DEMPAGUMI.inc "GOGO DEMPA"
Because there were those days the six members raced through the times like crazy, their singing in this new album shines with graciousness. Main member, Mirin Furukawa talks about the album, now acknowledging “Perhaps I have reached the point I can give the others a supportive pat on the back”.
Interviewed and written by Kazumi Nanba
Getting to know my role
“Because the scale was such –so grand-, there were rumours going about that DEMPAGUMI.inc might be breaking up,” says Mirin Furukawa, looking back. “It was a bit too elaborate, and had too much of this feel that we had carried through (to the end). We were like, ‘Err, we’re not (breaking up)’! (lol)”
Furukawa is referring to the just-released close-to 9minutes-length music video, “STAR☆tto Shichauze Harudashi Ne”. Accompanying a grandiose stage set and dancers, each member appears on screen mocking iconic scenes from movies, which in the end develops into a huge mob scene with all 30plus members in the frame. The cut closes with fanfare, which then is taken over by a long take of the camera capturing the names of the members placed on a carpet, and the actual members eventually join in singing into the screen. As much as it serves as the closing credit, it is elaborately done in a fashion that it also perfectly functions as the music video for their new song, “Fanfare wa Bokura no Tame ni (meaning The Fanfare is for Us).” Having witnessed these 2 spirit-raising songs and the knockdown creativity overflowing with the excessive vibe of ‘having carried through to the end’, the expectation toward their 4th full-length album “GOGO DEMPA” simply rockets high up, and it seems like the six have indeed lived up to that expectation. This latest piece attempts to extend their image while also retaining the group’s image from the past, and has ended up as an enthusiastic collection that might as well upgrade the current state of J-Pop.
Furukuawa explains, “Last year, we had a string of songs highlighting the sense of the seasons starting from “Otsukare Summer”, followed by a 3-months-running online monthly release of singles kicked off with “Va! To the Future” in January, followed by 2 more songs in February and March which were straightforward right on DEMPAGUMI.inc-ish. I think that the latest “GOGO DEMPA” is an outcome of the sense of seasons and DEMPAGUMI.inc-ishness combined with a completely new element. In the past, it used to be plain ‘momentum’, but this time, we have this graciousness. The song “Kibo no Uta (meaning Song of Hope)” demonstrates it just perfectly. We even asked to re-record the song on another day, as we had put so much heart into singing. Also, there are more songs that are supportive and encouraging. I used to look back on myself whether there was ever a time I was really encouraging and gave a boost to anyone. And it would often come to me that I wasn’t really that kind of person. However, now I think I may have come to the point that, even not a big push on the back, I might be able to give someone a supportive nudge (lol). There are many songs we have only come to be able to sing precisely because we have entered the 5th year (in the current team formation).”
“Wakusei★Seika～Planet Anthem～” is a type of song they’ve never had before. An EDM piece perfectly in DEMPAGUMI.inc style, and the more-than-ever powerful message was penned by Jane Su, the Japanese music producer.
“It’s a track that was likely to be, but never was,” continues Furukawa. “We’ve also tried out something new, which was to have Eitaso (Eimi Naruse) and Pinky (Ayane Fujisaki) be fully in charge of the rap parts. We’d been used to having the six of us sing equally, so it’s a rare case to see specific members being featured.”
Meanwhile, the track “Ensemble wa Tenohira ni (meaning Ensemble on My Palm)” written and composed by Koji Kurumatani a.k.a. Cozy who is also known for his solo-project Laika Came Back, has been given a swing jazz-taste finish to it.
Furukawa looks back, “That’s the song Nemu (Yumemi) got really excited about. (Yumemi seemed to have been a fan of Kurumatani from her childhood.) I was the one to record the last for this song. I wanted to sing in a smoking hot way like an adult because of the taste of the song, but when we had a listen to it later on when all the recordings were put together, it seemed to come a bit short of the expected brightness. I was told to ‘sing more cheerfully’, and I was like, ‘okay then’ (laughs).” She also adds, “I think that the gain over the past five years is that we have gotten to know our own roles. We are now more able to think about the balance of our singing or the way in which the parts should be sung, considering what is most suitable for us as the group, DEMPAGUMI.inc.”
Don’t give up just now
On listening to the album as a whole, the piece leaves an impression that the powerfulness of the singing by each member has been increased incredibly. Though, on being asked whether she thinks the singing has shown any improvement, here is what Furukawa had to say:
“I’m not sure if we feel that our singing has gotten any better. We’re all nerdy so our ideals are pretty high. We have this certain image we want to sing in, but get really frustrated for not getting anywhere near it, and end up working real hard to reach that place. There were times in the old past that we would do the recording in tears. But yes, perhaps we have become a bit more able to present ourselves in the way we want to. We are enjoying being able to make suggestions too –like, ‘lets ‘slur’ here’ or ‘sing in crescendo’ etc. in a trial-and-error approach. I didn’t like my singing voice in the past, but have come to think that since I’m stuck with this voice for the rest of my life, I might as well find a way of singing that makes my voice shine. Well, if I had a choice, I would have totally gone for a voice more crystal clear (laughs).”
The highly out-of-character emotional singing on “Yume Sasu Ashita e (meaning Tomorrow Where the Dreams Shine)” positioned immediately before the song “Ashita Chikyu ga Konagona ni Nattemo (meaning Even Though the Earth is Shattered Tomorrow)” can be considered the highlight of “GOGO DEMPA”.
“There’s this dramatic surge towards the end of the song that goes ‘so please don’t give up just now’, and that, I think, is precisely what we are trying to convey through this album,” says Furukawa. “I myself have actually been through such turbulences, but I never gave up and worked desperately to get myself out of those. That’s the spirit I want to pass on, so naturally, I put a lot of heart into my singing in them. With the albums of the past, I used give the explanation something in the line of ‘listen to this, and you’d get to understand DEMPAGUMI.inc,’ but with this latest album “GOGO DEMPA”, that explanation has changed to ‘listen to this to find out new faces of DEMPAGUMI.inc.’ That’s the extent of variety we are now able to cover with our singing. By the way, the [limited first-press edition] comes with video footage of our live performances. That’s something I strongly recommend to watch. (To have people experience the charm of DEMPAGUMI.inc,) the most efficient way is to see our performances. And, I’m confident that it will never bore you. I think you’d come back with the reaction, ‘what the hell was that!?’”
Through this interview, what were refreshingly memorable were the many positive forward-looking comments that would have been impossible to even imagine being said a few years ago.
“No no,” Furukawa replies. “I am only positive and forward-thinking when it’s anything about DEMPAGUMI.inc. If not, I’m the kind of person thinking, ‘living a life is so much a hassle’. I even had two pot noodles yesterday (laughs), and that’s something that hasn’t changed. But I do love making announcements or sending out information that would make people happy, -like ‘we’re going on a nationwide tour’ or ‘see our live show at such and such venue’. I want to make sure we continue to be a group that is constantly sending out such information and messages. Well, for now, I hope we get the album listened to by as many people as possible.”
