The fin., Japan's Answer to The Shins, to Perform March 4 at Yugong Yishan

You may not know it yet, but The fin. just might be your new favorite band. Though you likely haven't heard of them, the Kobe-bred indie rock foursome (featuring Yuto Uchino on vocals and synthesizer, Ryosuke Odagaki on guitar, Takayasu Taguchi on bass, and Kaoru Nakazawa on drums) has generated quite a bit of buzz in their native Japan. And there's little wonder why: songs like "Without Excuse," sound like a more upbeat rendition of American indie megastars The Shins, while their video for the song "Till Dawn," makes eye-popping use of Polaroid photos and digital effects, with members of the band seemingly performing in photos within photos. Below Uchino whets our appetite and eardrums ahead of The fin.'s March 4 Beijing gig.

Your video for "Till Dawn," is one of the best I've seen awhile, and makes creative use of Polaroid photos. Do you have any thoughts about why these old cameras, CD's, and other older style items are still popular among young artsy people like you in Japan?
Thank you very much. In my opinion, digital media has developed so fast and is really useful now. But in some ways, digital media are still behind to that of analog. We can also find the great feel in the analog world.

The Japan Times describes how your band traveled to France and Britain and: "The four members went to blues bars regularly, and had a dance battle and nightclubs. They made an effort to meet as many people as possible – particularly people standing in the lineups at the various events they attended. 'We broke through a wall and now feel like we can do whatever we want ... Stuff like worrying about playing in Japan, or about the opinions of others, went away.'" Tell us more about the dance battle. I assume it must have been so much fun!
It was a really fun night actually. We went to a nightclub called Fabric in London. That was the first time we went to a nightclub in a foreign country, and it was a really fresh experience for us. The dance battle was just a “dancing together” kind of thing. We called it a battle as a joke.

What inspired you to take this trip and really push yourselves to be so extroverted and "push through a wall" for this trip?
The most important thing was “being outside of Japan.” To go outside of the country where you grew up. We could see things in a different way. It felt like I got to see from different angles of the camera.

You've cited Toro y Moi (an acclaimed chillwave artist who also performed at Yugong Yishan back in 2015) as an influence. What do you like about his music and how has it inspired you?
My favorite album of his is Underneath the Pine. On that album, I can feel his character naturally and the songs trigger many feelings inside of you. I love music that has that power and I try to keep making those kinds of things.

Tell us about recording your EP Glowing Red on the Shore. You told the Times you want to put more emphasis on the music and songs than live shows, in contrast to many other Japanese bands. Is the music scene in Japan a bit narrow minded in this regard, and can that be frustrating?
For me, making music is like drawing a picture. You can draw whatever you want on a canvas. But in live shows, there’s a limit to what you can do. So I prefer recording music than playing live music. But recently I’ve made a new system for the stage. Thanks to that, we can perform more freely and it sounds closer to the original recording. I know there are many bands that have a different way of thinking in Japan. It’s good to have diversity. It leads to different sounds. I don’t mind the difference that much.

The fin. will perform at Yugong Yishan on March 4 at 9pm. Tickets are RMB 150 at the door, RMB 120 presale. For more information, click here.

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Photos: SXSW, courtesy of the promoters