Exclusive Interview: Asobi Seksu Discusses New Album and More!

by The Walrus Music Blog on Mon, 2008/07/21 - 4:11pm Post to Twitter

The Brooklyn band Asobi Seksu, (Japanese for "playful sex") comprised of Yuki Chikudate (vocals, instrumentation), James Hanna (various instruments) and friends is one of our favorites here at The Walrus. Often compared to My Bloody Valentine, their melodic, ethereal noise-pop certainly has it’s roots in late-80’s/90’s Shoegaze, but its beauty is timeless.

I recently had a chance to speak with Yuki about the in-progress follow-up to 2006’s excellent album Citrus, as well a few other points of interest. Check it out:

Michael: Hi Yuki! How is the new record coming along?

Yuki: Good! We are mixing right now. It’s been an interesting and longer process, longer than we thought. But we’re are excited by the end result.

M: Awesome! Is it a change in direction from Citrus? If so, can you give us some hints? Are you working with any one of interest? Feel free to spill all the beans.

Y: I don’t think that it is too much of a departure from Citrus…it’s a natural progression, but who knows what people will think. We are recording at Gigantic Studios again with Chris Zane and Alex Aldi. It’s been fun! As far as "guests" go, we’re are using a lot of this organ that The Walkmen keep at the studio. Does that count!?

M: Oooh secret Walkmen organ…sounds cool! When you record is it a very meticulous process? Do you do any improv or is it more planned out?

Y: Yes, it’s an anal retentive, obsessive compulsive process, but a lot of this record was arranged and written on the spot. Citrus was written and arranged to the 98% mark before we went into the studio. We left more room for experimentation this time.

M: Does it disappoint you when your albums end up on file sharing networks? Would you ever consider using the ?pay-what-you-want? / release when finished model, similar to what Radiohead and Girl Talk have done, in order to curb leaks?

Y: Yes and no. The Internet Machine has gotten us a lot of attention that we wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. But it is disappointing when people make entire albums available on ftp servers before they are even officially released. I definitely thought it was cool when Radiohead did the "pay-what-you-want" thing just as their album was released.

M: Yea, but then again, they are Radiohead and they can pretty much do anything they want and get away with it. In regards to remixes, I really love the Cassettes Wont Listen remix of ?Strawberries? and The Twelves remix of ?Thursday.? How did those come about? Do you plan on collaborating more with djs/electronic artists in the future? If so which ones would you like to hook up with?

Y: Thanks, I really like them too. The CWL mix was done by our friend Jay, and it’s probably may favorite remix. The Twelves one is dope too. That one was arranged by our UK label, One Little Indian. I would love to have Daft Punk remix our stuff!

M: That would be really cool. I’m a big fan of the lyrics on Citrus. I’m curious, are the lyrics of ?Strawberry? referencing the Beatles?

Y: Kind of. I realized that after I wrote it. I like that it’s kind of a shout-out to them. It’s about a field of strawberries screaming, "Don’t forget about me!"

M: Haha, weird! The music and vocals on ?Thursday? sound very bright and dreamy, almost uplifting, and yet the lyrics are sad. Was that a conscious decision to juxtapose the content of the lyrics with the feeling/tone of the music, in order to create balance? (ie, Beach Boys Pet Sounds)

Y: Yeah, we like to do that (smiles)

M: Without a doubt one of your influences must be My Bloody Valentine (probably sick of that reference!). It?s pretty crazy that they have gotten back together and are touring, possibly recording. Any thoughts on that? Are you going to see them live? Will you promise to wear earplugs if you do? I hear it?s INSANE!

Y: I know! It’s sick! We are there with bells on. I really hope they play "Lose My Breath."

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Posted by Michael

Categories: Indie-Pop, Shoegaze, Interview