We had a chance to interview the artist RON about his solo project, STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION. The famed musician and composer greeted me in English, taking the time to thoughtfully answer every question I had about his solo project STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION. When stuck with the choice of words, he turns to the translator by throwing in Japanese. The reason for our chat was the new album STEREO DIVE 03.
Right from the beginning of our conversation, it was clear that he sees music as an extension of his everyday life. When did he first feel the desire to start a solo project? “Ten years ago, a former producer of my label asked me to make a song for Kyokai no Kanata (Beyond the Boundary). That is the beginning of the Stereo Dive Foundation.” He previously spoke about taking the SDF name from his old blogs and says it didn’t take him a long time to settle on it.
Q: Was there anything special about the Beyond the Boundary anime, something that made you want to work on it?
A: I’ve made a lot of anime songs so I didn’t feel anything special.
Q: It was a natural step forward in your career?
A: Yeah, yeah.
Q: How would you describe your music style in 3 words?
A: [spends around 30 seconds thinking] Anisong, Mixture, Happy
Q: Do you have a favorite instrument or sound you like to use in your songs?
A: Vocal chops
Q: What is the difference between creating music as R.O.N. for other artists and Know Name, and STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION? Do you feel those two are sometimes separate entities?
A: I think it’s almost the same, but one thing that I can say is different from other songs is I have responsibility for SDF. That’s one thing I can say is the difference.
Q: What do you enjoy the most about making music?
A: [thinks for a bit] The moment when the arrangement is fully done.
Q: Is there anything you find particularly challenging about creating music?
A: Nothing! I just make songs [while] having fun.
Q: What does an average day of creating look like? Do you feel more creative at night or in the morning?
A: An average day at the studio looks like this [turns the camera to show the full studio setup with instruments]. When I wake up, I sit here and play the guitar or the piano. It doesn’t matter when. I woke up at 1 pm today. But maybe tomorrow, I will wake up at 3 pm or 4 pm I don’t know. It depends on my sleeping time.
Q: So you just wake up and start creating. What inspires you?
A: I like to watch movies. They gave me many influences. I like to read books. When you read a book, there is no sound, right? But in my head, some kind of music is playing.
Q: Do you have any specific music composers you like? What about book genres?
A: I like Hans Zimmer. I think I like more realistic things [for books].
Q: Do you watch anime in your spare time? Do you have any anisongs that you especially enjoy?
A: Recently, I haven’t watched anime except for my work.
[Favorite] anime songs? Well… Dragon Ball Z. It is very old. Gundam… Yeah. all [those] anime songs.
Q: Do you have a favorite artist who focuses primarily on anime?
A: Kageyama Hironobu. Do you know Hironobu Kageyama? From JAM Project?
Note: Kageyama is especially known for his work on the Dragon Ball franchise.
Q: Is there a franchise you would like to make a song for someday?
A: I want to write a song for video games. I like to play video games. I would like to make background music soundtracks for video games. Something like a game for boys, with robots. Something like Metal Gear Solid.
Q: In terms of songs you created for SDF so far, what is your favorite one, and which one do you think is underrated?
A: “STORYSEEKER” – That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime TV anime ending theme song. Underrated songs: any songs that don’t have an [anime] tie-up.
Q: One of my colleagues is a big fan of “Daisy.” Could you tell us a bit about how that song was created? That was your first song as SDF, how do you feel about it looking back?
A: I rewrote the chorus 2 or 3 times. I also rewrote the lyrics 2 or 3 times. There were a lot of retakes.
Q: You recently made a theme song for the Hikari festival in Poland. Can you tell us a bit more about this?
A: It was great. I made “Hikari” with an easy chorus. Just 6 notes [sings “la la la la la la”]. So everybody could repeat it easily. All the audience… Everybody sang so [loudly]. I was so happy and surprised by the number of people who came to see me perform.
Q: Are you even surprised by the number of fans you have overseas? Can you see when people overseas listen to your songs on platforms such as Spotify?
A: I use Spotify here [opens something on his computer screen] and I look at the countries. I’m so surprised that most of my listeners are from overseas. I don’t know why so many people listen to my songs. I feel very weird, but also happy.
Q: STEREO DIVE 03 album – what can we expect? It includes some amazing anime theme songs.
A: I think it’s rare for an album to have [just two new songs]. But this time, the concept is different. I’m going to put a lot of songs that have been tied in [with anime] and deliver them. The new song “#03” is to celebrate our 10th anniversary since debut. I added a phrase from our debut track “Daisy” at the end, expressing the feeling of “let’s keep going together.” It’s a song we made with respect for our “beginning.”
The new song “TITAN” is also the image song for the original plastic model content ‘Titanomachia.’ We’ve crafted it with an intense and heavy sound that makes you think of the start of a battle. I have crafted a sound that is intensely heavy and reminiscent of the onset of a battle. This album includes many anime theme songs that have been released so far, so I hope you can enjoy listening to it with the image of a best-of compilation.
Q: A decade is behind the Stereo Dive Foundation. With so much accomplished, what can we look out for in the next 10 years? What would you like to do?
A: What would I like to do? I would do anything if someone called me to make a song. I would do everything. I’m interested in people involved in creative activities, so if there’s an opportunity, I’d like to collaborate with creators, artists, companies, and events, both domestically and internationally. I want to work with my team to find ways for people to experience my music from various angles.
Q: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans overseas?
A: There’s going to be STEREO DIVE 03 on November 22. And there will be many anime songs included. So please, have a listen and have fun. And maybe someday I will go to your country and play for you guys. Wait for it.
To keep up with RON and STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION updates, make sure to check out the official website and follow the official Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook pages for updates on STEREO DIVE 03. The album is now out and it features two new songs: “#03” and “TITAN.”
We’d like to thank RON for taking the time to chat and Vegas PR for making this interview happen.
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