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quotes from interviews:

Our music is a mixture of ethnic music, punk rock, and free jazz. We deal with ecological, political and practical issues—like the nuclear and environmental problems in Fukushima and Okinawa—and also those in the invisible world. Our activities also relate to the peace and hippie movement—love, peace and freedom. We are connected to aboriginal and ethnic minorities around the world. In Japan, we deal with Shinto and the Jomon world.

Our origin is punk music. But we stopped playing punk music when the Chernobyl accident happened. Before Chernobyl, we used electric instruments, but we changed to acoustic after that. We started dancing with masks and playing flutes, making our own instruments. Chernobyl was the catalyst for change.

In Fukushima and Okinawa we’re facing real and practical issues right now. The US military is forcing people from their land in Okinawa. It’s the third most pristine area in the world and it’s threatened by the US military bases…
If we can save Henoko from destruction, we can save Okinawa, and if we can save Okinawa, we can save Japan, and if we can save Japan, we can save the world. This is urgent because the world is in danger.

So, that is the problem of man and woman, the primary one. It’s the anima animus theme. We understand the same words differently, so our means of expression is just music. We become one through sound... But there’s also the part where I think we never know when it might explode. It’s more than dangerous. We might part ways someday... When her internal masculinity and the femininity in me are in good balance, we can do good work. If her masculinity becomes strong, I get blocked. If her femininity is strong, then Bang! She gets stopped. It’s about moderation, how to choose the middle road.

All of the conveniences of man are useful but they make life complicated. We don’t have a TV, so we can choose where to focus our attention, not the other way around. We don’t use cellphones or computers, because they’d make our lives complicated. We like living simply.

Like Gandhi said, what we’re doing is ultimately futile. But the reason we continue it is not so that we’ll change the world, but so that we won’t be changed by the world. We want to live out our lives as we chose and not be forced into someone else’s paradigms. Whether it be health, food or any aspect of lifestyle. We don’t want to be controlled. We want to be free.

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