Singer- Songwriter MIREI On Music Motivation, Favorite Genre, And “Sell Me Your Love”

This Japanese artist is back with another hit!

Rising singer-songwriter MIREI is back with a new single that really touches on a serious topic. Her new single ‘Sell Me Your Love” is inspired by a real-life stabbing incident in Kabukicho (the red-light district of Tokyo), and the tragic story of a woman that fatally stabbed her then boyfriend who was working as a host at the district.

We had the absolute honor of talking with MIREI on what inspired her to write her new single, her journey so far, and more!

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your song ‘Sell Me Your Love’ coming out soon?

M:“This song is inspired by a real-life incident that happened in Tokyo where a woman stabbed a man. At the time, they were a couple living in Kabukicho which is known for being a “city where you might buy love for money.” We’re all looking for love, but sometimes we end up treating it as a commodity that can be exchanged for money and fame. And this does not only apply for couples, but also our relationship with friends, family, colleagues, and more. I was thinking about what real love is and that incident kept crossing my mind. So I decided to write this song as a way to reflect what love is in this age.”

Q: What inspires your music making choices?

M: “While making this song I imagined the scenes of Kabukicho and other luxurious nightlife. So I wanted some sexy, attractive sound for it and thought about R&B, especially the classic R&B sound. This song was originally made only with my piano and vocal, which later producer Selan added his own touch to it.”

Q: Do you have a favorite song you’ve written, if so, what is it?

M: “Every song is like my children, my favorite. But If I have to pick one, I love to listen to “Take Me Away.” It’s simply my taste of music, and since it’s my first song that I released, I have many memories in this song.”

Q: How would you describe the genre you are currently in?

M: “I would say electronic R&B. My inspiration for music comes from my parents and my childhood. My love for R&B is largely influenced by my parents whereas my love for electronic music roots back to my favorite Japanese rhythm games such as Dance Dance Revolution. I always like to explore with new sounds and it always comes up to me as a mixture of these two.”

Q: How would you describe your journey in becoming an artist?

M: “It’s tough, to be honest. I don’t know why but my heart sometimes expects the worst, which can be tricky mentally. But I’ve kept pursuing it because music is like my first language – I’m really not good at expressing words in both Japanese and English. I’ve walked a pretty long journey as an artist and still figuring out how to sing my feelings out loud. That’s why I’m so thankful for my fans who support me since I quit trying to please everyone. Having my fans like me for who I am has helped me with my journey.”

Q: If you could write about anything, with no barriers, and no backlash, what would you write about?

M: “Actually I feel like I’m breaking my barriers by writing my own songs, so I’ll continue doing what I’m doing now. I’m currently preparing other songs following this single and there are many interesting topics in them such as being Asian and defying stereotypes. Can’t wait to release them too!”

Q: What is your favorite genre to listen to?

M: “I still can’t decide my favorite genre of music but if I have to choose only one genre to listen to till I die, I would choose R&B since I not only listen to it, but I love to sing it. But honestly I can’t decide. I always listen to music in my daily life and I change the genres as I go. Now I’m writing this in my home, nighttime relaxed, so I chose Jazz. When it’s all done I’m gonna do my laundry and I wanna feel hyped up, so I’ll listen to dance music. Like that, I listen to all genres ranging from classic to nightcore.”

Q: Do you have role models in the industry? Who are they?

M: “From the late 70s, Japanese singer songwriters such as Mariya Takeuchi and Yumi Matsutoya made the genre called J-POP in Tokyo. How they explore the sounds and messages in Tokyo are super cool. They’re my role models.”

Q: Did anyone inspire you to step into the music industry?

M: “Since I told my family I want to learn how to sing and dance at acting school, I had absolutely no doubt aht I was going to pursue this non-stop. I just love to sing and express myself. But if I had to choose someone, it would have to be Lady Gaga. I still remember the moment when I saw the music video and the Japanese translation of the lyrics of “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga. That song motivated me to accept myself no matter what. Her courage to sing that on her own was very inspiring for me. That song is definitely the reason why I decided to write my songs, and express myself.”

Q: Can you describe your process for writing new songs?

M: “In my note app, there’s a page where I gather my thoughts. I’m mostly daydreaming when I’m awake and I often bump into questions. Sometimes I find answers to those questions whereas sometimes they’re left up in the air. So I gather them into a page of my note app and when I’m ready, I turn them into songs by playing around with instruments and drafting lyrics. I often record them by voice memo and send them to my producer friends along with my thoughts. If they like it, we’ll do Zoom sessions and record the songs by sharing the Logic Pro screens. We even record vocals via Zoom! Since the pandemic, I figured out how to write new songs from the screen of my computer, which is still amazing and surprising to think about even now.”

Stream “Sell Me Your Love” today!

https://orcd.co/mirei_sellmeyourlove

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Solstice Raeanne–Music/Mental Health Editor– Solstice Raeanne is a mental health advocate. As someone who has seen the way mental health is treated in our society they’ve wanted to make a change, and a difference. If they aren’t working, you can find Solstice on the phone scrolling through pinterest, or writing new articles and conducting interviews.