Congratulations on your upcoming Japan tour, and the release of HALO! We’d love to talk about the EP, which features the anime insert songs “Midnight Reflection” as well as the titluar song.
How did you grab inspiration when writing and putting together the tracks, knowing these were going to be used in the Gundam franchise?
tsumiki: When we were offered the insert song for Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, the anime production studio gave us the screenplay and character backgrounds for the anime. Digesting everything, I derived my own interpretation of “Gundam,” and began composing the track.
Aside from their presence in Gundam, what do these songs mean to you personally?
MIKIMARA: Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is set in outer space and thematically has to do with humankind / space, which reminds me of the vast scale of the universe. So, I recalled thinking about that massive scale as I sang the phrase in “Midnight Reflection”:
“Meteor shower, hear my wish And turn my room into space.” (Japanese: 「流星群願いを聞いて一人の部屋を宇宙にして」)
When I first sang it at home, the lyrics and theme overlapped completely. I remember thinking, as the lyrics say, I hope this song does in fact reach the universe.
How did this come about? Were you fans of the franchise previously?
tsumiki: The anime producers somehow found us online, and offered we compose the insert song.
I also want to add, my father was from the 1st Mobile Suit Gundam generation, so I grew up surrounded by figures and Gunplas in the house, so the franchise was really close to me, before I even knew about it.
Do you have another dream soundtrack appearance?
tsumiki: There is no specific franchise, but I hope to continue collaborating with iconic/historic Japanese IP and pop-culture. In the past, we got to work on Rurouni Kenshin and Urusei Yatsura so I’m going to continue pushing to be the representative artist of Japanese culture.
How did you originally come together as a musical act?
MIKIMARA: Originally, I was a solo singer/songwriter and would upload covers where I sang on top of my own accompaniment. I uploaded these videos on SNS, which is where tsumiki found me, and here we are.
tsumiki: Since I was small, I attended Electone keyboard classes. That’s where I dabbled in composing music, which gave me my start.
What is the pinnacle of your synergy as a musical duo?
MIKIMARA: When we complete a track together, and put it out into the world… watching audiences’ reactions on the internet, feels like we’ve maximized our synergy as a duo and delivered something special.
In what ways do you rely on each other as a team?
tsumiki: I really rely on MIKIMARIA’s instincts and how those instincts informs her singing. Because I make music on a computer, it’s like I’m programming code. Sometimes it feels “overly designed” and thus uninteresting.
So, when I send her the demo, she sings it with instinct and gives it soul. That is something I cannot do without.
MIKIMARA: Wow… Thank you.
I have the opposite response because I tend to sing with instincts…
In other words, ideas that pop into my head, I don’t have the skills to translate into a fully produced track. tsumiki helps me take what’s in my mind and puts it into song – something I greatly respect and rely on.
In an alternate universe where your roles are swapped, how different would your sound be to what it is now?
Would your music be a completely different genre?
tsumiki: There is not a clear divide as you might imagine. And in NOMELON NOLEMON, there are some songs where MIKIMARIA composes and I sing. So, even if we were beamed to an alternate universe, I don’t see it being TOO different from what we have right now.
MIKIMARA: But maybe the music wouldn’t be as vast as it is right now? Because tsumiki has so much ability to “realize” something into song, we have the unique sound that we do.
tsumiki: For now, we feel pretty good in our current timeline / universe.
A lot of your music has that beloved uptempo sound that is so distinct to Japanese pop and rock.
What is the most unconventional piece of music you’ve made together? Would you do it again?
tsumiki: Our track, “Dounika Nacchaiso” for me. As you mentioned, J-Pop / J-Rock tends to have some conventional patterns, and before “Dounika Nacchaiso,” I’ve created music within the status quo, but everything about this track was me trying to break molds.
I integrated “Hyperpop” and “IDM” culture into the music. So, there aren’t many tracks in Japan that sound quite like it. That would be the most unconventional thing I’ve done.
MIKIMARA: Not necessarily unconventional, perhaps… but the track “Bad Love (バッド・ラヴ)” we composed with a Showa style flare. I kept that imagery in my mind as I sang, which was a brand new experience for me. I have to specifically call out J-Pop singer, Kikuchi Momoko, who I referenced while finding my voice for this song.
Can you remember the first time you felt truly inspired to make music, and do you have a particular artist that made a great impression on you?
MIKIMARA: A Japanese rock band, Judy & Mary. They disbanded the year I was born, so I’ve never seen them live: only archived videos. But even the archives left such a huge impression, and I wanted to be just like the vocalist, Yuki-chan.
I discovered them when I was in middle school, so I want to say I was about 14? And they sang the opening theme song for the hit anime, Ruroni Kenshin.
tsumiki: There’s a Japanese band, Number Girl. This band had a completely different approach to rock – their vocals were mixed low and the guitar was really loud.
The impact when I heard them for the first time was immense and that was when I decided to pick up the guitar. I think I was in elementary school at the time.
We mentioned your upcoming SUPERMOON tour in Japan. What can fans expect from your show? Do you have any surprises in store?
tsumiki: We named the tour SUPERMOON because we will be touring more intimate live-house venues, which literally brings us “closer” to our fans (like the super moon). So, if any of your readers has plans to attend, they will hear our live performance closer than ever.
What are your dream destinations to perform in?
tsumiki: Firstly, I’d love to tour the United States, and travel through Europe because I absolutely love English rock… and somewhere along the tour, we have to make a stop at Coachella.
If you could collaborate with any other Japanese artist, who would you pick?
tsumiki: I don’t know if I’d call it a “collab” but there are artists I would love to share the stage with. For example, YOASOBI or Kitani Tatsuya. Artists whose message are deeply rooted in Japanese culture and storytelling.
If you could be any anime characters, who would you be and why?
MIKIMARA: Machu’s silhouette and hairstyle are (evidently) similar to my own… which is perhaps why I can relate to her.
In daily life, Machu is strong willed and honest, which are qualities I hope to inherit.
What’s next for NOMELON NOLEMON?
MIKIMARA: More live performances around the world. Our new EP, HALO just dropped, and we’re working on the 3rd album as we speak. I hope all of our existing and future fans can stay excited.
NOMELON NOLEMON’s newest EP HALO is out now. They can be found on Instagram here.