Miku Saso "Don't Worry, Be happy photobook Okinawa & Korea" Release Commemorative One-Man Live Report
Saturday, April 19, 2025 @ Grapefruit Moon, Sangenjaya, Tokyo
"Since my mother passed away, there have been two places that have helped me: Okinawa and Korea. I wanted to have photos taken in those places and create a photobook that includes the song 'Don't worry, Be happy,' which I wrote after my mother died." (From the photobook)
Okinawa and Korea are the places that sparked Saso's desire to "recover from her mother's death." "I want to move forward by having photographers in these two places take my pictures and creating a work that pairs them with my songs." The photobook released this time is a work that encapsulates those feelings of hers and has become a kind of mark necessary for taking the next step.
In conjunction with this release, Saso held a live tour that included Okinawa, Hokkaido, and even Seoul. She had particularly strong feelings about the record release one-man show on April 19th. *Click here for the digest report of the entire tour.
Pouring feelings into what was lost and what has passed.
The stage is filled with silence as the lights go down. Following the support members, Saso stands in the center of the stage and strums her guitar while swaying her body. The acoustic guitar played by Saso herself blends with the crystal-clear electric guitar (Kei Takasugi) and the mellow, deep bass (Naoki Itaya).
The first song was "2:00 AM," an early track that describes the stinging state of mind of waiting for someone who was supposed to arrive late at night. It was followed by "Sunday is beautiful sky ~Kayowanai~." They are close, yet they cannot reach each other. That frustration becomes her voice. With a gaze that seems to be staring at something, she writes her songs while ruminating on her own past. It must have been a process of gently tucking away what was lost and what has passed onto the shelves of her heart.
In the first MC, Saso shows her first smile of the day. She talked briefly about the release of the photobook and introduced the support members. After finishing the MC, Saso gently closed her eyes, looked up at the ceiling, and strummed the intro to "Hello." As she sang looking straight ahead, Kei Takasugi's guitar effects roared.
Next, she performed "Aliens" and "Kimi wa 1000%" from the city pop covers she released in 2023. Saso put down the guitar she had been holding and sang while swaying to the programmed sound. There are few covers of these two songs by female artists, and they have become her own songs, captivating me every time I hear them.
If at least you could understand, that would be enough.
As Saso picked up her guitar again, a screen silently descended into the background of the stage at the same time. Projected on it were many of the snapshots taken for the photobook.
"This release was triggered by the loss of my mother, and I started making it because I wanted to stop being sad about her. I started the tour in Okinawa, which is also the location for the photobook, and I realized many things while singing. I wanted people who understand me, people who get me, to listen to it, and the words 'If at least you could understand, that would be enough' came to mind," Saso said, sharing her thoughts on this release.
From here on, the songs released this time continued. First was "Don't worry, Be happy," which is also the title of the work. It is a song where her feelings for her late mother are sublimated into "Don't worry." The call of "one, two, three" in the song is a signal to relax with a little bit of tension. Next was "Himitsu no Hanazono," introduced as "the key song that, if it hadn't existed, I might not have thought of the photobook project." It is a song that her friend, singer-songwriter nana, gave her as a gift, and it was also nana who took Saso out, saying "Let's do a live show in Okinawa!" right after she lost her mother. This song would go on to be cherished and sung at every subsequent tour.
A figure moving forward with the past on her back.
After "LETTER," a song that is a letter to her mother and herself, the show moved to another MC. Here, the episode of how the photobook was made was told. In producing the photobook, she said she made sure to convey the background of the work to everyone involved before starting the work. Initially, she planned to include the handwritten lyrics she wrote in her notebook as they were, but she decided to rewrite them into prose to convey her feelings.
Also, since Korea is a theme, this photobook is written in Korean as well, and she said they built it up while having it supervised for nuances that cannot be conveyed by literal translation.
Based on that episode, she sang the Korean version of "Boku no Koibito," titled "나의연인" (My Lover), a song Saso has cherished and sung since the beginning of her career. By translating the original lyrics, which had many ambiguous nuances, into Korean, she was able to change them into straightforward words, and the song has been reborn as one where you can feel her growth.
The photos of her from six months ago projected on the screen looked somewhat tear-swollen even when she was smiling, and the sorrowful expression sometimes made my heart ache. However, standing with dignity with her back to the screen where those photos were projected, this is Miku Saso as she is now, clearly different from the past. Listening to "나의연인" reborn with new lyrics, I couldn't help but feel that.
Now that this work has been created, she must have been able to firmly imprint the mark for moving on to the next step. Her gaze, singing while looking straight ahead, told the story.
With new interpretations and meanings, the songs are reborn.
The song chosen for the end of the main set was 'new sky,' which chronicles her feelings for her mother. It is a track included on the album 'She was a girl,' released when Saso made her comeback as a singer-songwriter. She explained that when this song was released, her mother was still healthy, and she wrote it with the hope that 'from now on, she would live freely for her own sake.' Saso remarked that it is a song she 'could never write now,' but that leaving it behind has made her feel 'glad that I am someone who creates songs.'
'new sky' has taken on a new interpretation and meaning. The lyrics contain the phrase 'live more like yourself,' and it felt as if Miku Saso, the singer-songwriter, was encouraging Miku Saso, the woman who lost her mother. It feels as though she is conveying her will to another version of herself, and there is a strength in it that makes the listener want to 'live' as well. 'Live'—it is only a three-character word, but it holds an incredibly vast meaning and power. Beyond this song, a new sky awaits her, and those who have heard this song.
When the song ended, she took a small breath and quietly left the stage.
From now on, I want to show everyone the future.
Amidst the applause for the encore, Saso returned to the stage at a trot, asking the venue with a smile, 'That went by so fast, how was it for everyone?'
'Since today was a record release one-man live, I wanted to show you all the future, so I wrote a new song and brought it with me. I have a conscientious personality, after all. I'm an artist you won't regret falling in love with (laughs).'
While joking in that way, she also revealed her true feelings about the production of this work. 'The photobook I released this time was a work that felt like I was writing about the very depths of my heart, so I chose old songs that felt like they would crumble if I touched them. A project like this, where I have to face my own feelings, is very exhausting. Especially this time, with my mother, I thought it was a good idea at first, but having to face it again was truly grueling.'
'When I think about writing new songs, I tend to think a lot about the 'meaning of life' or 'how one should live,' but I decided that stuff doesn't matter, so I wrote a song about 'living happily!'
The new song 'trip away' performed in this way is a lighthearted track that calls out to the listener, 'Let's go play,' and includes pleasant humming. It conveyed Saso's bright feelings as she looks toward the future.
And the song that closed out the day was 'Yokaze' (Night Wind), a ballad that represents the current Miku Saso. Her ennui-filled character and worldview soak into the hearts of the listeners, leaving a lingering afterglow.
The way she let out a small 'phew' and finished her time on stage conveyed a sense of accomplishment after finishing a one-man show filled with her emotions.
Although this one-man show was only the first half of the tour, it seems she reached a major turning point here. The subsequent tour includes her first visit to Kumamoto in two years, her first time in Nagasaki, and a return to her hometown of Kushiro for the first time in 17 years—a series of concerts in special places. However, with each performance, Saso seemed to stand on stage with a lighter heart. Having organized her emotions by creating this work, as she continues the tour, she will now become the one supporting others who carry the same pain.
The wounds and sorrows we carry may never disappear. Even so, the future will certainly continue. But by having songs there, one can support oneself and support those who listen. Beyond leaving this work behind, there must be songs born precisely because she overcame the pain. In her eyes as she takes her next step from here, she must already be seeing a new vision.
written by Backy☆OSAKA
2025.4.19 Sat.
Record Release Trio One-Man Live @ Sangenjaya Grapefruit Moon
1. 2:00 AM
2. Sunday is beautiful sky ~Kayowanai~
3. Hello
4. Aliens
5. Kimi wa 1000%
6. Don't worry, Be happy
7. Himitsu no Hanazono (Secret Garden)
8. LETTER
9. My Lover
10. new sky
en.1 trip away (New Song)
en.2 Yokaze (Night Wind)
bass : Naoki Itaya
guitar : Kei Takasugi
photo : Tatsuya Koizumi