Ayano Kaneko and OGRE YOU ASSHOLE What Moves Them Live

Where OGRE YOU ASSHOLE and Ayano Kaneko First Crossed Paths

When did you two first meet?

Deto: I was invited to DJ at a uri gagarn event at Daikanyama UNIT, and Kaneko was performing a solo set. Do you remember how many years ago that was?

Kaneko: It has not been ten years yet. It was well before the pandemic, around May 2018.

Deto: We did not really talk much at the time, but it was my first time seeing her live, and it left a strong impression. I was simply struck by how powerful her singing was. And then when she finished, even though she had just delivered something so intense, the way she walked off stage felt almost like she was saying that what you just saw has nothing to do with me anymore. That contrast really stayed with me.

You were already familiar with OGRE YOU ASSHOLE before that, right?

Kaneko: Of course. I even bought a ticket and went to see their show at Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall in heavy rain in September 2018, and I had seen them earlier at Shimokitazawa SHELTER too, so at first I was just a regular fan. Then later, we properly shared a bill for the first time at an event organized by Shibuya WWW in February 2022 at Meguro Persimmon Hall. It felt like a moment where we were starting to think about doing more things together going forward.

That was also around the time when your band was going through changes, like switching support members, right?

Kaneko: That show actually became a bit of a turning point for me. Since it was a co-headline show with OGRE YOU ASSHOLE, Soichiro Nakamura was there, right? He had already been mastering my work, so we had known each other for a while.

That day was also the first time I used an old combo amp I had just bought, but the roadie had set it up using a head instead. Nakamura said something like, you bought that amp because you like its sound, so why are you doing that? It was a small thing, but it made me realize I was starting to forget the sound I actually love.

I had been so focused on other things that I was about to lose sight of it, and that moment really pulled me back. In that sense, that day has stayed with me very strongly.

Deto: About two years after that, we asked her to play our event “DELAY,” and we did another co-headline show at Misono Universe. By then, the impression was completely different. It felt like something really significant had happened. I had been hearing people say things like, Kaneko’s band is incredible right now, and that was part of why we invited her. But when I actually saw it, it had truly become something else. I was honestly surprised.

How had it changed?

Deto: The sound of the band had this much deeper presence to it. I had not seen them that many times, so I cannot exactly explain what had changed on a technical level, but the way it hit you was completely different. Before, there was still an impression of her as a solo performer, with her voice at the center and the band supporting it. But at that point, it felt more like a solid mass of sound coming at you all at once.

Even though the name kanekoayano had always been used, and the live setup already leaned more toward a band than a typical singer songwriter format, it felt like the sense of being a band really intensified over those two years, right?

Kaneko: There were some lineup changes, so that was a big part of it. The effects I use and the overall sound direction have not changed that drastically, but changing the rhythm section had a huge impact. That might be the key difference. But also, what I mentioned earlier, being asked that question at the Persimmon Hall show, what is it that you really want to do, that was probably a big moment too. It made me rethink everything from there.

A Lasting Love for Bands

There was the Osaka show of “DELAY” in June 2024, and about two months later, your band activities formally shifted under the kanekoayano name. Looking back, why did you decide to become a band?

Kaneko: It already felt like we were a band even before that, we just had not really named it that way. We were arranging everything together anyway, so making it official felt like the most natural and straightforward decision.

I have also always been drawn to bands, so in a way it just made things clearer for me. And if calling it a band meant everyone could commit more fully and push things further together, then that felt like the right direction to take.

You have always had a sense of admiration for bands, including OGRE YOU ASSHOLE, right?

Kaneko: Yeah, definitely. In the end, I have always just loved bands.

And Deto, you have always been in a band as well. Have you ever thought about doing solo work?

Deto: Not really, at least not at this point. I feel like I am able to do everything I want to do within the band, so the urge to do something else does not really come up.
If I were to do solo work alongside the band, even if I took it seriously, it might still be seen as something secondary or just a side project. I would not want that. So I am putting everything into the band.

In recent years, your songs seem to lean more toward a krautrock influence, with a stronger emphasis on repetition. For example, I imagine some listeners may have been reminded of OGRE YOU ASSHOLE when hearing “Taiyo wo Mezashiteru.” How do you feel about that shift?

Kaneko: I think a big part of that is the current rhythm section. The two of them are really good at that kind of approach. Also, I realized that making songs with just two chords can actually be really fun.

In a more singer songwriter style, you might feel the need for more chord changes, but with a band approach, you can still create something compelling with just two chords.

Kaneko: That said, I do think it can be risky if you lean too much into that. Lately I have been going back to writing in a more traditional way too, like the kind of songs I used to make on my own. Ideally, I would like to be able to do both. There is something unique about the current members, but there is also meaning in the fact that I am the one writing the songs, so finding a balance between the two would be ideal.

What draws you to repetition?

Kaneko: I have always liked repetition in words. When you repeat the same phrase over and over, the meaning starts to shift. It can become heavier, or sometimes lighter. The same goes for sound as well. That is something I really love.