Anchorsong, the solo project of Masaaki Yoshida, is a UK-based Japanese musician with a unique approach to live electronic performance. He creates instrumental electronic music using a sampler and keyboard right there on stage in real-time, favoring the immediacy and theatricality of this approach over using pre-recorded melodies or mixing other people’s records. Taking in a range of styles and influences—hip-hop, rock, dubstep, electronica, breakbeat, and beyond—his sets can feature anything from downbeat sonic musings to a soaring string quartet.We met up with him for a chat about why he places such an emphasis on live music creation, his diverse musical style, and his endless quest for that “timeless sound”.The Creators Project: Can you describe your performance on stage?
Anchorsong: I use two instruments, one is the MPC2500 which is my main one, it’s a sampler with 16 pads that you can assign any sound to—piano, xylophone, strings—I collect lots of samples from everywhere and assign them to the MPC. I also play the keyboard. At the beginning of the show, I like to start off with just a rhythm, like a metronome, just a loop. Then I play the beat, looped, and the bass, looped. Then I build it little by little, so it’s getting louder and louder, faster and faster, building to a crescendo. I use these two instruments instead of a turntable or laptop.Is the set worked out beforehand or will you improvise depending on the crowd’s reaction?
It’s worked out beforehand in my head so I always know what I’m going to play. But I prepare and change it depending on what crowd I’m playing to. Mostly I play in live music venues rather than clubs, and I play a mix of up and down tempo stuff.You seem to enjoy the live performance, what is it about it that you like?
I’m a big live music fan and I enjoy seeing rock bands perform, they’re always exciting to see. Plus, I used to play in a rock band myself, and I always liked performing in front of an audience. I do like a lot of electronic music as well, but I just can’t get excited to see the artists who play with a laptop and turntable. I like their music but I can’t get into their performance.So you want to recreate that theatrical sense of performing that you get when you see a band perform?
Exactly. I just like a physical performance. Even when I decided to play electronic music as a solo artist, I wanted to perform physically, rather than just stand behind a laptop or turntable. That idea was the beginning of Anchorsong, that was the concept.Where do you take your inspiration from? What bands or musicians?
My biggest inspirations are Bjork and DJ Shadow, who creates sample-based music. Endtroducing is one of my all time favourite albums. Also, The Beatles and Kanye West. I have a broad [set of] influences.You’re popular in Japan, is there a difference between how a Japanese audience reacts to you versus a Western one?
Yes, I think so. Japanese people tend to be listening intensely rather than dancing, even at clubs. But in London, some people are dancing rather than listening. I think there’s a cultural difference between the two. Japanese people are more modest, even at night clubs. If they think they should listen, they try not to speak too loud or have conversations.Would you consider using any other instruments on stage, like a guitar?
Maybe. But I try not to do too many things. I think setting myself that limitation makes me more creative. If I wanted to, I could play the guitar on stage, but I just think it’s not so interesting to bring lots of instruments on stage. If I restrict myself to just two instruments, it will stimulate more in my imagination. [If] I use two instruments, I have to basically stick to making music based on loops, two bars by four bars, etc. I try to stick to my own basic equipment and put my ideas into that format, the only exception is occasionally I play with my string quartet.Can you tell us a bit about that?
I’ve been with my current quartet for about two years but before I came to London I had a different quartet in Japan, so I’ve being doing a collaboration like that for about four years. I came up with the idea because I thought strings would go well with my performance style as strings are a very versatile instrument. For example, if they want to be very showy, they can be, but also when they have to stay in the background, they can do that too. And it looks great on stage.Anchorsong performing “Devil’s Clap” with his string quartetWhat’s it like not being signed to any record label and instead running your own?
Well, I’ve never run my own record label, so I don’t have much idea of what to do. I did try smaller labels, but small labels have their particular color—this label is about dubstep, this label is about hip-hip, this one about breakbeats and my music is too diverse for them. Some of my music sounds like hip-hop, some almost like rock, some of it’s like four-to-the-floor housey beat. Meaning, I couldn’t find the right one for me so I thought, why not start my own?Do you think being unclassifiable has hindered you in anyway?
Actually, every time people asked me what style my music was, I used to have trouble explaining it. I used to think my music could be described as electronic because the instruments I use are electronic, even though I sample acoustic sounds like the piano, drums, and strings. I think the arrangement makes it electronic music. And that’s something I want to do—make the arrangement unique, something that’s never been heard before but still musical, not noise. For example, in modern electronic music, I think the artists are likely to put more importance on beats rather than melodies, like for instance in dubstep. But in the ‘90s, people put more importance on melodies, like Aphex Twin, Squarepusher and lots of other Warp artists. Nowadays, [few artists] are trying to combine good melodies and strong beats, which is something I want to do, just in a more unusual way. [I] like mixing two very different things, like a pretty piano melody with eclectic electronic sounds. They may not go together well in theory, but if you arrange or produce it right, they can, and that makes for a very interesting atmosphere, electronically speaking. Ultimately, I’m looking for something timeless. While I think the current underground music scene in London is very interesting, I just don’t think it lasts very long. It’ll die out in a few years time and it’ll be replaced with another movement. I’m looking for something that will remain for a long time.If you’re in the UK or Croatia in the next few months and you want to catch Anchorsong live, he’ll be playing the following dates:Saturday, April 6th @XOYO Shoreditch, London
Tuesday, April 26 @KOKO (Supporting Ninja Tunes’s Bonobo) Camden, London
July 22 – 24 @Soundwave Croatia 2011, Petrcane, CroatiaAnchorsong’s first European release The Lost & Found EP will be out on March 28th.
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Anchorsong: I use two instruments, one is the MPC2500 which is my main one, it’s a sampler with 16 pads that you can assign any sound to—piano, xylophone, strings—I collect lots of samples from everywhere and assign them to the MPC. I also play the keyboard. At the beginning of the show, I like to start off with just a rhythm, like a metronome, just a loop. Then I play the beat, looped, and the bass, looped. Then I build it little by little, so it’s getting louder and louder, faster and faster, building to a crescendo. I use these two instruments instead of a turntable or laptop.Is the set worked out beforehand or will you improvise depending on the crowd’s reaction?
It’s worked out beforehand in my head so I always know what I’m going to play. But I prepare and change it depending on what crowd I’m playing to. Mostly I play in live music venues rather than clubs, and I play a mix of up and down tempo stuff.You seem to enjoy the live performance, what is it about it that you like?
I’m a big live music fan and I enjoy seeing rock bands perform, they’re always exciting to see. Plus, I used to play in a rock band myself, and I always liked performing in front of an audience. I do like a lot of electronic music as well, but I just can’t get excited to see the artists who play with a laptop and turntable. I like their music but I can’t get into their performance.
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Exactly. I just like a physical performance. Even when I decided to play electronic music as a solo artist, I wanted to perform physically, rather than just stand behind a laptop or turntable. That idea was the beginning of Anchorsong, that was the concept.Where do you take your inspiration from? What bands or musicians?
My biggest inspirations are Bjork and DJ Shadow, who creates sample-based music. Endtroducing is one of my all time favourite albums. Also, The Beatles and Kanye West. I have a broad [set of] influences.You’re popular in Japan, is there a difference between how a Japanese audience reacts to you versus a Western one?
Yes, I think so. Japanese people tend to be listening intensely rather than dancing, even at clubs. But in London, some people are dancing rather than listening. I think there’s a cultural difference between the two. Japanese people are more modest, even at night clubs. If they think they should listen, they try not to speak too loud or have conversations.Would you consider using any other instruments on stage, like a guitar?
Maybe. But I try not to do too many things. I think setting myself that limitation makes me more creative. If I wanted to, I could play the guitar on stage, but I just think it’s not so interesting to bring lots of instruments on stage. If I restrict myself to just two instruments, it will stimulate more in my imagination. [If] I use two instruments, I have to basically stick to making music based on loops, two bars by four bars, etc. I try to stick to my own basic equipment and put my ideas into that format, the only exception is occasionally I play with my string quartet.
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I’ve been with my current quartet for about two years but before I came to London I had a different quartet in Japan, so I’ve being doing a collaboration like that for about four years. I came up with the idea because I thought strings would go well with my performance style as strings are a very versatile instrument. For example, if they want to be very showy, they can be, but also when they have to stay in the background, they can do that too. And it looks great on stage.Anchorsong performing “Devil’s Clap” with his string quartetWhat’s it like not being signed to any record label and instead running your own?
Well, I’ve never run my own record label, so I don’t have much idea of what to do. I did try smaller labels, but small labels have their particular color—this label is about dubstep, this label is about hip-hip, this one about breakbeats and my music is too diverse for them. Some of my music sounds like hip-hop, some almost like rock, some of it’s like four-to-the-floor housey beat. Meaning, I couldn’t find the right one for me so I thought, why not start my own?Do you think being unclassifiable has hindered you in anyway?
Actually, every time people asked me what style my music was, I used to have trouble explaining it. I used to think my music could be described as electronic because the instruments I use are electronic, even though I sample acoustic sounds like the piano, drums, and strings. I think the arrangement makes it electronic music. And that’s something I want to do—make the arrangement unique, something that’s never been heard before but still musical, not noise. For example, in modern electronic music, I think the artists are likely to put more importance on beats rather than melodies, like for instance in dubstep. But in the ‘90s, people put more importance on melodies, like Aphex Twin, Squarepusher and lots of other Warp artists. Nowadays, [few artists] are trying to combine good melodies and strong beats, which is something I want to do, just in a more unusual way. [I] like mixing two very different things, like a pretty piano melody with eclectic electronic sounds. They may not go together well in theory, but if you arrange or produce it right, they can, and that makes for a very interesting atmosphere, electronically speaking. Ultimately, I’m looking for something timeless. While I think the current underground music scene in London is very interesting, I just don’t think it lasts very long. It’ll die out in a few years time and it’ll be replaced with another movement. I’m looking for something that will remain for a long time.If you’re in the UK or Croatia in the next few months and you want to catch Anchorsong live, he’ll be playing the following dates:Saturday, April 6th @XOYO Shoreditch, London
Tuesday, April 26 @KOKO (Supporting Ninja Tunes’s Bonobo) Camden, London
July 22 – 24 @Soundwave Croatia 2011, Petrcane, CroatiaAnchorsong’s first European release The Lost & Found EP will be out on March 28th.