Dobly, Rica Minami and SOMA at the J-Culture Con in Derby, UK

Dobly

Moments before their performance, the "neo shoe-gazing" duo spoke about their musical style, life in London and why Japanese bands have an impact on the audience that others don't.


Could you please introduce yourselves?

Rie: I’m Rie from Dobly, the vocalist and guitarist.

Hide: I’m Hide from Dobly, I’m basically the drummer. We started out as a folk duo but now we play with some, you know, live environment.

Rie: He plays acoustic guitar sometimes as well, and we both write songs.

How did you choose the name Dobly?

Hide: Yeah, that’s from the film "This is Spinal Tap." The vocalist’s girlfriend, well, she isn't part of the band but she comes to the band meeting and speaks sometimes. Sony introduces Dolby, the noise reduction system, and she says, “Why don’t you record your songs with Dobly?” She was trying to say “Dolby”, but she said “Dobly”, and then, you know, the other members there were like “What?” (laughs)

Rie: Just because we love the film, we took it from there.

How did the two of you meet?

Rie: I can’t remember.

Hide: Well, she doesn’t remember, but she was playing with my mate. I went to the rehearsal and we met through mutual friends.

Rie: At the time my taste was changing. I wanted to do more acoustic music, more reduced, and Hide suggested having a folk duo.

Hide: Yeah, we had a folk duo.

Rie: That’s what I wanted at that time, but I joined a three-piece band as well.

Could you please describe your music style?

Hide: It is very difficult but…

Rie: Folk, and today shoe-gazing.

Hide: A little bit soothing, shoe-gazing, (laughs) shall we say “neo-shoe gazer.” Whatever you want to call it. Yeah, it’s a little bit influenced by shoe-gazing.

What are your musical influences, both Japanese and Western?

Hide: Well, I’m not sure about influences, but we both really like Nick Drake.

Rie: And My Bloody Valentine. I don’t know many Japanese though.

Do you ever find it difficult mixing so many different genres?

Hide: No, well, it’s really hard to categorise a song, isn’t it? If you just think it’s good…

Rie: We are not aware of mixing things; we just pick what we feel good doing.

Why did you decide to base yourselves in the UK rather than in Japan?

Hide: Cause, well we lived in London for quite a long time already and we liked the style of London. It's got the venues and the system is really different from what we have in Japan and I like the system.

Rie: The people are more casually coming to see bands.

Hide: And then even if you just jump into the venue, the audience is like, very, very friendly.

Rie: Like they give an honest response.

How are you enjoying the convention so far?

Hide: I haven’t seen a lot yet, cause I was setting up the drums and things.

Rie: The staff is so helpful.

Hide: Yeah, very, very friendly. Yeah, we like cosplay. I have participated in a few events in London, cosplay events. I like cosplay and people wearing cosplay is nice. I mean, It’s nice to see them. I like manga as well so you know; I just kind of have a feeling that I have found a point of similarity.

Rie: It’s nice to see lots of people who like Japanese culture, I appreciate that.

Most people at this convention will be experiencing Japanese culture through manga, anime and music. Is there anything you would like to say to people who are interested in Japan?

Rie: Well, keep amused.

Hide: Yeah, Japan is so different, so a lot of things you see are exciting. I mean I’m Japanese, I was born in Japan and I was brought up there until I was 15 years old. So, well, I've gotten kind of far from Japan now, but I can still find a lot of goodness in Japan, so there's not only differences, but we still have similar points, like, in terms of humour. I think most Japanese people find Ricky Gervais funny. I mean, there are some similarities as well, so if you can find them then that would be fantastic.

Why do you think Japanese music and culture has become so popular overseas?

Hide: Manga and visual kei.

Rie: Such a different imagination.

Hide: Like visual kei in Japan, like DIR EN GREY, whether you like them or not, it’s very, very different from other things. It’s got originality, it’s Japanese originality, so it’s good to have this sort of impact. So, that’s why animation has become very popular in Europe, hasn’t it?

Rie: Maybe a bit surreal, the imagination…

Hide: There aren’t any rules, cause with Japanese bands, there are lots of colours of hair. There are no rules, it’s good.

Could you both recommend a song of yours for people to try?

Hide: We will be doing the proper recording next month so after that would be nice but, Up on the water is a real Dobly sound.

Rie: We will play it last today. At the very end of our set today, we'll play Up on the water.

What are the things you would like to achieve in your music career?

Rie: To me, just to express myself honestly and look into myself, and if someone feels similarity with it that would be really great, and I would appreciate it.

Hide: I want to write good, good songs, simply.

Rie: Good music and what we love.


Rica Minami

The quietly talented London-based singer Rica Minami talks about her beginnings in the UK, her interest in "daily life" and the importance of manga to Japanese society.


Could you please introduce yourself for our readers?

Rica: I’m Rica Minami, musician and artist based in London from Japan.

Could you please explain the genre and concept of your music?

Rica: At Derby today, I am playing with an amazing band which includes Andrew on drums, Chris on keys, Robin on bass, Matt on guitar and I am on piano and vocals. And with this band the style of music is very mixed, because we are all from different music backgrounds. But I think this band is like chemistry, mixing lots of things and trying to find our perspective. We’re going to share with the audience our view of music.

Would you say your music is more influenced by Japanese or English music?

Rica: I think I was influenced by Japanese music because I grew up in Japan and I grew up with Japanese pop music, but the interesting thing is I started to make original songs and sing in front of people in the UK. So as a listener I am very influenced by Japanese music, but as a musician I am influenced more by music from the UK.

Why did you choose to base yourself in the UK rather than in Japan?

Rica: Because to create things the environment is very important, and when I came to London, like five years ago, everything was difficult for me because of the English and the different culture and everything. Lots of things were difficult, but at the same time, lots of things were fresh so these differences, different cultural things, are good influences to create work. That’s why I started to like it here.

What do you think of the Japanese music scene in the UK?

Rica: I don’t know much about it because even though my music is Japanese, maybe some people think it's a little bit different, and some people here might think my music is J-pop. But, some Japanese musicians, quite a lot, are doing music in the UK and that’s all very interesting.

As most people at this convention will be learning about Japan through its music, anime and manga, do you think this is a good way to learn about Japanese culture?

Rica: Yeah, yes I think so because my mother really likes comics and this culture is one that Japan is very proud of and lots of people are interested in Japan. Japan is very proud of this culture, it’s special.

Do you have any advice or recommendations for people who are interested in Japanese music in Europe?

Rica: These days, you can find music on the internet very easily, so just keep going.

You write a lot about animals and nature. Where do you get the inspiration for these lyrics?

Rica: Basically it’s from daily life, but how I write lyrics starts without words, like scatting things without words. And then it’s like a puzzle to get the shape to the words so quite random things come up, but after I have written the lyrics and then those random words, still the words are influenced by the that period of my daily life. So, they are quite connected to daily life, I guess.

You write lyrics in both English and Japanese. Which language do you prefer writing in?

Rica: That’s a difficult question. I like singing in both. So I don’t mind, how I decide on English or Japanese is just how it naturally comes out when I sing the melody from the scat. That scat sometimes sounds like Japanese, or sometimes sounds like English.

You recently worked with SOMA on his e.p.. How did that go?

Rica: Well, SOMA suddenly contacted me, and I did my best. It went well.

Did you find it difficult working with someone from such a different genre of music?

Rica: I do like visual music. I listened to it, but someone’s melody and lyrics is very different. It has a different tempo, a different character so, I just tried my best.

Is there anything in particular you would like to achieve as a musician?

Rica: Yes, very basic things. Just keep going, keep achieving. That means everything, of course everything - song writing and these events and things.
But particularly, I’d like to play in a good venue and I want more people to know about my music and my band’s music.

Finally, do you have a message for your fans?

Rica: Hello, nice to meet you. Thank you for listening and thank you for finding me. Have a good day! (laughs)


SOMA

The visual kei project SOMA headed by guitarist Tomo began in London in the Japanese restaurant Bento. Since then, although Tomo has moved to Greece he is still very active in the Japanese music scene. Before his performance at the convention, Tomo spoke about his varied musical history, the uniqueness of the visual kei genre and the message he has for his fans.


Could you please introduce yourself for our readers?

Tomo: I’m Tomo doing a project called SOMA, mainly active in Europe.

Could you tell us a bit about your musical concept?

Tomo: I started playing guitar when I was twelve. The first time I listened to X JAPAN - actually at that time they were called X and like a lot of visual kei bands now, they are called J-rock - I was a junior high school student. And then when I was in high school I started to play in a hard core band, so I have visual kei, hard core, and then after high school I went into more club music. So now even a lot of the songs I will play today have influence from UK club music, like double step, drum and bass, electronica.

Even though you were born in Japan, you have lived in the UK and Greece. Why did you choose to travel abroad rather than focusing on your musical career in Japan?

Tomo: In Japan, after university graduation, it’s quite a hard life there - just working 6 days a week, morning until midnight and come back late at night. You have to cut your hair, etc. It’s quite a tough life there and also, I still wanted to start rock activities, and I wanted to go to the US or UK, but a lot of bands I like, like Radiohead, were from the UK so I choose to come to the UK.

You’ve had a very international background. In what ways has that affected your musical career?

Tomo: I’ve been to Brazil for one month to try to learn Brazilian music too. Maybe basically because I like music itself, that’s why it doesn’t matter what genre. I listen to a lot of world music, a lot from everything I like, and it all comes to influence me.

A lot of visual kei musicians have a much more visual style. Why did you choose to be more toned-down as far as outfits and make-up is concerned?

Tomo: I don’t know, probably just because I just want to be what I want to be and only that. The thing is I don’t have band members, I have to be alone, and if I had to have a costume and do things on the stage myself, it’s a bit weird. That was just my feeling, I never thought about it.

Why did you choose the name SOMA?

Tomo: A lot of languages have SOMA, but I found out later that in Greek it means 'body' and in Finnish it means 'honey' or something. It was basically because I started SOMA with my friend from a Japanese restaurant in London where I was working, and when we were talking about what kind of band name we should have, someone said the manager’s name, "Soma". And I thought “it’s ok”, but just change the kanji, cause his name is like “double horse” but that’s not cool, right? So we changed it to “between emissions of sound”, like silence.

Why did you originally choose to collaborate with Rica Minami?

Tomo: I was living in London and I saw her quite a lot because all the musicians in London are quite connected to each other, so we see each other in things, and her voice is really special and I like her songs as well. So I didn’t think she would sing my song but I asked her if she would. Especially because I don’t have a vocalist now and I needed to collaborate with someone. It was kind of like a dream for me cause I really like her voice.

As both of your music styles are quite different, did you each make alterations to your usual styles to collaborate with each other?

Tomo: No, this time, the collaboration was really 90 percent me. Just like, she asked me how I wanted her to sing and all.

You mainly play at conventions and collaborate with other musicians. Why do you choose to play in this way?

Tomo: Conventions because the place is very easy for people who like Japanese culture to come to, and SOMA mainly plays for them. And I was collaborating with other people like with other bands in England. It's a more different side of me, like sometimes I play the synthesizer, I don’t play guitar…And also because there are people who like Japanese culture and Japanese music, I’m working with SOMA as a Japanese person.

Do you have any other plans while you are back in the UK?

Tomo: Shopping. Topshop, H&M, all saints, shopping with friends.

You recently released your latest e.p. SOMALOID. Could you please explain what kind of style it is? Does it have anything to do with the vocaloid genre (which uses a computer system to change vocals)?

Tomo: This style is basically - why I called it SOMALOID was from vocaloid, because basically I cannot sing. I wish I could sing but I can't. What I was thinking, cause I live in Greece and there are no Japanese musicians there, I cannot collaborate with somebody like SOMA so I decided to use vocaloid. In Japan it's become popular for otaku now, so I thought maybe I'd open my mind and I tried.

In your latest e.p., you mix very delicate, sensitive lyrics with heavy-rock sounds. Why did you choose to do this?

Tomo: One song is about life for young people. I am considered to be an adult, so to go back to Japan I'd have to work, but still people who listen to music, they are like students. I am sending a message to them: 'Don’t just play games or watch anime and stay home. Go out, have fun, make relationships, make friends, go out.' That message is there and things like what I want to achieve, I wanted them to try. And another song is about meeting people, about understanding each other. And the other song is just about sex, so not really sensitive (laughs).

What do you think of the Japanese music scene in the UK?

Tomo: Compared to other countries it is, I think, more wide-open. There are a lot of Japanese bands here, but still the audience is mostly Japanese. But you know, some people play in big venues so it's quite good compared to other countries, especially compared to other European countries.

Why do you think visual kei especially has become so popular overseas?

Tomo: Because it’s unique, I don’t think other countries have it. Well, actually, no, visual kei comes from Japan, but they copied from America’s make-up. But we got an original side and the songs’ styles are also more emotional and sensitive, and that maybe can attract people more, and people hear about it thanks to the Internet.

Finally, do you have a message for your fans?

Tomo: Please read the lyrics because there is a message, and also please check my updates on MySpace, facebook, twitter and I hope to see everyone at the gigs.


JaME would like to thank the artists and the J-Culture staff for the interviews.