Najá Ghirardelli sits down Daiki, Cota and Shu of MILLENNIUM PARADE to discuss what inspires their music and visuals. Read more below!
Najá: The visuals of “Goldenweek” takes viewers on a journey throughout the MILLENNIUM PARADE universe. Watching It truly reflected the lyrics as I felt like I was stuck in a trippy dream. What was the inspiration behind the music video?
Shu: So the music video is actually a montage of what Kong Tong Tokyo is, that’s why there’s so many cut scenes. As you can see at the beginning and the end of the video, the boy takes a pill. It sort of represents taking the audience into a drug induced dream. Each cut scene is a different dream.
Cota: For inspiration we focused on creating a new vision of Tokyo, that’s not like the past legendary cyberpunk era. We love mangas and films like ‘Ghost in the Shell’ and ‘Akira’, but with respect to those titles, we wanted to recreate and reimagine a cyber style of Tokyo. So another perspective or even, another dimension of Tokyo. It’s not only about the future but drawing inspiration from the classic things in Tokyo. A lot of design structure was inspired by the 1970s and 60s. The people who lived in those eras had more dramatic, romantic visions of the future. But now we see too many things on the internet and everything. They saw the iPhone as the future, but for us it’s like… We don’t have a view of what the future is going to look like. And it’s like, it’s not the future that we expected when we were children. We thought like after 2000, it’s going to be more cyber, but we’re not getting there. Ai is leveling up and a lot of digital, futuristic things are happening but we are also getting used to it. So in the past, they had more romantic vibes and were thinking about the future. So we thought that might help us to get the passion back to this era. So yeah, we have a lot of inspiration from the past. And also the culture that we have been through in our childhood. Not only Japan, but also the US, the UK, and the rest of the world. A lot of bands and a lot of films from different countries inspired us. So we want to mix it up and take it to another level.
Najá: I would say listening to and watching the music video does replicate that exactly. It’s very interesting that your inspiration is drawn from all the way back in the 80s and 70s. Leading on to the next question: The music video seems to reflect the world building of your collective. For viewers who’ve never encountered MP, how would you explain and describe what Kong Tong Tokyo actually is?
Cota: So we have this concept that Tokyo is chaotic. Kong Tong Tokyo means chaos. Before we started this project, at the very beginning, we already had that concept. So Kong Tong Tokyo is bringing our imagination and our messages into one world. Before we started to make Kong Tong Tokyo, we tried to express how chaotic Tokyo was. There were a lot of different ways like sounds and visuals.
Shu: It’s very natural to use the key word chaos. Tokyo has diverse buildings and architecture which we are influenced by. All of the city is where we get inspiration from. Not only that, Tokyo has lots of different cultures too. It’s really chaotic, and that’s what we try to show or express through Kong Tong Tokyo.
Cota: It’s messed up, but it’s interesting.
Najá: It’s incredibly interesting to hear that’s where you got your inspiration from. Is there anywhere else where you would say inspired you?
Shu: Yeah, I think a lot of our trips and travels inspired us. In this project we’ve been to so many countries and met with the people from those countries. So yeah, I get a lot of inspiration. It’s mainly focused on Tokyo. But through this project we have been to many different countries. Many different cities. And those experiences are also reflected in the content of the Kong Tong Tokyo world. So the inspiration not only comes from Tokyo, but also from many different cities, and many different local people, and many friends.
Najá: With your new release, there’s a new wave of international fans. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but if you look at your YouTube comments, there’s a lot of English comments currently. So all of us are kind of thirsty for more already. I can’t help but wonder what is next. Can you give us a sneak peek of what you’ve got next? What are you going to show us next? Give us a little preview.
Cota: It’s going to be a New Nippon psychedelic techno propaganda dance video.
Najá: That’s crazy. Now I don’t know what to expect. I’m kind of like visualizing it and I have no clue what is coming.
Shu: New Nippon means Japan. So it means New Japan techno dance propaganda… wait… I missed one word. New Nippon psychedelic techno dance propaganda.
Najá: hold on, this is memorized? It wasn’t just off the top of his head?
Shu: These are the keywords for the second single. It’s just a hint!
Najá: I thought he was just saying it off the top of his head! Aha.
Najá: So you guys have this crazy level of synergy that I can argue has never been seen in a collective before. It’s extremely unique and rare. What would you say enables this deep bond and deep level of understanding to be able to create these trippy videos that match so well with the music?
Cota: Oh yeah, Well, I think one thing is… It’s… How do I say? It’s really like in-house creation. This is really a happy thing for us. I’m grateful we get to spend a lot of time together. Even though I’m not a musician, and I’m scared to say it, I still make comments about the music to Daiki. And also Daiki has a lot of vision for the graphic things. Everybody keeps an eye on each other’s creations and we talk together about it. So that is, I think, one big thing. And another thing I can say is because we do everything all together, we do all the creations in-house, we can spend a lot of time honing our craft … We can have time to change direction. It’s really thrilling. Sometimes it’s super scary and super heavy. Daiki, I think, is the type of guy who likes to change things last minute, even if we are super fucking close to the deadline. But he goes like, “I think this is not matching the music, we have to match it more”. That’s why we call it chaos.
Shu: We’ve been working together since we were 22, very young. I think that’s a very important thing.
Najá: So the synergy comes from being completely honest with each other and spending time with each other and just connecting on that deeper level to create what you create.
Cota: yeah
Najá: I’ve been a fan for a while now. If I was to show a fan a music video, aside from your latest release, I would show them ‘Philip’. ‘Philip’s’ storyline takes you on a crazy, unexpected ride. The ending, you’re just like, wait, what? is storytelling in your music video something you’re going to continue to bring into the next chapter? And how do these storylines come about? Is it something you guys discuss together, or make separately?
Cota: Definitely, yes. Yes, we are going to keep storytelling.
Shu: The sound and the experience of the music videos are getting stronger. I want to create a storyline, but a new way to do that. I think I have to rethink my own way of doing things. A project that’s more, not only one music video versus one song, but it’s more towards the upcoming album, more towards the future. It’s more like long story visions and everything. So for sure, storytelling is going to be one of the most important aspects for the music videos, but it will be a different approach that we’re going to use for the upcoming projects
Najá: Every time I watch one of your music videos, it feels like I’m watching an actual movie. It takes you on a crazy journey. Daiki, this is a question for you. Your discography holds such profound depth and originality. From Sri Vinci, to King gnu, to your Hoolywood compile in New York collection, all the way to what you’re creating now. No two songs sound the same yet they all seem to have this grungy feel. What inspires this enigmatic sound?
Daiki: My style is… beautiful and dirty. That’s how the world is.
Najá: Would you say then, when you’re making music, it’s a reflection of the world? The dirty and the beautiful side of the world pulled into music?
Daiki: yeah, exactly that.
Najá: I can see that. So I’m actually a huge anime fan.You’ve worked on a few OPs for the top anime for the past few years, like Jujutsu Kaisen and then Hell’s Paradise. Is there an anime that you really, really want to work on?
Shu: I really want Daiki to make the music for Spider-Man
Daiki: Attack on Titan.
Cota: Yeah attack on titan
Shu: I just want to make an original
Najá: Your own anime?
Shu: Yeah.
Najá: I would watch that. I think all my friends would watch that. If it’s as psychedelic and crazy as your music and videos, then yeah, I’d spend hours watching that. So you’ve had the opportunity to work with so many musicians, but who would you say would be your dream American or British collaboration?
Shu: Kendrick Lamar
Cota: Tyler, the creator and Tool.
Daiki: Thom Yorke from Radiohead.
Najá: So everyone that we interview for Karma, we ask what their color is, whether it’s like your musical color or your artist color. When I think of you guys as a collective, I generally think of a kaleidoscope. I can’t pick one. But when you think of yourselves separately and together, what color do you think each of you represent and then as a collective? You’re not allowed to say black. Black’s not a color, by the way. It’s a shade, so you’re not allowed to say white either.
Shu: I don’t know what my color is…
Najá: You’re giving yellow right now.
Shu: Yeah, everyone says yellow butI would say red but it’s a yellow/orange red. It’s a traditional color in Japan that’s used on shrines.
Cota: Yeah, I agree with that and I also think of the color that you see when you close your eyes. It’s like weird greenish. That like static colour. The color that you can’t like see. You can’t see it but you can see it.
Daiki: transparent. So no colour. Flexible
Najá: So, at Karma Magazine, we have like a playlist of songs that we recommend to our readers. Apart from your own music, do you have a favorite song right now to add to our playlist to let our viewers get more personal vibe of what you guys are listening to?
Shu: Sukiyaki. – Kyu Sakamoto
Cota : What I have in my mind now is a song called Forty Six & 2 by TOOL because I just went to their show last night. I just remember that song. And they played that song at the very end. So it’s stuck in my mind. I love that song.
Daiki: King Krule – Dum Surfer.
Najá: Those are such good song choices! Thank you so much for allowing me to interview you guys! I can’t wait for what you’ve got in store for us next!
Make sure to keep an eye out for MILLENNIUM PARADE’S next release on the 26th of July! Until next time!
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