Mark Hattori On the Making Of “yesterday”
What was the creative process like for this particular song?
I originally wrote "yesterday" back in 2017 when I was in college. I had always envisioned it to be an energetic guitar driven song, but had only performed it with an acoustic guitar at the time. I recorded a demo version of the song in 2019, but didn't feel like it was ready to be released on streaming platforms, so I sat on it for a few years.
In 2024, I came across Seth Goodwin's YouTube channel called Produce Guitar Pop. He made production tutorial videos in the style of many different bands that I'm into like The 1975, LANY, and The Band Camino, and I brought him on to produce "yesterday".
Were there any memorable or standout moments during the recording sessions for "yesterday?"
One memorable moment for me was during the calls I had with Seth when we were getting to know each other, and realizing we shared similar tastes in music and faith background. It made it really easy when sharing feedback as we were working on the track to be able to reference specific songs or bands, and to really feel confident that he understood the vision of the song.
What impact do you hope "yesterday" will have on your audience?
On the music side, it seems like pop-punk is making a comeback, even though for many people (myself included) it wasn't just a phase, it's a lifestyle. There's been the When We Were Young Tour, the return of Warped Tour, and many bands releasing and touring Anniversary Editions of albums, there seems to be this longing to revisit music that people have developed such a deep connection to over the years.
I hope that "yesterday" taps into the nostalgia that many people who grew up listening to bands like Boys Like Girls, All Time Low, We The Kings, and Mayday Parade feel. My music taste has definitely expanded over the years, but I know that I will always have a soft spot in my heart for those songs that were the soundtrack of my adolescence.
I also hope that listeners would be able to relate with the sense of yearning and sentimentality in the lyrics. To me, the song represents not being able to see the past objectively because you aren't ready to face reality and move on yet. It's suffering from black and white thinking and only focusing on the good times, mourning the loss of an important relationship, and also realizing that the time spent is time you can't get back.
Can you share a bit about your musical background and the journey that led you to where you are today?
Church played a big role in my musical background! When I was a toddler, my parents said I would run up to the drumset after service and start hitting the drums. I started taking classical piano lessons when I was 3 years old, until my freshman year of high school. Quite a few of my relatives are musicians as well, so I've been able to really benefit from being around them. When I was in 6th grade, my grandpa loaned me one of his acoustic guitars and I began to learn how to play guitar with the help of tabs and YouTube.
In middle school, my class went on a field trip where we got to play with Garageband, which was my first introduction to recording and producing music. I began to make covers using Garageband in 8th grade.
Along with the pop-punk inspiration, I draw a lot of inspiration from AAPI artists like AJ Rafael and Jeremy Passion. Being able to see people who looked like me share their art on a platform like YouTube was really encouraging to have that sense of representation. I also feel a strong sense of nostalgia for the simpler days of YouTube, when people would post videos recorded off of their webcam.
Where do you find inspiration for your songs or musical ideas?
I've been trying to be as open as possible when it comes to finding inspiration! One thing I've been doing more recently has been trying to use other people's songs as inspiration to write. I've made a few social media posts recently writing my own verses to other people's songs that have been released.
