ab: yonawo is formed when you're friends in junior high school, right? How's it when it comes to writing songs together?

Aratani: We'll do it at one of the member's house, usually discussing about the base I've written. For an example, One might suggest "Can I change this drum part?" Everyone's free to share their own ideas when it comes to making music.

Tanaka: And that's when we decided the album name. At first I was a bit surprised, but I began to like it.

ab: And usually Nomoto will be the one to do the artwork.

Nomoto: That's right. And for this album, I talked with Ara-chan (Aratani) about the whole concept, and as a result of expanding that concept, I drew a baby holding the earth. The motif on the right is contributed by a fan through an open call, well, it's also one of the unexpected elements.

ab: Is there anything that make you realized the good things about Fukuoka when you were attending live shows in other places?

Tanaka: It's more relaxed. Since it's our hometown, it seems like our motivation became a little different when we're in Fukuoka.
Nomoto: There're less crowd and there're many hot springs and saunas. It's where my family live and also the place I was born and raised, so I always feel relieved when I return.

ab: How about when you're overseas? It's a shame that the performance on SXSW* scheduled for last year was cancelled, but you'd got a chance to perform in Taiwan in 2019.

Aratani: There're a lot of people listening to our music through streaming services. At first I was a bit worried, but then I was glad that I didn't feel uneasy at all in Taiwan.
Saito: I was surprised that most people seemed to understand what I was saying even though it was in Japanese.

* South by Southwest (SXSW): One of the world's largest creative business festival that combines music festivals, film festivals, interactive festivals, etc., held in Austin, Texas, USA.

ab: Thank you! Finally, do you have any message for you fans?


Saito: Stay healthy in 2021 too!
Nomoto: I simply hope that we can enjoy the live shows. I tend to get nervous for it so I'll try to calm myself and enjoy to the fullest.
Tanaka: I wish that we could do something new. Stay tuned for yonawo's upcoming activities!
Aratani: We'll appreciate and enjoy every live show so that the people who join us can feel the fun too. We hope that music streaming services and other media would let more and more people get to know our music!