Interview with RADWIMPS

Internationally renowned rock band RADWIMPS kicked off the second night of their North American tour in Los Angeles on April 18th. Over the 20 years since the release of their debut song in 2003, the group has racked up many impressive achievements. Before their worldwide success with the soundtracks for films such as “Your Name.” and “Suzume”, RADWIMPS swept the hearts and minds of listeners with hits such as Order Made, DADA, and Oshakashama.

Shortly after their LA performance, which you can read about in this live report, the band's three members took the time to answer JaME's questions about their recent tour, their 20-year history together, and their work with acclaimed director Makoto Shinkai.

Please introduce yourselves and tell us how you all met.

Yojiro Noda: I’m Yojiro, the vocals.

Akira Kuwahara: I’m Akira on guitar.

Yusuke Takeda: I’m Yusuke on bass.

Yojiro Noda: When I was 15, I met Kuwahara, and that was the original band. We played until we were 18, and then we met Yusuke and Satoshi through a band contest around that time.

These days, there aren’t too many Japanese bands that can come perform abroad. How did you want to convey the essence of RADWIMPS to fans who’ve known you for Makoto Shinkai’s movies?

Yojiro Noda: This time we put together a set list of all-time favorites, including new surprises for both fans who found us through Makoto Shinkai’s movies, and the fans that have known us from before.

On that topic, RADWIMPS’ discography includes many songs unrelated to anime. How did you decide on the North American tour set list to balance RADWIMPS’ anime songs and non-anime songs?

Yojiro Noda: For the people that only know us through Shinkai’s movies, we’re a lot more rock at our live shows than what people may think we are. There's a lot of live jam sessions going on. We incorporate those sessions and the anime songs to balance out the set list.

Yusuke Takeda: In Japan, we’ve had so much experience as a live band. We wanted to bring that live experience and energy over here, and put all the elements from our past performances into the set list for this tour.


To that point, there was a segment of the show devoted to pitting the band members against one another in a musical battle, which the audience went wild for. Who came up with the idea to include that in the set list? Or was that something brought over from your concerts in Japan?

Yojiro Noda: I think it was originally my idea because I love the jazz improvisational approach. We’re all fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and they also do that in between their sets. We’ve been doing [those jams] for more than 10 years in Japan. As we travel abroad, since there's no language barrier during the jam sessions, it seems like it works well around the world. The fans really appreciate that section as well.

Definitely, from yesterday’s reactions. Not a lot of bands do improvisation. Usually, they'll run through a set list and with an MC portion. But it’s a different feeling than being at a rock concert.

Yojiro Noda: Yeah, we feel we can communicate with the jam sessions because the audience can feel it.

Previously, RADWIMPS had a world tour planned in the summer of 2020 that was abruptly canceled. Why did 2023 feel like a good year to do your North American tour?

Yojiro Noda: We had been talking about coming back in Spring 2022, because for some reason, Japan had the COVID regulation protocols in place for a long time but the US had already started opening up and lifting those measures last year. We thought, if we can't do the tour in Japan like we used to, let's just go back to the States where we can. That was the original plan that we started talking about last year.

Yesterday, RADWIMPS gave LA an extra encore song, as well as a completely different set list from San Jose. Are you adjusting the songs based on which best fits the city you’re performing in?

Yojiro Noda: We do have about three songs on the set list where we can freely change every time. For the encore, it's completely on the spot. We do the actual concert, and then we decide what would be a good fit for the encore on the day of.

With a discography that spans 20 years, there's so many songs to choose from. It's surprising to hear that you decide to choose at that moment.

Yojiro Noda: Yeah, just like you mentioned, rehearsing so many song options for the encore is tough. We do more than 10 songs just to get ready for the encore during rehearsal.

Regarding the set and lighting design for RADWIMPS’ concerts in general, they tend to be heavily backlit, which shrouds the members in an air of mystery. Can you share the reasoning behind the set design for your performances?

Yojiro Noda: In a theater, we feel that the audience doesn't have to see our faces all the time. There could be a production where we show ourselves through the background videos and the lighting. I believe that’s our signature production.


In the two-decade history of RADWIMPS, what was the turning point for each member? Was there a moment where you believed that staying in this band is what you wanted to do?

Akira Kuwahara: The turning point for me was likely in high school when I met Yojiro. We had a band that was looking for a singer, and that's when he came along. We were doing cover songs, but Yojiro brought his own original songs as a teenager. It was shocking for me, and those songs were really cool and impressive. That's when I decided to make a living as a member in a rock band.

Yusuke Takeda: Mine would be in middle school and high school. I wanted to make instruments, not play them. I had been playing, but I wanted to become a technician to make instruments. But after I met RADWIMPS, we went straight into recording. I shifted into being an actual professional player rather than making instruments.

Yojiro Noda: Probably college. During that time, I thought if I didn’t make it in the band during college, I’d just become a salaryman. I'd get a decent job at a company because that's the kind of thing that my parents did, and what they expected me to do as well. Fortunately, during my college years, the band had a few top 10 hits in Japan and I thought, “Maybe this is it, so let's continue doing this.”

Switching gears to RADWIMPS’ work on Makoto Shinkai's movies: compared to the music RADWIMPS made for “Your Name.,” “Suzume” is more solemn and focuses on softer notes. The story itself is also more mature. How did you incorporate elements from the screenplay? Since Yusuke mentioned his interest in instruments, did that factor into the production and creation of some of the music?

Yusuke Takeda: My interest in making instruments didn't really affect what we did on “Suzume”. But at the very beginning stage of the production, we wanted to do something completely different from the past two Shinkai movies. There was a theme of timelessness and a lack of borders.

Given that this is the third project RADWIMPS has collaborated with Makoto Shinkai on, does it get easier to craft film scores and theme songs for his movies?

Yojiro Noda: No way. It doubles in difficulty with each movie. It gets harder and harder. Even the time spent for the production gets longer. We spent a year and a half on “Your Name.,” and “Suzume” took two and a half years to produce. We never want to do anything the same, and we’re always ready for new challenges. As a creator, it's a fun process. On the other hand, it’s a very difficult process.


I remember reading that KANATAHALUKA took a while to create as you ran into a bit of a challenge when Shinkai asked if you could write another song.

Yojiro Noda: Shinkai himself is evolving at full speed, so we must evolve at full speed with him. Having a front row seat to what he's doing is really inspiring to us.

This year, RADWIMPS will be celebrating its 20th anniversary. What is something you’d like fans to know about the band that they don’t already know?

Yojiro Noda: The fact that Akira recently got divorced (laughs). And maybe that’s it.

JaME would like to thank RADWIMPS and Cara Wodnicki for making this interview possible.

RADWIMPS will be embarking on a tour of Europe on May 21st. Visit their official website for ticket information.

The band also recently unveiled a new music video for their latest digital single KANASHIBARI feat.ao, which can be viewed below.