Selected Q & A for various interviews and articles:
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Physics Room - New Zealand - 2008
Why do you like bathtubs so much?
Getting clean and relaxing and being able to make drum beats all at once... three of the best things in the world! What is not to absolutely love?
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Timeout Magazine - Australia - 2008
1. What does lullatone mean to you? And what would you say is a lullatone?
Lullatone is a word/name we came up with to try to express three ideas at once. Lulla is from lullaby because the first songs I wrote were lullabies for Yoshimi. Tone is from sine tone because it is the simplest and purest kind of sound and I really like that. And, when you put them together it kind of sounds like xylophone which I think describes our sound too because it is playful and anybody (even a baby) can play it. That is my goal for most of our tracks!
2. The bedtime beat is actually rather like a concept record - what inspired that idea?
Actually, all of our albums so far have been based around concepts. For our discs I think that the concept is always as important as the melodies. We couldn't make the tracks without the concept first.
For "the bedtime beat" the theme was to try to introduce simple drum sounds into our melodies more than before (our first 3 discs were completely drum-less!). But, instead of normal drum sets, we wanted to make the sounds from stuff around the house like bathtubs, pillows, snores, and the kind of unprofessional beat-box everyone secretly does when they are home alone.
3. Over the past couple of releases you've created a very strong visual quality to Lullatone's CDs and videos etc - is this something you're very conscious of?
Yes yes, we are just as interested in visuals as music! We don't want to be a band in just the music sense but more like an art group working in lots of different mediums. So, we make movies and illustrations, work with television and we are hoping to launch some software one day, too.
4. What is the scene for pop music like in Nagoya? And in Japan generally, is it an exciting time for new pop sounds?
These days we are both a bit out of the loop on new sounds in Japan because we have been mainly spending all of our free time working on our own stuff. But, in Nagoya, I really love a band called jonnoson
http://www.myspace.com/jonnoson2
They are the new Velvet Underground for me!
5. How do you feel Lullatone will develop in the future - do you have a vision for lullatone in 10 years?
I am hoping to branch out into more and more and more things. Next month our weekly Saturday morning kids corner starts on television here, which is really exciting! After that we are working on a coloring book, and are starting a new "company" called Lullatone Melody Design where we make small melodies for art exhibitions and movies and stuff. It is soundtrack work so we can do lots of different kinds of sounds that we might shy away from on our own CDs.
6. We heard you were working for NHK and Chanel? What are these projects about?
Yeah, these are the first 2 projects for Lullatone Melody Design. Just after we decided to start it we got an offer to make the new jingle for NHK, which is Japan's national TV station. We made three types for their 3 digital stations. But, each track could only be 3 seconds long! At first it was hard to think of how to make something interesting in just 3 seconds, but in the end we made some hits! I am excited that so many people are going to be able to hear them soon.
And, when we were in the middle of that project, we got a mail from the sound curator for the new huge art exhibition / world tour Chanel is doing. They are going to use one of our sounds for part of it, which is really exciting too.
There are lots of good things going on these days, almost too many for me to keep straight. But, luckily keeping my head spinning in circles just makes more good melodies fall out (hopefully, fingers crossed).
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After 17 Magazine - China - 2007 (for an issue about dreams)
Do you think the dream had implied something to you? Has it ever inspired you?
Y: Sometimes, I have a dream which is like I go down a gigantic hill by bicycle and go down down down down and I start floating away. I think this feeling is somehow related to Lullatone songs.
S: I haven't been inspired by a specific dream, but I have been inspired by dreams in general. One of my goals for Lullatone is to make music that has the logic of a dream. What I mean is that.. When you think back about a dream, it doesn't make much sense. But, while you are having a dream it seems rather clear. I want to make music like that!
How does lullatone make music? What will inspire you?
S: daydreaming, weather, things that float, things that spin, time, concepts, ideas and curiosity
Y: daydreaming, clothes I wear and temperature of tub I soaked in.
Why do you always use toy instruments to play music?
S: I think toy instruments tend to have a more simple and pure sound than normal instruments. Plus, we can't really play instruments well. But luckily, almost anything you play sounds good on toy instruments.
Y: because they look cute!
Have you ever had the same dream with your husband/wife?
Y: Not yet. But, I talk to Shawn when he is sleeping and having a dream. He answers me and I feel like we are having conversation over dream world and real world.
Please introduce a song that helps to sleep and make dreams?
S&Y: Maybe all Lullatone songs?!
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Marie Claire - China - 2008 (for an article about eco bags)
When did you start to make these bags?
We started printing these bags in the summer of 2007 before we went on tour in America. We knew that a lot of bands sell T-Shirts on their tours, but we both don't really wear T-shirts very often, so we wanted to make something different. We figures that eco-bags we be good both for fashion and for the environment!
Why did you have this idea? And what’s the inspiration about those paintings on the bags?
Our 3rd album was called "little songs about raindrops" and it was all about imagining the sound of rain as a small symphony. So, we came up with this logo idea then. But, we have kept ever since because water seems to keep coming into our melodies. For example, on our new album we use the sound of splashing in the bathtub as a drumbeat!
Can you introduce few steps to make the bag?
We print the bags with a kind of silkscreen print machine called a print gocco. Print gocco was very popular in Japan in the 90s, so if you go to some used gear shops here can almost always find an old one for cheap. So, we burned the screen with that and then stamped them on the bags with a special stamping attachment print gocco sells for making your own fabric. We printed them all in our bedroom. When we designed our house we tried to leave as much open space as possible so they we can turn our rooms into all types of tiny studios.
How do you sell them? Do people like it? Any feedback?
Now we just sell them at concerts. But, we have gotten great feedback. On our tour we sold out rather quickly even though we printed so many bags! Many cute girls bought them, so maybe that is a good advertisement? Oh, and I gave one to my mom and she told me she uses it at the grocery a lot.
How’s the bag related to your life and your music?
We tried to design the bag in the same way that we design our songs and everything else we touch... as simple and cute as possible.
Do you guys use Furoshiki in your daily life?
Yeah, but we don't use our own bags because it might be kind of strange if someone we knows sees us. I don't want people to know how much we really love our own band!
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I forgot which magazine - Australia - 2008
What do you think about the KISS theory (Keep It Simple Stupid)?
I have never heard of the KISS theory, but kissing in general is awesome, and KISS the band has quite a few notable hits under their belts, so it must be good. In general I really like the idea of expressing something as simply as possible. For example, on our new CD we only use 1 drum track and 1 or 2 tracks for the melody on every song except for “goodnight train.” I think that simple = pop. Our new slogan is “Let’s be Simple.”
What music do you love?
The Zombies, and Colin Blunstone’s solo album “One Year” are things we listen to a lot from a long time ago. Also, Os Mutantes and Bossa Nova, too. Ummm… Belle & Sebastian… the soundtrack to any Wes Anderson movie… there must be a million other things…
Are you the first band to make a song in the bathtub?
I think that lots of people sing in the shower, right? And people in Africa have been banging out water drum hits for a long long time, and I bet that even Sinatra used to belt out a few hits while he soaked. Nothing beats getting clean and relaxing at the same time! When you throw music in the mix, you have the best hobby ever.