Interview with SPYAIR

SPYAIR is one of the most promising bands on the Japanese rock scene. Since its formation in 2005, the four members have added many impressive achievements to their resume, including having their songs associated with popular anime series such as “Bleach” and “Gintama”, their releases ranking in the top ten of the Oricon weekly charts, and a performance at the legendary Budokan Hall.

In anticipation of their performance at the Tokyo Crazy Kawaii Paris convention, our French team was able to ask the band about their formation, their latest album MILLION, what they hope to achieve during their visit to France, and much more.


Hello, can you please introduce yourselves?

SPYAIR: Hello! We are SPYAIR. We have IKE as lead singer, UZ on guitar, MOMIKEN on bass and KENTA on drums.

How would you describe your music?

SPYAIR: To put it simply, it's rock music.

When you write your songs, which bands or artists influence you?

SPYAIR: Musically speaking, I would say Linkin Park.

What song would you recommend to someone who has never heard your music, and why?

SPYAIR: Our album MILLION has been created as a coherent block, so I would advise that they listen to the whole album from track 1 to 11. With this, they will get an idea of our vision.

SPYAIR started activities in 2005. How did you get together?

SPYAIR: IKE, MOMIKEN and KENTA went to the same junior high school and thought it would be pretty cool to start a band. Then UZ joined and SPYAIR was born.

What inspired you to embark on a musical career?

SPYAIR: It seemed fun!
It doesn't really matter what gets you to start doing something. The reasons to keep doing it come along as you advance.

The convention Tokyo Kawaii Crazy Paris will be your first performance in France. What are your expectations for this show?

SPYAIR: It's always interesting to see how the same live plays out in different countries. We are looking forward to seeing what will be different in France!

How did you prepare for this show?

SPYAIR: We're always prepared when we play live.
We've cooked up a special set-list for our visit to France. We hope it will please you.

If you have time, what sights would you like to visit in Paris?

SPYAIR: We would love to see the Louvre. I think it's a wonderful museum, worth its worldwide reknown.

Tokyo Kawaii Crazy Paris is an event that focuses heavily on fashion. Are you interested in fashion? Is there a style or a clothing brand that you particularly enjoy?

SPYAIR: Of course, we're interested in the clothes we wear!
Regarding the brands we like, IKE likes JULIUS, UZ likes LAD MUSICIAN, MOMIKEN likes H>FRACTAL. For KENTA, I'm not so sure. (laughs)

Beyond this event, what are your other plans for the coming months?

SPYAIR: In autumn, we will be touring in Japan for our new album. This time, we are not playing in live houses but in concert halls. We will try to make the concerts worth seeing.

Last year you worked on the song Rock This Way with rapper SEAMO. Can you tell us about that experience?

SPYAIR: We all come from Nagoya. We’d always talked about how we would like to work together if we had the chance and that's how we came to do Rock This Way.

Which other artist(s) would like to work with if you had the chance?

SPYAIR: There are so many. But since we're coming to France, we would really like to work with some French artists. For instance, we listened to the French band Pleymo. It would be nice if we could do something with them.

In December 2012, you played at the legendary Budokan Hall for the first time. Can you tell us about that experience?

SPYAIR: Playing at the Budokan Hall was our goal for last year as well as one of the mandatory dreams to realize as a band. So now, we've gone past the Budokan and are ready to draw new dreams. Everything starts now! Still, we were able to give a great show to our fans at the Budokan and it helped us broaden our view!

There is no better live house! We hope to play there again in the future!

Also in December 2012, it was announced that your DJ ENZEL decided to leave the band to pursue training. What were your reactions? Has this led to any changes in the way you work?

SPYAIR: It was his decision to leave and the reason we are not looking for another new member is because we started with four members and this number feels right to us.

In August, your third album MILLION was released. What can we expect from it?

SPYAIR: I grew up buying and listening to CDs. On this disc, there is more than just sound. My memories and feelings as a listener are also recorded on it. When I made this CD, I was hoping a million people would buy it and be able to know how I feel. Especially in these times where we don't buy CDs anymore.

Finally, do you have a message for our readers?

SPYAIR: We are looking forward to our live in France! We really are! We're excited at the idea of having French people listen to our songs and discovering the country! It's going to be a live only possible in France!


JaME would like to thank SPYAIR for making this interview possible.