GRAPEVINE has released their 18th album, “Almost There.” This latest release amplifies the band’s distinct alternative style, crafting an imaginative blend of programming and distorted guitars, interwoven with powerful lyrics delivered in the Kansai dialect, notably exemplified in tracks like “Little Sparrow.” Steering the creative helm of this album is the band’s keyboardist, Isao Takano, a seasoned member whose journey began as a supporting player in 2001, alongside bassist Satoru Kanedo. In various interviews, vocalist Kazumasa Tanaka has emphasized the quintet’s core, including Takano and Kanedo. This interview marks their inaugural “dialogue,” promising an insightful exploration of GRAPEVINE’s distinctive essence, a band renowned for its exceptional musicality.
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Takano: GRAPEVINE Remains its Core Regardless. The Band Should Fearlessly Experiment on Any Ideas
-Takano, you’ve been involved with GRAPEVINE and supported and produced various other bands like Sunny Day Service and Yogee New Waves. How would you describe the significance of GRAPEVINE in your musical journey?”
Takano：After working together for this long, we are comrades. The staff around us hasn’t changed that much since then, including the production staff for live performances and the recording staff.
He began his career as a keyboardist in the early 1990s, performing in sessions and producing. He has produced, arranged, recorded, and performed as a live support musician for numerous artists, both male and female, including Sunny Day Service, GRAPEVINE, Kashitani Kaoru, Kazuyoshi Saito, GLIM SPANKY, and other bands and solo singers.
-How did you come to be the producer for the new album “Almost There”?
Tanaka: Whenever we make an album, we always talk about having a producer as we can have a third opinion, objective viewpoint, and various ideas.
Tanaka: But I always have a hard time deciding. We are a band that works from the idea of “what to do with the songs that come up” rather than having a blueprint, like “I want this album to sound like this, so I’ll ask this person to do it.” So, we had some potential producers for this project as well, but it’s hard to imagine what they would be like, because we don’t have anything to present yet. So we thought Takano, who is well versed in our style and groove, would be a great fit for the producer. He has been playing the role of a leader in the band for a long time.
-It’s quite surprising that he hasn’t done it before.
Tanaka: Thanks to him, this project went very smoothly. Fortunately, we had time, or rather, there was a gap between the previous album and this one, so we were able to save a lot of songs to some extent. Usually, it takes time to arrange a song without a plan, thinking about how it should be done, but this time, Takano always prepared two or three samples, saying, “How about doing this song like this?
Kazumasa Tanaka (Vo/Gt), Hirotake Nishikawa (Gt), Toru Kamei (Dr)
The band started its activities in Osaka in 1993. The band was named after Marvin Gaye’s “I heard it through the grapevine. Moved to Tokyo and made their debut in September 1997 with the mini-album “Kakusei” from Pony Canyon. In 2014, he moved to Speedster Records, where he has consistently released five full-length albums. Their 2021 album “New Fruits,” which includes the songs “Gifted,” “Nezumi Jodo,” and “Awake Mashi wa Itsumo Narimasenai,” debuted at No. 8 on the Oricon Weekly Ranking. The current lineup is Kazumasa Tanaka (Vo/Gt), Hirotake Nishikawa (Gt), Toru Kamei (Dr), Isao Takano (Key), and Satoru Kindo (Ba). 3 years after the release of their first new album on September 27, the band will launch a nationwide tour “GRAPEVINE TOUR2023” in October.
-What did you have in mind when producing the album?
Takano： They may not realize it, but in the end, no matter what they do, GRAPEVINE will still be GRAPEVINE. No matter who produced the album, it would end up being GRAPEVINE, so I wanted them to do whatever they wanted. I wanted them to do whatever came to mind and throw away a lot.
In the past, when we made 10 songs, we often thought, “we might as well use them all to make the most of what we made,” or “Let’s keep at least 3 of the 10 songs,” and then we would get lost in the process.
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Tanaka: It’s Us Japanese Doing it. Even If We End Up Creating Something Unusual, I Still Think it’s Alternative in its own Way
-There are various colors in each song of the album, but it feels like GRAPEVINE’s alternativeness is even stronger. Especially, the lead track “Little Sparrow” stands out.
Tanaka: I didn’t expect “Little Sparrow” to be the lead track either. Victor made such a bold move (laughs).
-What kind of images and references did you share while working on the song?
Tanaka: For “Little Sparrow,” I knew from the time we made the demo that we were going to make something strange. Kamei wrote a lot of songs while I was sick during the year-end and New Year holidays. I already had two or three demos with beautiful melodies, so with these songs, I thought I could do anything I wanted and write a very experimental songs. The image I have of “Little Sparrow” is that black music, more like something known as black rock music.
-I heard that you like Yves Tumor.
Tanaka: Yves Tumor is a bit cringy for those who know the old music. It’s not only honestly cool, but in a way, it’s cool to listen to now, including the cringy parts, like Living Colour and Kiziah Jones. I like Prince because everyone likes him, but I also refer to music after him. Nishikawa also listened to Living Colour and said, “No, no, I don’t have effects pedals like this” (laughs).
-This album has a large synth element, but overall, the guitars are quite distorted, aren’t they?
Tanaka: Yes, it is. It has been a long time since I distorted guitars this much.
Takano: I somehow interpreted the intention of “Little Sparrow” from listening to the demo tape, so I was quite conscious of the contrast between distorted and non-distorted parts. Also, as in the other songs, people are already tired of listening to the black elements such as the rhythm box, so I wanted to add something more to it, and I had this image of Kamei playing it live and creating a picture.
-Undoubtedly, tracks such as ‘Little Sparrow’ and ‘In a Black Out’ incorporate rhythm boxes, which, in isolation, might bear a resemblance to recent trap music. Nevertheless, integrating the band’s physicality into the blend results in an entirely fresh and unprecedented sound.
Tanaka: I’m actually quite proud of that. It has a feeling that you can’t find anywhere else. Well, it is just an idea as an arrangement of a song, and we are the Japanese who are going to do it. Even if we say, “Let’s try it like this,” and end up with something misunderstood, I think that is exactly what alternative music is all about. It would be a fun recording session if we could get excited about it.
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Producer Isao Takano’s Pioneering Concept: GRAPEVINE’s Unconventional “Band Essence”
-Any difference difference between Takano as a keyboardist and as a producer?
Tanaka: I felt he did not allow things he had allowed in the past. For example, he used to say, “If Kamei played a drum-fill phrase that way, it’s OK,” which was replaced with, “No, I want to do it this way. The same was true for the bass guitar. I felt that he was a producer in that respect.
Takano：It is not the only case with GRAPEVINE, but I work with that kind of mindset everywhere, and everyone is rather vague about rhythm. However, if we organize the rhythm well, it is easier to build up the rest of the song. Tanaka is a person who writes lyrics from the perspective of the orchestra, so I have long thought that this would make it easier for him to come up with more ideas.
-I see. By organizing the rhythm and orchestration, the freedom of the song will increase.
Takano: Especially in recent music, it seems that “singing good is what matters,” but I don’t think that’s the case. I care about the rhythm of the melody, how easy it is to sing, how pleasant it is on the ear, and so on. For example, Kamei is a songwriter, so he sings the drums as well, but I asked him to be more conscious of the song’s overall story.
Tanaka: That was great. The drums are now more dramatic. It makes it easier to imagine the scene of the song.
Takano: After being in the same band for 20 years or so, you get bored and have nothing to do (laughs). It is good to take an approach that hasn’t been done before and digest it, but I thought it would be better to go in a different direction and do something interesting with a more band-like or human-like feel. That is why we asked Tanaka to do more than just play chords. He also has charm as a guitarist, and that aspect comes out during live performances, but I also wanted to incorporate his guitarist side into the work.
Tanaka: That’s why it was quite difficult to play while singing this time (laughs). “Little Sparrow” is extremely difficult. But regardless of whether it’s easier or harder to play, I think the guitar on the previous album was a little more quiet. Or, it was a bit more ambient, rather than quiet. But this time, the guitars are distorted a lot, and I think they sound really good. Afterwards, I felt that was what Takano wanted me to do.
– I think the fusion of that and the previous album’s R&B and Hip-Hop element has resulted in something that has never been done before.
Tanaka: I would have to practice hard to perform live, but the recording was a lot of fun, and recently, I’ve been having a lot of fun at live performances.
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Kazumasa Tanaka as the forefront Japanese singer
-What did you keep in mind while recording the song this time?
Tanaka: I always try to do something I haven’t done before so that it doesn’t repeat what I’ve done in the past, but I always find it difficult to put out a song that’s never been released. I do a lot of image training while writing the lyrics, but on the song recording day, I still didn’t know how to approach the song, so I felt quite nervous.
Tanaka: Until the recording, I was singing in non-sense English, so you are singing like an American artist. On the day of the rehearsal, I was finding out what I wanted to sing. Gradually, I began to see my own songs as a Japanese person. That is very rewarding.
-As Takano mentioned before, Tanaka’s singing has a lot to do with the groove of GRAPEVINE. I heard GRAPEVINE values sessions in songwriting, and that they re-arrange the songs after pre-production. It seems the vocals are also a kind of instrument, working together to build the rhythm, more so than other bands.
Tanaka: That is also why we write songs in nonsense English in the first place, and in the end, pre-production itself is a grand session. We decide on the tone and arrangement during the session, and unless we continue to play the songs in a certain way, we can’t get a good image of what we want. So, as you say, that’s how the songs are born.
-So you write songs in plain English so that they can be easily adjusted to the band’s sessions.
Tanaka: Yes. Some people sing tentative songs in “la-la-la,” but I can never do that. Even if the melody or rhythm changes, it’s all “la-la-la”, right? It’s impossible for me. If it were me, I would probably only use “la-la-la-la” when writing lyrics.
-You must have been involved with many singers recordings, so what do you think of Tanaka’s uniqueness?
Takano：He is a good singer, so he records quickly. He mentioned creating something that does not exist in this world, but I think the fans already know what to expect. Depends on the singers, but Tanaka has no hesitation. There were moments when he sang a little differently, but once he made up his mind, he just went for it. I think that’s what makes him so cool.
Unprecedented Emotional Candor: Lyrics That Lay It Bare
-The lyrics are more straightforward than in the past, and I think that the lyrics are more expressive of emotions than in the past.
Tanaka: You’re right. In the past, what I wanted to say and what I was thinking were put into fiction in a fable-like way. It’s not like Shakespeare, but I was trying to make a story about social issues and the beautiful and dirty parts of human beings.
Tanaka: But this time, I thought it would be better to be more bare. I guess you could say that I was called to do so by the arrangement of the song. Some of the songs, like “Little Sparrow,” are strangely arranged, while others, like “Ub (You be on it),” are more solid, and there are many songs with strong guitars. I think that kind of bare feeling was called by those songs. So, rather than writing a story, I thought it would be better to write something a little more emotional and direct. I guess it was my mood, mode, and so on, but I felt the songs pushed me more.
-How would you describe Tanaka as a lyricist?
Takano：I am not in a position to say anything about his lyrical talent. I always think he is wonderful. As Tanaka was saying, I received a line from him saying, “I’m going to make a mess this time” (laugh), and many words jumped out at me.
-I see.
Takano: I also really like the way Tanaka’s words explode in a live performance, and the way the lyrics and the song grow together. I think there are aesthetics to singing in the same way, but with GRAPEVINE, the songs grow. Even when we play old songs, they are completely different from the previous ones. Tanaka is a live performer, or rather, he writes lyrics with that aspect in mind, so when we play old songs now, they sound different, and I think that is one of the charms of GRAPEVINE.
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Daringly Unfinished: The Birth of the Band’s Dynamic Energy
-The title of the album, “Almost There,” is taken from the first song, “Ub (You bet on it)” which says “If you think the world is wonderful, you’re almost there.
Tanaka: “Ub (You bet on it)” is partly a way of blasting myself, but I also feel that the band’s activity, or way of life, is over once you reach it. For example, the recording was a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to playing it live, but I don’t feel like I’ve put all I have into it. I like how the album turned out, but there is no sense of accomplishment or anything like that.
After making a song, I always think, “I wish I could have played more songs,” and I want it to stay that way. In that sense, I always hope to keep the band rolling, saying, “Almost there, Almost there.” Some people, once they have reached a certain extreme or have perfected their own method (laughs).
– But that tends to happen. As one’s career progresses, one’s own style becomes solidified.
Tanaka: I don’t want to be like that.
Takano: This may go along with what you said, but I don’t really listen to an album after it is completed. That’s why I have trouble with live performances (laugh), but when I start with that unfinished feeling, it changes again. That’s what makes it fun.
Reproducibility is important, but when you try it again, you may find yourself thinking, “I like this better,” or your mood may have changed since you were making it. This is true not only for new songs, but also for reworking old songs. I think that kind of feeling comes out in the performance and the quality of the live show. Even if the people performing are the same, the sense of the moment can bring out a different sense of dynamism. I like people who do that kind of thing, and even if they are very good at it, it doesn’t really matter.
-It is better to have something that is unfinished but keeps changing rather than something that is already completed. I think what you just said represents exactly GRAPEVINE’s shows. and the main attraction of the band itself. Some might prefer a completed, packaged thing that delivers the same way every time.
Tanaka: I think many fans are like that. I think there are people who want me to do exactly what I do on record, and I think that is a difficult thing to do. But when I see other people’s live performances, that’s not what I expect from them. Even if the arrangement is the same, I always think it would be better if there were more dynamics.
-The songs from the new album will have different dynamics when you hear them live, and if you go to GRAPEVINE’s shows, you may gain new perspectives to enjoy music.
Tanaka: That’s right. I will do my best.
Takano: It may sound strange to say this in a GRAPEVINE interview, but I think you should see a lot more than just GRAPEVINE’s live performances. We live in an age where we can easily do input and output, not only at live performances, so if everyone did more, I think the way we enjoy ourselves would change even more.
Tanaka: I really agree. It is better to see and listen to various things.
-By the way, are there any Japanese bands of the younger generation that you are interested in recently?
Takano: Not a band, but Haruko Oishi, who came to GRAPEVINE’s concert. I told her she is the best Japanese artist I listen to.
Tanaka: I think singer-songwriters have more presence now. And many of them have good bands. We want to do live shows not to lose to them. When we are performing like a Japanese rock band, we are also a Japanese rock band, but when we are performing like a band that is considered cool in Japan, if arists like Haruko Oishi, Kaneko Ayano, Strange Reitaro, or Yuta Orisaka comes out, they will take everything away from us. Even if you try your best to be cool and play something rock-like or Western-like, you will never win. There may be a lot of cool bands out there that I just don’t know about, but at least I haven’t seen many of them recently.
-Orisaka might be a good example. He changes band members on a regular basis, to maintain a sense of incompleteness. This is a strength of a singer-songwriter.
Tanaka: Like Kaho Nakamura, such singer-songwriters have strong personalities, and I think they bring good bands with them. So, if we have to play against them, we have to do our best not to lose, and that is the kind of band we want to be.
GRAPEVINE『Almost there』
2023.09.27 Release
Initial Limited Edition (CD DVD) VIZL-2228 / ¥5,720 (tax included)
https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/-/Linkall/VIZL-2228.html
Normal Edition (CD) VICL-65875 / ¥3,520 (tax included)
https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/-/Linkall/VICL-65875.html
VICTOR ONLINE STORE Limited Set (Limited First Edition T-Shirt with Original Serial No.) / ¥9,900 (tax included)
https://victor-store.jp/item/37991
CD Tracks
01 Ub(You bet on it)
02 Sparrow Boy
03 It’s Eternity
04 Ready to get started?
05 The Fruits are Already Ripe
06 Amaterasu
07 Blackout Night
08 Goodbye, Annie
09 The Long Bright Dark
10 Ophelia
11 SEX
Included in the DVD “STUDIO LIVE 2023” *Only included in the limited first pressing.
Includes 5 live studio session videos
01 SPF
02 Ready to get Started?
03 Goodbye, Annie
04 Ub(You bet on it)
05 It’s Eternity
『GRAPEVINE TOUR 2023』
October 6 (Fri) Sapporo Penny Lane 24
October 8 (Sun) Sendai Rensa
October 14 (Sat) Niigata LOTS
October 15 (Sun) Nagano CLUB JUNK BOX
Oct. 21 (Sat) Fukuoka DRUM LOGOS
Oct. 22 (Sun) Hiroshima VANQUISH
Oct. 26 (Thu) Tokyo LINE CUBE SHIBUYA
Oct. 27 (Fri) Nagoya NIHON SPECIAL TURBO CITY HALL VILLAGE HALL
October 29 (Sun) Okayama CRAZYMAMA KINGDOM
Official site: https://www.grapevineonline.jp/
