Having been conceived in its original form on music networking site Oursounds, Japan's Clarity have a distinctly international composition, with members from Dublin and Tokyo coming together to create a cultured brand of alternative rock.
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Andy - Clean Vocals
Kai - Guitars/Screams
Riki - Guitar/Screams
Maki - Bass
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Clarity? How long has the band been around?
Andy - Clarity has been around in some form or another since 2015, although I’m the only original member from that time. When I first came to Japan I jammed with some bands and was introduced to Riki. I was always really impressed by his talent so when Clarity needed a new guitarist I drafted him in. Kai and Maki have been really active in the live music scene, but Clarity is the longest they’ve been in one project.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
Andy - We were tempted to change the name at one point because of the Zedd song, but ultimately decided against it. The name came from a brainstorm that me and two former members had. We were thinking about what made us unique from the other bands on our scene, and we realized that we were the only heavy band at our level that only had clean vocals, so clarity, felt appropriate.
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
Andy - Our songs usually start with an idea from either myself or Kai. Kai can write these crazy djent inspired rhythms, whereas I prefer to focus on finding melody and structuring the song more generally. Once Maki and Riki get involved, it usually takes shape pretty quickly. We all tend to take each other’s ideas in totally different directions so it’s always an exciting process.
As for lyrics, the theme of this 2 E.P journey is honesty, I guess. And how difficult it can be to stay honest with the people closest to you - even to yourself. I think we all like to pretend that we are like, the protagonist of our own story - and we are, to an extent - but that means you have to decide what kind of protagonist you’re gonna be, and take on all the responsibility that involves. That’s not always easy. Sometimes it’s easier to just lie and tell ourselves “I’m fine. I’m a good person”, to feel better when really there’s more we could be doing, or things we could stop doing, to genuinely embody that and make it true.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
Andy - We listen to a lot of very different stuff to be honest. It’s kind of a miracle that we ever get anything done. The bands that we all have in common would be stuff like Issues, Emarosa, Slaves, and polyphia. But after that it’s kind of a free-for-all. Kai is super into progressive metal, Maki and Riki both love funk music, I’m a total pop nerd so that’s always fun to try work in. When we were writing this E.P I was listening to a lot of Lauv and The 1975.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
Andy - I’ve wanted to be in a band since I was like, 14 so yeah - A LOT. I think the progenitor of it all for me was probably Alkaline Trio. I saw them live every time they came to Dublin and every time I went home and just played guitar for hours.
Maki - I’ve been into music as far back as I can remember so I don’t think any one artist in particular influenced me, but if I had to pick one it would probably be the Japanese rock act L’arc-en-ciel.
Kai - Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for my Valentine, Angra, Helloween, Periphery, Issues...a lot.
Riki - Van Halen & Toto
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc …
Andy - I usually try to get a feel for the audience. You kind of have to read the room. Some audiences will respond really well to interaction, some won’t. Sometimes audience/artist interaction is cool and sometimes it’s better to just put on a show. I like to have an idea of what kind of audience I’m performing to. That helps with the nerves.
Maki - I like to imagine the view from the stage before I go to sleep. Sometimes my legs start trembling though. I also like to get a feel for my space on the stage so that I don’t accidently hit anyone with my bass during the show.
Kai - I use my iPad as like a pedalboard, so I have to make sure that it won’t shut down in the middle of our set. Also gotta put it in airplane mode to make sure no messages or notifications come in. That’d be embarrassing.
Riki - I just practice my own parts to a click over and over again.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
Andy - I think it’s kinda cliche to say it but like, finally releasing music. We were sitting on these songs for so long and finally getting them out in the world feels like a huge achievement, even if it doesn’t seem like much from the outside. That and opening for Ghost Iris and hanging out with them in Shibuya was pretty cool. They were really fun dudes.
Maki - I think we’ve each grown to really respect each other and each other’s opinions, which feels like an achievement in and of itself.
Kai - Yeah I’m really proud of the music we’ve been able to make together.
Riki - Considering all that happened in 2020, I’m really proud that we’re still active in 2021.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Andy - I think there’s a lot of really exciting things happening in the Japan post-hardcore scene right now, but a lot of the artists aren’t super well known. I’d love to do like a huge unsigned Japan national tour. CrowsAlive, One Eye Closed, DrownYou, Drop After Dawn, and of course Clarity.
Maki - I’d love to play with SHREZZERS or Emarosa.
Kai - For me it’d be vulfpeck, Polyphia, or Plini.
Riki - Easy: The 1975.
Andy - Actually yeah I second that.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Andy - Thank you to everyone who listens to us, watches our videos, comments on our posts and shares our music. Every single share and stream really means the world.