THAT IS GOOD

ZEKKEI × ZEN RYDAZ | Kejonuma Leisure Land

#KejonumaLeisureLand #Live #ZEKKEI #ZENRYDAZ #Music 2021.12.02

We left Tokyo on October 21, started filming from the early morning of October 22, finished in the morning, and returned to Tokyo by the end of the day on October 22, on a quick tour to shoot for ZEN RYDAZ’s new song “ZEN TRAX2”. This spectacular scenery x MUSIC is a complete collaboration between ZEN RYDAZ and THAT IS GOOD!

The place where we were going to shoot was the Kejonuma Leisure Land in Furukawa City, Miyagi Prefecture, which is known as an abandoned amusement park.
Thanks to the cooperation of the facility’s management, we were able to mow the overgrown grass in advance and get the site ready for filming, but the infrastructure was not yet in place and this time we had a large group of guests to film.

Moreover, the guests were put on buses that departed in the morning and late at night on the 21st without much prior information, and entered the venue as if they were on a mystery tour.

Here’s a quick look at the artists to give you an idea of how large the crowd was.
First of all, three members of ZEN RYDAZ, MACKA-CHIN, MAL, J.A.K.A.M., and in the order of participants of the recorded songs, ACHARU, GORO, MIKRIS, KYOKO OIKAWA, NAGAN SERVER, Tokyo Tsukimomo Shamisen, AZ3, EVO, RHYDA, NISI-P, KENJI IKEGAMI, D.D.S, Aizen, Minami Nakamura … NISI-P was the only one who couldn’t join us due to scheduling conflicts, but all the others were able to join us for this shoot.

The film crew arrived at the site ahead of time to scout the mowed area and prepare for filming. As the filming will take place from late at night to early in the morning, we prepared drums and fire pits for the cold and for the effect of the filming, and additional firewood arrived one after another.
In the evening, Kejonuma Leisure Land is already creating an indescribably mysterious atmosphere.

There is an old Ferris wheel and a merry-go-round at the location where the film was shot. The Ferris wheel is rusty but still standing, and the merry-go-round is half decayed and slightly tilted. However, even though they are rusty and decayed, they are still magnificent objects that remind us of time and age with their luxurious construction and decorations that are different from those of today.

Although you can’t see it from the shooting location, there is a rather large lake called Kejonuma on the other side of the grass beyond the Ferris wheel, and birds flew in flocks there during the location shooting. The lake is registered as a Ramsar wetland, and is also famous for attracting many migratory birds such as shorebirds, white-fronted geese, and whooper swans. (The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an international treaty on the conservation of wetlands.)
The sound of the geese echoing through the decaying amusement park under the evening sky gave me an indescribable, but not lonely or disgusting, or, I repeat, indescribable feeling.
(Well, I don’t even know if it was a geese in the first place, but the way it flew was like a V-shape… When I saw it, I thought of the word “goose chase”… But it’s true that it made me feel like that.)
What kind of new “spectacular scenery” will you see when you shoot in such a landscape?

Back at the inn, the first thing we did was a costume fitting for a large group of people. Mr. Tetsuro Nagase arranged the styling for a total of more than 20 people, in order not to destroy the world view created by the performers for the staff who would be shown in the video.
I won’t reveal any of the details, but he used existing clothes to create outfits for each of us that fit the world of this ruin and the video.
I was amazed at the idea! I won’t give away the details, but… lol

After that, we took a short rest by getting a bento box for dinner and taking a bath, and then we started preparing for the shoot at 2:00 am. Since we want to take video in the midnight to sunrise scenery, we need to prepare early and take in one shot at just the right time.
We entered the shooting venue while it was still quite dark and began preparations. Because there were so many people, it took much more time to set up the equipment than it usually does for a “ZEKKEI” shoot.

And just like that, the bus arrived! Even though the bus was a microbus, and even though it entered through the back entrance near the filming location, the alleyway was covered with grass and branches that scraped against the body of the car, making a sharp noise. It took us quite a while to make our way through the 100 meters or so of the alley, but we managed to get the members together.
When the settings were pretty much ready, we lit the bonfires in the drums and the fire pits on both sides of the stage.
When the fire was lit, a Ferris wheel suddenly rose up in the flickering flames, and the decaying merry-go-round seemed to regain its color, creating a mysterious and fantastical world.

Considering the fact that we were going to be shooting in one shot with a large number of people, there was not much time to spare, but that was why all the performers rehearsed carefully. Then we started shooting at a good time.
The cameras were all around and the drones were up, so I was hiding in the shadows, so I didn’t get a chance to see what was going on lol
However, I was able to listen to the sound up close, so I already experienced the coolness of the music and the power of the large number of artists who gathered and shouted for the melody. So, what kind of world view did they create? I can’t wait to see the full version of the video!
As of this writing, I haven’t been able to see the final version yet, so I might actually be the one who is looking forward to the full version the most at this point in time lol

The age range of the performers is so wide that you could say they are old and new, and the diversity of their usual fields of activity makes you wonder why so many of them have come together this time. What kind of interesting worldview would they create in combination with this spectacular view?
I hope you all enjoy it! And be a witness!

We finished the shooting just as the sun was fully up. We took photos of the Ferris wheel and merry-go-round, which had returned to its lovely form under the rising sun, and had breakfast together nearby. Then we divided into several parties and headed home.
Well, the distance we traveled in our short bullet tour was considerable, but I feel that the time and space we jumped over in this one night was also enormous!