So metal and hardcore play a part in what you make? There are moments on the album, like the intro to ‘I Can’t Spell his Name’ and a lot of the bridges and dynamic swings that are almost like a digitized version of Neurosis.
Gorgonn: “Yes, as I said it was a primary encounter that made my brain blow up…I like repetitive dance music but I more like the music which has a story in one tune and sometimes becomes very loud and very quiet. Probably I’m still under the influence of that kind of metal music, so it naturally comes out. And maybe I had played the classic piano when I was a child so it would affect how I make compositions. Somebody said my tracks are like symptoms of hyperactivity disorder – I totally agree…”
Hitomi, how did you start singing? And which vocalists have influenced you? You remind me a lot of Carla Bozulich from Evangelista at times, if you know her.
Hitomi: “I did not know her till you told me. The band is heavy. She is very deep. I am going to check their music. I got influenced by Ari Up (from the Slits), Likkle Mai (Dry & Heavy), Mike Patton, White Mice, 15-16-17, Love Joy, Björk (Medúlla album), Diamanda Galas, CocoRosie, Hibari Misora, Sister Nancy, Chinza Dopeness, Warrior Queen and many other artists.
“Anyway I started singing because I really needed to sing. I had to throw myself into something completely new stuff so that I could run away from the reality that I was facing to at that time. It was 2005, five years ago and it was really heavy time for me. Divorce, no house, lost job, broken heart, insomnia, guilt trip etc…I was making music by myself and also was in a band called Land Ahoy for a year.
“I moved to Dalston and met Gorgonn in 2006, and seriously started writing music with him. The first song we made was ‘Black Vomit’. In medical terms it means “yellow fever” [laughs]. Anyway it’s about sins that you have to confess. This song got snapped up by lots of dubstep promoters, and we started being offered lots of shows. It was like a roller coaster this five years and yeah, now my profession is singing.”
“I started singing because I really needed to sing. I had to throw myself into something completely new stuff so that I could run away from the reality that I was facing to at that time.”
I love the way you have these British idiosyncrasies that crop up in your music, like lyrics about “mental mental chicken oriental” and references to Dalston Market and the weather. Do you find London inspiring? In what ways does it differ from back home?
Hitomi: “My gosh, London is full of stress in good way and bad way! I am really just surviving in London, and everyday something happens…even just taking my dog for walk in Hackney seems filled with adventure!
“My home town is a laid back suburb of Osaka. Japan is a good place to chill, eat fresh sashimi and sushi for me but you cannot get that creative inspiration like you find in London where I can be more myself and free here. Many different races, English weather, people, friends, music and underground cultures are so massive. I went back to Japan in 2004 to settle down again, but I could not be myself and I could not believe in whatever I was doing. I knew it will be hard to return and struggle back in London, however I had to come back here to be myself.”
Hardcore Cherry Bon Bon – tell us about the album. How long were you guys making it for, and what were you trying to achieve with it?
Gorgonn: “We were working on it since 2007 to 2009. I wanted to combine my musical background with Kiki’s pop elements, so that people could sing along to our album. It seemed like a really sick idea, which made me laugh, to have noisy, crazy Japanese weirdness with upfront pop lines.”
Hitomi: “I just liked bein’ corny and deep at the same time…it seemed funny to combine silliness and seriousness, and we were just happy to make songs and work on our album independently. There was no big plan, we just wanted to make an album for the Hell of it, and we realised then, how much we loved making music. Seemed fair enough.”
Did you have any particular highs or pitfalls when making it?
“Pitfalls for sure, like being permanently broke, which sucks for sure…Making the record was our battle with London, our past and the world. We wanted to make our own alien world in London. And highs, basically being able to play in SXSW in Texas, meeting up with musicians and audiences who dug our music, and finally releasing this bloody record and realising our album translates in any language, for anyone who wants to laugh at this stupid life.”
Lyrically, what do you usually sing and write about, Hitomi? Do you approach your lyrics and vocals differently when you’re in Dokkebi Q to when you’re in King Midas Sound?
Hitomi: “In Dokkebi Q, I wrote lots about life in London, dealing with racism, self-doubt, self encouragement, daily struggling and everyday stupidity, with a tongue in my cheek and lots of self-invented words. For King Midas Sound’s lyrics, I collaborate with Kevin and get influenced by Roger, and I share their taste for a journey from typical lovers rock to apocalyptic poems.
“For King Midas, I tend to write in a more classical way about global emotions. It’s less particular, but no less important.”
Tom Lea
Photography by CG Watkins