Interview with OKAMOTO'S at JAPAN NIGHT in London

The members of OKAMOTO'S were just 18 years old when they made their major debut in 2010, but they've already accomplished a great deal. They've collaborated with various artists on recording projects and live sessions, and travelled around the world performing in the US, Australia and Asia.

On July 10th this year, the quartet performed at JAPAN NIGHT at HYPER JAPAN in London. Shortly before the curtains were raised, vocalist Sho Okamoto spoke to JaME in English in a short interview about the band's latest single and more.


First of all, I'd like to thank you on behalf of JaME for agreeing to this interview. I hope your time in London has been going well so far. How do you feel about your upcoming performance?

Sho Okamoto: It’s our first time in London. It’s a dream come true to be able to play in a foreign country at the same place where bands like the Rolling Stones have played, so we’re very excited.

Your latest single Dance With Me/Dance With You was released on June 17th. Please share the concept of this single and tell us what the songs are about.

Sho Okamoto: This single is about why you should dance when there’s good music and trying to break out of the mundane.

The CD jacket artwork of Dance With Me/Dance With You looks interesting. What does the image of the person wearing a blue outfit represent?

Sho Okamoto: We’re trying to do something similar to rock opera. We think he's the main character of the story we’re writing with our music and this single is the first chapter.

You've collaborated with RIP SLYME and Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra for your fifth anniversary commemorative album last year. How did the opportunity to collaborate with them come about?

Sho Okamoto: Well, we really respect them for the sound they create. We made the offer to collaborate with them as we wanted to create this type of sound together. Also, we’d already met them at some festivals.

Any memorable or interesting encounters during the collaboration?

Sho Okamoto: We only played once for the song we did with Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. Usually, when you collaborate with someone, you will have some rehearsals. However, with them, we only went to the same studio to do the song once and it wasn’t like there were only four or five people—there were many of them! (laughs)

Was it difficult?

Sho Okamoto: No! It wasn’t. We were a little nervous, but it wasn’t bad. It was like magic! (laughs)

Who else do you hope to collaborate with in the future? Any particular reason for choosing that person or band?

Sho Okamoto: We want to collaborate with Magazine or The Strypes because we feel we’ve the same style of music.

I see that some of your old songs are available on iTunes for international fans to purchase. Do you have plans to make your new songs available on iTunes or Amazon internationally as well?

Sho Okamoto: Yes! We’d love to if we’ve the chance to do it! There’re a few songs you can already buy from iTunes, but not all, so we'll try for the next new album.

After JAPAN NIGHT, what's next for OKAMOTO’S?

Sho Okamoto: We’ll record a new album, and we’ll have a pretty big tour in Japan. After that, I don’t know … maybe we’ll make plans to come back and play at some places in Europe after tonight.

To round things off, can you please leave a message for JaME readers?

Sho Okamoto: I hope you like us! We hope you like this kind of music.

JaME would like to thank the JAPAN NIGHT Executive Committee and OKAMOTO'S for making this interview possible.