Japanese post-rock band Presence of Soul will be arriving on Australian shores soon, with a number of dates lined up in Melbourne. We sat down with the band's lead lady Yuki to get an idea of what to expect when they take to the stage.
What kind of band is Presence of Soul?
So that people who haven't heard of us can easily understand our style of music, we use the post-rock genre tag. However, we don't compulsively worry about the genre. Listeners have said our music is post-rock, shoegaze and progressive rock, and we think this listener freedom is great.
For an overview of the band's history, please read our bio on our website- http://presence-of-soul.com
Why is the band called Presence of Soul? Is there a special meaning to the band members at all?
We focus more on the back recesses of the mind (occasionally influencing unconscious thought) rather than common emotions that you're aware of. Through music, we try express feelings and thoughts that don't have words. We want people to sense this, so we chose to give the band this name.
Our founding members are Yuki (vocals) and Yoshi (guitar). Yuki gave the band its name.
As an artist, who have you been influenced by?
As a band, we've been influenced by many bands. Personally as an artist, Morrissey and Sigur Ros.
Why do you like post-rock?
For us, we think this music is the best to express the emotions we mentioned previously.
Which do you like better, sad music or happy music?
For listeners, I think there's necessary times for both.
But for us because there's sadness, the sensation of feeling of joy is even stronger. So in music that has gloom, we think you can find hope and light. Because of this, we believe our part is to make our music that expresses sadness and darkness.
Why did you decide to come to Australia?
Last December, we played together with Australian artists when they came to Japan. So while we were examining Australia's music scene, we found that Melbourne was especially known as city for music and held an interest in visiting there. As the city's culture is firmly rooted in music, we feel a fascination for the city.
A more detailed explanation is written on our Facebok page- https://www.facebook.com/Presenceofsoul?ref=tn_tnmn
Among Australian artist, who have you listened to?
Among Australian artists, bands such as the Dirty Three and Nick Cave. We have known about Laura ever since their CD release in Japan. But while we were looking for other Melbourne post-rock bands, we found many great bands including Mushroom Giant, Lunaire and Bear the Mammoth. We're very happy that we're able to perform with these bands as well on tour. And although we can't play with them this time, we also like Fourteen Nights at Sea.
Can you recommend any other similar bands to yourself in Japan?
Bands that have appeared with Laura and are well known in Japan are mono and world's end girlfriend. Another band that's maybe not post-rock but I like is envy
Has the band any plans for the near-future? Since your last release was in 2008, can we expect any new music soon?
On this tour, we'll be taking a demo EP recorded by our current members. After we return home, we want to make a new album including other new tracks. For the release tour, we'd love to visit Australia again!
Saturday 11th May at the Toff with Laura
Sunday 12th of May at the Public Bar with Bear the Mammoth, Lunaire
