Hello and welcome to the Monaco Weekly. This time I had the pleasure to interview Yaobi, the incredibly successful Japanese duo that is conquering the global charts. I've met both of them at the Barbican Center after the duo headlined two nights at Wembley, London this June. Here is my conversation with both the composer Ayase and vocalist Ikura. I want to ask about your band. You, I believe one of the fir the first Japanese acts to top
the global charts of Billboard. So are you happy that you're having kind of this fan base, not only in Japan but outside from Indonesia to the UK to the US? Tell us how, how, how are you feeling about that kind of success outside Japan.
What humbled and honored. Very pleased with the reception. It's amazing. I'd never expected this level of reception really when we started, but through social media we do receive a lot of messages, direct messages from fans, and it's just wonderful to see them. And when we play live as well, we do get to see the firsthand reactions and interact with them as we saw in Wembley as well, so it's been. It's been amazing and we hope that it would carry on.
I was in Wembley on Sunday as well. It was an amazing, amazing. So, so tell us, where else have you been in Europe? I know you've been also to Spain, to the Primavera festival. Uh, so tell us a bit more about which countries have you visited.
So on this tour, those two locations, so Spain, Primarera and Wembley to will end. However, we'd love to visit other destinations and we cannot wait to meet the fans and play there.
One question, I, I wanna ask the connection of Yobi, the duo with uh Japanese literary scene, because I think there's a strong connection. Uh, there's the Monogatari as well. Uh, I wonder if you can explain a little bit more about that. Yes,
so all the songs are based on writing stories and but um in Japan, so that there are many different mediums, whether it be from books, anime, manga, and all of them are interconnected and we do um represent that style as well, which is slightly unusual, but um I hope that um the audiences get to enjoy the entirety of the medium and representation.
So it's not simply just a pop song. It's a little story,
right? We are producing pop songs. However, there is always a background, more of a depth and the context through stories that we are basing all those songs on. And through that understanding, um, music becomes a lot more three dimensional. So it is, I see it as more of a new form of entertainment. And we produce music in J-pop genre, which I'm very proud of. It's something that I love and I want
to continue um this act. And so through the J-pop songs that we produce, we hope that um everyone gets to enjoy Japanese culture and this new form of um entertainment.
Well, you're certainly both representing Japan very well and as a big fan of Japanese music, even from the 80s, I would like to know from both of you what was. Your influences, music influences, could it be a little bit of city pop as well, I don't know. I, I wonder, I would like to hear from both of you on that one.
I grew up listening to notable Japanese musicians, and the front runners at the time. Um, so Anahi, Yi, Ikimonoakari are the ones that I can think of right now. I mean, if I were to give you an example, um, also Japanese bands as well, such as Wims and But my parents um were an influence in the sense that I did listen to the music that they listened to in the 80s and the 90s, for example, Yin,
Yumi Mattoya and Southern Oars as well. And so all those um wonderful musicians have influenced me and I think they exist within, as an essence, um, musical influence. Uh, for me, yes, um, I have been greatly influenced by the J-pop, J-pop as well as folk songs. So, um, yes, I have been influenced by Yumi Mastoya, as well as Maria Takeuchi and Kubotashinobu as well. Um, so leading on to that, I love, um, Japanese R&;B as well as hip hop.
Well, um, so both of those genres I love. But I, so I was in a band actually, um, my previous band music was a lot harder than you be sounds. So, um, within that line, I love um metal core, hardcore, and so I was very um. I was very excited to see the picture of Slipknot being displayed in Wembley Arena.
The. One of my surprises on Sunday, uh, of course, I'm a fan of your music, but I never seen you live. He felt sometimes at like a rock concert, and that you're singing the beats. He was very, very energetic. So I see a lot of rock in you. Thank you.
My
pleasure. And I'd like to ask, I know you just released a recent, uh, single, Watch Me. But what's the next plans? Because you've just finished as our tour in Japan, sold out, many places. Are you resting a bit or are there new new music coming out or new gigs?
No, in fact, um, we actually have to wait for us which is happening in Japan in 4, so we will be playing these shows but for the next week, we will be staying in Europe and we use, we will use that as an period. So we will try and absorb as much as possible. I'm enjoying being in Europe. And yeah, that's our plan.
I would like to know because I know the Japanese consume music in a different way, like CDs, vinyls are still very big in Japan. What do you think of that? How, how do you see the Japanese music market compared to other places where it's more about streaming? I prefer the Japanese way. I love CDs and and physical media, but. Um.
is that Japanese music scene has shifted more towards streaming as well. Um, so they don't sell as well as before. Um, most of the people listen to music through streaming CDs. Vinyls are being bought as a memorabilia really, especially for those um fans who love the music and they just want to keep uh just want to buy it for as a keepsake. So that does still exist, but mainly, uh, people tend to just listen to streaming, so maybe not that different to the rest of the world.
Thank you both Ayasi and Ikura. I'm a big fan here and for more information on Yobi and the upcoming concerts, go to Y O A S O B I dash music.jp. The show was edited by Elliot Greenfield, and I am Fernando Gusta Pacheco. Thank you for listening.