Collaborating with some of the most distinguished artists in the club music world and designing her own apparel brand, MEG is steadily establishing her position in the industry. I often see articles which introduce her this way, but actually interviewing her face-to-face, she struck me as a fun-loving girl at heart. You’ll also read about her creating music and clothing with a desire to excite the world here, but I found that this really is the core of who she is.
I’ll also be touching on your new release “OK,” of course, but as this is your first appearance here on hotexpress, please allow me to ask some questions about your personal history. To start, what is your earliest memory of making something or expressing yourself creatively in some way? I started out making robots out of empty sweets boxes or pudding cups when I was in preschool. The preschool I went to gave us a lot of creative work. I spent a long time there ever since I was two years old, so I was a bit like the leader of the pack (laughs), but I have memories of crafting often from that period on.
What kind of girl were you in your early childhood? I would play while wearing skirts that my mother made for me. I remember wearing skirts that spun and spread out as I twirled to the point that my panties were completely visible (laughs). I just liked fluttery skirts. They were all I wore. I liked cute things like that ever since I was young. But I always had short hair.
From fashion to music, there are many different cultures throughout society, but what would you say your interests were as a young girl? I learned classical piano from the time I was three years old. At the time, though, I wasn’t interested in singing yet. So if I were pushed to choose, I remember making a bunch of things. And I drew pictures. Yeah, not so out of the ordinary (laughs).
(laughs) So it’s not like you were notably artistic ever since you were little. Yes, I wasn’t such an astonishing child (laughs).
Were there any performers or artists you admired? Kyon-Kyon [Koizumi Kyoko], I suppose. I thought she was living in a really dazzling world. But your idea of that always changes.
Incidentally, what was the first CD you ever bought? Namae wo Tsukete Yaru by Spitz. It had a cat on the cover.
Then what music did you grow up listening to? I was around elementary or middle school age when I bought Spitz’s Namae wo Tsukete Yaru, and while I always loved Spitz, I borrowed an oldies compilation album from a friend later on and got really into that. So I listened to stuff like Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” and France Gall a lot. It wasn’t popular with the people around me whatsoever, but I went through a big phase with it. Neil Sedaka was on that album and I really fell for his voice and melodies. But I listened to the regular music they played on TV, too. I don’t think I had any overwhelming preference.
When did you first realize that you wanted to make music yourself? It was a while later that I thought about doing music. Even after I started testing the waters, I didn’t really feel like I was “doing music” — it felt like an extension of the crafting I already did. Trying something I’d never done before. That was how it felt to me, so I never thought of it like “only” singing or “only” doing music especially.
You told me some of your first creative memories earlier, but what was the decisive event that made you want to work in the industry you’re in now? Nothing really comes to mind (laughs). But I want to offer something fun to everyone. Whether through fashion or music, I want to create something that puts some spring into people’s lives, thrills them and lifts their spirits. There’s no difference between when I’m designing clothes and when I’m making music in that sense. In the future, I may do something else, but when that time comes, my axis will stay the same: “I want to make something exciting.” That’s the feeling I get.
Did pursuing those feelings lead you to where you are in the present? Yes, I think so. I’m often asked what I most want to do at the end of the day, but lately I think the desire to make things that excite people is the axis of my work. That’s something I realized looking back on myself.
From what I know of your debut, you came on the scene in 2002 with “Scanty Blues,” but did you do any modeling or entertainment-related work before then? No, I released one CD on an indie label, but I got my start through a nationwide audition looking to discover people with various talents. I was scouted by people from my old management office there and then it just kind of went like “let’s give music a shot.” At the time, I guess I was curious what would happen if I auditioned. Then I ended up debuting along the way. So I think I was just lucky (laughs).
(laughs) Right from your debut, though, you felt like someone who really had her own unique world inside of her to me. I think a lot of that came from [producer] Okamura Yasuyuki-san’s skill. Okamura-san felt like the essence of a true artist to me, and I learned so much from him. He asked me how I wanted things to sound and the resulting track became my debut song.
If I’m not mistaken, you said you “wanted to do everything yourself” in several interviews at the time of your debut. How do you feel about that nowadays? That’s wrong. It’s a lie (laughs).
(laughs) I just had no choice but to do everything (laughs). I had no manager back then. So there were times when I’d have to handle my schedule by myself, and that’s how I learned that adults break their promises easily (laughs). Both my parents are elementary school teachers, so every adult I met as a child was a teacher whether I was at school or at home. So I believed adults kept their promises like they told children to do, and that’s what I thought being an adult was, but when I got to Tokyo, it was like, “Huh?” I was like, “There are all these people not doing what they promised like it’s no big deal!” (laughs) That made me think I needed to be the reliable one.
You were given a big shock so soon after your debut. It really was a shock. That was the biggest shock I experienced coming to Tokyo. But whenever there are juniors below me, or whenever I’m above someone else in a position of power or seniority, I think, “I refuse to make them feel like that!” Those at the top really have to be dependable for others.
I do feel a little like I’m interviewing a salaryman, I have to say. (laughs)