New Age Pop: An Interview with BPM15Q

BPM15Q (Pronounced "BPM Ichi-go-kyuu") is a duo made up of Ichigo Rinahamu and Nicamoq. They formed in 2015 and released several popular songs such as "Hakuchuumu" and "good luck" before disbanding the following year. They would reform earlier this year and made their major label debut with the single "Kyou You Mu", working with producer Teddyloid. Their most recent single, "Pachim", was released in September and they would also announce their first US performance at Anime Weekend Atlanta! Their unique style made us at A-to-J fans since their debut and we were lucky enough to interview them during this appearance and discuss their formation/reformation, their music, and lots more! If you're already a fan of BPM15Q, or even if you're completely new to them and their music, you're going to want to check out the interview below and give BPM15Q's music a listen along the way too!

A-to-J: Thank you for the interview! Can you please give us an introduction and tell us a little about yourselves?
Ichigo Rinahamu: Hi, I’m Ichigo Rinahamu from BPM15Q.
Nicamoq: Hi, I’m Nicamoq.

A-to-J: Can you tell us a bit about how BPM15Q formed?
Ichigo Rinahamu: We got together in 2015 when we were talking about putting together a group. We kind of formed, but decided to take a break, and in April of this year we decided to get back together.

A-to-J: Both members had experience in music prior to BPM15Q, can you tell us how you brought your individual skills to the group?
Ichigo Rinahamu: My skills are as a creative producer 
Nicamoq: My experience singing club music.

A-to-J: BPM15Q returned again earlier this year after six years, what brought about this reunion?
Ichigo Rinahamu: When BPM15Q went on indefinite hiatus in 2016, I started the idol group CY8ER. CY8ER had been working on the back concept of fulfilling our dream of a Nippon Budokan and disbanding, and in January 2021, we fulfilled that dream and disbanded. We had hoped to sing together again in the future as BPM15Q, and the timing was right to get together again and restart.
A-to-J: That’s a little romantic.
BPM15Q: [Laughs]

A-to-J: Your single "Hakuchuumu" is probably your most well-known song, can you tell us a bit about how it came to be?
Ichigo Rinahamu: The song was released in 2015 and was originally written by Yunomi. He came up with the idea for the sound and I wrote the lyrics. The theme of the lyrics is "daydreaming," and one of the countries I wanted to visit in "15Q," which appears in the lyrics, was the United States, and here we are seven years later. During the recording, Yunomi suggested that I should do it more like this, and there was a synergistic effect.

"Hakuchuumu" MV

A-to-J: The video itself is quite iconic too in its locales and fashion, was it as fun to shoot as it looks?
Nicamoq: We did the video in one day. It was very, very hard.

A-to-J: Well, it turned out great. Since your reformation you've released several singles, including your newest “Pachim”; can you tell us about these?
Ichigo Rinahamu: We worked with Teddyloid for “Pachim”. While "Hakuchuumu: was about “dreams”, “Pachim” is about "masayume" (dreams that will come true in reality). With Teddyloid’s track and the catchy melody, once you listen, it will get stuck in your head. It’s just really addictive. Because we wanted to target an international audience, we added lyrics that we thought were catchy even if you don’t know Japanese. We really wanted to incorporate that into our song.

A-to-J: You mentioned you've collaborated with Teddyloid on your recent single, how did this collaboration come about?
Ichigo Rinahamu: We were at events together with Teddyloid a lot. I’ve always been very impressed with his work. He always comes out with really incredible music. We finally approached him and that’s when we decided to work together.

"Pachim" MV

A-to-J: Since we're at AWA it goes without saying that there is a lot of anime here. Are your fans of anime?
Nicamoq: I love anime. Right now, I’m watching Chainsaw Man and Spy x Family.
Ichigo Rinahamu: I really love anime.  There was a time I stayed inside and watched a lot of anime. My favorite series are Steins;Gate, Higurashi, and Madoka Magica. Right now I’m watching Summertime Rendering.  

A-to-J: Have either of you been to the US before? Do you have any fun activities planned during your time here?
Nicamoq: I’ve never been here before.
Ichigo Rinahamu: I’ve been to the US a few times. I traveled to San Francisco before with my father when he was on a business trip. I’ve also been to Hawaii.
  
A-to-J: What’s been the biggest source of culture shock for you in the US?
Nicamoq: Here in America, everyone has a very open personality. In Japan, it’s kind of the opposite of that. That really surprised me in a good way.
Ichigo Rinahamu: The portion size of food is big!

A-to-J: Besides music, what are some of your hobbies you like to indulge in your free time?
Nicamoq: I really like to make food, keep my house clean and make sure everything is neat and tidy.
Ichigo Rinahamu: I like to travel, watch movies and anime, and cosplay.

A-to-J: Do you happen to have any funny stories that you can share that have occurred during your time in BPM15Q?
Ichigo Rinahamu: If I understood correctly, on the day we were going to announce our reunion, somehow the tweet got deleted and we were like: “Oh my god! How is this happening?”

A-to-J: Your concert is set to take place tomorrow. Are you looking forward to performing for a new overseas audience?
Nicamoq: I expect the concerts to be different between Japan and the US. I’m excited to see how our fans will react to our concert and how it will differ from Japan.

A-to-J: Speaking of concerts, you hold your own outdoor music festival, "Shinpakusu15Q", can you tell us a bit about it?
Ichigo Rinahamu: It was a really awesome festival. It was super hot outside, but the fans were still totally vibing.  Everyone was still raising their phones up with the lights on. That’s something that I really remember. It ended on such a high note.

A-to-J: Lastly, can you give a closing message to your fans?
Nicamoq: We’ve always wanted to work abroad and are just starting now. We hope that when people come see our shows that we get new fans along the way who will start to follow us.
Ichigo Rinahamu: I hope we can overcome language barriers and connect with everyone to make great memories together. If we could do that, it would be perfect.

​We'd like to thank BPM15Q for the interview and we strongly encourage everyone to check out their music and social media via the links below. As always, keep an eye out for more from BPM15Q in the future! Also, special thanks to Anime Weekend Atlanta for this opportunity!

​For More Information On BPM15Q:
Website: https://bpm15q.jp/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bpm15q_info
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bpm15q_info/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQttLoC6PQRZMVIKoHH5RCA
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bpm15q_
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4kDBfLqLmHdtDG3BcTA21r

For More Information On Teddyloid:
Website: https://www.teddyloid.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3GfNJrDTZY7voXPDx8gH9I

The above interview was conducted by Sylvia Thach with assistance and transcription by Jeffery Kelly. Post editing by Manuel Figueroa.