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Ishige: “As an Asian, I must incorporate Asian melodies and phrases to create something truly original.”
In another interview, I saw you mention that when you were younger, you were influenced by Western music, but recently, you’ve become more conscious of creating original music as an Asian band. Does this relate to your current collaboration? Is this awareness stronger for you now?
Ishige: Yes, definitely. When I was younger, I was very much into the idea that “Western music is the coolest,” but trying to imitate foreign music 100% is difficult when you’re Japanese. So, I realized that after taking elements like sound design and song structure into my own blood, I had to incorporate Asian melodies and phrases as an Asian person to create truly original music. Around the same time, I started noticing the rise of Korean music globally. I felt the shift in the times, and I think today’s young Japanese musicians are naturally able to do this. When I create music, I’m very conscious of being Japanese.
Do you also have an awareness of being “Asian” in addition to being Japanese?
Ishige: Yes, I do. Recently, when I saw events like the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, seeing everyone from Asia coming together to do something as a unified force was something that had never happened in music history before, so I was really happy about it. It also made me want to work hard to the point where we could be part of that too. In that sense, I’ve started listening to music from Taiwan, Korea, and Thailand, and I think there are so many interesting bands from those places.
In 2022, 88rising, headed by Sean Miyashiro, presented ‘Head in the Clouds Forever’ on the main stage, with appearances from prominent Asian artists like Hikaru Utada and Indonesian artist Rich Brian. The following year, BLACKPINK made history as the first Asian group to headline the event in 2023.
Earlier, you mentioned AKIRA, and I heard you’re a big fan of Japanese pop culture.
Shiny: My knowledge of Japan actually started with games. Since I was a kid, I played on consoles like Nintendo and PlayStation, so I naturally became interested in Japan. I love Japanese culture, and every time I go to Japan, I buy a lot of toys. I especially enjoy going to Nakano and picking up anime, manga, and game-related items.
Do you have any particular anime or manga you enjoy?
Shiny: I love both the anime and the manga of AKIRA. I also like this one (shows an image of Taiyo Matsumoto’s Tekkonkinkreet on his phone).
Ishige: Ah, that’s Taiyo Matsumoto. Ping Pong as well.
Shiny: Yeah, Ping Pong too, I know it.
Ishige: Japanese band SUPERCAR’s songs were used for its movie.
While both of you have an interest in each other’s bands and countries, how did the actual collaboration come about?
Shiny: One day, I was playing Dragon Quest XI, and I came up with the melody and the bassline for the chorus of “LV99 勇者.” After that, I played the sequel, Dragon Quest V, and finally completed the chorus, but I couldn’t finish the whole song. It stayed unfinished for a while.
Then, I met the telephones, and we really hit it off. I had this intuitive feeling that the telephones were the missing piece needed to complete “LV99 勇者.” So, I reached out through our manager to ask for a collaboration, and they happily agreed. That’s when we were able to finally finish the song. In the end, I found my “friends,” and the song, inspired by Dragon Quest, was completed.
Ishige: That’s amazing!
Shiny: Amazing! Genius! Akira!
Ishige: Genius! Shiny!
