KAZUKO HOHKI IS A LONDON BASED ARTIST, SINGER, MUSICIAN, ANIMATOR, DIRECTOR, PERFORMER, STORYTELLER, THEATRE MAKER...AND FOUNDER OF THE CULT-ALTERNATIVE JAPANESE PERFORMANCE-POP GROUP FRANK CHICKENS. IN 1997 I PHOTOGRAPHED KAZUKO HOHKI IN HER TOTTENHAM HOME FOR PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL FOR HER SHOW TOOTHLESS. 20 YEARS LATER, I RETURN TO NORTH LONDON AND SEE KAZUKO AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THEN TO DISCUSS AN INTERVIEW AND A SHOOT FOR THIS ISSUE. ON THIS OCCASION, PpR HAS COMMISSIONED THE PHOTOGRAPHER ANTON GOTTLOB TO SHOOT KAZUKI IN THE SAME HOUSE.


DB
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE BAND FRANK CHICKENS IN A FEW WORDS?

KH
UNDEFINABLE, LEGEND, COMMUNITY.

DB
HOW DID FRANK CHICKENS COME ABOUT AS AN IDEA?

KH
I HAD A GROUP CALLED JAPANESE AMERICAN TOY THEATRE OF LONDON IN WHICH MY AMERICAN COLLABORATOR ANDREW BRENNER AND I OPERATED TOYS USING VICTORIAN TOY THEATRE WHICH MY CARPENTER FRIEND HAD MADE. WE TOLD STORIES AND SANG SONGS. I WAS USING KARAOKE RECORDS TO ACCOMPANY SOME OF MY SONGS. TWO JAPANESE FRIENDS (KAZUMI AND NORIKO) WANTED TO DO BACKING CHORUS. WE STARTED REHEARSING AND AS IT WAS SUCH FUN WE DECIDED TO MAKE OUR OWN BAND INSTEAD.

DB
SOME OF THE FRANK CHICKENS SONGS REPRESENT AN INTERESTING CRITIQUE ON ENGLISH LIFE I.E. MAD MAN IN MANCHESTER, LIVING IN TOTTENHAM, AND MY HUSBAND IS A SPACEMAN. DESCRIBE IN OVERALL TERMS A TYPICAL FRANK CHICKENS SONG. IS THERE A CONCEPT OR AN IDEA THAT BRINGS ALL YOUR SONGS TOGETHER?

KH
POP WITH A TWIST. FUN WITH SINCERITY.

DB
WHAT DID YOU DO IN JAPAN BEFORE YOU CAME OVER TO LONDON?

KH
I WAS A UNIVERSITY STUDENT WITH A LOT OF SIDE JOBS.

DB
WHEN DID YOU ARRIVE TO LONDON AND WHAT WAS THE INTENTION OF YOUR VISIT? DID YOU INTEND TO STAY THIS LONG?

KH
I WANTED TO VISIT MY ENGLISH FRIENDS WHO I MET IN JAPAN. I ALSO WANTED TO SEE THE ENGLAND THAT I LOVED THROUGH ENGLISH CHILDREN'S BOOKS - THE BORROWERS, MARY POPPINS, WINNIE THE POOH, ETC.

DB
AS A JAPANESE WOMAN ARRIVING IN JAPAN IN THE LATE 1970'S, HOW WERE YOU RECEIVED?

KH
I HAVE NEVER BEEN VERY CONSCIOUS OF BEING A JAPANESE WOMAN SO I AM NOT SURE, BUT IN THE 1980'S, AS THERE WAS STILL SOME TRACE OF YOKO ONO IN THE AIR, SOME PEOPLE EXPECTED ME TO BE NATURALLY ARTISTIC AND WEIRD, WHICH SUITED ME. NOW, AS THERE ARE SO MANY JAPANESE WOMEN HERE IN THE UK, PEOPLE'S EXPECTATIONS MUST BE DIFFERENT.

DB
WHO WERE THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS [OF FRANK CHICKENS] AND WHAT ARE THEY DOING NOW?

KH
KAZUMI TAGUCHI IS STILL IN FRANK CHICKENS. NOW WE ARE 12-18 MEMBERS ON THE STAGE. NORIKO IWATSUBO IS AN ACTRESS.

DB
WHEN YOU RELEASED YOUR FIRST FRANK CHICKENS LP, WHAT REVIEWS DID YOU RECEIVE?

KH
I CANNOT REMEMBER IN EXACT WORDS BUT VERY WELL RECEIVED CRITICALLY, THANKS TO OUR PRODUCER/MUSICIAN DAVID TOOP AND STEVE BERESFORD. SOME SAID "DEVOUR IT".

DB
IN THE MID 1980'S JOHN PEEL HELPED YOU WITH AIRPLAY OF FRANK CHICKENS SONGS. DID YOU EVER MEET JOHN AND WHAT DID HE THINK ABOUT FRANK CHICKENS?

KH
HE INVITED US TO COME TO THE BBC STUDIO A FEW TIMES TO BE ON HIS PROGRAMME. HE ALSO INVITED THE JAPANESE AMERICAN TOY THEATRE OF LONDON TO PERFORM AT HIS PRIVATE PARTY. HE LIKED US, I THINK. HE CHOSE ONE OF OUR SONGS TO BE ONE OF HIS 50 FAVOURITE OR SOMETHING.

DB: HOW EASY WAS IT AT THE START TO RELEASE MUSIC ON YOUR OWN LABEL? DO YOU THINK IT IS EASIER FOR ARTISTS TODAY WITH ONLINE STREAMING PLATFORMS?

KH: OUR MANAGER'S BOYFRIEND SET UP THE LABEL KAZ RECORDS. BECAUSE OF THIS CONNECTION, WE LOST SOME THINGS WHICH WE SHOULD HAVE KEPT. FOR EXAMPLE, THE RIGHTS TO WE ARE NINJA, OUR FIRST SINGLE, SHOULD BE RELEASED AFTER A NUMBER OF YEARS (MAYBE 10 YEARS) BUT WE GAVE IT AWAY FOR LIFE. WE WERE A BIT NAIVE AND TOO OPTIMISTIC AT THE TIME.

ONLINE STREAMING PLATFORMS MUST BE GOOD FOR DIY RELEASES AND BEING INDEPENDENT BUT MUST INVOLVE A LOT OF HARD WORK. I AM NOT SURE I COULD COPE. I HAVE TOO MANY THINGS I WANT TO DO - LIKE COOKING, SLEEPING, AND WATCHING MY SON PLAY FOOTBALL.

DB: ARE FRANK CHICKENS WELL KNOWN IN JAPAN?

KH: WE WENT TO DO A TOUR IN JAPAN IN 1986. AFTER THAT, WE HAD A LOT OF PRESS COVERAGE HERE IN UK. JAPANESE PRESS WENT MAD AND WE HAD A LOT OF PRESS THERE. WE WERE SURPRISED HOW FAVOURABLE THEY WERE AS WE THOUGHT WE WERE A BIT TOO UNCONVENTIONAL AS JAPANESE WOMEN.

DB: TELL ME ABOUT LIVING IN TOTTENHAM. HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS PLACE TO YOU?

KH: TOTTENHAM USED TO BE BLEAK AND POOR BUT AS THERE WERE MANY IMMIGRANTS, A LOT OF DIFFERENT VALUES COULD COEXIST. IT WAS SO REFRESHING AFTER COMING FROM THE COUNTRY OF CONFORMITY. FRANK CHICKENS EMBRACES DIFFERENCE LIKE TOTTENHAM. I HOPE SO.

DB: DO FRANK CHICKENS STILL PERFORM? HOW HAVE THEY DEVELOPED OVER THE PAST 35 YEARS?

KH: WE HAVE JUST PERFORMED AT LATITUDE FESTIVAL'S CABARET TENT. NOW WE ARE 12-18 PEOPLE ON THE STAGE. MOSTLY JAPANESE WOMEN. IT HAS BECOME A COMMUNITY AND A GOOD REASON TO GATHER.

DB: WHAT MUSIC WERE YOU INTO IN THE 1980s AND WHAT DO YOU LISTEN TO TODAY?

KH: DAVID BOWIE WAS ONE OF MY HEROES. NOW I LISTEN TO WHAT MY SON LISTENS TO, EZRA FURMAN, ED SHEERAN, SUPER BEST FRIENDS CLUB. RECENTLY I WENT TO THE CONCERT OF RIE NAKAJIMA, CLIVE BELL AND SYLVIA HALLET. IT WAS REALLY GOOD. WATCH OUT FOR BLUE MIDNIGHT AND MOOD SWING.

DB: I REMEMBER FIRST ENCOUNTERING YOU AND FRANK CHICKENS WHEN YOU APPEARED AS A LISTED LONDONER ON THE ROBERT ELMS SHOW  ON GREATER LONDON RADIO (GLR). WE SPOKE ON THE TELEPHONE STRAIGHT AFTER YOU CAME OFF AIR AND YOU INVITED ME TO YOUR NEXT GIG. I THINK IT WAS AT CAMDEN'S DINGWALLS. I RECALL YOU ASKING ME IF I KNEW WHAT YOUR MUSIC WAS LIKE , AS IF SURPRISED. ARE PEOPLE SURPRISED WHEN THEY COME TO YOUR GIG'S?

KH: THEY OFTEN SAY THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT. I LIKE THAT.

DB: A FRANK CHICKENS GIG, TO ME, WAS RATHER LIBERATING. IT FELT ALMOST LIKE A CLUB OR A COMMUNITY, A GATHERING OF PEOPLE WHO KNOW KIND OF WHAT WAS GOING ON, ALTHOUGH AT THE BEGINNING, I WAS NOT SURE...BUT REALLY LIKED IT. AT THE END OF A GIG YOU WOULD INVITE THE WHOLE AUDIENCE TO GET UP ON STAGE AND DANCE AND SING ALONG. I THINK THE SONG WAS MEGALOMANIACS. IT FELT ALMOST LIKE BELONGING TO A CHURCH. SPIRITUAL, BUT DEVOID OF RELIGION. HOW IMPORTANT WAS AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION AND THE NOTION OF COMMUNITY WITH FRANK CHICKENS?

KH: SOUNDS GREAT. I BELIEVE HAVING A GOOD COMMUNITY IS ONE OF THE KEYS TO A HAPPY LIFE. ENGLISH PEOPLE ARE GOOD AT MAKING THEIR OWN COMMUNITY, INDEPENDENT FROM FAMILY OR LOCAL REGION WHICH JAPANESE COMMUNITY ARE OFTEN BASED ON. IF FRANK CHICKENS WORKS AS SOME TOOL TO MAKE A GOOD COMMUNITY, EVEN IF IT IS EPHEMERAL, I AM VERY HAPPY.

DB: COSTUMES PLAY A MAJOR PART OF A FRANK CHICKENS PERFORMANCE, OFTEN RELATED TO EACH SONG. TELL ME ABOUT THESE COSTUMES. WHO MADE THEM? WHAT IS YOUR INTEREST IN COSTUME DESIGN AND DRESS?

KH: THE COSTUMES ARE A COLLECTION OF MANY THINGS. SOME WERE MADE BY PROPER THEATRE DESIGNERS WHO WE COULD AFFORD WHEN WE HAD SOME FUNDING. SOME WERE MADE BY VOLUNTEER ARTISTS OR ART STUDENTS. SOME WERE BOUGHT AND MODIFIED BY US. AS WE DON'T HAVE A BAND WITH INSTRUMENTS TO LOOK AT, WE THINK THE VISUAL SIDE IS QUITE IMPORTANT. THAT IS WHY WE DANCE AND ALSO CHANGE COSTUMES FOR EACH SONG. IT IS ALSO REALLY GOOD FUN TO WEAR LOTS OF COSTUMES.

DB: WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COSTUME THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF FRANK CHICKENS?

KH: SAYONARA ROCKAFELLER COSTUME WHICH IS A BUSINESS SUIT AND CARDBOARD BOX HAT AS A BUILDING, AND THE MOTHRA COSTUME WITH A PAIR OF SIEVES AS MOTH EYES AND CAPE AS A WING.



SEE THE FULL STORY IN PpR ISSUE 3





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