When Luby Sparks first debuted, the band was known as a band of university students, but after performing with many international bands and engaging in various activities, where do you think Luby Sparks stands in the Japanese music scene today?
Natsuki:When we started the band, we had a clear direction of what kind of music and visuals we wanted to create for the first album, but we had no idea what we would do with the band or its sound after that. To be honest, we could have disbanded after the release of the first album. But when I started getting reactions from people who listened to the album, I realized that "even in this day and age, there are still many people who like this kind of sound.
Sunao:Yeah, I guess so.
Natsuki:To be honest, we still don't know where we stand in the current band scene, but we are conscious of the fact that we are going to stick to the music we want to play. However, if we only think that way, we will end up with a self-important "music that only those who understand it can understand," and the band will not develop. I think our position will become clearer depending on how the new people we meet react to our music.
Do you have any intention of creating a new scene?
Natsuki:. at the moment, we don't have any yet.
Sunao:I still don't know where I stand in the Japanese music scene, and creating a new scene is not necessarily a good thing. However, we do not have such a feeling because we do not know any bands that resonate with us yet, but I think that in a few years, there may be a band that can create a scene together with us.
Tamio:. Talking about the scene, we would like to connect with the music scene in Asia. In Asian countries such as Taiwan, Singapore, and Korea, there is a thriving band scene that is similar to our music.
Natsuki:. For example, in Taiwan, the government gives us aid money when we are active in the country. I Mean Us, which I performed with the other day, also mentioned something like that.
Beyond the scene that surrounds you, how do you see the world music scene?
Natsuki:I went to Summer Sonic this year, and when I saw The 1975 on stage, I thought to myself, "These guys are at the top of all bands right now.
Indeed, The 1975's performance was the talk of the town, including the Reading (a music festival held in Leeds and Reading, England) immediately after Summer Sonic.
Natsuki:It was a familiar performance, but when "ROCK N ROLL IS DEAD / GOD BLESS / The 1975" appeared on the screen, I was surprised. When I look at their latest album, some songs sound like Radiohead, others are like a major chord version of Joy Division's "Disorder," and the lead song, "Sincerity Is Scary," has an R&B-like groove. The lead song, "Sincerity Is Scary," has an R&B feel to it. They are expressing the key word in the world, "diversity," in their music.
. There are quite a few impulsive songs, and you are now recognized as the voice of the youth.
Natsuki:After all these years of rap and R&B supremacy, seeing The 1975 finally enter the charts as a band with guns blazing, the scene was finally moving.
I feel that the wave of street style from hip-hop culture has subsided, as seen in the clothes in the Spring/Summer 2008 collection. There are more clothes with simple compositions and more luxurious items.
Natsuki:That's right. We love fashion, too, so we feel that kind of atmosphere.
So, what does The 1975 actually bring to the scene?
Natsuki:I feel that their rise is a bit like the emergence of Nirvana, who crossed elements of metal, punk, and garage in their own way. Before the grunge movement, it was considered "rock is dead," so that's very similar to the music scene today. But the interesting thing about this story is, then, is The 1975 really a rock band?
I think that's a good point.
Natsuki:Even people who have not listened to rock music at all have a common understanding that The 1975 is somehow good, and this is because they do not make their music only about rock. But what they sing about is a rebellion against society, and their performances are quite impulsive. In other words, a new "way of rock music" that includes diversity may have been born by the band in 2019.
On October 15, you will hold a live concert "Dreamtopia" with TAWINGS, inviting jan and naomi as guests. Please tell us about your enthusiasm for this event.
Erika:The last time we held an independent project, we played with Say Sue Me from Korea, which has a similar sound, but this time we will play with TAWINGS, which has a different musical style but the same sense of purpose. I think that a self-organized project is the best way to show the true side of a band, and it is also closer to the people who come to see the show. I hope that as many people as possible will come to see the latest Luby Sparks!
Tamio:In the past, most of my big gigs have been as an opening act for foreign bands. So it was surprising that there were no Japanese bands performing on stage alone.
Sunao:Yes, that may be true.
Tamio:I hope this concert will be the beginning of a new us.
Natsuki:Although TAWINGS and I are good friends in our personal lives, we have surprisingly not performed together much in terms of live performances. However, we started our bands close to each other, and seeing that we both have an international orientation and have not changed the music we want to play, I consider us to be rivals. So I thought it would be the best way for us to work together.
Our guests, jan and naomi, are cool seniors who have been following the stance we want to take. All three groups will give their best performances, so I hope you will come.
- 1
- 2
