For a band wielding the sonic assault of Japanese punk pop band One OK Rock, its frontman, Takahiro Moriuchi, is a singer short on words. But you can’t blame him for that—English is his second language, after all, and we’re just happy he was up for a chat. (One OK Rock is actually a play on words: it’s how “one o’clock”—the chosen time, in the a.m., the band would practice because of cheaper rates on rehearsal space—sometimes sounds when spoken in Japanese.)
Promoting its seventh full length album, 35xxxv (which was first recorded in Japanese, then re-released in English as a deluxe edition in the U.S.), Moriuchi, who goes by Taka, is currently on tour in the States with his band (comprised also of Toru Yamashita on guitar, Tomoya Kanki on drums, and Ryota Kohama on bass). They’re supporting All Time Low and Sleeping With Sirens, and Artist Direct’s Gwendolyn Elliott caught up with Taka, his manager Levi, and the rest of the caravan in, of all places, Texas.
Gwendolyn Elliott: Hi Taka. How’s the tour going?
Takahiro Moriuchi: Really, good, really very crowded, and I’ve never played a lot of these places before.
GE: I was looking at the tour schedule and it looks like you’re in Texas at the moment, correct?
Taka’s manager Levi: Yes, we’re in Houston right now, it’s hotter than hell.
GE: Taka, Texas is home to a lot of great American country singers. Do you have an opinion about American country music?
TM: Actually, not really, but my father is like a Japanese country music singer.
GE: No kidding.
TM: Yeah, I don’t know American country music but I was set for that kind of music.
GE: From the little you do know of American country music, is there much of a difference between it and the music that your dad is making?
TM: Yeah, it’s different. Japanese country music is more, well, we call it Enka. It’s really traditional Japanese style music.
GE: Do you like touring the states?
TM: Yeah, I love it. I’ve been to the United States maybe two times. The first was on the Warped Tour last year, in summer, next one [was Spring 2015 support for] Yellowcard, and this one. So, I love it. I’m excited. Happy to be here.
GE: What do you like about touring in the states, and how is it different from touring throughout Asia and Europe?
TM: It’s very different. I like the bus life, it’s really good. Every place is different, the good weather, the people.
Levi: We’re in the south right now, at the moment, the weather is not going to be like this for long.
GE: Taka, is there any particular place you’re looking forward to visiting?
TM: L.A., yeah, L.A., and what was that place two days ago? Nashville. Yeah, Nashville. So great. A lot of bars, a lot of country music. It was my first time in Nashville, so nice.
GE: How would you describe the difference between your Japanese fans and your American fans?
TM: In the United States, they are like, really, singing loud and screaming, and everyone’s drinking a lot. But in Japan, they’re like, all the time, calm, quiet.
GE: I find that hard to believe, that your fans would be quiet listening to your music.
TM: It’s Japanese style, when I’m singing a ballad, they’re so quiet.
GE: Very respectful?
TM: It’s normal, it’s typical.
Levi: They always make noise at the end but Japanese audiences are always very quiet during songs.
GE: That’s a big difference between American crowds, who are known to talk through entire sets!
TM: Yup.
GE: Let’s talk a little about your new album. I know you signed to Warner Brothers in April, and you re-released your latest album, 35xxxv, as a deluxe edition, containing all English tracks, in the states. Was this your first time recording the same album as two separate versions?
TM: Yes, it was. It’s actually really hard, Japanese to English. So, I wrote the lyrics in Japanese, and my American friends helped me translate into English. The meaning and grammar is really different, Japanese and English, it was a really hard time. But I love it, I love the music, and English, and American music style. It was really hard, but so fun.
GE: You recorded here in the states. Was the process any different compared to the multiple albums you’ve recorded in Japan?
TM: Yeah, in Japan, we didn’t use a producer, ever. But here, we used a producer, John Feldman. Style wise, it’s totally different. But he had a lot of experience with good music, with a lot of good ideas. So it’s totally different but really good.
GE: When you had recorded previously in Japan you had not been working with producers? You were producing all your own material with the band?
TM: No. And yes, I was producer. With [help from] our guitarist, but he is not a producer.
GE: What was it like working with Feldman?
TM: He’s really great. Yeah.
GE: There’s a track on the new album, “Paper Planes,” that was recorded with Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens. How did this collaboration come about?
TM: John Feldman introduced me at the studio, and they’re a really big band in the United States, and then…
Levi: He met him through John Feldman, they’re having a lot of fun on tour together.
GE: Right. You’re on tour with Sleeping with Sirens and All Time Low.
Levi: Yeah, Kellin’s doing the song with us every night, “Paper Planes.” It goes down great every night. Bands are getting on great this tour, it’s really fantastic. They’re having a lot of fun.
GE: Taka, how would you describe the difference between mainstream music in Japan and the U.S.?
TM: In Japan, it’s almost that the rock and roll band is dead. There’s a lot of cheesy bands, a lot of cheesy artists. I hate that. But in United States, it’s different, music is cool. Music scene is so much better, in United States. That’s what I want, to try to reach to American fans and American people, so I try to do that. But mainstream is totally different.
GE: Anything else, for the fans?
TM: Thank you so much, we love you guys.
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