SCANDAL's "CASSETTE STORE DAY JAPAN 2018" Interview

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SCANDAL has been leading the all-girl band scene since forming in '06, when after performing street lives, they also held a world tour after playing at the Nippon Budokan and holding arena tours. We asked the four members about their experiences and thoughts related to cassette tapes.



— If you were to leave a message on a cassette tape, what kind of things would you record, and to whom?
(Cassettes were once a communication tool as social media is now to send messages and music to friends and lovers)

HARUNA: It's super cliched, but I'd leave something time capsule-like for me in the future, like, 「In 2018 I did these kinds of tours, and I lived while thinking these things」. (laughs)

TOMOMI: I'd want to leave behind feelings of gratitude for my parents and give it to them after getting married someday.

MAMI: I'd want to include a message to my grandma like, "I'm working hard in Tokyo" (laughs). Although it's easy to send videos or voice messages on smartphones, I think that it's also appealing that cassettes are able to communicate across generations. My grandma's generation thinks that cassettes were the latest technology as a tool to listen to music. It's wonderful to have people from that generation listen to a message on a cassette, which they are able to handle.

RINA: I'd put an assortment of my current favorite music for junior musicians who have no experience with cassettes! At any rate, it's crazy that cassettes acted as social media back then,,,!



— What songs would you like to hear while on the freeway?
(Once, when boys wanted to speed things up while driving with a girl, they'd be absorbed in the order of the songs on the original cassette and choose which songs to play while on a freeway)

HARUNA: Cake By the Ocean / DNCE

TOMOMI: Bokura ga Tabi ni Deru Riyuu (The Reason Why We Travel) / Kenji Ozawa

MAMI: Over Drive / JUDY AND MARY. When I was little, this is the song that absolutely had to play from the car's tape deck when my family would go out. I want to drive fast nimbly on a freeway!

RINA: Tsuki to Amai Namida (The Moon and Sweet Tears) / Chara. Being able to listen to this while leisurely driving on the freeway at night would be awesome!



— What kind of fashion would you want to walk around outside in while listening to cassettes?
(A portable tape player like the one that SCANDAL has made was extremely ground-breaking when it first came out, as it became possible to listen to music anytime and anywhere)

HARUNA: A loose hoodie with loose pants, as well as sneakers. Skater-like, rough fashion.

TOMOMI: I want to wear purposely tacky acid wash.

MAMI: A hoodie, loose striped pants, and sneakers. I wouldn't take anything else with me, would put the player in my pants pocket, and go for a stroll. That mellow feeling would be great (laughs).

RINA: An oversized hoodie! It looks good when you're able to put your player in your pocket.



— If you were to make an original mixtape, what songs would you put first on each of the sides?
(Cassettes have an A-side and a B-side. As the tape proceeds from the A-side to the B-side, the first track on the B-side gives you a new emotion, artist-wise)

HARUNA: A-side: I Feel the Earth Move / Carole King. B-side: Should I Stay or Should I Go / The Clash. I'd want to make a mixtape that, along with the history of the cassette, goes from the 70s to the 80s.

TOMOMI: 19 / Yasuyuki Okamura ・ SWEET 19 BLUES / Namie Amuro

MAMI: A-side: Bridge Burning / Foo Fighters. B-side: Hammer / THE BLUE HEARTS. On the A-side I'd have songs that influenced me after we started as a band, and on the B-side I'd have songs that would often play at home when I was little, as well as songs that I listened to often before we started as a band. The songs on both sides seem like they would have a surprising connection to each other, and would be interesting!

RINA: I'd want to make a cassette that ties overseas all-female bands / female vocalists together. For the A-side I'd do Barcelona by Plastiscines, a three-piece all-female band that I've been hooked on recently. For the B-side I'd do Crown on the Ground by Sleigh Bells, which we also use to walk out on stage to for our live shows. That would make for a noisy, exciting tape.



— Please tell us how you choose the order of songs on your albums/live shows.
(In the US, artists who have strong messages of wanting people to listen to the songs on their albums in order and without skipping any tracks are releasing their new albums on cassette tapes)

HARUNA: For our albums and live shows, we also decide the order of the songs by the melody, flow from previous song, content of lyrics, and sense of season. So, if possible, we would like for everyone to take in the messages we include in that album or live show, and listen without skipping anything.

TOMOMI: We factor in a lot of things such as the connection of the story of lyrics, the tempo, the rhythm, and voluminousness. When you listen to it once all the way through, it gives you a different way of listening to singles or songs we've previously released. It finally becoming one work by listening through all of the songs is what makes an album interesting, so we arrange it to make you feel that to the max.

MAMI: For albums, there are a lot of times that we decide on the order by being aware of any live show aspects. It feels like we're deciding on a set list. So, we strongly feel that we want people to listen to it from the first track as if it was a live show, and without skipping one song.

RINA: There are many times when the first track of an album is something that conveys that album's concept the most. But, everything about our albums and set lists are pleasant. We arrange them in an order that one can listen to comfortably with a good flow.



— Please give advice or a message to those who are interested in cassettes!

HARUNA: I'm at the very last part of the cassette generation, but the other day when I bought a cassette walkman and tape for the first time in about 20 years, my heart skipped a beat the moment I heard the audio quality that's unique to cassettes. By listening on a cassette to songs you're used to listening to on a CD or smartphone, I think your impression of them will change completely. I would like young kids who love music but have never experienced listening to cassettes to try out this music experience at least once.

TOMOMI: You can't skip songs easily, it's troublesome to rewind or fast-forward, you don't know what's on the tape if you don't jot down what you put on it, and it's very inconvenient in this day and age; however, that inconvenience that you can't really experience in this digital age is so dear to me. If the tape inside becomes loose, put it back in place with something like a pencil. If you don't play it back after restoring it, the tape will come spilling out.

MAMI: There are lots of useful tools, but what's appealing about cassette tapes is that they are works that you can have emotional attachments to, and can't be easily erased or rewritten over. If you leave behind a form of your mood that's like a diary and includes your favorite music or popular music, I think it'd be very interesting to listen to it again after time has passed. The process of recording and dubbing can make you like your favorite music even more!

RINA: I too started to listen to music on cassettes recently. As ways of listening to music continue to increase more and more, I think that cassettes are a fun way to listen to songs. An era where the generation it feels fresh to and the generation that feels nostalgic intersect with cassettes. Take along your favorite playlist, and together let's send out a good music life!