Profile

JAPANESE INDEPENDENT MUSIC, SONORE, FRANCE, 2000

Introduction

SHOGONARI Interview by Kevin McCaighy (from "SALT" issue 5, 2003)

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SYOGONARI Interview by Kevin McCaighy (from "SALT" issue 5, 2003) 　　It seems that for every Japanese band I discover that glory in amped-up feedback wreckage, I happen upon another that favors intimacy of sound and delicacy of delivery: for every High Rise, there's a nagisa Ni Te.  The latest of these bands is Syogonari, led by songwriter Yasuyuki Ishida and Kaori MIKI.  Based in Aichi, their music is as confessional as it is compelling as I've ever heard, plaintive guitar and piano arrangements shadowing Ishida's often-desperate vocals.  Both albums ("Born From The Water" and "Black Blues", available on their Zakuro label) delve deep into a fractious song atmosphere more in keeping with the work of Tom Rapp's Pearls Before Swine, and hark back to the anguished psychedelia of the legendary Jacks.  Lavishly produced by Makoto Kawabata of Acid Mothers Temple, who also provides a blaze of ravaged improvised guitar to each Syogonari song, the group defy easy category, and I was very pleased to interview Yasuyuki Ishida about his haunting and poetic band (Kevin McCaighy). 　 Kevin-When did you first begin to create your own songs?  Ishida: When I was a student at university, I wrote my first songs by playing the guitar and piano. But I could not get any gratifying result, so I stopped creating.  After several years, I once again tried to write music by humming songs that came to my mind without using any instruments this time.  The songs that arose in this manner made me decide to play music, and even now this is how I create my songs.  　 How long has the group Syogonari existed?  About 5 years. 　 Have there been other members besides Miki Kaori and yourself?  There have been more than 20 musicians other than Kaori and me in Syogonari, as I don't want a fixed set of band members.  I enjoy playing music with various people, but it goes without saying that performing with Kawabata-san of Acid Mothers Temple  has a special significance for me. 　 　 How did Kawabata-san of AMT become involved with the production of your debut CD, "Born On The Water"?  I was a regular customer and performer of a very cool club in Nagoya, "Sei-Kazoku", where Kawabata-san was working not only as a staff but also as a competent cook!  I enjoyed talking to him about music and movies, but more importantly I was impressed by his great performances covering various kinds of music.  It was not long before I asked him to perform with me and help me produce my first CD.  　 What kind of music scene do you have in Nagoya?  Do you feel that you are part of it, or separate from it?  There is no "scene", concerned with us, in Nagoya.  Certainly I have several good friends who are also performers here, but I can't call that circle a "scene" because of its significantly small numbers. 　 Kawabata-san mentioned to me that you are an academic as well as a musician.  How do you feel these aspects of your life compare to one another? In fact I'm also working at a chemical factory right now.  It is very difficult for me to compare each aspect since I'm really enthusiastic about both sides, both of which stimulate and delight me in a very similar ways. 　 Which musicians/writers, past or present, inspire you and that music you make? I like to listen to charismatic voices, such as Fred Neil, Judy Henske, Maddy Prior, Demetrio Stratos, etc, and might be inspired by these singers.  Mimi and Richard Farina are two of the most admirable musicians for me.  As for writers, Anna Kavan affected me drastically.  She showed me that a dream could be embodied in a book or record.   What emphasis do you place on live performance? I like live performance since it is a casual and temporary thing.  Although my music is neither literal "free music" nor "improvisation", I always keep it in mind for live performances to play absolutely "free music" with songs having melodies and words. 　 Many of your lyrics are written in the first person, as is addressed to a particular individual.  Are there specific people that you are thinking of when you play and sing these songs? There is no specific image of a person or places that I think of as I sing and play.  But it's true that I have particular images when creating songs because all my works are based on my experiences, more or less.  Here the term "experiences" covers my real ones, my memories, dreams and impressions to music, novels or movies.  I always take joy in embodying such figureless dreams and memories by writing and singing songs. 　 What made you decide to cover Michael Hurley's "Black Blues" for your latest album (also called "Black Blues")? I like his all work, including his songs and paintings.  Among these, his first album impressed me very much as well as his Raccoon works, and I decided to cover one of the songs from the album, though I changed the title and music.  Whenever I hear the song, I feel it is in a similar mould to Japanese haiku, due to its elegant rusticity and deep mysterious beauty. 　 How do you feel that Kawabata-san's guitar has contributed to the atmosphere of your songs? I feel Kawabata-san has colored my rather monochromatic songs using his polyphonically ringing guitar.   It is a great fun for me to play with him since he uses different colors and approaches to drape over my songs on each occasion.  Furthermore, it is interesting to note that he has never intended to listen to any of my songs prior to our performances. Even on recordings, he never hears them until we played in the studio. It is a fact that he played songs without any rehearsal for the recording of both  CDs.  I think that his style is such that he added feelings of tension and grace simultaneously to the atmosphere of my songs. 　 What do you have planned for Syogonari in the near future and in the long term? I have no special plan either in the foreseeable future or in the more expanded term.  I will be making words and melodies, performing songs with friends of mine, and producing an album when I compose enough songs to do so.

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