In a country and culture where the R&B music genre is still gaining traction, HALLEY band has made groundbreaking strides and gained global attention despite their recent debut. This young and multi-cultural band’s music pieces are a fusion of Asian pop, jazz, funk, gospel, and soul music vibes showcasing their uniquely diverse backgrounds. K-Crush America Magazine sits with HALLEY band members; Taehyung (vocals), Shin Nishiyama (keyboards), Haru Toyama (guitar), Naoto Shimizu (drums), and Kay Takahashi (bass), to have a glimpse of what their musical journey entails.
Given your diverse roots, how did you all meet?
We met at the university music club “the Naleio” (Waseda University). The club was famous amongst the young youths, college students, and musicians in Tokyo for its unique concept: Black Music Circle. All of us knew that and gathered at this place in seek of musical inspiration and friends with same music tastes. I (Taehyun) first met Naoto at a jam session for freshmen hosted by seniors of the club and got to know each other briefly and found out that both of us wanted to form a band. Shin and Haru, who were also at the jam session, joined right after. I (Taehyun) called Kay, who was my friend from the freshman year, right on the spot and asked if he wanted to join; and he answered yes. All this happened 2 years ago and still is vivid to this day.
Why “HALLEY” and how does it complete your band’s identity?
If you flip the name around, it is YELLAH and this was our first candidate. YELLA represents our identity of Asians, and the letter H was to quote biblical musical term “Selah”, which means pause. We wanted to quote the bible, not only because I (Taehyun) and Kay are Christians, but also all of us love and somewhat have connections to Gospel/Christian music.
Moreover, It was very important for us to include our identity as Asians in our name because we love and respect the history of the genre we play as much as we love our home: Asia. we want to recreate the genre into “Asian R&B” and be the musical innovation to represent it. This is the goal of HALLEY and our identity.
Of all genres, why a blend of Western R&B and Asian pop, and how has been the reception so far?
To put it simply, it is because we were born in Asia and all of us grew up listening to Western R&B, including Gospel, Jazz, and Funk. It was not our first intention to blend the two, but we got to this place naturally as we aim our pieces to be heard by everybody in the world.
The reception has been very good in Japan so far. Despite most of the lyrics being written in English, people in Japan love our music. We realized that by how media treated us as well. Rolling Stones Japan, the well-renowned music magazine, selected us as “Future 25”, which is a project to represent Japanese freshest music, after the release of our 1st album. Additionally, Spincoaster, one of the most famous Japanese music media, also featured us in their annual project “SPOTLIGHT 2024”, stating HALLEY is one of the freshest R&B band in Japan.
“Set Free” was among the first back-to-back singles you released in your debut season. What’s the inspiration behind this song?
In the production of Set Free, we let our funky side to take its course. It was to show people that We’re not just some kids who only listens to recent popular neo-soul music. We wanted show our funky side and that’s why it more leaned toward funk/soul.
In the composition phase, PJ Morton and D’Angelo, especially “black messiah (album)” and “Everything’s gonna be alright” were the biggest inspiration to us. We just love these two artists.
Also, we intended the structure to be as simple as possible, hoping that someday, this song would become a session standard in Japanese jam session scenes.
The “Sugary” single, from our 1st EP titled ‘Daze’, was recently claimed to be a hit and anthem on 21 different radio stations across Japan. How did this make you feel as artists and what do you think attributed to the song going viral?
It left us speechless at first. Just by looking at the list of the radio station, I could understand our tunes are being played literally all across Japan.
And it made me more determined as an artist, as Sugary became the somewhat indicator that we have to breakthrough in near future.
The song used to be more energetic before, but we intentionally made it to be more organic and retro, referencing Isley Brothers and Fleur East. This made the song more easy-listening and warm, and I think this is the one of the reasons why this song got so much attention and love.
Your latest and 1st ‘Dusk Till Dawn’ album released last month has become a global sensation. What is the overall message and conception story behind this masterpiece?
First of all, thanks for calling our album a masterpiece!
The core concept of the album “From Dusk Till Dawn” lies in its “ambiguity”. If you look up the sky during this hour of the day, you can’t tell if its dusk or dawn. It’s just orange, pink, or blue, and you don’t know the time unless you look at the watch. We wanted to embody that feeling of complexed “ambiguity” throughout this album.
Just like the sky, the emotions that lyrics try to deliver swings throughout the album. You can feel the flow of time as you listen to the album but will witness that this person who sings is stuck at each moment (song) wondering where to go.
In another meaning, we often worked on songs of this album from dusk till dawn, and it was always this beautiful ambiguous sky that welcomed us when we went outside during breaks. We felt like we are in a wonderland hovering around the city, and that was the very time we dwelled in.
So, the title not only represents the time we went crazy making music, but also shows our naked self as young ambitious musicians teamed up in the middle of Tokyo, enjoying themselves.
Your music is a fusion of not only Western R&B and Asian Pop but also Gospel, funk, Soul, and Jazz themes not to mention the Hong Kong, South Korean, and Japanese roots. What’s your music creation process like and how do you blend all these elements?
We don’t necessarily think in advance to include each element. Rather we keep the creative process as intuitive and improvisational as possible, so that all members’ thoughts blend in naturally.
There are many ways to start, but most of the time we start from one of the members’ little ideas, whether that be chord progressions, drum loops, or just a verbal image. When we composed “Breeze” we started from a guitar loop and I sang to that riff and that made the momentum to the song and ended up finish writing it on the day. We also often change the place of production. For example, we developed the idea of “sugary” from a jam session, but we brought that back to DAW and brushed up into the latest version. The other way around was the case of “Whim” and “Lemonade”.
You recently performed in the USA for SXSW 2024 and toured across Tokyo and Osaka for 1st ever one-man tour. How was it compared to being inside recording studios and what are your takeaways?
It’s always a blessing to perform in front of loving audiences, but what we felt and learned was definitely different this time.
In the US, we realized what we do as a band is surely one of a kind and competitive enough to be on the same stage as big names of the west. It felt like the audience in Texas enjoyed our set and thought of us as pure musicians, and not some interesting or even comedic acts from “Japan, Asia”.
And at our first One-Man-tour, we wanted to show our fans that we are promising artists that are worth being proud of, and that we have become even firmer as artists. We are confident that we would become the one of the most influential Asian R&B/Soul artist in the near future.
How do you perceive music as a tool and what impact do you wish to make or inspire?
I personally think music is a language that can speak to people’s soul. As a vocalist I want to be more able to talk, or to be more persuasive, to people’s heart when I’m singing.
And as a band, I wish to be more versatile so that we can create new value as we grow. We don’t play music for ourselves, but to be heard by as many people as possible.
Are there any particular artists, Japanese or international that have shaped your approach to your chosen music genre?
There are so many that we can’t name them all in here but to name a few, there are PJ Morton, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Musiqsoulchild, Marvin Sapp, Fred Hammond, Kirk Franklin, and J Dilla. Even Korean R&B artists like Crush, Zion. T, DEAN, fisherman, and Sam Kim had huge influence on my musical thinking process.
How do you balance your vision as artists and the expectations of the rapidly changing hip-hop industry?
Music has been an ever-changing media throughout time. We have witnessed J Dilla and D’Angelo bringing sensations of Neo-Soul into the industry. Just like them, as we learn, respect and love the history of music, I hope that not only the hip-hop industry but also other genre to be more inviting toward alternative music.
We, as a band, also wish to be as alternative as ever. It is to keep ourselves fresh, and I believe that is the only way to keep everybody, including myself, motivated.
What does the future hold for HALLEY as a brand?
We will keep on producing music and go on another tour when the time comes. And our short-term closest goal is to play in, either HK, Taiwan or Korea within this year.
Thank you for your time. It was an absolute pleasure getting to delve into your musical journey. We wish you the very best in your endeavors.
—-Makena Mwenda
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