An Interview between musician Sachiko Kanenobu and Ava Mirzadegan
NYC readers, you can go see her tonight 10/7 at Le Poisson Rouge at 7PM
Often revered as both a legend and Japan’s first woman to be a major folk singer-songwriter, Sachiko Kanenobu has proven that anything old can be made new again by releasing reworked recordings of her 1998 album Fork in the Road on Los Angeles-based label, Temporal Drift. The resulting album is a whimsical dreamscape infused with psychedelics, classic folk, and elements of rock and roll (a genre that Kanenobu feels rather at home with, having performed heavier music with her band Culture Shock in the eighties and nineties).
Alternating between Japanese and English lyrics, Kanenobu’s imaginative approach to songwriting blends the figurative and mundane with an effortless flair. Fork is a record of passions and poetics that permeates beyond the membrane of language recognition, tapping into the strange universal melodies that bind us all. She encapsulates this feeling better than I ever could in the translated lyrics of the song “Everyday Friday” when she sings the line “Telepathic love touches the heart.”
The 2023 re-release of FITR goes beyond the typical re-master, with an impressive crew of contributing musicians, including backing vocals from none other than Steve Gunn (who Kanenobu toured with in 2019 when her first record Misora was re-released by Light in the Attic). Now in 2024, Kanenobu is preparing to return to the US for a run of shows to celebrate the re-release of Fork in the Road, stopping in Philadelphia, NYC, and Kingston in early October.
(NYC readers, you can go see her on 10/7 at Le Poisson Rouge in Greenwich Village with performances by LARAAJI and Mind Maintenance 7:00/18+/$30-40 adv./$35-45 day-of).
I was privileged enough to ask Sachiko a few questions for GUNK ahead of her upcoming tour, which you can read below. We discuss the intricacies of lyrics in translation, her inspirations, the sky, and take a deeper dive into the history and emotions imbued within her work.
Ava Mirzadegan: In preparing for this interview I found that we actually share a birthday, and in true Gemini form this record is of two minds—going back and forth between Japanese and English, while also moving between shifting perspectives and genres. Do you feel that when writing or singing in either language, you connect with emotions differently or more deeply depending on the language itself?
Sachiko Kanenobu: Wow, that is very interesting! Geminis! That is wonderful. I love to hear that.
Fork In the Road is more direct than Misora. All of those songs were written while in America, whereas Misora was all written while in Japan. I wrote all the Fork in the Road songs in English but then translated some to Japanese for its release. The Japanese translation didn’t always fit within the melody of the English version, so sometimes the English to Japanese translation has a very different meaning.
For example, the song Fork in the Road is about friendship – helping a friend who is falling into a dark hole, and even when I try to help by putting my hand in the hole to pull them up, in the end they have to climb up themselves. The Japanese version of Fork in the Road is, however, about romantic relationships - it is about saying goodbye, for now.
Another example of this is Rain Song, which is called Woman in the Rain in the Japanese version. In English, it is a protest song about what was going on in Central America in the 70’s, but in Japan, that was not widely known about. The Japanese version is a song about a woman waiting in the rain for the man who left her.
Also, the words and feelings of the English translation are more direct. With my Japanese lyrics, I can use more words to explain feelings or use different words to hide the real feelings or actions than I would in English, so that creates a song with hidden feelings in it! Songs from Misora are a good example of this. Misora has very poetic songs. There are a lot of hidden feelings in those lyrics.
For example, in the song Sora Wa Fukigen (Moody Sky), there is a real sky I am looking up at, a sky that looks like it is about to rain. In the same moment, I feel sad and about to cry, much like this sky. I use “Sky” to describe my own emotions. In this song, I’m saying in Japanese, “Well, where shall I go now? The sky is about to rain,” but, in English I’m saying, “Well, where shall I go now? I am feeling sad, and I feel like crying”.
I wrote the Fork in the Road songs all at different times after Misora (which was written from 1969-1972). Some of the Fork in the Road songs were written from 1982-1984 while Phillip K. Dick was still alive and encouraged me to write. Then, I wrote some of the later songs in 1986: What Are You Waiting For and Every Day Friday. Both of those were written in Japanese.
Every Day Friday is a very happy song, it’s about love. When you start loving someone, it is very beautiful. You’re feeling so good. And that’s the feeling in the song! Friday is such an exciting day because it’s end of work week.
I decided to write What Are You Waiting For specifically in Japanese because I was back in Japan and noticed for the first time a significant number of people who were experiencing homelessness. I was shocked to see that in Japan, something I’d never outwardly seen before there. Then I came back from Japan to America and saw people dying from gun violence. What Are You Waiting For is about remembering that things can change for better or worse but it is important to remember that there is time for things to change again and you never know what the future brings. Life is so precious. Keep holding on, keep going. Life may really develop. I had some really hard times in my life, and I am so glad I decided to keep going. Life is big like a sky, and you have to find that sky in yourself, in ourselves. Bring more joy. That’s why I want people to make more music and make more art. They need to express themselves. That’s why we have music and art, to keep going, to feel joy.
AM: Was it difficult to trust the added contributions on the re-issue of Fork in the Road?
SK: I found myself at my own fork in the road with the recordings. Makoto [Kubota] said “you have to do something with the recordings!” He was so encouraging and offered to work to dress them up together. I was totally open to adding new elements; I trust and respect my long time musical friend and dear brother, Makoto Kubota. The timing was right for me and Makoto to work on this. Makoto did all of the recording and overdubbing in Japan and also added bass, guitar, keyboard, and back-up vocals. I wanted a psychedelic feeling on this record, and Makoto is the best at that.
During this time, Kikagaku Moyo was playing shows in Japan. Makoto went to their concert, and he met them there and then they ended up playing on the recordings, too. Ryun Kurosawa played sitar on Strange Melody, Dreamer, and Take Me to the Ocean, and Daoud Akira played psychedelic guitar on What Are You Waiting For and Woman in the Rain. They would facetime, send pictures and videos during the recordings. I love them. They are such sweet guys.
I decided to also ask my dear musician friends Steve Gunn (singing vocals on my song “I Need You”), Carwyn Ellis (playing piano on “Strange Melody”), Daich Ito (drums), and Asa Chang (percussion and tabla) to contribute as well, and everyone kindly agreed. I trust all of those players. And I love how it turned out very much.
AM: What are you most inspired by creatively in your life? Has this changed at all since you originally released Fork in the Road?
SK: There are many great artists who have touched my heart and soul, giving me great excitement and inspiration. Usually these are artists with their own creativity and style of writing and playing who follow their creative vision. When I was originally writing Fork In The Road, I was listening to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Donovan, Pentangle, all kinds of British rock groups, early Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Joni Mitchell’s early records, The Mamas and the Papas, Carol King. French music was also popular in Japan and inspired me to write the song Misora in that style.
I was also listening to the Velvet Underground, who I still love. I discovered them when I married Paul Williams in 1972. We met in Japan, and he played them for me. That was the first time I heard them. My favorite song is “Pale Blue Eyes”. I asked Paul “WHO is this?” I played it over and over.
I was inspired by the band Happy End, too. Haruomi Hosono was in Happy End and ended up producing Misora. He is very caring, with very good heart. When I was sick, he took me to the hospital. He is a very sweet friend.
Now Brian Eno is a big creative inspiration for me. And I am inspired by Beck, too. They really have the boundless creativity I think is so important. I also love Mozart and listen to lots of classical music, too. I always listen to Joe McGasko’s WFMU radio show Surface Noise. And of course Philip K. Dick. He was always giving me encouragement and support to my music.
Ava: Are you still writing new songs today? Has your practice evolved in any way over time?
SK: Yes, I am still writing new songs, and I am actually in the middle of recording demos for around 14 new songs and I am also making a new record of an instrumental version of Misora. It is a very different, very new creation.
I still don’t write poetry down. I usually start by playing guitar and finding an interesting melody that I can then play over and over again. Then the poetry comes from the melody. My songs are really connected to how my life is going at the time.
How has it changed? I now have arthritis in my hands, so I have to play guitar differently than before. Most of my new songs are written in an open tuning, as some chords have become hard to hold. Make it work for you!
Ava: Looking back, would you give younger Sachiko any advice?
SK: I would tell her a lot of things. Stay cool and choose good boyfriends hahaha……. Also, I always wished I could have been a drummer. I would have loved to learn how to play the piano and other instruments. Tell her to follow that desire!
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Hi! My name is Sarah Katherine Lawless. I’m an indie folk / folk-rock singer-songwriter inspired by Madison Cunningham, Lucy Dacus, Searows, Medium Build, and Julia Jacklin (among others). I’m looking to play more DIY shows around NYC, whether that’s in a backyard, apartment, garden, laundromat, wherever! I love connecting with other musicians and music lovers in the community, and I’d love to play a set at your next show! I’ve got a ton of new unreleased songs that I want to share and getting to play them as they develop at DIY shows has been super thrilling for me. If you organize shows, I’d love to hear from you by email.
Please message me and my manager at sarahkatherinemanagement@gmail.com and bennett@tribecaelevatormusic.com
Looking for a drummer? I am one! (Bass and cello also, sometimes.) I've played for all sorts of (rock) bands, good and bad, in Seattle, which is where I lived most of my life until moving to Brooklyn for a new job. I'm a cis, het white guy, but I've played with lots of femme/queer/POC folks, and I'd be excited to collab with someone(s) who fit(s) any and/or all of those descriptions again.
My last band was Negative Passengers, a post-hardcore type punk band (inspo by Unwound, Jawbreaker, Fugazi etc.) who are great/still my pals/someones you should listen to. I listen to punk stuff (Gouge Away, GEL, MSPaint, Mindforce, Weird Al etc.) and a lot of sadgirl R&B ('90s Janet, SZA, Kelela, Kali Uchis, etc.). I'm game for either type of project. Maybe you want to do both in the same project? A hardcore cover of "That's the Way Love Goes?" Why not?
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