Thanks so much to Masato Saito for another interview! Some time ago we talked about Pervenche who has made a comeback with the release of “Quiet Small Happiness”. The interesting part is that this CD comes with a bonus CD with lots of material from his previous band Peatmos! I had written about Peatmos in the past, but I needed to know more details about this cool project!
++ Hi Masato! Thanks so much for being up for another interview! How are you? Are there big plans for 2022?
We just released Pervenche’s album “Quiet Small Happiness” on August 8, 2022 (World Cat Day) in analog and CD on the Japanese label KiliKiliVilla. The bonus track on the CD includes material from the Peatmos archives.
https://store.kilikilivilla.
https://store.kilikilivilla.
https://open.spotify.com/
https://music.apple.com/jp/
Pervenche will be playing several gigs during the year.
++ Last time we talked about your current band Pervenche. But previously you had been in other bands like Peatmos and Kactus. Let’s talk today about Peatmos. You are telling me that there will be a re-release of Peatmos. Can you give me more details about this new release?
The “quiet small happiness” release on KiliKiliVilla includes 10 archival Peatmos tracks as a bonus disc.
Three tracks from the Sonorama Records 7″, Earl Grey Tea, Many Suns, To My Little Friends, and an unreleased version of “Mad Cow Disease”.
Four songs from the Clover Records cassette Mess, Picnic, D’yer Wanna Dance With Kids? and Out of The Room.
Blue Painting from the Cream Corn Records compilation Splash Dive. And a previously unreleased version of “Play The Wind”. All remastered.
++ Before Peatmos you were in Kactus. So I was wondering how Peatmos started? Was it immediately after the demise of Kactus?
It started as a lo-fi acoustic unit with Sugino Kotaro of Kactus, and we started playing casually and playfully alongside Kactus.
++ How did the recruiting process for Peatmos work out? Were the other band members in other bands as well?
We wanted to include a female vocalist, so we invited two of Kotaro’s friends from college.
Later, after we started writing songs in earnest, we changed the vocalist to Manami. She had a great voice!!!
++ Where would you usually practice?
My room. I rented a rehearsal studio only before gigs.
++ How was your town at the time of Peatmos? Was it a better time, with more bands and music places than when you were in Pervenche?
I had a lot of friends to work with at Clover Records, including Smiley, Red Go Kart, Recycled Pop, Lucy Van Pelt, and Hour Music. There were many rehearsal studios in the station along the Chuo Line where I lived.
Garage punk bands, lo-fi experimental music bands, indie pop bands, etc. practiced there.
++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?
We looked for words related to plants. A word that has no special meaning. A simple image. We gathered words from the dictionary.
I liked peat moss because it has a lovely Japanese pronunciation.
++ Who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?
Stuart Moxham (YMG, The Gist), The Beat Happening, etc. I liked the Lois album produced by Stuart Moxham.
++ Would you say there are influences by Japanese bands too? What are your favourite Japanese indiepop bands by the way?
When I was younger, I liked Japanese techno-pop bands, Plastics, Yapoos, etc.
I especially like Salon Music. their first single “hunting on Paris” is my all-time favorite song.
I admired their sound and songs, so I might be influenced by them.
++ Your first release, I believe, was the “Mess” cassette that came out on your own Clover Records. This seems like a rare release these days. Did you make many of these tapes? Why did you choose this format?
Actually, we released a cassette tape called “rich time for you” before “mess”. This was recorded with the original members when the band was formed.
It was still a fun distraction at the time.
It was released in April 1995. The four songs on this cassette are not on this CD.
The cassette “Mess” was released in October 1996. Everything was dubbed by myself.
Of course, the cassette tapes were commercially available. The sleeves were also made using a copy machine at a convenience store.
Unfortunately, there is no record of how many I made. The charm of cassette tapes is that you can make as many as you need when you need them. It doesn’t cost any money.
The selling price can also be low.
++ The artwork of the “Mess” tape has a lot of words on it like “Sun”, “Picnic”, “Light”, “Feed”, etc. What is the meaning of it?
Manami designed them. The words are sampled from song lyrics and arranged.
I like the artwork made of transparent tracing paper.
++ The same year of the tape release, 1996, Sonorama Records from the US released the “Earl Grey Tea” 7″. Tell me how Peatmos was discovered by Dan from Sonorama Records?
I was introduced to Dan by Kactus member Rich Stevens.
I was surprised that he would release a 7-inch.
++ Who is in the 7″ sleeve photo? Is that you?
No, it is not.
The photographer, Kuwabata, happened to take a picture of a sleeping child on the train.
I liked the way he expressed this with a Japanese subject while giving it an American or British indie feel.
++ The songs for this record were recorded all at home. Was wondering if you prefer working at a home studio or at a professional studio?
I have never recorded in a professional studio, as is the case with Pervenche.
I think my work is better suited for recording in a private environment.
++ Other than these two releases you appeared on many compilations. The ones I am curious about are for example the “Cream Cone Compilation Vol. 0”. I had never heard of the Cream Cone Records label. Who were they and how did you end up including a song on their CD?
I was invited by the label owner, Mr. Endo. Sorry, I don’t remember much.
++ And the other compilation I wonder about is the one that came with the Indies Magazine Vol. 47. Did you get much press from music magazines?
Not so much.
But writers who liked it called us.
++ Are there unreleased songs by the band?
Yes, there are; we still have some demos that didn’t make it onto Disc 2 of the CD that was released in August.
++ And do tell me, how come there were no more releases by the band?
I don’t know the reason… I think it was due to a change of members.
++ And was there interest from any other labels?
We did not contact any other labels.
I think we were hardly known in the indie scene at the time.
++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “D’yer Wanna Dance with the Kids”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?
The lyrics are thoughts that Manami had while working as a home helper while studying in England.
It is a thought I had with a boy in that house.
The song is a tribute to the Motown sound.
++ If you were to choose your favorite Peatmos song, which one would that be and why?
As far as Peatmos goes, it is “D’yer Wanna Dance with the Kids.”
This song has a vibe that Pervenche just can’t do.
It’s a bit comical and sad at the same time. Also, I like the guitar and the drums.
++ What about gigs? Did you play many?
About 10 times…
++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?
The Shibuya gig that Dan came to see me was nerve-wracking but fun…
++ And were there any bad ones?
There was a night at a late night DJ event when there was no one in the audience.
++ When and why did Peatmosstop making music? Which band came after Maples? Pervenche?
Peatmos came to an end when Manami left the band.
Perhaps the time commitment was too much for Manami.
Then Masako joined and we became Pervenche.
++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?
Kotaro and Julia continued with Kactus for the next few years.
Manami is no longer doing music.
++ Has there been any Peatmos reunions?
There was not.
++ Was there any interest from the radio? TV?
Not at all. The public didn’t know we existed.
++ What about fanzines?
Fanzines, everyone in the indie scene supported us.
A very small intimate scene. That was enough for us.
And the support from our American fans! It was great.
++ Looking back in retrospect, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?
After all, it was the 7-inch release from Sonorama.
I had no idea that an overseas label would release a 7″! It was amazing.
The highlight for me was the completion of the last recording, “Play The Wind”.
It was the first time I felt I had succeeded in the challenge of expressing the passage of time with only two chords.
++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?
I grow plants. I grow South American cacti and African plants.
++ Last time I asked you about some tourist recommendations. I want to ask today about Japanese culture. Are you a fan of anime or manga? Do you have any favourites
Anime and manga have been around me since I was a child. But I never became an ardent fan.
Of course, there are some works that I like, but there are many with themes and atmospheres that do not interest me much.
If I had to pick one favorite anime work, it would be Hayao Miyazaki’s animated TV series “Conan: Future Boy.”
++ Anything else you’d like to add?
When you asked me this question, I was surprised that I have no memory of the past.
I’m sorry I don’t have anything interesting to say.
Friends I haven’t seen since then and friends I still see today. They are all great friends.
It was fun to listen back to the old songs with the Peatmos sound source remastering.
I still love those songs. The performances and recordings could only be made at that time. With feelings that cannot be reproduced.
If I have a chance, I hope to release the remastered sound sources of Kactus.
And I would like to keep challenging to create new works.
Thanks for all your precious time!
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