J-pop princess Kyary Pamyu Pamyu once again enthralls audiences with her highly infectious hyper-stylised pop tunes from her fifth full-length album Candy Racer.

Written by longtime writer and producer Yasutaka Nakata, who happens to be one half of music duo CAPSULE, the colourful release promises spellbinding kinetic dance songs and mesmeric electro-pop anthems accompanied by ever so vibrant music videos which of course, features Kyary’s sartorial elegance, as seen in her bold and eclectic fashion choices. 

While the globally celebrated pop icon might not have invented Harajuku fashion herself, she has most definitely pioneered the Decora style with her saccharine aesthetic, and endearing larger-than-life persona.

As the international star celebrates her 10^th anniversary in the music industry this year, Bandwagon caught up with Kyary for a chat regarding her latest record Candy Racer, and the launch of her very own record label KRK Lab. 

Would you like to share about the launch of your very own record label KRK Lab? 

It’s a label where I can be who I want to be, and focus on my passion projects or collaborations in the future. For the past ten years, I have basically been an artist and a singer but now I am moving onto my next chapter, and so I wanted to expand, maybe do some voice acting, do a little more fashion. There’s a lot of things that I aspire to do beyond just being a singer and a performer. Making KRK was my way of pushing and motivating myself to move forward. It’s a huge risk and there’s a lot of pressure in starting this label but I’ve done it.

Tell me more about your fifth full-length album Candy Racer. 

So, Candy Racer came with a lot of new challenges in terms of exploring new sounds. The '80s and '90s mainly encapsulate a lot of the music here, and so it sounds nostalgic for older fans but for a lot of the newer fans it might seem brand new to them. It’s kind of a merging of the classic tracks and brand-new songs like ‘Dodonpa.’ It has a more rhythmic sound as opposed to the older stuff. 

Speaking of your third single, ‘Dodonpa’ premiered with a lyric video. Do you have any plans for an accompanying visual for that particular track? 

I don’t have any actual plans for a music video for this song yet but the lyric video itself we put a lot of effort into so I’d definitely recommend that people check it out. It’s very visually exciting. 

What was it like working with producer Yasutaka Nakata once again? 

I’ve always loved the lyrics and music that Yasutaka makes. This time too, it’s like a new world that’s expanding in front of me. He always takes me on a journey so it’s always exciting working with him. 

The music video for your lead single ‘Gum Gum Girl’ which was released as part of a collaboration with Nintendo Switch’s video game Ninjala, has some pretty cool action sequences thrown into the mix—what was the production process for that like?

The song has ninja themes as the game does. I wanted to add an image of a female ninja in this day and age. I actually spent two weeks with an action director physically training for the music video so it was a brand-new challenge for me. It was very demanding physically but it was fun to see how the camera angles and special effects added to the final product. It was cool to see how they added all these aspects to make it even more exciting. 

 

 

 

 

 

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How did this collaboration come about? Were you approached by Nintendo for this? 

I was originally a fan of the game itself and I have a song called ‘Ninja Re Bang Bang’ so I thought there must be a way we could collaborate, and that song actually became the commercial music for Ninjala. That was kind of the beginning of the connection so it was really organic. I was a fan and I was able to use my vision and brand to add to this game. 

Your second single ‘Gentenkaihi’ was put out on the 10th anniversary of the release of your debut album. How does celebrating this major milestone in your musical career feel?

Releasing a song on my tenth-year anniversary was of course an incredible milestone. The song itself is called ‘Gentenkaihi’ and in Japanese, "genten kaihi" means going back and returning to your roots. ‘Kaihi’ means to escape so it’s kind of like a play on Japanese words.

The point of the song is really looking back ten years and realising that’s who I was but at the same time, I’m not returning to who I was but acknowledging what was there and evolving into something new. The message in itself is really perfect for the ten-year anniversary.

Can you share more about the lyrical inspiration behind ‘Kimigainekuretara’? 

So ‘Kimigainekuretara’ was originally the opening theme song for a TV drama about social media. Getting someone to like something is ‘ine’ so the message is that we live in an era where when someone you like gives you an ‘ine’ or likes your post, that gives you so much more positivity. It’s a play on the current social media era and how we all want likes but it’s not a toxic version of that. 

Going off that, do a lot of your lyrics stem from real-life experiences, and is that what inspires most of your songs? 

Yes, that happens a lot of the time. Yasutaka, my producer who writes the songs, will ask me what I’m into and what are my recent thoughts about the state of the world, and he’ll take my thoughts and turn them into catchy lyrics. In a way, they are based on my experiences which Yasutaka has brought out and kind of put to words. 

Your music video for the romantic number ‘Kamaitachi’ makes several references to Japanese lore. How do you come up with such sartorial detail in your elaborate costume designs? 

‘Kamaitachi’ creates a kind of ‘anime’ imagery which is very much a part of me when I put on these different outfits. One of the things I’m interested in now is creating outfits that are easy for people to draw to make fan art or that could be easy to cosplay. That’s always been a big part of my costume thought process. I took a lot of inspiration from the folkloric creature the ‘Kamaitachi.’ There’s a Japanese saying that if you get a cut on your arm, the ‘Kamaitachi’ will come. It’s based on old Japanese folklore that grandparents used to tell their grandkids. 

You’ve seemingly pioneered the Harajuku style so I was just wondering if your look has evolved over the years? 

A lot of foreigners and non-Japanese people who think about Harajuku still have the Lolita image in mind but that actually doesn’t exist anymore. Harajuku has kind of become more pop and K-pop. There’s been a lot of non-Japanese influences too so it actually has changed quite a bit from ten years ago. Like, the punk image you have, there used to be a lot of people in Harajuku who had that same kind of punk-ish look but it’s become pretty rare recently. 

 

 

 

 

 

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For those that don’t know about your special 10th anniversary site KPP10.jp, what can fans expect to find on there? 

It’s basically just a hub for all the Kyary Pamyu Pamyu tenth anniversary news. I’ve been uploading on social media and stuff but it’s best to have a place where everyone can just go and see where all the details are. It’s also in English too so if you’re overseas, you can still read it. 

You’re also going on an upcoming nationwide Japanese tour in January next year. Tell me more about what your live show is going to look like? 

Japan has 47 prefectures that’s kind of like the states in America, and I’m going to be performing in 30 venues so that’s almost more than half of Japan.

Japan is still really dealing with the pandemic and Japanese people still wear masks every day so I want to add a positive spin to this concert situation by adding sound effects, headlights, and just anything that can create a fun atmosphere, and help the audience enjoy their time even though they’re not allowed to express their enjoyment through their vocals.

 

 

 

 

 

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A lot of shows have indeed been affected by the pandemic. Are you stoked to just be out there performing again? 

I’m very excited but of course, I know it’s still a risky time and there’s still a lot of uncertainties so that’s not going to stop me from being careful. Either way, it’s incredible to be able to perform for people again. I plan to play a lot of the songs from Candy Racer so to anyone coming to the show, I highly recommend you listen to the album. I am looking forward to playing all the songs but specifically track number 10, ‘Natsuiro Flower.’ It’s a romantic, kind of groovy song so it’ll be a little bit different from my other songs and I’m excited to see how that will play out. 

With this situation, it’s hard to go overseas so it’s been a while since I’ve been able to play for international audiences but when that day comes, I hope you’ll all be able to come out and enjoy the show with me. 

Stream Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's Candy Racer below.