Asobi Seksu - Clash Q&A

New York-based trio Asobi Seksu have made a name for themselves in the UK over the last few years with their mixture of indie-pop accessibility and shoegaze influences.

The band – vocalist and keyboard player Yuki Chikudate alongside guitarist James Hanna, plus supporting cast – release their third album on Monday, February 16. ‘Hush’, the follow-up to 2006’s well-received ‘Citrus’, is released through One Little Indian in the UK, and Polyvinyl in the US.

Like ‘Citrus’, ‘Hush’ is recorded alongside Chris Zane, whose credits include Les Savy Fav and The Walkmen. It finds Asobi Seksu – “casual sex” in colloquial Japanese – adopt a slightly mellower sound compared to their two previous LPs.

Clash caught up with James Hanna before the record’s release to find out what the band is up to…

Feedback to 'Hush' suggests the band has embraced a mellower sound - dare I suggest the group is maturing? Not in a negative sense you understand... But fair to say that on album three you're finding your sound in a way you didn't on albums one and two?
I hope so. I think the influences are bit less obvious. The songs just kind of came out naturally and it was fairly easy for the most part to write them. Arranging them and recording well that's another story.
We wanted to make an album that you had to spend some time with, something a little less brash and immediate. We were into the idea that some of the songs might seem a little tense or sparse on first listen and hopefully make more sense and reveal more layers in time.

Was working with Chris Zane important after the job he did on 'Citrus', an album that seemed to expand the sound of your debut well?
Chris has been tremendous to work with; he has a lot of great ideas and has become a close friend in the last few years. We felt really good about the work we did on ‘Citrus’ so it seemed obvious to work with him again when we actually had a bit of studio time to relax and experiment.

You've been credited, alongside a handful of others, with reigniting something of a hibernating love affair with shoegaze. Do you think it's a style of music that's found its place in the wider world, and as such won't be consigned to the history books?
I honestly have no idea; it seems like everything that has a lot of reverb on the vocals nowadays is considered shoegaze. If we have anything to do with bringing reverb back, that's cool. We never thought about how we fit in because, to a degree, I feel like we never really do.

How has the UK embraced the band - far better than you could have ever hoped for? It seems you've a loyal following over here. Are you excited about your upcoming UK dates?
Yeah, I still get really excited that we get on a plane to play shows and people actually show up. So many of our influences are UK based that it really means a lot to me that people over here have paid attention.

Where in the world are you yet to play, that you want to visit, or have you been lucky in that respect?
We have been really lucky as far as travelling goes, but there are a lot of great places we have played in where my only impression of the city is the club and the hotel. Ideally I'd like to do a tropical tour, so if anyone books shows in southern Thailand, Hawaii or the Bahamas, feel free to give us a call.

Does the Asobi Seksu sound take on a new edge when you're playing live?
We have been trying to balance the restraint with the bludgeoning. We are definitely a different band live; it just wouldn't be a fun show without a tonne of noise.

How important is it to have a UK base of operations with One Little Indian? Could you have toured here without it?
Being signed to OLI has been everything for us in the UK and Europe. They opened the door for us supporting our first tours and getting our name out there.

What's coming up for the band for the rest of 2009?
Lots of touring – we are going back to the U.S. for a pretty long run. I think we picked some really cool bands as support: a singer named Bell from NYC and Tyvek from Detroit for the second half of the tour.

‘Hush’ is released via One Little Indian on February 16; the band can be found on MySpace HERE and be seen (and heard!) live as follows…

February
16 Leeds Faversham
18 Birmingham Barfly
19 London ICA

Buy tickets to Asobi Seksu HERE