JAPANESE psychedelic-branded four piece Bo Ningen arrive in Glasgow fresh from the release of their new album III, which came out just a day previous to their King Tuts show. The band appear cool and confident, ready to debut their new noise to their only Scottish leg of the tour here in Glasgow.
“It’s great here, the music scene seems much more connected to each other. In London they’re slightly separated from each other but here it seems like if you know one good musician or band, they’ll be connected to everyone. It’s more small and incubated so everyone can get together.”
A lot more complex than their two previous albums, III embraces their psychedelic nature whilst taking on a whole new variant of layers and textures. As a band that notably stays true to the vibrancy of their own colours, III carries the distinct concoction of noise from their past albums with a more confrontational formation.
“Album III is like an extension of the second album. Each song is a different colour, and the album is the drawing. We spent a lot of time finding the right order as that can change the image and perception of the album. So the order of the album is how you put the colour in the drawing.”
Aside from the different approach to the new album, vocalist and bassist Taigen Kawabe also takes on the whole new challenge and experience of singing in English rather than his native Japanese for tracks ‘DaDaDa’ and ‘CC’.
“I treat singing in a different language like using a whole different instrument. It’s like a guitarist using 12 strings or a bass player using five strings, it’s like a totally new instrument. Using a different language means I change my rhythm, my accent and my melody. I did enjoy it, but it was hard.”
Also on the album features another collaboration with Savages’ Jehnny Beth for track ‘CC’, which has an underlying story with regards to a minor feud with Canadian band Crystal Castles after they cancelled the band’s support slot during one of their tours. Coincidentally, Savages were then asked to take Bo Ningen’s place on the tour, to which they declined.
“I gave Jehn 2 or 3 other songs to choose from, but she loved that song before I told her the meaning behind it.
“She’s a part of the story”
After a recent tour of the US, including SXSW, Coachella and Austin Psych Fest, the experience has given the band a whole new platform of opportunities and hopefulness.
“Now we’re at a point where we can see our own potential. There’s so much more possibility for us. America is huge and made us realise that it’s still such a main part of the music industry and that the UK is more alternative in a way. So hopefully it will push us up to a bigger scope and bigger audiences. So we see a lot more chances for us.”
Having never toured the US before, the band had their first taster of a US audience.
“They’re a lot more direct and straightforward. But it was also kind of more extreme in a way. People were moshing. It was mental. But when we were playing at Coachella, I like to try and play near the audience, and some guy in the audience came up and took a selfie”
After just finishing their May UK tour dates, they will await a summer of festival dates, including a show with none other than the mighty Black Sabbath, which will be their first summer show after their break this month in June when they will be rehearsing.
“We will be focusing on composing because we haven’t had a lot of time since making our 3rd album. We had the Australian tour, Japan tour, US and the UK, so we didn’t have much time to try out new stuff so it’s a good time before summer.”
Hailing from Japan but residing in London, the band’s geographical influences is something that’s regularly questioned. They are given three options to place themselves on the map: Japan, London or BO NINGEN SPACE.
“Probably… Bo Ningen space! Obviously we’re Japanese, based in London, but we always try to equalise that. We want to be everywhere.”
Blue Kirkhope
