How does a Tokyo resident get exposed to baile funk music? What did you like about it?
TIGARAH: When I went to school, I used to hang out a lot with Brazilian immigrants. Most people don’t know that many Brazilians are living in Japan. Even Japanese people don’t know about this. Because of that, I would meet baile funk! I was at some house party with my Brazilian friends and a baile funk song played. It was the moment that I got the biggest shock. I was like, “What the fuck is that?” I LOVE that flow!” It makes me dance and dance and dance. How popular is baile funk music in Japan? When I started to listen to baile funk, nobody knew about it except Brazilian friends. I couldn’t find anyone who knows it in Japan or the States, until about 2003. These days it’s getting known but it’s still a little underground. When did you go to São Paolo and Rio? What was the purpose of the trip? I started to go there four years ago. At first, I just wanted to feel Brazilian culture in their country. I was planning to move there and make music. People said it’s crazy, though. I met some
