“While I used to think that I should do everything by myself as long as I was able, maybe I’ve done a 180 on that now and started to feel like it’s best to leave creative things to professionals in those fields. For that reason, this time in particular felt more like jumping on board with Nakamura [Hiroshi]-kun’s ideas and giving them a try.”
Speaking those words is MEG, known for her lovely style and many talents, who is currently working not just in music but also as a model and director of the fashion brand CAROLINA GLASER. Following her previous album Dithyrambos, heavy on floor tunes, she designated Nakamura Hiroshi of i-dep, a familiar face in both the domestic and international club scene, as the producer on her new album aquaberry. The beautiful melodies full of i-dep’s typical style and sounds overflowing with giddy excitement, plus MEG’s cute and happy vocals, combine to give off a glittering radiance just like the “aqua” in the name. The feelings she’s developed towards club music in recent years can be clearly felt from this record.
“Realizing again that I love club music may have been a significant influence,” she says. “My first album had a lot more material that was intended to express my emotions, but now, rather than focusing on that, I’ve started to think that it’d be more fun to perform songs that I can share with everyone live. Appearing as a guest of KAGAMI-san at the WIRE festival in 2005 was a huge turning point in my thinking about this. It felt like that made me aware of how important it actually is to be able to share a space with others.”
As if drawn closer by club music and the gravity possessed by that “space” known as the dance floor, MEG has taken another step on the path towards a new stage. On the subject of her next course of action, she says with an impish smile, “I’m basically happy just thinking about how I can entertain other people. I want to come up with more and more unexpected ideas, like giving someone a surprise present.” Until then, why not open up her first gift, aquaberry?
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aokinoko for bounce vol. 286 (published in print April 25; online, May 2, 2007)
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