Hello all, here’s another SEVENTH HAVEN interview translation. This one’s from pop culture site Natalie featuring General Manager Motegi and composer kz. Thanks to fc and Puchi7TL for translation and editing. Hopefully the next one will be out a bit quicker ^^;

“Tokyo 7th Sisters” Special Feature: Conversation with General Manager Motegi and kz (livetune)

From idol raising and producing iOS/Android game “Tokyo 7th Sisters” (T7S), legendary group Seventh Sisters released their new single, SEVENTH HAVEN.

Debuting in 2030, Seventh Sisters ruled the idol world until their sudden breakup two years later. The single released today is a remastering of a song from around the time of their debut. In charge of lyrics, composition, and arrangement was kz (livetune), who has previously been involved with other T7S songs. An aggressive EDM-based composition has produced a song which oozes the presence of the legendary Seventh Sisters.

To commemorate this release, Natalie has arranged our third Tokyo 7th Sisters special feature, this time talking with General Manager Motegi and kz. We have also gathered comments from the voice actresses of Seventh Sisters to provide a multifaceted look into the appeal of SEVENTH HAVEN.

kz (livetune)

A music producer who has done work in anime songs, games, J-Pop, etc. He has also DJed at various festivals and events including “ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL”, “COUNTDOWN JAPAN”, “ULTRA JAPAN”, “Chokaigi”, among others. In 2016, he started work on a new event “YYY” with Tanaka Yasutaka, tofubeats, and banvox. Under the name livetune, he has worked on various Hatsune Miku songs like “Google Chrome-Hatsune Miku ver-” theme song “Tell Your World”, “Magical Mirai 2015” theme song “Hand in Hand”, and has also collaborated with vocalists like SEKAI NO OWARI’s Fukase and Golden Bomber’s Kiryuuin Shou. Also, in 2015 he started live group livetune+ with vocalist yanoanna.

Motegi Shintarou

A creator from Donuts. As General Manager and General Music Producer of Tokyo 7th Sisters, he takes part the visuals, script, music planning and production, and live production.

I just screamed, “Yes!” in my head

──It can be said that the project known as “Tokyo 7th Sisters” began with “Star☆Glitter”, which was composed by you, kz. First, could you tell us how you became involved with T7S?

Motegi Shintarou When I started working on this project, the plan was to basically make what I wanted to make. So it was natural that I order music that I liked—something that clicked with me. And that ended up being kz. To put it simply, I was a fan (lol). But it was lucky that he accepted our offer, coming from an unknown company.

kz Around that time I really wanted to make music for idols or a girls group. But such projects involving many voice actresses tend to be very involved, so I never had the opportunity to work on one. That’s why when I was contacted about T7S, I just screamed, “Yes!” in my head (lol). I was so excited to finally be able to work on what I wanted to.

Motegi Oh really? So the timing was perfect.

kz Yeah. Furthermore, T7S is set in the near future, which perfectly matched my music style. If I had to say, modern idol songs have a more rock band feel to them, so there’s a bit of a gap in styles. But I thought my style could work with idols from the future. That’s why I used the synthesizer so much in “Star☆Glitter”. That part was quite fun.

Motegi You know, when I was at home listening to the demo version of “Star☆Glitter” for the first time, I started crying aloud. It truly struck a chord with me. At that point, I realized that T7S had just gained a strong ally, and it gave me a lot of courage to continue with the project.

kz Thank you very much.

Motegi And now, “SEVENTH HAVEN” has become a sign of things to come this year. For one, it’s already been made into 2016’s theme song. From that perspective you could say kz has become the most important member of our team. Though we only need him once a year.

kz Sounds about right. I was hoping this once per a year thing could be made official actually (lol).

I have to put everything into making a Seventh song

──kz, what do you think about the ever-expanding T7S world?

kz When I saw the 1st live last May, I really thought that T7S was a story about personal growth. Obviously the characters, but also the voice actresses were growing along with the story. When I thought about all that’s happened since the beginning, I was hit by a wave of emotions, and I cried [along with the voice actresses] when they sang “Star☆Glitter” (lol).

Motegi I’m happy that both the composer and all the artists felt that way.

kz But, I’m in charge of composing songs for the legendary group Seventh Sisters at their peak, you know. That’s a pretty high bar. Because a legendary group’s songs have to be, you know, legend-like. Honestly it’s exhausting (lol).

Motegi Ahahaha (lol). You said it. Furthermore, we provided various images for “SEVENTH HAVEN” so I think that raised the bar even higher.

kz Yeah, it took a lot of work. Even the teaser video was super hype. At that point the song was already done, but I still got a bit nervous wondering if it were going to be good enough.

Motegi Of course it was, the “SEVENTH HAVEN” demo you sent us was already so perfect that we had no choice but to hype it up. Even for the teaser video, the song preview helped us improve the visuals. I thought that aggressively hyping it would be okay at that point.

kz After you told me that I felt better, but either way I have to put everything into making a Seventh song, so it’s quite an ordeal.

──Did you feel the same type of pressure when you wrote “Star☆Glitter”?

kz In the beginning I didn’t think like that at all. But as the story progressed, Seventh became more and more deified, and as fans started paying more attention to them, I realized that I couldn’t afford to make something subpar. However, I was able to successfully make “SEVENTH HAVEN”, so I have a feeling it will be easier next time.

──After making three Seventh Sisters songs, are you beginning to understand what kind of unit Seventh Sisters is?

kz No, about that, on the contrary I might understand less now (lol). I think that Motegi…no, Seventh is the type of existence that will constantly betray the user, so it might be better to not understand.

──I see.

kz Even with T7S itself, I think that it’s better if fans not think “T7S is this type of franchise, right?” and come to conclusions too quickly about what T7S is, but instead simply think “You know, I like this”.

T7S = Vengeance!?

──Motegi, when did you get the idea to release Seventh Sisters’s single around this time?

Motegi Following last year’s live in May, I decided to try to depict Seventh’s 2030, the so-called “Project 2030” series. I had many reasons for doing so, but…I went out to eat with you right kz?

kz Oh yeah, I remember that. Last year around June or July.

Motegi Yeah. At that time, you said the word “vengeance”. We weren’t talking about T7S at that time, but somehow I thought that that word might relate to T7S somehow. Until that point I had thought that the theme of what I was making was prayers and hope, but there is also vengeance. You know, ever since we started making a splash with T7S, there have been haters who really seem to dislike us (lol).

kz Ahahaha (lol).

Motegi And so, I’ve been told a lot of things, but personally when I make things, I want to be honest to myself. That’s because you have to do so in order to be able to give it your all. But when you do that there might still be other people who will dislike or despise you. That hesitation, suffering builds up, all those negative feelings gathering at the bottom in your heart. I certainly have some. I think “Why am I trying so hard when all it does is make other people hate me…?” In that respect, I think I might also have some resentment towards my surroundings. And that feeling of mine links me with Seventh Sisters’s (Nanasaki) Nicole and crew. Because, in 2030, those girls must have also been told a lot of things like me and felt similarly. And then, around last August we started solidifying plans for “Project 2030”, and it so happened to come to fruition around now.

kz So, around October I received the proposal, and when I read what was written under musical concept it said “something EDM-like”, and I thought to myself “Ohh! So it’s come to this” (lol). Besides that there were a number of other keywords there, and I thought “What am I gonna do?” I hesitated for a long time, and I feel bad that I wasn’t able to finish until the very last minute.

──Is this related to the high bar you talked about previously?

kz Exactly. At the beginning I couldn’t picture the Seventh that resulted from combining all the various keywords I was given. It was quite troublesome.

Keywords are breaking through, madness, addictiveness

──Exactly what keywords were included, Motegi?

Motegi First was “breaking through”. Breaking through genres, breaking through industry standards. Because from a story perspective that’s exactly what Seventh did. And then there were “madness” and “addictiveness”. I think there was also “extreme coolness”.

kz It’s because up until now, Seventh has released two songs: “Star☆Glitter” and “Sparkle☆Time!!” I didn’t know how to go from those to “madness” (lol). If it were any one of the keywords on its own I could’ve come up with something, but it’s hard to balance out if you try to do everything. Futhermore, Seventh as a unit has many things that describe them: sadness, simple yet good songs, pop-iness, catchiness. I had to include all of these things while still satisfying current T7S fans.

Motegi But what you produced what was just perfect. It was like you peeked inside my head to see what I wanted. You really have the same image of coolness as I do, kz.

kz You mean chuuni coolness right (lol).

Motegi Exactly. That intuition of yours is similar to mine, so I place a lot of trust in you. I knew I was asking for a lot, but I was sure you could pull through.

kz Certainly, to me T7S itself is the perfect franchise, so to speak. T7S doesn’t only have the simple “We’re going to do our best!”, but also the legendary 6-girl group Seventh, as well as some very emotional parts. Because of this, I had a lot of trouble making “SEVENTH HAVEN”, but I was able to make something I was confident in.

Motegi Even with the lyrics, you really wrote them as if you read my mind, kz.

kz Like with T7S, when I write lyrics for something, I try to include things that I would like. Moreover, I think I’ve gotten good at writing lyrics for girl protagonists. This, along with Motegi’s trust in my abilities, gave me peace of mind when I wrote the lyrics.

Motegi Story-wise, Seventh became famous starting with the so-called “Seventh Strike” on July 7th, 2030. “SEVENTH HAVEN” came out around three months after that, so the line “Seventh Strike back!!” fits quite well.

kz Actually, about that, I included that line because I wanted to assert Seventh’s existence. Basically it’s “Seventh” “strike back”.

Motegi Oh, I get it! So it’s not “Seventh Strike, again”, but “Seventh strike back”, as in “Seventh’s counterattack”. I see. Ah, what a coincidence. This also happened with “Star☆Glitter”, where you didn’t mean to tie it to the story but it miraculously happened anyway (lol).

kz Well, but I’m fine with there being two meanings as well. I think the listener can interpret it however they want.

Motegi You’re right, yeah. Either way, that’s the most exciting part of the song. That part really gets me hyped.

Everybody has really leveled up

──How was the recording of SEVENTH HAVEN?

kz This time was pretty smooth. Everybody’s got a lot more experience under their belt now compared to when we did “Star☆Glitter”, so their singing was much better. Furthermore, everybody’s, how should I put it, immersed themselves in their respective characters. For example, I thought that Fuchigami (Mai) played a much better (Hanyuda) Mito than she did before. I think we were able to get a very good take of the part after the second chorus where they hype up the audience. At the recording studio, all I said was “Holy shit, holy shit!” (lol).

Motegi Yeah. I didn’t give much guidance, but they blew away my expectations. Like, “Whoa, this is good!”

kz Once you’ve experienced singing live, it’s easier to sing those parts where you hype up the audience. (Misonoo) Mana’s voice was especially good, impactful and sexy.

Motegi Mana also left a deep impression with me. She was great. Everybody has really leveled up, haven’t they.

──For this special feature, we also received comments from all of the Seventh Sisters voice actresses, and it seems everybody was shocked by this song.

kz Yeah I could see that. Even I was shocked (lol). At the recording everybody was saying “This seems like it will be tough to sing live.” From what I heard, at an event the voice actresses said “The song this time is as destructive as it is exciting”, and that makes me happy.

Motegi Everybody seemed shocked, but they still loved it. It was addictive as intended, and [one of the voice actresses] said “I can sing not just my part but everybody else’s parts too!” It seems that the feeling of “We’re trying to make T7S an idol franchise that has never been done before” has become that much stronger. To begin with, I think that through kz’s songs, the vision I have of T7S has been able to expand.

Songs which have a proper reason to exist

──The single’s B-side is “FALLING DOWN”, with lyrics by SATSUKI-UPDATE and composition and arrangement by Takamitsu Ono, correct?

Motegi I ordered the song like I did with kz, but the image of this song is different. I think it came out very well. The main objective with this song was to bring out each character’s personality to the forefront. That’s why in the song the characters negotiate with each other and have lyrics which are more like lines in a play.

kz The fourth verse that Mito sings is quite good. I think she doesn’t just sing it on her own, she embraces the meaning of singing it solo. I’m a fan of songs like this.

Motegi Yeah, I’m glad that that meaning was conveyed somehow.

──Besides you [kz], there are many other creators involved in making songs [for T7S]. What is your impression of these other creators?

kz Simply put, I think all the songs are good. There are lots of songs I like. Personally, I love y0s1e’s “Cocoro Magical”. Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of 2D idol songs, but I feel that “Cocoro Magical” respects [the fact that it is an idol song], and also it has [y0s1e]’s own brand of originality. Also, I’ve come to like both fu_mou’s “H-A-J-I-M-A-R-I-U-T-A-!!” and emon’s “KILL☆ER☆TUNE☆R” after hearing them live. I’ve heard a lot of people say that “KILL☆ER☆TUNE☆R” especially gives a different impression live.

Motegi That’s true. Between emon and I, we had confidence that [“KILL☆ER☆TUNE☆R”] would be able to shine live. That’s why we put it where we did in the setlist for 1st live. I think it turned out well.

kz Compared to other music games, T7S has fewer songs. But, I think that each and every song has its own specific meaning, and that’s why the fans care about every song.

Motegi Ah, that makes me happy to hear that. It’s also that we simply don’t have enough manpower to produce more songs though (lol). But we have certainly been trying to make songs with the mindset that each song is trying to express something.

kz Songs which have a proper reason to exist are the best, aren’t they?

INTO THE 2ND GEAR

──There have been five T7S singles so far. What are your plans from here on out?

Motegi It’s already been announced, but in June we are planning on releasing our 2nd album, Are You Ready 7th-TYPES?? In addition, in August we will be hosting our 2nd live, “INTO THE 2ND GEAR”. We’re really shifting gears this year, eh?

kz Quite the chuuni title, isn’t it. So cool. As a T7S fan I’m looking for to it. For now I think I’m planning on going and crying again.

Motegi You sure you’re going to cry again this time? (lol)

kz Well, last time at 1st live there were a lot of emotions and I was deeply moved, but this time there’s going to be “SEVENTH HAVEN”, so maybe I’ll be too overwhelmed to cry. Though, if it starts with “Star☆Glitter” I think I’ll probably be deeply moved (lol).

Motegi Last live, from the outset we had a theme of wanting to express our thanks and gratitude to our fans, but I think this time will surely be different. I don’t think we can grow if we keep the same concept. Anyhow, please look forward to it.

SEVENTH SISTERS Voice Actress Comments

Minase Inori (Nanasaki Nicole)

The song we sung this time was really cool, so I tried my hardest to flaunt that coolness during the recording. So please look forward to the excited legends★ I think you’ll fall in love with them all over again. (lol)

Fuchigami Mai (Hanyuda Mito)

Both songs are cool and full of the essence of “Seventh Sisters”! The fourth verse of “FALLING DOWN” is a Mito solo, and I sung a bit more emotionally than I’ve ever done before. Please enjoy listening to this new side of Mito.

Maeda Rena (Misonoo Mana)

Hello Managers, here are the new Seventh Sisters songs you’ve all been waiting for! When I heard that we were finally getting new songs I could barely hide my happiness. Both “SEVENTH HAVEN” and “FALLING DOWN” are intensely cool and completely different from other idol songs. As expected of T7S! Our singing will shock you♡ Please get hyped by our music!

Kurose Yuuko (Kotobuki Qruit)

Both of the two songs this time are extremely cool!! Qruit is typically an energetic, foolish, wild girl, but for these songs I’ve tried to show a new, cool, stylish side of Qruit. The calls (rap?) in the songs should get everybody fired up during a live. I think these strong songs will make you think “Seventh is the best! Truly legendary!”, so please listen to them as many times as you want and fill your mind with Seventh!

Kawasaki Meiko (Wakaouji Rui)

“SEVENTH HAVEN” is on the offensive from the beginning! “Star☆Glitter” was a romantic, “I’ll go wherever you go”, kind of song, but “SEVENTH HAVEN” is a stylish, aggressive, “Let’s go! Come with me!” kind of song. “FALLING DOWN” is extremely cool! Up until now there have haven’t been any solo parts, so please pay attention to each of our singing voices. I hope I was able to convey Rui’s strength and princeliness(^^)“

Tsuji Ayumi (Yusa Memoru)

Recording these songs was both extremely fun and extremely hard (lol). Coming from the previous Seventh Sisters songs, you wouldn’t even be able to fathom these stylish hard techno songs, so I was trying to find Memoru’s own coolness as I sung. Please enjoy everybody’s new singing voices☆