The identity of the resident producer “混(Maze)“ who directed a large event with a total of 220 people <Part 1>

This year’s major annual summer event held in July was called Social Summer Outing 2024 -presented by 混(Maze)-, and featured a “music festival” as its main content!

When we called for participants from the public, the two who raised their hands out of the 3,000 residents were Mr. Masu of Neighbors Kyoto Nijojo and Ms. Chisaki of Social Apartment Miyamaedaira. They have been living in Social Apartment for 8 and 7 years, respectively. They did their best to help us in our new attempt to recruit planners!

“混(Maze)”, a music event producer team formed by the two of them, planned a festival overflowing with the ‘likes’ of the residents! They not only proposed the plan, but also summoned team members, directed the creative process, devised measures to attract customers, and even managed the event on the day of the event… “We want all the residents who will be attending the event to have fun! With this passionate wish, the team worked with the planning team from the very beginning to organize the entire process of the event over a period of four months.

At the after party held on the day of the event, we asked them why they decided to apply as organizers, about episodes during the preparation, and about their impressions after the event.

We go straight to our intuition of “Sounds fun. Create “fun” with your friends.

——Thank you very much for your hard work over the past four months, Mr. Massu and Ms. Chisaki! We have an after-party coming up later today, but could you tell us about the behind-the-scenes of Social Summer Outing?

Massu/Chisaki: Yes, please do!

——First of all, please introduce yourselves.

Massu: Full remote company employee living in Kyoto. Born in Miyazaki, raised in the U.S. and Tochigi, Japan, started playing drums at age 15 and tried DJing at age 27. His favorite foods are Neapolitan and mapo tofu.

Chisaki: Born in Toyama Prefecture. The youngest of three sisters. After graduating from high school, she went to California to study abroad and graduated from a two-year university there, then went straight to Hawaii to work for a year. After that, she moved into a social apartment when she started working in Tokyo. My previous job was in bridal and I am currently working in web marketing. My hobby is music! No matter how old I get, I don’t think I will ever lose music from my life. I love going to live shows and singing! I also like to plan events and DJ from time to time.

——So far, what kind of events have you two planned or participated in?

Massu: I’ve participated in a private elementary school, a music festival at the property, a cultural festival, a summer festival (fair), camping, a round-the-kyushu trip, and so on. Compared to before I lived in Social Apartment, my circle of friends and the range of my activities has expanded tremendously.

Chisaki: Likewise for me, SAM Sonic (SAM is the name of Social Apartment Miyamaedaira’s residents), SAM Cultural Festival.I have also participated in the joint property field day and the joint property futsal tournament.

——It sounds like all of these events are fun. We have been looking for “organizers” for our Social Summer Outing events, but you two have never applied for one, have you? Did you ever participate in any of the large events hosted by our company?

Massu: I have participated in both Social Summer Outing in summer and Social Night Out in winter as a participant, but I have never applied to be an organizer.

Chisaki: I had participated in the large winter Social Night Out event. But I had never actually participated in the summer Social Summer Outing, even as a participant….

——You two are such people, so please tell us how you decided to raise your hands as “planners” to create a project from scratch this time.

Massu: When I participated in the Culture Fair in February, I learned that there was a “call for planners,” and I thought it would be interesting to do something.However, I was a little hesitant because writing a proposal was a bit tedious (laughs). However, I was able to get some good support, and since I had already started “混(Maze)” activities at that time, I decided to tie up with them and give it a try!

Chisaki: That’s right.Massey said, “Let’s plan an event at Social Apartment together!Sounds fun! Let’s do it! I immediately said, “Let’s do it! I thought that I could definitely have fun with him, and since we had just started “混(Maze)” together, I thought it would be great if we could hold a big event with our “混(Maze)” collaboration with Global Agents, who have been helping us, and create a place where many residents of Social Apartment could enjoy themselves. That’s why we decided to participate in this event.

——Did the concept of “music” come about because of “混(Maze)”? Were there any other ideas you considered?

Massu: Yes, that’s right. Music is all we have, isn’t it? Music is the only thing we like. We didn’t think of anything else.

Chisaki: Really…the only thing we wanted to do was music (laughs).

——What kind of event did you want to have?

Massu: I wanted to hold a festival! I just wanted to have a festival!

Chisaki: Yes, it would be fun to have something like a festival!

Massu: We were talking about having DJs, bands, and dancers, and sharing an opportunity to showcase the things we all have and do that we like.

——It’s true that Social Apartment residents have various “favorite things.

Chisaki: Yes, we do. Many of them are really diverse.

Massu: Some of them have hidden things. In fact, they often have hidden “favorite things” or special skills, or they have recently taken on a new challenge! It’s often something like that.

——At the event, you had such a variety of residents gather together.It seems like we can still bring out all sorts of “likes.

What is “混(Maze)” in the first place?

We first met 7 years ago when we both started living in a social apartment.Although they now live in different social apartments, they formed a team called “混(Maze)” and started their activities in earnest this year.They are producing a music event called “Mazari” with the hope of creating a space where various cultures and people can interweave with a focus on music.

——What was the inspiration for “Mixed,” which was formed by the two of you?

Massu: I started DJing about 3 years ago, and although there were opportunities for me to DJ in the Kansai region where I live, there were no opportunities in the Kanto region. So I thought, “Why don’t I create my own opportunities? So I decided to create my own opportunities, and together with Chisaki, we held an event in Tokyo last December, the predecessor to the “Mazari” event organized by “Mixed”. But at that time, the main content of the event was socializing, with music coming in a close second. So I talked with Chisaki about having an event that focused more on music, and we decided to hold a box, invite people, and try a DJ event. Fortunately, some of the residents we met at Social Apartment could DJ, so we asked them to join us and that was the beginning.

——Will you continue to do this in the future?

Massu: We hope to keep it loose and have fun without making it too tense. Because of the community we both belong to, the main audience tends to be the residents of Social Apartment, but we hope to gradually break down the barriers and hold events where people from all walks of life can come and visit us.

——I hope that this summer event and the after-party will have been a good opportunity for people to get to know “混(Maze)”! I hope people will join the next “Mazari” as well.

Massu: I hope that friends invite friends, and that the circle of people will continue to expand. I would like to make it such an event. Please look forward to the next and subsequent “混(Maze)” events!

Up to this point, we have asked you why you applied to be a “planner” of Social Summer Outing and how “混(Maze)” started. From here, we will ask you about the road leading up to the event, as well as their commitment and thoughts about the event!

(Continue to Part 2…)