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The music video, intended for international audiences, for the single “Be Free (With Music)” from the album N will be debuted by the increasingly popular music artist Nano on Tokyo Otaku Mode on May 31. With a voice both powerful and mesmerizing, Nano sang the opening songs for the TV anime Btooom! and the second season of Phi Brain: Puzzle of God. Riding on that momentum, Nano’s first live concert was held on March 16. The 2,500-person concert space was packed. Nano stands out as an energetic and active artist, who excited the crowd of 1,500 fans at “DoKomi” in Düsseldorf, Germany, a convention that aims to spread Japanese culture to other countries.
Nano’s latest music video has a “street” and “dynamic” feel to it, with dancing, BMX, and Parkour appearing throughout. The cast of the music video also don the hood that has become Nano’s symbol, and the video creates Nano’s perception of the world while using the song to link Nano’s thoughts and feelings within that perception.
Something to look for in this music video is that this is the second time Nano will take on live action, the first being the video for “Neophobia” which was released three months ago. As a new live-action music video that is also aimed at overseas audiences, people in other countries who have never had the chance to come in contact with Nano are likely to find themselves rejoicing.
Tokyo Otaku Mode visited the set of Nano’s music video for behind-the-scenes coverage and an interview, so we hope you enjoy both the music video and the behind-the-scenes video!
TOM: The “Be Free” music video follows “Neophobia” as your second live-action music video. Could you share some of your thoughts on that?
Nano: Even though I had already had some experience doing live action with “Neophobia,” I was told that this time would be a completely different atmosphere, so I was really looking forward to it. I think anyone watching the live-action music video will enjoy it, as well.
TOM: Just the fact that many of your music videos up until now have been animated makes this one something to really look forward to.
Nano: Right! I think a lot of fans are waiting to see what’s going to happen next.
TOM: The “Be Free” live-action music video also includes a lot of video of you as well, doesn’t it?
Nano: Yes. We shot continuously for seven hours... Of course, I don’t know how much of that will be used.
TOM: As someone being filmed, how did you approach shooting this music video?
Nano: The camera picks up on everything from small movements to tiny expressions, which is completely different from doing live concerts and recordings. At first, I was really nervous and my body wasn’t moving the way I thought, but the staff and director spoke with me and they played ["Be Free"] really loudly as we shot to drown out other noises, and then my nervousness disappeared and I was able to have fun shooting.
TOM: It did seem like you were enjoying yourself, as you were laughing more and more on set during shooting.
Nano: It was a tense set at first, so I’m glad it ended up that way. I very much felt that the people working behind the cameras were probably all laughing. When the director told me part-way through to try making it look like I was messing around, I realized that all of them were playing and having fun with it.
TOM: As a result, the set must have become pretty lively.
Nano: I could hear them laughing, which put me at ease.
TOM: I’d like to ask about the song for the music video, “Be Free.” How would you describe the song?
Nano: This is a special song, and it’s one that stands out among the songs on my second album N. It has a completely different color to it. Not only is the melody different, but it’s a song that feels as though I’m getting rid of the old me and expressing myself through this song as a new me that I’ve uncovered. We came up with a grand plan to have it differ a lot from my previous videos that were heavy in animation and to do it as a live-action video. With that as well, it became a good chance to try something different this time.
TOM: You mention that it’s new. How exactly does it differ from the songs you’ve done up until this point?
Nano: One thing is that the sound of it is different, first of all. I think, up until now, I’ve had a hard-rock feel to my music, but this song fuses rock with an electro sound, giving it a new feel. The writer of this song, kz, is very gifted at doing electro, and one of the great things about this song is how well it blends that with rock. I think that’s different from what I’ve done previously.
TOM: It’s been said that the “Be Free” music video is intended for international audiences. What kind of people in other countries do you want to have listen to this and how are you hoping to get them to?
Nano: I’ve had opportunities to interact with fans overseas lately, and since I’ve been able to go from just focusing on the sound of my CDs to creating high quality videos so people can enjoy my music with their eyes as well, I’d like to have not just young people, but people of all ages enjoy my music.
TOM: Which is to say, not just your fans?
Nano: Right! I certainly would like to have people who have never come in contact with my music listen to it as well!
TOM: What would you tell people from other countries who are listening to this song?
Nano: What I’ve expressed with this song is that I am not just the Nano everyone has known up until now. As I mentioned earlier, there’s the thought in this that showing a new me will lead to new listeners, and I’ve incorporated the theme of “new.” I would like to keep showing the new Nano to everyone.
TOM: Finally, do you have a message for any overseas fans and new listeners?
Nano: Though I am at the stage where I haven’t spread to many countries yet, I’ve received many words of support through Facebook and Twitter. It gives me courage every time I read the many comments. I’d like to return the favor through live concerts and other projects, so I would be happy if I could get people to look forward to that.
Nano is about to excite the music world by connecting not just with fans in Japan, but also Nano fans and music fans abroad, and it looks like we’ll be hearing their salutes.
