Interview #6: Serotonin Mist

Talking with the vocalist of the chaotic, emo hardcore band hailing from Takadanobaba, Tokyo, Japan.

This interview has been in the works for a long time, so let’s just get right in it.

Basic shit first - please introduce yourself and your role in the band.

H: Hello, I'm Hiroshi. I write lyrics and sing. Thank you so much for interviewing us and I'm so sorry for taking too much time to answer it all.

Tell me about how Serotonin Mist got started and how the demo came together.

H: I used to be in a band called Asthenia. We were not big or popular or anything like that, but were proud of what we were doing and some people loved us too. Sergei, our guitarist used to come to our gigs sometimes. He moved to Japan from Russia in 2017 and sent us an e-mail one day, asking when is the next Asthenia show. I told him a few dates and he came to the very next show, and we became friends. I knew he wanted to start a band in Japan so when Asthenia went on hiatus, I texted him to ask if he's interested in starting a band with me. He did not answer me back for 3 days and just when I was about to give up the idea, he finally texted me back with just one word "sure!" haha. Then he asked his friend Makino, our bassist, if he wants to join our band. I already knew him since he talked to me at a merch table at the final Asthenia show that he wants to start a band influenced by Asthenia & such. Makino agreed too, and then Makino asked Ryuho, our drummer, who also plays for a instrumental band called Lacrima and about 10 other bands, and he agreed too. Lastly, I asked Hiropon-san, who used to play in a legendary Okinawan emo / hardcore band called The Cops Are Inside Us. He moved to Tokyo years ago and became one of my closest friends, and we found out that we share a lot of common influences. It's rare to find someone who is into Unbroken as much as me in Japanese emo scene, so I was always thinking about doing a band with him one day even when I was still in Asthenia. So I asked him and he was down too - that's how this band started. I knew Hiropon-san is a very solid guitarist / riff maker, but had no idea what other guys play like. Turns out they are all incredibly skilled and talented players - I guess I'm lucky because I'm the least skillful person in this band haha. As for this demo, we originally recorded it as a pre-production for the EP. But since it turned out better than our expectations, and we had a gig planned by ourselves coming up, we thought it would be better to release it as a demo. We're surprised that we got such a strong response honestly. Shout out to Studio Zot for engineering and putting up with my endless request for mix.

The lyrics about life in Japan are very urgent and alarming, and also mirror a lot of what we’re seeing here in the United States. Could you tell me more about what’s going on over there?

H: It's so bad that I don't even know where to start! As I wrote in my lyrics, it's getting dangerously closer to fascism. Every characteristics of fascism are on the rise: strong far right organizations, racists and revisionists in power, military costs, etc... The power is becoming increasingly entrenched: about 30% of LDP politicians are sons or daughters of politician parents. Economy has been disaster for 30 years: yen is getting weaker and weaker, and tax is getting heavier and heavier every year, while our average income stays the same for three fucking decades. Sexism is so terrible too: you'll surprise at how huge and vulgar porn industry is when you come to here. It's so everywhere. And it's fantasizing about abusing women sexually. Morning after pill is still not covered by health insurance even though so many women demands it for years, while Viagra was approved very quickly. 95% of women have to change their family name to men's ones when they married. Less than 10% of the member of the House of Representative are women now and even some of them are just as misogynistic and conservative as other male politicians. Even in this current situation, ignorant males are saying their male rights are violated by concept of gender equality and women are more privileged than them. We have severe low birth late problem but in many cases infertility treatment is not covered by National Health Insurance: paying a million yen for 40% chance is not every couples could try easily. Education costs too much and the most students have to work part time job and / or rely on scholarship, which is just a student debt that will put them in million yens of debt as soon as they graduated. Comedians make fun of the weak instead of criticizing the powers: actually the biggest comedian talent agency called Yoshimoto is the biggest supporter of far right populist party called Ishin, and they spread their bullshit propaganda on TV. I can't even understand why these comedians are talking about politics on TV news program like some kind of authority instead of actual experts. Immigration is treating immigrants like they're not human: they are so infamous for abusing and letting immigrants die so constantly. It happens so often. Working environment is great for employers, and nightmare for employees: you can't even take a week long day offs even when your income is close to minimum wage. Selfless service is considered virtue and claiming your rights vocally is considered rude. American military having huge, direct influence on our government: forcing it to raise military cost so that they can sell their obsolete weapons to Japan. American navy killing and raping and make pregnant Japanese locals, sometimes even children, and return to their home country like nothing happened. American imperialism is so strong and we feel it all the time from the day we born. It's like gravity - we feel numb about it because we don't know the world without the influence of American imperialism - I mean the world that Japan can say No to US. Last but not least obviously, racism is so heavy, especially for non-whites and non-American/European. I can go on and on for hours honestly. What's the worst in Japan, in my opinion, is political apathy. A lot of us give up on fighting. We just accept the oppression we got as our unavoidable fate or something. And instead of resisting, we just try to find a way to survive it without trying to change the system. Talking about politics openly has been some kind of taboo for so long. Voting rates are always very low so the block votes of organizations easily work. It feels like a lot of people in here don’t believe in the concept of democracy nowadays. It’s more like a feudal system in democracy’s clothing. I like traveling to other countries, and every time I came back to Tokyo I can't help but notice how tired and hopeless everyone looks. And I know exactly why they are tired and hopeless, because I grew up the same way. We grew up being taught to obey the authority from schools, companies, TV, and society. We grew up being taught to respect every rules but not to doubt if the rules are rightfully set, or even just make sense. As a result a lot of us just choose to live as a slave. I got out of these mindset thanks to people around me and all the artists, authors, musicians I liked, but I was one of them. I used to think attending a march is obsolete and lame. I used to be unconsciously misogynic. I thought I was not but looking back I actually was. I didn’t realize being straight male and ethnic Japanese are privileges. I didn't care about things I should care about. I want my lyrics to inspire people like my old self.

There is a lyric about a worker and an old man fighting to buy food - was this inspired by a real event?

H: It's honestly yes and no. Yes for seeing people, sometimes old men, fight to buy discounted deli foods. There are always some people walking around alone not saying a word for a long time, and waiting for deli foods discounted by store staff until it becomes the price they could pay without hesitation, and trying to grab it before someone else grabs it. It's just a small slice of life but I felt it shows a lot of problems in Japan right now, like discommunication, decline of the sense of community, and poverty in every generations. Also, over the past 20 years, regular employment has been reduced, and the proportion of temporary workers, who can be easily dismissed by companies and made to work for low wages, has increased in their place. I wanted to express that problem in here too. But can I tell temporary workers from their appearances? No. I made up that line for two reasons. 1) expressing the problem above, and 2) as a metaphor of what poverty is like in Japan. We don't rob the store. We don't protest the power. We just fight each other. And that's what people in the power want us to be: people hating each other, not the power. Because they are afraid of people they oppress unite and fight back against them. Our government, I mean LDP, is very devious about that. They are really good at letting us blame and hate each other.

The lyrics at end of the song “Deli foods” are hopeful. I want to ask you: how do you think people can overcome differences in opinion to achieve solidarity?

H: I think solution number one is to realize that this is not about a citizen vs. another group of citizen. We have to realize that we the citizens are all oppressed by the same abuser called authority and power. We have to realize that there is a strength in numbers, and to fight against the oppressor, solidarity is the key to win. That said, divide between each social attributes are deep and it feels like impossible to unite. So I think education to younger generation and apolitical population is very important, because as I said above, Japanese people usually grow up in schools that teaches conformity is the virtue and rebellion is not worth it. We have to change that mindset firstly. And sharing opinions with other social attributers with open minds, and trying to understand their stance is the another step to the solidarity. Even though you don't agree with what they say, understanding what they want to mean is worth it, because it will clear what parts we can fight together. Also, each protest should be single issue, because it makes us easier to unite. I know it all sounds like idealistic, but that's what we need to do if we still really want to stop this falling. That’s the only light in this darkness I can think of, and I want to protect it. Ending on a lighter note: I’m not very familiar with “emo-hardcore”- can you tell me about some of the musical influences for the band? I'd say number one influence for me, not for the band, is probably Moss Icon. I think I listened to them more than 99% of other music, but still find something interesting every time I listen to them. Ebullition Records in US released their compilation LP back in 90s, and they and Stonehenge Records in France are really important labels for me both musically and politically. Their roster was mostly considered as emo, but they are really confrontational while remaining art sensibility and I love that. As for this band, musically speaking our influences are much heavier like early Converge, Unbroken, Reversal of Man, Neil Perry, and some newer bands like Letters to Catalonia and Tourniquet.

Lastly - what is going on in the Do-it-yourself, underground music scene in Tokyo? What are some bands from Japan that people should check out?

H: I think underground music scene is getting better slowly but surely. More bands are openly talking about politics, and more bands / events have diverse people. It's still far from what we want it to be, but I can say at least it's better than a decade ago. I always give props to these bands whenever I have a chance: Salt of Life melodic punk band from Kyoto. Isshan, their vocalist, is the best lyricist in the whole punk/hardcore scene in my opinion. FFO: Latterman, 1000 Travels of Jawaharlal, Snuffy Smile Records Rebel One Excalibur experimental post hardcore trio from Fukushima. You'll blow away once you see them live. Great lyrics too. FFO: Shellac, Fugazi, Touch & Go Records Tragic Film powerviolence with youth crew hardcore roots. Killer live band. Great people too. FFO: Coke Bust, Iron Lung, Carry On Deathro ex-vocalist of a thrashy hardcore band called Cosmic Neurose's solo work. He went full J-Rock / early Visual-kei mode and sing like 90s anime theme songs, while remaining his hardcore integrity and political attitude. Very great live too. You can't help but love him once you saw them live. FFO: 90s anime opening theme The Breath Youth Crew influenced hardcore band with very political attitude. Maybe my #1 favorite Japanese hardcore band right now. They just released a 7" from Convulse Records. Thanks again for interview. We will release an EP by ourselves this year and hopefully LP next year. We play gigs once or twice in every months so please get in touch with us if you want to see us live.

Check out Serotonin Mist: