"I think the blues of the past had a raw sound – emotions, rhythms, voices, guitar phrases, everything feels organic and original. I do understand that it’s not easy to create your own original blues now, after so many great artists have developed it in many ways, but I believe we can find something new, something different."

Tokyo Tramps: Fearless Music Hearts

Tokyo Tramps’ new album, Fearless Heart (2023), is a triumphant blast of bluesy, soulful Rock And Roll. Ten tracks that shape-shift across everything from southern rock to Memphis soul, Texas boogie and straight-up blues, Satoru Nakagawa (vocals, guitar) and Yukiko Fujii (vocals, bass) deliver their most refined batch of songs to date. Guided by the able production hand of Jim Weider (guitarist for The Band, Levon Helm Band, and The Weight Band), bringing more out of the duo’s songs than on any previous release, Fearless Heart crystallizes the Tokyo Tramps musical vision. “Working with Jim was very interesting,” Nakagawa notes. “He didn’t really arrange the songs, the way some producers do. He made small changes but they were all very impactful. The record is very close to the original demos, just a hell of a lot better.” “He helped shape the sound and played into our strengths,” adds Fujii, “he brought the best out of us.”

(Photo: Satoru Nakagawa & Yukiko Fujii / Tokyo Tramps)

Although they've found themselves labelled a blues band more often than not, Tokyo Tramps have always seen things a bit differently, and Fearless Heart is a defining moment in their songwriting and musicianship. "We love the blues. It's our foundation. And in fact, the blues community embraced us and that’s where we built our core audience," Nakagawa offers, "But I've always wanted us to be the almost traditional definition of a rock and roll band, such as The Rolling Stones; we’re blues based, but we write original material that’s outside that box." Nine albums in and over 20 years of playing together, Tokyo Tramps are fearless.

Interview by Michael Limnios

How has the Blues and Rock Counterculture influenced your views of the world and the journeys you’ve taken? 

Satoru: I look at history chronologically. Blues came first. Then rock and roll was born after that. And I was too young to witness the transformation. So, growing up in the '80's, it was only natural to start listening to rock from the radio. Gradually I discovered that rock came from the blues. Then I went back the history. I think it's important to understand the order so that you can understand the whole picture of music better. As for me, my musical journey started since the day I started listening to American music, and that shaped my character and views. It's the most influential event in my life.

Yukiko: I grew up in Tokyo. There was a radio station called Far East Network, for American military people, that played American Top-40 charts, live shows, and so on for 24 hours 7 days a week in 1970~80’s. I started to learn classical piano when I was 6, but by the time I picked up a bass guitar and formed my first girls’ band when I was 14, I was totally into the Rock ‘n’ Roll world. My strict and old-fashioned parents of course didn’t like it, they kept on telling me that girls should do this, shouldn’t do that. I think those music on the radio taught me that it’s ok to be different, it’s ok to listen to your inner voice and express yourself.

When did the idea of Tokyo Tramps come about? What's the balance in music between technique and soul? 

Satoru: We were originally a 4 Japanese group from college. Our American friend suggested to use some Japanese to name the band, and we picked Tokyo as the capital of Japan so that people would know that we are Japanese. Tramps came from Bruce Springsteen's song, Born To Run. There's a line, "tramps like us, baby, we were born to run". My first musical hero.

I used to approach music from soul side almost entirely. That's the most important part still. But as I was growing as a musician, I realized that having technique is equally important. I tend to rely on technique more lately, but again, what matters most is from your soul.

"I used to believe that music could change the world. Maybe I was young and naïve then. But music meant everything to me. Still essential in my life so I just keep making music until I die. But I don't know what music means to the society today. It's become commodity." (Photo: Tokyo Tramps)

How do you describe Tokyo Tramps sound and songbook? Where does band’s creative drive come from?

Yukiko: Satoru and I got different influences and backgrounds. He is a singer-songwriter-guitarist with Rock, Blues, roots music in his blood. I listened from Deep Purple to Queen, Aerosmith to Eagles, Aretha Franklin to Linda Ronstadt… So, our original songs in 9 albums are some blues plus some rock plus some everything. We have a bunch of cover songs but we always try to play with our own arrangement. We don’t want to play exactly the same as others do!

We dare to live in US, because there are more freedom and opportunities for us and our music to express and get heard than in Japan. By watching our home country from the outside, I see the great culture we grew up in, and current problems and people’s struggle objectively. By living in US as a minority in a mixed culture, we experience something we would never do in Japan. We are fortunate to be living like this, and our daily life inspires us and give us something to write about. And we want to be different, be ourselves, that’s where the creative drive comes from.

Make an account of the case of the blues in Japan. Which is the most interesting period in local blues scene? 

Satoru: I don't have a straight forward answer to that because I wasn't there for the most part. I left Japan in 1990. Just several years ago we finally connected with a Japanese blues label. We are still learning about the scene. I understand the first blues movement happened in the 70's. It has been there since then, but it's always a niche scene.

Yukiko: In Japan, since the “Showa” era in 1960’s, people has considered blues as a kind of Japanese popular vocal music called “Enka” – singing about sadness, hardness of life, love, or cheating. People sing them at Karaoke all the time. To be honest, I didn’t really pay attention to “local blues scene” of bands or musicians until we got connected with a blues label in Tokyo and released our 7th album “If I die Tomorrow” Japanese edition in 2018. There were several major blues artists in Japan since 1980’s, who wrote their original blues song with lyrics in Japanese. But I found that Japanese blues listeners still worship the exact sound of Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, and B.B. King. Every time we got shows in Tokyo, we try to join Blues jams as well, and find it’s different in many ways from the ones in US. But I saw good players are around and developing local scene. I think now is very interesting period to me.

"Listening to blues music today is like going shopping to the mall. Everybody listens to the same music. Everybody studies the same lick, and etc. There is no mystery or secret. And the products sound alike. I always wonder how the British blues guys listening to the same music and yet, created the different music. Originality and uniqueness. That's what I miss today." (Photo: Satoru Nakagawa & Yukiko Fujii)

Are there any memories from gigs, jams, open acts and studio sessions which you’d like to share with us?

Satoru: The recording session for our latest record, Fearless Heart was unique in every way. It was the first time going into the studio without our drummer. We hired a studio drummer to make it. We communicated with him beforehand sending him the demos. We met in the studio for the first time. We counted off, and the rest is history. Also it was a live recording like the old days of recording. Again, playing with a stranger for the first time and we created the best recording in our career. It was just magical!

Yukiko: We recorded our 9th original album “Fearless Heart” in 2022 and released in January 2023. We always took so much time and effort into preproduction with drummers, but this is the only one that we made a demo on Garage Band app during the Covid pandemic. We met our producer, and he hired the drummer for the recording session. Satoru and I spent hours to prepare ourselves, guitar riffs, bass lines, vocal harmonies, groove, and so on. Then, at the studio, everything went so great, like a miracle! That was an amazing experience.

So, our vocal harmony is our signature sound without a doubt. However, there was one occasion that it was questioned. We won the Blues competition in Marietta, Ohio in 2010, then proceeded to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN in 2011. When we were preparing our set, we were suggested not to put a lot of harmony, because it’s not the style for blues music - most blues songs have only one lead singer. Well, we were confused. We compromised but it didn’t work anyway. I learned that we should trust ourselves and should do what we believe!

What do you miss most nowadays from the blues of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

Satoru: Back in the days long before internet, sharing information or news was not as easy and quick as today. People would write letters, telephone or telegraph just to communicate with each other. It would take time to know what was going on in the next town. Knowing that, it was only natural that early blues musicians sounded so distinctive. For example, Robert Johnson and Mississippi John Hurt don't sound alike. Fast forward to the late 20th century,  the internet was born. Suddenly we are worldwide. It was what people were waiting for, but at the same time, it's the beginning of the end of distinctive culture. Listening to blues music today is like going shopping to the mall. Everybody listens to the same music. Everybody studies the same lick, and etc. There is no mystery or secret. And the products sound alike. I always wonder how the British blues guys listening to the same music and yet, created the different music. Originality and uniqueness. That's what I miss today. 

Yukiko: I think the blues of the past had a raw sound – emotions, rhythms, voices, guitar phrases, everything feels organic and original. I do understand that it’s not easy to create your own original blues now, after so many great artists have developed it in many ways, but I believe we can find something new, something different. I am grateful for our older blues audience supporting us, and at the same time, I feel good when college kids, who don’t seem to have blues songs in their playlist, come up to us and give us positive feedback on our music. Music scene changes, technology changes, I just hope we keep creating music that can connect people with.

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in the music paths? 

Satoru: Listen to your heart. Trust your gut. Don't compare yourself to others. Nowadays, there are so much information around us that its easy to lose your objective. It's important to protect yourself from the noise.

Yukiko: Most of female musician were either singer or piano player, and I myself didn’t think of playing bass when I came to Berklee. I started to play piano at 6, took voice training for 4 years in my college years, I looked like a typical female player, but, I formed my first and girls band at 14, there were already 2 guitar players, so I had to pick Bass or Drums, either way, I was meant to be a not typical female musician. Although I see more and more women play instruments, especially Bass or Drums in the last 20+years, it is still a Man’s World. I used to host some Blues jams as a host band, I saw only 1 or 2 female singers in 50 jammers. When you are at blues festivals, how many female players do you see on the stage? It’s a hard cold fact that the success story of Bonnie Raitt or Susan Tedeschi is one in a million. I just try my best to be seen on the local scene and encourage girls to play bass!

What is the impact of music on the socio-cultural implications? How do you want the music to affect people?

Satoru: I used to believe that music could change the world. Maybe I was young and naïve then. But music meant everything to me. Still essential in my life so I just keep making music until I die. But I don't know what music means to the society today. It's become commodity. 

Yukiko: We are Asian, we are minority, we can be a target of discrimination, hate, or violence. However, our friends in music community, some politically far-right people give us a huge support, and some far-left people love us so much. I always wonder why – does it mean music can connect people in spite of their political beliefs? I stayed in Nashville, TN for 3 months back in 1994. I had a tough time understanding their thick-Southern-accent, while people had tough time understanding this Asian, non-Christian, quiet girl, because many of them never met a Japanese person in their life. They took me to churches where Gospel choirs singing for the entire service, or concerts/music events regardless of genre, so that we could relax and take time to talk. I guess they thought music would help to communicate with someone from a totally different culture. Indeed, it helped. When you are playing at a gig, if you see little kids jumping & dancing to you music, you know you are doing good.

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(Photo: Satoru Nakagawa & Yukiko Fujii / Tokyo Tramps)