──In the previous work, I’ve heard that you went to Los Angeles to record your singing part, but what was your intention?
Leo: We wanted to measure the distance between abroad and ourselves. I recorded and mixed the rap section and the song. The engineers were really great, but recently I’ve realized that great things arrive both domestically and internationally.
Our band is creating something new, an essence of both domestic and international sound in one. I’m looking forward to getting positive results as much as possible because one of my goals is to feature with my favorite artists from overseas.
──Are there any artists you would like to collaborate with?
Leo: Yes, for me it’s Snoop Dogg. Right now, I don’t think there’s much difference between foreign countries and Japan, and also not much difference in genres. Therefore, it really ends up all or nothing. For this reason, I think you can sing in any language and do whatever you want. I believe that if you do it with passion, it will strike people’s hearts.
──To follow up on what you’re saying, I feel the same way in the movie rankings inside Japan, where more domestic films are ranked higher than the big hit western films from abroad. There’s a tendency of stronger domestic focus in the art scene now.
Leo: Japan grew from post-war culture. My grandma was 6 or 7 years old at the time of the war, but after the war, jazz came to the country and she told me, "Jazz finally awakened me to live when I heard it for the first time”.
Jazz made my grandma’s eyes shine, and made her realize that there was no point in clinging on to the emotion of winning or losing the war. It went beyond the emotional border we sometimes create and touched the heart of the people. I also want to believe in this and convey the pure wonderfulness of music.
