Seijun Kato

Name, where are you from?
Seijun Kato (Mono No Aware), Hachijojima (a Tokyo island 287km south of the capital).

What do you do?
Musician.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
A show by the London artist, Jerkcurb. In 2020, he came to Japan for an event at Big Love Records, and while he was in the country, he did an in-store show at the Disk Union record store in Shinjuku. I was right at the front for that performance, and it was all very special — not just his playing but the relative seclusion and exclusiveness of the gig. I noticed he had tuned his guitars in an unorthodox way and I got to chat with him about it. He spent time explaining to me the particular tuning for each string.

Which subcultures have influenced you?
When I was at university, I discovered Mod culture. It is much more than fashion — it’s a way of life. Take the music they listened to… They listened to jazz, which was American music at that time, and then they’d adopt that musicality into their own bands. And then those bands became big all over the world, including in the US. I’m not saying I completely identify with that way of life, but I can relate in terms of maintaining a broad outlook and keeping an open mind.

Of all the venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?
The Red Marquee at Fuji Rock Festival. I’ve played there twice, but the show that sticks in my mind is the one from 2021. It was a real buzz as our sound seemed to spread out and envelop the entire space. People in the crowd were genuinely enjoying the music and Mono No Aware fans seemed to revel in the moment.

If you could be on the line up with any bands in history?
The band Horsey. It is Jerkcurb (aka Jacob Read) and a few guys from King Krule’s circle. I’d like to join them on lead guitar because they don’t have one in their lineup. I don't know many bands nowadays that are charged with that special group-of-mates energy, so I'm a little envious of those guys. I’d like to play with the raw vim and vigour I felt when I started playing in a band myself.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
I’d like to be in the studio during a Johnny Marr recording session. I was chatting with a bandmate about it recently. We were saying how the tremolo effect he creates on the track, 'How Soon Is Now' is incredible. It’s usually the rhythm section (bass and drums) that creates the foundation of a song. However, the fact that Johnny manages this on lead guitar for this track is very cool. For that recording, he ran his guitar through four amps with the tremolo effect engaged, and that kind of analogue workstyle is pretty fascinating for me.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
It’s a guy I’ve already mentioned — Jacob Read. I’ve been shouting from the rooftops about him for the past couple of years, but he doesn’t yet have a strong following in Japan.