Do you know the artist Boys Age? He released his first album in 2013 on Burger Records on the West Coast of the United States. Since then, he has released his work on cassette on a number of international labels and has earned the respect of indie fans.
And that Boys Age will be held on Friday, April 27.This event, "Fog.The company is scheduled to appear at the At the venue, the performers, theBoys Age, ,The NovembersYusuke Kobayashi is the frontman ofjan and naomiThe zine "GRADIENT" will be distributed free of charge and will include an interview with
Huinamu conducted a special interview with Boys Age, one of the performers on the "B-side" of the zine. We went to Kita-Urawa, where he lives, to meet with him to find out more about this still mysterious artist, who is not well known in Japan.
I was shocked by the live performance I saw at the Shimokitazawa THREE in 2016, which led me to interview Boys Age. I think it was probably around the time you had just released "ROMANCE PLANET".
Boys Age (BA): Huh. What did I do?
I was hardly playing the guitar, just touching the buttons on my iPad, playing the backing track, and hitting the hi-hat on the drum set behind me. It was like being hit in the head with a blunt instrument. There were only eight people in the audience at the time, but I had a gut feeling that something obviously bad was going on here! I had a gut feeling.
BA: Is that right? That's usually about the size of the audience. The only reason I was playing the hi-hat was because the drummer couldn't come that day.
I had the strange impression that I was on life support, just barely able to breathe, and that I was on a cosmic swim that would take me nowhere....
I asked him to bring me his discography as much as he had on hand from his stock at home. I asked him to arrange them in the order of the album release, relying on his memory. There are 14 albums in this list. It's just breathtaking. These might be the pictures that core fans drool over!
I bought the CD after that, and you designed it yourself, didn't you?
BA: Yes, all the artwork for Boys Age is either drawn or collaged by me.
Why do you have so many images of men and women in bondage, nude women, etc.?
BA: It would be boring to simply draw only men. If I had drawn something that I enjoyed drawing, it would have naturally turned out that way.
I thought it was a waste that no one in Japan knew about it yet.
BA: Of course I wanted to sell my music, and in the beginning of 2013, I tried to get in touch with a lot of people both in Japan and abroad, and I also went around to major music labels, but I never got any calls from Japanese labels. In June 2013, I released a tape on Burger Records in California and Gnar Tapes, which was based in Portland at the time, and soon after, I released a CD on Bleeding Gold called "Fake Gold". I released my first album on a domestic label in 2015. How long has it taken you? I know, right?
You have released more than 14 physical albums, and if we include Bandcamp-only releases, the number would be huge. What is the background behind the fact that you do everything from production design to illustration for every album you record at home?
BA: One is the influence of Yo La Tengo. I think I have taken the liberty of inheriting their attitude of trying many things as a musician. I believe that musicians should dig deeper and deeper into music and create new things. Another influence is Van Dyke Parks. While working for Warner Brothers, he is also a well-known arranger and has participated in many bands. I am a full-time composer, so I have to be able to do many different things.
Are there any other influences on your work?
BA: Science fiction novels and game music. I am inspired by stories that people have made up, and I make music based on the stories and worlds I have created in my mind. That's why I have released music with novels as the liner notes.
Postcards Holiday" has been played 1.6 million times on Spotify, right?
BA: Yes, that's right. But the story behind it was pretty tough. There was a teenager named Emma who was getting a lot of attention on Vine, which was popular a while ago, and her boyfriend uploaded this song without her permission, and it became a hot topic. That's how the fire started. Actually, she had already passed away from cancer by the time I found out about it. I don't know what happened to her before her death, but I think it is an ironic fate. (*)Released a single song called Emma last Christmas)
That's a great story. Do you communicate with your overseas fans?
BA: Perhaps because we sell cassettes in Ireland, Ukraine, and other countries besides the U.S., I received a fan mail from Egypt the other day. I couldn't read Arabic at first (laughs).
Isn't it great that you have fans on the other side of the world?
BA: In that sense, I am surprised that it is so little known in Japan. I hope they get there as soon as possible.
I feel like a newcomer would not know where to start. Which one would you recommend to a beginner from your musical transition?
BA: If I were asked to listen to the Boys Age discography in one day, I would be bummed out (laughs). Well, you should just listen to the best first, since they have released two best albums. Also, I think "Calm Time" is the one that I personally still feel satisfied with. From that time on, it became more and more empty.
In your latest work, "New World Nostalgia," I felt as if I was no longer in a floating world.
BA: I think this kind of expression would be normal if we were living in this hopeless era nowadays. Or metal or hardcore. ...Well, in my case, I guess I would have had no hope no matter what era I was born in. I feel that the music that is popular in Japan today has become a little too weak, and I don't understand it at all. There are moments when I wish they would do something more sludgy and pork-bone smelling. Well, I have proven to myself that being sharp is not enough, because the result is like this.
No, no.... You are looking at the world with a pessimistic feeling.
BA: I don't like people. I have no problem talking with people one-on-one like this, but when we are in a group, I can see the parts I don't like, and the more I get to know people, the more I am often disappointed. It's hard to live in spite of the fact that I'm almost 30 years old.
I thought there was also a sign agreement to continue activities in Kita-Urawa instead of Tokyo.
BA: Tokyo is home to many cutting-edge things and is a microcosm of Japanese society, but above all, I am easily influenced by others, and I am afraid of being tainted. Also, there are too many people and it is depressing. It's not that I don't like it here, but if it's the same no matter where I go, I just compromise to be closer to my hometown. Maybe I should just go to Kagawa or Kochi Prefecture, where it is quieter.
Boys Age has always done something different with each album, and up until the latest, "New World Nostalgia," there was no telling what the next album would be like.
BA: There are about two albums I'm working on, and one is all orchestral pop. There were already several hundred songs on it, and once the data was lost. I had to re-create it, and then it was lost again. But I have a complete album in my head, so I would like to complete it for now. Also, I am personally into 19th century gothic logos, fonts, runes, and Norse mythology, so I would like to work on a piece that makes use of these designs in terms of sound.
I am looking forward to it. When you are immersed in making music, do you feel happy?
BA: No, not at all. After making so many albums, the act of making music has become like breathing for me. As an organism, not making music is not an option. I don't even try hard. It is the only thing I can do, and if I quit, I would cease to exist as a living organism. That's the way it is. If I work on every album thinking that it will be the best, I will want to make something even better. In that sense, I will never be satisfied, and I will never be finished. In other words, once it is completed, I will want to disappear.
Tomorrow, Friday, April 27, there will be a "Fog" here. How do you want the audience to experience the music?
BA: I don't think the number of people who would be stuck by my music would be the same whether the audience is 1,000 or 10 as usual. Most of them may listen to my music and not understand it well. Personally, I don't know why they don't understand it. However, I have been told by overseas fans that my music is like therapy, so I think the depth of my music is deep enough to stick in the minds of those who are stuck with it. I will probably play a lot of dark songs live, but I think it would be good if people could savor each note of the music.
Photo_Haruki Matsui
Interview & Text_Hiroyoshi Tomite
Edit_Rei Kawahara
Fog.
Held: Friday, April 27
Time: OPEN: 18:00 / START: 18:30
Venue: VACANT
Address: 3-20-13 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Tickets:peatix
ZINE "GRADIENT
Specifications: A3
Number of pages: 10
Printing company: Hand Saw Press.
handsawpress.com/
Boys Age
After several independent releases, they released their debut US album on the BURGER RECORDS/GNAR TAPES/Bleeding Gold label in 2013, and since then, they have continued to release their original cosmic music all over the world, and are still slowly making strides with almost no backing whatsoever. They are still slowly making strides with almost no backing at all. Their signature song "Postcards Holiday" has been played over 1.5 million times on Spotify alone, attracting core music fans from all over the world.
