Interview with Noboru of The Lamb (Japan)
By Mick Michaels
The Cosmick View: Hello, Noboru and welcome to The Cosmick View/MBM Ten Pounder! Thanks for taking some time to chat with us!
Noboru: Thanks a lot. Good to see you.
CV:
Describe your definition of the band’s sound and style and how does that
definition uniquely describe the music?
Noboru: Well, I call it "City Pop." You know how this genre of Japanese music from the 70's and 80's is getting popular in the US and Europe now?
City Pop has become a kind of keyword, and just by saying the name, some people turn around. So I'm taking advantage of that.
Noboru: Well, I call it "City Pop." You know how this genre of Japanese music from the 70's and 80's is getting popular in the US and Europe now?
City Pop has become a kind of keyword, and just by saying the name, some people turn around. So I'm taking advantage of that.
We're
more complicated than that, but I can't explain it in words.
CV:
Today, everyone talks about artist and audience connection. Is such a level
of connection actually achievable for an artist and if so, how have you made
the connection to your fans?
Noboru: To be honest, I think it's heading in an unhealthy direction.
Noboru: To be honest, I think it's heading in an unhealthy direction.
In Japan,
there are young girls doing live streaming. The old men gather there and throw
money.
The girls get their approval and get paid for it. For the old men, it may be to heal their loneliness or to satisfy something similar to sexual desire.
More and more people are trying to bring this same feeling to the world of music. Like the boys who flirt with old ladies for the sake of popularity.
I have a very strong aversion to this. However, if you say something like this, you will not be taken seriously in Japan, and in most cases, you will be ostracized by society.
The girls get their approval and get paid for it. For the old men, it may be to heal their loneliness or to satisfy something similar to sexual desire.
More and more people are trying to bring this same feeling to the world of music. Like the boys who flirt with old ladies for the sake of popularity.
I have a very strong aversion to this. However, if you say something like this, you will not be taken seriously in Japan, and in most cases, you will be ostracized by society.
CV:
Is fan interaction an important part of the band’s inner culture?
Noboru: Please don't get me wrong, we really love the people who love our music. But you know, we've had people who don't care about our music at all and just want to come and chat and hug us after the show. It's disgusting. If you want to hug me, I'll hug you all you want, but what we're trying to reach is the music fans.
Noboru: Please don't get me wrong, we really love the people who love our music. But you know, we've had people who don't care about our music at all and just want to come and chat and hug us after the show. It's disgusting. If you want to hug me, I'll hug you all you want, but what we're trying to reach is the music fans.
CV:
Can a band truly interact with its fans and still maintain a level of personal
privacy without crossing the line and giving up their “personal space”
in your opinion?
Noboru: I can tell you from my own experience that it's very difficult. It's very hard, even for us who are not very well known.
Noboru: I can tell you from my own experience that it's very difficult. It's very hard, even for us who are not very well known.
If you
want to do that, you have to accept that some people will leave you. There are
so many people who want to fill the void in their hearts.
CV:
Is music, and its value, viewed differently around the world in your opinion?
If so, what do you see as the biggest difference in such multiple views
among various cultures?
Noboru: I think the era when music had a huge power is over.
Noboru: I think the era when music had a huge power is over.
Commercial
music is something cheesy, I think. It's for dancing and driving. But in the
1960s and 1970s, music acquired a more high meaning. Politically and
spiritually, it was reaching for something higher. It could radically change
someone's way of life.
But then
again, it's gradually going back to the way it used to be. In the
background music called playlist.
CV:
Do you feel that a band that has an international appeal, will tend to connect
more so to American audiences? Would they be more enticed or intrigued
to see the band over indigenous acts because of the foreign flavor?
Noboru: Haha, ask the Americans about that.
Noboru: Haha, ask the Americans about that.
The
reason the US is the center of music is because it has the top market price,
according to Spotify data.
Second place should have been Japan. Did you know that? There is a big market, so Japanese people can sell their music only to Japanese people. That's why BTS is not coming out of Japan. But I don't know what will happen in the future, because China and India have much more people.
Either way, it doesn't really matter to us. It's for the big companies to figure out.
Second place should have been Japan. Did you know that? There is a big market, so Japanese people can sell their music only to Japanese people. That's why BTS is not coming out of Japan. But I don't know what will happen in the future, because China and India have much more people.
Either way, it doesn't really matter to us. It's for the big companies to figure out.
CV:
Has modern-day digital technology made everyone an artist on some level
in your opinion? Have the actual lines of what really is an artist been blurred?
Noboru: Everyone can release a song, everyone is an artist, and that's fine.
In ancient times, if you didn't force slaves to work, there was no time for art. You had to take the mammoth, right?
Until the 2000s or 2010s, releasing songs was a privilege for a few.
Noboru: Everyone can release a song, everyone is an artist, and that's fine.
In ancient times, if you didn't force slaves to work, there was no time for art. You had to take the mammoth, right?
Until the 2000s or 2010s, releasing songs was a privilege for a few.
I think
digital technology is about liberating the privilege of a few to the general
public. Instead, it's a system where the money goes only to a few big artists. I think the time when CDs were so expensive and generated such
huge profits was abnormal.
CV:
How would you describe the difference between an artist who follows trends
and one who sets them?
Noboru: That makes my ears burn...haha.
I'm just a realist. And one thing is for sure, The Beatles had their "Please Please Me" days, and Radiohead had their "Pablo Honey" days. There's not much more I can say.
Noboru: That makes my ears burn...haha.
I'm just a realist. And one thing is for sure, The Beatles had their "Please Please Me" days, and Radiohead had their "Pablo Honey" days. There's not much more I can say.
CV:
Has music overall been splintered into too many sub-genres in an effort to
appease fan tastes in your opinion? And has such fan appeasements, in
actuality, weakened music’s impact as a whole by dividing audiences?
Noboru: As long as playlists are the central mechanism for hooking up artists, it's inevitable. Because artists have to fit their musicality in order to be included in famous playlists.
It's a systemic problem. For us to be free there has to be a system where everyone can survive financially. Unfortunately, we don't have that.
actuality, weakened music’s impact as a whole by dividing audiences?
Noboru: As long as playlists are the central mechanism for hooking up artists, it's inevitable. Because artists have to fit their musicality in order to be included in famous playlists.
It's a systemic problem. For us to be free there has to be a system where everyone can survive financially. Unfortunately, we don't have that.
CV:
What can fans expect to see coming next from you?
Noboru: Well, I have no idea. But next year I'm going to do something unexpected, something that people will find interesting.
Noboru: Well, I have no idea. But next year I'm going to do something unexpected, something that people will find interesting.
CV:
Thanks again Noboru for taking some time and talking. It is greatly appreciated.
Noboru: Many thanks to you too. Honestly, that was the most interesting question I've ever been asked in an interview. Did I answer a little too seriously?
CV: Your answers where spot on Noboru!
Noboru: Many thanks to you too. Honestly, that was the most interesting question I've ever been asked in an interview. Did I answer a little too seriously?
CV: Your answers where spot on Noboru!
Check out The Lamb at:
Official: https://www.thelamb.info
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thelamb_jp
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelamb_jp
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelamb.jp
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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, show host, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.
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