Interview at "El Sueño" English ver.

I translated Ami-Bique's interview on Nov 1.

Original text: https://www.prensil.org/elsueno/11/AMIBIQUE.html

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[INTERVIEW WITH AMI-BIQUE / BLACK METAL NOISE FROM JAPAN]

Does your name have a meaning?

My name comes from Hitomi Kanehara's novel "AMEBIC" who is my bible. The pronunciation "əmíːbɪk" is replaced by the French word. In Japan, French is sometimes used to give a cool impression, and I did so because I wanted to look cool too. I majored in French literature when I was a university student, so it was easy for me to look up French words in the dictionary.

 How is your daily life?  How old are you?

In the morning, I eat yogurt and banana with honey while holding a cup of coffee with soy milk in my left hand. Lunch is almost always a set menu with meat, rice, and vegetables. I try to maintain the same nutritional balance for dinner as I do for lunch. I also go jogging about three times a week. When I go to bed, I wear a hot eye mask to rest my body.
As for my age, although I don't reveal my age very often these days, I am 30 years old at the time of this interview.

 Is your music closer to Whitehouse or punk rock or hardcore than classic modular electronic music?

I refer to my music as black metal. It is close to post-punk, noise, and other hardcore music. However, I do not know much about Whitehouse.
If by classical electronic music you mean music like Kraftwerk, my music is superficially far from them. However, since my music deconstructs and reconstructs the depths of various genres, it can be said to be influenced by classical electronic music, and my music is the son (or grandson) of all the music I have ever listened to.

 What are your favorite modules in your set for performances?  Do you also use pedals?

My favorite module is Snazzy FX Chaos Brother. This module is an LFO with a built-in algorithm based on chaos theory that adds a kind of madness to the music that Newton could not compute. Also, as with all eurorack modules that Snazzy FX makes, the photogenic design lifts my spirits, and since Chaos Brother is an older item, there are several newer modules that are better than it, but for me Snazzy FX is the best buddy. I don't want to part with it because it is less capable than others. This is love.
I don't know much about pedals, but I do use a Moogerfooger from time to time. However, I only use it in the house because it takes more time to prepare right before a gig by adding more equipment other than modular synths.

 In Japan there are great names of noise!  How do you see the scene in Japan now?  Are there many groups around Boris?  More in the black doom metal style?

Speaking about only performance, there are many great noise players in Japan, not only famous musicians. However, the achievements of noise legends are not limited to the performance aspect. I believe that the greatest thing about famous musicians is that they turned 0 into 1. Artists such as Merzbow and Hijoukaidan established a scene by creating customers in a dark market where there was no demand. Just as GOD of the Bible created the first light. I think what the following noise musicians need to do is to keep taking action to create a new market. That action will be true respect for the noise legends.
I know very little about Boris and will be learning about them. Sorry.

What music do you listen to?  What are your musical references?  What bands or musicians are your favorites of all time?

I mostly listen to soft rock music in general. My musical reference is rock, which is more like pop music (B'z, hide, X JAPAN, L'Arc-en-Ciel etc). My favorite is B'z. They have a catchy output of hard rock, dance beats, and many other musical elements. Their method is similar to mine which is like a salad bowl of mixed black metal and hip-hop, etc. I listened to B'z for so long that I must have subconsciously been influenced by their soul.
Among black metal musicians, Ildjarn is my favorite. His minimalist madness is black metal itself for me.

 What do your lyrics talk about?  Do you use your voice more as an instrument than as a singer?

I often use my own social opinions and views on life as the theme for my lyrics. Some of the songs on "Rock'n'Roll Amoeba" are about my religious views (Rock'n'Roll Amoeba or Dear Hangedman). I use death growls and other singing techniques to make the lyrics blurry. This is because if the words you hear are too naked, it can damage your mind and brain, like when you see an indignant tweet on Twitter. We want you to listen to the song and then read the booklet to read the lyrics you didn't hear. The edgesof words would be softened. For me, death growl is a buffer to convey the lyrics seriously. This voice has value as an instrument, but I want to use it only as a singer to convey the lyrics.

 Your show is always hectic and amazing!  how do you plan your performances

Thank you. I have some idea of the development regarding the performance, but have little plan for the movements and vocals during the live show. My performance is a direct reflection of my mood at that moment of the day. Most of the time I am having fun, so I am laughing and dancing as much as possible. On the other hand, if I have a bad day right before a live performance, I look down and put on a grumpy face. My movements during the performance are the very movements of daily life. I have been behaving differently from those around me since childhood and have been insulted many times, but I appreciate this funny body because it is my one and only strength on stage.

 Tell us about your last "Rock'n'Roll Amoeba"!

The title of this album refers to myself. My name comes from the first question, "Amebic (Amoebic)", which means "Like amoeba" in English. And I play Rock'n'Roll in the broad sense of the name, so I consider myself a "Rock'n'Roll Amoeba" .
This album is my most abstract sound to date. That is on purpose. I wanted to make an album that would counter the concept of "addictiveness" in music. I questioned the tendency for addiction to drugs and alcohol to be considered a problem, while addiction to music is not considered a problem, but rather welcomed. In order to eliminate addictiveness, I made the tone as lo-fi as possible so that the melodies would not stick in your head. "Rock'n'Roll Amoeba" is consigned to "commmonsmart" on Ryuichi Sakamoto's label. We are convinced that it is a very interesting experiment to have such an abstract synthesized black metal album on a well-known Japanese label.

 You are the founder of Xeno-Kent Station label.

Yes. Xeno-Kent Station currently has some NFT music for sale on OpenSea. These are all improvisation sources; improvisation and NFT are both one-of-a-kind items, so I consider them to be highly compatible. Maniac (ex-Mayhem) has also released on my label.
I started NFT to take on the challenge of "turning zeros into ones" that I mentioned earlier. I comprehend that NFT has a fundamentally different product value than music sold on CDs or Bandcamp. Their value is something that is created over time by each NFT providers. Improvisation NFT music may not be in demand right now. However, for example, chili peppers, which are now used all over the world, were not in demand when European merchants started selling them. We would like to create a new musical infrastructure in the long run. My challenge may fail, but it is many times more valuable than not taking action. This attitude is also called a kind of Rock'n'Roll.

 Have you ever visited Spain?

I have not been to Spain yet. Just now I was listening to "Despecha" by Rosalía lol. Spain and Latin America are very interesting regions because the traditional music remains primitive. 
I remember a video of me playing a synthesizer while deep apologizing (It is called DOGEZA in Japan) was shown at the "The Wrong Biennale," an exhibition of digital art in Valencia. What is art? I used to think about it long time ago, but because I am no longer conscious of it, maybe I'm able to keep being Ami-Bique.