Karaoke is a huge part of Japanese culture, that much I know. So when I asked Japanese band Sekai No Owari, who were in Singapore for a recording session to be released exclusively on Spotify Asia early next year, on what inspired the “Tokyo Fantasy” concept of their sound, the four members of the band — a top-hat wearing Nakajin (lead guitars), the suited-up and sleek Fukase (lead vocals), the doe-eyed Saori (piano) and the man in the clown mask, DJ LOVE — nodded at me with wide eyes and said succinctly, ‘karaoke’.
Sekai No Owari are very popular in Japan right now so it’s no wonder Spotify Asia picked them as its fifth Spotify Sessions artist — previous ones were Yuna, Hunter Hayes, Hale, and the Sam Willows
This year, Sekai No Owari have contributed to the film version of the manga, Attack Of Titan and Attack of Titan: End Of The World — both big hits in Japan, though the movie was a bit of a schizophrenic mess, really.
The band also held a two-day show at the biggest stadium in Japan — and managed to sell out tickets (immediately!) on both days. Just to be sure, we’re talking 70,000 people per day. #Supportlocal pride, or what.
Perhaps the most peculiar set up I’ve had for an interview, I sat in Yellow Box Studios, a recording space somewhere in the industrial precinct of Ubi, to speak to one of the most popular bands in Japan at the moment, with two translators present, along with some personnel playing along as ad hoc translators. Despite this, the band chose to speak in English.
We started talking about genres and, with limited translation, we tried to have a discussion on the pop music of Japan. Key word: Tried. Though it was a little frustrating, Saori gracefully took control and asked me, “What do you think is our genre?” I said that their music, upbeat, energetic and youthful, reminded me of arcade games and classic video games. ‘Ah, good answer!’ they echoed and nodded approvingly at me. A good start.
Despite the staccato nature of the conversation, I learnt a lot about the band and their music. These guys have known each other since they were children — Saori and Fukase were friends in kindergarten, and they met the rest along their educational journey but that’s not when they decided to band up. “We didn’t make music as friends then. We just… hung out playing video games,” Nakajin said.
Sekai No Owari translates to “the end of the world.” Morbid for a band that plays chipper tunes. Band leader Fukase explained that when he was 18, he had frequent anxiety attacks and nervous breakdowns. During these episodes, he’d feel like the end of the world was near. He then discovered music and found that writing music helped with overcoming the anxiety and the start of the band began.
It was an odd grouping as they made do with whatever abilities each person had — Saori was classically trained in piano and even cites Bach and Chopin as her inspiration, Nakajin and Fukase are mega karaoke fans and Nakajin is an enthusiastic fan of classic Japanese band Southern All Stars, and well, DJ LOVE is…a guy in a clown mask. Not to discredit him or anything, DJ LOVE is in charge of the sonic palette of the band, covering up for what they lack (drums and bass) and he is also in charge of comedic stage banter. Still, you can’t miss a band when they have a clown as part of the group.
DJ LOVE ended up with the clown mask after lead vocalist Fukase passed it on to him. “I was using it first, but come on, the guy on vocals can’t possibly be masked!” Ukase exclaimed. Saori added that DJ LOVE is actually a very shy guy so putting on a mask served well for him and performing in front of thousands. What get-up would DJ LOVE choose if it wasn’t a clown? “Another scary mask,” he said shyly.
It’s clear that the band put their friendship first before coming to terms with their #1 band In Japan fame. There was a lot of natural banter between the members, with Saori taking a leadership role when it came to facing the media. They seemed genuinely surprised when questions about their music and album were raised — as if in disbelief that someone wanted to know about themes and the songwriting process of the team.
They expressed the happiness they felt when they performed outside their country for the first time in Malaysia, for MTV World Stage. “I could not believe these people were here to see us. I thought nobody would know us,” Nakajin said. Collectively the band seemed to like my suggested word “experimental” when describing the new album and said fervently, “Yes, yes we are always trying new things.”
I picked their brains at what the end of the world would be like for them, and the band chipped in, saying the end is a good thing — that it could mean the end of school and of winter. I was darn sure the translator mucked it up somewhere because why the heck are they radiating happiness about the apocalypse. Saori, again in her calm disposition said, “The end is a beautiful thing.” Damn, I was floored.
I asked if they’ll be needing a drummer and bassist now that they’re getting bigger in popularity and working with big names in the industry like Owl City and Nicky Romero.
“No,” Saori said laughing. “We have clown DJ!”
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