INDEX
Communication about the asparagus in front of you
What do you talk about when you two are together? Do you talk about art or culture?
Kato: We don’t talk about things like that work of art. When we were drinking at a Chinese restaurant in Jimbocho, there was a picture on the wall of a huge asparagus, and I told him that was a great picture [laughs].
Kuwajima: What are the three best movies of your life? It was so cold (laughs). We would go to a bar, drink rum, and say, “This tastes good. Let’s go to a bar, drink some rum, and say, “This tastes good.
It’s all about the immediate.
Kato: We get excited about what’s in front of us. I have a childhood friend named Hagari. We went to junior high and high school together, but he doesn’t play music and doesn’t listen to music at all. But he kept going along with my high school routine of going to Book-Off and buying jackets. He would recommend me to buy a new one, saying, “Shuhei, isn’t this a good one? I trust Hakari a lot, so I bought it and listened to it. I bought it and listened to it, and when he said, “That was good,” I just said, “Oh, really? I like that feeling. I really like that feeling.
After listening to it for 45 minutes, I asked him how he liked it, and he said, “It’s cool. After listening to it for 45 minutes, I asked them how they liked it, and they said, “It’s cool,” and we all agreed [laughs]. We didn’t talk about specifics at all. We talk about things like, “This road is a little bit downhill,” or “This is a school zone, but there are no guardrails, so it might be a little dangerous in the evening” [laughs].
Kuwajima: There are too many things that make sense, and I really don’t need that kind of stuff. I really don’t need to talk about who did what or how this thing happened. Instead, it is more trustworthy to talk about what is in front of you in a straightforward manner. There is really no one who can communicate like that. So really, it’s just asparagus. Asparagus is fine. Because it’s asparagus. Just saying, “I like the picture of the asparagus,” is fine.
Talking honestly about what you think of what you see in front of you is the ultimate communication.
Kuwajima: I don’t think speaking is the only way to communicate. Gestures, the way one’s body is turned, the way one’s hands are placed, etc., are all part of communication.
Kato: There is a sense of trust that comes from things like clothing size, etc. ARIKA-kun, a friend of mine who is a painter and tattoo artist, once told me something that made me very happy: “When I saw you puking on the balcony of PROVO, I thought, ‘Kato, you are a trustworthy guy. I thought, “I’m going to be liked by this person. I was very happy to know that he trusted me because of something so close to a physiological phenomenon, and not because I was trying to get him to like me. I felt like I could like and trust someone through that kind of experience.
I feel that communication is a major theme for you.
Kato: I feel like that is the only theme I have in my mind.
Kuwajima: Where do the lyrics come from?
Kato: There are not so many things I want to say. For example, right now there are many things like Palestine, Ukraine, and so on. What do you think about each one of them? If you ask me what I think about each of them, I am sure that everyone has their own opinions about what is wrong and what is good. That is what I want to touch on. I think there is a word for that origin, and that is my theme when I write lyrics. That is the only way I can write lyrics.
That’s really all I want to do. Every time I release my work, I feel that it is being archived, and when I put it all together, it becomes a portfolio. When I put them all together, I find that there are pieces of the same color or the same shape from different periods, and I have the sense that they are all connected. That is interesting. Even if the tunes are different, the feelings are probably the same. So what I am saying is always the same, because I just want to follow the original heart.
I just want to follow my original heart.
Kato: I think it’s important to speak out on social networking sites, and I do it, but there are so many things that need to be addressed. I really want to smash them all together. The people who are actually harmed are different from each other, but I feel that I can smash them all together with the same feeling in my heart.
Why did you choose Kuwashima-san for the first installment of this series?
Kato: I told Mr. Kuwashima that I was going to write a series about things that I value, but to be honest, I don’t know what those things are. I do music because I don’t know, and I express myself to confirm what is important to me. When I am with Mr. Kuwashima, I only talk about what is in front of me, and when we have sessions about these senses, I feel like we are really getting along. So, I am sure that anything can be used as a subject. Whether it is asparagus, politics, movies, or music, there is something good about a relationship where you can talk about what is in front of you from your own perspective. I think that is very important.
Kuwajima: If you were a photographer, when you talked about asparagus photos, you would probably say something like, “There was this work by a German photographer before the war. That is because there is a common language there. But with photography and music, there is no common language. The lack of a common language is a kind of game, and I think it is very interesting that we concentrate our nerves and choose the right words. Because there is no common language, the conversation becomes one of matching senses.
Kato: When there is a picture of asparagus, people get excited and say, “Asparagus is so bad. It is a game to see what kind of viewpoints we can come up with. I feel that this is the most primitive conversation for me. When I am talking with Kuwashima-san, I feel like I have a strange switch. I don’t know if I’m on or not, but I feel like I’m sensitive to something.
It was interesting.
Kato: It was interesting. Talking is interesting, isn’t it?
Kuwajima: Talking is interesting, isn’t it?
Kato: After talking so much, Sime said, “It’s interesting to talk” [laughs].
FAHDAY2024
Date: October 12, 2024 (Saturday)
Location: Hokkaido / Tomakomai Civic Hall (Area_1 / Area_2 / Area_3 / Area_4)
Time:
- Area_1: OPEN 12:00 / START 13:00
- Area_2, Area_3, Area_4: OPEN / START 11:00
Ticket Prices:
- Area_1: U-23: ¥4,500 / FAHDAY MEETING Ticket: ¥5,000 / Early Bird: ¥6,000 / General: ¥7,000 / At the Door: ¥7,500
- Area_2 / Area_3 / Area_4: Free
Performers:
- Area_1: NOT WONK / kanekoayano / 踊ってばかりの国 / EGO-WRAPPIN’
- Area_2: WHITELIGHT / 後藤正文 (Note: “Recent Report I” 3D Sound Exhibition) / マレウレウ / GAK / tommy△
- Area_3: DJ SADA / DJ Yogurt / 君嶋麻里江 / DJ FANTA / DJ FUMINN / IZAKAYA草-SOU- / おうちコーヒー / ISHIBASHI COFFEE / いしかわぱん / 開運ラーメン / 焼き菓子 かぎねこ / COFFEE KITCHEN TAPIO / FAHDAY MEETING OFFICIAL BAR (CLUB ROOTS / Bar Old / Bar Base) / ARCH / Boogie / meshi to oto / Pansal / TONCINI / のらのキンパ / 鮨鷹 / poponta cafe / さんぼんぎ / Happy Hokkaido Kitchen and more
- Area_4: To be announced
Organizer / Planning: FAHDAY MEETING
(加藤修平 / IZAKAYA草-SOU- / おうちコーヒー / 株式会社 Bigfish / CLUB ROOTS / 立呑キング / 苫小牧ELLCUBE / Bar Old / Bar Base)
Production: FAHDAY MEETING / 株式会社 WESS / Others
Sponsors: Ticket Pia
Support: Tomakomai City / FM NORTH WAVE
OFFICIAL HP: fahday.com
OFFICIAL X: twitter.com/FAHDAY_official
OFFICIAL Instagram: www.instagram.com/fahday.official/
<Ticket Details>
◾︎ FAHDAY MEETING Ticket: Available until sold out
Sales Locations: IZAKAYA草-SOU- / おうちコーヒー / CLUB ROOTS / 立呑キング / 苫小牧ELLCUBE / Bar Old / Bar Base
◾︎ General Ticket Sales:
U-23 Ticket / General Ticket
Sales Period: July 6 (Saturday) 10:00
URL: w.pia.jp/t/fahday2024/
<CAMPFIRE “FAHDAY2024” Project Page>
URL: camp-fire.jp/projects/view/747884
<FAHDAY MEETING>
Co-organizers of FAHDAY2024:
IZAKAYA草-SOU-, おうちコーヒー, 株式会社 Bigfish, CLUB ROOTS, 立呑キング, 苫小牧ELLCUBE, Bar Old, Bar Base
