PROFILE
After working with Toshiyuki Terui and Tatsuya Nakamura as BLANKEY JET CITY, he launched his own label, SEXY STONES RECORDS, in 2000 and has been actively releasing music under the names SHERBETS, AJICO, JUDE, PONTIACS and solo. He is currently active as Kenichi Asai & THE INTERCHANGE KILLS, and also shows his talent in writing and painting.
Living in the ever-changing times, my everyday self becomes a song as it is.
-At the time of our last interview (October 2020), you said that you hadn't been riding your motorcycle much lately, but then you started to re-maintain the Salinger.
At all . I don't think anything has progressed since Motorcycle Media took it to ...... as it is. As for myself, I would appreciate it if you could just leave it in a proper garage. But I feel sorry to keep it forever, even though I don't ride it, so please contact me if you know someone who will take good care of it. I will leave it with you. . although it is not a very comfortable ride.
If I were to ride now, I would like to ride a machine that is simple and has a good suspension. (Salinger) was built with form as the priority. A motocross machine that can be ridden casually is nice, but I'd rather go to the supermarket with a basket on it. It's a Jordan.
. I see a lot of tasteful motorcycles, even on YouTube.
-I see that you also watch YouTube. Recently, more and more musicians are using the YouTube platform to distribute their videos. Do you have any plans to open a channel in the future, Mr. Asai?
Nope . I do an occasional cooking show on Instagram called "Benji Smile Cooking" ...... and that's about it.
-I saw you making smoothies on your Instagram, and in your new album "SAME," there is a lyric that says, "The fewer kinds of fruit you have in your smoothies, the better.
Life is like a song, you know. I reconfirmed while making them that, just like paints, the more colors there are, the more muddy they become, and the simpler they are, the better.
-I think it is interesting that every single aspect of your life is reflected in your creativity. I think that since the Corona disaster, you have had more opportunities to cook for yourself and your songs have changed, but have there been other changes as well?
The whole world changed so drastically with the Corona first, that you yourself changed as a matter of course. And this time, the war has started. I wrote a song titled "Love Song Heard" last year and released it in February of this year, in which I sang that "war might start soon," and it turned out to be true, which surprised even me.
-In our last interview in 2020, you said that "war may finally break out," and it seems that your prediction, which you did not want to be true, has come true.
Yes. In the song, I say, "I wish I could be so predictable. . So I feel that the world is moving in a really bad direction.
-With Corona becoming a reality, live shows and events are gradually being held. Last year, you performed under the name of THE INTERCHANGE KILLS and AJICO, but is it still different from before the Corona disaster?
I'm sure all musicians feel the same way, but first of all, standing would only let in half the crowd. You are not allowed to speak, you are only allowed to clap, no moshing, and the feeling is totally different from what it was before ....... . It's changed, I guess. Musicians have nothing to do if they can't perform live anymore, so they have to do their best.
-I saw AJICO at Fuji Rock last year, and it was indeed a strange impression, as they were quiet even when there were normally cheers and moshing.
I'm sorry to say that I'm going to miss it. . but I don't get the impression that there was no response. There were a lot of people who came to see the show, and it was great to watch from the stage as the audience grew while we were playing.
. - I think I was able to concentrate more on the music because I couldn't cheer.
Yes. I was also streaming live on YouTube, so I received phone calls and e-mails from friends who had not seen the show in a while, saying, "I haven't seen it in years, and it was really good. I felt that YouTube has a huge influence.
-Since the Corona Disaster, we have become familiar with the live feed.
I'm not very good at it myself . I didn't want Fuji Rock to do my own distribution either, but they actually did, and it was good. As long as the video looks cool, it's fine, but sometimes it doesn't look cool, so ...... that's what I'm afraid of (laughs).
-You are scheduled to perform as SHERBETS at this year's Fuji Rock. Is there a reason why you keep restarting projects such as AJICO and SHERBETS?
AJICO started with UA, and SHERBETS started rehearsing in the studio around the beginning of last year when Fukushi-san and I started talking about making an acoustic-ish band like we did for "Sequilara. We started rehearsing together in the studio, and as we were doing so, we started talking about how we wanted a bass player and a rhythm player, and then we decided to start SHERBETS, and we started to get together in August.
