By NucleARtyom May 28, 2023

codomomental bulletin #38

On May 21st there was a livestream with Ama Mauru, where she talked about the progress of the creation of her new group St.404¹. I have compiled the most interesting news and facts for you:

The lineup of the group is already set.
Just one day before the livestream, all the important aspects – including the direction of the music, the visual style, etc. – have also been decided.
Mauru is eager to launch the group as soon as possible. They plan to start shooting the visuals in early June, and the debut is expected to be this summer (but keep in mind that in Mauru’s view, “summer” includes September).
She emphasized that from now on she will present herself in a completely different way, not like in “Seireki”. She joked that she might even do harsh vocals, and at the same time, she seriously didn’t rule it out.
Apparently, the new group will be the opposite of “Seireki”. However, Mauru says that she has absorbed the identity of “Seireki” through all these years, so there will be some continuity, even though the concept is completely opposite. Namely, St.404 will also be based on a fantasy concept – apparently it will be a dark fantasy.
On the previous livestream, Mauru said that after meeting with the applicants for the group, she reconsidered some of her ideas about how it should be. In particular, she had wanted to have 5 or 7 members, but as a result, she realized that the formation of the lineup depends first and foremost on the people she meets, as it is they who create the unique look of the group. As a result, she was satisfied with the lineup with a small number of members. But Mauru emphasizes that this is not a compromise, on the contrary – the girl is convinced that this way they will be able to realize the style and music that can only be realized with this lineup.
Despite her shyness, Mauru has already managed to make good friends with the new members.
Being directly involved in the work on the group, Mauru has once again realized her own incompetence in many aspects. However, she doesn’t want to lose to herself and is eager to fill those gaps and grow as a producer, writer and performer by working on her own shortcomings.
Mauru wants to create something that can capture people’s hearts, and she intends to test herself in different kinds of music to create a world that only she can create.

Meanwhile, Seireki13ya have announced their next single, “Kuchibue”, which will be released on June 14². In addition to the title song, the single will also include the song “Pastelphose”³. Interestingly, both of these songs are strongly associated with the past “Seireki”, even though they have never officially been released yet. “Pastelphose”, with vocals by Nene Komochi, Ama Mauru and Shiki Towa, was already available as part of a two-hour preview in late July 2021⁴. Around the same time, a vote was held to decide which lyrics would get another new song of the group⁵. And that song was the one that ended up being “Kuchibue”. The choice was made of two variants, and at the time of voting the authors of the lyrics were unknown, and the instrumental of the song could be listened freely. In the end of the voting, the lyrics titled “Hi, cute knight” were chosen, the author of which turned out to be Shiki Towa⁶. Then it became known that lyrics titled “Kuchibue” was written by GESSHIRUI. But shortly thereafter, Towa suddenly left the group and Seireki13ya went on an indefinite hiatus. Nevertheless, Komochi wanted to continue performing, and she had small solo performances during codomomental events, where this song (which became “Kuchibue” due to these circumstances) was performed live for the first time. This period when Komochi was left alone was very difficult for her, she even began to think about leaving “Seireki”, and so, in her own words at a recent livestream⁷, “Kuchibue” was a very painful song for her, but when it was reborn with the new lineup, it revealed itself to Komochi in a cheerful way for the first time.

It’s a song that had so many of my feelings in it and that I went through a lot together. And when it sounded with the voices of the four of us, I was glad to the point of tears🌟
It’s a very important song to me, listen to it🤍⁸

From Nene Komochi’s Twitter.

The cover art of the single was also revealed:

And a few days later, “Kuchibue” became available for a limited two-hour preview where fans could experience what Seireki13ya’s new lineup studio recording sounds like for the first time⁹.

I’ve included a translation of the song’s lyrics below:

“Kuchibue” (“Whistling”)

“Ouch!” – A prickling pain in the depths of my chest.
My bangs fluttered and the wind was slightly bitter.
For some time now, I’ve stopped looking for a reason when my heart beats fast.
Pretending to be insensitive has become a habit.
The dance of a fairy who can’t dance, hoping for a fairy tale.
A moment of star divination. The excitement of the heart.

Let’s chat all night and forget tomorrow.
Let’s leave sadness and bitterness behind, let’s ride freely on the moon slide.
This feeling is special. I don’t care if I get hurt.
Rainbow jitterbug. Raspberry blend. And you’re getting so close.
The first and last mysterious night for both of us.

Only an imitation echoes around, the standard bitter smile.
I don’t think that’s the way it really is.
But still, like the others, I want peace.
I admire you and, clumsily and proudly, I want to be just like you,
I’m still afraid, but, you know,
I’m holding my amulet tightly and humming a melody, do you hear?
Things that look like junk aren’t perfect.
And that’s why I want to love myself.

Hey, let’s chat and forget tomorrow forever.
Joy and pain will be gently wrapped by a medicine the color of tears.
This feeling is special. I don’t care if I get hurt.
Flowers are singing. Please, Maestro. And you’re getting so close.
That mysterious feeling of the night I promised myself I’d never be wrong again.

“Let us begin, concertmaster.” Let’s play Seireki (stellar) music!
Let’s take this new ship for a ride, a blooming tulip.
A concert of the overflowing night, a time of fantastic illusions that play feelings.
Happily face-to-face. What do you think?
A smile spread over my face. Ha-ha, he-he.

I’ve decided. That this is more important to me than anything else.
No one can stop us. I love you more than anything else in the world.

Let’s chat all night and forget about tomorrow.
Let’s leave sadness and bitterness behind, let’s ride freely on the moon slide.
This feeling is special. I don’t care if I get hurt.
Rainbow rumba. Raspberry blend. And you’re getting so close.
The first and last “Let’s be together forever.”

I still don’t understand what music is, but one element we should never forget but tend to do is the concept of ‘fun’. I’m late with all this again, but I’m the one responsible for the lyrics of “Kuchibue,” the song from Seireki13ya’s seventh single. It’s coming out a little later, but for me, it’s the work where I thought the most about the majority opinion. This song was a never-ending challenge for me as I tried to figure out how to express what could be said about as “Seireki13ya and the music market” by collecting such hackneyed words and images as “junk” and interpreting their arrangement and context. However, when I entered the lyrics contest, that lyrics was rejected… And I was a little sad (the winner lyrics were great), but I’m really glad that they still could start their journey around the world. (Oops, it got too long again… I didn’t even get a third of what I wanted to say).¹⁰

If you’re not insensitive, you should be able to say ‘let’s chat’ in this painful world. If you’re not painfully aware that there are clear moments when you can’t say it, there’s not a bit of conviction in those words. But these girls have it. “Romantic Escape” was written as an homage to Shonen ga Milc’s songs, and at the same time based on the images of Mauru-chan and the other members, and as a result it unwittingly turns out to be much more emotional than I could have imagined. And since “Kuchibue” is a continuation of that work, the “fun” in it came to the fore. I desperately tried not to rely too much on the overflowing emotions and played “Rhapsody in Blues” and “Symphony No. 7 in A Major” in my head. I was very happy that the tiny but great artist Nene Komochi and the new stars Yui Urari, Who Runo and Yowa Minai really tried to convey that to the listeners. There was something about it that went beyond “skillful” and “unskillful”. I’ll be glad if you look forward to June 14th. May this 13th night, which shouldn’t have happened according to the Star Calendar, be a good one.¹¹

From GESSHIRUI’s Twitter.

It’s a cute song, but not only that, it makes me remember important things🎶.
I’ll be happy if it becomes something important for you too.¹²

I try my best for the present, but when I look back, it all becomes my precious treasures💭✨

Let’s continue to create irreplaceable treasures with us, together with our ‘night minions’!!!🤍🌟¹³

From Nene Komochi’s Twitter.

On a recent livestream¹⁴, the members of Seireki13ya shared what they would wish for if they had the opportunity to grant a wish through magic. Runo would like to be able to magically visit all the places on earth and see all the interesting sights (because even if she could, it would be impossible to do so to the fullest), Komochi would like to have endless stamina so that she could give an endless concert, Urari would like to be able to speak all languages (including animal languages) so that Seireki13ya can communicate with their fans all over the world (and also perform in zoos), and Minai dreams that in her next life she will be reborn as something other than a human – like a cat or a stuffed toy (the other members rightly pointed out that in the second case, Minai would not be able to move, but she replied that she would move anyway, and the other members were horrified to imagine this).

Speaking of Minai, her height has definitely become something of a meme. Especially after the incident that happened on a recent Seireki13ya livesteam¹⁵, the translation of which you can see below.

You can also check out another funny moment that happened last week on a TOKYO TEFUTEFU livestream¹⁶. The girls decided to play a word association game, but no one thought the game could end with such an epic moment…

When I heard that ZKS was going on an indefinite hiatus, I thought, “I’m not going to accept this, shitty Imamura!” and sent him this song (TOKYO TEFUTEFU – “houyou”) as a kind of taunt: “This is the border between the ZKS and TTFTF worlds!”, but he didn’t get angry, but said: “Awesome!” which made me angry again, but that’s just between you and me.¹⁷

From GESSHIRUI’s Twitter.

codomomental bulletin #38

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