UPFRONT ONLINE

Would you believe me if I told you that FUJIYA & MIYAGI are closet R Kelly fans? If nothing else we ‘outed’ them during our interview with the trio who look set to fill dance floors around the globe either in person or by means of digital playback. Touring on the back of the latest release ‘Transparent Things’, Steve Lewis, David Best and Matt Hainsby from Brighton (UK) spoke candidly with UPFRONT about finally quitting the day jobs, the long road to this release and why their live show doesn’t suck!

You‘re starting to enjoy success at this point, how has it been getting to this point on the journey?

Matt      It feels quite natural really. We basically started about 8 years ago. Things happen. It doesn’t feel like such a big deal because there’s always something good coming along. My girlfriend says I should get more excited. I’m like yeah, I am, and she’s like, well show it.

David    But also, we’re sort of busy planning shows or the next record. We don’t, you know, type our name in Google and see what comes up. Obviously when we play shows, and there’s people there, I can see if they like us or not. But I’m not monitoring what people are saying about us, so I’m sort of unaware of how well it’s going, or how badly. I don’t want to know.

It’s all been really recent?

Matt      Yeah it feels like that.

I know that you’ve been working a long time on this album. But I read that you just gave up on your day jobs before going to the US recently.

David    Yeah, in February. That was obviously the best thing…

So the album ‘Transparent Things’, can you tell me about the process, the development, how you decided its direction. [The previous album was "mongy"]

David    We’ve only just stumbled across it, really, it was more like when we started playing live, we didn’t want to bore people, and first it was just me and him.

I read that you thought that your live show sucked because it was just two guys running a laptop. 

David    No, no, we were aware that that is what it could be. So we were very adamant that we didn’t want that to happen, because that is one of the worst things to watch. Unless you’ve got great visuals, which we didn’t have. So when we started playing live, when we saw people dance and stuff it was pretty good. And also when we first started, we were really into electronica at that time, you know? And Aphex Twin, which we still like. But before them, personally, I really liked Bowie and more sort of, fun music, and soul. We had the sounds but we didn’t have the songs, so we decided to make some songs up to go with the sounds, and speed it up a bit, and voila, here we are.

The recording period for this album has been quite long, hasn‘t it? Because you released Collarbone in 2005. 

David    Yeah, but in terms of days, probably not, because we were working fulltime

Matt      It took hours.

David    Really quick but it was just stretched over 5 years. But in that time before Matt joined, we worked with two other guys and we played some shows with them. That kinda took us on a little bit of a tangent, and then they left and then Matt joined. But me and him were just sitting around thinking, “Why is nothing happening? Oh, we haven’t released a record in five years, that’s what.”

Were you never tempted at any stage just to get the sack and work on the music while on the dole for six weeks or whatever?

David    I’ve been on the dole before. I did more when I worked for Fujiya & Miyagi than I did when I was on the dole. It’s all right, (but) all your mates are working, you’ve got no money…

In the UK it‘s terrible, I think.

David    Yeah, I did it for about a year but it didn’t really help us.

For me, the album you have now is more accessible to a wider audience. Was that on purpose?

David    No.

It was just a natural progression?

David    Yeah, I think we got better at writing songs. Or we decided we wanted to write songs rather than mumblings over bleeps.

Matt      I think it’s the nature of the songs, the songs have got choruses. 

David    But no, it obviously wasn’t deliberate, I think if you try and make something palatable you’re gonna sound rubbish and no one’s gonna like it. So it was a bit of a shock, God people like us, that sort of thing.

What about your fans from your previous albums? 

David    All five of them? They’re fine with it.

Matt      Yeah, they’re still there. 

David    Besides what’s the point of doing the same thing again, do you know what I mean? It’s not like oh this isn’t working, what shall we do?  It’s a long period in between the first and the second, hopefully the next one won’t sound like this one

So you mention Can, Aphex Twin, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Iggy Pop and the Stooges. What influences from the current day would you include?

David    Personally not a lot. I think more production-wise, maybe Steve’s more influenced by hip-hop or house records, how they sound. I try to write new music. The only new music I really like is Joanna Newsome and Smog and stuff I don’t feel any kinship with, say, groups. I like old stuff like Serge Gainsbourg and Can, it just sounds better to me. You get a bit jaded because you think, oh, I’ve heard that before. I mean, I can’t remember the last time I heard something new and I thought, wow! 

Steve    Actually, we played with a band called Au Revoir Simone in America, and we liked the record before we played with them. Then we played with them and we watched them every night, they sounded amazing. So that’s quite special. And there’s a band called Half Cousin on Gronland Records.

David    I really like Emperor Machine. I really like that kinda stuff, the dance floor stuff. But I’ve started to get more into songs now as well. Although we keep the electronics going, we’re all quite into songs now.

And what about dodgy stuff? Do you listen to dodgy stuff and say, actually, I could take that and make that? Something like Britney Spears?

Matt      She’s doing all right on her own actually. 

David    I dunno. I like pop songs. I like R Kelly ‘Trapped in the Closet’. You know that album? Oh you’ve got to, it’s the most amazing – it’s the shittest – and the most amazing album ever. It’s a whole concept album. Get R Kelly ‘Trapped in the Closet,’ there’s ten songs, all exactly the same. And it’s just the story about how he gets trapped in the closet with this woman. He goes back and then her husband walks in, and then he goes back to his wife’s house and there’s a dwarf there, because the dwarf’s doing his wife, it’s amazing.

Matt      The dwarf’s hiding in the kitchen cupboard, there’s many layers to this.

David    You’ve gotta listen to this. He opens up the cupboard and he goes “there’s a midget, midget, midget,” you know that R&B thing.

Matt      It’s a rap opera.

David    So that’s pretty cool. We couldn’t have done that any better than him probably.

Or any worse.

David    Oh yeah. It’s amazing. But yeah, I dunno, I like the songs, I wouldn’t call them dodgy but there’s some R&B and pop songs that come out every now and again, like that ‘Crazy in Love’ by Beyonce a few years ago. That’s easily the best song of the year. So we’re not really snobby and they don’t have to be German for us to like them.

How do the live shows differ from your recorded material? What extra elements can we expect?

David    I think it’s probably more dynamic, because we’re quite stripped down, obviously we all get a little bit bored and we want to do different things.

Steve    We all sing – or whisper – so that gives it dynamics. 

David    We haven’t got a drummer.

Matt      Like the Temptations with instruments.

David    Yeah. 

Steve    Are we?

David    No, we’re not. We’ve got really bad dancing. But, I dunno, we like it. We don’t just stand there like scared rabbits.

Matt      Playing lots of gigs recently improves stuff as well.

Have you had any bad gigs?

David    Oh lots.

Steve    Yeah, always.

Any weird moments with the audience?

Matt      We have a fantastic fan who sings in New York, he’s always at the front dancing and kind of miming the lyrics.

Steve    He wears white lycra shorts and a headband.

So have you got any famous fans that you know of at the moment?

Steve    No. A bit disappointed really.

David    Has anyone contacted you?

Steve    I received an email from – I don’t know – Kevin Rhodes. 

David    No, you want someone like Dale Winton [UK TV personality] to like you or someone really odd.

Or Julian Clarey!

David    Julian Clarey, yeah.

Maybe you‘ve got closet fans.

Steve    Yeah, trapped in the closet.

Did you send R Kelly a CD?

David    No.

Steve    He should’ve bought one, he’s got enough money.

David    Yeah. Like the great R Kelly knows who we are. 

So what‘s next for you guys, just to wrap up?

Steve    UK tour.  We get back to Brighton tomorrow and Tuesday we’ve got a two week UK tour starting in Cardiff.

Are you doing any festivals?

David    Yeah, we’re playing a festival in September in the Isle of Wight, Electric Picnic in Ireland, with Jarvis Cocker and Beastie Boys playing there, Björk as well. Playing a few, Secret Garden in Huntingdon, near Cambridge, Bloom, Route de Rock in France, Leicester, we’re doing a lot basically. Plus one in London, Lovebox. We play the same day as Sly and the Family Stone. Which is pretty good, I reckon. Whether he turns up or not, I’m not sure.

And next? Are you writing at the moment?

Steve    Yeah, just been doing that the last couple of weeks actually. We try and fit it in through the summer, but we probably won’t have it finished until January/February. We’re going to stop gigging completely and then concentrate on doing it.

David    We’re going to get it done as soon as we can. We’re about half way through.

More info: www.fujiya-miyagi.com

 

 

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