Japanese noise rock band Melt-Banana will come to Seoul for the third time this weekend. Courtesy of Melt-Banana
The legendary Japanese noise rock band Melt-Banana is finally coming back to Korea for the third time, 17 years after their last show.
The band had its first show here in January 2005, and returned for a second show in August 2009.
“This time will be our third visit,” said Yako, the duo’s lead vocalist. “I clearly remember how cold it was the first time we went, and I remember that everything we ate tasted incredibly good.”
“The second time, we also visited a recording studio in Korea, and we had a bit more time to relax,” said Agata, the other half of the duo. “We went to a building that had a lot of musical instrument shops, and I ended up making a bit of an impulse purchase. Both stays were really enjoyable.”
Finally, after years of scheduling conflicts and the pandemic, Melt-Banana is ready to return to Seoul.
Melt-Banana’s origins date back to 1991, when Yako started it with the name Mizu. Soon she recruited Agata, and in 1992 the band name changed to Melt-Banana.
“There isn’t really a deep meaning behind it,” Yako said. “Maybe at the time I just liked the combination of the word ‘melt,’ with its particular sound, and ‘banana,’ with its more pop-sounding feel.”
“Originally, we had a song without a title, and Yako was going to name that song ‘Melt-Banana’,” Agata said. “But then we decided not to use it as a song title and made it the band name instead, if I remember correctly.”
Within a few years, the band gained attention worldwide. They worked with globally famous U.S. producers including Steve Albini, John Zorn and Jim O’Rourke. In 1995, they toured the U.S. with experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. Melt-Banana expanded its renown in the U.K. in 1999, when they recorded with British radio presenter John Peel, who described their first session together as “simply one of the most extraordinary performances I have ever seen and ever heard.”
“Maybe that period was a kind of growth phase for the Japanese music scene,” Yako said. “After that, many things became more taken for granted and more matured. Because of that, when I talk with younger bands nowadays, or watch them perform, I often feel that they’re very mature for their age.”
Melt-Banana / Courtesy of Melt-Banana
After 35 years playing music together and nine studio albums, the band has managed to evolve enough to stay fresh, while also not losing track of what made a global audience fall in love with it in the first place.
“I don’t think our essential human nature has changed that much, so I believe there’s a consistency in Yako’s sense of what feels interesting,” Agata said. “What we find interesting is influenced by the environment we’re in at the time. If we stay honest to that, then maybe the result is that we’re able to evolve along with the times.”
“We’re quite honest about reflecting how we feel in our music,” Yako said. “So I think the sound we have at any given time is simply the result of honestly shaping whatever we find interesting in that moment.”
Melt-Banana performs at Club Freebird in Seoul, Aug. 22, 2009. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar
One major change to the band came in 2013, when they decided not to have a live drummer and bassist. That means the upcoming concert will be the first visit by just the two of them.
“We’re really looking forward to performing in Korea as a two-piece for the first time,” Yako said.
“Ever since Yako started using that game console-like controller, performing as a duo has become incredibly fun for us,” Agata added. “We’d love to share that feeling with the audience.”
Melt-Banana will play one show in Seoul this Saturday at Rolling Hall, near Hongik University in western Seoul. Korean post-hardcore band Soumbalgwang will open, and tickets cost 45,000 won. Visit melt-banana.net for more information about the band or linktr.ee/4kor4kor4kor to book tickets.
AloJapan.com