03/24/08
Text: Nik Mercer
Japan's Escalator Records has long been the beacon of hope for the nation's fledgling underground music scene. The label signed Tokyo indie-pop giants Yukari Fresh, Neil & Iraiza, Miniflex, Cubismo Grafico, and many others and has been the voice of a new, hip, and globally-conscious youth. Japan offers fewer outlets for musical expression, journalism, and taste-making, so Escalator Records, its boutique record shop, and imprint label, Every Conversation, are rare and special finds in the island country.
We asked the founder, Naka, and his wife, Haruka (who were just married last week), a few questions about the label, the principles upon which it was founded, and what they believe the future holds. While Anthem's dedicated research staff has yet to confirm this, we believe this to be the first official and bona fide interview Escalator has ever done outside of its homeland.
Starting off with the easy stuff... when was Escalator Records founded, by whom, and why?
1991, when I was in the fashion academy. I had been issuing a fanzine of U.K. "indie" music, and tried to append a 7" of my friend's band but it was hard to do it in Japan, so I did it on CD. But [at the time] I thought it wasn't at all cool to find a CD on a fanzine... so I came to start a label to release [such things].
Escalator Records' most infamous and popular artists are Yukari Fresh, Cubismo Grafico, and Neil & Iraiza, perhaps. What unifies these artists?
Doing pop music without any intention to become popular. With punk spirit!
It's very clear to me that Escalator Records is a rare label in Japan. You never subscribe to popular trends and embrace creativity and individuality. How do you see yourselves in Japan? How do you see yourselves in the world?
In Japan, the musicians doing pop music are supposed to become popular and rich. They say that independent labels should be just for some fans of noise or hardcore punk bands. Recently there have been tons of "indie" bands and labels that clearly claim that their ultimate goal is to sign to a major company or become a major label.
So, we're [probably an] eyesore to both independent labels and major labels... because we never go by the book.
In the world? Mike D. highly acclaimed Yukari Fresh [and] Neil & Iraiza; Cubismo Grafico, and Miniflex won rave reviews amongst overseas [critics]. Though that was ten years ago.
I want to meet a young Japanese band that will astonish the world!
You've been expanding quite a bit in the past several years. Instead of just being a label, you've a studio, a cafe, and a great shop, not to mention parties and concerts and an imprint label. First off, when did you get the space you currently inhabit and what was the first expansion?
Well, through the 90s I never met a young Japanese band that was doing something new. When thinking [about why this was], I realized that they just didn't know music at all. There aren't any radio shows that play the music we love (you can imagine what kind that is)... and even the cable T.V. [MTV programs] play major music only. Also, the kids only gets so much information through the Internet, so their brains are crazily filled just with [just the big names].
So, I decided to start a record store.
About the cafe... I just thought it'd be exciting [to be able to] drink beer while looking through records... but the health care center's test was difficult, and since our place was actually [intended] for offices and not for eateries, it's proved to be the worst place for a record store and a cafe!
The studio is not ours: it's Cubismo Grafico's personal one... although we did push him to rent there because we're trying to make this apartment just for our friends...
For the party, we thought we needed one that was linked to our record store. Kids don't know how to communicate, and can't find a place for it. I wanted to help them gather and to develop their gift correctly.
When did you decide to make the shop and why? More importantly, how do you find all the music that the place is packed with? You've an amazing stock that is better than most American record shops!
There was a legendary record store called ZEST that specialized in U.K. and European "indie." It was a great store that influenced the 90s Japanese music scene, especially the Shibuya-kei movement. Luckily I became a buyer there from 1990 to 1997 and studied all the [record] know-how.
Haha... that's the most frequent question I get, how I find new records. But I never [make it a habit to] check MySpace pages daily! If you listen to good music, more good music [is to be found up] its sleeve! And thankfully we get many great recommendations from the labels and bands we carry.
We really respect our customers, too, and they trust us. For example, we don't let them listen to the records in our store (save for a few CDs), but they still buy them because of our commentary cards and sleeves. I think that Japanese record stores should discontinue the listening service for their customers. Japan has no good radio stations, so people can never listen to good music in their daily lives. Don't you think they can't understand good music if they aren't used to?
And how do you think Japanese record stores sell the records for so little? You can get the French edition for less than you can in France! Maybe they can sell good music if they don't close them out. That's a sad thing indeed. So ours [is inevitably] the most expensive record store here, though everyone buys at it! But please don't forget Japan has a pricing error [within the] music industry and if we don't make [prices according to those standards], it'll be hard to stay in business. Every year more than five record stores close. That shows how crazy it is here! In an extreme case, all of the record stores should just stop their listening services!
When was the cafe founded and why did you do that? An interesting addition to a company specializing in music...
We started the cafe in 2002, but it was still small. Now it became bigger, making the record store smaller [laughs]. I thought I needed to help people out from the Bossa Nova hell. Of course I like the kind of music from ten [or so] years ago, but it's all bossa nova-, jazz-, and lounge-based music [and I was fed up of hearing that in all the cafes throughout Japan]. Our cafe plays Tilly & the Wall, Hot Chip, and St. Vincent around noon and at night Black Lips, Muscles, and Chromeo. The customers who weren't into music now go crazy for Hot Chip and Vampire Weekend. We needed a cafe.
Tell me a little about your parties. When did you start throwing them? Did Japan (and Tokyo, more specifically) need your addition to the concert/club/party world?
Those nice clubs are all gone now and the audience at those big clubs like Ageha and Womb never care what music is played, techno or hip-hop. Are there any parties that [are in want of music] in Japan? I don't think so. They're just for dancing and [having fun at].
But there weren't any parties that played the music we loved. And even if there were, they played Basement Jaxx after Hot Chip's "Over and Over." Sigh. Don't you want to hear Metronomy or Whitey after that? So I started a party. I've personally DJ'd for more than 15 years.
Naka, Neil & Iraiza, and Yukari Fresh all have radio programs. What are those shows for and where are they recorded? When did they start?
I-Radio is the oldest Internet radio station, and the director there was a big fan of ours. Other hosts are much popular than us, but we were the first ones to be there. I wasn't on the program at first, but I was thinking about doing an Internet radio show by myself and thought to have a talk with the director of i-radio.
You made an imprint label, Every Conversation Records, last year. What was the impetus for making this label and how did you find all the talent and sign people? How does Every Conversation differ from Escalator Records?
Every Conversation is our store's label. So we only do the overseas bands, because we only have a few Japanese artists' records. I just thought to do a label for our customers who were desiring more records. Think About Life's "Paul Cries" had become one of our party's anthems even though it hadn't been released on vinyl. So I decided to do a 7". We never play on CDs [at the parties] unless it's our new band that is to be released by us. Can you DJ with CDs and MP3s you downloaded, even if you run a record store? I don't think so. When we all didn't have computers yet, the ones who bought records without eating had the right to become a DJ. Those who are DJ'ing without giving benefits to the artists are disgusting.
I don't have any Japanese bands that I'm interested in, but there are many great bands from the U.K., Europe, the U.S., and even from Brazil and Mexico. 7" releases [bring int tons of money], but they can be successful! We sold out our 500 copies of "Paul Cries," [for example]. Don't you think it's a miracle? They had 1,000 concert-goers come to the Think About Life tour, and th unknown "indie" band appeared on the legendary T.V. program, Best Hit U.S.A. You know who the other guest was? Avril Lavine!
Something's happening with Every Conversation Records, and it couldn't've happen if we were only working on Escalator. To be honest, the Escalator customer and the Every Conversation customer is totally different. But, that's what it became.
I'm curious about these new compilations called We Were Escalator Records. They're very ominous! Do they mean anything or is simply just a new series of mixes?
So, in my own mind, Escalator ended around 2006, when I started Every Conversation. I may be killed by the Japanese fans, so I can't say that in Japan [laughs], but I have no interest in the Japanese music scene, and never want to do business [in it].
If we keep on doing stuff like we did in those old Escalator days, maybe we'll get a smash hit and maybe we will make the living... but can you imagine that? [I'd be] so bored, fed up, nauseous. Though I won't be so chilly when they come to see me...
Now Escalator has Cubismo Grafico's label KIT, so I don't concern myself at all with Escalator. Maybe only Avalon. They'll become better in a while, and maybe you'll want to put them in your magazine. But Escalator's old works are still highly acclaimed, so I did We Were Escalator Records, [out of] responsibly. Oh yes it maybe it's ominous. Quite literally. It's an anthology. Editor's Note: A Japanese compilation album is called an "omnibus" CD.
What are Escalator's future plans? What do you want to achieve and work towards?
I need new bands to be on the scene, but it [seems] impossible. I think I need three more years [of continued fostering of the] creative environment.
Our party is so thrilling right now, and I believe there're some kids who will rise in the next generation.
How do you feel about youth culture in Japan? When I was living in the country, I was surprised at how few young people knew about "good" music. People seem most interested in super-popular music, but less interested, in contrast to America, for example, with digging for good music, listening to "independent" music, and so on. Why do you think this is?
That's our daily issue! We're always saying "why?". I won't think this to the ordinary people, but I think the people who're into music, fashion, and culture should always be proud of that and think oneself different. Can believe that those "new-rave" kids are listening to J-pop and singing karaoke? Western people say that the Japanese are cool, although that's a past [sentiment]. Hong Kong, Korea, and rest of Asian countries are doing cooler things than us.
Both adults and kids seem to reject innovation [at present].The Japanese's sense has degraded in these ten or twenty years.
That being said, we should do something. Before you guys notice that Japan isn't cool at all!
What are your upcoming releases? Anything really exciting? Whatever happened to Yukari Fresh and Miniflex? Why doesn't Naka/Losfeld record anymore!?
Yukari Fresh is now recording, but she was so busy [taking care of her child]. The recording is with live bands. Miniflex is recording as well, but he was super-busy nurturing [their kid] as well.
Ah, Losfeld. Never. That project was just to show that a person who can't play instruments can make some of the better music [out there]. I think my music was much, much better than those stupid Japanese bands. But now DJ'ing is the way for me.
A few quick question to finish this up:
Favorite area in/around Tokyo?
Harajuku, Daikanyama, Yutenji (Shibuya is dead)
Favorite club in Tokyo?
Mishuku Web
Favorite band of the moment?
Koko von Napoo
Favorite record label?
Phantasy, Summer Lovers Unlimited, Merok, Telle, good friends Ed Banger, Modular...
Favorite Japanese food?
Natto and yakisoba
Favorite clothing label?
Supreme（the store is next to my house) and CTRL (a Finnish brand we carry）
Also not concerning the brands, I get most [of my clothes] from my friend's store Cannabis.
And our friend's label Mack Daddy, Revolver, John Lawrence Salivan, SLACK, etc...
Favorite magazine?
Pig, Super Super, and America's Anthem!
Thanks so much for the interview. It was a pleasure to get all these questions out. Best of luck to all of you at Escalator Records! Yay yay! Thanks a lot. It was a long process translating both questions and answers, so I hope everyone who's reading this will understand and get something from us... from Tokyo, Harajuku!
