Popular voice actor Hiroshi Kamiya's 11th mini-album, "Share Music," was released on January 28th, his birthday. Kamiya made his debut as an artist in 2009 with his first mini-album, "Harenohi," and has been active as an artist for around 17 years. For "Share Music," he attempted his first Christmas song, "Kimi to Kono Yoru." Perhaps he had always wanted to write a Christmas song? Kamiya began by saying, "It wasn't my suggestion."
◇Musical “connections”
The reason he hasn't proposed it himself isn't because he's reluctant to do so. He has been working as an artist for about 17 years, and changes have occurred that have led him to some thoughts.
"For the past few albums, I haven't actually suggested what kind of songs I want to sing. Up until my 10th year, I thought I would move forward by coming up with concepts and proposing them myself, but since then, I've basically shifted my thinking to how to perform the ideas proposed by my producers and music directors. Starting with "Harenohi," I've released works with "Harezora" and "Hareiro" that have "Hare" in them. Up until "Hareroku," I proposed titles with "Hare" in them myself. For my 10th album, I thought that "Hare" would turn into "10," meaning sunny days, and I thought that would be great, and I hoped to continue that far. I continued working like that until my 10th year, but after that, my thinking shifted. The title "Share Music" was also suggested by my music director. I was told that "HARE" is included in "Share," and that music can be shared with many different people, and that it is made up of connections, so I decided to move forward with it."
"Share Music" is a work that gives a sense of the connection between Kamiya's activities as an artist and voice actor.
"This is also included in the concept of 'Share Music,' but music is made up of connections between many different people. While music is listened to in various forms, such as streaming, I like to look through the CD booklets before buying CDs. I really enjoy seeing things like, 'This person wrote the lyrics,' 'This person composed the music,' 'This person plays guitar...' and so on. From there, you can see the connections. For example, on the track 'Infinite Paradox,' you realize that Yoshino Hiroyuki is on the chorus. In fact, in interviews, I should have emphasized that Yoshino and Saori Hayami are singing, but I'm also happy when people casually listen to it or look at the booklet and think, 'Isn't that Yoshino?' or 'Isn't that Hayami?'"
Saori Hayami was involved through a "connection." Like Kamiya, Hayami is a top-class voice actor and artist. Kamiya was greatly inspired by her.
"It's easy to understand when members of Kiramune (the label Kamiya is signed to) participate as guest artists, and the relationship is easy to see, but when I suggested asking someone else, Saori Hayami's name came up. Saori Hayami and I share a music director. It would have been great to ask Saori Hayami, but I know she's busy. I never thought that Saori Hayami and thought, 'Is this for real?' She is top-notch both as an artist and as a performer. I know the difference in ability between us is clear, so now that I have the opportunity to sing with her, I have to work hard. I'm happy that at my age I can sing in such a situation."
◇Continuity is power
There is something that I value in my approximately 17 years of artistic activity.
"There are parts where I've been working in the moment. On November 29, 2009, I had the opportunity to perform KiraFes 2009 at NHK Hall, and I thought it would be a one-off event, a one-off live performance, and that would be it. From then on, I worked in the moment, thinking that this might be the end, but I got through that moment. In my opinion, voice actors are people with great reflexes and concentration. They have a high ability to make the script they're given work in the blink of an eye. I've been performing live and producing CDs with that feeling, and it's been building up like this, but there's a limit to how much I can do that way. Of course, I've worked hard. I thought it would be fine if I performed, collapsed, and that was the end of it. In fact, there were times when I got sick after a live performance. It was beautiful, and people praised me for my great posture, but I've come to think that it's not so great. Because it causes trouble for those around me. It's better to be able to perform consistently without collapsing."
There was a change in my attitude towards music.
"Plan it, think about how many times you can do it, and try to go beyond that. If you swing full force and hit the ball, it may fly, but in fact you may just be swinging with too much force. You should be able to hit the ball far with the right amount of force. I think it's because you can swing full force that you know the right amount of force. You also need to push your limits. This is an obvious thing to do. You might think I'm slacking off, but that's not the case at all. It's fundamentally different from slacking off. They say persistence makes you strong, but there are strengths you can gain only by truly persisting. I think there's also the paradoxical idea that people without strength can't persist."
Kamiya plans to continue his activities and move forward together with his fans, hoping that they will continue to enjoy his work for a long time to come.
"That's why I want to stay healthy. I want to feel like I'm in good shape on the day of my performance. To that end, I want to cherish each and every day."
The release of "Share Music" on January 28th marks Kamiya's 51st birthday. Kamiya continues to evolve and looks youthful.
"It seems like that kind of blood runs in the Kamiya family (laughs). When I go back to my hometown and look at my parents, I think, 'They're old enough to be grandparents, but they don't look it.'"
Kamiya has made repeated choices to continue for the long term, rather than rushing through in the moment. "Share Music," born from this journey, once again conveys the message that music connects people. (Anima Mitsuru/MANTANWEB)
