After getting back from their first world tour final 12 months, Japan’s BURNOUT SYNDROMES just lately dropped The World Is Mine, a group of songs featured because the themes of varied fashionable anime sequence resembling Haikyu!! and Dr. Stone. The album contains tracks that mix Japanese and Western influences, for instance the title observe from the band’s indie days rearranged in a Western model, the English model of “FLY HIGH!!,” a collaborative quantity with FLOW referred to as “I Don’t Wanna Die within the Paradise,” and “Mt. Wakakusa Starmine,” a tune that includes conventional Japanese devices renamed from the unique Japanese title which means the identical.
The three members of the band — frontman/gutarist and principal songwriter Kazu-umi Kumagai, bassist Taiyu Ishikawa, and drummer Takuya Hirose — spoke with Billboard Japan about their new set and elaborated on the type of music they hope to share with their worldwide audiences by way of these anime themes and reside performances. In addition they chatted about what they’ve gained from their abroad treks and their present place as a band.
Your new album is characterised by its clear concentrate on international growth, because the title, The World is Mine, unambiguously describes. Your first reside efficiency exterior of Japan was in 2017 in France. Why did you set your sights on the world at this present time?
Kazu-umi Kumagai: What we skilled in 2022 was an enormous consider realizing that I needed us to go international. Ranging from September, we performed exterior of Japan as soon as each month.
Takuya Hirose: I feel the rationale why so many music festivals exterior of Japan have reached out to us is as a result of the variety of folks watching Japanese anime has elevated globally because of the pandemic. Anime will be watched in simply over 20 minutes every, in contrast to drama sequence and flicks, in order that in all probability match with the occasions, too.
Taiyu Ishikawa: Actually, across the summer time of 2020 we noticed an big inflow of subscribers to our YouTube channel, and the variety of month-to-month listeners on Spotify started to exceed one million. After I was in Japan, it didn’t really feel like so many individuals have been listening to our stuff, but it surely actually hit house after we performed abroad. In that sense, I feel the truth that we’re in demand abroad has been mirrored within the numbers for a while.
Kumagai: From a world perspective, Japan equals anime. The Riyadh Season 2022 occasion in Saudi Arabia the place we carried out final 12 months was like an Expo that includes consultant cultures from all over the world, like bullfighting for Spain, King Kong for the U.S., and Shibuya and anime for Japan. A part of the rationale for that was as a result of the royal household of Saudi Arabia likes Japanese video games and anime, but it surely appeared like regardless of which nation we visited, the impression folks have of Japan is anime. It’s like Hollywood for the U.S. from our standpoint, or soccer for Argentina.
That analogy actually is smart.
Kumagai: So the native audiences are usually extra in all for artists linked to plenty of anime theme songs. However we have been informed by a neighborhood agent that it’s uncommon for an act to be invited to carry out abroad a lot, even contemplating what number of anime themes they’ve executed. I assume there should be one thing about our music that strikes a chord with folks all over the place.
I get what you’re saying, as a result of BURNOUT SYNDROMES has been pursuing a musical model not restricted to rock from the start.
Kumagai: Anime themes are inclined to lean in direction of rock songs, however I’ve all the time been the sort that wishes to do music that isn’t restricted by the framework of a rock band, like tracks utilizing conventional Japanese devices or impressed by EDM. I feel our music is being welcomed exterior of Japan as a result of we have now such songs, and we’re in a position to compete on a world stage with our sound and never essentially due to the content material of the lyrics. That’s one thing I sense throughout our reside reveals abroad.
You say that, however the lyrics are additionally a particular high quality of BURNOUT SYNDROMES. Kazu-umi’s (Kumagai) narrative lyrics have been acclaimed because the band’s indie days, and for instance, there’s a line within the FLOW collab “I Don’t Wanna Die within the Paradise” that goes, “I need to be world well-known,” expressing robust dedication and preventing spirit.
Ishikawa: We’ve each all the time liked Kumagai’s lyrics.
Hirose: I feel each time, “The lyrics are so good once more!” [Laughs]
Kumagai: For “I Don’t Wanna Die within the Paradise,” (the five-man band) FLOW and our band needed to mix the weather that we contemplate to be the present types in Western music with J-pop-like distortion guitar to provide you with a quantity that we might current to the world as one thing born from our backgrounds. After I started to really journey overseas, the best way I see my house nation has been altering. So for some time from right here, I really feel like I’ll be in a interval of judging whether or not I ought to incorporate Western components right into a tune or if sticking with J-pop methods is healthier, case by case. It’s enjoyable as a result of I’m step by step starting to discern that. I’m hoping we are able to deliver collectively one of the best of each worlds.
Hirose: On the Crunchyroll EXPO 2022 within the U.S., we did a set that primarily featured songs with conventional Japanese devices, like (the unique) “Mt. Wakakusa Starmine” and “Hanaichimonme,” and the native viewers appeared to find it irresistible. It was good to know that individuals loved the sounds of conventional devices and in addition our songs not linked to any anime works.
Ishikawa: Our band has loads of songs not restricted to rock, so after we say stuff to hype up the group throughout our reveals like Western DJs do, it really works very well. I feel that’s why we are able to play in entrance of crowds in any nation fairly easily.
Listening to your newest assortment, it feels just like the songs launched inside the final 4 or 5 years are those which have clearly advanced past the essential rock band format. Was there a motive why you determined to alter a lot?
Kumagai: The rise of Billy Eilish. She actually made me really feel, “Whoa, we actually can’t preserve doing what we’ve been doing.” The sound of every instrument in a rock band is so robust that it’s important to sing actually loud to get your voice throughout, however her vocals don’t do this. That was a tradition shock for me, and I additionally thought it was so cool. So I needed to fuse collectively one of the best elements of a rock band and music that layers a slender vary of appears like hers.
Ishikawa: After I play such songs onstage, I actually really feel {that a} single be aware performed reside can create a groove. I feel that’s the advantage of being in a band.
Hirose: One other advantage of taking part in in a band is which you could join songs by sustaining the strain of the second.
Kumagai: Like they each stated, notes performed reside is one of the best a part of a live performance. However in case you do this in a recording, it seems sounding like an everyday rock band. That’s why for the previous few years, we’ve been recording BURNOUT SYNDROMES’s songs by considering of mixtures like if reside drums are used, the bass might be synths, or if the bass is reside, the drums might be computerized.
Listening to you converse, I obtained the sense that “the fusion of opposites” is the idea that describes the place BURNOUT SYNDROMES is in the intervening time. For instance, “the world and Japan” and “pc and instrumental sounds.”
Kumagai: I’ve by no means deliberately executed issues considering, “Lemme fuse this and that.” I’ve simply been attempting to let go of my habits all this time.
Ishikawa: Kumagai does issues in another way every time. So there are moments once I assume, “What’s my actual job?” and I’ve to study one thing new every time. [Laughs] However I actually get pleasure from that, too.
Hirose: Different drummers I do know say to me, “You all the time should do new issues and it looks as if loads of work.” [Laughs] However I actually get pleasure from these moments once I efficiently pull off a troublesome beat, and I additionally find it irresistible once I can go all out on tracks like “Hanaichimonme” upon Kumagai’s request.
Kumagai: We’ve been attempting to create issues which have by no means been executed earlier than, to incorporate beats and sounds that we’ve by no means tried earlier than. Once we write music for anime, we research the works and check out the concepts we provide you with. We’ve confronted every work fastidiously and have given all the pieces we had on the time. It feels just like the outcomes of those efforts have led us to the place we at the moment are.
You stated you attempt to let go of your habits. That’s like saying you’re letting go of the band’s essence, or character. Is there something you’re unwilling to concede?
Kumagai: Properly… After doing so many alternative issues, the one factor our songs have in frequent is that Kazu-umi Kumagai is singing them. I’ve a type of bizarre voice that will get drowned out in rock music. I’ve been grappling with this for a very long time and started experimenting with varied methods to make my voice heard in our songs. So it was this voice that led me to check out new issues with our sound.
That explains why you have been drawn to the best way Billie Eilish sings with out elevating her voice. So BURNOUT SYNDROMES’s music advanced due to Kazu-umi Kumagai’s vocals.
Kumagai: That’s additionally the story behind the title observe of the brand new album, which is a rearrangement of the unique “The World is Mine.” I’d needed to do a brand new association for that observe for some time and determined to incorporate it this time as a result of it occurred to suit the theme of the gathering. Serious about the sound we create with this relatively imperfect voice and learn how to make it resonate superbly is what this band has been about, I assume.
The refrain of “FLY HIGH!!” additionally has components of this. It has an explosive, immediately unforgettable melody. The opener for Haikyu!! Season 2 continues to get pleasure from an enormous worldwide following, and it’s the observe that kicked off BURNOUT SYNDROMES’s collaborations with anime.
Kumagai: I feel that tune comes throughout that approach as a result of we have been in a position to create the rhythm with a three-note chorus. For a very long time, I’ve been considering arduous about learn how to place rhythm and chorus within the melody so the band can compete with this voice. I naturally started putting significance on rhythm, and I assume that turned out to go well with worldwide listeners. We wish folks exterior of Japan to take heed to our music the best way Japanese folks take heed to Western music. (To make that occur,) it must be music that may be loved even in case you can’t perceive the lyrics. We included the English model of “FLY HIGH!!” in our new album, so I hope folks get pleasure from it another way once they discover out what it’s about.
Did you count on “FLY HIGH!!” to turn into so fashionable if you first wrote it?
Kumagai: In no way. It was my first time writing a theme for an anime sequence, and I simply did my greatest. However (music producer) Junji Ishiwatari as soon as stated to me {that a} debut tune is admittedly necessary, so whereas I used to be writing it I used to be certain it’d turn into a tune that I’d sing for the remainder of my life. It’s a quantity that I wrote with that type of dedication.
Hirose: “Hikariare” and “PHOENIX” have been additionally featured as Haikyu!! themes after “FLY HIGH!!,” so plenty of folks in all probability assume Haikyu!! once they hear BURNOUT SYNDROMES. Haikyu!! is a vital work that helped us meet all types of individuals.
Ishikawa: I’ve all the time liked the unique manga sequence and Haikyu!! is like my textbook for all times. Every time I tackle a problem, I learn it over once more to encourage myself. I’m actually proud to have the ability to play with such an necessary work on my shoulders.
A band that’s been singing about “the world” is now breaking out on the worldwide stage. That’s fairly dramatic.
Kumagai: ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION might be why I usually use the phrases “sekai” (world in Japanese) and “world” in my lyrics. I got here throughout that band once I was in elementary college and “world” was enter in my thoughts as a phrase that sounded cool in most contexts. [Laughs] I discover it attention-grabbing that we’re being invited to locations all over the world virtually 20 years later. We at the moment have three routes out there to us: being heard within the Japanese market, being invited all over the world by way of our anime collabs, and being heard by the followers of artists we collaborate with, so I’d like to put in writing songs accordingly.
BURNOUT SYNDROMES has carved out an unprecedented path within the Japanese band scene, and can proceed to blaze the path it appears to be like like.
Hirose: I like Kumagai’s songs. That’s the rationale why I’ve been on this band all this time. So so long as this continues into the long run, I don’t care how we do it or the place, in Japan or elsewhere.
Ishikawa: Talking of unprecedented, I’ve been attempting to unfold the J-pop tradition of elevating your hand throughout the refrain of a tune at our performances overseas. It’s not going so nicely. [Laughs] I need to talk to folks all over the world learn how to get pleasure from our tradition, and I additionally need to pursue methods to convey the fantastic thing about the Japanese language and Kumagai’s lyrics.
Kumagai: Not too long ago, I’ve been feeling that we’ve reached a brand new start line once more. It’s actually arduous to put in writing songs that might be appreciated each in Japan and overseas, so I feel it’s our job to pave the best way for that with the assistance of anime. It is perhaps unprecedented, however there’s no level in following what everybody else is doing… I imply, we’re a band that has launched solely such songs. [Laughs] We hope to proceed doing worthwhile work.
—This interview by Sayako Oki first appeared on Billboard Japan