Behind the scenes of Hidetake Takayama’s Express

When I listened to the songs of Hidetake Takayama on MySpace in 2009, I became a big fan. I wanted to see him, but he wasn’t doing any live shows at that time. I chased him down for a year, but never got any information about him except his name and music, then I heard that he was going to do a gig at a CD shop to promote his first album. I got really excited, and headed off to the venue. I had many questions, but I still didn’t know what he looked like or how old he was. Arriving at the shop, there he was, wearing an Adidas jersey, with short hair and a friendly smile. I got who he was at first glance. Once he touched the piano, the mood changed dramatically. The music took me away from the time, place and everything. I couldn’t even move.

A year passed. I had been working on many other CG projects, one of which won an award at a Japanese CG festival. Then, I received a message from Takayama that would change my future: “Do you want to make a music video with me?” Of course, I answered, “Yes!” in a flash.

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