Semishigure: Post-Pop-Punk-Perfect. An interview with Kylie Smith.

[Megan Spencer]

Claiming to be “the only Japanese band in Darwin” - as so often is the case in the North - Semishigure is beautiful pop proof of the distinct cross-cultural musical miasma festering away in the Top End… Hatching, evolving then coming into bloom as its very own species late last year, this post-punk-pop trio have so far kicked some serious rock butt at a handful of gigs in and around Darwin. They’ve also just released an EP, eggs in a twig.

In true poetic style, Semishigure selected their name to reflect a sound connecting both NT and Japan audiences. ”Semishigure” is the Japanese term to describe “cicadas singing in unison", a sound well-familiar to residents in both places on opposite sides of the planet.

Kylie Smith – hands down one of Darwin’s best drummers with bands like Elemental, Starlight Motel, the just-reformed Mulla Mullas and others - formed Semishigure with two of her Japanese friends, Yusuke Fukuda (vocals, bass) and Yogo Kiminami (vocals, guitar). While we push our noses eagerly against the window, she allows a glimpse into a truly fascinating new musical mutation from the Top End.

Music NT: How did Semishigure form?
Kylie Smith: I know a lot of Japanese people in Darwin as I volunteer with the Australian-Japanese Association of the NT. I met Yusuke through a friend, and Yogo is a friend of Yusuke’s. Yogo and Yusuke used to always come and see me play in another band I used to play in here in Darwin a couple of years ago, and when they told me that they both play guitar, I asked the boys if they wanted to play in a band with me. I suggested we write all our songs in Japanese as I thought nobody else was doing this in Darwin, let alone the NT or Australia? We thought it would be fun, and it is!

Talk about making our own band started mid-2008 and it came to fruition around September. We just want to have fun and thought our idea of having lyrics in a language other than English was quite rare and were looking forward to seeing how people would react. There is always so much focus on the English language in Australia and around the world which annoys me to an extent. I guess that’s the attitude one may develop after studying linguistics for such a long time. I think it’s really important to acknowledge the diversity of languages that are spoken in Australia so we thought we’d give it a go.

MuNT: How would you describe your music?
KS: I like to describe our sound as ‘fun’.
Most of the songs are quite catchy and up-beat (with the occasional ballad) so in some way they can be described as some sort of powerpop. Some are really fast and loud, so they can be described as punk. And some are just rocking out so I think we are a mixture of Japanese pop/rock/punk? Our lyrics are all in Japanese and cover topics like love, food and everyday life (eg. hanging out with friends, or getting annoyed at the pool shop man for not coming over to fix our pool quick enough etc...).

MuNT:You describe yourselves as "possibly Darwin's only Japanese band"... How does Japanese culture - moreover music culture - inform and influence what you play and how you play it?
KS: I’m not sure about the boys, but I personally have been a huge fan of Shonen Knife for at least 15 years. I learnt a lot of Japanese language through memorising the lyrics to their songs and was always inspired by the way they write cute and great songs about everyday things and have the ability to totally rock out as an all-girl band. They have been my idols since I was a teenager and I have always wanted to have a band just like them. A band which is fun; where the lyrics are about simple everyday things; where nobody cares how good or bad the musical talent is; and where the lyrics are almost all sung in Japanese. It’s taken me a very long time, but it seems my dream has finally come true with Semishigure thanks to Yusuke and Yogo! Check out video below that my friend Deb hudson made when I finally got to meet Shonen Knife in person when I visited Japan last year!


MuNT: Other than Shonen Knife, who are some of your other favorite Japanese bands - and are you into any Japanese music 'movements'?
KS: Some of my favourite Japanese bands are Afrirampo, Cornelius, Mono, Boris, Toe, Supercar, Deerhoof, UA and Yura Yura Teikoku. I hate the idea of Japanese pop which is crap music churned out to the masses (I guess like any pop), but I do like the idea of ‘anything goes’ in Japan if you’re willing to search for it. I’m not sure if you would call it a movement, but there seems to be a huge underground music scene in Japan where there are lots of cool bands who are not very well known, but are only known and sought after by people who are really seriously into good music.

MuNT: Who are some of your favorite non-Japanese bands?
KS: My favourite bands often change but I have been stuck in post-rock-loving mode for the past year so I currently like bands like Moses, En-Rhoda, Pelican, Shellac, Grey Daturas, Mogwai and the Shipping News.

MuNT: Why do you guys play music - what do you love about it so much?
KS: Yusuke and Yogo are two of the dearest, sweetest and funniest people I have been lucky enough to become friends with, so I have lots of fun hanging out with them, especially when we play music. Listening to music is one of my most favourite things to do, so being able to create music of your own which is a combination of ideas from two of your greatest friends is really something. It’s just lots of fun if that combination is right. Oh yeah, and I love playing the drums really loud and am excited about learning to play my shiny new red guitar.

MuNT: Describe your experiences playing in Darwin so far?
KS: To our surprise we have been lucky enough to play a lot of gigs even when we only had 5 songs (we still only have about 9 now!). Our favourite venue is Happy Yess, where our friends always come to see and support us.

However we have done an interesting gig for Harmony Day this year at a community hall. The program line-up consisted of acts like primary school choirs singing in German, Irish dancers thumping the wooden floor, high school hip-hop crumpers not wearing many clothes, pop star impersonations of pop songs I’ve never heard of before and us... We played last and because there were more than 30 acts and not much time for each group. We were only allowed to play 3 songs, but we secretly combined two so we could play four! By the time we took to the stage most of the mums and dads had taken their tired kids home but there were still a few left there. And when we had finished, I think the number of people had halved and I saw many kids running away from the stage with their fingers in their ears trying to block out our noisy sounds. Now that was pretty funny! Another funny thing I saw from the corner of my eye was the hip hop dancers, bopping along to our songs (even with the occasional crumping move!) Ah, what a night that was.

MuNT: The best thing about the Darwin music scene and the worst?
KS: Best thing… No matter how amateur you are, you can start your own band, write your own stuff and probably perform it somewhere cool like Happy Yess. The worst thing? There are not enough good bands!

MuNT: Your favorite gig so far?
KS: Our CD Launch at Happy Yess. There were so many people there, including many of our special friends.

MuNT: How far do you want to take Semishigure - eg. does it have a finite life, might it evolve into something else or are you in it for the long haul?
KS: Well Yusuke has been in Darwin for a long time and I think still will remain, but as Yogo is an exchange student I think he may only be here for another couple of years before he goes home to Japan... We did apply to play at BASS IN THE GRASS this year but unfortunately we got knocked back so maybe we’ll try again next year.

We don’t have any plans as yet, but there is - jokingly - talk about doing a tour through the centre of Australia, the East Coast or even Japan! We are happy at the moment taking it easy, slowly making new songs and having lots of fun here in Darwin.

MuNT: You've just released an EP, eggs in a twig. Can you tell us more about that? And any plans to release an album?
KS: The EP was totally unexpected and unplanned but when the opportunity just fell upon us, we decided to grab it. Our friend Ruben (Maher, Snow In Cities), suggested we record the few songs we had at the time (Nov 2008) and make a CD. So we did.

Ruben did an amazing job of recording and mixing us. We only did a couple of live takes of each song and completed it in half a day. When I think of it now, I still am really happy with it as it captured Semishigure at the time. The reason why we called the EP “eggs on a twig” is because the EP was made during the time of Semishigure in it’s initial stages. (“Eggs on a twig” refers to the beginning of the life cycle of a cicada, and “Semi” in Japanese means “cicada”).

However, because we have been practicing nearly every week and have played many more gigs, I think we sound so much better now. I guess we are slowly advancing to the next stage of the cicada’s life cycle.

The CD covers (handmade) took so long to make and we spent so much time in getting them right. I hand wrote all the lyrics in Japanese, then translated them into English and Ruben and I made a stencil and spray painted every single CD. We only made 150 and it was pretty labour-intensive. But as it is the first CD all three of us have ever made, it is really special. Once we get more new tracks, I think we will definitely think about making an album.

We currently sell our EP through our Myspace site, at Happy Yess and at Yusuke and Yogo’s Ramen Stall (hot Japanese noodle soup stall) at the Nightcliff Markets. (Note: the Ramen Stall is the ONLY authentic Japanese noodle stall in the whole of the Northern Territory so please visit! It is so yummy and definitely worth it!)

MuNT: Finally – can you tell us a little more about the name ‘Semishigure’ and what it means?
KS: Semishigure is a beautiful poetic Japanese expression that describes the sound of cicadas calling in unison, almost singing in unison, like a chorus, in the most hot, humid of weather. So I guess “semishigure” can be translated as “cicada chorus”.

You can usually hear this call with the onset of summer in Japan and the wet season in Darwin. We tried to think of a band name that captures the place and time we are living in at the moment as well as making some sort of connection between Darwin and Japan. It’s sort of pronounced “semi – she – goo – ray” but many people who are not sure how to pronounce it have coined us “Semi Sugar”!


Semishigure play with Straight Skirt at Happy Yess, Saturday May 30th. You can buy their EP eggs on a twig from their Myspace site