Don’t Look For Too Much In Me - Interview with reina

Blessed with a distinctive, rich voice and having grown up as a dancer listening to 90’s hip-hop and R&B, reina is at the forefront of the nascent Japanese alternative R&B/neo-soul scene, rapidly attracting fans across all ages and cultures. We speak to reina about her unique background, her new EP “A Million More” and her reflections on her career so far.

<Artist journey>

Tokyo ON: It seems you’re a fan of old school hip-hop and R&B. How’d you get into that while growing up in Japan?

reina: First of all my parents like music and my Dad had a bunch of records. I’ve heard that he wanted to be a DJ at some point when he was in university, so he has turntables. In our house there was always music playing, and it was like disco, funk, hip hop and stuff. It was pretty cool. Also I used to take dance lessons, and the genre I really liked played R&B and hip hop like Erykah Badu and D’Angelo. And I started taking those lessons when I was in 3rd grade. So that’s the music I liked and I thought that was the kind of music that people around me would like, but it turns out that’s not the case. So probably my parents and those dance lessons had a huge impact on me.

TO: Did you ever listen to Japanese music? What about Japanese entertainment culture? 

r: No, my Dad especially didn’t like Japanese music. I don’t know why. Well he actually has some records by Tatsuro Yamashita, but that’s about it. And I wasn’t really allowed to watch TV when I was little, so I didn’t have a lot of access to J-pop and Japanese TV programs.

TO: Were your friends also into hip-hop and R&B? Or were you kind of on your own?

r: No, I didn’t meet anyone who liked this music until I went to university. I went to a combined school, like elementary, junior high, and high school all in one, and so the very first new community that I encountered was in university, after high school.

TO: Your English is also near perfect, how did you learn?

r: That combined school was an international school, well not exactly, I think it’s called an “English immersion school”, so I had to do Japanese subjects set by the Ministry of Education, but I had to do them all in English. And I also did the International Baccalaureate program, that was really hard.

TO: What about your parents, did they speak English?

r: My Mom didn’t, my Dad I think he can speak a little bit. I went to Melbourne in Australia for student exchange for two months during high school, and my Dad and the host family used to text all the time, so I believe he can communicate in English without any problems. But it was my Mom who wanted to send me to English immersion school.

TO: Do you feel Japanese then?

r: I feel like I’m Japanese to the core, because I like Japanese common sense, group action, and reading the room and stuff, but my parents used to say that I’m not really good at Japanese. So I’m not as fluent as native speakers in both languages. But I think that’s usually what happens with bilingual people.

TO: Do you ever sense a disconnect between being surrounded by western music culture and lifestyle and growing up in Japanese society?

r: I didn’t really feel that, because I’m kind of used to liking different things compared to my friends. I’ve known that being into this is because of my parents.

TO: Do you collect records?

r: Ah no, I live alone in Tokyo and I don’t have turntables. Everything was my Dad’s. But he is also into new technologies, so when Apple Music came out, he was the first to download it and get subscriptions for everyone in the family.

TO: Out of your Dad’s collection then, do you have any favorite records?

r: I would have to say “Mama's Gun” by Erykah Badu and “Voodoo” by D’Angelo. Some of the songs that I danced to when I started taking dance lessons were “Bag Lady”, “Devil's Pie”, and “Brown Sugar”, so I feel like I would have to get those two albums first when I finally get my own turntable.

TO: How did you get involved with your producer Kota Matsukawa and the w.a.u artists collective?

r: In university, when I was in first year, I wasn’t intending to sign up to a circle*, but I saw this one band playing during orientation, and I fell in love with it, because they were playing “Brown Sugar” by D’Angelo. That was like the first time I saw somebody else playing and liking the music I liked. I remember that well. So I decided to sign up. And that’s where I met Matsukawa. We were in the same band.

*“Circle” is the usual name used to describe a group of students at a Japanese university that join together to participate in certain activities.

TO: You were in a band before your solo career?

r: Yeah, the circle has two bands per grade. I was just in one of those bands with Matsukawa and there were other people in it. But at that time, we weren’t thinking of playing outside the circle, we were only playing covers.

TO: At what point did you decide you wanted to be a singer?

r: I never felt strongly that I wanted to be a singer, but I used to go to a music school and I learned music theory and guitar. I have one, but I don’t play it now haha. That school taught students how to make music, but I wasn’t allowed to make music in English for some reason. I think they wanted students to become J-pop artists. And I struggle with writing lyrics in Japanese because I never listened to J-pop and I’ve never liked it. But I learned music theory to the extent that I learned how to write melodies and good lyrics. In 2020, Matsukawa decided to make w.a.u, and he asked me if I could write songs. And I was like “uhh maybe, I don’t know” because I’ve never done that before. So as a test, he sent me some demo tracks, and there were a few melodies I came up with that I sent back to him. He was like “yeah that’s a good one!” And I just went with it!

<You Were Wrong>

TO: I remember when “You Were Wrong” came out, I was very surprised that you were singing 100% in English. Does that just feel more natural?

r: Yeah. And the language itself, Japanese doesn’t have a rhythm or flow, so I find it hard to write this kind of music in Japanese.

TO: Given it was an independent release, it felt very low-key at the time. At the time, did you think it would blow up?

r: That was more of an experiment. Like practice. I still don’t know how and why I’ve gained this many listeners. I’m still trying to figure that one out.

TO: I think that’s amazing because you just put out the music and people discovered it, it was very organic.

r: It’s hard to remember, because I was in my final year of university busy writing my graduate thesis. I was surprised that a lot of DJs were playing songs off the album, and because of that I gained listeners instantly when “You Were Wrong” came out.

TO: Among non-Japanese, it was very easy to get into. Especially for people who grew up in those times or are fans of that style of music. Do you find that you have a larger proportion of overseas listeners or non-Japanese listeners?

r: Most of my listeners are Japanese, but the second biggest group of listeners are from Taiwan actually. That’s surprising.

TO: I think also younger people maybe aren’t as familiar with some of the sounds on “You Were Wrong”, there’s some 90’s vibes on it, there’s g-funk. Do you think some of your listeners were hearing this kind of music for the first time? 

r: For the younger generation, I think that’s what’s happened. But on Spotify I saw that most of my listeners are over 30 I think. And there are less younger listeners.

TO: I get the feeling you and your producers had a lot of fun making these songs because you like these genres. Is that so?

r: Yeah. On “You Were Wrong”, we wanted to try out what I could sing and what I could do. So both Matsukawa and 01Sail, they were making a lot of tracks and demos and throwing them to me. But it turns out I was capable of forming melodies on most of those tracks. So we were like “oh we can release them”. So that’s what happened, and it was fun!

TO: Did you also have an input into the selection of the sound?

r: Yes, of course. For example, for “can’t be here”, there’s an R&B artist from Amsterdam called Rimon, there’s this one song of hers that I like, so I said to the producers I’d love to make a song like that, and they made it for me.

TO: In summer 2023 you had the release party for “You Were Wrong” at Circus Tokyo. I was there, and I was surprised/not surprised that it was totally packed out. How did you feel about the crowd and your performance?

r: I was really nervous, and I didn’t know that the tickets sold out. I wanted to perform first because Salasa and VivaOla are so talented and experienced, they’re professionals, so I didn’t want to perform after them! I went up to Matsukawa and I begged him to let me go first, but he was like “No, that’s not gonna happen”. So I was nervous, but the crowd was really nice. I remember that, they were like my parents and my family, they weren’t judging me. I felt really comfortable singing to them. And I had fun. That was surprising. Singing on a stage is out of my comfort zone because I’m an introvert. I’d rather be at home. But that release party, that was like the first time I had fun on stage.

<A Million More>

TO: You’ve just released an EP titled “A Million More”. The first thing that strikes us is the image change to blonde. Do you feel different?

r: Actually, yes. I’ve never bleached my hair before. So when I look down and my fringe hangs over my eyes, I can see this blonde hair! My friends said it looks good on me. It’s still the same me though, just different hair.

TO: Was it a conscious decision to change your image for this EP?

r: I think Matsukawa made those tracks after I got my hair bleached. There are string sections in the songs of “A Million More”, which is new. So maybe he was inspired by that.

TO: Even with the album art it feels like there’s kind of a line drawn between “You Were Wrong” and this EP. Like “You Were Wrong” shows you at home and it’s like “these are my favorite sounds and records”, but “A Million More” is a bit more focused on that luxury and flair, more of a modern R&B taste. Is this going to be more closer to your style moving forward?

r: Probably! I’m not sure what Matsukawa has in mind because he’s the producer. It’s not that I don’t have a say in it, but he does like to decide everything. I’m good with him deciding, so it depends on him. But I do think that the songs to be released after “A Million More” will be more similar to that sound.

TO: Generally speaking, you sing a lot about love and relationships. Are you speaking from personal experiences, or are these kinds of stories about fictional characters or a persona?

r: It’s mostly fictional. Whenever I write lyrics I come up with a story that has a protagonist and other characters, but the protagonists tend to be people I’ve met in real life. I’m adding a lot of features, I stretch a lot out of things. So about 80% I’d say is fictional.

TO: The opening track “A Million More” sounds bittersweet, something out of a romantic movie or novel. What was the story behind that?

r: It’s like the next part of “Drafts” from “You Were Wrong”. I’ve always liked the song and concept behind “Thank U, Next” by Ariana Grande. It’s a break up song but it’s not “screw you”. It’s really nice. I want to write songs about what I learned from previous relationships. 

It’s actually based on my previous relationship, from my hometown. I grew up in Fukuoka and came to Tokyo to study at university. I don’t feel anything about the relationship, it’s finished, I don’t miss him. But I wanted to write a song like “Thank U, Next”, so I thought “if there’s something I learned from him, what would it be?” There’s a lot of what ifs and fictional thoughts that I came up with, and I made it into two songs.

TO: You don’t seem to be active on social media and even in your music it sounds like you like to keep your distance. Things like “don’t look for too much in me”, or “I’ll show you my beauty but you’re never calling me cutie”. Is it to protect yourself? Or do you just like to keep to yourself?

r: Well maybe it’s because I grew up in a small community and not a lot of people came in. There were some people whom I could never get along well with, and I had to be with them for more than 10 years. In order to protect myself from those people, I thought that not opening myself up and not talking about what I feel and think, that would give me protection against those kinds of people. So maybe my introvert character came from that experience.

TO: Do you find it draining to be around other people a lot?

r: Yeah I get tired very easily. My social battery is always low. Whenever I’m at big gatherings, I find it difficult to talk in groups, I would be silent in those kinds of situations.

TO: Do you need downtime to recharge then? How do you recover?

r: I sleep, read books, and play games. My social battery might be small but it recovers fast.

TO: Interestingly you don’t talk about luxury brands and lifestyles in your music, even though it is  common in R&B and rap. Is that not your thing?

r: Well I like brands, but maybe it’s just a cultural difference. I don’t feel the need to drop names, I might in the future, but I’m not at that point yet.

TO: I’m guessing you probably don’t like the idea of being an idol? In the sense that people project certain ideas or expectations on you.

r: I think that me as an artist and the real me are two different people. So maybe I would be okay with people having expectations of the artist reina. But I haven’t experienced that kind of pressure yet. I write fictional lyrics to protect myself, so I think I would be okay with being an idol, but I try not to let that get to the real me.

TO: There aren’t that many people able to make music like this in Japan. Lil Summer is one of the few that comes to mind. I heard your team approached her to make “Games”, tell us how that came about.

r: Matsukawa and I wanted to feature someone on our songs, but we couldn’t find someone that would be a good fit. It took a long time to find someone. But Matsukawa saw something about her on Twitter, and he listened to her music, then he messaged her. But it turns out Lil Summer and I are from the same city, and she went to the same school as my brothers. We’re really good friends now.

TO: If only you two had been best friends in high school! You have the same interests!

r: Maybe I would have turned into an extrovert! You never know.

TO: I discovered one of the optimal ways to enjoy “A Million More” is listening to it in the car, cruising the streets at night at a moderate speed. Did you ever think of that scenario, people listening to the EP in the car?

r: No, I’ve never thought about that actually! But from a mastering point of view, most people listen to music in their car, I’ve heard that whenever you finish mixing and you try to master the track, it’s better if you check it in the car. That’s the only time I’ve thought about how people listen to it.

TO: Then again, “Good to me” talks about speed and driving really fast! Do you ever drive a car here?

r: I do have a driver’s license, but I don’t drive. My Mom encourages me to drive, but I don’t like it to be honest. I got my license when I was in 12th grade, I can drive manual, because my parents like cars and they only have manual cars. I refused to drive for 3 or 4 years, but they got a new family car that’s automatic and I can drive that one. But I don’t think I’ve driven faster than 60 km/h.

TO: That song talks about scars and adversity, what was the inspiration behind that? What kind of trials have you been through in life?

r: When somebody opens up about what they’ve been through in the past, I would feel sorry for them and try to support them to heal and forget about it. But there are some people who never try to heal, who always want to remind themselves about what happened in the past. Personally I’m like “that was like 5 or 6 years ago, why aren’t you over it”. I was thinking about those kinds of people when I was writing “Good to me”.

However, I've experienced something that still hurts whenever I think about it, even to this day. I'd say it was the lowest point in my life so far. Although I'm fully aware of how to cope with it, I've learned that there are some experiences which you'll never completely heal from. I expect other people might feel that way as well, so that’s why I wanted to write about scars and adversity in that song.

TO: Going back to culture, do people here in Japan get it when you talk about dogs and hoes? I don’t think it translates very well into Japanese!

r: Haha no, and my Dad asked me what it means, and I really struggled to explain it in Japanese. But some artists told me that they really liked that line. I don’t know if they actually got it. There’s no perfect translation in Japanese.

TO: Speaking of “Dogs”, did you have a lot of people doubt you in the past? Or did you ever doubt yourself?

I don’t doubt myself, but I don’t trust myself either. Actually, “Dogs” was written from my friend’s perspective. We met up for dinner, and she’s still in university, and she’s complaining about fake friends. She’s really cute and beautiful, and a lot of people are jealous of her. And then I went back home, and I wanted to write something like a rapper might write. So I borrowed her story.

TO: I think there’s also a bit of fight in you, you’re trying to prove yourself in a way. Tell me how you feel about your career so far.

r I feel like I’m just doing what I really like, and I don’t feel a lot of responsibility for now. Except when I have to go on stage. I’m just curious about what I can do, what I’m capable of, that’s what keeps me making music. And I don’t know how far I will go, I’m not really interested in numbers or anything, I just like making music with Matsukawa. But I started enjoying performing on stage, so I do feel like I’m growing. I think it’s about me knowing what I can do and how much I can grow, that’s the way I see my career.

TO: But there’s still a long way to go right? What are some of your goals for the future?

r: This year I want to perform at festivals like Summersonic, Fuji Rock, or Sunset Live in Fukuoka. And I want to feel comfortable talking on stage. I want to work on that. Singing is okay for me, but MCing is…no.

TO: I have a goal for you - to make a music video! How come that hasn’t happened yet?

r: Budgeting haha. I hope it’ll happen this year. It’s not in the plans specifically, but Matsukawa is thinking about it, we’ve been talking about it since last year. But in order to have a really good music video, a high quality one, we need money. So we’re waiting…saving up.

TO: Hopefully that works out soon, and if not, maybe we can help you crowdfund it! Thanks for talking to us and we look forward to seeing you at a concert or festival in the near future!

Follow reina on Instagram and check out “A Million More” on all streaming services!

You can catch reina live in concert to celebrate the release of A Million More at Wall & Wall in Tokyo on May 29! She’ll be performing with the w.a.u. band plus special guests VivaOla and Lil Summer. For details (in Japanese) and ticket purchasing, head to the ZAIKO page.

Also check out our interviews with Lil Summer and Julia Takada!