Singer-songwriter Myself Kobayashi: “Creating songs is a kind of self-study rather than a job.

Oh, I forgot my guitar.

Singer-songwriter I, Kobayashi, 23, appeared in jeans and sandals. Her natural appearance, as if she had come straight from home, caught people’s attention.

Kobayashi, who spent his childhood in Hachioji, Tokyo, began distributing his songwriting videos on YouTube in 2006 while a student at Tama Art University. His rugged singing style, which belies his handsome face, became a hot topic on social networking sites, and the total number of views exceeded 25 million. In 2009, he released his first album.

I started playing guitar when I was a freshman in high school. I thought that if I stood out, I would be popular. …… But I wasn’t popular. When I was in my second year of high school, I saw the “Geinin Maji Uta Championship” on “Godtan” (TV TOKYO), and I thought, “Anyone can write songs,” so I started writing songs. My musical influences were the people who made ‘vocaloids.

The lyrics, which do not use exaggerated language, but are life-size, have captured the hearts of listeners of the same generation.

Production is more a kind of self-study than a job,” he says. Sometimes I write songs just because the words sound good. For example, I want to use the word ‘soup,’ so I write ‘even if the soup gets cold. Some people put heartbreak or shocking events into their lyrics, but I don’t think it’s good to become unhappy in order to write a song. I like to keep my emotions flat when writing songs.”

Kobayashi’s songwriting style is to play a single acoustic guitar, but the songs on the album are arranged with a band, including drums and bass.

He says, “I feel hopeful about the appeal of completing a song with just one guitar, so I almost entirely leave the band arrangements to the staff. So I consider the songs I wrote on acoustic guitar to be ‘original works,’ and the band arrangements to be only ‘second creations. But because it is a second creation, there are areas that one cannot reach alone. I am most happy when people are surprised when they hear my work.

Sometimes, he holds a game in his hand and delivers it live for nearly five hours. His light-hearted talk also hits the right notes with fans.

I’m in the in-between generation,” he says. For the older generation, it’s cool not to show your face too much, but for the younger generation, it’s normal to show your face. There are people like me in my generation, and there are people like Ado and Yama who hide their faces. I wish I didn’t show my face on the Internet, but I already have (laughs).
Live performances are an extension of the delivery, and I like the feeling of coming out of my house and saying, “Hi, I’m going to perform. Instead, I want the people who come to my live shows to feel a sense of premiere, so I include what happened that day in the MC between songs.

What are the “numbers” that the next generation cares about?

What I am happy to see is the number of simultaneous connections for live distribution. When I first started streaming, it was common for the total number of connections to reach 10 people. On the other hand, I don’t mind if the number of views decreases. A sudden increase in views is called ‘buzz,’ but in my mind, buzz is inextricably linked to ‘flames,’ and I’m afraid of being consumed instantaneously.

Profile

Born in Tokyo in 1999. Released his first EP “Seikatsu” in 2008 while a student at Tama Art University, majoring in oil painting. In addition to his musical activities, he also writes articles for “WEB The Television” as a serial writer.

From the January 20 and 27, 2023 issues of “FRIDAY