RFC Interview: Fujiya & Miyagi

It’s a seasonally warm spring evening in Chicago. It’s one of those fleeting clement days that’ll inevitably revert back to a cold spell in a matter of hours. There is a certain buzz in the air as one of the most hyped bands of the year, Swedish trio Peter Bjorn and John, prepare to play two back-to-back sold out shows at the Empty Bottle. PB&J (as the cool kids call them) are the hottest ticket in town for the night, but it’s the more under the radar late show opening act, Fujiya & Miyagi, that deserves to have the hype and attention reflected onto them.

David Best and Steve Lewis formed the group in the late 1990s in Brighton, England. In 2003, they recorded their debut, the periphery Electric Karaoke in the Negative. They added two more members for touring purposes but after a lineup change, they settled on the current trio (soon to be quartet) and released last year’s excellent received Transparent Things. Since then, the threesome experience slight rumbles and fissures in the indie world with catchy tunes “Collarbone” about, well, breaking a collarbone, and “Photocopier,” discussing the mundanity of work featuring droning and repetitive beats. Vocalist and guitarist David Best, bassist Matt Hainsby, and keyboardist Steve Lewis literally sat down (on church steps) to discuss horrible day jobs, being in a well behaved band, and how they did indeed name themselves after The Karate Kid’s sagacious Mr. Miyagi (R.I.P).

“The response has been quite positive everywhere,” begins Best. “Either that or the people who don’t really like us are at the bar. People who are watching really seem to enjoy it.” The band’s music isn’t exactly dance music, but one can and does dance to it. Influenced by Krautrock greats Can and Kraftwerk, their music also delves into the soul and funk of Motown and Sly and the Family Stone. Their influences go as far as Aphex Twins, Bowie, and Talking Heads. “What really drew me to it [Krautrock] was there wasn’t any showing off or any guitar solos,” remarks Best. “It was all about music. It was all stripped down and minimal. And nothing was there that didn’t need to be.” The band integrates a lot of German manipulation but the thick basslines stand out against Best’s whispering vocals.  “When I grew up in England, I was told the only good music was English and American. When you realize that’s actually rubbish, it’s quite exciting when you discover these different types of music.”

The group has a very ethnic moniker, but before they started playing out a lot, audiences were probably demystified to find out they were indeed English and not just a duo. “They thought were going to get Japanese band, three Japanese girls, but then were disappointed. They should’ve done their homework,” Best jokes.

Between the release of Fujiya & Miyagi’s first record and their latest a lot transpired for them. “We started playing live more which changed the sound a lot,” comments Best. “Things got a lot faster. The beats got more dancey. We’d like to write electronic music. It wasn’t a verse chorus verse chorus pop thing, it was let’s see what happens. Now we’re more song based. We still have that. Repetition.”

Since February, the guys have been able to go full-time as a band forgoing the proverbial day jobs of everything in the spectrum including a stint at the post office. The dream has become a reality and it’s paid off so far. “A lot of people probably want to get in a band from a young age,” says Lewis. “But when you say it to your mom and dad, they laugh at you, ‘yeah right.’ It’s quite nice to say ‘I told you so.’”

Fujiya & Miyagi is under pressure to follow up Transparent Things with a new album. They’ve recorded a couple of tracks and just announced two new singles coming out this summer: “One Trick Pony” and “Uh.” “My expectations are, my only one, is for the new record to be really good, the best we can do,” confides Best. “If you do that, everything else falls into place. If it’s not a great one, well, back to the office.” The new record should retain a lot of what made Transparent Things so effective and memorable. “There’s going to be more dynamic. Light shows. Lasers on the album and cds. 20 minute guitar solos. We’re progressing. We’re getting worse,” the guys joke.

In their live shows, Best performs on his tip toes and all three contribute vocals. On the album, the multiple vocals don’t bleed through as much. “We’re a quite lucky band,” laughs Hainsby. “Nothing bad happens to us but nothing exciting either. We’re either really lucky or really dull.” Best, Hainsby, and Lewis want to play well and continue to make people dance. Chicago will have another chance to acquiesce to the funk come Pitchfork weekend when the guys will certainly give a stellar performance. Despite their burgeoning success, they keep everything in perspective. “What’s the point in coming to America, so far from home, to get pissed drunk and be an idiot? We can do that at home.” And with that remark, Fujiya & Miyagi is off to convert some Peter Bjorn and John fans into loving them, too.