One of the biggest hits at C3AFA Singapore’s I Love Anisong 3-night concert was SPYAIR, a Japanese rock band from Nagoya, Japan. Formed in 2005, SPYAIR consists of Ike on vocals, guitarist and programmer UZ, bassist Momiken and Kenta on Drums.
Holding the simple, pure feeling of “Going to the people that do not know of us, rather than waiting for fans at a live house”, they started performing on the streets of Nagoya in 2006. In August of 2010, they received their major label debut with “LIAR”, under Sony Music.
SPYAIR held their first solo outdoor live concert at the Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall in 2011 and performed at the Nippon Budokan in 2017.
To date, SPYAIR has released 22 singles and 5 albums, with each release ranking in the top 10 in Japan. Their music has also received physical and digital releases overseas, and they have performed live in Korea, Taiwan Region, Mainland China, France and more.
They have provided theme songs to various popular anime, such as “BLEACH” and “Haikyu!!”— “I Wanna Be” from “Gintama” is by them as well.
In 2018, SPYAIR went on their first world tour. Held from September to December 2018, they performed in over 20 countries in Africa, South America, and Asia.
In the midst of SPYAIR World Tour 2018, we had a chance to talk with SPYAIR about their first world tour and their music.
The band name originated from ‘spyware’. Why ‘spyware’?
Kenta: We chose SPYAIR simply because it sounded cool.
SPYAIR is currently in the midst of its world tour. How has the tour been so far and what were you worried about the most?
Momiken: [The world tour] was fun… What concerned me? Well…the toilets were boring.
*Everyone laughs*
Kenta: We’re also really happy that there are people from all over the world who know about us.
Out of all the various live venues (i.e. outdoor, Tokyo dome and small, indoor live houses), which venue do you enjoy or look forward to the most?
Ike: I like our live concert “JUST LIKE THIS”.
Note: JUST LIKE THIS is an annual summer outdoor concert performed by SPYAIR, as a reminder to themselves of their roots and how they have come thus far.
Have you ever composed a song specifically because it was requested for an anime?
Momiken: After we get requested to provide a song for an anime, we will read on what the anime is about and will then compose a song with lyrics that tie in with the universe of that anime.
If you could choose, what anime or manga (Japanese comic) would you like your songs to be used in?
Kenta: …We have already tied up with many shows so that’s a really difficult question.
Ike: It’s not hard at all. It’s just about saying your favourite show. I’ll go first then. I am a big fan of the animation Rick and Morty so I would like to collaborate with the animation.
UZ: I really can’t choose. I’m fine with anything.
Momiken: There is a manga called Kingdom I read – well I suppose everyone in the band reads it – and recently it was officially announced that it will be made into a movie, so it would be great if we could collaborate with the movie.
Kenta: It’s really hard…
Ike: It’s not that hard!
Kenta: I guess it would be Evangelion.
Was there anything that took you by surprise on your visit to Singapore?
Kenta: The weather is a lot warmer than I thought.
Ike: I think it’s a really ‘happening’ country. It starts to get livelier as the night goes by and the night illuminations are really captivating. You do not see stuff like these in Japan often, so it feels like a luxurious lifestyle.
If you missed out on C3AFA and Anisong last year, Singapore’s largest anime convention will be back this year from Friday, 29 November to Sunday, 1 December 2019. For more information, visit https://animefestival.asia
Photo by Darren Chiong of the DANAMIC team.
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