Touko Miura x Taisei Iwasaki, the first collaboration song "My Star" is released and the music video is released

The podcast program “Let’s Go with Chapon!”, which is distributed every other Sunday, has released its first theme song, “My Star,” on Sunday, July 28th. The music video was also released.

The podcast “Let’s go with Chapon!” is a program by “Nordic Living Tools Store,” which delivers products that are in line with each person’s “own way of life” and disseminates various content. The podcast, which started in 2018, is hosted by store manager Sato and staff member Aoki, and is distributed every other Sunday at 8 p.m. To date, it has grown into a popular content, with approximately 5,000 letters sent in by listeners, and the first public recording event held in 2022 had over 1,600 applications for 300 invitations, and the live broadcast on the day was watched by a total of more than 10,000 people.

At the end of 2022, the store manager Sato came up with a plan to create a theme song for “Let’s Go with Chapon!” to express his gratitude to the listeners. He asked Kenmochi Manabu of Grand Funk Co., Ltd., who served as the music producer for the movie “Aoba Family’s Table” and worked on the music for the movie “The Fable” (directed by Eguchi Kan) and the drama “Kimi ni Todoke” (NETFLIX), to produce the song. He produced the song together with musician Iwasaki Taisei, who worked on the movie “The Dragon and the Freckled Princess,” which won the “Best Music Award” at the 45th Japan Academy Awards, and the movie “Moteki,” which won the “Excellent Music Award” at the 35th Japan Academy Awards.

The lyrics are by writer Domon Ran, who has attracted attention for his serial project for “Nordic Living Tools Store,” as well as his interview collection “The Solitude of an Entrepreneur,” and essay “A Diary of Living Until Death.” The song is sung by Miura Toko, who has appeared as an actor in the 94th Academy Award-winning film “Drive My Car” (directed by Hamaguchi Ryusuke) and the historical drama “The 13 Lords of the Kamakura” (NHK), while also expanding his activities as a singer, singing the theme song “Shukusai” (lyrics and composition by RADWIMPS) for the film “Weathering with You” (directed by Shinkai Makoto). This will be the first collaboration between Miura Toko and Iwasaki Taisei.

Model Ya Kudo stars in the music video. If you have your own “room” or “my planet,” you can spend your time comfortably and healthily without worrying about the hustle and bustle outside. The video depicts such a small yet big “my planet.” The director is Yoshika Matsuoka.

[Comment from Taisei Iwasaki (composer and arranger)]

I’ve produced a variety of songs, but I think I could see the final “goal” in each one. However, this time, while the production team shared the worldview, they didn’t know the goal, and instead looked at the scenery around them and moved forward, thinking, “Maybe this is a way to do it,” and it was like sculpting a song, like carving out a shape from an already existing “gemstone.” I felt like I helped give shape to the worldview of “Northern Europe, Living Tools Store” in the form of “music.”
That’s why I hope that listeners will be able to understand this song by diving into the depths of its worldview that I cannot reach.

[Comment from Tomoko Sato (Manager of “Nordic Living Tools Store”)]

For the 6th anniversary of the program, we wanted to come up with a gift to express our gratitude to our listeners, and to encourage new interest in the radio for those who have not yet listened to it. We came up with the idea of gifting them songs that they could hum along to and enjoy with their ears, just like listening to the radio.
I recently realized that what I have been hoping for through my work in the store and radio is that perhaps people who live and work in various ways have a space in their hearts like their own star, and that I can help cultivate and nourish that “personal star.”
“My Star” was completed while sharing such thoughts with the wonderful creators, including producer Kenmochi-san, Iwasaki-san, Domon-san, and Miura-san. I would be happy if you could encounter a scene where it is playing somewhere in the city, or someone is humming it.

【release information】

Scandinavian Living Tools Store & Taisei Iwasaki “My Star”
Release Date: 2024.07.28 (Sun.)
Label: Kurashicom Music Entertainment
Tracklist:
1. My Star (feat. Toko Miura)
2. My Star (instrumental)
3. My Star (feat. Touko Miura) (alternate ver.)
4. My Star (alternate ver. (instrumental))