Interview originally published Dec 16th 2020

Diving back into the heavy music scene in Tokyo, we caught up with one of the newer bands on the block The Cards I Play. Hitting the stage with a solid live show and two strong singles, ‘Full Circle’ and ‘Something More’, The Cards I Play are ready to get back on stage and show the world what they have been working on during the COVID lockdowns.

We caught up with vocalist Joji and guitarist Daniel to tell us about the band, finding their sound and how they fit into the ever-growing Tokyo music scene.

The Cards I Play has a really polished sound, as well as a great live show, how and when, did you all come together?

Daniel (Gt.): Thanks! Our vocalist Joji and I were actually best friends since high school. At the time he was in a different band but eventually, that band split up so we started talking about doing music together. We both shared the same passion for music, and plus we were best friends so it all came really naturally. We got together and started writing songs around 2016 I believe. We then went public with our band in 2019 with just the two of us, and released our first single “Something More.”

Takuya from A Ghost of Flare and Hiroki from C-Gate joined us as support members and we played our Debut Show early 2020 following our second single release “Full Circle.” Unfortunately, due to COVID, we weren’t able to play shows since, but we recently announced our new bassist Wataru. We found him through a music community website and we just clicked. I can’t wait to introduce him to everyone on stage.

When it comes to your sound, who and what are you all mainly influenced by?

Daniel (Gt.): We really have a lot of influences both in and out of the rock/metal scene. Joji takes a lot of influence from 2000s emo, J-pop, soul, funk, and a lot more. Myself, I originally got into playing guitar listening to 80’s rock n roll bands like Van Halen, Bon Jovi and Guns n Roses when I was like 9 years old. Recently I find myself listening to a lot of hip hop and lo-fi pop stuff. Oh and we both really love Billie Eilish haha. For modern rock/metal, I really enjoy the UK bands — bands like While She Sleeps, Architects, BMTH. The guitar work and melodies are amazing and they just each have their own signature sound. That’s something we really try to aim for. I guess we somehow and probably subconsciously just merge all these inspirations into our sound. I think you’ll hear that more in the album we’re currently working on.

The Tokyo heavy music scene has really started to gain some international attention over the last few years, has that exposure had any impact on your goals as a band?

Joji (Vo.): It’s cool to see the bands in the scene getting international attention but our goal has been and always will be the same, to be the best version of ourselves. So I wouldn’t say it has affected our goals, but it is definitely a plus for us since we are bilingual and is easier for us to connect with international listeners. It’s great to see that there are eyes on the scene that we belong to.

As a band, do you have any goals for 2021 or are you just going with the flow?

Joji (Vo.): We do have milestones and goals set for 2021 already, but I would rather not get into too much details yet. But I can tell you, we haven’t wasted a single minute of time in quarantine and although people may not see that since we haven’t been playing shows, a lot of work has been put in “behind the scenes” preparing for 2021. Like we mentioned earlier, we’ve been working on a full-length album and really taking the time to perfect details in each and every song. Of course, after COVID settles down, expect to see us back on stage.

Being a relatively newer band in the scene, what has been the challenges you’ve faced with all the issues surrounding COVID?
Joji (Vo.): Our debut live took place in early 2020. Due to the COVID situation, we haven’t played a gig since so we have difficulties in reaching new fans. We had a lot of exciting gigs lined up and was ready to keep the momentum going for 2020 but unfortunately, that couldn’t happen. At the same time, however, this quarantine let us focus on composing more. All this time composing has helped us grow as musicians, and we’re making songs now that we definitely couldn’t make a year ago. A lot of experimentation, a lot of fine-tuning. We are now working on our first full-length album where I personally have challenged myself vocals-wise more than I ever have.

The Cards I Play have two singles out, Full Circle and Something More, and you’ve been in the studio recording an album. What can we expect to hear with this album?

Daniel (Gt.): We took a completely different approach to this album both composition-wise and vocal-wise for this album than any approach we ever took. I really wanted to focus on the melodies and chord progression of each song as well as the atmosphere — really giving emotion and life to the songs.

To be honest, our first two singles was just us getting together and simply making music. This album was all about experimenting and pushing ourselves to find our signature sound. We really took our time with this project. I guess listeners can expect a much more melodic and experimental sound —nothing like our first two singles. 12 solid songs with huge choruses and a lot of diversity. We’ll have songs all over the “heavy spectrum” and I think there will be something for everyone to enjoy even if you don’t usually listen to heavy music. I’m super excited to share it with everyone.

Lastly, for those who may be new to The Cards I Play, how can listeners support the band?
Joji (Vo.): You can support us by hitting the link to our music videos, streaming our music and just spread the word to your friends!

Also, hope to see you guys at a show soon 🙂

Check out The Cards I Play’s latest music video, ‘FULL CIRCLE’.