*INTERVIEW*

A couple of months back, in conjunction with his arrival in Australia for a handful of (inexplicably poorly attended) shows, STARSANDHEROES had the opportunity to interview Keigo Oyamada aka Cornelius. One of those acts who really makes our blood flow that little bit faster, we were chuffed to bits finally to get the chance to talk to the man - sadly our previous attempt, back on December 2001 on behalf of a now-defunct TV station/website venture, fell by the wayside when the venture closed down early 2002.

But once again, our efforts were scuppered by various breakdowns in communication, and the original phone interview - with interpreter, since Keigo's English is a little sketchy - transmogrified into an email Q&A. Not nearly as exciting, I'm sure you'll agree, but it had to suffice.

As a further twist in our "we'll never get a successful Cornelius interview, ever" saga, Keigo's replies didn't reach our inbox til after the deadline of the magazine for which I was writing the feature...which is why I'm just gonna publish it here instead.

Are you looking forward to coming to Australia?
Yes! And it's my first time to go there.

Please could you describe the Cornelius live experience for the people who've never seen you before? (nb. this is not a yes or no answer!)
Basically, it's a rock band set-up with 4 members... bass player, drums, keyboards and guitar. We have a visual projection on a screen and various lights. The 3 of these synchronize together as part of the show.

With all your reckless combinations of different genres - country and drum'n'bass, 60s pop and breakbeat, heavy metal and easy listening - do you ever get confused?

Where would you ideally like to find Cornelius albums filed in a record shop?
Anywhere. And that's fine.

Who originally inspired you to make music? and who inspires you now?
I can't really say "who", but many bands/musicians.

Is there anybody you haven't yet worked with, who you'd like to?
There's so many people that I would like to work with that it may take me a few days to answer this question... but, many.

How do you pick a collaborator? Is a deep love of all things Brian Wilson essential?

What’s the most appropriate environment for listening to Cornelius?
Any kind of environment is fine, whether it'd be at home, on headphones walking in the street, big speakers etc...

How do you feel when you're onstage playing the Theremin?
I don't play the Theremin...I have the audience play the Theremin on stage...

Do you think Elvis would approve of your take on "Love Me Tender"?
I don't know...
It's actually the audiences version since the audience plays it...

Can you ever imagine getting bored of music? what would you do instead?
I don't think I'll get bored of music.

If "Point" and "Fantasma" were films, which films would they be?
I don't know but... I would be happy if it was used in Koyanisquasti.

What wakes you up in the morning?
My son.

What happened to Flipper's Guitar? Do you still like them?
The band came to an end over 10 yrs ago. It's not that I like or don't like FG, but I was young.

If you could keep one record, one book and one foodstuff but lose everything else, what would they be?
That's a very difficult question since there's too many that I like.

Is everything pop to you? and is pop everything?

How would you feel if one of your fans got a Trattoria tattoo?
I'll feel bad...

hat do you listen to at home?
Not much...

What’s the best record ever made?

anything else to add?


Wasn't really all that interested in answering much, was he? Ah well. We've left the unanswered questions in there for a little context, just in case anybody's interested. Hmmm. Back to the drawing board, methinks - some of those questions were, ummm, questionable...

And as a final addendum, the video for Cornelius's new single "I Hate Hate" is available here, along with oodles of other crazy soundmesh genius squiggling.