Interview with ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION

Ahead of the European leg of their Wonder Future tour in November, ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION chats with JaME in a detailed interview about who'd be who in an anime and family, traveling essentials and of course, music.

Thank you for agreeing to this interview. As this is JaME's first interview with you, please introduce yourselves.

Gotoh: I'm Masafumi Goto, on vocals and guitar, writing lyrics and songs.
Kita: Kensuke Kita, on guitar.
Yamada: Takahiro Yamada, on bass.
Ijichi: Kiyoshi Ijichi, on drums.

Could each of you introduce the other members through a distinctive sign or a particular story?

Gotoh: Yamada is Yamcha in "Dragon Ball"
Yamada: But I don't often turn on the TV. (laughs)
Gotoh: Ok, then this is Nappa, just for looks. (laughs) But he supports the band a lot. What's funny about him is that even though he remains humble, he's really narcissistic. He's the most mysterious of the band because there are many things we don't know about him.
Yamada: (introducing Kita) How do I put this ... he's too cute. You can't blame him. He seems very calm, but he makes the headlines. You have to see when he drink too much—sometimes he scares us. It seems that he can become dangerous if left unchecked. But so far, he's been a very serious guy.
Gotoh: So which character would he be in "Dragon Ball"?
Yamada: Really? Only in "Dragon Ball"?
Gotoh: Well it's easier for readers, isn't it?
Yamada: In this case, can he be Goku?
Gotoh: Naaaaan!
Kita: Really? He can't be Goku anyway.
Ijichi: Yes, yes, I see the thing, I agree with him.
Yamada: We will worry if he is not there ...
Kita: (introducing Ijichi) He's someone who covets what he doesn't have. He must try. After that, he reflects on his actions. Anyway, he's a great drummer. I respect him for that. We argue sometimes, but if he criticizes me for something, I analyze my mistakes because I have total confidence in him. When we were students, I found him too lax, but ever since he started his solo project PHONOTONES, I think he has reflected on many things.
Ijichi: Thank you. (laughs)
Kita: In "Dragon Ball", I think he would be Chichi. (laughs)
Gotoh: Why Chichi? We understand nothing if you don't explain. (laughs)
Ijichi: (introducing Gotoh) He is the "must" of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION. Without him, we can neither begin nor end a composition. Even with three of us, that doesn't go away. He's a very responsible person but sometimes he's too carefree. That's why we call him "nature." I feel that he's gotten fatter since our beginnings. He juices up the band. It's reflected in our works and it's probably thanks to him that we can embark on this tour and record outside of Japan. I think he's at the top. And getting back to the characters of "Dragon Ball" ...
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION: (laugh)
Gotoh: Oh that was funny, especially the last sentence. (laughs) So we are doing a serious interview, we speak of "Dragon Ball". (laughs) We have to do it in France!
Ichiji: Perhaps Vegeta. (laughs)

If ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION were a family, who would be the father, mother, son and so on? Why?

Gotoh: The Dad would be Yama-chan (Yamada); do you see any other choice, guys?
Yamada: You mean Dad-like ...?
Gotoh: Like the typical, traditional Dad. Head of the house. An image of the Dad in the Showa-era, rather old school. Dependable, and as a son you'd feel a kind of unspoken, strong power, not necessarily an overwhelming power but a kind of silence with a presence. Being a son, you're like "I wish you'd just come out and say it." He's the one who's certainly got it together of the bunch. I don't think I've ever seen any sort of maternal instincts from Yama-chan. Yeah, he really is like a Dad.
Kita: Next is Mom. That's hard.
Yamada: Ijichi can cook really well.
Ijichi: Oh, me, the Mom?
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION: (all laugh)
Gotoh: Mom is a tough one. It's true that Kiyoshi cooks really well. A Mom that cooks well is great, but I sort of think maybe in terms of compassion, Kita might be it. He's very tolerant. He rarely says negative things about anyone and I think it's a great trait. There are certain things that really tick him off though so if you happen to be caught with that, he'll definitely let you know (Kita rolls on the floor, laughing). All in all, he's calm and compassionate so maybe that's kind of Mom-like. He'd certainly be a drunken Mom.
Kita: In the band, Gocchi (Goto) is also a kind of a Dad figure too? He rounds us all up. He has the last word.
Gotoh: I think being Gramps is better. Like "Oh boy there goes Gramps again ... "
Kita: Ah, a grumpy ol' Gramps.
Gotoh: A cranky old Gramps, like "Oh no, Gramps is refusing to eat the miso soup again ..." I can kind of be like that sometimes.

Your latest album, Wonder Future, will be released across Europe via JPU Records on November 6th. Which song on the album did you find most challenging to create? In what way was it challenging?

Ijichi: That would be the track Winner and Loser. It took a long time to arrange the track. In the beginning we were playing with just the three of us—with Kita and Yamada—but it was quite a complicated track and it was hard trying to figure out how to get that across. The other tracks were pretty painless but this one took a long time.
Gotoh: They were all trying to explain it to me but I couldn't get it, and I eventually ended up writing sheet music for it to be able to play. I had to follow the sheet music for the rhythm because I couldn't remember it. I had to write down to play five beats or else I would forget. It just didn't sink in, the rhythm, at the time. I had to really work at it.

Your 2012 best-of album, BEST HIT AKG, will also be released across Europe via JPU Records on November 6th. Please recommend one song from the album to people who haven't listened to you before. What is that song about?

Gotoh: When we get a question like that, I just say that they're all the best tracks! That's all I can say. But maybe we can each force ourselves to pick a favorite.
Kita: There was a track called Marching Band that was only available on the Best-of album because it was the newest track at the time. It has a really upbeat chorus and it's a real upper for the live shows so give that a listen.
Ijichi: Mine is Love Song of New Century. There was a bit of a kerfuffle when this song was written. When Gotoh made a demo for us, we really didn't know what to think of the sudden rap-like lyrics and the vocals leading, and we really struggled to internalize and develop the track. When we finally got it, we felt amazing and felt like we had a new style for the band, a new track, and like we made a breakthrough to a new level.
Yamada: I think people tend to see us as a band with fast rock beats, but we also have tracks like Rockn' Roll, Morning Light Falls On You that are emotional and deep and have a relaxed beat, so I hope the fans get to know that side of us too.

In the past, your releases featured colourful jacket artwork. However, your most recent releases only had plain backgrounds with your band name and release title on them. What is the reason behind this change?

Gotoh: The concept of this album was to sing about a town somewhere, imaginary, but somehow part of the reality we live in. So I thought it might be better to have an album cover without a particular impression. The idea was that maybe the listener could fill in their own future, the Wonder Future they are thinking of, to their album cover. This theme is also part of our current tour, the album tour which is unfortunately only for Japan, where we have built an imaginary town on the stage. It's totally white so we can use AR/video mapping to project photos and videos and paintings during the show.

Several of your songs have been used as anime themes. Are you anime fans? For which anime would you like to compose an ending or opening theme?

Gotoh: It's a great honor that our songs were chosen as anime themes. I'm glad they use our songs. When one says they'll even adapt the anime to our songs, it makes us very happy. When I think about it every time I look at these themes, I'm moved. There're many good quality anime in Japan, like the works of Ghibli Studios and many others. So if one day we discover a good anime, we'll be happy to make its theme.

You will be performing in Europe and Latin America this November as part of your Wonder Future tour. How are the preparations for the tour getting along?

Gotoh: We're really on a roll with the tour in Japan so I think we'll be able to come to you in great condition.
Kita: It'll be different to the tour in Japan and we'll be able to play for you with just the four of us, so I hope you'll enjoy seeing us, just the way we are.

What is one item that you absolutely must pack in your luggage whenever you go on a tour?

Gotoh: I put the utmost trust in the Japanese gastrointestinal meds so I always get some at the airport before I leave. The sudden change in the foods I eat can be hard for my body to adjust to when I go abroad. It was particularly difficult the last time I was in Germany and most of the food was meat, because at the time my diet was practically vegan and I rarely ate any meat; my body was a bit shocked with the sudden change.
Ijichi: I bring dried natto (fermented soy bean). It's easy to just eat like a snack and it really works for me. Natto is part of my regular diet so my stomach can react badly if I go without it. I hear a lot of people take it with them when they travel abroad, and it makes the transition of food easier.
Yamada: I had just started taking DHA/fish oil supplements the last time I went to Europe, and it seemed to make the jetlag manageable so I've actually been taking them regularly ever since. It's also not really easy to otherwise get the fish oil nutrients.
Kita: There aren't many places to smoke when you're abroad so I take a bunch of Nicorette, nicotine gum, with me. Helps on the long flights too. Sorry I'm the only one without a healthy habit.

Is there any particular place or food you wish to visit or try in the countries you will be visiting as part of your Wonder Future tour?

Gotoh: I know we actually won't be able to, but if we could I would have liked to go a bit beyond Chile to Peru, the Inca ruins and Machu Picchu. (all band members nod in agreement) Really want to go but of course we won't have time for that so that will have to wait. Brazilian food sounds good so I want to try good churrasco (BBQ).
Kita: I've heard that so many Mexican foods are hot and spicy so it's a little daunting but it's also exciting for me too.
Ijichi: I can't wait for the wines in Chile.
Yamada: I'm looking forward to the beer in Germany.

Next year, ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION will celebrate its twentieth anniversary. What have you planned to celebrate the event?

Gotoh: Next year marks our twentieth anniversary, so it's important. I think it would be nice to do one or two lives to celebrate this. For the rest, we're thinking about it, then we'll wait a little longer.

What do you think of your many years of success?

Gotoh: I don't know how we got here. Maybe we're just lucky. We don't try to do marketing when writing our songs. We always did what we wanted, and then people came to us. So I'm unable to give an explanation for our success.

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

Gotoh: It's being able to drink beer and wine from the afternoon. In Japan, it's frowned upon. But when you're a musician, society tolerates such behavior. You can also manage your free time, and this is also important. But the most important thing is to drink booze in the day. (laughs)
Yamada: For me, it's being able to live doing what I love ... Well, we also have some difficulties. For example, we have to be in good physical condition for lives. It's also important to feel good about yourself.
Gotoh: I have a problem with being recognized by fans on the street. For example, when someone calls me while I'm eating in a cheap restaurant, I say "why now?" I hope no one will shoot at me. (laughs) This problem is very real in this day and age where there are social networks—fans may post reports if they see us anywhere. It's scary.
Ijichi: What I like is that it's not routine. I can play in different places every day and I do a different job.
Gotoh: Yes, because you can't stand routine. But I like routine. For example, in the morning when I get up, I drink coffee. I go to the studio around 9am. I prefer it when the schedule is quite defined.

Are you already working on a new release? What can we expect from you in the future?

Kita: It's been a while but we'll be releasing a new single that we wrote as the theme for an Isao Yukisada film called "Pink and Gray" that will be in theaters around New Year's next year.

To round things off, please leave a message for JaME readers.

Kita: Hello, readers of JaME. We're really thrilled that we can come back to Europe again. When we were there two years ago, we were hoping it wouldn't be the last time and so we really tried hard to do a show that you would want us back again for, and it's great that we're able to come back. It'll be our first time in South America, and we're really looking forward to it. I hope we can enjoy the whole experience together.
Yamada: We're touring Japan with the album Wonder Future just prior to our live dates in Europe and we'll be really warmed up with the tracks from that album, so it would mean a lot to us if you'd check out that album too.
Ijichi: We're planning to pack the set list with songs that you want to hear and giving it all we've got, so look out!

JaME would like to thank ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, JPU Records and B7Klan for making this interview possible.

You can watch a video message from ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION to European fans below.