Every aspect of what you do, from music to visuals, is highly elaborate, but you're in fact working these things out with a rather small team of specialists. Is that kind of chemistry the secret behind the original, simple sound and harmonic view expressed in your music?

 

I'm not a musician who likes to go to all kinds of different places, but I prefer putting everything together in my own studio. I guess that’s also because I'm just too lazy (laugh), but this is simply the place where I can handle any situation or problem that may spring up. I do take my time though. My concert tours amount to about 100 shows these days, so that’s one thing I have to calculate in my approach.

 

The "Sensuous Synchronized Show" at Tokyo International Forum (on March 30) was a rather minimal affair in terms of both delicate sound and simple choreography of the four band members. But then again, such items as mirror balls gave it a humorous but not unscrupulous touch that seemed to demand the audience’s undivided attention…

 

Over the course of a number of live concerts, some details gradually change. When there is less improvisation, each musician concentrates more on the single notes.

 

The concert I'd seen before at Liquid Room was obviously built around the idea of how to interpret the "Sensuous" album on a live stage, while at the International Forum you seemed to be having fun delivering an increasingly mature performance with plenty of elbow room, which eventually proved highly entertaining.

 

Well, I hope it was. Live music clubs and concert halls each have their advantages. The International Forum show was actually the first concert on a big Japanese stage since my Budokan show about ten years ago. For many people in the audience it must have been the first time in a while, if not the first time at all, to see us at such a large venue. I suppose that’s why people seemed slightly bewildered at first, but in the end I think everyone were having a good time.

 

Japanese audiences - and yours in particular - always seem to need some time to get going, as there’s never much screaming before the curtain rises. That’s perhaps just some kind of courtesy to the performers (laugh), and in the end the crow at your concert looked all the more satisfied.

 

We don't really expect people to scream in the first place, and I think that, if I were in the audience, I'd be sitting there quietly myself (laugh). Things get of course much more out of order at concerts abroad…

 

The magic of live performances

 

Different from many musicians - especially creators of rather elaborate compositions - who decide to stop performing live at some point, you keep playing concerts, and you even seem to be pursuing increasingly refined combinations of musical performance and visual accompaniment, which is impressively documented in the two DVDs that were released in March, namely the "Sensurround" video collection and the "From Nakameguro to Everywhere tour '02-04" compilation of live footage. Am I right to assume that it’s that special physical experience that keeps pulling you back to the live stage?

 

There are various types of performances (such as automatic sets for example). The important thing in my view is that there are people together on a stage who actually produce sounds. People often ask me how we manage to synchronize the performance with the visuals when playing live. The trick is simply a combination of three types of click sounds that only the drummer can hear via a monitor speaker. We've been playing with the current lineup for quite a long time, so in a positive sense we got used to this method.

 

Isn't it difficult to maintain the same level of motivation throughout an extensive concert tour?

 

Oh, it is (laugh). Every time this happens we try to play a song without rehearsing it first, or try out some weird arrangement… Sometimes a song really gets refined through such experimentation, whether it’s done consciously or happens just by chance.

 

Your music is often described as "sophisticated minimal", but in your live shows you're often throwing in elements of punk and funk for good measure. While I suppose that works particularly well with overseas fans, on the other hand there is your special kind of hybrid lyricism that stands out. "Wataridori" surely moves every Japanese listener to tears… (laugh)

 

"21st century music" for the 21st century

 

What exactly is that line, "la musique du 21 siecle", that subtitles your "Sensuous" album and concert tour, supposed to mean?

 

Strictly speaking, all music made today is of "music of the 21st century". I found that slogan on a record from the '60s, and while it must have been quite a futuristic idea back then, I thought it would be interesting to recycle it now that we're actually in that "future".

 

"21st century music in the 21st century" is definitely what sums up your music best in my view. Anyway, there are artists overseas they occasionally call "the British Cornelius", and when checking out record shops in Europe, they usually stock your albums, which I think is a remarkable thing. What is playing at festivals in Europe and America like? You take all your equipment with you, don't you?

 

Yes, that’s right. The typical festival is divided into a main stage for big artists like Red Hot Chili Peppers or Bjork, and an independent stage where the likes of Sonic Youth or Flaming Lips play. We're usually in the latter category. Some rock festival take place in the mountains or on beaches, which makes playing not exactly an easy job, but on the other hand, I'm getting more invitations to such indoor festivals as Sonar. Music festivals these days come in an increasing variety of formats.

 

Touring abroad is definitely a tough job, and even though there does exist a market and eagerly waiting fans, it happens fairly often that artists and staff collapse even before getting there. It’s by far not as easy as selling Toyotas in Japan, so I really admire you for managing to conquer that time and again…

 

I wonder if I really do… (laugh) Anyway, it is hard, so I can understand well that people collapse somewhere along the way. In my case, playing live still gives me slightly more fun than pain, so for the time being I think I'll be able to continue. About ten years ago, just when people were beginning to invite us to play concerts abroad, it was a time when Japanese bands in general were becoming hip overseas. People were suddenly talking about Buffalo Daughter, Cibo Matto or Guitar Wolf. In this sense, the timing for me was just perfect.

 

Are you planning to go on a world tour again this year? I'm sure they'd love to see a Cornelius concert in Brazil…

 

We're going to play in the UK, Spain, Austria, etc. If we get offers from some manageable locations in Brazil, it’s not impossible that we go there as well. I'd really like to.

 

Finally, what would be your own word to describe the meaning of Tokyo for you?

 

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