[JO1] Arne 220519

https://arne.media/news/282819/

Asking everything of which everyone is curious off! An exclusive interview with JO1’s Kawashiri Ren

JO1 is an eleven member global boy group that is not active just as music artists but in various other fields such as radio or variety shows.

This year, all members each star in one episode of a drama streamed via Amazon Prime Video and their documentary movie was released in cinemas. No one knows where their energy stops.

To celebrate the release of their second album “KIZUNA” on 25 May, we had an interview with Kawashiri Ren, who comes from the prefecture Fukuoka!

Release of the 2nd album “KIZUNA”!

The 2nd album KIZUNA features 7 new songs including the title track “With Us”.

Under the theme of “The bond with our friends realised at the end of the road of overcoming various hardships and challenges” the album includes the message of “The cherished bond with you by my side. Let’s enjoy this shining moment together.”

Interview with Kawashiri Ren who hails from the prefecture Fukuoka!

Arne also interviewed Kawashiri Ren-san before his debut in March 2020 and at the time of the release of JO1’s second single “STARGAZER” in August 2020.

Also this time, we asked him everything from what he is up to recently, about the 2nd album and what JAM wanted to know!

Now that you have reached the third year after debuting, is there anything that changed like the relationship with the member or your state of mind?
I got along with the members from the start, but we are even closer. Recently, I got into the same game as other members and we played until late at night while chatting via voice chat. Save for my sleeping time, I’m always doing something with someone.
My state of mind has not changed, but I’m happy to have fancy hair again (laughs).

For the 2nd album your hair colour is purple, but what was your favourite hair colour so far?
I liked the whitish silver that I had from the audition to the first three releases. Basically, I like light hair colours.

Is there a hair colour you would like to try?
Neon Green! I just want to have an incomprehensible hair colour (laughs)

Is there a colour you want the other members to try? This time Shion has pink hair, but there is always a member with pink hair. Hence, I want to see a member who did not have it yet try it. I feel it will go around in the group, so maybe one day… It will be my turn.

Following the 2nd album title “KIZUNA”, what made you feel the “bond” with the members?
When I was walking while dancing around a little, I forgot that I wore a hat and habitually brushed up my hair, which caused my hat to bounce off. But Ruki caught it in a snap. We were both surprised of each other, but this is our “bond”.

What is your “Oshi song” (favourite song) among the featured tracks of the album?
It changes on a daily basis, but today it might be “Algorithm”.

In the last interview you said that you were in charge of the choreography for the song “My Friends”, but did you do another choreography for the songs on this album?
I did not do any choreographies, but I did the treatment (uniforming the varied movements) for the songs including the title track “With Us”. Thankfully, we are quite busy and thus can’t take a lot of practice time, but nevertheless we concentrate and quickly align (the dancing). All members have honed their skills, so we practise while helping each other.
We can correct things that are easily visible such as the height of the hands or the direction of the body by talking with each other at an early stage, but aligning the feeling of the movements or the nuance is difficult. Thus, I keep in mind to match it with an image such as “move with a bit of difficulty as if you were in water” or “here the image is of a dry sound of something being hit“ and do the treatment.

He also answered the questions from JAM!

From here on, we asked this and that focusing on questions we collected from JAM.

What is something you look forward to when you come home to Fukuoka?
Eating dishes my mother made and meeting my brothers. I look forward to family time.

What is your favourite dish your mother makes?
Hamburger!

What do you want to do with the members together in Fukuoka?
I want to go and eat motsunabe with everyone. Also, I haven’t been able to go to Mucchan Manjuu, so that is another place to go.

If you could change places into another member for a day, who would you choose? What would you do?
I would change places with Sho-kun and have a one day muscle training life! I want to try holding weights I cannot lift now.

Lastly, his future goals!

What is your goal for the group?
Last year, we were able to hold live performances with an audience, but because of the Corona situation we had to limit it to one venue (Tokyo) only which was frustrating after all. So just as originally planned, we hope to have concerts in different regions so that all JAM who support us from afar can meet us.

And your personal goal?
Becoming the representative of Fukuoka! I work hard both as (a member of) JO1 and as Kawashiri Ren so that people will say “Speaking of someone coming from Fukuoka, Ren-kun is that, right?”

As residents of the prefecture Fukuoka, we look forward to the day Kawashiri Ren-san becomes the representative of Fukuoka. We cannot take our eyes off his further activities in the future.

[JO1] K-POP Monster 220518

https://www.kpopmonster.jp/?p=110263?p=110263
(Ren related parts only)

The pillars of the performances

Exactly because there are stable abilities, they can make the most of their ambitions and individuality. Serene performances are necessary to convey one’s passion. Let’s pay attention to the geniuses with an outstanding stability who support the talented idols JO1.

Kawashiri Ren - the pillar of dancing

Kawashiri Ren is the dance leader of JO1. He plays a huge role in the group’s performances to the point that it's not an exaggeration to say that he controls those.

After all, if he comes into the center, the whole performance will become tight. In a good way, he resets the performance from the lingering afterglow that explosions of individuality of the other members had left. When Kawashiri dances in the center, the original image of the song and its beauty come alive to the fullest. In this sense, you could say that Kawashiri is the guardian who protects JO1’s “standard”.

“Walk It Like I Talk It” starts with a formation in which Kawashiri is in the center and when you see this scene, your anticipation “that an amazing performance starts now” rises on the spot. This is because his sharp dancing foreshadows the high quality of the whole group's performance. Kawashiri’s performance attracts the viewers in an instant.

Furthermore, he also showcased his activities as one of the vocalist members. After the debut, Kawashiri is one member who made rapid growth with his singing. Impressive at this live show was his part in the chorus of “Algorithm”. This part has a quite high key, he sings it magnificently while dancing intensively. Also in other songs, Kawashiri’s overall vocal stability increased and you can listen to him with ease.

[JO1] NUMÉRO 220512

https://numero.jp/interview310/p5

Interview with JO1’s Ohira Shosei - “11 people with strong individualities came together and pursue our very own expressions”

JO1 will release their 2nd album “KIZUNA”. The theme is the bonds you form with your friends after overcoming various hardships and challenges together. Along with the title track “With Us” there are 7 new songs, and a lot of songs from the 3rd to 5th single are also featured. Hence, we asked the member Ohira Shosei to explain the album. Furthermore, he reveals secret stories of the members, his thoughts on the 3rd year of the group and how he spends his private life!

I want you to see a JO1 that moves forward more aggressively

Please tell us more about the 2nd album “KIZUNA”.
The album contains a wide range of songs, such as mature songs and refreshing songs that we can express in our third year. In the album, there are songs in which we are never calming down, instead we go on and on more aggressively, and I think you can see a lot of different sides from us.

Is there a song you like?
It‘s “Walk It Like I Talk It”. There are also provocative lyrics such as “Go for it” which JO1 never had before. There are the lyrics “the stake that is pierced through / no one could hit it / they were looking up”, and we want to become “the stake that is pierced through” and we still have the desire to keep on going greedily.

What did you challenge in regard to rapping and singing this time?
In “Algorithm” I’m using a “shouting voice” and there is also a part when I’m screaming. I did that at a live concert before, but I hope you will pay attention to this.

What kind of feeling is included in the album for you?
The title is “KIZUNA” this time and it is an album that was prepared and created by all 11 members together including Sukai. Also, there is the gratitude of two years for JAM.

Speaking of JAM, last year in November you held your first live performance with an audience 2021 JO1 LIVE “OPEN THE DOOR”. It was the first time you met them face to face since your first fan meetings in January 2020.
I was really happy to be finally able to meet them. After two years of not being able to meet JAM, we have been preparing to show them the best possible performance possible when the time to meet has come. On these days, I was worried that such a wide venue would not be filled, but JAM sold it out. It was a bit hard to believe, but everyone was really there!

Also during the audition program, you said that you aim to become a performer because you enjoyed dancing in front of an audience.
During these two years, we gathered experience through music programs and live streams and even when there was no audience in front of us we did our best with the determination to turn the staff into our fans. But after all, the motivation is completely different when people are watching you. At “OPEN THE DOOR I truly felt that I had returned to the stage I loved. We still could not hear them or see their expressions because of the masks, yet the feelings of JAM reached us anyway. If the situation has become even better, I want to have even more concerts and I want to go and meet JAM worldwide.

The comments from overseas on YouTube and SNS are increasing, right?
I’m really happy that also during the online talk sessions foreign JAM try their best to talk in Japanese. We also have to work harder on studying foreign languages. I focus on studying Chinese, but the pronunciation is so difficult. I usually listen to Chinese HipHop and try my best to get a bit better.

Now in the third year, new challenges keep coming

JO1 is in their third year, and what is the current state of the group?
We have a bit more composure now and when we appear on a TV program, we know our positions such as who fools around and who recalls them, to make it funny. I’m in charge of being teased, so everyone teases me a lot.

So this is your “role”?
This is right. It is my role.

At “JO1’s All Night Nippon” Shiroiwa Ruki-san is the main personality with other members appearing every week and an enjoyable and chatting atmosphere is conveyed.
In the first year, there was surely a sense of us being honor students, but by living together our vibe gradually became the one of an all boys school.

Together with the same aged members Kimata Syoya-san, Kinjo Sukai-san and Tsurubo Shion-san you are called “S4”, right?
We simply get along. Both as S4 and as JO1 we are only complete if Sukai is there, so it feels like we are finally back together.

JO1 continues to take up new challenges in their 3rd year and in March you released “YOLO-konde” a collaboration song with Stray Kids-san. How do you feel about handling the make-up of the performance?
The concept had been “Circus” this time, so because there were 11 of us I thought of various make-ups such as the motif of Pierrots, rough or delicate images. I made samples for everyone and explained these to them. It was difficult but fun.

When you thought of the make up, what did you use as a reference?
It was the make up used in K-POP. Comebacks are made with new visuals fitting to the concept each time, so I diligently checked them. I always refer to Stray Kids-san in this regard and BIGBANG-san’s first comeback in 4 years was really cool, too. Because of the influence of my mom, I liked BIGBANG-san for a long time and I went to their lives often in the past.

Speaking of challenges, you experienced acting in JO1’s first drama “Short Program” and in the anime “Gunjou no Fanfare” you appear as a voice actor.
Getting into a role brings a different joy than when I express myself in JO1. Shinjo Kohei who I played in “Short Program” had something I could relate to, something different and gave me a new perspective on things. It is my second time as a voice actor and working with my voice is also fun. I like anime so much that I can say that when I am at home, I mostly watch anime. There are a lot of members who also like it.

Like Tsurubo-san, right? If you had to name one work of your life, what would it be?
Tsurubo is an anime-otaku and he likes anime that are a bit old, but I often watch more recent ones. If I had to choose one, I would say “To Aru Kagaku no Railgun”.

Other than anime, how do you enjoy your free time?
I often draw. I do it in a self taught manner, but when I get to the canvas it is the same feeling as if I immerse myself into cooking, and it’s really refreshing that I don’t even notice that it became late at night. I have a few pictures displayed in my room, but I just do it for myself so I don’t show them to anyone. Sometimes I draw on my bag, too, and actually use it. Once I can go freely abroad, I want to travel around European art museums and experience art there.

11 completely different individualities came together and create JO1’s new brilliance

What is something you want to challenge as a group or personally?
As a group it’s having a lot of concerts and meeting all JAM inside and outside of Japan. Letting more people know about us. Personally, this year Junki-kun appears on “Hangul! Navi” and I would like to do something similar in regard to Chinese.

And performances?
I have been dancing for a long time, but I’m still working hard to master what fits me and how to look better through trial and error. I still have a long way to go in regard to singing, so I’m learning it through listening and adopting what I consider good.

Are you the artisan type of person?
I personally think I am the passionate type. But the vocal teacher told me “I thought you might be the same passionate and excited type as Junki, but you are rather the logically thinking type like Ren-kun.” But Ren-kun’s and my personality are so different that it’s funny (laughs).

In the video in which you are dancing with the dancer and choreographer ReiNa-san, you can feel the individual dance styles of everyone.
That’s right. For example, my one is the new style hiphop, Ren-kun always had a neat style and Mame-chan dances in a 90s style. All JO1 members have different personalities and live our lives thinking that individuality is vital, so it’s amazing that we can match our dancing together just like this now. We worked hard on this.

11 individualities come together and create JO1’s very own colour. What are your future goals?
Last year, we acquired the skills to match the formation and angles, so this year’s performance will be surely better if we can use both the parts where everyone is uniformed and the solo parts where we express our individuality. Personally, in order to bring out my own colour more, I would like to emphasise more on my qualities. I hope to make the most of my strengths like cosmetics and Chinese and display my presence in the group, too. First of all, I want to give back to JAM who have always supported us while getting more people to know about us and we also hope to master singing, dancing and performing.

[JO1] Theatre Academy 220512

https://www.theatre.co.jp/news/9993

When you sing and dance at the same time, how do you keep your facial impression in check?
Ren: I think if you practise while adding sound effects to your movements in your mind, it will go into your body on the spot. But we are still training our facial expressions… If you hold it in your stomach, it’s hard to bring a shift to your face, so if you dance with an image in mind, you will be able to make good facial expressions.
Issei: I also would like to know a trick to learn this (laughs) I keep in mind to practise over and over, to diligently watch the person teaching us and absorb everything from there.

Please tell us about your routine every day.
Junki: I drink warm water every day after waking up in the morning. Try it because after drinking your body will feel nice and warm and you will have a good start into the day. Also, I make sure to stretch before sleeping. When you do from your age on, you will surely be healthy and your body will grow quickly.
Shion: I wake up depending on the schedule. When there are continuous shootings, I soak in the bath so that I will not look bloated. And when you take a bath, you should also do some stretches.

[JO1] anan 220601

CLOSE UP
Ohira Shosei (JO1)
Endless dreams and a questioning mind.

An appearance for Ohira Shosei
from JO1 who have just released
their 2ND ALBUM ‘KIZUNA’!
We asked him about his feelings towards expressing oneself
and his continuously expanding dreams.

My dream was “to become an artist who can express everything”.

Interview
Ohira Shosei took part in the shooting by changing his expressions and aura all of sudden depending on the costume he was wearing. There was no confused expression like the one he showed during the ‘anan’ shooting on the day after he was selected as a member of JO1 and he matured into a true pro artist in the two and a half years.

“Thank you very much for watching over us since the debut. Thanks to you we were able to have various experiences. I felt embarrassed about barely posing and I started to learn. I memorised poses by watching pictures of various people, watched the shootings of the other members and copied what I liked. This time, I expressed myself as I turned into a different person depending on the costume. I guess I like the word ‘expression’. My long dream is to become an artist who can express everything.”

During his high school years Ohira-san began to aspire to become an artist. After watching a DVD of Sandaime J Soul Brothers, he thought ‘I also want to dance!’ and started going to a dance school.

“I started in the beginner’s class, but immediately advanced and I danced for about 6 hours each day both in the intermediate and advanced level. The environment was also good and I guess I was fast in absorbing the things. Two years after watching their live performance, I was dancing in the back for Sandaime-san. I believe that if you take action you can make all your wishes come true, but on this day I felt it for real. I believe because I made this experience, I was surely able to debut.”

Ohira-san has been a super positive kid since his childhood. His family principle was ‘wanting to show him a lot of things while he was young’ and from an early age he was able to have various experiences such as going to concerts or travelling abroad.

“I think going to study dancing in America during my high school years is connected to the present. I stayed alone in North Hollywood for a month, but generally speaking I enjoyed that people were talking to me just because we were riding the same elevator or someone was performing in the train. Moreover, food that I thought of as ‘what’s that?’ was delicious. I feel that it is indeed true that it is better to see a lot of things in the world while you are young. It is absolutely better to know than not to know. Even if you fail, you will learn something from it.”

Thanks to him doing a lot of sightseeing by riding trains or buses alone, he also became able to speak English.

“Back then I was able to speak English, but I do not use it nowadays so I keep on forgetting it… Right now, Junki-kun appears on ‘Hangul! Navi’ on NHK E, doesn’t he? I like Chinese and I like studying languages so I am studying Chinese, so one day I could also… those high ambitions have budded. I believe that if you just voice your dreams, they will come true, so I tell you those (laughs).”

In the two and a half years since JO1’s formation, the period of being unable to be as active as expected due to the Corona pandemic was longer than the one of standing in front of the fans. However, he reflects back on it that such a time was not completely bad.

“In the time we were unable to meet JAM, we diligently prepared and JAM also did their best at work for example in order to meet us so I believe it was a really romantic period in some meaning. Exactly that’s why, I said ‘We all worked hard, didn’t we!’ when we were finally able to meet, which also moved me deeply.”

In this period he kept on challenging various things such as a documentary movie, a drama or the job of a voice actor. During the filming of the movie he also directly asked the director Inagaki Tetsuro to teach him video editing.

“Together with Syoya I am appearing as a voice actor in ‘Gunjou no Fanfare’ which is currently airing. Because I was together with Syoya, the recording had been a lot of fun. The drama was the same, but I felt that I expanded my range of expressions through experiencing acting. By completely turning into another person I was able to see various perspectives, so I thought ‘This person is feeling like this?’… I want to learn video editing simply because I always liked cameras (laughs). Moreover, I like to preserve memories. I want to leave happy moments on video and I would be even happier if JAM enjoyed these, too.”

The new album ‘KIZUNA’ is full of the growth of JO1 running from their debut to now.

“Especially ‘Algorithm’ is a song in which you can feel our growth as it incorporates a technique we did not know in the past. From now on I want to make all JAM happy by touring through Japan and the world. Personally, I want to train my abs and be on the cover of ‘anan’!

Ohira Shosei, born 2000.4.13 and from the prefecture Kyoto. His special ability is his dancing that can reveal cuteness, strength and gracefulness.
“Recently, I got caught by JO1’s three musketeers of shyness, Mame-chan, Takumi-kun and Ruki-kun, as they said ‘Shosei isn’t shy!’ (laughs).”

I believe that if I just voice them all my wishes will come true.