Interview with Mori Calliope

This August, hololive English VTuber Mori Calliope released her second full-length major album, PHANTOMIME. Featuring songwriting from a diverse line-up of artists and producers, the album sees Mori's sound continue to evolve, pairing her distinctive vocals with hip-hop, rock, and even genres such as city pop. It also features her first true anime theme song, Go-Getters, which was used as the ending theme of the anime series “Suicide Squad ISEKAI.” Just after the album hit stores, Mori also joined the rest of the hololive English roster for the branch's second concert, Breaking Dimensions, which was held at Kings Theatre in Los Angeles on August 24th and 25th.

Right around that time, JaME had the chance to do a written interview with the reaper about PHANTOMIME, the concert and where she'd like to go from here.

It was mentioned that this album has a message of “living not for others but for oneself.” What made you want to explore this theme at this point in your career?

Mori Calliope: You start wanting to please too many people at one point. Saying “yes” to everything. Doing a dance for people who don’t really care about you. You should free yourself, if you can.

Could you please explain a bit about the story or theme behind the cover art for PHANTOMIME?

Mori Calliope: Life is a stageplay, where we take on different roles as actors and dance and perform for our superiors, our friends, people we want to impress. Many different “me”s dance on the stage every day and play different roles depending on the audience.

Overkill definitely feels like one of the heaviest and most aggressive songs you’ve put out until now. What was the inspiration behind that song?

Mori Calliope: Imagine you get put in a game of some kind and make life-long friends. You care about them, you want them to succeed…and then the crowd comes out cheering for you to kill each other. Everyone bets on their favorites; even subconsciously, you could be so enamored with your favorite, they may become something material to you. We are all looking out for each other. We don’t want to be pitted against each other in the death match that is the “entertainment industry.”


Go-Getters was used as the ending theme for the anime series “Suicide Squad ISEKAI.” What was the process of working on this song like? Did you approach it differently from your other works?

Mori Calliope: I had to think hard about how to write a song that was not only relatable to a wide audience AND myself, but also the Suicide Squad.

How did it feel to see the finished product with your song featured in the show?

Mori Calliope: It was surreal! Everyone who watched anime as a kid might dream of hearing their voice in such a widely broadcasted work.


You released a remix of Go-Getters featuring Yoon of K-pop group STAYC. How did that come about? Are you a fan of K-pop yourself?

Mori Calliope: My college friend introduced me to K-pop, actually. I’ve been so interested in its rise to popularity outside of Asia! My producer showed me STAYC’s work and I knew them from TikTok vaguely. I was so surprised Yoon said yes to the feature! She’s a perfect example of cute + cool, which…I strive to be someday too! Lol.

You also released a remix version of Go-Getters featuring Thai duo LUSS. How did you connect with them, and what was it like working together?

Mori Calliope: I knew of them a bit before, how big they are in Thailand! And when I looked into them, I saw their full creativity and quirkiness but also their passion for music. I thought “They just seem FUN to work with!”

How did you end up working with Lotus Juice, and what do you feel he added to the new version of Sneaking featured on the album?

Mori Calliope: I always wanted Sneaking to feature a male vocalist with me, but there wasn’t enough time. Lotus was my first exposure to a Japanese rapper, back when I was in high school playing “Persona 3.” He is the epitome of what I would call “effortlessly cool.”


What inspired you to reach out to AI for the song Tide? What was the process of working with her like?

Mori Calliope: Since I’ve been a fan of J-rap for years, I always knew AI as such a legend who had created countless iconic bangers for Japan’s RnB/rap scene. She also emits an “effortlessly cool” veteran aura, but she was also so humble and chill.

What was it like working with Jean-Ken Johnny from MAN WITH A MISSION on DONMAI?

Mori Calliope: Jean-Ken-san actually speaks English, so it was the first time working 100% in English discussing the more detailed parts of the song and the lyrics. He was honest with his feedback, but always kind. If every person I worked with after this was like him, I think I’d be a platinum-selling rock star. Maybe. Lol.


Midnight Mayoi has a city pop flavor, which feels a bit different from your usual work. What inspired you to try a song like that?

Mori Calliope: I’d always wanted to try city pop, since I love experimenting. Joint Beauty had a catchy track I wanted to try composing a chill melody for, and the pieces just came together.

What was it like working with Kobo Kanaeru on Midnight Mayoi?

Mori Calliope: Kobo has such a cute and comical aura to her, but she’s actually an extremely capable musician! It’s almost “gap moe.” On stream she’s a loveable brat, but in songs, she’s a pro and also just such a star.


What is the hardest part of preparing for a big hololive concert like Breaking Dimensions for you?

Mori Calliope: Lots of focus on how I’m gonna entertain. I’m often given a huge honor of performing toward the end, or doing multiple MCs. It’s the pressure that is the hardest to deal with, but I get through it every time!

What’s next for Mori Calliope? Is there any particular goal you’re working towards from here or something you dream about achieving in the near future?

Mori Calliope: I have a few “new dreams,” which I never thought I’d say, haha. Someday, I wanna appear on “Kouhaku”, which is Japan’s New Year program. I’d love to do a world tour, and write more songs for anime and games – that would make me happy forever, I think.

Please leave a message for our readers.

Mori Calliope: I wrote all these answers with a pen, lol. You guys are the reason I made it this far. Only up from here, yeah? Let’s do it! Let’s show everyone how far refusing to give up can really take you.

JaME would like to thank Mori Calliope and Cara Wodnicki for making this interview possible.

Links to download and stream PHANTOMIME on various music platforms are available here, and physical copies of the release can able be purchased from Mori Calliope's official online store.

A special promotional video for PHANTOMIME featuring inteviews with various Japanese artists Mori Calliope has worked with since her major debut discussing her unique appeal as an artist can be viewed below. It features appearances from rapper JP THE WAVY, Jean-Ken Johnny from MAN WITH A MISSION, Takuya Yamanaka from THE ORAL CIGARETTES, producer Yaffle, and more. Turn on captions to watch with English subtitles. You can also scroll down to the gallery to check out some photos from the Breaking Dimensions concert.