Q: It seems that BELAKISS is a band you found while surfing the internet.

A: Yeah. I wonder if it was last summer, but I happened to watch a PV on YouTube that Luary and Ben took at Primrows Hill.

As you know, I'm an enthusiastic Beatles fan (laughs), so I'm looking for new Beatles information day and night.
That's already a habit, so I searched for Youtube on that day as B, E.
Then BELAKISS came out alongside Beach Boys.
When I wondered, "What's this?", both Luary and Ben are playing with the guitar on their left.
For a moment, I thought, "Is it left-handed?"
First of all, I thought that sense was interesting. It's like Monty Python, but it has a British sense of humor.
However, the song was very serious, and I liked the sorrowful melody.

Q: So you made the contact?

A: In the end, that's how it looks, but when I first saw it on You Tube and somehow sank it, it was actually a quartet.

I knew it was a band.
The sound is also electric. That's why I wanted to see the live once.
At that time, Yuko Araki (drummer at Office Augusta) is on a plastic ono band tour
I decided to go to Iceland, so I contacted them, emailed me if there was a live at that time, and they would play in London.
So I decided to visit BELAKISS.

Q: Then, you saw the live and liked it. At that stage, was it a band of Beatles granddaughter and Shadows son?

A: I didn't know. I knew the bass girl was named Tasha Starkey,

It's the same last name as Ringo Starr (=Richard Starkey), but it's rare.
Then Tasha's parents came to the live venue in London. So I recognized Zack Starkey.
My mother is Augusta Starkey. At this point I knew Tasha was a grandson of Ringo Starr.
When I took the name of "Office Augusta...", the mother handshake gently, "Oh, it's the same name as me. Tasha, take care of this person."
I just met Ringo Star two days ago, so I felt a strange edge here. As a Beatles fan, I became happy. However, Tasha didn't call himself Apple's grandson, so he didn't talk about Apple at this time.
I didn't reach them for that reason. Instead, I instantly liked their sound, looks and personality.

On this day, Luary talked positively.
"My father was a Shadows drummer (Tony Meehan). Do you know Shadows?"
That was a bit surprising, too.
"Shadow's is famous in Japan"
I thought this BELAKISS had two members of the drummer family in the band.

Q: You didn't announce the Beatles grandson, Shadows' son?

A: Yeah. I think I didn't want to get noticed because my parents seemed to be shiny.

In that sense, it's a band that faces music purely. That's why I was happy with it.

Q: How was your impression of seeing the stage?

A: I thought it was good. A female bassist sells sexy to Hen,

Tasha wasn't that type. It looks like a girl wearing hot pants,
I felt equal to the other guys.
The harmonies of Luary and Ben are not just harmonious three times, they cross.
The tradition of the Beatles from the Everly Brothers has been properly inherited.
It would be nice if Tasha's chorus was added there.
My favorite guitar/guitar/bass/drum is a simple organization, and the front 3 people harmonize.
This is beautiful. I was attracted to that kind of "band appearance".

Q: In recent years, the English guitar band has a weak harmony.

A: Right. I think even BELAKISS is influenced by oasis and radio head,

The attitude of adding vocal harmony to the easy-to-understand melody fits perfectly with my band aesthetics.
I also like the looks. There is no violent image that is typical of rock bands, and there is no feeling of being poor.
People are really easy to get around. Something elegant.
Once upon a time, Ichiro Takasaki wrote on the Beatles liner that "Young gentlemen of the United Kingdom," but that's exactly what it looks like.
When the Beatles came out, we Japanese should have felt familiar with that dark hair and they were always smiling and unpretentious
I think he was looking at contemporaneousness unlike the stars of the 50s who were distant and had a stern look with a feeling of sadness
The soft feeling of BELAKISS members is close to that.

Q: But in this era when Western music isn't selling, isn't it an average determination to work on a band in London with your first debut in Japan?

A: The fact that the music industry is in a difficult situation, whether it is Western or Japanese music, also has problems with the sender.

The tendency that there are many similar bands is a worldwide thing,
I think that if you develop your personality and sell it according to the music, it will grow to its own.

Everyone doesn't produce music in the same way, so they all sound the same, and because they sound the same, they sell the same.
It's a vicious circle. Fortunately, office Augusta is a company that wasn't caught up in that spiral,
I thought it would be interesting to do something that other companies didn't do, that is, to try an Western music artist. As a new attempt.

Q: There used to be a band that was lit from Japan, like a queen or a cheap trick.

A: Yeah, that's it. Actually, a few months before I met BELAKISS, I met Kaz Utsunomiya in New York and talked about that.

Kazu was at the same level as Brian May at the University of London, so he bridged to Japan when Queen's debut was decided.
On his recommendation, Watanabe Music Publishing won a license in Japan.
The popularity of Queen first exploded in Japan when "Music Life" was a noise, and professional Watanabe was a normal Western music artist
Because I did a different trick, I was focusing on the "elements I receive in Japan" in the queen.
“Sales in the world” is a dream for musicians, so I also tried to do it with the former Chitose in Chieftains and Deep Forest. I think YMO is the most successful example at.
Even with such high planning power, there is still a limit in going from Japan to the world.
If so, there is a higher possibility to sell Western music artists from Japan to the world.
I thought that was the biggest business reason for contracting with BELAKISS. Even if the artist is an overseas person, the planning is like Japan.

Q: Was there any resistance from the band?

A: Yeah. I was rather interested in making a record debut in Japan.

CDs are not selling well in the UK compared to Japan, so newcomers are more likely to try them first. The BELAKISS guys didn't really believe in the form of distribution, and were keen to release a CD.
I'm the type of person who doesn't feel like buying music if I don't have things, so the opinions agreed.

Q: You're not setting up a new Western label, right?

A: This is the debut from Ariora Japan/Augusta Records.

Same position as Suga Shikao and Sukima Switch.
I hope it will become Augusta's new business model.
The songs are mostly written by Luary and Ben, but sometimes Tasha joins.
So, the author will manage the music of credit "Mehan / Sheldrick / Starkey",
This is really emotional for Beatles fans (laughs).

Q: The band you found while surfing the net was the Beatles and Shadows sons,

The fact that you're involved in that record debut is a story that's too overkill to start by chance.
Remind me of the first page of the Beatles story, as customers ask, is there a single "My Bonnie" at the record store Brian Epstein did?

A: Isn't it? It would be a problem if a member of BELAKISS thinks that my Beatles enthusiasts have become so excited,

There is a place where I'm looking for such a "dream-like coincidence" somewhere.
I'm sure that there was an "edge" that caught the antenna.
As long as we deal with each other, we would like to present a first step that allows BELAKISS members to stand as musicians,
I think.

Q: By the way, what does BELAKISS mean?

A: It seems like Spanish means "wonderful kiss," but on the other hand,

There is a rare killer called BELAKISS. In other words, it's a double-meaning of the opposite image.
I thought I was able to use that sense of language as well.