Interview with BACK-ON

From June 12th-14th, cosplayers from all over Europe invaded the Dutch city of The Hague for the annual convention Animecon. This year’s musical guest was BACK-ON, known for their contributions to the world of anime and gaming, with “Air Gear”, “Gundam” and the PSP game “Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2” being just a few examples. JaME met up with these talkative and cheerful boys, who seemed oddly relaxed mere hours before their first live in the Netherlands.


Let’s start with introductions. Please tell us your names, your role in the band and the reason why you chose that position.

GORI: I’m GORI, the bassist. I started playing bass because of my senpai, a friend who is actually a sumo wrestler, but he also plays guitar. (All members burst out laughing) I thought he was cool so I followed in his footsteps.

TEEDA: I’m the MC, TEEDA. I became interested in rapping because of my older sister’s influence.

KENJI03: KENJI03, vocalist and guitarist. I wanted to have this position in a band because I like to stand out, to show off a little. (laughs)

SHU: I’m SHU, guitarist. I started playing guitar just because I wanted to play in a band.

KENJI03: That’s an honest answer.

Have you been able to look around at Animecon yet and have you found anything interesting?

TEEDA: The women are indeed very beautiful.

KENJI03: We followed the cosplayers when we were walking around here so that we could arrive at the venue without getting lost.

You are at this convention because your name is attached to quite a number of animes. Could you tell us more about the process of creating a theme song?

TEEDA: It usually starts with being contacted by the creators or the publisher. Then we talk with the director or mangaka. We try to unify the creator’s message and our own message, and infuse it into a song. Also, we try to come up with a riff that fits with animation while watching actual footage.

How much space do you get from the creators?

TEEDA: We get keywords from the producers or creative directors. For example when we did Strike Back for “Fairy Tail”, we spoke with Hiro Mashima, the mangaka. He already knew about BACK-ON and he said “just make some cool music”. So we were pretty free.

I suppose you could say they choose BACK-ON because they trust the band to deliver. Anyway, which anime or games do you like yourselves?

GORI: That would be “Gundam”.

TEEDA: As for anime, “Samurai X”. And as for games, “Monster Hunter”.

KENJI03: “Dragon ball” for anime, and for games, I like the app “Clash of Clans”.

SHU: “Ghost in the Shell”.

Where do you get your inspiration for writing music?

TEEDA: In everyday things, while I’m driving, riding my bike, going out, drinking with friends, going to a club, as well as when watching a movie or anime. They inspire me to create music that fits well with each context.

Did you get any inspiration while in the Netherlands?

KENJI03: Yesterday we went to Amsterdam and saw scenes we can’t see in Japan. That will probably influence new songs.

Did you try any food in Amsterdam?

KENJI03: Cheese! I tried some free samples in a shop. (laughs) What are some good types of cheese in the Netherlands?

TEEDA: Let’s interview the interviewer.

KENJI03: I’m curious because there are so many different kinds of cheese here.

Goat cheese, because it has more benefits than cow’s cheese, especially if you have bad skin!

KENJI03: And what do you combine it with, or do you eat it just like that? In pasta?

TEEDA: With wine.

The possibilities with cheese are endless, really.

GORI: We have got to try goat cheese if it’s good for skin.

Back to BACK-ON, who have been active for thirteen years now. Did you do anything to celebrate your tenth anniversary?

TEEDA: Actually this year is the tenth anniversary since our debut. We are thinking about releasing a best-of album now.

Which songs would you definitely want to include in that album?

TEEDA: That’s quite difficult. Which songs would you like to be on it? (laughs)

Hmm, that’s a hard question actually…

TEEDA: See? It really is. But I guess a song like Chain from “Air Gear” will probably be on there, because it brought us to the scene of theme song production.

As you’ve grown older, your approach to making music might change. Is there a difference between how it was when you started and now?

GORI: The experience and knowledge increases, but our passion remains the same and our source of inspiration hasn't changed.

What do you like most about being a musician, and what difficulties do you face?

BACK-ON: It’s hard sometimes that we can’t easily go home and be with our families because we're on tour. Then again, the upside of being a musician is that we don’t have to go home. (laughs)

In the past you’ve worked together with GReeeeN and Lil' Fang from the band FAKY. If you could choose a band, any band, to work with in the future, who would it be?

TEEDA: L’arc~en~ciel, right?

KENJI03: X JAPAN, Linkin Park.

SHU: Beastie Boys too, right?

Animecon works with a theme every year and we always want to ask the artist a related question. So, as this year’s theme is “don’t try this at home”, what's the most embarrassing or stupidest thing you’ve ever done?

TEEDA: Tattoos. (everyone laughs) But we did once walk completely naked through Kyoto.

KENJI03: There are a few stories involving me being drunk and a girl I liked. That’s all I’d like to share about that, though. (laughs)

To round things off before we get into dangerous territory, do you have a final message to the readers of JaME?

BACK-ON: We’d like to do a world tour sometime. In the meantime, please follow us through our website, Twitter, and YouTube channel. We’d like to visit your countries. When we play near you, please come and see us! We’d like to meet all of you!


JaME would like to thank BACK-ON, their management, Masami Striezenau and J-POP Foundation for making this interview possible.