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"Psychedelic music is an obsession for some people, but it's just one part of us."
Marble Sheep show their true colors. |
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 Marble Sheep have been a fixture on the Tokyo underground psych scene since their inception in 1987, when leader (and Captain Trip records founder) Ken Matsutani recorded a few songs and handed tapes out to his friends. Since those humble beginnings, the band has gone through a myriad of sounds, tours, and lineup changes, always keeping a healthy dose of fried psych rock at its core. Despite considerable success in both their home country and abroad, the band has never played the United States. That changes in November 2009, when they embark on their first ever US tour alongside Chicago's Plastic Crimewave. But this isn't the only occasion: the band will be selling not one, but two new albums while on tour, their first new music in two years. Purple, which highlights the band's straightforward rock side, and Green, a more explicitly psychedelic work, are the long awated followups to 2007's Message From Oarfish. Recently, the band took some time out of theirr tour preperations and sat down with Jrawk to discuss rock, pop, psych, splitting one into two, and giant sheep. KM: Ken Matsutani, BB: Baby, ZN: Zigen, Iwamotor: IM
JR: So...November is your first American tour? Never been before? ZN: I've been to LA, but just sightseeing. JR: Nervous? KM: No. Well. Yes. Very nervous! (everybody laughs) We did a tour of Europe two years ago, this is our first since. We took a couple of years off when (former bassist) Rei left.
JR: So it's been a while. The band's been revamped since then... KM: Yeah, we have (new bassist) Baby. We're really a four piece, although we occasionally expand to five. We also finally have a new record, or rather, two. Purple and Green. Purple is rock, Green is more psych. JR: So which do you think is more representative of the band as it is now? KM: Both! (laughs) But personally, Green is the more psych, which I think is more typical. But both halves are important. ZN: When I joined, the band started with more rock mixed in. I'm glad we have the two separate releases, since we do have two sides that can sometimes be pretty distinct. KM: In the past, it could get kind of confusing: live sometimes we'll play biker rock, sometimes we'll play more extended, avant garde stuff. Splitting it into two releases seemed like a good idea. Before, we'd mix the two, both rock and psych on the same album. But sometimes, that can be disorienting, in a bad way...it can break up the flow of the album. What's the feeling going to be next? We tend look for a groove, a consistent feeling, so that can be an issue. Sometimes the mix works, but this time, I thought the split would work. BB: It's two sides of the band, but there's overlap in the ideas and approach. I think if someone likes one, they'll be interested in the other. KM: It's a new approach for us. Whenever we have a new member, the sounds changes in a fundamental way. We have two new members this time, so that warranted a new approach. JR: Anything stand out for you in the new albums? ZN: "Always Trips Over" stands out for me. BB: I like the lyrics on that one. They fit the music really well. DR1: I also played trumpet for the first time. JR: Really? IM: Yeah, but not well. It's kind of a scum trumpet. JR: I've always thought of Marble Sheep as a psych band, but you have an obvious interest in more straight rock as well, with a bit more emphasis on traditional songwriting. What kind of influences would you name? KM: Hmm...well, the pop elements are somewhat new. Baby will play with that feeling, but for me, I'd have to pick T Rex as my biggest pop influence. BB: I love the New York Dolls! ZN: Do the Stones count as pop? IM: John Coltrane. JR: For pop??! (everybody laughs) So...do you think of your music as transcendent? IM: I don't know! That's a difficult question. ZN: I feel like that right now, actually! (laughs) Playing live is always transcendent for me.
BB: It sounds like that to me, also. More pop, or straight rock, rather than psych. JR: Ken's been the center of the band since its inception, but why did (the other band members) join? ZN: I don't know. I have no idea! (everybody laughs) IM: Seriously, though, Marble Sheep are underground legends. So of course, I joined. Being in this band isn't work, it's just playing around. It's for fun. ZN: Yeah. That, and...I don't know! (laughs) BB: Some friends recommended that I try out when they heard Ken was looking for a bass player. KM: I told people I was looking for somebody cute! (laughs) But seriously, that's part of our image, especially on stage. JR: Like the giant sheep? Is that going to America as well? KM: Hmm...maybe! JR: The sheep is a pretty striking element. You're watching a loud, crushing rock band, then suddenly this giant sheep walks on stage...that's one of the things that stands out about the band. Do you think the Japanese underground can be too serious? ZN: Hmm...some people say that, but I've had a lot of fun. I don't really feel that. Our purpose is to always be positive, to make people happy. JR: So for the psych stuff, how does that come together? How do you push each other? KM: We'll basically start with a riff, just that, maybe a rhythm. This band's been together for six months. But the new setup has been good...this iteration of the band is about six months along. We're taking it one day at a time. We're really looking forward to finding a new audience on this tour. We're fairly well established in Europe, but like I said, we've never been to the States, so...new friends, new bands. JR: Psychedelic music has always had a strong attatchment to drugs, but in Japan, there really isn't much of a drug culture to speak of. KM: Yeah...I don't care! (laughs) We're outsiders, that's enough. It's not necessary, it doesn't matter. |
