Miida - Miida

When you’ve been in a band on a major label with your friends ever since you were 15, it’s only natural that you want to try something different. Miida is the self-titled debut album of Mizuki Masuda, formerly the guitarist of negoto and this time without the Department (Taro Kohata and Yoshihiko Imami from Avengers in Sci-Fi), in other words it’s Masuda’s own solo project. This comes after the breakup of negoto in 2019 and Masuda releasing a few tracks with the Department and playing support guitar for RADWIMPS. On top of that, she’s made her own live recording studio, Studio Kiki, as a place for like-minded artists to connect with fans.

So it comes as no surprise that Miida is a creative tour-de-force that juxtaposes many different genres while leveraging Masuda’s experience in a pop band to make everything sound smooth and appealing, never jarring. The album opens with arguably its strongest track “Rain”, which starts as a pretty normal modern indie pop song, but introduces strings and stuttered hi-hats in the chorus, changes bass line in the second verse with an on-trend synth riff, surprises with a sudden key change up and finishes with a rapid fire post-chorus and a vocal outro to mimic driving rain. And that’s just the first track! “Bergamot memories” starts out with a menacing bass riff and drums over edgy English lyrics, but lifts in the chorus with the switch to girls band territory, exposing the rift between the front she puts on and the feelings she had. “Color” is drum n bass lite, “melt night” is dub with a digitized vocal twist, “be true?” has chiptune elements, “swim in boredom” even has disco drums but its synthpop. Throughout, Masuda subtly adjusts her singing style accordingly so it sounds totally natural. Upon hearing the lo-fi pop tune “YOU” I almost thought it was punipuni denki singing over Chocoholic production (though not quite as advanced). She also raps on “Trash into The Sea”, which is another musical sike out, starting with a cheery digital piano riff but veering into 2000’s era Dr. Dre production for the verses with those aggressive strings and minimal drums. 

The thing is, while creative artists like Kaho Nakamura and Sato Moka also have the chops to play totally different styles, they sound more self aware when they do it, almost like a wink and nod to the audience. As Miida, Masuda sings with conviction and honesty on every single track, she never makes light of the music. As such, it doesn’t really matter what style the track is in, it’s always taken seriously so it never comes across as a novelty or a flex. What’s impressive is that Masuda has done the production herself, demonstrating the capability and passion to personally create all these different vibes, and the DIY feeling makes it more intimate and genuine. That being said, former Za Ningen bassist Makoto Abe provides an invaluable contribution to inject some funk and bounce into the bottom end of a few of the tracks, and despite being an accomplished guitarist, Masuda decided to delegate the guitar playing mostly to the Okamoto’s Kouki for a different flavor, prioritizing the artistic vision over any egotistical pride.

While the musical styles used are diverse, the content and tone of the lyrics is consistent. Miida is a very personal album, every song features ‘you’ and ‘I’, and all the ambiguity in between. Attempting to break down the uncertainty in relations, Masuda is constantly looking for the truth, trying to sort out what is real and what is fake. “Are you an angel or a devil? I don’t know”, “what is loneliness?”, “why can’t your feelings and my heart be understood?”. There are a lot of questions and few answers. “I am here swaying forever closing my eyes” she sings on Utopia. She desperately wants to believe in something, someone. It makes you wonder if the whole album was all about an unrequited or unrealized love, and trying to figure out someone else’s intentions, yet most of the time she wouldn’t (or couldn’t) say the words required to change the status quo. Anyone who’s ever been friendzoned can relate, and probably most listeners have been through something similar. There are also mentions of the past and bittersweet memories as she tries to accept fate and move on.

At the same time, although these kinds of situations elicit many emotions and subsequently things to sing about, it’s a very narrow focus. Given that Masuda can effortlessly pull off so many different musical ideas and genres, it might be nice to hear the same diversity in subject matter. When listening to this album, you can hear that she has the potential to tackle almost any topic and have the right sound to match it. Then again, that might be the appeal and intention of Miida as an album, being her first work as a solo project, Masuda has created a powerful opening statement on the sort of artist that she is now, expressing familiar and deeply personal feelings in a variety of new ways. Edgy and diverse in production yet warm and authentic in expression, Miida clearly establishes that Masuda is not your average singer-songwriter but a unique creative force, and one worth paying attention to.

Tokyo ON also recommends: seasunsalt - half dreaming, morning rays, KURO - Just Saying Hi