The meaning of the new label "KRK LAB"

– Congratulations on your 10th anniversary!

Thank you very much! For me, this anniversary is an opportunity to try something new. I’ve launched a new record label with the release of my new song “Gum Gum Girl” and I’m looking forward to the new challenge ahead! The name of the label is "KRK LAB”!

– What does it mean?

"KRK" is an abbreviation of "KPP Reversible K", and the last "K" stands for myself “Kyary”. I've been working mainly as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu for the last 10 years, but recently I've also started producing a fragrance brand called "Nostalgia Syndrome”. I’d like to challenge myself with various new projects in the future, while still being Kyary. This is why I put the last ”K” in the name. So, KRK LAB is going to be the place where I can tackle various other things, while continuing to perform as Kyary.

– I see, because you want to “test” yourself with various new projects, the label’s name has the word "LAB" in it.

That's right. For example, I would like to try voice acting, plays, and work in production. It would also be nice to produce a cafe where you can go with your dog. There are many cafes, which advertise “Dogs are welcome”, but in most cases they don’t allow your dog to enter the cafe, but guide you to the terrace. And it’s often freezing outside…also, I’ve been saying for a long time, that I would like to design an apartment someday.

– "Gum Gum Girl" is released on KRK LAB as its first song, what kind of song is this?

It's a collaboration with Nintendo for the game "Ninjala" on the Nintendo Switch. “Ninjala” is a ninja game, where you fight your enemies using chewing gum. That’s why the song is titled “Gum Gum”. It's a very powerful song that makes everyone want to dance and sing along. Its interlude and chorus part are quite catchy and the melody feels a bit nostalgic. I’d love to perform it live somewhere as soon as possible, once the Covid-19 crisis is over. I also can’t wait to sing it in karaoke.

– You're also showing off some fierce action moves in the music video, fitting to a song like this.

I practiced a lot! However, I already performed as a Ninja in "Ninja Re Bang Bang" before, so I thought we’d do something different this time around. Director Jun Tamukai I and came up with with the idea of "The Futuristic Psychokinesis Ninja Movie."

Kyary gets beaten up so hard!

– The Futuristic Psychokine…sorry what does that mean?

That’s kind of a futuristic ninja world we’ve come up with. Tamukai and I really like the movie “Kingsman”, which is an action movie where people fight savagely, while wearing nice outfits. We were inspired by the movie quite a lot for our music video. It’s probably not gonna be what you would expect for this song…but I can promise you, it’ll be even more than that!

– Now I understand why the video has such genuine action scenes. I could literally smell the blood, sweat and tears. It was just like a movie trailer.

Thank you! I learned some of those action moves from the action director Kenji Tanigaki who was in charge of the live action version of ”Samurai X”. I had to do a drop kick like 7 times during the shoot, because I couldn’t jump as high as he wanted me to. But of course, some scenes were done by a stunt double, for example scenes where I had to fall down from somewhere high up. But that was only a few scenes, I tried to as many scenes as possible myself, because I thought it was a great learning opportunity for me.

– Which scene was the most difficult?

Probably the elbow strike scene. I had to get closer to my opponent than I thought. The director yelled at me “Closer! Closer!” I actually hit the guy (or girl?) unintentionally. Of course I said "I'm sorry", but then the director said “If you say I'm sorry, I'll have to retake it, so don't say it again!”. That is why there are lots of scenes where I'm actually hitting people…I could feel their flesh and bones on my knuckles…

– That is the rawness I felt from the video. I could clearly see the warrior in you.

Director Tanigaki told me to approach my enemy with the intent of killing him…and I did just that. My facial expression was a direct result of that, I guess. I’ve done some music videos with fighting scenes before, but this time it was much more real. Having said that, my character is actually kind of weak this time. My Enemies are like 5 times stronger than me and they beat me up till the last half of the video. They even knee me in the face, almost killing me.

– That must have been quite a learning experience.

Yeah, I learned a lot. For example, the ninjas performing at the Ninja Show in "Nikko Edomura" are really amazing! Now I can tell how hard it is to dodge your opponent's attack at the last minute and counter them without breaking the flow. Certain things you can only learn through experience. So that was a great learning experience, especially considering that I usually live in my own fantasy world, far far away from violence like this.

She kept asking herself during the lock down

– What would you say to yourself 10 years ago? (What kind of advice would you have given the Kyaru Pamyu Pamyu from 10 years ago?)

I would say, "Don't forget your gratitude." I never thought that I would sing for next 10 years at that time. I thought I would quit it in about a year and a half to be honest. However, I’ve been in this business for 10 years and now we are facing this pandemic…you never know what the future has in store.

– Indeed, no one can tell.

When I look back a year ago, I remember the news reporting on an unknown virus from somewhere deep in China. For me, at that point, it sounded like news from another planet. But as the days passed, first some celebrities, then friends of my friend and finally my close friend had been infected. Slowly but surely the virus was sneaking into my life. It is really scary.

– The whole world has changed so much.

I kept asking myself, what I should do next during the lockdown. As you know, we can’t do concerts in front of an audience since the pandemic. Furthermore, people don’t really buy CDs anymore nowadays. For these reasons I thought it’s better to diversify and try some new stuff, keeping a positive mindset, instead of sticking to the music only. Sometimes I wish I would have done that earlier, because I have the feeling I missed out on some opportunities in the last 10 years.

– You think you missed out on some chances?

I have tried to focus on one thing at a time for the past 10 years. When I made my debut as a musician, I was actually already quite famous as an amateur model. Back then, I decided to focus on my musical career only, that’s why I missed out on appearing on TV shows, for example.

– You concentrated on music and changed your career path from model to musician.

Yes, I thought otherwise it would have just led to something half-baked. Now, I have become something like "a singer from Harajuku wearing a Big Ribbon”, as a result of concentrating on my music for all this time. Saying that, I haven't worn such a big ribbon for about 8 years! I heard it made quite an impression when I posted my "Furisodation" video on TikTok recently. I saw people writing comments like "oh, how nostalgic”. When I heard that, I thought I don’t want to be classified as something "nostalgic".

– Yeah you are right, after 10 years, some people might see you that way.

Yes, there was someone who said "I danced to Ninja Re Bang Bang when I was a 2nd grader in my elementary school". It’s normal that people say stuff like this, after 10 years in the business. Me too, when I listen to songs of my generation, I immediately say "Wow, how nostalgic". But I definitely don’t want to be put into that nostalgia category, that’s why I want to push forward with new things.

– So, you think it’s kind of a turning point for you right now?

I think so. I don’t want to be a jack of all trades, but I definitely like to challenge myself. Some mistakes may happen while doing so, but I don’t care. I just want to maximize my potential. Who knows what will happen.

– That’s right.

My whole team and record label has been totally renewed at the timing of my 10th anniversary. Everything has changed, except me. Now it’s my turn to break out of my shell and take on various challenges. I will restart everything from scratch. It’s like being a rookie again after my 10th anniversary. I will beat up the "Big Ribbon singer from Harajuku" so hard, just like I did in the music video, so watch out for the new me.