MELT-BANANA Interview (Part 1): Realities of Bands Much More Well-known Abroad than in Japan
MELT-BANANA has reached their 30th anniversary this year. It’s quite moving to think it has been so long since their impactful debut. However, their show on June 17th, with WRENCH, was filled with such tremendous power and cutting-edge energy that it blew away any sentimentality. To put it plainly, they were just as edgy as they were 30 years ago, and even in 2023, their noise still sharply claws at the fabric of the era. Born from the streams of hardcore punk, post-rock, grindcore, noisecore, and alternative, they continue to dialectically update the maximum values of hardness, loudness, noise, speed, and pop.
MELT-BANANA was formed in 1993 as a quartet centered around YAKO (vocals) and AGATA (guitar). They released their first album "Speak Squeak Creak" in 1994 through Nux Organization, led by KK.NULL of ZENI-GEVA. They gained significant attention for their unique sound which was based on hardcore but featured extremely fast tempos, noisy guitars, and cute female vocals, combined with a pop-like burst of freshness. Their second album "Scratch or Stitch" (1995) was their only release from a domestic major label (Meldac) to date, engineered by Steve Albini and mixed by Jim O'Rourke. Their third album "Charlie" (1998) marked their first release on their own label, A-Zap, and it was around this time their activities overseas began to intensify. In 1999, they released the album "MxBx 1998/13,000 Miles at Light Velocity" on John Zorn's Tzadik label. They were highly praised in the UK and the US, often appearing on DJ John Peel's program, which garnered them extensive acclaim. Continuing to expand their activities, they have frequently toured with artists like Mike Patton and TOOL. Their latest album is "Fetch," released in 2013.
Currently, MELT-BANANA consists of only two members, YAKO on vocals and AGATA on guitar. After losing their bassist and drummer, they have continued to perform live without any support since 2012. AGATA unleashes distorted noise against a backdrop of programmed blast beats while YAKO shouts, brandishing a sampler. The absence of a drummer and bassist, which might seem fatal for a normal rock band, especially one that plays hard and loud rock like they do, is not noticeable at all. On the contrary, it's as if some utterly different and bizarre tentacles have grown out of this gaping hole, evolving into a creature the likes of which has never been seen or heard before.
For over 20 years, MELT-BANANA has mainly been active outside of Japan. A search will reveal that the overwhelming majority of information about them comes from outside Japan, with very little available in Japanese. I interviewed them for "Music Magazine" about ten years ago, and I heard the almost unbelievable story that it was the first feature on them by a Japanese music magazine in 17 to 18 years. They routinely perform 20 to 30-date tours in the U.S., the UK, and Europe, yet in Japan, their appearances are sporadic, limited to events and joint concerts. Their activities are frequently updated on 'Patreon,' a subscription-based web space, but it is not yet widely known to the general public. Perhaps as a result, their recognition in Japan seems unfairly low.
MELT-BANANA is currently working on their first new release since "Fetch" in 2013, with a release planned for 2024. Ideally, an interview should wait for the completion of the new work, but I offered this interview with the one-sided desire to change even a little of the aforementioned situation... I felt it should be changed. The interview covered a wide range of topics: their activities overseas, the challenges they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the departure of their drummer, their songwriting process, and the production of the new work. Their main recordings can be heard on subscription services like Spotify, and a multitude of live videos, including recent ones (most of which are from overseas), are available on YouTube. I would be pleased if this opportunity piques your interest in MELT-BANANA, one of the most peculiar, powerful, and original bands to come out of Japan. This interview will be delivered in two parts.
This interview was conducted in Tokyo in July, and it took more than three months to be published due to my negligence. I would like to apologize to the two members.(Dai Onojima)
＊This article is an automatic AI translation of the original Japanese text, which was checked by a member of MELT- BANANA. Dai Onojma, the author of the original text, is responsible for any errors in translation or inappropriate expressions.
Limitations of Japan felt during overseas tours
ーーMELT-BANANA is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, isn't it?
YAKO: Yes, I think so. Will that be the case?
ーーI know it is a lot of work to say 30 years in a nutshell.
YAKO: I tried many things in my 20s, but I don't remember much in my 30s and 40s. My 30s were the most active period of my life overseas, but I guess when you are so busy, you lose track of time.
ーーAre you going to do a 30th anniversary event or something?
YAKO: No, especially ...... (laughs).
ーーWhen I asked, it seems like the release of the new album might be next year, and I thought it would be better to release it within this year as a '30th Anniversary New Album!' and make a big deal out of it (laughs).
YAKO: We don't do that kind of anniversary-like event here, do we?
AGATA: I think we haven't done it since the first album ("Speak Squeak Creak" 1994).
YAKO: When we release an album, we usually go on a tour in the U.S. to coincide with the album release, so we are not in Japan most of the time. Since the album is released during the U.S. tour, it is normal for us not to hold any special events.
AGATA: We do everything by ourselves. In a normal band, the manager or label staff would probably get things going by saying, "Let's have an anniversary event," but in our case, it's like organizing our own birthday party (laughs).
YAKO: It is quite a hassle to do it yourself, isn't it? Making and distributing flyers, advertising, etc. ......
ーーAre you two alone in booking shows, selling merch, managing the website, and so on?
AGATA: Yes, it is. It's become a horrible DIY project (laughs).
ーーBut that's why it's running without any problems.
YAKO: It's not without problems, though (laughs). If I do everything, I don't have enough time. If I have to do office work and music, I want to spend my time on music, and everything else is a hassle.
ーーIn your 30-year history, when did you begin to work primarily overseas?
YAKO: 2nd album? ("Scratch Or Stitch," 1996)
AGATA: But the 2nd one came out of a major label (Merdac), so ......
YAKO: Then it must be the 3rd album ("Charlie," 1998).
AGATA: When the third album came out, we started our own label (A-Zap). From there, I think we started to go overseas more and more. It was a gradual change. So slow that you can't even see it.
YAKO: When we released our 3rd album, we released it on our own label under the affiliation of an distribution company in the U.S., and the U.S. distribution system was more solid than the Japanese one. So, we started to hear more and more about doing some kind of tour.
ーーThe American system was more firmly established at the time, including the distribution network for indies.
YAKO: That's right. It is easier to tour in this way, and there are many places to perform in the U.S. because it is a large country. So, we would tend to do more overseas.
ーーDid you initially plan to focus on Japan? Or was your stance from the beginning to do it regardless of Japan or overseas?
AGATA: In the beginning, we had our hands full just trying to make a solid sound and play as a good band. We were not particular about where to play.
YAKO: The decisive moment might have been when KK.NULL of ZENI-GEVA helped us release our record ("Speak Squeak Creak" was released through NULL's NUX ORGANIZATION). He took us to the U.S. at that time. We only played there twice, but the fact that such places existed was a huge input for us. Looking back, it's possible that our direction was already set at that time.
ーーOh,I see.
YAKO: But it's also fun to play shows in Japan. It's not that we don't play in Japan at all.
ーーFor example, a member of a Japanese band that is mainly active overseas also expressed a sense of despair about the Japanese scene.
YAKO: Ah, but I understand that feeling. I also think that it would be impossible to want more than this. For example, I knew that we would never become a band that could fill a hall with 1,000 or 2,000 people in Japan.
ーーDid you have that in mind from the beginning?
YAKO: In the beginning, we didn't even think about the size of the gigs (laughs).
ーーWhat are your future plans and goals as a band?
AGATA: It was not a goal, but at first we talked about the kind of people we wanted to play with. But since they were all people close to us, it came to fruition rather quickly (laughs).
YAKO: I don't have a big goal that says, "We're going this far! I'm not particularly interested in big goals like that...”
AGATA: Yeah, we were just working hard.
YAKO: As long as we are making good music,
AGATA: Yes. But we saw the ceiling when we played with TOOL.
ーーOh, you toured with TOOL in 2007, right?
YAKO: Yes, we toured around together for about a month. When I toured with Mr. Bungle and Fantomas, I thought they were great, but I still felt close to them, But when I played with TOOL, I realized that I couldn't be like them.
ーーTOOL's tour at that time would have been in arenas.
AGATA: Yes, venues that hold about 10,000 to 20,000 people. They manage all aspects of such large-scale tours by themselves. I really felt that we don't have the ability to move people and manage various things in that way.
YAKO: They were touring with 14 or 15 trucks every day. The number of staff was also so many, and the members oversaw everything to make sure it all worked smoothly in the end. They are incredible people.
AGATA: Musically, It is a weird way to say, but they play like robots. I was like, "How can they do this?
ーーPrecise and unmatched. Like a hardcore version of King Crimson.
AGATA: Oh, something like that.
YAKO: I was surprised that they can be such a huge band with that kind of musicality. It’s an amazing thing.
ーーThis is not where you want to be?
YAKO: No, we can't be like that even if I aim for it,
ーーAt that time, you had shifted to be completely overseas.
AGATA: That's right, but it wasn’t planned. It just is impossible to put in the same number of shows in Japan.
ーーIn the U.K. and the U.S., you always tour around 20 places.
YAKO: I think so. In the UK, recently, I think it's close to 30 places.
ーーIf you do a tour in Japan,
AGATA: In Japan, we’ve done tours like only around Shikoku and Tohoku. We have never toured the whole country at once. It must be difficult to play shows outside of Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya unless it is on weekends, isn't it?
ーーEspecially when you think about drawing a crowd.
AGATA: I was told by a band that the typical schedule for bands on major labels is something like - go home Monday through Wednesday, then tour Thursday through Sunday, then go home again...and repeat.
ーーI see your point. It does seem harsh. In Japan, even bands that are quite well-known often only perform in the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya areas.
AGATA: Yes, it is a shame. Of course weekday crowds are smaller in the U.S. too, but there seems to be more of a culture of casually going out to shows even on weeknights.
ーーWatching recent live footage of MELT-BANANA's overseas shows, your crowds really get into it. It gives the impression that the band is becoming even more popular abroad.
AGATA: Yeah, the recent U.S. tour had an unexpectedly great response, didn't it? It was about 7 years since our last tour there, right?
ーーThat is a long interval.
AGATA: So we had been doing tours of less frequented countries in Europe and longer tours of the UK, which made it hard to schedule a proper tour of the US. By the time we finally got one organized, it got canceled due to COVID.
ーーFan had been waiting.
AGATA: But there were quite a lot of young people.
YAKO: It seemed like there were a lot of people seeing us for the first time. I wonder where they found out about us.
ーーI can find a lot of information in English when I search. Compared to the lack of information in Japanese. There are a lot of interviews, and it is rather easy to get information about MELT-BANANA in English. The popularity of MELT-BANANA overseas has led to such a large amount of information, and new fans are increasing at the shows because there is a lot of information. It's a good cycle, isn't it?
AGATA: I saw somewhere that a lot of people found us through Spotify recommendations.
ーーArtists can see which songs are being listened to most often in which cities in which countries on Spotify.
AGATA: But for some reason, when you try to access that information with a Japanese account, they aren’t available... (abbreviated discussions about shortcomings in the business systems of Spotify and Facebook)... When such issues continue, it becomes increasingly a bother. Booking agents from other countries have also mentioned this. That's why our U.S. agency have hired specialists to handle internet media.
ーーMELT-BANA hasn't released an album for a while, but in the meantime, streaming have become almost the only way to listen to music... CDs and such are still barely alive in Japan, but in the US they are on the verge of extinction. In the U.S., they are on the verge of extinction.
YAKO: When I look at merchandise of other bands, there are mainly analog records and cassette tapes, too.
ーーSo mastering the streaming system is very important for bands but…
AGATA: But I would come to the point where I've had enough of subscribing to streaming sites and using social media if it’s so tough to handle(laughs). I met a very interesting young band on a tour in the U.K. They sang and played well. I asked them where I could listen to their music, and they told me that I couldn't listen to it anywhere. They were not interested in releasing records. It was a bit of a culture shock for me to realize that there were people like that.
ーーFor example, there are artists who don't like streaming because their share is very small. What is MELT-BANANA's stance on this? The new album scheduled for next year will be released on…
YAKO: Well, I guess it's analog. But when I talked about CDs to the president of the distribution company that they wouldn’t sell much, he said if we made something, it would sell somewhere, so we should just make them…
ーーWith merchandising, everyone buys on the spur of the moment…
YAKO: Buying CDs are quite accessible. So maybe we should put out CDs and analog and ...... cassettes too?
AGATA: Not sure…
ーーI don't think the boom in cassettes will last forever…
YAKO: But it's cute as a thing. I wonder if it will be released with a download code. For example, I might buy an action figure with a download code.
The impact of COVID
ーーI see. The value is not for listening, but as a collector's item. That is also important for merchandising. Going back to your overseas activities, wasn't it terrible that you had to cancel your shows and tours due to COVID?
AGATA: The timing was all bad. We had to ask a (local) lawyer to get our… visas just as we were about to go.
ーーDo you do that yourself?
AGATA: For the US, yes. In the UK and Europe the agents handle it, but from my perspective, there's something about the Japanese mindset - if I didn't have the visa ready when COVID restrictions eased up and we could tour, then it's not really a COVID cancelation, right? So to avoid that, we had to get the visas lined up just in case.
ーーYes, just in case.
AGATA: The people overseas say "I don't think it's realistic..." but in case COVID suddenly gets better and they tell us to come right away, we'd need the visas to go. It's hard to make that judgment call ourselves. In the end we got the visas because it was a hassle to think this or that, but then even with the visas, borders stayed closed so we couldn't go. And then visa rules changed so they wouldn't issue the normal 1-year visas without a clear purpose, so it got even more complicated.
ーーLike how many days long tour from what day of what month.
AGATA: Exactly. If they were valid for a year we could just reschedule a postponed tour, but with the restrictions we have to apply each time. That makes it hard to plan future tours. In the end we rebooked after that initial canceled tour, but with COVID dragging on everything got canceled one after another. We'd apply for visas that ended up being wasted.
YAKO: From the booking agents' perspective, they want to postpone tours rather than fully cancel, so they don't have to refund tickets. So they'll postpone and rebook, but then COVID makes the new date not work so it gets postponed again, and this cycle repeated itself like 3 times.
AGATA: It was the same cycle of booking and canceling in the US, UK, and Europe. I started to feel bad for the agents. They were working so hard that whole time but didn't make any money unless we actually toured. I really felt for them. It was a quite tough situation.
YAKO: It was a couple of years of endless, pointless, sterile exchanges (laughs).
AGATA: Of course, we struggled with loss of income too, but I think the hardest part was what I said - people working tirelessly for us without getting paid because of this weird situation. It was really hard to feel okay about that imbalance.
ーーOh... That's the feeling you get because you do all those negotiations yourselves. If you had staff to negotiate on your behalf, you might not feel like that.
YAKO: You're absolutely right…
AGATA: The German agent is called "Trümmer Booking," but since there were so many cancellations, they suggested to call themselves "Trümmer Cancelling”. They were joking about it, but I was a bit nervous for a moment (laughs).
Facts about Tours Abroad
ーーI'm going to ask something very personal, how is your financial outcome when you tour frequently overseas?
YAKO: Well, it's enough to make a living... When we're on tour, we usually keep working about six days a week, right? So if I consider it the same as someone working a regular job at a company, I guess it brings in a reasonable amount.
AGATA: I don't feel rich at all (laughs), but enough for living.
YAKO: Enough to make a living without having to work a second job.
AGATA: I think it is because we are doing it on our own. We have worked with (established) labels before. Considering the label's take, it would be impossible to get by if the band are with four (members). Since we are two people now, we may be able to get by, though. The most we used to tour with was 6 people including crew, but now the airfare is very expensive and we would probably lose money. When the number of people increases, the cost of labor, hotels, and airfare suddenly increases as well.
ーーOh, I'm sure,
AGATA: We hire local staff at the venues when we need extra people. Like, when we think we just can't manage without someone to sell our merchandise.
YAKO: Or like when the stage is on the second floor, and we have to carry the equipment up the stairs.
ーーIt's the role of roadies and road managers.
AGATA: After a lot of thought, those (temporary workers) are much more energetic than having one person follow us all the time, because they are only with us for that day (laughs).
ーーIf you travel by car, you also have to drive, do you do all that yourself?
AGATA: It's usually this person, YAKO, who mainly drives (laughs).
ーーIt's a crazy DIY project!
AGATA: Please read our tour diary (on Patreon)!
YAKO: I even took another driver’s license test so that I can drive a microbus that seats up to 30 people (laughs).
ーーSeriously?
YAKO: Otherwise, you can't rent a 12-passenger van in the US.
AGATA: So other Japanese bands are touring too, and I think those bands are doing well. They hire people, financially speaking.
YAKO: I think it would be a lot easier if we had a manager or someone to tour with us.
ーーBut I think it is quite unusual for you to do all the driving yourselves.
AGATA: Oh, but in Europe and the UK, we have one person come with us. He does almost everything. He is the tour manager, sound engineer, driver, and everything else.
YAKO: We have known him for a long time. So it is much easier than in the U.S.
AGATA: But in the U.S., on the other hand, it can be easier because it is a car-based society. You can park your car next to the venue and just move your equipment around on a flat surface. In Europe, there are a lot of stairs and inconvenient locations, and it's a hassle to park the car.
YAKO: That's also why in the U.S., we can tour around on our own.
ーーI see. I toured the US for about a week with a japanese band long ago, and even in that short time was quite grueling, so I can imagine long tours are really tough for bands - physically and interpersonally. It takes a lot of stamina and getting along well to survive extended time on the road together, from what I hear.
AGATA: Touring in a band is a very closed-off environment mentally. Especially with limited budgets, cramming into one hotel room together and such. I can see how small interpersonal frictions could escalate quickly in that pressure cooker scenario.
ーーHas things changed from when you had more members compared to now?
AGATA: We don't fight much at all now.
YAKO: Well, there's only two of us... We can't really afford to fight all the time. When we toured with more people there were more... interpersonal issues. More people means less control.
AGATA: Like getting annoyed when we need to leave in an hour but a member is showering for 30 minutes. Little things like that caused friction...
YAKO: It can be a hassle with lots of people - telling everyone when to meet up, when to be where. More people to coordinate.
ーーAs MELT-BANANA's members decreased over time, it looks like unnecessary baggage fell away and you arrived at a good place...
YAKO: Individual burdens increase, which is tough, but there's probably more freedom too.
Continued in Part 2
(Shibuya, Tokyo, 12 July 2023)
(Text by Dai Onojima English translation cooperation by Kazuhiro Taguchi)
[Live Schedule]
2024/1/4
at Shinjuku Loft (Tokyo,Japan)
with Guitar Wolf,Moreru
https://www.loft-prj.co.jp/schedule/loft/268266
2024/1/13
at Club Shaft (Sendai,Japan)
よろしければサポートをしていただければ、今後の励みになります。よろしくお願いします。