[Regret] #12 I wish I had kept following Perfume more

I think it's been about 16 or 17 years since I became a Perfume fan.
It was right around the time 'Polyrhythm' came out and they exploded with 'GAME'.
I hadn't heard the term 'techno-pop' back then, but combined with my love for games, I became captivated by those bleep-bloop sounds.
And I was completely won over by the gap between their mechanical sound and their down-to-earth, full-blown Hiroshima dialect when they talked.
For some reason, my school teacher had the first-press limited edition of 'GAME', so I borrowed it and listened to it non-stop.

I also spent a lot of time watching their music videos on YouTube and Nico Nico Douga (regardless of whether it was right or wrong, I wonder if anyone still remembers a fan-made documentary-style video called 'Michinatsu Tairiku').
Literally, there wasn't a day for a while that I didn't listen to them.

However, while I continued to keep '⊿' on heavy rotation, my interest cooled a bit around 'JPN', and I only really knew the tie-in songs from 'LEVEL3' and 'COSMIC EXPLORER'.
The reason was that their activities grew in scale and scope due to their international expansion, and I couldn't keep up anymore.
It was like a feeling that they had become distant.
Or perhaps the feeling of seeing hidden gems known only to those in the know becoming famous.
To use an analogy, it might be close to that feeling of suddenly cooling off on an indie band you like after they make their major debut.

But then, several years later, Perfume appeared in my dream.
When I casually looked them up, thinking, 'Come to think of it, what are they doing now?', it happened to be the timing for the release of an album called 'Future Pop'.
I feel like it was either the day before the official release or the release day itself.
I felt something like fate, went to a CD shop by train, and bought the album.

My impression after listening to 'Future Pop' was,'They've evolved this much!?'.
It was a barrage of songs that incorporated elements of future bass and dubstep, and while they didn't have a traditional chorus, they somehow made you want to groove.
I still remember being shocked, thinking, 'There were still ways of expression like this,' and in fact, the first concert I ever went to was the 'Future Pop' album tour.
I wasn't in the fan club when I applied for tickets, but after applying through the general lottery, I joined the fan club as a way to pray, 'Please let me win the tickets!'
And I won successfully, seeing the real three of them for the first time in about 10 years since becoming a fan.

The concert was, of course, amazing, and I cried my eyes out.
It also became the trigger for me to vow, 'I will continue to follow you as a fan for the rest of my life!'

But at the same time, a regret welled up, thinking, 'I wish I had kept following them all this time.'

Since then, I've listened to their past albums as if to make up for the blank time I hadn't followed them.
I've also been to every concert I could, including nearby album tours, fan club-only tours, and the Reframe tour.
But the regret never completely disappeared.

The reason is that when I describe Perfume in one phrase, I try to use'an artist who always stays at the cutting edge'.
Perfume constantly incorporates new expressions in both their songs and performances, repeats them, and brilliantly dyes them in Perfume's colors.
And before you know it, they have established performances where you think, 'That's a very Perfume-like expression' or 'Only Perfume could do this.'
Because they pull it off so effortlessly, ironically, despite using the latest technology, they fall into a phenomenon where the true greatness doesn't fully get across.
But when you watch the performance and think, 'That's amazing,' and look it up later, you find out that actually, incredible technology was used, and adjustments were being made right up until the very last minute before the show.

For example, '5G', which has become widespread in the last few years.
They performed a show where A-chan sang and danced in Tokyo, Kashiyuka in London, and Nocchi in New York simultaneously, and by synthesizing it in real-time, it looked as if the three of them were dancing on one stage.
The performance was a huge success, butthat was an event in 2017.
They were already incorporating technology that is now part of our daily lives about eight years ago.

Recently, there is also a pavilion at the Osaka-Kansai Expo where you can experience a Perfume performance.

Even though the music industry lately has particularly intense trends that come and go, it is not a metaphor or an exaggeration, but literally'an artist who always stays at the cutting edge'.

That is precisely why, returning to the previous point, the regret of 'I wish I had kept following them all this time' cannot be wiped away.
I wish I had experienced Perfume using the latest technology of the time in real-time more.
Since they are going into cold sleep (hiatus) within the year, such regrets are growing every day.

Well, but now I have no choice but to think about it the other way around.
By the time Perfume wakes up from cold sleep, even more incredible technology might have been born.
I'm sure they will bring that with them and instantly establish their position at the cutting edge once again.
Wishing for such a rebooted world, I will continue to wait for the moment when the hands of the clock that stopped one day start moving again.

Thank you for reading until the end.
Thank you for your hard work this week as well.