Dismissed as inaccessible noise by their harshest critics with each new release, Tokyo, Japan’s premier punk outfit Melt-Banana still manages to command an impressively loyal following of devoted fans, which seems only to grow with time. Touring independently and relying principally on opening acts local to the cities they visit, Melt-Banana are able to earn new fans, one blistering set at a time, by the hearing damaged handful. It’s an interesting marketing strategy: you’ll find crowds outside of venues, and you’ll overhear people asking each other if they’ve ever heard Melt-Banana before. Many decline to have heard a song, while some have never heard of the band at all. The bottom line: a lot of people see Melt-Banana perform almost by accident. One minute they’re out in support of their hometown heroes, and the next they’ve been leveled by the pure unadulterated power of acute, high-BPM, high-decibel mayhem that could only be approximated accurately as cathartic shellshock. Those excitedly conversing outside in half-deaf shouting after Melt-Banana shows are like new people entirely. So it’s for no shortage of incredibly good reasons that die hard fans insist skeptical initiates go and see the band perform before dismissing Melt-Banana for their seemingly impenetrable records. In a world where many musicians struggle to replicate their studio trickery on the stage, Melt-Banana’s only problem is being unable to replicate the manic, futuristic cartoon frenzy of their live shows on record. You cannot just listen to Melt-Banana; you must experience Melt-Banana.

And then there is Melt-Banana Lite: seemingly a rejection of the more pop-flavored structures explored on their 2007 album Bambi’s Dilemma, the group’s current live side project/opening act would best be described as Animal Collective on crack (if Animal Collective still played noise music). Trading guitars for samplers and motion-controlled oscillators, founding members Ichirou Agata and Yasuko Onuki don headlamps, kill the house lights, and proceed to construct intricate electronic speed dirges from unknown source material, that are at times utterly nihilistic and at others strangely inviting, all while their drummer struggles to keep pace with all the madness. I recently sat down with Yasuko Onuki to discuss the new directions being taken with Melt-Banana Lite, what the future holds for Melt-Banana, and, among other things, giant spiders and videogames. Catch the full interview below, and please, by all means, go see these people perform!

Inyourspeakers: I take it you’ll be playing the new material tonight. How have fans been reacting to the Melt Banana Lite material?

Yasuko Onuki: I think that they are enjoying Lite at the shows.

IYS: In terms of response, has there been any difference between your normal set and the stuff that you’ve been doing with Melt Banana Lite?

YO: Some people seem to be really excited listening to the noise, and…but some people think like “what the hell are they doing?” like you know. I know that it sounds really different from usual Melt Banana so I understand people get a little confused when we play Melt Banana Lite but hopefully they just enjoy it.

IYS: What was your inspiration for this new sound? Whose idea was it? Or was it a group decision?

YO: We just, we always wanted to do something different and new and that we satisfy ourselves. So after recording Bambi’s Dilemma we felt like we want to make a more noise kind of thing.
IYS: Do you feel it’s a necessity to play separate sets like you’ve been doing? Why haven’t you integrated the new stuff into your regular set?

YO: Oh, we…we basically are thinking that Melt Banana and Melt Banana Lite are different bands. So, it’s like Melt Banana Lite supporting Melt Banana.

IYS: Do you enjoy being more involved with the instrumentation with Melt Banana Lite?

YO: Yeah, yeah I enjoy a lot, but at the same time it is hard for me. Cause usually I only sing, but for Melt Banana Lite I need to play some samplers. So when I started Melt Banana Lite I had kind of a hard time. I’d forget to push the button during the singing, you know. But I feel that I will get used to it, and I enjoy it.

IYS: Do you have any studio releases planned for Melt Banana Lite?

YO: Yeah, we are thinking to make some.

IYS: Any dates in mind?

YO: [laughs] Not yet. We have not.

IYS: And what about Melt Banana? Anything on the horizon, post-Bambi’s Dilemma?

YO: We recorded some new songs for some singles and a few things already out before the tour. So there are some new releases.

IYS: You’re notorious for touring rigorously. How do you keep your energy up from day to day and from show to show?

YO: Basically we…our tour is just two months, or something like that. Not whole year so it’s not that hard. [laughs]

IYS: You’ve said in past interviews that your music is influenced by video games and that you enjoy playing them. Are there any video games this year that you’re particularly enjoying?

YO: [laughs] There are some videogames that I am interested in, but I haven’t played them yet because I haven’t had enough time lately. I am looking forward to the new Final Fantasy games. And also there will be a DS version of Okami, so…

IYS: Do you have any favorite albums this year?

YO: Hmmm, [laughs] I can’t pick one but, but I know there is fine young Japanese band called Worst Taste and they put out an album this year. It’s really good.

IYS: What kind of music do they play?

YO: They play… well basically alternative, but strange.

IYS: What do you see in the future for Melt Banana as far as direction? Your last album was more poppy than the previous ones, without losing a lot of what makes your sound unique. Do you think you’ll be taking that a step further?

YO: Yeah, maybe. Actually we are testing many things with Melt Banana Lite. Melt Banana’s sound will definitely end up being different than Melt Banana Lite’s.

IYS: Why isn’t Rika involved with Melt Banana Lite?

YO: When we started Melt Banana Lite the idea is, like, we don’t use guitars, right? And at first we did not even have a drummer, so we were using drum machines, and because if we don’t have drummers and we don’t bring guitars it will be easier for us to go abroad; we have always difficulties bringing the guitar onto airplanes. We thought that it would be easier to get on planes without guitars and it will be easier for us to tour without a drum kit or something like that so we can just drive normal cars and tour. But after all we decided to get a drummer and after all we use cabinets and drum set and…

IYS: So you’d have to take that stuff anyway.

YO: [laughs] Yeah. So basically yeah that’s why we first named it Melt Banana Lite. But it didn’t become Lite. So basically we didn’t use the bass guitar, so Rika is not in it.

IYS: What influences the sound of Melt Banana Lite?

YO: In Japan, we sometimes play with DJs kind of, like all night dancing events. So when we play with those kinds of people we heard much electric stuff, and so we wanted to get more bassy sounds or strange [inaudible] sounds so…that’s why we started.

IYS: I saw you last time you toured the United States and you had with you a furry box that seemed to make noises when you pet it. Did you make that yourself? What’s the story with that?

YO: Oh no, it’s just a sampler. Yes it’s just sampler but I didn’t like how it looked so I made a fur coat for the sampler. [Laughs.]

IYS: It looks homemade.

YO: Everybody says that, even me during the playing the sampler I feel at home. It feels so nice!
IYS: Do you have the giant spider with you again this year?

YO: No, he got really injured in the last tour so he is not. [laughs]