ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke to Japanese pop star LiSA about her new concert film Live is Smile Always -Lander-. LiSA discussed her approach to creating themes for anime, how she picked her tour setlist, and how special her show at the Tokyo Garden Theater was. It will play in select theaters on August 17, 18, and 21.
“Global J-pop sensation LiSA will transport fans to the final stop of her LiVE SMiLE ALWAYS -LANDER- tour at the Tokyo Garden Theater in an epic never-before-seen concert film. The tour featured LiSA’s sixth original album “LANDER,” which includes the haunting ballad “homura,” the theme song from Demon Slayer no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train. LiSA brings her unique ideas and feelings, high energy, and powerful vocals to the sold-out crowd, where she becomes one with each and every fan as their voices and souls unite together, amplified by the support of the band. Now North American audiences can experience LiSA’s never-changing charm and incredibly passionate performance in a cinematic event that will transcend theatergoers into a new future,” reads the synopsis.
Tyler Treese: This particular recording took place at the Tokyo Garden Theater, which just looks great in the film. What made that the perfect venue for LiSA LiVE is SMiLE ALWAYS -LANDER-?
LiSA (via translator Kanoa Sugimoto): Yes. So this was actually the last live show that they had in Tokyo. So they thought by featuring this live, it would show the last mark of their whole tour that they had. It also had the biggest capacity as well. So it was a nice cherry on top of their tour period, which also made it great for the film.
It’s a great performance and your popularity in North America just continues to grow year after year. This is getting a theatrical release over here, which is so exciting. How’s it been getting to see your art really resonate globally without having to change or sing in English?
It’s absolutely amazing. For me personally, I’ve never listened and tried to learn a whole song or a whole album in another language. So it means so much to me, and I’m absolutely so grateful for this opportunity and for all the love that I’ve been receiving.
One moment that stuck out in LiSA LiVE is SMiLE ALWAYS -LANDER- was late in the film when you go in the crowd, you’re singing with them, and you’re making memories for the fans that will last their entire lifetime. You can see the emotion afterward on you. How special is it to make that contact with them and to be surrounded by your fans physically?
So the Lander Tour in particular, it was the first tour that happened after the lockdown and after what happened with the pandemic. So I couldn’t see my fans or do any live performances all throughout that time. So all of this buildup kind of released, and to hear everybody sing along and the love and their voice, it gave me this new bound energy, and it made me level up in my career as well.
You have a lot of fun with your band during the concert. They all have their little moments to shine, which I really enjoyed. Pablo even steals a few scenes. How is it just giving them the spotlight throughout the performance?
So it was really important for me to portray this concert style with a live band. Um, because of the passion and the power through the instruments, through the live playing, um, it really resonates with the audience and the fans and also it, it gives that atmosphere when they’re doing their performance, that raw energy that comes out. So it was really important for them to get their spotlight in, in that sense, playing the instruments that they love.
One aspect I really enjoyed, there’s a lot of great outfit changes throughout the concert. Can you speak to that process?
My songs have so many different layers and expressions per lyric and per song. So it’s really important for me to portray that visually as well through my costumes and my costume changes. So to match the emotion that goes in behind every single song, it’s a very, very important aspect for me when I’m doing a concert. Also to spend as much time on stage is important as well. So instead of going fully off stage and doing a whole change to somehow incorporate the outfit change somewhat on stage is also something that I’m very specific about.
The director of this is Nobb Sueyoshi. How was it collaborating with him on this concert movie?
Nobb-san is very, very great at portraying sounds to visuals. So, when he was thinking of and planning of this movie in general, it all derived from the sound, the common denominator being the sound. So using the sound as a base and then building the visuals on top. It’s almost like when you’re watching the movie, you’re in concert live right there alongside with them. So that was a great art value that he brought to the movie, and it was great to see that myself.
Some of your music has been tied to some wonderful anime shows and movies in the past. It really creates a wonderful relationship because people love the anime, and then they also love your music. It is great to see them combined and complement each other so well. How does it feel to have your songs associated with all this other great art as well?
So when I make songs or write songs for an animation, I always start by reading and studying the original works. It’s very important for me to match, make my own sound with the energy of the animation or movie that I’m making it for. So being able to harmonize my art to the art of the anime is very important, and it all starts with reading and studying the original works.
For this concert movie, this is the first time a lot of fans will get to see songs from Lander performed. How’s it deciding what makes the cut for the tour since you have to balance that with some of your older songs as well?
When I write or plan out my songs, usually I start with the title. So this title Lander, I really wanted to channel the theme of outer space. So I wanted to incorporate old and new songs and have the audience and whoever is listening to lose a sense of time and just be present in this outer space atmosphere. So, that was the main concept of how I chose my songs and for Lander as well.
One aspect that has always impressed me about your music is that you’re not easily boxed into to one genre. Can you speak to your musical curiosity?
So I love all kinds of genres of music as well. I take inspiration from new songs, old songs, and especially movies, whether they’re Japanese, Western, Korean, French, I really love movies, and I love watching them. I love feeling inspired in a sense of, “Oh, I wanna make a song just for this part,” or feeling connected to the movie in a musical sense.
Demon Slayer has become a phenomenon all over the globe and we get to see two songs tied to it get performed in the movie. What’s been most rewarding about being associated with that series and getting to do two great songs paired with it?
Through Demon Slayer I’ve been able to touch the hearts of so many people and fans overseas as well. To see them sing along and feel excited when the song comes on and that the fact that it’s played within their favorite anime, it makes me happy as well. To see them happy makes me happy, and to see that it’s touched so many people also kind of comes full circle.
Also I’m super excited for the future as well and making people happy moving forward.
Thanks to LiSA for discussing her new concert movie. Tickets are now available.