CA4LA MUSIC CONNECTION vol.3
LITE
A turning point for restarting from the bottom and establishing a position overseas
For artists, there is always a turning point in the process of creating works and the source of their activities.
"CA4LA MUSIC CONNECTION" is a serialized project in which artists answer through interviews what turned out to be a turning point in their own activities.
The artists appearing inthe third installment are LITE.
2006 UK of the year・Starting with the Ireland tour, they successfully toured around the world including America, Europe, and Asia, and became a pioneer in expanding overseas.4Human instrumental rock band = LITE. Last year, an app redefined how we communicate with fans in the digital age.“The Room”was released and was hit by the corona disaster in 2020It can be said that they are a truly innovative band that has always achieved things that no one else has done, such as their simultaneous remote live performances attracting a lot of attention in 2019. TenThis month will be another first attempt."LITE Online World Tour 2020 at FS.』4We asked him about his history of challenges centered on overseas tours.
Text by Atsutake Kaneko
Photo by Kana Tarumi
Interview：LITE
“For me, the 2018European tour was truly a turning point, and from the middle I felt like, ‘Is it okay for me to do this music now? )
Nobuyuki Takeda (Hereinafter referred to as Takeda) We were talking about wanting to go abroad as a band, and at the end of 2005, when we had two live shows at Shimokitazawa ERA and Shinjuku MARZ, we were called Patrick. I got an email from someone to the band's email address saying, "I'm traveling to Japan right now, and I want to see your live performance." I was surprised because it was the first time I received an inquiry in English, but when I actually saw ERA live, they really liked it, so we went out drinking together after the live. So, the next day, I came to MARZ's live, and I went out drinking again, and then suddenly he said, "I want to start a label, and I want to release LITE as the first release," and that's how it all started. .
Patrick Takeda is just a fan of Mike Watt (a legendary figure in the US punk scene who was the bassist for the Minutemen and The Stooges) (lol). I'm Ireland, and I'm a graphic designer by trade, but I like 80's US indie music, and I'm also a player myself, so there's a side of me that admires punk rock. So, I felt like I was trying to recapture my youth by repeating that admiration for us...I realized that later on (lol).
Atsushi Izawa (hereafter, Izawa), so for Patrick, the tour is a punk rock tour, and it feels like "it's normal to not have a bed." And since we've never done an overseas tour before, I thought it was normal, but later on, I thought, "Now that I think about it, it was funny, wasn't it?" (laughs).
Takeda: “Why didn’t you bring a sleeping bag?”
Kusumoto structure (hereafter, Kusumoto) There is something like punk fundamentalism (laughs).
Koki Yamamoto (hereinafter referred to as Yamamoto): The 2008 European tour was the most difficult, and the UK/ Ireland tour before that was also very difficult, but I have the impression that it was a lot of fun. It was our first time touring overseas, and the audience was really excited. I remember it being particularly exciting in Patrick's hometown of Dublin.
Yamamoto: First of all, it was simply long. We did 27 shows in a month, and in the first half we toured the UK and Ireland with label mate 54-71, but at that time we were still touring with the punk spirit inherited from Patrick, so we were basically promoters and bands. I'm staying at someone's house. Then, the hosts tried to entertain us, and we had parties every night.
Yamamoto: At that time, I thought we were like that too, and we were dating for a long time.
Takeda: There are some funny episodes like that, but for me, that tour was exactly the turning point, and from the middle I felt like, "Is it okay for me to do this music now? Is it okay for me to do this genre?" I was It was a tough tour, mentally, because I felt like I was done with post-rock and math-rock music. Then, when the tour ended, I felt like I had "burned out once", both physically and mentally. I was mobbed in 2008, so I started from the bottom, or rather, returned to zero once, tried adding synths, and started experimenting with various directions.
The Izawa Europe tour was a tour of "Phantasia", and after the tour was over, when the four of us went into the studio for a long time, Non-kun (Takeda's nickname) said, "Phantasia in 4 I feel like I'm done with what I can do as a person." I started to say, "Can you tell me about the dissolution?" I really remember him saying, "I want to explore a new direction."
“J. Robbins picked me up by car and asked me, ‘Who are you going on tour with after this? lol)” (Kusumoto)
IzawaThat 's right. While Patrick was playing LITE to Mike, he contacted me saying, "Mike wants to go solo to Japan, so please help me." So, for the 2-week tour, the conditions were "I want to do live every day" and "I don't want to stay in a hotel, so I want to stay at someone's house."
IzawaThe real thing has arrived (laughs). So, each of the 4 members stayed at their own house once, and it was really hard, but it was quite fun when I tried it. I made the most of my personal connections up until then, and since I was still close to my friends and customers at that time, I was negotiating with customers, asking, "Can 8 people stay at my parents' house?" , find all the inns. Mike really enjoyed it, and he said, "Next time, I'll take you on an American tour."
Izawa: That's right. So, I wanted to record in America, so I had J. Robbins from Jawbox, who I admired, record there, and I went to SOMA Studio, which is run by John McEntire from Tortoise. As for J. Robbins, we first played together with an Ireland band called Adebisi Shank, and when we heard their music, we thought we'd like to try it too, and gradually we started to work together in a worldwide relationship. It happened.
Kusumoto: In 2009, we recorded with J. Robbins first, and then went on tour. Was it?”, so I answered that it was Mike Watt, and he said, “NO SHIT (are you serious)!” For J. Robbins, Mike is a legend after all, and it made me realize once again, "We're going on tour with amazing people."
Takeda : Looking back now, it's surprising that it took only one year from the release of "Phantasia" to the US tour. In my mind, I felt it for quite a long time.
Kusumoto J. Robbins and I did the recording of "Turns Red EP" without the song being completed. Only the schedule was decided, but the song wasn't finished yet, so I feel like I made it over there. So I guess I was still in the process of exploring.
Yamamoto "Vermillion" and the drums weren't decided at all. Also, my seniors who went to the US from Japan said, "America is a big place, so you have to do two laps."
“On our recent American tour, the guys at the openingwould say things like, 'I've been listening to LITE since I was a kid, so it's an honor to be able to do it together.'" (Izawa)
IzawaAt first, I was traveling with Mike Watt, so many of the customers were uncles and aunts. But halfway through, there was something like a math rock boom, and the number of kids gradually increased, and the generation of fans changed. So, during our recent American tour, the guys who performed at the opening of the show said things like, "I've been listening to LITE since I was a kid, so it's an honor to be able to do it together." Conversely, when I tell these kids that I toured with Mike Watt, they're like, "Who's Mike Watt?"
Takeda: After working with Mike for several years, you graduated from Mike. I remember cutting it out. When we were asked things like, "What are you going to do with your next tour?", there were also external factors such as the fact that the next image didn't come to mind and the audience had changed, so it's time for us to do it ourselves. I'm starting to think
IzawaIn 2014, I signed a contract with Topshelf Records in the United States, and I feel that the "Installation" tour was a one-man tour.
KusumotoIn 2014, we performed at the UK's ArcTanGent Festival and signed with Topshelf Records.
Izawa: No, I have an image of continuous overseas tours. I always go somewhere every year, so I think 2014 was just like, "Where should we go next?" As a milestone, the release of "For all the innocence" in 2011 was more important. It was. So, in the midst of all kinds of possibilities expanding from there, I reconsidered the solid musicality that I originally wanted to do. I think it was between 2011 and 2014 that I started to think about my identity as LITE again.
Takeda Mike Watt, I had a lot of convictions. The reason why we wanted to control ourselves was that we were able to connect with an agent over there called APA. Feel like doing it yourself.When I graduated from
Kusumoto: If a young band were to go overseas, it might be the atmosphere of starting around 2014.
Yamamoto: At that time, there was no information yet, so I guess I became a human figure (laughs).
IzawaOf course, we have MONO and envy in front of us, and it's interesting to hear their stories. It seems that in the beginning, he was exchanging letters with overseas people (laughs).
TakedaBoth were a generation younger than us, and the audience was also young, so there was a different feeling. At first, we performed in front of older audiences who were close to Mike, and after that, the audience was the same as us or slightly below us, and now it's clearly a generation younger than us.
Izawa CHON was very stimulating. To me, it's closer to fusion, rather than being impulsive in the beginning, it's more of an adult atmosphere, showing techniques, but kids mosh and dive with it, everything was new to me. is.
Takeda: If we repeat this a few more times, we might end up looking like Mike Watt (laughs). "I'll show you Japan!"
Takeda: At that time, I will be staying at a hotel (laughs).
“(The remote session)was about the third time, but I felt that it was difficult for a while to play. It suddenly became easier to do.” (Yamamoto)
Takeda being unable to perform live due to the coronavirus, when we naturally wanted to do something, we weren't able to use the place called a live house. After releasing it, I originally started interacting with the fans there. So, it was the first time to release a special live performance. So, after exploring various things, the system was created, and when I actually released it on "The Room", there was quite a response, so in order to save the live house, I decided to do this on the official channel of each live house. So, I tried out at Shindaita FEVER, Shimokitazawa ERA, and STIFF SLACK in Nagoya, and it feels like I've been active for the past half a year.With
Takeda: When I opened the cover, it wasn't that difficult, but it was unprecedented, so I hit a wall.
Izawa: When I first heard from Non-kun, "Wouldn't it be fun if we could do it at the same time?" I didn't really get into the performance. If that happens, the songs that can be played are limited. So, at first, I was only able to select songs that I could listen to even if they were a little rough, but from there I started thinking, "What kind of equipment do I need to play this song?" is increasing. At first, I couldn't do songs with a lot of texture, but recently everyone's environment has stabilized, and it's become possible to do anything.
YamamotoIt took shape for about the third time, but I felt that it would be difficult for a while to play. However, with a new MacBook Pro and a different audio interface, it became easier to do from the middle. In the beginning, it took about a month after ordering to get the equipment ready, so after a long wait, it finally felt good.
I thoughtthe feeling of trying to find out what I could do was LITE-like." (Kusumoto)"
Kusumoto: We started doing it around May, but surprisingly there was no one else doing it other than us... On the contrary, I wonder what everyone was doing at that time (laughs). Of course, I would have done the production, and after a little while, I started to stream the actual live, but before that, I thought that the feeling of trying to find out what I could do was LITE-like. .
Izawa, you've been doing a lot of band activities this year.Because it's
Takeda After all, I think that it was done because there was "The Room". That motivation was the starting point, and without it we might not have been able to do anything. Originally, when I created the app, I was thinking that I could provide some value not only physically, but also digitally, so I think that's exactly what happened with this live.
IzawaI really felt the possibilities. It's the same with online live houses, and we didn't talk much during our normal lives, but the audience can write in the chat, so when I watch it and talk loosely about each song, it feels like a TV program. They enjoyed it, so I thought it might be interesting to talk more. I thought that it was also a place where I could provide side entertainment that I hadn't done before.
Izawa: We won't be able to go overseas this year, but if we stream it from overseas channels that we have connections to, like Topshelf Records or United Kingdom amplifier maker Blackstar, I think it will be like an overseas tour. I thought to. Everyone from Blackstar was also watching us perform simultaneously on Zoom. By the way, Mike Watt also contacted me and said, ``I want to do it too,'' and I tried it once, but there was always some latency due to physical distance, so I wanted to find a way to do it in the future.
Takeda: We originally intended to include the song in ``Multiple,'' but it didn't make it to the preliminary round, so we invited Yuto from The fin. to be our producer and we worked together again. We've come up with something pretty good, so we're releasing it digitally ahead of the tour. Yuto and I often talk about how LITE's range is quite narrow, and compared to the music that's popular overseas right now, it's completely different, especially at the bottom. We've always kept changing, but I think it was a great COLLABORATION in the sense of bringing in a new, modern twist. By playing on the online world tour, even if we can't actually go overseas, we can deliver our latest information to overseas countries, so I feel that it is also meaningful. I don't even need a sleeping bag (lol).
Kusumoto: You don't have it anymore (laughs).
Takeda: I think that motivation has been consistent since the formation.
"I'm happy when a collaboration hat is completed, but every time I reflect on it, 'I should have done more like this' (laughs). Talking to creators who are different from me gives me a lot of inspiration.” (Izawa)
KusumotoI actually have quite a few CA4LA hats, and I usually wear them. After all, the quality is very good. A lot of people complimented me when I wore the hat I made with CA4LA last summer.
Izawa: I also have a lot of hats, and I originally thought that only hats or cap would suit me, but when I went to CA4LA 's new exhibition, I was like, "I didn't think this kind of thing would suit me, but... it might be new." I have a lot to think about, and every time I feel like I'm opening a lid that I haven't opened before. I think that the impression you get is completely different depending on the hat, so when I see someone wearing one, I sometimes feel like, ``I want to give myself that impression, too.''
Izawa: Our best friend avengers in sci-fi had been collaborating before, and when I heard about it, the person in charge was from the same elementary school (laughs). So, we consulted, "Can we do something too?" The first thing I made was a knit hat, and then a water-repellent hat, but that's just what I wanted to do (laughs). The third time was during the "Multiple" tour last year.
Takeda products are good, so they are all a little higher than our usual price range. But it sells really well. There are tastes that we usually don't have, and I think it will stimulate the desire to own things as things.
Izawa: Every time I have a meeting at the beginning, we start from choosing the fabric, but when I talk to hat professionals, it always turns into an interesting discussion. Even if it's the same cotton, just a little bit of a different percentage makes it look completely different. That's why I'm happy when a collaboration hat is completed, but every time I reflect on "I should have done this more" (laughs). Talking to creators who are different from me gives me a lot of stimulation.
LITE
A four-piece instrumental rock band formed in 2003.
HP | TWITTER | Instagram | Facebook
RELEASE
Friday, October 9, 2020 RELEASE
Digital Single「S」
Smart Link: https://LITE.lnk.to/S_
LIVE SCHEDULE
"LITE Online World Tour 2020 at FS.”
Sunday, October 11, 2020 JAPAN / ASIA
START 20:00 (JST)
Streaming platform : LITE YouTube Channel
( https://www.youtube.com/
Sunday, October 18, 2020 CHINA
START 19:00 (CST) *Japan time 20:00
Streaming platforms : Billibilli / Zhengzai / Showstart / Netease
October 25, 2020 (Sun) UK / EUROPE
GUEST: Tim Collis (TTNG) / Vinny McCreith (Adebisi Shank)
START 12:00 (GMT) *Japan time 21:00
Streaming platform : Blackstar YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/
Saturday, October 31, 2020 US
GUEST: Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos)
START 21:00 (PST) *Sunday, November 1, 14:00 Japan time
Streaming platform : Topshelf Records YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/
Total Info: FS. http://fs.friendship.mu/
