Atarashii Gakko!
Photography by ATARASHII GAKKO!. Interview by Heather Hawke.
ATARASHII GAKKO! (which translates to “new school” in Japanese) are a group of four young women – Suzuka: S / Rin: R / Mizyu: M / Kanon: K – who are setting out to redefine what it means to be a girl group. Their newest release – the SNACKTIME EP – was produced by the legendary Money Mark, who is prominently known for his work with the Beastie Boys, on the albums Check Your Head and Ill Communication, as well as having done recording sessions with other artists such as Beck, Iggy Pop, Nile Rodgers, the Rolling Stones, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Yoko Ono, and David Byrne.
Unlike most J-Pop female idol groups, ATARASHII GAKKO! staunchly refuse to be objectified, they wear sailor-fuku (sailor suits) uniforms in a style that were worn by Japanese students back in the 70s and 80s which feature long skirts and pulled-up socks. While musically AG! merges elements of modern J-Pop, Showa-era kayokyoku, rap, punk, and dance music, they also choreograph their own aggressive and expressive dance moves, which are a hybrid of the energy of Japanese butoh dance, heavy metal headbanging, and hip-hop street dancing. If it sounds impossible to categorize them in any genre, that’s because it is, and it’s meant to be that way. With Money Mark acting as their mentor and coach, AG! took control of their creative output and artistic identity and created the brilliance thatis The SNACKTIME EP.
Recorded during the height of Asian hate incidents in 2021, which occurred during the pandemic, AG!’s new EP is a story of empowerment and evolution. They hope their aggressive performances will help change the stereotypical images that the West has towards Asian women, especially Japanese women, for being “quiet and obedient.” “I don’t think a girl has to act a certain way, because they’re a girl. If we’re doing what we love and being confident, we’re naturally showing that women can be strong,” says Rin. “We want to break the typical image that people have towards Asians and show that there are some really unique Asian people out there. 88rising is showing that there are incredible Asian artists that can have a worldwide appeal, and we want to be a part of that,” explains Suzuka. By also choosing to sing their lyrics in Japanese, it also sends a message to the world that they don’t need to conform to rules of the entertainment industry in the West. “Singing in Japanese is something we want to continue doing. Since we’re singing and rapping in Japanese, we wanted to do things in the lyrics that you can’t do with English. In English, you can fit a lot of words into a bar, but with Japanese, the language itself is very rhythmical. So, we used that to our advantage.”
ATARASHII GAKKO! web/socials: Website – Soundcloud – Facebook – Instagram – Twitter
Responses by: Suzuka – S / Rin – R / Mizyu – M / Kanon – K / ** – Entire band
Hi! So, these past 20 months have been pretty intense due to various reasons including the pandemic… Before we began, how are you doing with everything? How has this last year been for you and how are you feeling? How have you been coping with everything?
Suzuka: It’s been an opportunity to reflect, to search within and realize what my goals are and what makes me tick! This journey of reflection was quite exciting, very inspiring times!
Kanon: A lot of things went under drastic changes and there were hesitations and struggles for sure, but it opened up some quality time to get to know myself on a deeper level, which was a positive aspect.
Mizyu: Going on stage was our core venture, we lived for it. So, when that came to a halt, keeping our social media up and live became crucially important! We posted new clips from our past performances, published our liner notes, or produced merch for our online audience, making sure that there was always fresh content for our fans online. I think this contributed to expanding our reach to listeners out there beyond the physical stage!
Rin: The situation led us to earnestly think about the message we truly want to convey, and also on a personal note, to realize my sincere aspirations and devotions. We ventured into ground breaking activities during this period, so the pandemic was definitely a turning point for me and also feels like the dawning of a new chapter for us.
I feel like the music industry has shifted even more so during the pandemic. How has it felt, to you, as an artist? Has it been freeing? Is it scary trying to question how to approach music making and then how to or if you want to creatively release it to the public?
**Everyone around the globe began to spend more time online, so we took it as a chance to strengthen our outreach on social media, so that more listeners can discover our music. We are really looking forward to meeting these new fans once we get back on stage.
Going back to the beginning. Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like growing up there? Did creativity/music/art play a big part of your childhood?
S: My mom is a huge Beyoncé fan so I’ve been dancing to her tracks since I was in diapers. Seeing how much I loved dancing, my mom signed me up for dance classes and that’s how I got into the entertainment industry as a performer. I really loved being on since stage since those early years.
K: I did so many after school activities growing up but none of them stuck until I encountered dance. I was really fascinated by it, so dancing became a huge part of my daily life back then. I was dancing all the time. Because I grew up in the country side, my days were quite simple just consisting of the back and forth between my home, school, and the dance studio.
M: I was born and raised in Tokyo. I loved to get up and dance whenever there was music playing, and started taking dance classes when I was in second grade. Music and dance were always there throughout my childhood days, and I loved it.
R: My dad is a hip-hop fan so perhaps I was listening to hip-hop music ever since I was in my mom’s womb. Of all the experiences I had since I started dancing and competing in dance tournaments, there is this inspiring quote from my favorite teacher who told me ‘don’t forget your love of music when you’re dancing’. From that moment on, I am ever so captivated by the elation when the body links with music through dancing.
Tell me about your musical upbringing. What music did you grow up listening to? When did you first become aware that music was going to be a part of your life? What was your formal / not formal music education like growing up?
**We all grew up with this common passion, which is to dance, so music was always beside us. But when we came together as a group to form ATARASHII GAKKO!, we had our own track and music to explore and express through our dance, which made music an even more essential part of our lives. This past year we learned one very important aspect of music, and that is the playfulness. Money Mark was the one who taught us this whimsicality.
When you were old enough to start seeking out music, where did you regularly find yourself (a certain record store / internet site / getting recommendations from a certain friend)? Who were some of the artists you first found and then were always on the lookout for?
S: I seek out new things on Spotify but I also love discovering music from my friends and family. Money Mark also shared with us some of his favorites, I saved them all and listen back to them. My favorite artist: Beyoncé
K: My older sister’s music library was a big influence when I was growing up. My favorite artist: Koda Kumi
M: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu was my first favorite artist and I started exploring from there. I was also intrigued by how artists artistically express their sounds through music videos and live performances, it was so exciting to see.
R: I would rummage through my dad’s cd collection, or share discoveries with friends, or Shazam something playing that caught my ear. I am amazed how music is everywhere, all around the world. And there’s music I wouldn’t encounter in my bubble, so when I met Money Mark he taught me so many new things it’s been lots of new discoveries. My favorite artist: EVISBEATS
Talking some more about your formative years… What was the very first concert you attended? When was the first time you felt super inspired by music? Were there posers on your wall when you were growing up?
S: A concert from Lady Gaga: she came out on stage and performed in a transparent dress with taped nipples, that left an extremely powerful impression on me.
K: When I went to see Koda Kumi: there was an enormous stage with a fountain, the way she switched between costumes was like magic, and I felt like I was in a dream!
M: I have always been in love with the creations around Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. It’s cute and eerie and so exciting. I had her CDs and DVDs from concerts, her photo books with her cool styling and never missed a post on her gram!
R: The first concert I attended was by MISIA: I was really young but remember being blown away by her powerful vocals, stage presence and her aura!
The moment I was super inspired by music was when my dance teacher made a remix track just for me. It was filled with the nitty-gritty of all the things I loved, and I just had to move!
Let’s talk about your new EP. What was your songwriting/creative process like for SNACKTIME? Was there an event or a specific timeframe where a large chunk of the lyricism came out?
**Together with Money Mark we spent some time discussing the theme of the track and to create the base track, and then we took that home to come up with some melodies and lyrics to hand back over to him in the next session, and it went on like that until it was finished.
The EP was produced by the legendary Money Mark, what was it like working with him on this? What was your favorite part about the writing / creation process of the EP?
**We really had fun with Money Mark, especially when we were dancing together. He has such a delightful smile and it was absolutely the best feeling when we are vibing to a track that we just made. We picked up sounds playing objects found around the house, shared snacks and exchanged ideas, casual conversations turned into genial ideas. It’s all part of his whimsical style of producing music, which inspired us a lot.
Did you have any parts of the tracks off of SNACKTIME (whether it be lyrics, beats, harmonies) around the time of your previous release or before?
**We had some ideas about the style of music we wanted to explore, and think it solidly manifested as the outcome of the EP’s sounds.
Has your music/lyric writing process been something that’s shifted for you over time?
**It was our first time to really be a part of the process of making a track from scratch, so it was full of discoveries! So exciting to be at the birthing moment of creation!
What was your mindset going into the creating / recording process of this EP? Did you feel any sort of limitations when writing or recording it? Which songs were the easiest / most difficult to create? What song(s) are you most proud of on this record? Why?
**We wanted to create something really mind blowing. There was no pressure to be felt, just pure excitement! Fantastico came out quite quickly, and producing Pineapple Kryptonite was like putting together pieces of a puzzle.
S: I am especially fond of CANDY, I can’t wait to perform this in front of a crowd and make them go wild.
M: All of the tracks are dear to my heart, but because Pineapple Kryptonite was the first song that we completed, it’s especially moving to perform it on stage, every time I get that fuzzy feeling. It’s something indescribable and profound. Makes me very proud.
R: All the tracks are irresistibly enticing and I’m so proud of each one. The EP spans across genres and moods so you can find the right track to fit your day, which will make the songs shine even more.
I read that continuing to sing and rap in Japanese allows you to not conform to the rules of the entertainment industry in the West as well as do things with the lyrics that you can’t do with the English language. What’s been your favorite song and/or phrase on the SNACKTIME EP in which you feel is better in Japanese rather than in English?
** “Free Your Mind” has the first verse in English, and the second verse in Japanese, and we are singing the same lyrics in the two languages. We made the English lyrics first and then converted that to Japanese, and we felt that both sounded fabulous each in their own way. “Pineapple Kryptonite” has this dramatic sound, when suddenly the first verse starts in Japanese it creates this J-Pop feel which we find really cool. Lyrics like “The four of us, YABAI, C’mon, our generation” is worded in our life-size conversations how we would say it in Japanese, these little nuances make the song so great. “In Happy Hormones,” the second verse is singing a lot about hormones, which in Japanese it’s also a kind of BBQ meat. We are playing with puns in our language, releasing hormones and eating Horumon(yaki). It wouldn’t work in English cause there is no culture of eating Japanese BBQ Horumon.
When and how did the EP title SNACKTIME come about in the album creation process? What is the significance of the title?
**The title was decided after we got back to Japan from LA. In LA we were cramped in the recording room and working on the tracks every day, so our snack times where we would leave the room for a break and eat snacks to refresh, then pitch new ideas to each other, was really essential for the progress of our work. That’s how our EP came to be, owing it to our snack time.
I love that the band choreographs all of your dance moves yourselves, and the fact that Money Mark purposely help craft other kinds of beats on this EP to help with ideas for new, less restricted moves. Where do you usually find inspiration for ideas for new dance moves?
**The most phenomenal sounds inspire us to keep moving and creating. It inspires our dance creations, and also adversely, the sounds are ideated from the moves we want to incorporate.
How hands on are you with the making of / direction of the visuals (music videos, press images, artwork) that accompanies the music? Do you feel like the art that accompanies one’s music is more / less important than it used to be? How do you feel like social media / the internet impacts the intention behind all of this?
**We’re deeply involved in the process, because the visual direction dictates a lot of how our creations will be perceived. Instagram is a platform with lots of advantages for channeling artistic projects. It reaches such a global audience and we enjoy getting reactions from far and wide.
Have you had any mentors along the way?
** We received so much from Money Mark, what he taught us guides us through our music, and also our way of life!
