yama on Unifying Theme of Self-Forgiveness on ‘; semicolon’ Album & Fresh Start After Moratorium Trilogy

With their third full album, awake&build, released in 2024, yama completed their Moratorium Trilogy. Now yama has put the finishing touches on their fourth full album, ; semicolon, in which they set off to a new start as an artist.

In addition to the previously-released “BURN,” created under the name of yama x WurtS, and “Drop,” which was produced by indigo la End, the album contains new songs which saw yama being joined in the songwriting process by creators and artists they hold great respect for, like maeshima soshi and Shota Horie. These new songs make up the majority of the album. As yama’s career has advanced, their thirst for expressivity has grown even stronger. What is the philosophy that underlies his artistic efforts? Billboard Japan talked with yama about what lay behind the creation of ; semicolon and delved into who they are as an artist today.

I’ve heard that the album’s title, ; semicolon, is meant to represent taking a new step forward as an artist.

This new album is packed with things I love, music I love, and messages I want to share. I tried to be as much a part of the songwriting and lyric-writing process as possible. I wanted to be involved in any way I could in the album’s creation. I feel like, with my past trilogy of albums, I’ve finally set the foundation in place to move forward (as an artist).

Your 2021 release, the meaning of life, your 2022 release, Versus the night, and your 2024 release, awake & build, make up the “Moratorium Trilogy,” right?

I was feeling things out as I went through my Moratorium period. I was hesitant to perform in front of people, and going up on stage was a struggle. But I couldn’t back down. That’s because for as long as I can remember, music has been the only thing that truly interests me. I just want to keep moving forward. I can’t stop myself. I feel like I’ve grown as a person through this process of trial-and-error. At first, I couldn’t convey what I was feeling to others, but now, having finished the trilogy, I’ve defined what it means to be “yama.” That’s why I was able to make ; semicolon.

Of all of your albums, ; semicolon has the most songs on which you’ve been personally involved in the songwriting and lyrics.

I love singing, of course, but with Versus the night I also started writing songs. Through the process, I found that I was surprisingly strong-willed. I realized that there were things I wanted to say and to communicate, though I didn’t put them in words, and I had a stubborn streak, unwilling to compromise on my message. I started thinking that I’d be better able to convey my aesthetics and my human nature if I wrote my own music.

So turning your own feelings into song and sharing them with others gave you a sense of fulfillment?

Not so much “fulfillment” as more like “purging.” I first fell in love with music because when I listened to music it took a weight off my shoulders and set my heart at ease. When I share my own music, and when I put my own emotions into musical form, it makes my heart feel a bit lighter. That said, I’m still exploring the process of making music. I have this need to make everything perfect, so I overthink things. I just can’t bring myself to feel optimistic, and my output is slow because of that. But when making ; semicolon, I just put that all aside. I took this stance that “I’m just a beginner,” and I started out simply focusing on getting things in song form.

So that creation process itself may have been a way of accepting yourself as you are, flaws and all.

I feel like I’ve been able to forgive and accept myself, a bit at a time. Initially, I didn’t want to show people my shortcomings. But when I revealed my imperfections, I was surprised at how much they resonated with others. People became interested in yama, the person. So, because of that, I’ve also become able to accept my own imperfections.

The album’s name, ; semicolon, came from Project Semicolon, an American movement to support people struggling with mental health issues. Specifically, the semicolon represents the idea of moving from a difficult chapter of your life to starting a new chapter. What was your impression of the project?

I found out about Project Semicolon the first time I performed live in front of an audience. A person who’d been a fan of mine since my indie days gave me a letter and, along with it, a ring with a semicolon on it. In the letter, they wrote about the meaning of the project, and it made a deep impression on me. At the time, I was recklessly rushing forward, doing all I could to move forward. I thought, “I can’t do it yet, but I hope one day I’ll be able to put this concept into song.”

What about Project Semicolon made such a strong impression on you?

That interaction with a fan was a formative experience in my musical career, truly feeling that there are real people out there listening to my music. I’d seen comments on my videos on streaming sites before, but my musical activities had been limited to the internet, so I almost never received messages directly sent to me. But then, this one day, this fan sent me a message. It said “I’d been feeling like I just couldn’t keep struggling with life, and I was thinking about killing myself when I heard the song you released today. I want to hear more of your music, so I’ll keep on trying.” 

So your song saved that fan.

I’d been working so hard making music to save myself. It was the first time that I felt that my efforts could save and provide comfort to someone else. Later on, I went on to perform live in front of an audience, and that’s when that fan taught me about the concept of Project Semicolon. Just living each day had been hard for them, but they kept pushing forward, looking for something they could enjoy in their life. Little by little, I grew more confident in my own skills, too, and I got better at communicating with people. It was a gradual process. I never got a semicolon tattoo, but putting these feelings in song form was the same thing for me. I named the album ; semicolon and wrote a song named “semicolon,” and for the rest of the album I let my own curiosity and sense of excitement lead me as I wrote the kinds of songs I wanted to write.

You discovered a new world through your interactions with others. I feel like that’s why you went from having a hard time performing in front of people to coming to enjoy performing live, and it’s where the song “semicolon” came from.

I’ve always made music for myself. That was true long ago and it’s still true today. The issue’s been how much I could grow, how much I could comfort myself, and how much I could forgive and accept myself. I’m sure everyone feels the same, and that everyone’s hard on themselves. But if I extended a helping hand to people simply out of some kind of sense of obligation, that wouldn’t be truly from the heart. I don’t want to pretend to be something I’m not through my music. I make music to cleanse my own heart, and if that comforts other people, then that’s wonderful. I wish someone had told me about the semicolon movement earlier. But unless I can forgive and accept myself, I don’t think I’ll be able to overcome my trauma or the ties that bind me. That’s why I tell myself “Accepting yourself isn’t compromising yourself. It’s just one part of taking control of yourself.” Of course, listeners can take the music as they wish, but I’d love it if when people listened to the song, they didn’t take the lyrics as me or someone else talking to them, but instead felt like the lyrics were a message they were telling themselves.

—This interview by Sayako Oki first appeared on Billboard Japan

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