MIHO HATORI IS BEST KNOWN AS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF NEW YORK'S NOW DEFUNCT CIBO MATTO, AN ALTERNATIVE POP BAND THAT FUSED JAZZ, FUNK, HIP-HOP AND ROCK, ACTIVE THROUGHOUT THE 90S. NO STRANGER TO COLLABORATIONS, MIHO HAS WORKED WITH ONE OF NYC'S LEADING AVANT-GARDE MASTERS , JOHN ZOM, AND WITH THE BEASTIE BOYS ON THEIR GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING ALBUM 'HELLO NASTY'. MIHO RECENTLY COMPLETED HER FIRST EUROPEAN SOLO TOUR INTERTWINING NOT ONE BUT THREE SOLO PROJECTS, NEW OPTIMISM, MISS INFORMATION, AND SALON MONDIALITÉ.



MK
I'M INTERESTED IN YOUR MUSICAL BACKGROUND. GROWING UP IN JAPAN, IT'S QUITE COMMON TO STUDY PIANO OR SOME INSTRUMENT AS A CHILD ISN'T IT?

MH
I DID ACTUALLY, MY AUNT IS A PIANO TEACHER. I WASN'T SUCH A GOOD STUDENT FOR THE PIANO THOUGH I ALWAYS LOVED MUSIC. AT SCHOOL, I WAS IN A MARCHING BAND, SOMETIMES PLAYING 'YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA' SONGS. THEN I GOT INVOLVED WITH OPERETTA, A KIND OF TEENAGE OPERA. THIS WAS AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE FOR ME TO LEARN ABOUT SINGING BUT IT'S A DIFFERENT FORM, BUT THAT WSA THE FIRST TIME I GOT GOOSE BUMPS WHEN I HEARD ALL THESE HARMONIES AND FELT THE POWER OF MUSIC. I GUESS THAT WAS THE TIME I REALISED I REALLY LIKED MUSIC.

MK
HOW OLD WERE YOU THEN, 12?

MH
YEAH, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I WAS SO INTO FOREIGN MUSIC, ESPECIALLY AMERICAN AND BRITISH. THERE WAS A MIDNIGHT TV SHOW CALLED 'THE POPPER'S MTV', HOSTED BY PETER BARAKAN, WHO IS ENGLISH AND LIVES IN TOKYO. HE INTRODUCED MUSIC VIDEOS WITH A VERY SOPHISTICATED TASTE SO THAT WAS THE PLACE I FIRST SAW ARTISTS SUCH AS KATE BUSH, PETER GABRIEL, LAURIE ANDERSON AND SLIGHTLY MORE ALTERNATIVE MUSIC FROM AROUND THE WORLD. HIS TASTE WAS VERY INTERESTING, BECAUSE I THINK HE LIKED, LET'S SAY WORLD MUSIC. ANYWAY, HIS CURATION WAS REALLY GOOD, SO I LEARNT ABOUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF ALTERNATIVE MUSIC AS WELL AS POP MUSIC. THEN I STARTED GOING TO SHINJUKU TO BUY RECORDS SO HE OPENED MY EYES.

MK
WAS THAT WHERE ALL YOUR POCKET MONEY WAS GOING WHEN YOU WERE A TEENAGER?

MH
EVERYTHING WENT TO RECORDS, THAT WAS THE TIME THAT I DISCOVERED FOR EXAMPLE, SONIC YOUTH. I THINK THE FIRST ALBUM I GOT BY THEM WAS 'DAYDREAM NATION'. THAT WAS A VERY SPECIAL RECORD AND AT THE SAME TIME, I HAD A LOT OF SKATER FRIENDS WHO LIKED RAP MUSIC AS WELL. SO, I STARTED LISTENING TO HIP-HOP AND I HAD SOME FRIENDS IN TOKYO WHO LIVED IN AN AMERICAN MILITARY BASE, WHO TURNED ME ONTO WEST COAST RAP. IT WAS AN AMAZING TIME FOR ME, EVERYDAY WAS ABOUT DISCOVERING NEW MUSIC. I WAS VERY LUCKY ACTUALLY, I WAS A FRIEND OF MR. KURO, HE HAD A SKATEBOARD / RECORD STORE AND HE WAS DJ TOO, SO YOU KNOW I COULD HEAR EVERYTHING AT THE STORE, HE WAS LIKE EVERYBODY'S BIG BROTHER. I WENT THERE BASICALLY EVERYDAY AFTER SCHOOL SO THAT WAS MY 'SECOND' SCHOOL TO LEARN ABOUT CULTURE. I REALLY HAVE A LOT OF APPRECIATION FOR HIM. THEN I STARTED WORKING AT AN ALL VINYL RECORD STORE CALLED 'FLASH DISC RANCH' IN SHIMOKITAZAWA, TOKYO (STILL OPEN TODAY). THEY HAD AN AMAZING SELECTION OF VINYL SO AT THAT TIME ALL THE DJS IN TOKYO CAME THERE. I COULD LEARN WHAT WAS GOOD MUSIC FROM THOSE DJS, THEY WOULD ASK IF THEY CAN LISTEN TO THIS AND THAT, YES OF COURSE, LET'S CHECK IT OUT, WOW THIS IS COOL SO I WOULD BUY THEM TOO. THIS WAS MY TEENAGE LIFE.




READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN PpR ISSUE 4

 




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