CA4LA MUSIC CONNECTION vol.13
Kimura Kaela

20th anniversary of debut and turning point leading up to the Nippon Budokan concert

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For artists, there is always a turning point in the process of creating a work or in the source of their current activities.

"CA4LA MUSIC CONNECTION" is a serial project in which we interview artists and ask them questions about turning points in their careers.

The artist appearing in the 13th episode is Kimura Kaela.

Celebrating her 20th anniversary this year, Kimura Kaela successfully completed her solo concert "GO!GO!KAELAND 2024" at Nippon Budokan on October 26th. Two days before that, she celebrated her 40th birthday, making it a memorable day filled with double joy. After working as an exclusive model for the fashion magazine "SEVENTEEN" and as an MC on the music information program "saku saku," she made her major debut in 2004 with the single "Level 42." She quickly gained popularity with her iconic character and punk-inspired musicality, and in 2009, she made her first appearance on the "NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen" with her smash hit "Butterfly." After that, she has been active in many fields for the past 20 years, always remaining true to herself while also taking on the role of a mother. However, what has always been at the core of her career has been her desire to "sing," which she has longed for since she was a child. Looking back on her live performance at Nippon Budokan, we asked her about the turning points in her career, as well as about the collaboration items with CA4LA and the Christmas fair for which she serves as an image character.

Text by Atsutake Kaneko Photo by Yuuka Eda

 

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Interview: Kimura Kaela

 

 

 

The Budokan concert in October was a fantastic live performance. Can you look back on that day?

 

The biggest goal of the Kaela 20th anniversary event was to perform at Budokan, so I was really happy that we were able to reach that day safely, but as the day of the Budokan approached, a lot of things welled up in my heart, and just thinking about Budokan made me cry, I was so emotional. On the morning of the day, in the car on the way to Budokan, I was in a state where tears just came out of my eyes just from talking about the past, so I thought this was bad and decided to just not perform the actual event (laughs).

 

Instead of raising my tension, it just went away (laughs).

 

Kaela said several times in her MC that she had "threw away the key (of her tears) into the deep sea," and I kept telling myself that as I stood on that stage. So rather than thinking about myself, I was thinking about everyone around me, salesperson, my manager, the band members who had been with me all this time even though they weren't on stage that day, and every time I thought of all those people's faces, I felt something moving, so I took on that day with a feeling of gratitude. I was desperate in many ways, so to be honest, I don't remember the details (laughs), but after 20 years of doing this and having had many days of conflict, I thought that the most important thing was to be myself and be able to stand on stage as I am, so I just wanted to achieve that.

 

It was my 40th birthday two days ago, so everyone there celebrated both my 20th anniversary and my 40th birthday, and it was a really happy atmosphere.

 

Kaela: I was very grateful. It was very important for me to perform at the Budokan, and when I released the album "Scratch" in 2007, it was my first album to reach number one, and I was able to perform at the Budokan. It was my dream to perform at the Budokan, so I was very happy, and I also wanted to talk about the lighting, so I went to see the venue the day before. When I did, I saw a huge number of people making the set, and I felt a huge sense of responsibility when I saw so many people involved in the song that I was singing just for myself. In many ways, it was the moment when I made up my mind. It was a huge turning point for me, and I feel like I am where I am now because of that day, and that's why I had such a strong desire to perform at the Budokan again.

 

The whole concert that day seemed like a climax, but the medley in the middle that focused on "dance" was especially amazing.

 

I did the Kaela medley once on our 15th anniversary, and everyone around me thought it was good, so this time, the guitarist Aigon and others asked me, "Why don't you do a medley?" But medleys are really hard (laughs). You have to keep singing for more than 10 minutes and keep moving, so at first I was like, "Seriously?" But when I asked my followers on Instagram for requests for songs they wanted me to do, I got requests for so many different songs that I couldn't fit into the set list for the day. When I thought about what the best thing I could do for them, I remembered that everyone was talking about a medley, and I thought that although I've done a lot of different genres up until now, it might be really good if I put together some programmed songs and made them sound like a club. My theme is to transform in various ways and live each moment, so I thought that having a club in there would be very me-like moments in my live performances, and some exciting moments, so I created a club mix. When we actually did that during rehearsals...I was like, "There's no way I can sing this. I'll get so tired I'll collapse" (laughs).

 

Medleys are hard enough, but having dance music continue throughout is even harder (laughs).

 

Kaela: I thought I'd have to have the physical strength of an athlete to make this, but I managed to do it. When I was thinking about who should make the club mix, I thought it would be good to have someone who is a DJ and knows me well, and BIM was a candidate. I COLLABORATION with him on a song called "ZIG ZAG" before, and BIM was originally a member of my fan club. I only found out about it when we collaborated, and when I first offered him to do it together, he said, "Actually...". So I decided to ask BIM, and went to BIM's studio with Aigon, and the three of us made the transitions and order of the medley. That's why BIM's voice is in the first song, "GO!GO!KAELAND!2024!"

 

 

 

During the MC at Budokan, when I asked the audience, "When did you know me?", I was impressed by the fact that so many people knew me through "saku saku". How was your experience as the MC for "saku saku" a turning point for you, and how does it relate to the present?

 

Kaela: Ever since I was little, I only thought about singing, so I was a cut model, a magazine model, an exclusive model, everything was for the purpose of singing, to become a singer. Then I was asked to be the MC of "saku saku" and I thought, "This will bring me closer to music!", but when I opened the lid, we didn't talk about music at all (laughs). It was a really fun time, and I had a lot of fun just talking about Gundam, but when I graduated from high school and had to decide my future, I told my teacher and parents, "I'm not going to go to college." I had gotten a recommendation for college, but I really wanted to pursue my dream of "singing," so I told myself, "I'll definitely debut by the time I'm 20," and gave up on going to college. From there, I made a demo tape and went to various record companies to give it to, but they didn't pay any attention to it at all, so I got really anxious and called "saku saku" producer Takeuchi to Shibuya. Normally I would have had to go and meet her (laughs), but I called her out to Shibuya and told her, "I actually wanted to sing, and I promised my parents that I would make my debut by the time I was 20. If this didn't happen, I promised them that I would study again and go to university, so if I continued like this, I'd be in trouble." She was like, "What? Is that so?" and things started moving from there, I decided to make my debut, and here we are today.

 

That direct interview was definitely a turning point.

 

That's true for Kaela. That's why I think that meeting "saku saku", meeting Takeuchi-san, and even calling him out to Shibuya (laughs) were all moments that changed my life.

 

Before you told the producer directly, had you ever told anyone around you that you wanted to become a singer?

 

When I was a model for "SEVENTEEN," I always wrote "to become a singer" when asked "What is your dream for the future?", but I didn't tell the people at "saku saku." When I was still in "saku saku," I wasn't in my current agency, and I was the only one in "SEVENTEEN" who wasn't in an agency. So I was approached by the agency several times, and I said "I want to sing," but at that time I wasn't actually in an agency, so I had to act on my own. However, the people at the agency introduced me to people from various bands, such as Kashiwakura-san from toe, Shinobu Watanabe from ASPARAGUS, You-chan from SCAFULL KING, Masa-kun, the guitarist from the HIATUS, and I formed a band with former members of the PeteBest, and I made a lot of demo tapes and did everything I could, but... they didn't pay any attention to me at all.

 

So speaking to the producer face-to-face was what changed your life. It was over 20 years ago, but is there anything you remember from that day?

 

I remember that I was very nervous. I asked her to come to a cafe in Shibuya Station, and we sat across from each other at a tiny table that only two people could sit at. I remember that my heart was pounding, but Takeuchi was like, "What? That's it?" and was like, "Oh really? I know someone, so I'll ask them," and then I think he asked me, "What kind of artist do you want to be?" At the time, Avril Lavigne had just come out, and I was listening to a lot of West Coast punk from America, Rancid and No Doubt. I wondered why there were so few female vocalists, and I thought it would be cool if women sang punk. There were YUKI and Shiina Ringo in Japan, but there weren't many dry West Coast bands, so I said that I wanted to be that kind of artist, to sing punk and rock, and to make something that had a Western feel to it.

 

So they released their debut song, "Level 42." It was the first song they performed at the Budokan.

 

Kaela: This time, the set was designed with a "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" theme, so I thought we should start from the moment the baby was born. I started with "Level 42" and had already decided to end the main part with "Twenty," which was released this year.

 

Music trends change with the times, but in the last few years the pop punk of that era has become popular again, Olivia Rodrigo has emerged, Paramore is being re-evaluated, and Avril Lavigne released her greatest hits album this year, so watching the Budokan concert I felt that it was perfect for the current era.

 

Kaela, that's great. That kind of era has been dormant for a long time (laughs).

 

There is always change, and times change.

 

It's the same as Kaela fashion.

 

 

Another thing that really impressed me at the Budokan was the amount of cheering from children. This time there were family tickets available for people to watch with their children, and Kaela's music is a mix of punk and dance music, as well as cool modern pop music, and I've never seen so many children cheering at such a concert before.

 

Kaela: I don't see them. I usually do concerts at live music venues, but the generation that has been listening to my music for a long time is now raising children, so when it was decided that I would be performing at the Budokan, I thought that they would want to come with their children. However, it's quite difficult to watch a concert with children. It's not just about concerts, it's also about movies. If you go to see a movie with your child, parents are always thinking about things like getting a seat on the edge so they can go to the bathroom, or making noise so they don't bother them. So I thought that if we set up family seats and made seats so that they wouldn't be bothered even if the child moves, it would be the best thing for parents. Then, as expected, the family seats sold really well, and it felt like everyone was waiting for me, and I regretted not performing only at live music venues, but at a place with seats from the beginning (laughs). I felt that they were waiting for me. So, I don't usually perform in an environment with a lot of children, so it was almost a first for me... but I think parents are listening to the songs with me. Like, "I like Kaela, so you like her too!" (laughs). I also think that when I write songs I want children to enjoy listening to. I'm particularly conscious of that when it comes to computer-generated songs.

 

The title of their latest EP is "F(U)NTASY," and perhaps because they depict a fantasy world, it also resonates with children.

 

Kaela is happy. I think the best thing is that the kids are having fun. The kids kept calling out "Kaela! Kaela!", so I was impressed that the adults were quieter than usual (laughs). I usually talk a lot with the audience at my live shows. I pick up on the comments of people who say funny or silly things and have various conversations with them, but for me, the most interesting thing was that they were quiet. But I felt everyone's kindness, and I think they intuitively thought that the kids were making noise so they should be quiet, so they didn't talk much. I thought maybe I made them feel uncomfortable, but it's great when kids are making noise, so it was good to be able to share that moment with everyone, and I also felt that 20 years have passed, so it was good in many ways.

 

It's probably also because Kaela herself has experience raising children and understands a parent's perspective well.

 

Kaela: I think so too. It's okay for parents to be noisy, but I think what parents want most of all is to share time with their children. I don't want to go somewhere by myself, but if possible, I want to go with my child. I think all parents want to experience fun things with their children, so I was hoping that this would be a time like that.