SiM MAH and YOASOBI Ayase discuss metal music and the role their music should play in the world as music from Japan.

"We must become a part of everyone's youth and something they can be proud of, as the rock band of the past promised." (Ayase)

ーーWhat you just said is very symbolic, isn't it? For example, "If I Die" is a song about things that are hard to vent about, including social networking sites. SiM is a band that resonates with heavy music in the sense that they shout out not only beautiful things, but also the reality and inner nature of things that we want to turn away from.

MAH: The basic idea is "I want people to understand. But I don't want to be understood." I get angry when someone says, "I don't understand anything," but I also get angry when someone says, "I understand everything," and I think, "What?" I think artists struggle with that contradiction. The more popular you get and the more followers you get, the more critics you get, and the more moments you have to hide yourself to avoid them, the more people say, "MAH, you're a nice person and you have good sportsmanship," but I want to show things like, "No, no, I'm hurt too," but I don't want to show everything, but I want to show everything, like in ....... Like "If I Die," I always write songs on the edge.

ーーI see.

MAH: About 8 years ago, when I did the Budokan for the first time, I couldn't stand the gap between my image of MAH and my real self. But if the both got mixed up together, it's definitely not good because you can't take a break. It would be better if they were slightly separated, but it is extremely difficult to find that balance. I have finally found that balance after going through a lot of things, but I think there are a lot of people who struggle with that.

Ayase: This happens to me about four times a year. I don't want to look at social networking sites anymore, and I don't return anyone's calls for about a week, and the only thing I want to think about now is entertainment and drinking. It's scary from a work standpoint, but once that happens, I can't write a song, and I can't help it. I can be back to normal at the next job. So I'm still don’t get around at all.

MAH: That's true. It took me years to get used to it. But if you get too used to it, you lose your appeal as an artist.

Ayase: That's so  true. The public image of me is the same, and because I write songs, I am probably seen as a producer, but I am a musician who wants to be in a band and become a rock star, so I have been struggling with that gap for a long time. But this spring we started an arena tour ("YOASOBI ARENA TOUR 2023 ‘DENKOSEKKA’"), and when I saw the audience in the arena and the many staff members supporting this big tour, I was able to realize that there are so many people who love YOASOBI and are willing to work for us. I talked to a lot of people at the launch, and every night I cried and drank a lot with someone like ......, and I started to feel strongly that I wanted to respond to their feelings, and I started to think that my life is not so bad. I met people who really believed in me, and it was on that tour that I really accepted myself as YOASOBI. I spent a lot of time with the staff and support members, and I realized how important it is to tour together in many places. There were so many things that I couldn't have gained without touring.

ーーYou said you're in music because you want to be a rock star, but why are you so obsessed with being one?

Ayase: I wanted to be in a band when I met Hormone, and I have seen charismatic people like MAH, and I have watched the backs of people who I consider rock stars, I don't think I would like it if I don't have a life where I could be proud of myself  as a rock star. So, while I feel that breaking up a band I have been in for almost 10 years is an overwhelming setback in my life, the experience I have gained in live houses is still an asset to me. I know that the bands I admire so much have performed  in live music clubs in the past, and that is why I feel strongly that our live performance is not good enough. I think, "The Crystal Lake show I saw back then was nothing like this," or "When we played with SUPER BEAVER and WANIMA, it was even more amazing."

　I think rock bands, now and in the past, have taken on everyone's youth, and we need to be that kind of presence in our live performances. Even if people have heard enough of our soundtracks, we still must become a part of everyone's youth and become something they can be proud of. I think that is the reason why I am still in pursuit of being a rock star.

SiM and YOASOBI take Pop Music from Japan to the world

ーー But I think Ayase's attitude of choosing to stand on stage and continue to be at the center of the action is very rock star-like, and if we overlap with MAH's earlier talk about "becoming a gateway," there is definitely an interest that will spread from YOASOBI, isn't there?

Ayase: This may sound like a big mouth, but I want to introduce J-pop known to the world through us, and I keep thinking about how J-pop can become a genre like Latin or reggae. I think that "idol" is really listened to overseas, so I have to let people know that as an Asian and a Japanese, I play this kind of music and that there is cooler music in Japan. There is a path that has been created by K-pop artists who are active in the world. I think we need to work more closely with animation and other elements, but I think we are in a place now where we can do that.

ーーLast year, SiM's "The Rumbling" became a worldwide hit as the opening theme for "Shinkage no Kyojin (Attack on Titan)," so I guess you could say that SiM and YOASOBI are at a similar stage in their careers.

MAH: Yes. When I went to England for a live concert recently, I was interviewed quite a lot by the local media, and I was interviewed by a veteran interviewer who said, "I love your songs." And he ended up saying, "You guys are not K-pop, and I think you are K-ROCK. ...... No, it was ‘J’ not ‘K.’ That means you are J-ROCK. So it's J-ROCK!　J-ROCK is a good name, don't you think?" No, J-ROCK is a term that has been used in the West for a long time to refer to Japanese rock, including visual kei, and I was surprised at how little people in the music press knew about it, ...... That’s why I thought, "I'm going to try harder," but (chuckles). Luckily, we had bands like Crossfaith, coldrain, and Crystal Lake who went that were active overseas before us, and I hope that we can pave the way for future juniors to go overseas with bands like that, as if it was normal.

ーーThat's good.

MAH: With the success of "The Rumbling," I want to show that Japanese people can also make cool rock music in English. Rapping in Japanese used to be the cool thing about Japanese hip-hop, but young rappers today are becoming more and more fluent in English, and I think this is a great development. There are more and more young rappers coming out who have the potential to compete on the world stage, and I would like to see more Japanese music go global from here.

Ayase: We will do our best. I think we are still in the development stage, including touring, but we are confident that we will get better after performing at festivals and other venues from a place we are not used to. I would love MAH to see our live performances.

MAH: I'd love to see them. I think Ayase's band spirit also contributes to the strength of these live performances. You should play at the DEAD POP FESTiVAL.

Ayase: Are you sure? I'd love to! I want to be in it so much!

MAH: I mean it when I ask you!

Ayase: I'm so excited (laughs). I look forward to working with you in the future!

SiM Official Site
YOASOBI Official Site