The three members of Asahi & the Dreamcatchers really don’t look like they’re in the same band together. Though they might seem different, they certainly complete each other in music. This is the band’s Asahi and Joshua’s first ever interview where they sit down to speak about how they all found each other, not wanting to pander to Brighton’s music scene and what coming next is next.
It is Brighton hottest day of the year so far as the three of us are seated on the grass of Preston Park. We’re in the midst of a nationwide lockdown, but have taken advantage of the recent announcements of an ease to sit down and enjoy the sun. Asahi & the Dreamcatchers with three very different personalities and influences works so well and isn’t anything you’ve seen in local venues recently. We’ve got Asahi on guitar and vocals, a small, colourful and exuberant girl from Japan with the biggest voice. Joshua is on bass, a tall, lanky guy with an obsession with everything jazz, and finally Brandon on drums, with bodily proportions of a concert security guard. Brandon is the band’s newest member, but was absent from this interview due to the virus.
- So tell me – how did the three of you find each other and how did you end up becoming a band?
JV: Basically, it all started with was just one of Asahis assessments for uni, it was like an end of year recital thing.
AN: Oh yeah!
JV: I was doing sound engineering when she was playing an open mic night one night, and she asked if I knew any bass players, and I’m a bass player, so… I said I’d play for her.
AN: Was that at the Back Beat Bar?!
JV: It was! We basically did it to start an assessment of hers with… Was it Rob?
AN: Yeah, Rob [Ling] from my old band.
JV: Yeah and so it was nothing more than just that to begin with, but we decided to carry on. We hired a drummer that is no longer with us, and he was in the band for a while. Basically, we were all just friends, that’s how we formed. And the drummer we have now basically came around as he currently lives with Asahi, and he was just really keen and a fan of the songs. Before the whole world came to an abrupt pause, Asahi & The Dreamcatchers, name frequently popped up on lineups on venues all around Brighton. The latest gig of theirs was at The Bee’s Mouth and was also the first gig with Brandon, the band’s newest additiom. They’re funky and a lot of fun, constantly having you taken aback by their musical professionalism. Frontwoman Asahi Noda may be small, but her powerful vocals could reach halfway across town. The bassist delivers impressive bass solos that quickly turned iconic, and drummer puts his own flare to his percussion and, despite it being his first gig with the band, as well as in the city of Brighton, his performance was flawless.
Q: So you have a very distinct sound, I would say, at least if you compare it to most Brighton bands.
AN: Cause we hate Indie music
Q: How would you define your sound, how would you narrow it down to at least a couple of genres?
AN: Oriental funk?
JV: Yeah, funk, rock… it does have some jazzy elements.
AN: We try, we try.
JV: We try to incorporate it with some sick polyrhythms and whatnot. I guess it’s just a bit more of a progressive style of funk. I guess we don’t really think about it in terms of genre.
AN: We try to do everything we like.
JV: Yeah, and since the three of us are so different, it ends up… Whatever it is.
Q: Being so different sound wise, how has your music been received playing local venues?
JV: To be honest… Okay. Not, really...
AN: Not really what?
JV: Well people aren’t really jumping up and down to us.
AN: But we’re not that type of band. I aim to make good, not existed before, music.
JV: I guess it’s received how it would be received in Brighton.
AN: I don’t try to merge Brighton’s music scene [into my music].
JV: Yeah, we don’t try to pander to it. We know what it is. We’re not a fan of it. But we don’t really care.
AN: We’re a bit rebellious.
In February of this year, Asahi & The Dreamcatchers released their first real work together; a video of three of their most well known songs, taking inspiration from NPR’s extremely successful Tiny Desk YouTube series. Alongside with a couple of video recordings on their social media sites, those are the only footage of the band you can find online, however, once we’re all let back outside again, the band is cooking up some plans.
Q: What have you done to keep yourselves busy doing the lockdown?
JV: In terms of music, we haven’t really done anything. I’m a key worker, so I’ve mostly been working.
AN: I’ve been painting. A lot. And I’ve written some songs. One of them is this rap and R&B song that I’m going to try to collaborate with a lot of people on. I’m very excited.
Q: Any plans for when the lockdown is over?
AN: Record.
JV: We really want to record what we’ve got so we have something to show for everything we’ve done.
AN: We’d love to do another show, too. We only did one with our new drummer.
JV: Yeah, we love to play live. It’s always so much fun
The band is currently laying low, waiting for the world to resume before figuring out what’s next for them.
ความคิดเห็น