Italian post punk rockers Japan Suicide have just released their new album, Ki. The album was inspired by the art of Mark Rothko and by Confessions of a Mask of Yukio Mishima.
Tomatrax caught up with Stefano Bellerba, the band's lead singer, to discuss their latest work.
How did the band form?We all live in the same town, Matteo (bass) and Leonardo (keyboards) went to the same high-school and decided to play together. Then came the others. Saverio (guitar) from We die in such a place and the other Matteo (drums) from Ki.
Where did the name Japan Suicide come from?It comes from Yukio Mishima.
You've just released your latest album, how does it feel to have it out?We are very satisfied about the result, and we think that it is a good point that we have reached as band, from "We die in suche a place", passing through "Santa Sangre", our previous works.
Where did the name Ki come from?Ki is part of the Aikido. The name Aikido is composed of three Japanese words: ai, meaning harmony; ki, spirit or energy; and do, the path, system or way. Aikido is the way of the spirit of harmony.
What made you pick 'One day the black will swallow the red' as the album's single?In the beginning we didn't think to use this song as first single, but talking to other people we have considered that even if it is not one of the more catchy of the album, it could be the most representative.
The music on the album was inspired by the art of Mark Rothko and by confessions of a mask Yukio Mishima, what prompted this inspiration?Well, we take inspiration from everything. Mishima is one of Matteo's favourite writers (bass) and we made a sort of conclusion of a circle, with some referring to Mishima in the album, over the song "Mishima" itself.
You're putting out a release of 100 printed copies, what made you decide to make printed versions of the album this limited?During this years we have invested a lot in our music, and in particular for this record, produced in Uk, so we have decided also to print by ourselves the album, and to see how people will react to the album.
What's the music scene in Terni like?Terni is a small town, there are many bands, maybe a little audience for live music.
When writing what comes first, the words or the music?Music comes first. maybe a lyric could be written before in terms of time, but then it has to be good for the music.
Do you ever listen to your own music?We listen a lot the period pre and post release of every album, and sometimes the previous albums, both for have a term of comparison and to know if we still like something 🙂
What other music do you listen to?We have different tastes in music, also for other genres and often a disagreement about famous bands. We have found an agreement on "The Doors", but not on Manzarek.
Now that the album is out, what do you have planned next?About the future, we have planned something of very different from this five years and more of music published and of life as a band, we are already working on new stuff. Meanwhile we hope you'll enjoy "Ki"!
Check out Japan Suicide's Bandcamp page to find out more!