Interview: AmPm
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AmPm is a masked production duo from Japan specializing in club/house music through their production of remixes. They made a major global impact with their March 2017 debut track “Best Part of Us”. The same year, they were the only Japanese artist to perform at Spotify On Stage, a festival in Indonesia hosted by Spotify. They had from then on dominated stages around the world, from Ultra Miami to shows in Korea and Japan, and even a headline concert in New York. Today AmPm are one of Japan’s most in-demand music production exports, with fans among artists and music lovers alike.
Ken: First of all, thank you so much for letting us do this interview. We are big fans and love what you bring to the Japanese music industry.
AmPm: It is our pleasure.
K: What was the inspiration for the design of the mask and would you guys like to change it in the future?
AP: One of the major reasons we used a mask was because we had seen the play Sleep No More in New York. When we watched it we were inspired to don the mask while we work. At the time of our debut we wore polar bear masks and currently it is a rabbit mask, but in the future we may wear other animal masks. There are already some new mask designs in the works.
K: As your music is dance based, is there another genre you would like to try?
AP: I don't think that musicality would change much but there are many wonderful artists of various genres all over the world, so we would like to continue collaborating with various artists.
In addition to music we also have some hobbies such as games, so we would like to make such things public places where we can share them with everyone.
“In the future we would like to try remixing songs that people all over the world know.”
K: Over the past year you have done several remixes of popular tracks. What would you say is your favorite out of the tracks you have done and which song would you like to remix in the future?
AP: That's a difficult question. The remixes we've worked on so far are all of our favorite songs. The fun of remixing is that it can make a difference from the original, so in the future we would like to try remixing songs that people all over the world know.
K: How does producing music for other artists compare to creating your own music releases? For example, you produced eill’s track “One Last Time”. Do you have a different process with producing your own music versus other artists?
AP: It doesn’t really change. However, in our case, we often work with many creators as well as ourselves. We are constantly changing teams to create the world of music that we want to create.
One of the things that listeners are conscious of when they are listening to the song is, "Can you imagine the world view that the song is portraying?”
K: Do you have a process or certain mindset when creating/mixing your songs? If so, would you like to share that process?
AP: “Groove feeling” is very important, not only for up-tempo songs but also for slow-tempo songs. Also, during the production process it is important to listen to the demo songs outside or in the car to see if you can listen to the music without any discomfort even if the environmental situation changes. Additionally, even if you don't understand the content of the lyrics, it is one of the things that listeners are conscious of when they are listening to the song. It’s kind of a question such as, "Can you imagine the worldview that the song is portraying?”
K: How did the pandemic affect the way you approach the beats and composition for your music?
AP: As for ourselves, we have been inspired by traveling around the world. With that gone, there may have been some things that we hadn't thought of before. However, we were still working on several productions, keeping that in mind that we weren't very conscious of it. In any case, we hope this situation will improve sooner.
K: What song(s) had an impact on you growing up?
AP: Both of us have different music backgrounds. One is heavily influenced by American R&B and house music and the other is heavily influenced by British dance music and pops. While both of us may have different tastes, what we have in common is that we have an aspect of groove. Both of us are constantly checking a good number of new songs released from all over the world, and while feeling the changing of trends, we create songs that we want to listen to now and that have our own unique feeling.
K: What are some challenges you have faced as an artist? How have you overcome them?
AP: There were always small challenges and problems but there have not been many major challenges in our activities so far. There are always differences in thinking but we have never quarreled about them. There are parts that we respect about each other, so even when we are about to move in different directions we naturally return to the same place.
K: Which artist would you say is your biggest inspiration?
AP: We think they're different, but we would strongly say it's Michael Jackson and The Beatles. Both were great artists and always revolutionaries. We think the influence from them was very big for us.
K: For your song “Afterglow” (which released today) how did the collaboration with Kimberly Chen come about and what was the most fun part of working with her?
AP: We extended an offer to collaborate with her. Due to the ongoing pandemic, we couldn't go to Taiwan so we proceeded with online communication. We’re used to making songs online without having to meet in person, but we do meet artists in person at times. We already have a lot of experience with what we do, but we would love to hear directly what she thought. The distance to Taiwan from Japan is very close, so when this situation is over we'd like to go to Taiwan and hear from her directly. It would be great if we could do a live performance together.
K: Are there any more collaborations you already have planned for the future?
AP: Yes, we always have a plan for future collaborations. We are always looking for people to collaborate with. Please let us know if you have any recommended artists!
K: Who is the one artist you would love to work with in the future?
AP: That's a difficult question. There are many artists we admire all over the world but we’d like to think that any artist we can collaborate with can make good songs in a relationship wherein we can respect each other.
K: What songs would you use for an ultimate mix album?
AP: Which song to choose... We've never thought about it but we haven't released an album yet, so I have to think about it someday. Each song has its own memories and is our favorite song so it's very difficult to choose.
K: International fans usually find out about J-pop through anime. Do you guys watch anime? If so, which would you say is your favorite?
AP: We both watch anime and read manga and we also like to play video games. Again, both of us have completely different tastes, but it's very difficult to choose which are our favorites. What we like always changes depending on our mood at the time, and many new works are constantly announced. And many of them are very interesting works, so our favorite franchises are only increasing.
K: Is there a venue that you performed at that you’ll never forget? Also, is there a dream venue you would like to perform at?
AP: The Spotify-sponsored SPOTIFY ON STAGE held in Indonesia in 2017 is an unforgettable venue. This story alone can be told all day long, but we still can't forget that the audience at the venue sang our songs that had just debuted. Personally we have no particular dream venue we would like to perform at in the future, but we always hope that everyone will know our songs and have a lively concert like the one in Indonesia.
2017 SPOTIFY ON STAGE in Indonesia
“We would like to ask several creators for one song to make multiple music videos. We think that the impression of the music differs depending on the creator, so we would like to visualize that difference.”
K: Which of your created songs do you wish had a music video? What type of video would you film?
AP: Currently all of our songs are without music videos. We had never thought about what kind of music video would be good, but we would like to ask several creators for one song to make multiple music videos of. We think that the impression of the music differs depending on the creator, so we would like to visualize that difference.
K: Do you have a message for your international fans?
AP: We are really grateful for everyone who always listens to our songs. Also, if you don't know us from this interview, please listen to our songs! We want not only for people to get to know us, but also to get acquainted with the artists we have collaborated with. The artists who have collaborated so far have released a lot of original songs with a worldview different from AmPm's songs, so we would like you to listen to their songs as well.
K: Once again, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule. We look forward to your upcoming releases!
AP: Thank you for allowing us to do the interview as well; it was a lot of fun!
Be sure to check out AmPm’s official site, Twitter, and Instagram!
