"Rather than postponing the event out of a negative mindset, it would be more positive to think about how we can express ourselves online."

ICHIRO YAMAGUCHI will be holding a solo live stream called "NF OFFLINE FROM LIVINGROOM" for two days on May 22nd (Sat) and 23rd (Sun) (May 22nd is a fan club members only performance, May 23rd is a general performance).

This was a sudden decision made following the postponement of the fan club members-only Zepp tour "NF OFFLINE," which was originally scheduled to start on May 11th.

Yamaguchi:

On May 7th, we were having the final rehearsal for NF OFFLINE. At the venue, everyone from Team Sakanaction, who had been working with us on the live show, including Director YUSUKE TANAKA (※), who was in charge of overall direction, the PA, lighting, and SAKANACTION director, were there. At that time, the extension of the state of emergency was announced, and we decided to postpone the performances in May.

So I said, "If the live show is postponed, let's have people watch this project online." Rather than postponing the tour with negative feelings, I think it's more positive and exciting to think about what kind of expression we can do online. Breaking through the current situation and inventing new expressions is what rock is to me, even though it may be a dead word now. From there, I had been working on the content in less than a week, thinking about how to think about it and on what scale to do the live broadcast.

※ YUSUKE TANAKA:
He is a video director who has worked on numerous music videos and commercials for artists such as SAKANACTION and Perfume. Following the live streaming event "SAKANAQUARIUM HIKARIUM ONLINE" held in August last year, he will be in charge of the overall direction of "NF OFFLINE FROM LIVINGROOM".

The key question here is, what kind of tour did NF OFFLINE have in mind in the first place?

Last spring, Yamaguchi was one of the first to use Instagram Live to proactively communicate with his listeners, as many live entertainment events were forced to be postponed or canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This initiative continues to this day as an irregular regular broadcast of "Late Night Discussion."

"Even for us who are publishing the information, there are still many aspects that we don't know until we actually open the lid (laughs)."

How could the concept of NF OFFLINE be reinterpreted and expressed through online live streaming? After much discussion within the SAKANACTION team, they came up with a truly unique idea, a kind of reverse import, of doing an Instagram Live from Yamaguchi's room at home, the original point of origin, and live streaming it while adding real-time direction to that worldview.

In other words, on the 22nd and 23rd, Yamaguchi will be singing on Instagram Live from his home as he has done in the past on his own account (@ichiroyamaguchi). Anyone can watch the live on Instagram, but it will be a one-shot with only one camera, and the sound will be mono due to the structure of Instagram Live.

Yamaguchi:

However, with the paid live streaming, you can enjoy the lighting, video, and graphics that take place outside the Instagram Live screen from various camera angles before, during, and after the Instagram Live broadcast. The video, spatial direction, and camerawork will be handled by the same video team as the live streaming "SAKANAQUARIUM HIKARIUM ONLINE" in August last year.

In addition, I'm using a technique called sampling reverb to let you experience the unique resonance of my room in three dimensions. By doing as much as possible in my room, I'm planning to stream a documentary-like, fantasy-like, and somewhat unique live performance in real time.

Anyway, since this is a live streaming event with a completely new concept, some people may not be able to fully grasp what will happen on this day. For those people, it may be easier to imagine it if you replace it with the setting of a TV drama. In other words, it is like this.

Let's say an actor is broadcasting a one-man drama live from his home. During the show, the actor picks up his smartphone and starts Instagram Live. Instagram followers can then see the actor's face and hear his lines through the screen. However, this is merely one scene of the performance captured by the smartphone's camera and microphone, and they cannot see the whole story of the drama.

On the other hand, viewers watching the live broadcast on a TV screen can enjoy the entire story of the drama in real time, including not only the acting, but also the actors broadcasting on Instagram Live, the background, the room's interior, the lighting, and more.

This "actor" is Yamaguchi, the "one-man drama" is the performance of "NF OFFLINE FROM LIVINGROOM," the "lines" are the music, and the "television screen" is the screen of the viewing device of those who have purchased a paid ticket.

Yamaguchi:

But honestly, there are still many things we don't know until we actually open the lid (laughs). But if you watch the live stream, I think you'll be amazed, and I think that people who are interested in SAKANACTION 's music will be surprised and say, "What is this?"

In entertainment these days, you know in advance who will do what and how. That's important as a service, but I think it's good to have at least one event where you don't know exactly what they're going to do, but you happen to see it and it's really interesting! I find that more fun. So this livestream is also an experiment.

"How far can you go in your own home? The ultimate DIY broadcast for adults."

In fact, there is one more big challenge that Yamaguchi is planning to take on in this live broadcast.

Last year, SAKANACTION held a large-scale live stream called "SAKANAQUARIUM HIKARIUM ONLINE," which attracted approximately 60,000 viewers and was a huge success.

The environment they are trying this time is a home, which is the most minimal and restrictive environment in terms of conditions. How high quality of live streaming can they achieve in this environment? This is also an interesting experiment.

Yamaguchi:

If this goes well, we will be able to do live streaming from places other than halls, such as outdoor shrines or the top of dams, and we will be able to expand the possibilities of live streaming and the types of expression. If we do that, when the coronavirus subsides and the world returns to normal, we will be able to add "online expression" to the musicians' routine of "releasing CDs and touring," and we think we will be able to update the current system.

But when I tried to start rehearsing at home, I found it really difficult (laughs). First of all, there was the problem of power. It was a normal house, so there were only normal household outlets, and if we used live equipment, the power capacity would be insufficient. Usually, we prepare a generator car at the live venue, but it's difficult to use it at night in a residential area. Other than that, we were trying our best to figure out where in the room to put the PA console, and how much we could do at home. It's like the ultimate DIY broadcast for adults, or like a school festival (laughs).

Yamaguchi said this with a smile, but he added that because this is an unprecedented experiment, he wants his fans to see it first.

Yamaguchi:

During the Great East Japan Earthquake, I saw Tokyo with my own eyes and was able to express it through music such as "Endless" and "Years". But this time, the COVID-19 pandemic is a global issue, and I can't perform live anywhere. In such a unique situation, I was really lost as to what I should express. At that time, I was able to talk to our listeners on Instagram Live, and I learned that people from various professions felt "encouraged" by our music, and when I talked about my thoughts or new attempts, they reacted well, sometimes pointed them out, and were very supportive. So I felt like I had "found my friends".

It was all thanks to the communication with everyone that we were able to step on the gas and try out the new expression of "Hikari ONLINE", that we were able to think about turning a crisis into an opportunity, and that we felt we had to try out various experiments while we still had the chance. That's why we wanted everyone to be the first to see the experiment "NF OFFLINE FROM LIVINGROOM", so on the first day we limited it to NF member (fan club members).

However, there are probably some people and students who had to leave the fan club due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and I think it was good that we were able to hold a public performance on the second day so that those people who are interested in our experiment could also experience NF OFFLINE FROM LIVINGROOM. Also, for those who happened to see the Instagram Live on the first day and were interested, I would like them to watch the paid live broadcast on the second day and the archive.

Still, I'd love for NF member to watch both days. Because we're creating it in such a short period of time, I think the first day will be an incredibly tense live stream, and on the second day, I think we'll be able to make some significant improvements, so I'd love for you to experience that difference. Also, the real-life live show "NF OFFLINE" will start in June, and NF member who have tickets to that will be able to enjoy the real-life live show even more if they watch this live stream, so please look forward to both the live stream and the real-life live show.