something more glittery. In the case of a heavy sound like the one in “Domino,” for example, it’d be cool even if it were nothing but her voice and the bass, if you know what I mean. I like that her voice can come off that way.
―― And how does Kate-chan see Nakata-kun? Sakai: He leaves me to myself for the most part, so I feel like he must’ve been left alone a lot growing up (everyone laughs uproariously). Then I think about what I should send back to him and expand on that freely. Nakata: I do enjoy wondering how things will turn out like that, too, but part of the reason we’re working together is because she’s someone you don’t have to tell what to do. Sakai: I’m really glad to hear that.
―― The first track “preparation” is an instrumental, but did you also give it its title, Nakata-kun? Nakata: I did. When you listen to music, I think you can’t necessarily flow right into that world the moment you press play, so it serves as a cushion to get the listener into that mood.
―― “Domino” is a cool track that features a thumping bassline, but in contrast to that, the sadness of Kate-chan’s lyrics left a strong impression on me. I think the part that goes “all of the charm I showed you was a lie” is really a remarkable piece of lyricism. This kind of sense is connected to the part of “Arikui Waltz” from your first album where you sing “talking nonsense about how you couldn’t find a lovelier girl than me anywhere no matter how far you looked; you don’t have a clue” as well, isn’t it? Sakai: That feeling of lacking self-confidence a little bit. Nakata: A normal romance would be like “I won’t lose to the guys in your past!” or something (everyone laughs uproariously). The realistic feeling that comes from the lack of that sort of liveliness is nice.
―― The rhyming lyrics and whispering loop in “darkness rabbit” have an addictiveness to them, but the feel of the sound was very eerie. Darkness also has the meaning of secrets and blindness, so I found it rather profound. Sakai: Rabbits have the impression of being delicate and cute, but rather than “I wanna eat a carrot!” (laughs), maybe they’re actually thinking of something much more remarkable than that.
―― What struck me as being very like Nakata-kun was the continuously resounding phrase in the second half. It sounds something like “shine” [“die”], though. Nakata: It’s probably not “shine,” is it? (everyone laughs uproariously) Sakai: It’s not in the lyrics booklet, but I’m saying a bunch of lines at the end. They’re pretty scary. Nakata: The kind of stuff you can’t air on public TV.
―― Of course (laughs). In “AHKINOMETLOC,” Kate-chan says “kooo-ruuu-teee-mooo-niii-kaaa” in such a monotone — it surprised me (laughs). Sakai: I thought there’d be effects layered over it, so I said it in a really unexcited-sounding voice (laughs). Nakata: I’d been thinking that maybe it’d sound nice with some waves behind it. I told her something like “I’m definitely going to process it somehow after this!” and then I left it the way it was. Just as a little tease from me (laughs).
―― In “SLEEPING girl,” I thought that the faint eroticism Kate-chan possesses and the fairytale-like impression of the lyrics came through very strongly. Sakai: These are the lyrics I’m happiest with. I started out by researching the history of “Sleeping Beauty” and others and then writing realistic lyrics inspired by those, but eventually, they turned out to have more of a food-based motif. When I think about food, though, it makes me want to have something eat it before long, so then I found myself eating the girl (laughs). Also, the part in the lyrics that goes “fillet steak” was originally “sirloin steak,” but it didn’t quite fit, so I was told to make it a shorter steak (laughs). I like to put in little sharp notes rather a lot. Nakata: I thought we should make the most of that sharp ending.
―― “Scene Killer” opens with the sound of insects and abruptly switches to an acoustic guitar melody, which I found to be a little surprising but fresh as well. Did you intend for it to be like that in a way? Nakata: It wasn’t so much that I set out to destroy our image, but more like, “Maybe we’re at the point where we do something like this now.”
―― But are you conscious of it as a sound you came up with because you made it for COLTEMONIKHA? Nakata: I do feel that way. It’s to be expected, but when it comes to my other works, people have to be able to tell that it’s my song from the second they hear it, so there tends to be a lot that I want to try but don’t do for that reason.
―― The lyrics to “NAMAIKI” were amusing in that they carried the kind of edge I’ve come to expect from Kate-chan. You’re apologizing, but it’s like you haven’t reflected on what you did wrong in the least (laughs). Nakata: They’re great lyrics, aren’t they? By saying “sorry for being smart with you” so casually, she’s actually really looking down on him (everyone laughs uproariously). It’s funny. Sakai: I hadn’t considered it that far (laughs). I really love the word namaiki [“brazen,” “cheeky”], so I’d been thinking I wanted to use it. The part that goes “namaiki desu arigatou” is supposed to have the nuance of “thank you for letting me be so insolent,” too, though (laughs).
―― Was the extended mix of “NAMAIKI” at the end of the album made at the same time as the original? Nakata: I did wonder if I should only choose one of the two at first, but when I listened to the both of them one after the other, it had a good vibe. I liked that it gave it a sound like end credits rolling on the album.
―― You probably still haven’t decided what you plan to do next after this, have you? Nakata: No, we haven’t. When I thought about maybe starting this up again, it was only because the timing was good for us right now. So it’s really up to how we both feel about it.
―― Even in that sense, COLTEMONIKHA really is the project you have the most freedom with. Nakata: That’s true. When I consider what it is that my contemode label does, I think things like this might best fit that description. Having the ability to focus on making music is really important.
<aside> 📎 Ueda Usako for MARQUEE vol. 62 (August 10, 2007)
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