.png)
Yuji Kumagai, Cashew Chemists Interview: Intimate, Loud, Rock 'n' Roll
Singer-Songwriter Yuji Kumagai shares about Cashew Chemists
Despite having performed in large indie music festivals, Baybeats and IGNITE!, participating
in several huge music scenes in Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia, receiving frontline publications in Juice, and Straight Times, and getting nominated for MYCA
Rock and Roll Rumble, Cashew
Chemists vocalist Yuji
Kumagai still has the
unmistakable air of someone who woke up with a slight hangover.
I’ve gotten to know Yuji thru a fortuitous event, and he’s one of the few
I know in Singapore who has this palpable depth and insight - it’s practically contagious.
And having achieved an interesting life story in just a quarter of a century, you
may think Yuji is like the rest of Singapore’s typecast that the rest of the
world know of. But, that’s far from the truth.
He’s laid-back as a communal couch, and humble as an Akita mutt. He can also play musical instruments like a boss. He’s into traveling around Europe, in as much as he’s into getting to know
more about his Japanese heritage. He’s in-tuned with what the world needs and
what it could be through rock and
roll music.
From a school studio, where we used to hang, to sitting in a coffee shop, and
later on, ending up to be a full-length written interview --- Yuji shares about
Cashew Chemists and life in Singapore from his genre.
*****
For
those people who have never heard your music, how do you explain or describe
your sound?
Yuji: The
sound of the Cashew Chemists take influences from the old school deep southern
delta blues of Robert Johnson, the early rock
'n' roll jumps and jives of the American 50's, to the pop melodies of the Beatles and
the British Invasion in the 60's, and recently, we've been experimenting with
the psychedelic sounds of the 70's. We take all these melodies, riffs, songs
and lyrics we love so much from these eras and propel them into the future we
live in today, while maintaining a sense of longing for the sepia-toned
love of the past.
What
kind of image do you think your music conveys?
Yuji: In
an old cadillac with the top down, chasing the sunset down a dusty desert
highway, rock 'n' roll
music
playing on the stereo, sunglasses on and your lover beside you - enjoying life
as it speeds past everyone else, and then ending the day at the beach, parked
right in front of a swing band playing jazzy tunes as the beautiful people
around you are loving life one day at a time.
Where do you draw inspiration from when you write
songs, and what’s your favorite part about the process?
Yuji: We
draw inspiration from everything that happens around us and the things we like.
Usually it's me and Brian (lead guitarist)
who writes the songs. We share our demos
back and forth, and 90% of the time we come up with the melodies and
lyrics. Brian writes the really catchy melodies while I concentrate on writing
memorable lyrics. It's usually about love - falling in and out of it, and
everything else in between. But recently, Elliot
(bassist) and Zachary
(Drummer) have been hard at work writing some really amazing songs and we can't
wait to start work on those.
What
life experiences have influenced your songs the most?
Yuji: All
our love lives and how we've lived in a tiny country called Singapore, with its
globalized economy and culture. We take
western melodies and transpose it back to an asian perspective of life in
general. We love how we grew up here, but we have always individually had a
sense of longing to experience life outside of our small little island, and writing music gives us that form of
catharsis in some way.
How
do you describe your show, visual, and musically?
Yuji: Visually,
we're not quite there yet in terms of a properly rehearsed stage act. We can't
spend millions on a light show yet... We
used to dress up in the same outfits together while performing, but we kind of
outgrew that. And now we're just looking to revamp our style and music for
our debut album. Musically, we strive to
give the audience the best-sounding performance ever. We have to do these
melodies we write justice, so that the crowd feels the same sense of love and
longing we do to when we play our music on our side of the stage.
What's
the funniest thing that happened while you were onstage?
Yuji: There
was this one time in one of our small shows we DIY-ed at the Blu
Jaz Cafe. It was our 3rd year running that show
and we had one too many drinks collectively - but Brian (lead guitarist) was
completely spaced out by the time we got on stage to play as the ender for the
nigh. We improvised so many of our songs
it felt like stand-up comedy. And when I looked at Brian with those drunken
eyes, I couldn't help but laugh. None of us got angry because the crowd was so
crazy and everyone was just having a good time. That's the kind of shows we
like to play. Intimate, loud, and
complete rock 'n' roll.
What
tracks do the band most enjoy performing live and why?
Yuji: We
enjoy playing "Not
in love" (from the EP) and another song
called "Mountains"
(unreleased). These two songs give off the best vibes when we play them. I have
no idea why. Maybe you just have to come
to our shows and see for yourself!!
What’s
your favorite thing to do when you aren’t writing/playing music?
Yuji: I
still skateboard, even at 25. I read books about love & travel, whip up
some of my favorite world cuisine, find old blues and bossa nova records, go on skyscanner, looking for cheap
flights to wherever my next flavor of the week is. It's not a seperate thing, really, writing music and my daily life.
It's come to a point where I can pick up a pen and write down a phrase or
record a singing melody into my Iphone and work on it immediately (or the next
day..)
What's
your favorite song to belt out at the bar/in the car/for karaoke?
Yuji: I'm the biggest fan of catchy rock riffs.
Whenever I hear classic rock songs on the radio on saturdaynights, I
always sing them in the car. My dad introduced me to classic rock music.
Although I once sang How Deep
Is Your Love in a
bar - that was great.
Message
to fans?
Yuji: All
you need is love! & good friends, good music and good food. We can help you
out with the good music part. Look out for us coming in with a bang in
2015!
*****
0 Wandering Thoughts: