Make Believe Mailer 16: CRYSTAL
An Interview With Ryota Miyake
CRYSTAL, Picture Courtesy Of Flau
Japanese electronic project CRYSTAL dug into their home country’s pop past before it was a true trend online. The duo — consisting of Sunao Maruyama and Ryota Miyake — have been playing around with retro sounds inspired by Yellow Magic Orchestra, Art Of Noise and a landfills-worth of video games since the late Aughts, offering a winking interpretation of techno-pop that never let the streaks of irony overpower the catchiness these well-worn sounds are capable of. After several releases, CRYSTAL found their way to Flau Records, releasing the uproarious Crystal Station 64 in 2015, a charming ode to the early ‘80s with a few moments of pure (errr, purr?) goofy fun. Then CRYSTAL went quiet for a bit, with Miyake focusing on solo project Sparrows and collaborative band Flash Amazonas with Julián Mayorga, touring too, including as an opener for Thundercat on a U.S. tour in 2017 as Saco & Uno.
This spring, CRYSTAL returned with Reflection Overdrive, a new set of songs nodding to yesteryear in all its shine and silliness. This time around, the duo wrapped their synth melodies, samples and 8-bit notes around funk, adding extra oomph to their music while still allowing for some humor. CRYSTAL bring in several artists they’ve encountered over the years, such as Mayorga and Matias Aguayo, while also getting assistance on two songs from Stephen Bruner — Thundercat himself. At a time when interest in older Japanese music — from the mega-hits to the hyper obscure — is booming online, CRYSTAL take cues from the past by mixing New Jack Swing, Kayokyoku and more into something unstuck in time. Forget nostalgia, Reflection Overdrive shows that the past is more like putty waiting to be stretched out and played around with.
I conducted an email interview with Miyake recently to talk about the album, the past, video games and much more.
Just for the purpose of setting the scene, where are you responding to these questions from? Could you describe the room a bit?
Miyake: Hi, this is Ryota Miyake, I am in my place with Sunao, and sitting on my chair which was made in Finland by Yrjo Kukkapuro, finished in a blue-green color. I love this chair very much. A little bit too high for me, so my legs cannot reach the floor sometimes, though.
It had been six years since you released Crystal Station 64. What was CRYSTAL up to during this period before Reflection Overdrive?
Yes, it took a very long time . But during those six years, I released two albums under my other projects: my solo project Sparrows and Flash Amazonas, which is a duo with Julián Mayorga, who also featured on CRYSTAL’s new album. Flash Amazonas has one more album finished. So I’ve made 4 albums during this period.
Besides that, in 2016 I took part in Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal and I met a lot of wonderful artists from all over the world. All the guests on CRYSTAL’s new album are musicians I met there. Then I toured in the US as one of the openers for Thundercat in 2017. That was a really impressive experience. I played in big venues I had never played before and every night, I could see one of the best bass players and singers of the world playing. And as CRYSTAL, we played shows in New York and Madrid as well as in Tokyo. So, it took a long time to finish this album, but I have been kind of busy, musically.
When did you begin working on the songs that would end up on Reflection Overdrive?
Right after the release of the previous album. “Do It Again” and “Ecco Funk” are the oldest, I think. The title of the first one came from the situation that “oh, I have to make another CRYSTAL album!” The latter one has rhythm patterns influenced by New Jack Swing because I have been into Guy and Janet Jackson. Ah, and,“Crystal Gates” has been there before we finished the first album. The basic composition was done when we made the Get It EP and we close our shows with this track often. But it had been hard to find the opportunity to release it. In the Ecco Funk EP from last year, I think the song fits to other songs, no?
In contrast, the songs which are influenced by Japanese pop in the 80s, like “Disco na Koi”, “Northern Taurids” and “Refraction Overdrive” were written in 2020, and done very quickly. We had been watching musical TV shows from the ‘80s on YouTube when we had to stay home, then we realized that we haven’t done the songs like those before.
What changed in the creation of this album compared to the first one?
The process was not changed much, maybe. Musically, as mentioned, the theme is still ‘80s. But this time we focused on funk, fusion and J-pop.
Something that shaped both last year's EP and this album are video games — what is your relation to video games? Like, did you grow up playing video games?
I grew up with video games, yes. Sega Mark III, NES, SNES, Genesis, N64. Doki Doki Penguin Land on Sega Mark III was my starting point. It is so hard for me to choose one system, but maybe the Genesis is my favorite. My parents bought Genesis and SNES on the same day, and that was one of the craziest moments in my life — in a good way! After playing Super Mario Bros, I played Sonic The Hedgehog, and I got obsessed with its shiny vivid visuals and funky music. It was for me far more beautiful and attractive than Mario (though I have plenty of good thoughts on Mario too, and still love those games).
You've specifically cited Ecco The Dolphin as an inspiration point for "Ecco Funk." What about that game connected with you?
It has been my favorite game since my friend Shinya — who has been a director for the music videos of CRYSTAL — and I found it in a second-hand video game store in Ikebukuro. The CGI design and pictures are really beautiful, so I am satisfied just with watching the dolphins swimming. I don’t care if I can even finish the game. And when Thundercat invited me to his hotel room when he did shows in Tokyo, we played Ecco.
Later, during the pandemic, I wrote the lyrics for “Ecco Funk” from the memory of this game mixing with the image of another impressive dolphin, named Jones from Johnny Mnemonic, a movie based on a novel by William Gibson. This dolphin is a kind of a junkie, and has been on military duty and now he use his special ability for a secret organization. You should watch the movie or read the original! Anyway, I wrote this in the hope that I could play the game together again with the friends who live in distant places, after this pandemic. And Ed Annunziata, the creator of Ecco The Dolphin tweeted about the song, which makes me happy!
"Retro" sounds are pretty central to not only this album, but everything CRYSTAL has done. What do you think about Western internet's recent interest in this older Japanese music...particularly city pop, a style you seem to specifically avoid on Reflection Overdrive?
I don’t hate to listen to so called “city pop!” I like it. But, basically, the artists in this genre were very very good at singing and making songs. Also it seems to me that their songs are so well arranged with high musical technics. I can’t imitate it. I have to admit that I tried to imagine city pop in “Northern Taurids,” but in the end it sounds a little bit different. Trained musicians could make it, but I think there’s been a lot of “masterpiece” already so I can’t find a reason why I should make another city pop album [hahah].
Reflection Overdrive channels a lot of older artists, both Japanese and otherwise. What artists or styles specifically inspired you for this album? Why did you want to explore those sounds?
A few examples would be Art of Noise, Jean-Michel Jarre, Prince, Fancy, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Herbie Hancock, Jam and Lewis, Der Plan, Trio, Telex, Kraftwerk…we are always into those artists and bands since we’ve started Crystal. On the other hand, Japanese bands I heard while making this album were 1986 Omega Tribe, Kome Kome Club, Wink, Akira Terao, and so on. And they were not my favorite ones when I was young. I was more like an indie kid. But now my body wants those artist. I don’t know why. Maybe if I could tell me as a high school kid that “you will love those Japanese artists”, he would think “oh I don’t want to be a guy like that.” Maybe that’s the reason why I am listening to them.
Yellow Magic Orchestra is the influence that has always been clearest to me listening to your music, and that remains true on the latest album -- what have you learned from listening to their music? Do you have any particular favorite songs or even memories of listening to their music?
I hadn’t been into their music when I was young. I had felt that they were too famous. I was an angry punk-minded little indie kid. But when Japanese guys start a band with synthesizers, most people always say to them “Wow you are like YMO!” and people said that to us too. Then I started to listen to them. It was perhaps when I was working on the previous album. I think I like the tension and energy their songs have. And I love the voice of Yukihiro Takahashi. I think people wouldn’t say he is a “great singer” like city pop singers, but for me he has a unique style expressing a certain atmosphere. For me that is the most respectful ability, but I feel people in Japan tend to focus too much on technically skilled things. My favorite song from them today is “Kimi Ni Mune Kyun.”
Nostalgia and looking back is often presented as a bad thing by mainstream media. For you, what are some of the positive of revisiting yesteryear, and why?
Sometimes by revisiting yesteryear with the sense of the modern era, you can mix them and make something new, I think.
What are your plans moving forward?
I would like to play shows when the situation gets better. Also I have some songs almost finished so I hope we can have a new EP soon. Not six years later!
Get Reflection Overdrive here.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies