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RADWIMPS' Takeda talks Singapore, Coldplay and writing 'Your Name' soundtrack

RADWIMPS
RADWIMPS (Photo: SOZO)

Japanese rock band RADWIMPS will be returning to Singapore on Sunday (4 June) for a one-night-only concert as part of their 2017 Asia Live Tour at the Megabox Event Hall.

With Singapore known for its diverse culinary delicacies, it was only natural that food would be one of the things on the band members’ minds.

“I like laksa, so I’m excited to eat it in Singapore,” RADWIMPS bassist Yusuke Takeda told Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore in an interview.

The group, who were behind the soundtrack for 2016’s hit anime movie “Your Name”, also recently opened for Coldplay during the British band’s Tokyo performance. The band comprises vocalist Yojiro Noda, guitarist Akira Kuwahara, bassist Yusuke Takeda and drummer Satoshi Yamaguchi, who will not be performing in Singapore due to an illness.

Takeda, 32, said opening for Coldplay was “truly an honour”, adding that their stage was “amazing”.

The encounter made him want to study English properly, he said, as he could not interact with the Coldplay members because of the language barrier.

Nonetheless, the British band offered the RADWIMPS a small token of appreciation in Tokyo.

“After the performance, we were really happy to see champagne and a message card left in our backstage dressing room by the Coldplay members,” Takeda said.

Your Name (Photo: Purple Plan)
Your Name (Photo: Purple Plan)

‘Your Name’ soundtrack

Takeda said being involved in the soundtrack for “Your Name” was a “valuable experience and lesson”.

The film is inspired by the events of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami, an event RADWIMPS remember each year by releasing a single for free on its anniversary.

Despite this, the group did not incorporate any message towards the Tohoku disaster.

“Instead, we decided to purely concentrate on making a song that would match the visuals and movie as much as possible,” Takeda said, adding that the group was “extremely happy that a lot of people were able to watch this movie”.

Being an anime character for the day

Takeda has previously recommended the “Ghost In The Shell” anime in interviews, so it was no surprise that he said he would like to be the cyborg character Batou from the series for a day.

“I’d like to try becoming a cyberbrain and a cyborg,” the RADWIMPS member said.

RADWIMPS have been in the J-rock scene since 2001, and the band have gone through a few line-up changes since their formation. The international music scene has also seen the rise of Korean music, with acts like TWICE and EXO having recently performed in Singapore, as well the shifting trend towards digital streaming and music downloads.

Takeda said Japan’s music industry is “very rare”, due to the fact that many in Japan still buy CDs and CD sales are still strong. He also suggested that it would be good if more Japanese artistes could go on overseas tours.

“Since there are many cool artistes in Japan, it would be great if these artistes can go to other countries, such as Singapore, more frequently,” Takeda said.

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