In SOUND CHECK, we check in with some of our favorite musicians.
OutKast might have been the most-hyped reunion of late, but for OC fam, Japanese-born, NYC-based duo Cibo Matto is a close second.
Pre-Y2K, Cibo Matto was known for multi-national, poly-pop songs mostly about food (Cibo Matto does mean “weird food” in Italian, after all). Their debut album, Viva! La Woman, featured noise-pop-rock gems such as “Know Your Chicken,” “Birthday Cake,” and the excellent “Sugar Water.” As addictive as they were, however, the last Cibo Matto album dropped in 1999.
Now, the pop duo is back with their latest album Hotel Valentine and a slew of tour dates. Full of funky rhythms and cross-genre influences (are they rapping over a kazoo and a distressed bassline?), the album follows the funny, inane, and sometimes melancholy life of a haunted hotel’s resident ghost girl.
We met up with Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori at Tacombi in Little Italy to get the scoop on their latest album. Read on to hear about their stoner ghost girl, Cibo Matto goddess, and “second marriage” status. And don't miss their show at MoMA PS1's Warm Up this weekend!
JESSICA CHOU: Cibo Matto’s hiatus was about ten years (you reconvened for a tour in 2011). Was it difficult to come back and work together again?
YUKA HONDA: We always have this joke that this relationship is a marriage, and we got married in high school too early because we got pregnant or something and we had to go, go, go. We started Cibo Matto and it took off very fast, but then eventually we got tired and we needed to take a break and have some space from each other, and that helped us appreciate each other and understand our roles a little better.
MIHO HATORI: There’s definitely something only this combination can do. It’s very precious, and it’s like a second marriage.
How has your mentality changed while working together this time around?
YH: The first time we made songs as we felt.
MH: We just started the band to play shows at clubs, and it took off further than we meant it to, which was a blessing, but we weren’t ready for the entire journey.
YH: It’s not just about writing to record anymore. We are more conscious that we have to be able to talk about an album. There’s a journey that happens after a song is released; it’s like our child. It has its own life, it affects us, and we are not always in control of our music, so we learned that through the years.
Did you have a specific sound in mind for Hotel Valentine?
MH: It’s interesting because we think there is like a goddess of Cibo Matto or something like that, and that’s how we found the sound that we wanted.
YH: It was like a quest, by this goddess of Cibo Matto who would put us through tests, almost like a Nintendo video game. What’s the next enemy? What’s the next accident we are going to have?
MH: Like, move this giant stone to find the last word of the lyrics.
What does this goddess look like?
YH: I imagined someone like the cover of Viva! La Woman.
MH: My image is a little bit closer to Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, like a very strong figure. But she has a sensitive side, too, because sometimes we have melancholia in our s
OutKast might have been the most-hyped reunion of late, but for OC fam, Japanese-born, NYC-based duo Cibo Matto is a close second.
Pre-Y2K, Cibo Matto was known for multi-national, poly-pop songs mostly about food (Cibo Matto does mean “weird food” in Italian, after all). Their debut album, Viva! La Woman, featured noise-pop-rock gems such as “Know Your Chicken,” “Birthday Cake,” and the excellent “Sugar Water.” As addictive as they were, however, the last Cibo Matto album dropped in 1999.
Now, the pop duo is back with their latest album Hotel Valentine and a slew of tour dates. Full of funky rhythms and cross-genre influences (are they rapping over a kazoo and a distressed bassline?), the album follows the funny, inane, and sometimes melancholy life of a haunted hotel’s resident ghost girl.
We met up with Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori at Tacombi in Little Italy to get the scoop on their latest album. Read on to hear about their stoner ghost girl, Cibo Matto goddess, and “second marriage” status. And don't miss their show at MoMA PS1's Warm Up this weekend!
JESSICA CHOU: Cibo Matto’s hiatus was about ten years (you reconvened for a tour in 2011). Was it difficult to come back and work together again?
YUKA HONDA: We always have this joke that this relationship is a marriage, and we got married in high school too early because we got pregnant or something and we had to go, go, go. We started Cibo Matto and it took off very fast, but then eventually we got tired and we needed to take a break and have some space from each other, and that helped us appreciate each other and understand our roles a little better.
MIHO HATORI: There’s definitely something only this combination can do. It’s very precious, and it’s like a second marriage.
How has your mentality changed while working together this time around?
YH: The first time we made songs as we felt.
MH: We just started the band to play shows at clubs, and it took off further than we meant it to, which was a blessing, but we weren’t ready for the entire journey.
YH: It’s not just about writing to record anymore. We are more conscious that we have to be able to talk about an album. There’s a journey that happens after a song is released; it’s like our child. It has its own life, it affects us, and we are not always in control of our music, so we learned that through the years.
Did you have a specific sound in mind for Hotel Valentine?
MH: It’s interesting because we think there is like a goddess of Cibo Matto or something like that, and that’s how we found the sound that we wanted.
YH: It was like a quest, by this goddess of Cibo Matto who would put us through tests, almost like a Nintendo video game. What’s the next enemy? What’s the next accident we are going to have?
MH: Like, move this giant stone to find the last word of the lyrics.
What does this goddess look like?
YH: I imagined someone like the cover of Viva! La Woman.
MH: My image is a little bit closer to Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, like a very strong figure. But she has a sensitive side, too, because sometimes we have melancholia in our s