Asobi Praat
Terwijl wij zweetten om weer op tijd ons materiaal in te leveren, zat de hoofdredacteur zélf lekker in New York. Voor zaken, heet dat dan. In gesprek met Glenn Waldman, stoere bassist van Asobi Seksu. We kregen het interview gisteren doorgefaxt. En vandaag staat het al op de site. Want wij zitten gewoon op kantoor...

Interview
Scholieren.com: Can you tell a bit about the band's history?
Glenn:Keith and James (resp. drums & gitaar) have known each other since their school days and have been playing in and out of bands together for years. Yuki (de sexy frontvrouw)and James met a number of years back, and I joined after moving to New York from London when my girlfriend at the time passed their music on to me.

[image:1:center:vlnr Keith, James, Yuki, Glenn]
S:How would you describe your music?
G:Our music has been developing for years now, as we're progressing in our attempts to cram as much noise and excitement into pop ideas as possible. It has just become natural for us to have a solid rock background with James' huge guitar and then have Yuki's vocals and keyboards floating around the upper register.

S:Yuki sometimes sings lyrics in Japanese. What's up with that?
G:Lyrics are very important. They add to the music not only in content,
but in feel. We're all big Serge Gainsbourg fans. You don't always know what he's singing, but you can feel what he's singing about. I think its the same idea when Yuki sings in Japanese.
We are proud of our link to Japan. She started singing in Japanese by accident at one point and it clicked for the song. And since Yuki can speak Japanese, there was no reason why she shouldn't sing in it. I think it is a whole fuck-it attitude about us making the music we want to make.

S:Does that attitude include sex, drugs and rock-and-roll?
G:Last night, I played music, had some drinks, and then had sex. But I
guess we could always use a little more.
It is an amazing thing when you've somehow met three other people who share
the exact same want that you've got. We all put in a ton of time making this band work. I would rather be cramped and tired in a van and playing music every night than working from 9-5. We're not cut out for that lifestyle. I think its a shame that so many people just assume they should finish college and jump right into a job. Then you're working from 9-5 until you die. It sounds like a terrible life.

S:It sounds absolutely horrible! What can we do about it?
G:Well, my advice would be to play as much as you possibly can. And try your hardest to find people with the same ambition you've got. And wear earplugs at rehearsal! I so wish I had done that as a teenager.

[image:2:center:Yuki zwijmelt]
S:New York is nice. But when are you coming to visit Europe?
G:As soon as possible. It's something we want to do more than anything. I think European music fans are extremely welcoming and enthusiastic. When we do come over, we'll make sure to come to the Netherlands and Belgium. I've never been there, but I know Plastic Bertand rocks!

S:Any ideas about the next album?
G:Having played many variations of anti-pop over time, experimentation becomes vital to songwriting. As we prepare for the next album, there will definitely more sonic variations as we push ourselves as musicians.
Its been a lot of fun lately playing loud enough to bring out strange harmonics at venues and just washing out everything!

S:What's in your CD player right now?
G:The first Libertines album has been spinning as of late. The Flaming Lips released their Fight Test EP not so long ago. I cannot stop listening to their version of Can't get you out of my head. Gepubliceerd op 15 september 2004

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