Entertainment

Japanese punk-rockers Shonen Knife take their Adventure to Ireland

Japanese punk-rockers Shonen Knife have counted Kurt Cobain, John Peel and Teenage Fanclub as fans. Now 35 years into their career, they are still going strong and play three Irish dates as they promote their latest album. Frontwoman Naoko Yamano talks to Brian Campbell

Japanese rockers Shonen Knife (with frontwoman Naoko, centre) play Belfast on Sunday
Japanese rockers Shonen Knife (with frontwoman Naoko, centre) play Belfast on Sunday Japanese rockers Shonen Knife (with frontwoman Naoko, centre) play Belfast on Sunday

JAPANESE rockers Shonen Knife are touring to mark the 35th anniversary of their formation. The Osaka-based all-girl act crashed onto the scene in 1981 – the same year MTV was born – and they’re as sharp now as they ever were.

Ten years after they started, they got to tour with Nirvana (on the Nevermind tour), along with Sonic Youth and The Breeders, and Shonen Knife's full-ahead punk-rock guitar-shredding greatness – mixed with melodic pop – has made their live show one to savour.

New record Adventure is their 20th studio album and it manages to mix the sound of The Beatles at their mid-60s poppiest (Jump Into The New World, Green Tangerine), The Beach Boys (Hawaii), Motorhead (ImI) and even a mix of the Undertones and Ramones (Underamones?) on Wasabi.

While the band line-up has changed over the years, frontwoman and guitarist Naoko Yamano has been a constant and for their upcoming Irish dates, Naoko is delighted that her sister Atsuko is back on stage as part of the current trio.

“I’m really happy that Atsuko is coming with us. Last year we toured in America and our former bassist Ritsuko had left because she had a baby, so Atsuko played bass on that tour too,” she says. “Then we’ll have our new drummer Risa. It will be Risa’s first overseas trip.”

The singer says she’s excited about the Irish gigs, which include a Belfast date on Sunday as part of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival.

“I like Ireland very much. We have a very good fanbase there and the people are always so kind to us. Do you know the band Sultans of Ping FC? Niall from that band was at our show in Dublin in the 90s and he really enjoyed it a lot and we became very good friends.

“And we’ve always had very good crowds in Belfast. We didn’t have the chance to go to Belfast in the 90s, but I’m really happy we have got to play there in the last few years.”

She says she has always been into all manner of punk from the 70s and admits that she “had some Undertones records on vinyl”.

The new album, she adds, started out as “a concept record based on 70s British and American rock”.

“When I started Shonen Knife, I was inspired by The Ramones, The Buzzcocks and The Jam. Recently I’ve been listening to more classic rock and for this album, we concentrated on more melodic punk rock. So this album has a variety of styles on it, from hard rock to songs that sound like The Beatles. I hope people like it; we’re very happy with it.”

Adventure has an eye-catching cover that's very 'classic rock'. Naoko says the band love the artwork.

“Our stage costumes are shiny silver, so they’re a good match for the album cover too.”

She says it was “a privilege” that Shonen Knife got to tour with Nirvana when Kurt Cobain and his band were touring their seminal 1991 album Nevermind, even though she hadn’t heard of them at the time.

“When we were asked to tour with Nirvana I didn’t know who they were. But once we played with them in England the first time, I realised why they were so big.

“Kurt Cobain and the other two guys watched our show every night, so that was an honour and made us happy. They were good guys and they were so kind to us and it was a fun tour. That was 1991, a long time ago!”

So is it hard to believe that Shonen Knife have been going for 35 years now?

“I never imagined when I started Shonen Knife that we would be doing it for so long,” Naoko says. “For women it’s very hard to continue in a band but I’m very lucky that so many people have supported us.”

And is getting to travel the world one of the best parts of the job?

“I don’t like aeroplanes but I do like travelling and getting to eat various types of food in different countries; that’s always a pleasure.”

No pressure, restaurants of Belfast...

Shonen Knife play The Black Box in Belfast on Sunday from 8pm, as part of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival (cqaf.com). Tickets £10. Adventure is out now. They also play Whelan’s in Dublin tomorrow and Cork’s Crane Lane Theatre on Monday