Please tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you been
recording/making music?

I grew up in a musical household and was studying music seriously (classical flute) from the age of 11.  Although I debuted as a singer on my mother's record at age 13, and did a jazz flute quartet at age 16, I went into singing from my early 20s and my first recorded solo work in 1991.  Since then I have constantly been recording.

Where are you from?

Born in Tokyo , Japan, grew up in the States and Japan.

On what projects are you working now?

My own solo project, about to tour Chicago , Japan , working on other dates in the U.S. at this time.  Just released my newest album "Routes" available through my website.

How do you create your songs?

It depends on the composition. I sometimes write from the lyrics. Sometimes I write from the chords then put a melody on it, then lyrics. Sometimes I'll "produce" a backing track then start formulating a song around it. Sometimes the melody comes to me first. Sometimes starting from just a concept. And more often than not these days, I approach writing with a blank slate, sit at the keyboard and wonder what will happen.

Do you know Optimista is a Portuguese word? We think you have a very bossa nova sound.

"Optimista" was my "latin" project, so of course I chose a latin title. I looked it up in a Spanish dictionary, translating "optimistic" as that was my mood for the album and life.

Marmon: I was now playing songs from my music collection and the A.D.D.P start playing and I recognised your voice. Did you like to work with M-flo?

m-flo guys were great to work with.  I met one of them back in '01 when I had a meeting with a singer named K who is (or was?) with the same management and record label, and he was there -- is it Taku? Sweet guy, completely fluent in English, very humble.  Then when they approached me about doing this track, I was fine with it as I know they work hard, are good folks and have a good reputation personally and professionally.  The rapper was as sweet and polite as can be -- we only "met" over the phone.  They gave me the back track, had a hook with lyrics, and I wrote the remaining melodies and lyrics, and of course the bv arrangement, etc. Nice experience.

Marmon: It's really common to "meet" on the phone isn't it? I thought artists, to collaborate, had to meet in person so that they could work together and eventually become friends.

In these days of the internet, it's very possible to do collaborations via phone, computer, whatever is accessible, especially when one is limited by their place geographically.  Not always preferred over in-person collaborations, but sometimes you have to do with what you've got.

Is there anyone you'd like to work with in the future?

Vikter Duplaix, Jazzanova, Mark de Clive Lowe, Trilok Gurtu, Milton Nasciemento...it's endless...

One more thing, are you planning a debut in Europe ?

Actually some of my albums that were released in Japan through Universal have had releases in Europe . I have a VERY underground following -- apparently I'm a cult artist.

When have you first heard of Eri Nobuchika?

When Shinichi Osawa approached me about doing back vocal arrangements for a song.

What did you think of her and her music?

Before meeting her, she was just another voice that was pretty good (I love the texture of her voice) and very pretty from her pictures.  But when I met her, I got a totally different perspective:  she's very young and fresh, hard working, serious but has a great sense of humor, has no ego, is dedicated to her singing, no attitude, and again her instrument naturally is really wonderful, a very strong and powerful instrument with depth.  If she keeps at it, she could become really something quite great.

Eri is a real sweetheart and very humble -- she's still young in music and life and is eager to learn.

How did the recording sessions go with Eri-san? Was it fun, tiring,...? How long did it take?

We were given a certain amount of time to do the session.  I think it was doing leads to 2 songs, finishing the lead on one song, and both of us doing back vocals for 3 songs...or something like that.  I don't have the album yet so it's hard for me to remember without referring to the songs.  And I think we had 3 days?  She was great to work with, and with all sessions you have waves of being charged up, waves of getting tired -- she was battling jetlag as well, poor thing, so come 3:00 or 4:00 p.m., I could tell she would lose a little energy and voice would go to sleep a little.  But we got done everything that needed to be done, and she was a real trouper, would go
on and on unless I gave her a break, which her voice would sometimes need.

Did you write "Inner Glow"? Did Eri-san struggle with the English lyrics of the song?

Yes, I wrote the lyrics and melody to "Inner Glow." Eri handled it very well. I demo'd it for her and she studied it. She has very good ears. No, she doesn't understand nor speaks English.

Of course the translation and explanation was given to her. However, if a language that you're singing is not natural to you, I think you do it more by sound than by feeling emotionally the words. Again, I believe she did very well considering.

Could you tell us a bit more about the creative process of “Inner Glow”?

I have a very nice backyard that my work room overlooks that is like a forest and my garden. I was looking outside the window on a sunny day in the summer time when I started working on the track. Shin had told me that he had a vision of a forest, so I went on that tangent

Do you know if Eri-san stayed for a while in the US ? Or did she
quickly return to Japan ?

She came 2 days before the session started, then had to return
immediately the following day to finish up some stuff in Japan .

What do you think of Shinichi Osawa?

He's an incredibly talented musician and accomplished composer,
arranger and producer.  A really great guy.

How do you like his music?

Love it.

Was he involved in the recording sessions with you?

He wasn't there for that particular vocal session as he had some prior commitments in Japan .  However his wife was attending as a manager and personal assistant of sorts to Eri as it was her first time in New York, and she is still so young, and she was in constant contact with Shin to make sure things were going along smoothly.

Eri-san’s sales were very modest, do you think she'll continue to release new material?

That's interesting that you know the sales -- I'd also heard from a friend that they were low, and was disappointed for her and Shin. Do you know what the numbers are, and what is your source for this? (Oricon)

We think she's the entire package for a great artist. Great voice, beautiful melodies, and she's very pretty. What do you think?

Sony promoted her VERY well. It's just the nature of the business these days. Hard to tell what's going to sell and what's not.

Would you like to work with Eri Nobuchika again in the future?

Love to.  She's again a wonderful person and very easy to work with, and it's exciting to see her voice come together.