MONO (Japan) – Interview With Taka About "Oath"

MONO are going to release their new album, "Oath", on June 14th. I was honoured to be one of the few who got the chance to talk to lead guitarist and composer Takaakira "Taka" Goto about it. In our conversation, he revealed some insights about the band's history and answered my questions about the making of this outstanding new masterpiece. I am proud to share my interview with MONO (Japan) with you! Please enjoy reading!

Please note: During our interview, I told Taka how difficult it is for me to put this excellent new album into words. Before we met, I had made three attempts to write a review, and I failed. During our conversation, I got the chance to ask all the questions about the things I wanted to know about how these pieces came to life and what inspired Taka to write them. I learned how special the eleven songs are for the band and decided not to write an extensive article about them to categorise and rate them. I feel like in this very memorable and moving interview, it becomes more than clear how excellent this record is—which, in my eyes, is one of the best I've ever had the chance to listen to.

Once again, many thanks to Taka. If you're reading this, it means so much that you've taken all the precious time to answer my questions so in-depth and shared all these details with me. Thank you!

To everyone who follows the stories I publish on Sounds Vegan: Please read this interview thoroughly and don't miss the side note about the sadly passed music legend Steve Albini. I added it between this interview and the video for "Oath" below.

Anne: Hi! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview! It's a big honour for me to talk to you and get to know one of my top three favourite bands personally.

Taka: Hi Anne, thank you so much.

Anne: June 14, 2024, is an important day since it's the release day of your newest and joyfully awaited new album, "Oath". I have already had the chance to listen to it, and I have to admit I'm a bit lost for words after doing so. I've started reviewing it three times, and I still haven't found the right words to describe this absolutely outstanding 11 pieces in 1 hour and 11 minutes. It's incredible—so full of feelings, it feels personal, intimate. I'd even go so far as to say it's one of the best records I have listened to so far. Thank you for writing these wonderful, vulnerable, hopeful, inspiring and deeply skilful songs. You must be pretty satisfied with your work, are you?

"'Oath' feels different to all of our previous albums"

Taka: "Oath" feels like a different world than any album we've released before. The album doesn't have any emotions of anger, darkness, despair, or sadness that we have expressed in the past. Instead, the album focuses on the abundance that's already given to us rather than complaining about what we don't have or what's unreasonable. You'll be able to understand how blessed you are by just the warmth of the sun, the blessings of nature, the presence of family and friends, and the ability to drink clean water whenever you turn on the faucet.

Personally, by listening to this album, I'm able to cleanse my soul. There are many things in life, but if you focus on the positive, you will feel the possibilities are endless.

Anne: Everything surrounding MONO feels mystical and Zen to me. If you visit a MONO concert, there's always this tense and, at the same time, relaxed atmosphere. It feels like going on a journey and discovering a story no one's ever heard so far, and it's always a new and special one. It's the same with your albums and also the steadily evolving promo for "Oath". People want to unravel the secret and always want to know more. Is this also what the songs on the record are about—the secrets of life and our times and how to reveal them?

"We need to embrace the joy of living in this very moment"

Taka: A few years ago, the pandemic happened and the daily lives we previously had disappeared in an instant. Wars and other conflicts between various countries started to begin, and this made touring impossible for some countries we used to visit. During that time, many of our acquaintances, including my father, passed away due to various reasons. Of course, these things are inevitable with ageing but the feeling of "no one knows what will happen tomorrow" became stronger in my mind.

The new album "Oath" is a 70-minute-long story that tells a story like a movie or a novel. I composed this album over the course of a year. Starting in spring, then summer, autumn and winter, I wrote what I felt at each given moment of time. Winter is over, and a new spring has come. This ordinary thing, which we had taken for granted, was actually not an ordinary thing. I want to share with people all over the world the joy of today, how precious and important our today is, and the joy of living in this very moment.

Anne: Many of your songs feel as calm as cherry blossoms, which gets me every time I listen to them. What I especially enjoy are these surprising and thrilling moments when they break out after gaining energy. When you build up the ultimate distortion with your guitars. Especially at your live concerts, these are the points that blow me away. You know, it needs these perfectly tranquil, peaceful and private moments of introversion to feel these extraordinary outbursts of energy and heaviness that follow. It must be overwhelming and intense to create them. Can you describe how it feels to play them?

"The noise of joy"

Taka: I'm not sure if this is the correct way to express it, but I think "noise of joy" is most appropriate. I think noise is a "scream", but there must be something other than anger or sadness, like the joy of life, the energy of working together to solve problems and a positive light.

Anne: I don't want to interpret it too much, but it also feels a bit like phases of human relationships and our relationship with nature. The world. From getting to know each other to swearing eternal fidelity to complete dissolution, mutual agreement, and sometimes indifferences and the fear of being left behind. I'm sure there lies much more in these songs than this, but do those experiences we all make in our lives inspire you when writing your music?

The process of building a world no one has ever seen before

Taka: I think composing music, in a sense, is a process of finding new harmonies and building a world that never existed before. High and low sounds, bright and dark sounds, hard and soft sounds, near and distant sounds, loud and quiet sounds, and furthermore. When you take advantage of all of these individual elements and combine them, I feel there's something similar to the balance between various people and the world on this earth.

We were born on this planet to experience. Human beings are creatures that can never live alone, and as long as we live, we will naturally face various hardships and problems. This world is not easy. However, I feel the most important thing is to learn a lot through experience, not give up on your dreams and stay positive. I think music can express things better than words. This planet is filled with miracles, and I feel that life is about continuing to answer questions from something beyond ourselves.

Anne: This sounds so inspiring. Like the alchemy of music and sounds in general. Of life. Or should I say life is sounds? Taka, you said,

"We live with a vow that hasn't changed since we were children. Hear the wind sing. We are part of the universe. We already know what we should do and what the most important thing in life is."

Should we all focus more on our environment—on how we treat the planet and other living beings?

"It's okay to stay true to yourself"

Taka: Humanity's desire for evolution will never stop, even if the desire to make society more convenient and prosperous is good. The world is becoming worse and worse because it's built on people who desperately want to make more money through business and concessions and want to gain an upper hand. More humanly, simply put, there's nothing truly more important than respecting, helping and loving each other.

Instead of focusing on a competitive society where people compare themselves to others, I think it's okay for everyone to stay true to themselves and live their own lives because everyone is born with a unique personality. One day, when our souls leave our bodies and go to heaven, what we will take with us is not money, cars, houses or possessions, but rather, what we could give to others and pride in how we can live our lives.

Anne: What would you say are your biggest inspirations overall when it comes to writing music?

"Hearing your true voice within the abyss"

It's about diving deep into your heart and hearing your true voice within the abyss.

Anne: What's your favourite song on "Oath" and why?

Taka: It's very difficult to choose, but even before I wrote it, I decided that I wanted this album to be a celebration of the band's 25th anniversary.

I think this album might have turned out differently if I hadn't written the opening song, "Oath". I wanted to consciously express the power to move forward without fear, anger or sadness as time goes by.

Anne: You're looking back at 25 years of band history—filled with tours all over the planet, live and studio albums, EPs, meeting people of all kinds and sharing the stage with many incredible artists. I'm sure you made plenty of memories in this time. What were your absolute highlights during these years that you will never forget?

"Dahm helped us to overcome difficult times"

Taka: The orchestra show we held in London to commemorate our 20th anniversary in the winter of 2019 remains vividly in my memory. It was truly a wonderful day. Our new drummer, Dahm, joined the band in 2018, and that was the moment when the band was able to overcome the most difficult period of its band's history.

Anne: What has changed the most since 1999? For you as a band, for all of you personally and in the world?

Taka: Our band life has always been an adventure, and stepping into a world we had never seen before was more difficult than we imagined. From many failures, we learned and challenged ourselves. We're still continuing to evolve from our failures.

More than anything else, strong readiness and determination were needed to keep the band going. Of course, while there's always joy in creating and performing music, the reality is not that easy. Each of us has our own lives to worry about, and as we got older, we often felt that our dreams may just be dreams. But every time we performed live and toured, the number of fans steadily increased little by little. Without their support, I don't think we would have been able to continue MONO as we are now. We sincerely thank everyone who continues to support us.

Anne: You always tend to keep a low profile regarding private matters, which I can understand. Was this a decision you made together from the beginning when you founded MONO, or did you gradually realise that it felt better for you this way?

Taka: I don't live a life that I can brag about to others, haha. I wake up every morning at 6 a.m. and write songs. Then, in the evening, I read books and watch movies or TV series.

Anne: The news about the new MONO album has spread like wildfire, and fans are incredibly excited to finally put the vinyl on the turntable and hear the songs live soon. That must feel wonderful. I'm sure you're looking forward to sharing this music with the world and going on tour with it soon.

Taka: I'm really looking forward to it.

Anne: You finished the album some time ago. Currently, you're probably busy with promotion and preparing for concerts and are recharging your batteries with your families before you get going again. Or are you already writing new songs?

"I'm working on new songs for our 'Heaven' EP series"

Taka: Last month, after the Latin American tour, we went to Chicago and recorded a soundtrack with Steve Albini for a movie that'll be released sometime next year.

I'm now writing songs for our new "Heaven" EP series, which gets released every Christmas. The "Heaven" series only contains three songs, but I'm writing them like short stories, like how I usually write the full albums as full-length novels. I'm having a lot of fun doing it creatively.

Anne: I know it's been a while since you formed MONO, but I'd love to know how it was back then. I'm trying to imagine the atmosphere in the Tokyo scene where you met. For example, we share some great icons like Sonic Youth and Mogwai. Were they also the main reason why you started making music back then, or was it clear much earlier that you would eventually play together in a great band like MONO?

Like before, Japan's mainstream music is J-Pop and J-Rock. It's still difficult today, but back in 1999, it was even more so because there were a very limited number of places that would have a band like us without vocals and lyrics.

There are so many really great guitar bands in the world, like My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth and Mogwai, so I've been wondering what we should do for a very long time. I just came to the conclusion that no matter what the circumstances are, I will only play the music that I want to play. It's not that I wasn't worried, but I was determined because you only live once.

Anne: Talking about the music scene in Tokyo. How does it feel like today, and how has it changed since the 1990s?

"We're planning our first shows in Japan in five years"

Taka: I think K-pop (Korean Pop) is becoming mainstream now. But at the same time, the number of underground bands is gradually increasing. It seems like each band is transmitting their music on their own through social media.

We're planning to run our first Japan shows in five years this November. We're really looking forward to it!

Anne: If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be and why?

Taka: May people all over the world live in peace.

Anne: Thanks again for this interview and for answering my questions! I wish you all the best for the release of "Oath" and the upcoming tour! I'll see you on the road!

Taka: Thank you for the lovely interview.

A few days after my interview with Taka, the sad news of Steve Albini's death came out. During the recording session at Electrical Audio Chicago for the film score Taka mentioned in this interview, they also created the video for the first and eponymous new song on the new MONO album with him. The band shared it, sending their farewell to the musical icon who has accompanied and shaped so many bands over the years.

MONO - "Oath"