Brighton live electronic act Fujiya & Miyagi formed back in 2000 as the duo of David Best and Steve Lewis, but they really hit the underground spotlight in 2006 when they released Transparent Things as a four-piece in 2006. Described as a fusion of the surreal Britishness of Pink Floyd with the synth-heavy melodies of Human League and the rhythms of Tom Tom Club, their latest effort Lightbulbs sees them pursuing a stronger pop framework than their ‘krautrock’ sound would ever have suggested in the past. Interestingly, the boys label the effort as making them “the first group to become more pop in an attempt to be less popular.”
ITM lights up with a chat with Fujiya & Miyagi.
How would you describe your bands sound to someone that has never heard it before?
I’d say we like Kraftwerk and Sly & The Family stone and are four white Englishmen who are softly spoken but sound as if we are deeply unhappy.
I’m sure you have been asked this question a thousand times but, how did you get your name?
My mum chose it for us. I think it was the name of her lawyers in Japan when she got falsely accused of firearm charges. When she was proven not guilty she was very grateful so as a thank you she asked me if I was ever in a music group to adopt the name.
What would be the one song that would best encapsulate the F&M sound?
I think on the new record if you combined the songs Knickerbocker and Uh, you would get pretty close to encapsulating what we are currently about.
What aspect of your music would you describe as sounding most ‘krautrock’ like?
Not much on the new record compared to the last one. We tried to move away from being pigeonholed. Hundreds & Thousands has a motorik beat and my vocals I suppose will always be viewed as being indebted to Damo Suzuki from Can.
You guys have been around for a while, I think you have been making music for about eight years? Does it feel vindicating to finally get the widespread recognition that you have received in the last few years?
It’s quite unexpected, but I don’t feel any vindication as when no one was interested I still thought what we were doing was interesting and worthwhile. I appreciate it when people come and see us play live, but any review or whatever is just another human’s opinion and that can easily change depending on their own or their editor’s mood.
You have toured with a lot of interesting bands recently like the fall, Damo Suzuki and Peter, Bjorn and John, who is your favourite group or artists that you have performed with?
We’ve only played one off shows with The Fall and Damo Suzuki, but those two were probably the shows I am most fond of in terms of playing with people I have admired for a long time.
There seems to be a move toward a more accessible ‘pop’ sound in your latest album. Is there a reason for this?
Well like I mentioned before it was an attempt to move away from being labeled as a krautrock group as I think that was always slightly misleading. I think we must the first group to become more pop in an attempt to be less popular.
What is your music making process like, I mean do the new members of the band have much input?
Everyone is welcome to bring ideas to the group. I’m hoping with the next record there are elements to it that are even more collaborative. Normally it comes from a rough idea of a song from me or a beat or synth pattern from Steve. The initial idea for Dishwasher was from Matt.
Live electronics is very tricky, what is your current live set up like? Is it all live or is a lot of it sampled or a backing track?
Everything is played live. There are no backing tracks and the only samples we use are triggered by Steve on the drum machine and they are more like sound effects. Now Lee has joined on drums our line up has more in common with a traditional band set up than a laptop act for example.
Any plans for an Australian tour?
Yes, we are hoping to be in your country in February.
Fujiya & Miyagi’s Lightbulbs is out now on Pod through Inertia.
GeneralClank says...
I wish their new album was half as good as their last.