Everything / Nothing
Iwashita Keisuke Sardine
I started writing songs in earnest around 1982. The following year, 1983, I installed a multi-track recorder, and after several years of trial and error, I was able to do everything from writing lyrics and music to performing, singing, and recording on my own.
“Everything / Nothing” is a collection of works I produced in the summer of 1986. I tried to overcome the introversion and weak singing that is common in home recordings, and I tried to keep the songs punchy and clear, and the singing energetic. When I finished the collection, I thought, “For the first time, I have created a collection that I am satisfied with!”
The person by my side in the jacket image is my late friend, Ryuji Uozumi. I dedicate this collection to him, who casually encouraged me when I was always on the verge of falling apart and also told me how interesting Todd Rundgren and Frank Zappa were.
1. In the silence of the night
I got stuck in Tokyo and returned to my hometown. I entered a local music college and timidly resumed my activities six months later. To get my sense back, I started by recording a song I had written the previous year. It was fun to play my own songs after such a long time. I felt free from the stress of learning rudiments and etudes. And so, I ended up with an ambivalent piece, with negative lyrics but an incredibly lively sound. I listend back and murmured, “Not bad.” I thought maybe I could be more confident.
The music that plays at the beginning is “Troika” from Prokofiev’s suite “Lieutenant Kije.”
2. Leberte under the sky
Three influences are clearly visible in Liberte Under the Sky.
1) Todd Rundgren. Ballads like “Can We Still Be Friends” and “Mated.”
2) The Style Council. Arrangements like “You Are the Best Thing.”
3) Frank Zappa’s song poking fun at Peter Frampton, mainly the chorus work.
4) Another one. Kaita Murayama’s “Geni Kimi wa Sake to Narazaru Mugi no Ho no Aoki Gosha.”「げに君は酒とならざる麦の穂の青き豪奢（村山槐多）」
In 1985, I gave up on my band activities and left Tokyo, and I expressed the sentiments I felt at that time in the lyrics. I was saying goodbye to my friends who had left the band.
3. Therapy
I played this “Down by the River” imitation live a lot. The band liked it because it gave us more room to play.
The confusing lyrics were written the previous year, but they don’t really reflect the seriousness of the song at the time. That’s why it’s easy to listen to. It was originally meant to be a heavier song.
But the guitar playing is so bad. It makes me blush when I hear it (laughs).
Of course, I love Neil Young, even though I sometimes unlike him.
4. School of fish
The original title was “A Crowd of Women.” But I changed it because it gave a bad impression.
When I entered a music college, most of the students were women. I’m not good with groups, so I didn’t commit myself to them very much. That said, it’s not that I disliked them. I just kept my distance, watching from the outside. The young women looked dazzling to me. I tried to portray the state of mind of a older-young man.
In an impressionist style, I ended by using the whole tone scale that I had just learned.
5. Linus’s blanket
I composed this song imitating the popular song “Blue Station (not that I was a fan of Kawai Sonoko).” I used Goto Tsugutoshi’s arrangement, which combined digital beats with lead instruments, as a reference, but it ended up being nothing like the original. From this, I learned that if you try to imitate consciously, you can avoid falling into the trap of imitation.
The lyrics, which depict the self-consciousness typical of adolescence, have a dual structure, with the opening and closing parts being sung by a young boy, and the chorus being sung by an older woman. However, I was unable to sing them well. Looking back, I should have invited a female vocalist to sing the chorus.
The lead instrument in the interlude is a melodion (keyboard harmonica).
6. Made in USA
It’s a Beatles-esque, bright, fun and lively song. I can’t think of much more to say about it. The instrumental ensemble is inspired by Todd Rundgren & Utopia, but the drum machine drum solo in the intro was unnecessary.
The lyrics are all fiction. No hidden meaning.
7. The worst morning
I tried to recreate a half-asleep state through music, but contrary to the title, the melody has a bright feel to it. I’m lamenting that it’s the worst and I can’t see the future, but in fact I’m not that seriously worried. The inspiration was Robert Wyatt and Tears for Fears. I think it’s a soundscape that is prominent in the mid-80s. I asked a saxophonist to play the alto during the live performance. Come to think of it, why was the saxophone so popular in that era?
8. Beast
It’s an ambitious work. I put a lot of effort into making the tension-filled chords sound pop. I like the steel drum interlude and the Joe Jackson-like vocals, but serious people dislike it.
This is probably due to the sexual metaphors in the lyrics. One woman was humming this song when her boyfriend scolded her, saying, “Don’t sing that song while eating.” I remember telling her, “You should break up with that stiff guy.”
Well, it’s a silly song like that.
9. Hospital
I was a prog rock fan and secretly listened to it even after I became an adult. I was particularly influenced by Genesis, and took many hints from the pop albums that Phil Collins released after he became the frontman. There are traces of Tony Banks in “Hospital” here and there, especially in the electric piano arpeggios and the stacking of fractional chords.
The singing voice is youthful. It’s a typical cold-hearted song. The protagonist in this song only thinks about myself. You see what l says at the beginning of the song, right? “Let’s assume it’s spring.” Yes, this is fiction. In reality, I’m a little more considerate.
I received feedback that they were curious about what happened to the two people sung about in this song, and I realized that that’s how listeners perceive the lyrics. At that time, I was completely unaware of this when writing the lyrics.
10. Pride
The image comes first and the heavy theme of “pride” is not digested. Is it “Throw away unnecessary pride” or “Never throw away pride?” It feels like it goes back and forth between those two extremes. The fact that it repeats “pride pride” at the end shows how shallow its thinking is.
There were many skeptical opinions at the time. Now I have to agree. But there’s no denying that this is the most important work that concludes “Everything / Nothing.”
I wanted to try out Eurobeat. I played everything by hand except for the rhythm machine.
I’ll admit, this one is heavily influenced by David Bowie’s “Heroes,” and this is especially evident in the singing style.
These 10 songs make up “Everything / Nothing.” Because it ends in 43 minutes, I considered adding a few bonus tracks, but in the end I decided to limit it to the original 10 songs. This is to preserve the sense of speed that the arrangement of these 10 songs brings to mind, and it is that speed that brings out the image of One Summer.
I spent the whole summer vacation holed up at home, working on recording all day.
I forced myself to redo each part until I was satisfied, without compromising. The joy of achieving the arrangement I had imagined was priceless.
Yes, it was a lot of fun. This album is full of the joy of creating music. So even the songs with dark lyrics are somehow high-spirited. The tempo is too fast, or there are too many sounds, which ruins the mood of the songs. But even with those flaws, it’s an album that I’m personally fond of.
I have never seen music as a tool to decorate my appearance and become famous. That was the case when I recorded it, and it is the same now with this release. Music production is a solitary task of single-mindedly pursuing a vague image to solidify it. I wanted to leave a record of my summer experience at the age of 24. “Everything / Nothing” is an irreplaceable white paper of my youth.
鰯 (Sardine) 2024/06/24
