Kari-Band: With A Little Help From Our Friends

While perhaps best known outside of their native Japan for current and prior stints respectively backing up a certain fox-based kawaii-metal outfit, bassist BOH and drummer Yuya Maeta have also for the last four years formed the core of their own metal/jazz-fusion collective, known as KARI-BAND. Much like many other bands across the globe, the duo spent 2020 unable to do a great deal thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but soon discovered the potential of live-streaming shows, bringing in a variety of friends and peers from across the music world for a number of different performances, which the pair have now collated into the live album KARI-BAND – with Friends.-Live at Streaming-.

“As you guys know, COVID-19 really put a spanner in the works for live music”, explains BOH to us of the record’s genesis. “A lot of performances in Japan were cancelled or postponed, but I really wanted to play live. So we decided to start doing livestreams and let all fans experience us live, regardless of location. This album mostly features the performance of our third livestream, but it also includes tracks from the previous streams.”

“When coronavirus struck there were a lot of negativity between friends and people in the industry. It felt like a dark cloud hanging over music and society,” adds Yuya. “I wanted to do something to bring some positivity for my friends and peers. Almost no one was livestreaming at that time, so it felt like an exciting thing to do. I’d say this album came from trying to bring some positivity into the world. These recordings are from KARI-BAND‘s first attempts at livestreaming. I was a bit anxious about that at first, but now I can confidently say that we were able to capture this style of music without compromise.”

As far the actual experience of recording the streaming gigs that comprise with Friends., the pair are suitably positive about the whole affair. “The whole experience was a very creative atmosphere, there were musicians, engineers, video and distribution staff all working together,” reveals Yuya. “U-yeah!!!! was a lot of fun to perform in this environment.”

“The staff took on a number of challenges each time to make sure we could deliver high quality audio and video,” adds BOH. “While discussing with Yuya we carefully selected an environment where we felt we could capture the realism of a performance. U-yeah!!!! is a light and funky track, so I naturally smile while playing it, but each member of the performance’s ability was so amazing it doubled my joy while playing”.

Of course, the main draw of -Live At Streaming-, aside from showing off the veteran pair’s virtuoso prowess is the wide array of titular friends that join them across the album’s tracklist, all of whom BOH speaks incredibly highly of. “There’s Satoshi Oka, who we call Sam. He’s a guitarist and disciple of Mikio Fujioka who was the guitarist of KARI-BAND. Sam’s a wonderful guitarist who has inherited Fujioka-san’s play style while also holding his own individuality. Tatsuya Nishiwaki played harmonica and keyboard on the album. He often works with us on various projects, including live concerts and recordings for the past ten years. As well as having a vast music knowledge, he is highly skilled in a number of genres, he’s our senior from whom we are learning a lot. Saxophonist Yucco Miller was surprised when Yuya reached out to her as a fan. She has a strong image mixed with powerful performance and a groove that can powers up our songs. Both Yuya and I love the sound of the saxophone, but after listening to Yucco-chan’s performance I feel like I can appreciate the instrument’s charm even more. I hope we can continue working together in the future. Last but not least is Takashi Masuzaki. We were both performing as part of Mari Hamada’s live band around three years ago. He’s also guitarist in a band called DIMENSION.”

Despite such a varied bill of guests across the album, all of whom get the opportunity to shine on covers of their own songs, there’s still plenty of room on with Friends. for the KARI-BAND duo to show off on some masterful renditions of their previously-recorded original material. “So far we’ve released two EPs with six songs on each. We had planned to release more, but when Fujioka-san had an accident and died, we ceased activity for a year,” explains BOH, “At that time I talked with Yuya about our future, and how to manage our feelings before we continue. This time, I wanted to showcase what great talents we have in Japan to people all over the world by adding our songs, as well as those of the guest musicians, to the final track list.”

With such a wide selection of songs and musicians involved in the album, you’d think it might seem difficult to pick out highlights of the whole affair, but both BOH and Yuya are quick to give rather differing answers. “Talking to everyone involved on how to get better. I like that creative kind of energy,” posits BOH first. “I’m really pleased with the mix of this album, which emphasized more sound quality than sound pressure. On a lot of CDs these days instruments can get lost in the mix, we wanted each member’s performance to be firmly heard. I also liked that we don’t quarrel with staff when discussing these things! [laughs].” Yuya, meanwhile, gives a far more playful response, noting, “there were surely many great moments during the livestream and there were also some miracles especially during the mastering. Didn’t you feel that Yucco-chan’s song Hair Style is bewitching and sexy? I really enjoyed it.”

Of course, given the pair’s widely varying music careers to date, we can’t help but press them for a little information on what inspires them and their playing. “Dennis Chambers and Vinnie Colaiuta, who are my gods, and Josh Freese is the god of rock drums,” states Yuya emphatically, while BOH is once again more contemplative. “When it comes to playing music, I enjoy all types,” he notes. “Of course, I have a big love for metal, especially METALLICA. I’ve been listening to them for a long time. I also love HELLOWEEN and RAMMSTEIN. As a professional bassist I’m often working with all types of genres, including pop, rock and R’n’B. Of course, it’s great to be able to have great success with one group in one genre, but I really enjoy playing all styles. I’ve been able to meet so many wonderful artists and fans this way. My favourite bassist is Billy Sheehan from MR.BIG. I’ve been influenced by him a lot as I become a professional musician. It’s also a wonderful memory to have performed with him as part of Mari Hamada’s band and being able to drink beer casually with him and talk about our hobby of cooking until the early hours of the morning.”

“I also pay close attention to Victor Wooten, Richard Bona and Marcas Miller. They are always influencing me. Above all, I am strongly influenced by the guest members who participate in KARI-BAND. I would like to collaborate with musicians not only in Japan, but all over the world. Not just jazz musicians but also rock and folk. Among them I would love to play with pianist Hiromi Uehara, Steve Vai, POLYPHIA guitarist Scott LePage, members of DIRTY LOOPS, JAMIROQUAI (my favourite!!), Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga… I wonder if any of these will come true? Haha. Now I wonder what it would be like to have a singer as a guest on a KARI-BAND record, I think its limitless what KARI-BAND can do!”

With the world as it is in such flux currently, it still remains somewhat alien to be talking about those “limitless” future plans, particularly with the live circuit still being very much on-hold at the time of our questioning.“We have plans! But we are not sure when the right time is,” notes Yuya, tailing off and leaving his bandmate to expand slightly further. “Of course, we want to make something new. However it feels a bit futile without live music returning,” BOH then states. “There is a lot of great music out there, but experiencing live elevates it to a whole different level. We want to make new material that will impress you when you come to our shows and experience it live or watch it on a stream.”

And what of future recordings from the duo? For now, BOH remains relatively coy, though what he does reveal bodes incredibly interestingly for fans of their output thus far. “At the moment KARI-BAND performs without vocals, but I think it will be interesting to try some sessions with a vocalist in the future. There are few musicians from Japan who get the opportunity to perform overseas. Previously business development of an artist focused on Japan only for so long. From now on I think it’s important to create entertainment that can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of race, religion or culture.”

Despite having released it in such strange times, the duo nonetheless seem relentlessly positive about their newest creation and the potential of what’s to come, signing off our correspondence with optimism. “We hope that KARI-BAND with Friends.-Live at Streaming- will reach a large number of people and I hope they can enjoy the wonderful performances of each musician and their instrument,” concludes BOH. “I hope it can reach people all over the world and create opportunities for everyone to share. I hope the album makes you feel happy while listening.”

with Friends.-Live at Streaming- is out now via JPU Records.