Photo Credits:
photos by Chris La Put
from SSSeaport (East Village Radio Festival), NYC

ON BORIS BEGINNINGS:
We all went to art school together, but in the beginning we had a different drummer. He started the band, and we were really doing it for him at first. It was just for fun. Well, even now it's still just for fun. We had no plan whatsoever. At first, I was the guitarist/singer. According to Wikipedia, that was in 1992. I don't remember the exact year. And after a few years the drummer left, I slid into his spot and we've held that lineup until now.

As we started collecting more equipment, all the instruments, amps, pedals etc gave us a better sense of the real nature of sound, like how good really loud feedback sounds, you know? And in the process our stereotypes about music just sort of crumbled. We’re driven to keep going by that exploration of pure sound, by that great feeling it can give you.

ON RECORDING SMILE:
Each song has its own kind of "world view" and, taken as a whole, an album has its own similar "world view", and as a band releases material, the sum of its work becomes the band's overall "world view." Once we've written a particular type of song it gets boring to write the same type of song, so we're pulled in a new direction by a new "world view" and end up writing different types of songs. It's a little hard to explain, but when we fill in the details of a particular song, we add to the general feeling of the whole album, and in return the general mood of the album influences how we detail each song.

On Smile, we were especially influenced by our previous releases. We had already released an instrumental version of "KA RE HA TE TA SA KI", and "Smile" partly appeared on an album called Vein. In that sense, I think we did things that, when most people make an album, are considered taboo. I don't think of Boris as a band anymore, or even as music, and along those same lines, incorporating these sorts of normally frowned upon methods feels new, and kind of thrilling. "Acceptable" sounds are surely already out there somewhere - they've already been turned into music - so we felt it was necessary to abandon music for the sake of a "new experience."

I really love recording. I would love to spend all my time in the studio. During the recording of Smile we were able to do various experiments, and we had a few “failures”, and all in all it was really fun. “Musical mistakes” are very important to us, they give us a way to think outside the normal context of ‘music’ and in the end come up with a new sound. When you’re normally listening to music, you don’t really hear these “mistakes,” you know? Musicians take all the mistakes out of the music. It’s really thrilling and exciting to shape a song out of mistakes. Sometimes you end up with sounds you’ve never heard before. And on this recording we were able to incorporate “cheesy”, vulgar, frivolous elements into the music, ideas that have historically been considered off limits for “cool” music. I think most people are aware of this already, but the Japanese and worldwide versions of the album have totally different mixes, and I’m really happy with the way this helps blur any sense of “originality” for the release. I also feel like if you listen to both mixes, we’ve revealed a few of Boris’ “secrets.”

Wanting to make something new, and wanting to document our lives at the time of the recording – these elements haven’t changed. Something I was conscious of, that made this album much different than the rest, was our growing boredom with “cool” music, rock music, and the normal way of operating a so-called “band.” I think we were looking for the “experience” that lies at the root of expression, rather than just “music.” I think we were able to incorporate the discomfort and even disgust one feels when listening to “uncool” or vulgar music into Smile.

We've gotten to know more music as we've gotten older, and the sounds our bodies naturally produce go in various different directions. Our technical skill level hasn't improved at all. All the members of the group hate practicing. We just record, listen carefully to what we've got to work with (including the mistakes) and in the process discover the potential in various sounds. And that's how we've expanded our sound palette.

We just record whatever we're feeling at the moment, and the song eventually communicates to us which direction it will take. And our emotions are in constant flux. I tire of things quickly. But sometimes we do leave basic tracks untouched all the way through the end of the recording process, like we did with the last song on Smile. We listened to the recording of Jam and knew it was finished. Farewell was like that too. And sometimes we focus on one section of a recording and expand on it. I think the sounds that excite us will do the same thing for others, so we just try to listen really carefully to what we record.

The recording process was pretty much the same as always. We taped a bunch of stuff, made some mistakes, listened carefully to the mistakes and found some interesting directions to go in. We recorded it ourselves like always and kept ourselves amused by trying different recording techniques. Up until recently we weren't doing any traditional songwriting, we just recorded our jams or improvisations and built songs out of those, but by the time this recording came around we were already sick of that approach so we intentionally assembled various riffs together like puzzles, used these riffs as foundations for jams, and destroyed what we'd started with. Special for this release, we did things like building off an Aso Ai song, having Michio Kurihara and Stephen Omally guest, etc.

We can never control the direction a song takes. Listening to a sound over and over, its almost like the song tells us which direction it'd like to go...and we use our bodies to translate that message.

ON 'STATEMENT':
We wrote the basic structure of this song during the Pink sessions. But for some reason we didn't finish it then. And after that, during the Pink tour, we got sick of "cool" music, and we were listening to lots of vulgar, cheesy stuff (but at the time it had a real impact on us), and we heard where we could take Statement. Hmm, I don't know, I'm happy with all the different ways the song's been received. I think it's normal that everyone has different reactions to the song, since everyone has their own personal musical history. Personally, I think of it as a very modern song.

ON SMILE ART:
Southern Lord's Stephen O'Mally designed it for us, and at the first meeting, for some reason, we were both thinking of flying objects. Maybe we both had elevation on our minds? The title and key colors were decided in advance. I designed the Japanese version. I think the heart mark is such a strong symbol, and I was into how dangerous it was. In Japan, if you put a heart mark after a sentence, it automatically takes on this really positive tone. Like even if you write, "Die ?." I thought it would be great if I could use the heart mark to make Boris's image even more messed up.We were totally wiped out from constant recording and touring, and the gouged out, hollow yellow heart seemed to communicate that in a direct way. But honestly I think no matter what you should be able to smile. I always feel a smile coming across my face when I look out into the audience at our shows.

ON 2 DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF SMILE:
Very simply, we just didn't think there was any reason to limit ourselves to one "original" version. And we didn't think we were doing anything particularly out of the ordinary this time, but I've been surprised by the huge reaction it's triggered. All over the world I've been very surprised by this common attitude I've sensed, like, "There must be one and only one version of an album!!" I feel like this state of mind represents a real crisis.

PINK VS. SMILE:
Smile has a very similar composition to Pink. It starts with a slow song, then goes into a fast one, and it’s edited in a really abrupt style. It was sequenced and edited with the idea that it would be fine for people to think that, since Pink had been our biggest seller, we were trying to make something similar. The heavy touring and recording that followed Pink’s release left us emotionally and physically drained, and we were bored with “cool” music and rock music. And at the same time, the “fake” domestic, Japanese versions of imported music appeared for the first time to us as “new experiences.” We all were under the impression that that kind of music was cheesy, vulgar, sell-out music, but all of a sudden this music left a very strong impression and seemed as if it could completely slice us up, destroy us, and mangle us in a pleasant way. In the sense that we incorporated our taste and impression of this music into Smile, I suppose you could call it a “sell-out” album. I get the sense that Japanese can contribute to the world by really exploring this sense of their own culture’s fakeness. Of course, I don’t mean to say this is a uniquely Japanese phenomenon.

The song “Statement” was written during the PINK sessions, but for some reason we couldn’t finish it. But once we incorporated that “cheesiness,” we were able to finish it really quickly. All of a sudden we had lots of ideas like the falsetto singing, and the excessive overdubbing.

We got sick of so-called "cool" rock music, found ourselves really inspired by cheesy music, and I think eventually the cheesy music started to sound like true rock, or something like that...Simply put, we're always just chasing after something that can stimulate or inspire us. For PINK, we were traveling around the world on tour, and felt like we had grasped the furthest reaches of rock, the end of an era.

ON EMBRACING 'CHEESY' AND OTHER INFLUENCES:
When I was a kid I listened to that kind of music in a very non-judgemental, pure way, and its still in my bones. And after lots of recording and touring, when we got tired of trying to make "cool" music, cheesy music suddenly sounded very fresh. Right off the bat, it's a kind of "anti-music." It's not there as music, but instead as recorded sound for a television program, or a highly "designed" commodity, and at no point does it pretend to be real "music." I thought that was really fresh and new.

In the context of most other music, its almost like an "accident." So its been ignored by mainstream rock and other musical histories, and no matter which country you go to, the Heavy Metal genre is a minor, subcultural thing.

I think stuff that grates on the ears especially, as pure "sound", has a real power. I think that's maybe why we needed to stop making "music." But the ridiculous sound of the 80s has become very symbolic of that era of music, and superficially at least, I guess Smile will sound like music to most listeners.

Daily life is what inspires us to keep creating. Touring, recording... all of our experiences, really. And leaving Japan for a while, then coming back to it, feeling out of sorts at times on tour, picking up on attitudes abroad that differ from your average Japanese way of thinking, all of these are experiences we've frequently had.I always resent coming back to Japan from tour and feeling how kind of lukewarm Japan is.

And I mentioned this before too, but being bored influences us as well. We try to let all of the things that influence us resonate or "feedback" in a positive way. We're positive machines. Automatically positive.

ON METAL/PUNK INFLUENCE:
I think lately people don't take you seriously unless you say you've grown up on punk and hardcore. Of course all of us did grow up on punk and hardcore, but I don't want to constantly say it and have it be a marketing tool. That music is in our blood and in our bodies, so it just comes out naturally in the music we make. I think the "hardcore influence" has become a real indulgent, self-serving thing, to the point where it's meaningless - where you can just play whatever you want. Will there ever be a phrase, or a music that's more intense than "hardcore"? I'm really bored with "hardcore." I think there will be more and more anti-hardcore bands in the future.

OTHER JAPANESE BANDS/'WEIRD' MUSIC FROM JAPAN:
Do we make "weird music"? Don't we just seem like a normal rock band? Honestly, I don't think of us as a band, and don't even think of what we do as music anymore. Maybe that's what's weird about us? I've never felt any pressure. We're just doing what we do.

I think the reason strange Japanese bands get all the press is that those kinds of bands have no real place in Japan, and they send their music out to people who can understand it and appreciate it. There's basically no underground scene in Japan. There are a million bands that operate in the system, that are basically the same thing as karaoke. People overseas just don't know about these types of Japanese bands. There are tons of bands that have been rotting away forever in Japan, bands that nobody sees outside of Japan. They don't release their music into the world, so nobody sees them, you know?

There are lots of weird things about Japan, which makes it an interesting place. For example, all japanese venues have house drum sets and amps. It's like Karaoke ,isn't it?

The underground scene in Japan is still way underdeveloped. It doesn't have any power. It makes sense in a way, since Japanese all grow up in a really tepid environment. Most Japanese bands are just like Karaoke acts or something. They're just going through the motions. There’s nothing there that inspires us. And we don’t fit into any scene. I get the feeling that Japanese bands that have become popular overseas are often thought of (by people outside Japan) as “strange.” I wonder if people think of us that way? I really hope not. That would bum me out.

More so than “foreign bands,” it’s touring bands or “live” bands that I feel a real comraderie with. Music doesn’t have any borders, and I think bands that succeed internationally do so less for musical reasons than some element of “experience” that people are picking up on. I think the Japanese scene is to a certain extent dependent on “words” , and very few Japanese bands ever consider trying to play outside Japan. Record labels share a similar attitude. The very same people behind the music are limiting the potential for their own expression. I’m no longer interested in “music” so I have no intention of being part of any particular “music scene.”

ON AMERICA:
We've managed to get out of tepid Japan a bit and see lots of the world. Of course, there are still many places we haven't been to yet... Where's "culture" these days? Is there no "cultural" phenomenon that can overcome the trauma of terrorism? We've had lots of opportunities to reflect on "terrorism and expression" since 9/11. I think the world has really changed since then, hasn't it? But does the world need an act of terrorism to change it? Is expression incapable of changing the world? As an artist, I think it's important to always be conscious of these sorts of questions when creating.

I think the cool thing about America might be its "boredom." In Japan, people cope with boredom by dressing up in "cosplay", right? It's a totally non-business related activity. I think America is one of the most dynamic countries in that there's such a wide spectrum of stuff from the ridiculous to the truly great.

ON ART:
I hate the word "art." In the same way Boris no longer makes "music", the word "art" has lost all meaning for me. I wonder if this is a typically cynical Japanese sensibility? In Japan, people always question whether art has any social or education purpose. So I have a very suspicious attitude towards "art."

ON WATA:
As a woman, WATA has less physical strength than a man, and you can hear this exhaustion in the way she strums a chord. And since she tunes her guitar way down, she uses really thick strings. But I think in the way she bends strings, and in some of the other elements of her playing, she does things that men can't do.

ON LIMITED EDITION RELEASES:
People often accuse us of crass commercialism or being solely interested in making a buck with all of our limited releases, but the truth is these limited releases are very expensive to produce and the band makes no profit from them. We want the people who purchase the releases to have a wonderful experience, and so we spend the money necessary to make ourselves happy in this respect. On some occasions we’ve even spent royalty advances on printing costs. Put another way, you could say that if we stopped making these limited releases, the band would make a lot more money, and the labels would be a lot happier (LOL). But we’re really grateful that all the labels we work with understand what we are trying to do, and support us. And of course we are grateful to all of the fans who purchase the records. Boris' works are like documents of our daily lives. They are like the blogs or diaries that flood the world. It's very expensive to produce expressions of our ideas with limited releases.

The releases are limited because our ideas cost too much to put into practice, and regular manufacturers aren’t equipped to make them. So unfortunately the releases become limited ones. But at the end of the day, we want to make what we want to make. I think the artist should have a real tenacious desire, or else the people buying the release won’t be able to have a “new experience.” In the same way, I think we (Boris) are also just trying to please ourselves, looking for experiences for ourselves. In the end, I just hope the people who purchase our albums have a “good experience.”

We have no plans to reissue old, limited releases.

ON DRONES VS. ROCK:
I think Altar and Rainbow had plenty of droney passages, and I think Smile does too. But drone is only one element of our various means of expression. What exactly is “drone” music? Does it have to be the same sound ringing out endlessly? I pick up a “drone” in Merzbow’s music, but I also hear it in Jap Core and Noise Core. And I don’t think people who listen to drone music are just hearing one endless sound, I think they’re hearing the gap between two similar sounds. That gap is made up of two simple sounds, but gives birth to an infinite supply of information, and even though its source is two simple sounds, a drone can create some real chaos and confusion. I wonder how everyone else thinks of drones?

A little while ago, our supporters were people who liked drones, experimental music, discerning listeners who listened to a wide variety of music, but because we sold a fair amount of records, now people are first getting into the rock records and then moving on to our other types of releases.

I think there are all sorts of connections to be made in music, and if we offer an opportunity for people to get into different types of stuff, I'm pleased. As time passes, you 'get' stuff that you didn't used to, and you hear things that you couldn't hear before. Really, I just want people to enjoy themselves.

ON SINGING IN JAPANESE VS. ENGLISH:
I personally enjoy lots of songs sung in English even though I don’t understand what they’re saying. And not understanding the lyrics may actually help someone “get” the more abstract, vague feelings in the song. But we do print English translations of our lyrics, and try to help people understand the lyrics.

We only use Japanese for our song lyrics. In Japanese, there is "katakana English." For example, the word "rock" doesn't need to be translated into a different word for Japanese speakers - it's already a katakana word that's pronounced the same as it is in English. So we'll use words that the Japanese language has taken from English. But we use them as Japanese. We can only use words that we have an intimate relationship with, that feel 'real' to us. I can't speak English very well. And I don't have any plans to really learn either.

At the same time, I’m not interested in things I understand. Things you don’t understand are wonderful. Because with those things your only option is to “feel.”

ON COLLABORATION:
Collaboration gives us an excellent opportunity to gain insight into someone else’s take on “sound.” We have those moments where we think, “Ahh, so this person hears it this way.” And when you play with others, it’s fun to get a sense of their unique perspectives. Their state of mind and difference from others is what gives them the potential for expression. And collaboration broadens my potential for expression as well. And not just by taking in the influence of others, but also by cramming our respective differences together, butting heads.

We made Rainbow with Michio Kurihara, toured on the record, and just sort of naturally ended up working with him again on Smile. We gave him a few pointers but for the most part just had him play whatever he wanted. As far as Stephen goes, I often wonder why we haven’t asked him to play on every Boris release we’ve ever done. I personally have for a very long time thought of Stephen as a member of Boris. Like with Kurihara, we gave Stephen a few pointers but basically had him come to the studio and do whatever he wanted.

If we were to compare Boris’ music to a film, I think Boris’ sound is like very rough editing. But Michio’s playing provides each cut with its own color, its own scenery, and provides a narrative that connects each cut. He gives the music more nuance and dynamism. He’s a really wonderful guitarist. Actually, he transcends that category, he’s moved beyond just “guitar.”

We didn't use words much in our collaboration with Masami. He's very shy.

SUNN O))) and BORIS just communicated with sound. I think "communication" starts with a lack of understanding. Since we couldn't use words to communicate, we were able to communicate more efficiently, and I think we came up with a good album. I don't really know how to explain how we communicated. All I can say is, nothing happens exactly the same twice, and our communication at the time was exactly what it needed to be...

ON SOUNDTRACKS:
I have worked on soundtracks before, and never felt as if the work was any different than what I do with Boris. I’ve always felt as if I make a sort of “story in sound.” Like I’m making a visual art called “music.” So I think if someone asked us to make a soundtrack we could do it immediately. Although we do have the tendency to create a “narrative” with our music though, so it might get in the way of the film! (LOL) Yeah, I think we’ve always just pursued what makes us happy. “Doing something new” is definitely something that’s always on our minds. But the music we come up with has always been heavily influenced by our subconscious too, so it goes both ways.

ON ACCESSIBILITY:
Of course, as always, I would like lots of people to hear our music. But I think expression lacks impact if it’s just easy to understand, or at the opposite end of the spectrum, simply a mess. I think it’s important to consider how we can share with others our individual take on sound, and more broadly the sort of worldview that’s implicit in the music we make. If these other elements aren’t part of the music, I don’t think there’s any point in making an album.

It’s hard to express this in words, but I don’t think we’ve actually done anything to make the music more accessible. I think there are various ways we could make the music “easier to understand.” But even attempting to make a song more “difficult” can often have the opposite affect, depending on who’s listening, and ultimately make the song “easier” to understand. This is a difficult topic to discuss.

We’ve heard various reactions already to Smile, and heard people say that because of the more prominent melodies, and clearer vocals, it’s a more accessible record, but at the same time, for lots of people, the more pop side of BORIS is actually the more confusing one.

I think with prominent vocals and melodies, you can reach a lot of people. Cause not everyone can play the guitar, or play the drums. But just like us, everyone’s got a “throat” and they can let our their voice, and sing. Thinking of the physicality behind it, “song” is definitely something easy to share with others. The question isn’t whether it’s an important part of rock music or not, it’s simply a very important element in forging any kind of deep, communal relationship with others.

Recently I’ve been listening to some of the music I listened to when I was a high school student, and thinking about how I hear it differently now. Once I started becoming familiar with the sounds guitars, drums, etc made, I was able to isolate each of these sounds in the songs. But before I only felt the total sound, the sum of all the parts. I think learning more, in a way, made me hear less.

ON LOWER-CASE boris VS. UPPER-CASE BORIS:
To be honest, there’s no real significance to the two names. Objectively speaking, as a single band, our sound or style (superficially considered at least) might be a little too broad. We created the name system as a kind of guide for fans who’d be buying the records. But for me all of the records are related and connected.

And getting our fans to appreciate all sides of our music was never a goal. Some releases are pretty hard to find at this point anyway.

Each listener has a different image of what Boris is about, and I’m fine with that. I think when a specific individual encounters one of our releases, various images are born, and I think the impression a listener ultimately embraces is like a “mirror” reflection of that individual. I watch lots of Andrei Tarkovsky films, and I like the way they're less like watching traditional movies and more like looking in a mirror. And I wonder what it would be like if during interviews the “mirror” spoke instead!? (LOL) What do you think? Should I just stop talking?

ON THE EAR INCIDENT:
We first heard that there was “an ear on the floor” when we were loading out our gear after the show. Even during the show, when I went out into the audience it was really chaotic, and after the show I thought, “What a terrible night.”

Sometimes I see people about to get into fights in the audience. But that night it seemed like there were audience members there just to be violent. I don’t think they were there for Boris – they would have been happy with any band.

After we went back to the hotel we saw police and an ambulance and realized that Josh was staying at the same hotel as us. I met him but my English isn’t that good so I only understood bits and pieces of what had happened. Plus I was beat, physically and mentally.

Later I pieced together more information and discovered that one of the guys who had been acting up at the show had been a problem for the local police many times before. He was waving around a jacket and threw it onstage, hitting Wata. When I saw that I flipped out, jumped offstage and grabbed the guy, but the people around us pulled us apart, I went back onstage, we played some more and finally finished the show. And at some point during the show Josh, who had been trying to help out, got knocked to the ground and attacked. I’m pretty sure that’s what happened.

What happened, happened. And I’ve thought that if I hadn’t jumped offstage, it wouldn’t have happened. But the facts are the facts.

When we’re playing shows, or even in our daily lives, we don’t know which direction things are headed. All we can do is continue to do what we know how to do. He lost an ear. We wrote a song. That’s all.

I really hate the way there was an article written about it, and it’s become some sort of a moving story. We’re just doing what we can to keep the world moving towards a positive place.

ON BORIS' SUDDEN POPULARITY:
We're just doing what we enjoy, the way we've always liked to. That's the same for us now as it's always been. None of the members of the band are conscious of the big reaction we've been getting. But I think we've been working pretty hard for a while, so we're really pleased, and even though we have new responsibilities and expectations to meet, it's fun responding to all of it.

ON ANALOG VS. DIGITAL:
Digital media just can't offer the degree of tangible information and substance that analog has. The sound deteriorates each time you listen - how great is that?? The sound is different every time. Scraped up records stay with us as accumulated experiences. That said, you can't change the world if all you offer are objects of the highest grade. CDs and digital media serve as gateways to the better, richer objects, and are wonderful in their own way for their potential to reach so many people. We plan on using both digital and analog media, and at the same time take our live show very seriously. Because it only happens once. Shows are definitely the most thrilling for us.

We enthusiastically use both digital and analog. I have a relationship with both, and try to take advantage of the best features of each medium. I think the good thing about recording on analog is its unpredictability. The way you kind of can't control it. Like you're always going to fail...I think there's something special in its incompleteness.

ON THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IN JAPAN:
Japan is already at the point of no return. In America and Europe, digital sales go up, CD sales go down and on the flipside the demand for analog goes up. In Japan we have a store called Tsutaya, a big chain like Blockbuster in the States, and lots of people just pick up whatever is in Tsutaya, rent it (one disc is like 3 dollars to rent), burn an MP3 CD at home and listen to that. So digital sales aren't going up in Japan, CD sales are plummeting, and no one even thinks about analog. Japan is interested in convenience, and lots of Japanese people just treat music like clothes, just putting on whatever is popular. The market is totally different there.

ON EXPECTATIONS FROM AUDIENCES:
I don't think expression is ever fully communicated. In fact, I think any attempt at expression has to start from a point of resignation, or knowing that nothing is really going to be communicated. As far as the reaction of the audience goes, there are certain things we can predict to a degree, but we don't have real expectations or demands. We enjoy all the different kinds of responses we get, including those times when audiences don't seem to "understand" us. Boris isn't just for the members of the group. It's a product of the various images many different people have of us. We, the members of the group, can't control it.

It's trite, but I want to share a good experience with the audience. I hope for thrilling performances, where our energies feedback with those of the audience, and the energy builds and builds to the point where you're not sure what's going to happen. But no, there's nothing we hope to achieve other than that.

ON THE FUTURE OF BORIS:
We no longer have any musical direction. As a band, we're through.I don't feel like we're making music, and I don't feel like we're in a band. Our work has become a vehicle for creating new experiences, through various means of expression. Of course, I love music. But because I love it, I feel like it's that much more important for me to really mess with it, you know? I feel like these two conflicting emotions are always with me. And I think this is expressed in our music.

We’ve got to keep working, keep active. We just have to keep expressing ourselves. And go out and come face to face with the people hearing our music, and then head back into the studio. Audience feedback is essential to what we do. All the things I’m discussing here with you have been informed by going out, staying active and having experiences.

Myspace: myspace.com/borisdroneevil