MACO on Her Musical Evolution: The Three-Year Album Journey and the Feelings Behind "Yakusoku"
This interview was originally published in Japanese on thefirsttimes.jp. Translated by VK Chronicle.
MACO Interview: We Promised.
Singer-songwriter MACO, who has earned strong support from men and women in their 20s as a voice of the SNS generation, has released We Promised., her fifth major label album and first in three years since 交換日記. After transferring labels in 2019, she was actively releasing music throughout 2020, including seven new songs distributed over four consecutive months during the pandemic. However, 2021 saw her take a brief hiatus, releasing only the single “運命” in July of that year. But MACO discovered “a certain answer” that summer. What was that answer? We spoke with her just after she completed her new album, which carries the meaning “the promise we made before we were born.”
Music and I Are Inseparable
Q: This is your first full album in three years. What kind of time has these past three years been for you? With the label transfer and live shows becoming impossible due to COVID.
My mindset changed quite a bit. There was a lot going on, but ultimately I was able to reach this album and create ten songs that reflected my feelings well.
Q: What do you mean by your mindset changing?
There was a period where I wondered if I should keep singing, or if I wanted to try doing something different. During these three years without releasing an album, it was like taking a test with myself. But in the end, I realized this “promise to myself” was it. My feelings solidified at the end of last summer.
Q: Is that answer your resolve and determination to keep singing?
Listening through the album, I got the impression that you’ve married music itself. laughs I’d be happy if you felt that way. I realized that music and I are inseparable, like we’re always holding hands. Last year, I was supported and saved not just by music I liked, but by genres completely different from my own. That made me restless. When I asked myself, “What does MACO want to do?”—I realized that MACO can’t weave words unless I put them into songs and sing. Music is essential.
Q: I’d say that feeling is most reflected in the opening tracks “Promised.” and “愛.” Right?
Yes. HACBI composed “Promised.” I’d been warming up to this song—it felt perfect for the album, like a key piece. It starts in my low register and modulates dramatically high. I think you can hear everything about MACO in this song. HACBI is such a wonderful person, and it had been a while, so we reminisced while breathing new life into the song in the studio. Working together again, HACBI really brought out the best in me.
Q: It’s become a love ballad synonymous with MACO. The “I” who decided to live again pledges to give everything to “you,” singing “until my dying day / let’s be together.” It sounds less like romance and more like family, holding hands.
Exactly. The lyrics were rewritten with my current mindset and refined overall. I wrote it while remembering that late summer last year, and honestly, I felt like I had nothing left to lose and nothing to fear.
Q: It even sounds like a wedding song, or even a proposal song to music itself. What meaning did you put into the title “Promised.”?
It’s a promise I made with myself before being born, and it’s also a promise with someone irreplaceable. A promise I’ll absolutely keep forever. There are people who feel like they’ve known forever at first meeting, like “Why are we so close already?” I think that’s because we promised long ago, “Let’s meet again somewhere.” So this “promise” carries more meaning from the past than the future.
Q: What about your promise to yourself?
It’s like a mission. Maybe I couldn’t abandon music because it’s a promise to myself—an unbreakable promise. Like a promise with my soul. I realized that ignoring it would make me sad.
Q: The album title has “We” in it.
Not just my romance or love. I thought, “It’s us.” With all the fans listening to MACO’s songs, it means “we promised this, didn’t we?” That’s why it’s We Promised.
It’s Thanks to Everyone That I Realized This
Q: “愛” is directed at your fans. It’s not one-on-one romance; “you” appears in different ways.
Right. It’s about gratitude to people who supported me even when we couldn’t meet. Fans tell me, “I get energy and courage from your songs,” but for me, your existence is what supports me. I remember all the eyes watching me at lives. The lyric “Finally found it / this place to belong” is, for me, the place where I make music. The place where I could be active was already there, but I had lost it myself. Being able to find it again—I’m grateful that everyone helped me realize that.
Q: Was “愛” an emotion born from gratitude?
Ultimately, I can’t create a song without love. It’s my thanks to countless people who supported MACO, but I wanted to say, “Really, thank you so much. I love you.” laughs
Q: What kind of presence have they become?
Like family who say “It’s okay” when I’m weak, like a lover, like a best friend. For my fans, sometimes I feel like an older sister to them, like their mother or father.
Q: Your relationship with fans has changed too. You used to say you wanted to be someone who calmed listeners’ hearts, but now it feels much closer.
Yes, thankfully. I think we’ve grown together. Also, “愛” is to music too. Earlier you said I married music, but music feels like a lover to me. We distanced ourselves once, but we got back together. laughs
I Was Looking for Sounds I’d Never Sung Before
Q: “愛” is a love song you want to clap along to, but the album also challenges different genres, right?
Right. With “Promised.,” “愛,” and “End Love?” as the foundation, I used those three songs as my starting point. Since I finally got mentally stable enough to sing, I wanted to play with different songs and hear my voice in various styles. With my current team, we explored sounds I hadn’t really sung before. I was surprised—maybe I actually like this stuff! Songs like “lonely” and “運命共同体” let me play a lot with words. Before, I’d think, “Is this okay?” but now I think, why not say it?
Q: The lyrics to “lonely” were surprising.
Before that, can I ask about “End Love?”? That’s another kind of promise, right?**
It is. But the love between two people couldn’t contain it, so they’ll stay as boyfriend and girlfriend forever. But being human, you can’t fully say “End Love”—there’s a question mark. Like, “It ended, right?”
Q: Yet the lyrics say “It was good it was unrequited love,” kind of bravely. But really, you loved them a lot.
Yeah, but I understood somewhere that it wouldn’t go further. Even joking around and being silly, the person you long for forever—I want MACO to be like “Promised.” But with “End Love?,” if we joke around, we can only go in that direction. I like them as a person, but it won’t come true.
Q: That makes it even more heartbreaking.
It’s such a sad song. While writing it, a friend told me about her heartbreak. That made my imagination expand, so I wrote some lyrics. Using someone else’s story for a song—that’s been since “この世界中で,” I think. Everyone’s dealing with heartbreak and unrequited love where we can’t see. I don’t have many friends, so this might sound inconsiderate, but I was so happy they told me. That sadness became the lyrics.
I Felt Possessed Writing This Song
Q: And “lonely”—I was shocked at the phrase “クソみたいな恋” (shitty love).
It just came out. Listening to the track, my rap love showed and I wanted to rhyme. Before creating the main character, I actually surveyed fans on Instagram about what they do after heartbreak—binge eating, drinking, or hanging out with friends. Most said those things. Everyone’s the same, I thought. I included it in the lyrics, and everyone drinks Strong Zero even though it’s bad for you. laughs From there, the image of the main character floated up, and I felt possessed writing this song.
Q: What kind of girl was she?
A black-haired girl who drinks Strong Zero through a straw like juice. I see girls like that on Twitter a lot. I was really interested.
Q: Soundwise it’s 90s R&B over a hip-hop beat.
It feels good, right? I was really particular about the mix too. Just listening, the lyrics and visuals come to you. I wrote these lyrics in bed during the day in my pajamas, and I thought, “If it’s this vibe, saying ‘shitty love ended’ is fine.” My team agreed. Also, it captures the current era where people take sweets photos and post them just for the sake of posting—presented ironically.
Q: Many women probably relate to it. Like searching “how to forget bad things.”
When you’re in crisis, you seek rescue and search for everything. You’re drinking, but really you’re alone facing your phone searching. I wanted to show that duality.
Q: “運命共同体” is a new challenge too. It’s boogie funk.
I like this kind of song. It’s like the prequel to “Promised.” Two people make one entity. We’re together but there’s no awkwardness. Maybe we were one life form. It’s such a low-IQ kind of love. laughs Nothing’s embarrassing anymore. I’m not trapped by the image of a “good woman” anymore. It feels a bit “stupid,” but if I can be honest with myself, that’s better, right? So when I see people kissing at train stations, I don’t think anything. It’s fine they have their own world. There’s no rules. You become your own world and kiss in crowds. Because I met someone where I don’t feel disgust at the word “possessive,” it became these silly-ish lyrics.
Q: You tell each other “I love you” before sleep and after waking, and you’re planning to get in the same coffin. laughs
laughs Maybe it sounds weird at first—”What’s that? That’s rare”—but actually, I think it’s relatable. And it’s not because you just started dating. These two probably, years later, split one ice cream, and that’s not embarrassing at all. It’s beautiful, so I kept it in the lyrics.
I Was Asked for a Song About Friends
Q: With the new track “春一番,” I was reminded of a hometown friend’s farewell.
My team said, “MACO’s love songs are enough—we want a song to a friend.” laughs I worked hard creating different ones. I don’t really like spring; autumn’s my favorite, so while the sound is refreshing, the lyrics are bittersweet.
Q: The AbemaTV drama 僕だけが17歳の世界で insertion song “桜の木の下” is also included.
That’s a spring song too. It was written for the drama—a fantasy where the lover vanishes by the time cherry blossoms fall. A song where you dwell on feelings under the cherry tree.
Like Tying the Album with a String
Q: And closing the album, the new track “これは君への最初のラブレター” (This Is My First Love Letter to You) has expressions of love and gratitude: “Thank you for being born.”
SUNNY BOY’s track pulled out feelings buried deep in MACO. This song is actually my favorite on the album. It’s like a warm love letter that ties up the We Promised. album with string.
Q: What feelings went into this love letter?
Two people who spent decades in different places, until we met. “Since we couldn’t meet for so long, let’s be together for decades to come”—that’s the feeling. It’s the song where I could relax my shoulders most, and someday I want to sing it with everyone at a live.
This Album Is a New Beginning
Q: With “first” in the title, it feels like a new chapter is beginning from here.
Right. During production, my body kept remembering “Oh yeah, that’s how it was.” There was a gap, so it was really hard, and I remembered how much labor it takes. But when production finished, I felt a little sad. I really feel like this album is a new beginning for me.
INTERVIEW & TEXT BY Atsuo Nagahori
PHOTO BY Nobuyuki Seki
Release Information
2022.04.06 ON SALE
ALBUM We Promised.
Limited Edition / Standard Edition
Profile
MACO (born May 10, 1991, Hakodate, Hokkaido) is a singer-songwriter who made her major label debut in 2014. Her 1st album FIRST KISS reached #1 on Recochoku and top 5 on the Oricon weekly chart, and her YouTube view count surpassed 100 million views faster than any Japanese artist, gaining attention on SNS. In 2019, she announced her move to Sony Music. In 2020, AbemaTV drama 僕だけが17歳の世界で featured an exceptional double insertion of her cover of Lemino Lemon’s classic “3月9日” and the new song “桜の木の下.” From September 2020, she released new songs monthly for four consecutive months and conducted the online live tour Endless Love Tour over approximately nine months. On April 6, 2022, she released We Promised., her first album in three years.
MACO OFFICIAL SITE
https://www.macoinfo.net/