Made In Japan are no strangers to Music Feeds’ readers having received glowing positive reviews and their fair share of controversy. The good news is that’s all behind them and the boys have a brand spanking new album to unleash to the music public. Their sound resonates a lot with the Sydney crowd and their fan base is growing on the back of great tunes and consistent live shows. The band will be headlining FBi Social on the 25th and James grabbed a few moments between preparing for the album launch to give us the heads up on the new Made In Japan release.
Music Feeds: Hey James, so you guys have wrapped up the new album; tell us a bit about the record?
Made In Japan: The record is a very dynamic collection of tracks; it’s been a few years since we put out our EP so we’ve had time to develop and polish our sound and our songs so that we’re 100% happy with our debut album. We’re pretty happy about how atmospheric the whole thing has come up, which has become a signature element of our sound.
MF: Now that the album is ready to go, do you feel nervous about its release and how people will react or are you excited to get out there and play us these new songs?
MIJ: Just plain excited! We’ve been playing some of the tracks live and they’ve been well received so far. It would be nice if it’s a success and we can tour it, and if it’s not…we’ll tour anyway, playing to bar flies at empty venues around the country!
MF: What have you learnt from the whole recording process for this album?
MIJ: It’s expensive but very rewarding. Also we’ve learnt that songs we thought were complete can change for the better at the last minute. We made some pretty significant changes during the mixing process, which ended up bringing so much more life to some songs that we thought we’d done and dusted. It’s been an awesome experience.
MF: What are your favourite tracks on this record?
MIJ: The final track Ignorance Is Bliss is a really simple tune that keeps on evolving, Time Flies is a very melodic and layered pop tune and of course Pairs for its shoegazy vibes.
MF: Talk us through the songwriting process for Made In Japan?
MIJ: It almost always starts with a fairly developed guitar idea that’s been conceived late at night in a bedroom somewhere; this gets introduced at rehearsals, which can give birth to a bit of gold but sometimes it just needs to be slow cooked. All promising ideas get recorded and gradually refined, listened to, played and then refined again. So I guess it’s a pretty structured process. Seems to work well for us.
MF: Mate, I’ve got to ask about the drama that unfolded on Music Feeds about a year ago when Mike left the band. Obviously it was just a gag that got out of hand, but how did you find the reaction from readers to it?
MIJ: It’s one of those things that we all just look back at and laugh about really. Just a joke that wasn’t particularly funny and got out of hand. The reader response to it was a little bit exciting actually. watching everyone getting into the whole frenzy was enjoyable. I guess we were most worried about the possibility that we’d burnt bridges with Music Feeds, who’ve looked after us forever, but as usual, everything cooled down and we’ve all moved on, which is good for everyone.
MF: So what’s on the cards for Made In Japan for the rest of the year?
MIJ: Heaps of shows and a MASSIVE album launch. We’d like some interstate times, so hopefully we’ll team up with some suitable bands and take it to all corners of the country.
MF: Finally James, what’s the first track you’d put onto a mix tape?
MIJ: Talking Heads – This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)
Made In Japan will headline FBi Social this Saturday and keep an eye out for their album to drop Sights And Sounds
