Traveling brings salvation and hope. KOM_I talks about what you can only get from traveling

You can also shop at the market and eat mysterious foods from the food stalls.

KOM_I says that since she was a baby, a time when she doesn't have any memories, she has traveled abroad many times with her parents, who love to travel. She recalls that the first time she has a clear memory is when she was about six years old.

"We rented a house on the Hawaiian island of Maui and stayed there as a family for about two months. I think my parents wanted me to get used to speaking English. I went to summer school, but I was shy and couldn't fit in with people. Everyone was kind to me, but I closed myself off. I did things like puzzles in the principal's room every day, which I found more fun. There was also a boy who was one year younger than me, and he would make funny faces and quickly became popular with the group, even though we didn't speak the same language. Even now, when I smell the damp earth after a rain, I'm reminded of the humid heat of Maui.

After that, even after returning to kindergarten in Japan, I remember being surprised at myself because I would cry whenever I was in a group. As an adult, I became more open-minded, but if I were a parent, I would have been worried about my child's self-paced behavior (laughs)."

Although she had traveled to many other countries, to be honest, she said, "It wasn't very interesting." For her parents' generation, overseas travel was centered on resorts where they would book a hotel. KOM_I wanted to travel with a more "real-life feel." Her wish came true when she was in her second year of high school.

"I went on a trip around the world by myself. I set off from Osanbashi Pier in Yokohama, went to Vietnam, Singapore, the Seychelles, Kenya, and Egypt. I couldn't take any more days off from high school, so I went from Port Said in Egypt to Cairo and came back by plane. So it wasn't a full trip around the world, but about one-third of it, but I was able to see many different countries from rural port towns that you don't usually get to visit on regular trips.

When I was in my third year of high school, I went to Cuba with some friends for three weeks. Cuba is a country with a completely different ideology from Japan. I wanted to know what the situation was like there, so I took photos and interviewed 100 people of my generation there.

In Cuba, he ate mangoes he bought at the market and mysterious street foods that the guidebook said "never eat." He did this because he had no money, but he says that it suited him better than a trip where you stay in a luxury hotel and eat at restaurants where tourists gather, because "it felt like I was experiencing a life rooted in the land."

Get rid of your preconceptions with "farm stay"

The travel style that KOM_I would like to recommend is "farm stay," where you help with farm work at the place you are staying. She has already had the experience of farming in several places in Japan, including a month-long farm experience at a farm in Ibaraki, and she hopes to participate in this experience overseas someday.

"Obtaining food is a very fundamental part of life, but it requires a lot of effort. Usually, we use money to get it, but when I realized there are other ways to get it, I felt relieved.

After that, even if I work in a job unrelated to agriculture, I feel like I've been able to break away from the idea that "I can't live without making money." The friendships that are fostered through sharing labor and meals are also great. When I did a farm stay, there were Russians participating and they cooked Russian food, which is buckwheat cooked like rice. All the Japanese people liked it and we often ate it together. In that way, cultures can be exchanged naturally.

I think it was good to learn about the various textures, colors, smells and textures in nature, and that vegetables that have just emerged from the soil are fresh and lifelike."

Inspired by local festivals for music production

Although they apparently didn't have much time to travel when they first began their music career, it seems that Wednesday Campanella's activities have been greatly influenced by travel, with their 2015 album "Zipangu" centering around traveling on the Eurasian continent, the music video for "Melos" released in 2017 being shot in Mongolia, and their 2019 digital EP (mini-album) "YAKUSHIMA TREASURE" being produced in collaboration with Yakushima.

This may be due to the fact that in recent years she has had the opportunity to travel abroad to further her artistic endeavors. "By traveling, I feel like I've finally been able to see what it is that I want to express," KOM_I says.

"Festivals around the world have had a huge influence on my music and expression. Every festival is shocking. The ceremonies held only at small temples are powerful, but the one that left the biggest impression on me was the total solar eclipse festival "Oregon Eclipse" that I went to about three years ago. It's a particularly memorable experience for me, as I was traveling alone.

Tens of thousands of people from all over the world gather in a vast venue, and free shows are held here and there, with the feeling that everyone is contributing something interesting. There is a circus, a game of jumping naked into a mud bath, and a music stage where you can dance all night. Since there is no signal, if you get separated from your acquaintances, you don't insist on reuniting, but create new encounters and cherish them. If you are in trouble, strangers will help you, but halfway through you will become friends and no longer care who helped you... I thought, "I hope the city of the future will be like this" in a space completed only by pure feelings of caring for the people around you. Music is indispensable for festivals. I think music is a tool to create such a space.

I also came back inspired by the outdoor music event "Wonderfruit Festival" in Thailand. There is some music that is fun to listen to alone in your room, but with dance music, when you go to a venue, you can experience a groove that you can't experience when listening to it at home. The laughter, the way they dance, etc. Then, when I come back and listen to that music again, it plays back in my mind as one piece of music, including the reaction of the audience I experienced there. I feel like traveling updates the way I hear music."

Three rules I follow when traveling

KOM_I has three rules for traveling: stay as long as possible, bring a small instrument, and find someone who is like a mother to her.

"I like to stay as long as possible when I travel, and in one city as much as possible. If I were to change hotels every day, I would end up wasting time and energy thinking about where to stay next. I think it's fun when I have some free time.

I bring small musical instruments because it's easier to play with people than to sing. I often bring a wooden harp called a kanneru (an Estonian folk instrument) or a small flute. When I'm on the train, it can be a good opportunity to interact with people around me.

And when I travel, I find myself getting attached to the motherly people who teach me all sorts of things. When I was in India, my singing teacher was young, only 24 years old, so I adored her mother. They can be a bit nagging (laughs), but they all have their own stories and it's fun to talk to them, so I try to cherish the feeling that 'that person is interesting' and make connections with them by talking to them myself."

When asked for advice on how to approach someone you're interested in, KOM_I said, "First, talk to them about their clothes." Say something like, "I like your shirt," or "I like your hairstyle," and then expand the conversation to questions like, "Where are you from?" In some countries, it takes courage to talk to strangers, but KOM_I says, "Compared to Japan, it's relatively easy in places like Indonesia and India."

Traveling allows you to simulate another life

"In life, we can only choose one path from the billions of possibilities. But by going to other places and experiencing the lives of different people, or by trying to live as if you were a native of that country, I think you can simulate a different life that you might not have chosen: 'What if I had worked for this kind of company in this country?' or 'Maybe I had been born here and worked in the fields.'

By doing so, you can realize that the assumptions you had in your mind are not true, and you can discover things you like that you didn't know you had. I never really felt comfortable being born in Japan, so when I'm stuck, I travel and think, 'I could probably live in this country,' and that gives me a sense of relief and security. I love traveling because every time I travel, I feel more hopeful."

For KOM_I, traveling is a source of salvation and hope in life. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on her travels as well. Her long-term trip to India to study singing, which was scheduled for March 2020, has been canceled.

"Personally, I am sad that I can no longer go to India, and I hope that I can go back as soon as possible. However, I feel that the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the world to realize that things that we had previously been numb to and thought were just the way they were are now strange and something that needs to change. Think of things like Black Lives Matter and the political movements taking place in Belarus and Thailand. I feel that more and more people around the world are thinking about politics as something that affects them personally. I hope that people will not get too depressed when they see the negative aspects of society, but will also be tough and overcome them without turning a blind eye, and that the world will change for the better."

She was planning to learn how to sing in India, but now she is taking online lessons and practicing by herself. She has also changed her way of thinking and started studying Japanese performing arts. KOM_I says that her goal is to make sure that when she goes to India someday, she won't end up thinking, "I haven't done anything up until now."

I want you to travel somewhere and experience it before you get stuck.

We live in an age where hobbies are more diverse and you can have fun without going outside, but there are still things you can only get from traveling.

"It's scary to live without realizing that there are all kinds of people out there. It would be fine if you could understand that without traveling, but your impression of a country you've never been to is formed based on what the president of that country says and their foreign policy.

I didn't like America before I went there. But when I performed at the music festival "South by Southwest" in Texas, USA in 2016, my feelings changed. The security guard in the dressing room told me, "Relax. It's okay, so have fun," and an old man passing by said, "I saw your live performance, it was great. If you can be more honest, the audience will respond more honestly," and I was surprised to see that it was a country where people can say what they think so honestly. Thanks to these personal experiences, my awareness changed and I realized that "America has this kind of face." I don't think I would have noticed it if I hadn't gone there. It's the same in China. Since I started performing live, I've made more friends who I get along with, and I've come to feel more comfortable when I'm in China.

Finally, please give us a message for our readers.

"I want people to travel before they reach a dead end. There are as many completely different worlds as there are stars in the sky, and it's a relief to realise that you're only living your life in one of those ways. Even if you think you understand it intellectually, you won't really understand it unless you experience it for yourself. When your perspective narrows and you start to feel like you're no good, I want you to go somewhere else."

KOM_I spoke calmly from start to finish, and seemed to enjoy reminiscing about her past travels. For her, travel is a source of salvation and hope, and it is life itself.

KOM_I

Singer and artist. Born in 1992 and raised in Kanagawa. She was invited to become a musician at a home party and started singing. As the vocalist of "Wednesday Campanella," she has performed at festivals and toured around the world, creating live performances that resonate with the places and people in each place.
Her favorite food is South Indian cuisine, and her hobbies are observing rituals and ceremonies passed down around the world, and learning songs and dances.
In addition to his musical activities, he is active in various genres, including as a model, actor, and narrator.
In April 2019, they released the EP "YAKUSHIMA TREASURE," which was produced with producer Oorutaichi, drawing inspiration from Yakushima. A video of a solo live performance by the project of the same name, "YAKUSHIMA TREASURE," is now available on YouTube.
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