ATARASHII GAKKO!: The ambitions of a four-piece group that is captivating the world

With 3.3 million followers on TikTok, the performance group “ATARASHII GAKKO!” is attracting attention not only from Japan but from around the world. In January last year, they made their world debut with “NAINAINAI” on the American music label 88rising, and in November, they performed at the 25,000-person live festival “Head In the Clouds” in Los Angeles. In November, they performed at “Head In the Clouds,” a 25,000-person live festival in Los Angeles.

ATARASHII GAKKO! LIVE 2020.6.21 No Audience LIVE on Thumva – YouTube

Here is the second part of our interview with the girls, who are now active in the world beyond the borders.

–Congratulations on your appearance in “Head In the Clouds”! How does it feel to be on stage in America?

KANON “It’s been over a month since I came back to Japan, but I still think it was a dream (laughs).

RIN “Even though we made our international debut, we had never performed overseas before because of Covid-19. To be honest, I didn’t think foreign audiences would know us. But when the live performance started, there were many audience members who learned the choreography and danced with us. Some of them even brought pineapples for our newest song, “Pineapple Kryptonite” (laughs).

–You’ve already gained an enthusiastic fan base, haven’t you? However, you must have been under a lot of pressure, right?

SUZUKA “That didn’t make me nervous at all. We were confident that we could entertain the audience with our performance in any place.

MIZYU “We have been active in Japan for 7 years and we have been allowed to perform in so many places. We’ve been able to perform in so many different venues. We’ve performed in venues where there are only idols, and in venues where there are only bands that look like they belong in Shimokitazawa. Basically, everywhere I went, I was out of place (laughs).

KANON “While the other performers were tuning their guitars, we were the only ones stretching in our uniforms (laughs).

(laughs)” SUZUKA “But that experience gave us confidence that we could entertain the audience with our performance no matter what the venue was. That’s why we didn’t have any worries that we wouldn’t be accepted by the American audience, in fact we were smiling before the show. I like being away from home.

— “The latest song “Pineapple Kryptonite” was produced by Manny Mark, the producer of “Beastie Boys”, so it might have attracted the attention of Mark’s fans.

RIN “When I asked Mark to be the producer, he turned me down at first. From his point of view, I was just a little girl he didn’t know in Japan. But I couldn’t give up, so I asked him, “How about this? So I made a demo of a new performance and sent it to them. Then, they recognized my motivation and asked me to come to America. There, I spent two months immersed in music with Mark, and he agreed to work with me as a producer.

Conflict with the “Sailor Suit” Style

–So your original and impactful performance in “ATARASHII GAKKO!” was well-received by Mr. Mark. Did you establish your current style from the beginning of your debut?

SUZUKA “I’ve been wearing sailor-fuku since my debut. But in the beginning, we were ahead of the concept, and we didn’t disclose our ages. With that, our true words didn’t come out, and we didn’t understand ourselves.

From that point on, the members got together many times and talked about what we wanted to do, and we came to understand what we wanted to express, which was to “show off our individuality with importance. We started to understand what we wanted to express. When we debuted, we felt like we were being forced to wear sailor-fuku, but now we feel more comfortable with it.

–So there were a lot of efforts before you got to the American stage?

SUZUKA “Yes, I did (laughs). (laughs) We always perform to exceed our physical limits, so our muscles ache after every concert. But, all we can do is just run as hard as we can. We’re still young, like 20 years old, so we don’t know anything about society. That’s why we want to keep our momentum going and deliver our performance to the whole world, “cherish our individuality and go out with a bang.

As the group’s name suggests, I look forward to the day when they become the leaders of a new generation.