Tea Time: Interview with Chai

Being from Nagoya, I was wondering what the music scene is like there?

Again, Mana takes point.

“Although we are from Nagoya, we never really care much about the scene there. We play mostly in Tokyo now. Most people in Nagoya love V-Kei and J-Pop.”

That transitions perfectly into my next question! Many people only think of J-Pop or V-Kei when they picture Japanese music — do you see a rise in indie & alternative bands across Japan?

They all exclaim happily because I have asked this question, saying it’s a great question and they like it.

Mana answers:

“We want to be the first indie or alternative Japanese band to go into the world.”

Who are your musical heroes?

Mana: tUnE-yArDs and Tom Tom Club are the artists that inspired us most to become musicians.

At this mention, our own Cy peeps in exclaiming:

Where did you hear about Tom Tom Club?!

Yuki and Mana exclaim together, again, with the 1,000-kilowatt smiles on their faces.

“YouTube!!”

Cy: Genius of Love [1]??

All together: “AHHHH!” And much laughing and happy clapping follow. It’s clear that they have all found kindred spirits in one another (not to mention our writer, Cy.) So many of Chai’s answers have been delivered in perfect unison and harmony. It’s unexpected and utterly delightful. All four members are clearly just happy to be in Austin.

Cy: Since you said that you’re inspired by food, I’m wondering — have you had food here yet?

Mana blurts out “Pizza!”

Yuki bounces her head up and down rapidly, saying “It was BIG!”