The Fin. est un groupe japonais conduit par l'auteur compositeur Yuto Uchino, accompagné de Kaoru Nakazawa. La musique de Yuto est une palette de sensations, de rythmes grâce au don de Kaoru à la batterie et à la basse. Les ambiances presque cinématographiques sont dessinées par les vagues exquises de synth-pop et la volupté des mots. Actif depuis 2012, Yuto est si doué qu'il semble capable d'évoluer dans différents courants musicaux et il souhaite en prendre le chemin comme il le souligne dans l'interview qui suit.
Riche d'influences, le deuxième disque des Fin. paru en 2018, There, offre la production de Bradley Spence (Radiohead, Passenger, Circa Waves etc) et de l'ingénieur son Joe Lambert (Wild Nothing, Beach Fossils). Yuto nous fait l'irrésistible plaisir de continuer son travail d'orfèvre, agrémenté d'harmonies maritimes et européennes suite à son séjour de plusieurs années à Londres. Depuis le fabuleux Ep Wash Away en 2019, l'album Outer Ego de septembre 2021 est un réel bijou de compositions et d'inspiration.
TheFin
Interview The fin. January 2021 with Yuto Uchino - Marie-Agnès
1. What is your favorite childhood memory with music? I still remember the day my parents bought me a portable cassette player. It was crystal blue and had a bass boost switch called Super Bass, which was actually my favorite button. I’ve always loved this moment when you feel like you’re surrounded by music, like music lead you to a different world. I have so many great memories, but it was one of the most exciting moment in my childhood. It was like I had music in my hand.
2. How would you describe the main difference between J-Pop and Brit-pop ? I think Japanese music has this specific sense of rhythm. It comes from the language and Japanese poetry, I guess. Also, J-pop has complex chord progression, which comes from Enka (Traditional Japanese music). I’m not sure about this, but people also say Japanese listeners tend to care mostly about lyrics, not about the music in itself.
3. What does influence your music? Do you like arts? Mainly, I get inspiration from my experience. But I learnt so many things from arts in terms of how to transform my feelings into music. I fell in love with impressionism when I was 19 or 20 years old. Those blurry colors gave me a lot of hints on how to use reverb or sound design. I can hear sounds when I see arts, especially drawings.
4. How did The fin. form? Who is today playing in The fin.? We’re all old friends. We met each other in school and decided to form a band, as we wanted to do something special together. Since two of the original members left, we’ve been playing with several great musicians. We were like a closed band before, but now it’s more like an open project and family to me.
5. Your first release came back in 2012. Can you remember your debut recordings and if to make a record is different today? I recorded everything except drums in my tiny room in Kobe. I remember my iMac was so slow and couldn’t play back from start to finish at the end of mixing. But I was so passionate, and I remember that everything about making music was new and exciting for me. Now I have many gears and a faster computer, but those moments help me to always have in mind that the most important thing is passion. I started recording with digital equipment, so it hasn’t changed much. But lately, I’m buying analogue gears. They’re very inconvenient but sound just great.
6. You are about to release your latest album, how came the inspiration to you? What is the subject? I had been home for a few months since the virus spread, and suddenly while taking a shower I came up with the idea of making an album. I’m still working on it, but it’s going to be a very personal album. I’ve been thinking a lot about life since one of my friends passed away. The theme can be dark, but I’m trying to put it in a positive way. It was such a hard and weird year last year. But it gave me a chance to feel my real self again. That will be reflected in the album too I guess.
7. What is your favorite instrument and what do you think of modern technology for music recordings? I used to mainly use analogue synths, but lately I use lots of software synths. It gives me more choice and creativity. The sound quality has improved so much too. Working in the digital domain gives you so much time and accessibility. It’s really important to work efficiently, as you could lose your inspiration trying to find a lost cable in your room. I also use lots of analogue modelling plugins. They’re not perfect but very close to originals now.
8. Are you still living in London? I live in Tokyo right now. I have my studio here, and I’m just starting to love Tokyo. There’re too many people, and people are roughly tired but it’s entertaining to be here. Weird and shiny. I miss London so much tho, especially pubs.
9. What are the plans for the future ? Where would you like to be in 20 years? I started to produce last year, and I really love it. I worked with some bands and for a film. It’s so interesting to see music in different aspects. I’ve been making music for more than ten years now, and it feels good to use my skills for someone else’s music and arts. I want to make my band grow more and more, and I wish I’ll make more music, not limited to pop, in the future.
Thank you !
