Last Updated on 2025-09-24 by a-indie
‘METAL GEAR SOLID’ and Inspiration from Games
“oneshot” and Sniper Wolf
-Tomohiro Yabe: Now I’d like to ask about your current work, ‘no scope.’ First, about the lead single “oneshot.” You described this song as “Like Sniper Wolf making her final plea to Solid Snake, ‘oneshot’ lies on the brink of death, begging to ‘just end it.'” This left a strong impression on me. Actually, I played METAL GEAR SOLID INTEGRAL 25 years ago myself. Since it was so long ago, I had completely forgotten about Sniper Wolf, but clearly her presence was very significant to you. Why did Sniper Wolf become the motif for this song?
Bre: I played through Metal Gear Solid for the very first time during the writing process of this record, and really loved her character. Her ending is one of my favorite cut scenes ever – it really stuck with me and something about the snowy, somber environment of her final conversation with Snake felt like a great setting for a song.
Empathy for Sniper Wolf
-Tomohiro Yabe: Since Russia and Ukraine went to war, I often find myself thinking about METAL GEAR SOLID. While I don’t actually play the game anymore, I’ve been seeing a lot of information about the game’s settings and story online, and I’m constantly amazed by how detailed the world-building is. Sniper Wolf is Kurdish, a war orphan, and takes anti-anxiety medication—very realistic character details. While she’s a cold-blooded sniper, she also has the line “I can’t kill women or children.” When I was playing the game 25 years ago as a middle school student, I didn’t pay much attention to these details, but now I’m struck by how intricate the character development is. Do you find yourself empathizing with Sniper Wolf as a character?
Bre: I absolutely empathize with her – her story is heartbreaking, she never knew any life other than being constantly surrounded by death and destruction. I’m also always in awe of how deep and detailed Kojima gets with creating these worlds and characters, its what makes his games so impactful and immersive to me.
Inspiration from Games
-Tomohiro Yabe: The music video for “oneshot” looks like it uses processed game footage. Do you often draw inspiration from video games? Could you tell us about some games you both enjoy?
We’re both very inspired by games. Some games that have influenced the band in some way: Stardew Valley, Elden Ring, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Fortnite, Minecraft, Fire Emblem, Parappa the Rapper, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Breath of the Wild, and Ocarina of Time, Katana Zero, Magic the Gathering
Production and Songs from New Work ‘no scope’
Song Structure and Arrangement
-Tomohiro Yabe: “oneshot” connects directly to the sixth track “airgap1,” which is about a 30-second instrumental piece. What made you decide on this song structure? If there was a specific intention, could you share it?
Shaun: The intention was to create a passage that marked a shift from the front half of the album to the back half. There are vocal samples from a guided meditation video that mention personal change, self reflection and self-actualization which are themes we touch on.
Influence from Akira Yamaoka
-Tomohiro Yabe: In your Instagram posts, you mentioned Japanese video game composer Akira Yamaoka as a creative inspiration, which really surprised me. I wasn’t familiar with him, but after researching, I learned he worked on the music for the Silent Hill series. Musically, he seems heavily influenced by UK post-punk acts like Killing Joke and Ultravox. What aspects of his music have influenced you?
Bre: Absolutely! I was really struck by his work on the Silent Hill series and it inspired me to overcome my aversion to horror games and play through the first one, which I ended up becoming obsessed with. He blends genres incredibly well, and it always feels perfectly haunting and atmospheric. I especially love his more trip-hop sounding work on the third game and look forward to playing that one soon.
About the Lyrics of “heartcontainer”
-Tomohiro Yabe: In this album, the lyrics from “heartcontainer” really stuck with me: “29 hearts but mostly empty.” What do these 29 hearts represent? And why did the number 29 come up?
Bre: Never expected to be asked this! 29 was the number of heart containers I had at that time in my save file of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and also a number that Jeff Buckley used in the song “Everybody Here Wants You” – “29 pearls in your kiss, a singing smile” – so I thought it would be a fun secret nod to both. In the context of the song it represents having a large capacity for love, but being drained to almost nothing.
Production Process and Concept
Production with Jorge Elbrecht
-Tomohiro Yabe: For this album, you worked with external producer Jorge Elbrecht for the first time. I’m a fan of all his work, but how was the experience of working with him? What kind of creative chemistry emerged from having him involved in the production? Do you have any stories from the recording process?
Shaun: I’ve known Jorge for 10+ years and collaborated with him before, so it felt really natural to involve him on the record. He has a great ear for pop music and melody as well as abstraction and atmosphere. We worked remotely for the most part, me in my studio in Portland, Bre in Austin and Jorge in LA. MANY many many dropbox links were exchanged.
Pursuing Contrasting Sounds
-Tomohiro Yabe: The press release mentions a concept of “when it’s pop, it’s utterly pop; when it’s dark and heavy, it’s even darker and heavier.” Why did you want to pursue these contrasting sounds?
Shaun: Contrast is punchy. We wanted the album to come right out immediately and hit the listener hard, which is why we have exo opening the album.
Influence from J Dilla
-Tomohiro Yabe: You mentioned J Dilla’s ‘Donuts’ as a mixing inspiration. Musically, I hear influences from dream pop and shoegaze, so J Dilla’s name coming up was unexpected. What specific influence did he have?
Shaun: I think this has more to do with the process of creating the album was reminiscent of J Dilla’s work. Treating bits and pieces from the cutting room floor as new elements in songs, resampling our own catalog and developing a bit of self mythology.
Album Visuals and Concept
About the Artwork
-Tomohiro Yabe: The album artwork is also very striking—a photo of someone aiming with their finger. Could you tell us about the concept behind this artwork?
Bre: I tried this jokingly just for one moment and we ended up deciding it was the perfect fit for the album – tying together well with the name ‘no scope’ which is a type of kill that can be achieved in a shooter game.
The Meaning of the Title ‘no scope’
-Tomohiro Yabe: This album has “oneshot” as a key song, and I felt like the theme was about the world seen through a scope. On the other hand, the title is ‘no scope,’ which I find very intriguing. Could you tell us again about the meaning behind the album title ‘no scope’?
Bre: My brother Ricky suggested the name ‘no scope’ completely as a joke but we loved it as it has kind of a double meaning: a no scope is a very difficult shot to pull off in a video game, where you use a sniper rifle at close range to take down your opponent without using the scope. Like shooting a pistol quickly from the hip. But it can also be interpreted as having no hope or prospects in life, which also resonated with us.
Message to Listeners
Shaun: Humans, animals, aliens, spirits, gods
To Japanese Fans
-Tomohiro Yabe: Finally, could you share a message for your Japanese fans? METAL GEAR SOLID is originally a Japanese game, so there are many listeners, including myself, who have played it. There are also people looking forward to seeing you perform live in Japan someday. Could you share a message for them?
Bre: It is one of my main goals in life and for this project to be able to visit Japan someday and perform there! So many of my favorite video game developers, filmmakers, fashion, and artists come from Japan and I cant wait for the chance to visit some day.
Thank you so much for the very thoughtful interview, hopefully we meet someday soon!
crushed Album Release
Debut Album ‘no scope’
Release Date: September 26, 2025
Track List:
01. exo
02. starburn
03. cwtch
04. heartcontainer
05. oneshot
06. airgap1
07. meghan
08. licorice
09. silene
10. weaponx
11. celadon
12. airgap2
Bonus Tracks (extra life)
13. waterlily
14. coil
15. milksugar
16. bedside
17. respawn
18. lorica
crushed Profile
crushed is an indie pop duo consisting of Bre Morell from Temple Of Angels and Shaun Durkan from Weekend. Their 2023 EP ‘extra life’ gained attention both domestically and internationally, leading to a contract with Ghostly International. They will release their debut album ‘no scope’ in September 2025. Bre, from Texas and currently based in Los Angeles, and Shaun, residing in Portland, work in a remote environment, freely fusing elements of trip-hop, Britpop, and electronica. They develop a musical world that weaves together sharp emotional expression and warm catchiness with dreamy melodies and beat sensibilities.
Writer: Tomohiro Yabe(yabori)
Editor-in-Chief of BELONG Media/A-indie. Since 2010, has been writing for the music blog “Timeless Masterpieces,” which became the predecessor to BELONG.
After writing for “only in dreams” organized by Masafumi Goto, vocalist of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, studied Music Business at a music vocational school.
Has been writing articles about Japanese and international music for over 10 years.
Previously worked at a music CD rental shop with over 100,000 album titles, handling garage rock, psychedelic rock, and Japanese indie rock.
Using these experiences, published 26 issues of the music magazine “BELONG Magazine” with the theme “Roots Rock.”
Currently writes articles based on SEO strategies learned at a web production company. Hobby is watching “Fortune’s Appraisal Show.”
Articles written so far can be found here
Twitter: @boriboriyabori
- is a music media platform run by BELONG, a Japanese music organization. We publish music articles with a focus on indie music.
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