One of the world’s most populous cities and certainly among the most interesting, Tokyo is a place where there is never a lack of worthwhile things to do, and that includes musical options in the countless “live houses,” or concert bars, peppered across the municipal map. Japanese musicians and fans have long demonstrated a thirst for sounds from abroad, and an informed respect as well, so quality rock, reggae, jazz, and much more can be found easily enough. For the foreign visitor, the distinctively domestic creations and interpretations are the most interesting. While tickets aren’t cheap, the online reservation system is practical (and honourably devoid of treacherous supplementary fees), sound quality is taken seriously, early start times much appreciated, and the sheer energy of the local audiences astounding. Below are a quartet of musical events from early spring that PAN M 360 is pleased to report back on. Stories by Rupert Bottenberg and Alain Brunet who were in Japan last spring.
Unhellys @NepoClub, March 20th
Kim raps, sings, plays bass-guitar custom made and also iws able to draw nice lines and riffs with a pocket trumpet. Midi also sings and especially plays drums at an excellent level. Both members are generating exciting electronic loops in real time. Above those considerations, UNHELLYS is an explosive duo, one of a kind. They seem to absorb any genre of contemporary music : rap, hardcore, punk, jazz, dancehall, electronic, noise and even more sub-styles are serving a cohesive and brillant sound. Through this sound, there is a vast protest song corpus, highly creative collection of statements that does not lack caustic humor and a great sense of the absurd. Spectacular, radical but also refined, UNHELLYS are giving a great show (with wicked lights and projections) wherever they perform. Fortunately, we could attend one of their intimate gigs in a small Tokyo venue, more precisely in the Mitaka neighbourhood, after which we asked for this interview.
PAN M 360 : Hello , I am Alain Brunet from Montreal Canada, for www.panm360. I met you at your Mitaka concert on March 20, few weeks ago. I have a few questions for you, here they are!
こんにちは、カナダのモントリオールからwww.panm360のアラン・ブリュネです。数週間前、3月20日の三鷹公演でお会いしましたね。いくつか質問が
PAN M 360 : Since when did you work on this project and how did you meet each other and decide to start a band ?
いつからこのプロジェクトに取り組み、どのようにして知り合い、バンドを始めることにしたのですか？
KIM : We started UHNELLYS around 1998. We are classmates in high school. We, the evil spirits, started making underground music.
私たちは1998年頃からUHNELLYSを始めました。高校の同級生です。天邪鬼な私たちはアンダーグラウンドな音楽を始めました。
PAN M 360 : Was it a long process of assembling musical genres and personalities to achieve what we heard at the concert and on your Bandcamp page?
コンサートやBandcampのページで聴いた音楽のジャンルや個性をまとめるのに、時間はかかりましたか？
KIM : No, it didn’t take long. There’s not much difference between the way I played when I started and the way I play now. I just love loop music.
いいえ、時間はかかりませんでした。始めた頃の演奏と、今の演奏に違いはあまりありません。loopする音楽がとにかく好きなんです。
PAN M 360 : Are there other bands of your type in Japan, I mean blending punk hardcore with rap, funk, jazz or avant-garde noise ?
パンク・ハードコアにラップ、ファンク、ジャズ、アヴァンギャルドなノイズを融合させたようなバンドは、日本には他にいますか？
KIM : I don’t think there is anyone else. If there were anyone else, we would decide to make different music.
他にいないと思います。もし他にいたら私たちは別の音楽を作ることにするでしょう。
PAN M 360 : You must have strong musical influences from Asia but also from Occident. Is it relevant for you to mention the most important if there are ?
あなたはアジアだけでなく、西洋からも強い音楽的影響を受けているはずです。最も重要なものがあれば挙げてください。
KIM : I was particularly influenced by 90’s New York music. Among them, Soul Coughing is special. I’ll keep listening to it until I die.
90年代のNYの音楽に特に影響を受けました。その中でもsoul coughingは特別な存在です。死ぬまで聞き続けます。
PAN M 360 : Can you describe some aspects of your lyrics, your poetic approach, your humour, your critical thinking, your vulnerability or whatever ?
あなたの歌詞、詩的なアプローチ、ユーモア、批評的思考、脆弱性など、いくつかの側面について教えてください。
KIM : Most of my lyrics approach problems. I have covered politics, race, nuclear power, vaccines, water, and many other topics. Rather than complaining about the “answer” I came up with, I revisit the problem. Information flows too quickly. I want you to stop, look back, and think. Don’t forget the humor.
私の歌詞は問題提議がほとんどです。政治、人種、原発、ワクチン、水、他にもたくさん扱ってきました。私が考えた「答え」を訴えるのではなく、問題をぶり返すのです。情報の流れはあまりにも早すぎる。立ち止まって、振り返って、考えて欲しいのです。ユーモアも忘れずに。
PAN M 360 : Can you make a living with your music in Japan ? What are your social and economical conditions as music people ?
日本では音楽で食べていけますか？音楽人としての社会的・経済的条件は？
KIM : I think it’s difficult to make a living with underground music. But for someone who loves underground music, that’s not a big deal.
アンダーグラウンドな音楽で生活するのは難しいと思います。しかしアンダーグラウンドな音楽を愛した人間にとって、それは大したことじゃない。
PAN M 360 : Do you aim specific markets ? Where are your audiences?
特定の市場を持っていますか？観客はどこにいますか？
KIM : Japan has a lot of small venues. It’s probably the most in the world. The people who gather there will accept any kind of music. A mysterious and kind world.
日本には小さいベニューがたくさんあります。きっと世界で一番あります。そこに集まる人はどんな音楽も受け入れてくれるのです。不思議で優しい世界。
PAN M 360 : Because you create this kind of hybrid music, is your international artistic identity as strong as your Japanese identity ?
あなたはこのようなハイブリッドな音楽を創作していますが、あなたの国際的な芸術的アイデンティティは、日本的なアイデンティティと同じくらい強いですか？
KIM : It’s definitely strong. Actually, the label I belong to is an Australian music label, and 99% of the music that influences me comes from overseas.
強いです。実際所属しているレーベルはオーストラリアの音楽レーベルですし、自分が影響を受けた音楽の99%は海外の音楽なので。
PAN M 360 : Do you collaborate with other musicians ? Do you feel part of a larger community of artists in Tokyo or somewhere else ?
他のミュージシャンとのコラボレーションはありますか？東京や他のどこかで、より大きなアーティストのコミュニティの一員であると感じますか？
KIM : That’s the best question. I love Soul Coughing, and I participated in the work of Soul Coughing’s vocalist, Mike Doughty, with Japanese rap. I have the record in my possession, and I asked my wife to put it with me in my grave.
最高の質問です。私はsoul coughingを愛していますが、soul coughingのボーカル、Mike doughtyの作品に日本語ラップで参加しました。レコードを所持していますが、墓に一緒に入れてくれと私の妻に頼んであります。
PAN M 360 : What are your next projects ?
次のプロジェクトは？
KIM : I have started playing only percussion instruments and voice. Big changes take time, but we need inspiration if we are to continue making music for decades to come.
打楽器と声だけの演奏を始めています。大きな変化のために時間がかかりますが、私たちが何十年先も音楽を続けていくには刺激が必要です。
