As the lead singer, guitarist, and pianist of the renowned Japanese rock band RADWIMPS, Yojiro Noda has been showcasing his eclectic passion for music through an impressive array of tracks, with lyrics that delve deeply into philosophy and offer introspective musings on love, life, and death. Now, the ever-evolving star shifts his focus to a solo venture, treating fans to the mesmerising “WONDER BOY’S AKUMU CLUB”.

This powerful collection features 13 meticulously crafted tracks, each brimming with raw emotion, rich instrumentals, and sharp lyricism. Collaborating with the acclaimed American rapper J.I.D, and introducing the original character AKUMU-KUN—Noda’s artistic embodiment brought to life by the talented manga artist and illustrator Posuka Demizu—the album offers a truly immersive experience.

Listen to the album…

We caught up with Yojiro to discuss his collaboration with fellow artist HOLLY on the project, the creative process behind AKUMU-KUN, and linking up with J.I.D for the track featured in “Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name”.

What prompted you to write more solo songs? When did it start, and why?

As I was making songs for RADWIMPS and picking up a few acting opportunities, the solo project first started when HOLLY, the beatmaker, sent me some beats through Instagram DMs. I didn’t have time to listen to them initially, but when I did, I found a lot of interesting ideas. I asked him to send me the stems for a particular track, and he responded immediately. From there, I started editing and adding sounds, which turned out great, so I added vocals. My main focus was working on RADWIMPS songs, but I began experimenting with HOLLY’s beats after my studio work. It wasn’t my intention to create an album from the start; it was more of an experiment.

When HOLLY DM-ed me, that was the first time I got to know him. I’d never met him in person. He randomly sent me the beats. I didn’t know who he was or anything about him, but the beat was amazing, and we started communicating.

You’ve released solo music before, as illion. Why did you go with your birth name for this album?

After starting the illion project, a big earthquake hit Japan. Partly because of that, illion touched on a few sensitive themes that weren’t necessarily personal to me as Yojiro Noda. It was more of a musical experiment. This time, though the process began with HOLLY’s beats, the lyrics felt more personal, and it felt like I was singing as Yojiro Noda. So, releasing it under illion didn’t feel right. This album has a very different tone compared to the previous two illion albums.

I considered using another artist name for this project, but adding another moniker seemed excessive. So, I decided to use Yojiro Noda, and if I write more songs in the future, I can release them under my own name, whether they’re beat-oriented or not.

This is a very personal album. What mood were you in when you started making this album?

For RADWIMPS, I usually build songs from scratch, but this time, because HOLLY had already sent me the base of the songs, I could focus more on the lyrics, rap, and melody. As I did that, I found myself expressing things I hadn’t with RADWIMPS, things I didn’t think needed to be said. After deciding to release it under my name, even more personal lyrics started coming out.

Tell us about the character, AKUMU-KUN.

While making the album, I sometimes felt invincible, like I was far from human flesh. At first, I didn’t think I needed to appear in public and thought AKUMU-KUN could handle all the promotion. It felt like the singer of the album was a symbolic figure, not me, like my alter ego had become this character.

Pasuka Demizu designed the character for me, and as we exchanged ideas and sketches, it felt more and more like AKUMU-KUN was the one singing. I became convinced this album was performed by AKUMU-KUN. What’s amazing about characters is that they never get old or die. That’s their strength. I’ll grow old and die one day, but this character will live on. I want him to remain an icon.

Was there any sound or technique you tried on this album that you hadn’t done before?

Editing my voice to another level was a new experience for me compared to my work with RADWIMPS. Before, I kept my voice natural, but for this album, it was just another element of the song. I didn’t hesitate to pitch my voice two octaves higher or three octaves lower if it was needed. There were a lot of fun and interesting results, though it’s tricky to perform live. It was a really enjoyable part of the process.

For this album, I also started exploring plug-ins for Pro Tools, and a lot of plug-in ads began popping up on my Instagram. About one in three seemed interesting, so I sent them to my managers and requested they purchase them for me to try in the studio. Most were useless, but 10-20% were great finds. It’s like playing with a toy, but it takes a lot of money to discover the good ones.

One plug-in I liked is called PORTAL. I’m not sure how it works, but it randomly affects sound, whether it’s a guitar or vocals. Sometimes, magic happens when you use it.

Tell us about the collaboration with J.I.D.

A friend of mine, who’s been connecting American and Japanese artists for over ten years, helped facilitate the collaboration. When we got an offer from the game “Like a Dragon,” he asked if there were any rappers I wanted to work with, and I said J.I.D, as I love his rap. He connected us, and it just happened. I created the basic piano and beat and sent it to their team, who edited it and made it more hip-hop. Then they sent it back, and we went back and forth like that.

What’s next? Where are you heading as a musician?

I can’t even picture it. It feels surreal to have done two world tours and stadium concerts outside Japan with massive crowds in places like South America. That was beyond my wildest imagination when I started my career, but it happened. So, I don’t have a specific dream or goal for my 40s. However, one thing I’ve learned in my 20 years in the industry is that if I keep making music with pure energy and from the heart, I’ll eventually stumble upon something beyond my imagination and experience things I never thought possible. So, I’ll keep doing that and see where it leads