“I Get Saved By Writing Songs” -Q&A with Legendary Japanese Band Mono Ahead of Mar 1 Tango Gig

"Saved by Writing Songs": Legendary Japanese Rock Band Mono Talk Salvation Through Music

Kyle Mullin | Feb 18, 2019 4:00 pm | Add a comment | 602 reads

Renowned as instrumental rock band Mono may be, for their bruising riffs and lofty songwriting, frontman Takaakira "Taka" Goto (pictured second from right above) is not afraid to show his sensitive side. On the contrary, the guitarist, glockenspieler, and leader of the iconic 20-year-old Tokyo band bared his soul during a recent Q&A with the Beijinger.

Ahead of Mono's Mar 1 gig at Tango 3F, Taka tells us about soothing his angst through song, bonding with distraught listeners, and the secret to his band’s longevity.

I’ll never forget the first moment our band began messing around and making some sounds together back in 1999. It was truly beautiful, noisy, and loud. Everything about it was perfect. It was like, all of a sudden, seeing the future right in front of our eyes. We all felt that we'd definitely succeed together. A true miracle moment.

Back then instrumental rock wasn’t very popular, unlike now. By touring the world, we managed to get more fans little by little. I feel truly lucky about it.

Composing music is a process of going inside your heart. I go down deep within my soul and pull out shining bright elements from the madness and the darkness. I personally get saved by writing songs. Thanks to songwriting, I’m able to tell myself "It's ok for me to live," and "There is a reason for me to keep being who I am."

By expressing these feelings of salvation through songwriting, and borrowing my trusted bandmates’ power, I feel the music resonating with audiences.

Our new album, [2018’s] Nowhere Now Here, became a musical trail of all the troubles we faced as we walked towards our new chapter.

In 2017, we had troubles with our Japanese management and label, and cut ties with them. All that, along with our drummer’s departure, left us feeling paralyzed, like we couldn’t take another step. We didn’t have any shows lined up or anything else scheduled, and thought to ourselves: "If this was a regular band, this is when they’d disband." We were really in the dark and couldn’t see anything ahead. It was a crucial time where we needed to decide whether the band should evolve or stop altogether.

Nowhere Now Here by MONO

As a result, I wrote a story about regenerating from the pitch-black darkness and seeing the dawn. It became the title track "Nowhere, Now Here." Because of this, the album is filled with a completely different energy than our prior releases.

This album tells a story about parting with the past. From wandering pitch-black darkness filled with hatred, anger, and a sense of incongruity in the pit of your heart, to facing yourself and fighting through struggles. The album’s last song is a story of rebirth: “Vanishing, Vanishing Maybe.”

We've received emails from fans who say "I've been struggling and thinking about killing myself. I wanted to listen to Mono before I died. And instead, I shed tears and decided to keep carrying on."

There is a saying: "The darkest hour is just before the dawn." No matter how difficult the struggle, and even if I can't see what's ahead, I believe that if I don't give up, the path will eventually open up. You really understand what life is about during times of adversity.

I really feel happy about being able to share the darkness I held and the hope I looked for through music with all the people in the world.

I want to be onstage as Mono until the very last moment of my life, with my guitar, playing rock music. I want to continue writing new and better music that gives you new sensations and feelings.

Mono has managed to stay together for 20 years, simply by thinking the most important thing is to love each other, respect each other, and help each other.