Interview: German-Japanese Duo SOSOSO tokyo_berlin

During our last visit to DoKomi, we interviewed the German-Japanese duo SOSOSO tokyo_berlin before their performance at the horror activity “Akuma no Mori.” Constantly traveling around European conventions and events, the musical project is known for blending pop, rock, and futuristic punk, along with their “outside-the-box” shows.

In this interview, we talked with German producer DRFRT and Japanese vocalist Miyu about the band’s origins, their unique performance approach at conventions, and their inspirations.

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Portions of this interview have been lightly edited for clarity.

Q: My first question is about your name, as it was hard to find information on the Internet. What does the name “SOSOSO” stand for?

DRFTR: If you hear Japanese people talk with each other, you will notice they constantly say “so, so, so.” It’s a way to express acknowledgement or agreement. It works in many different languages too, like English or German.

We had a photo shoot with a friend of Miyu in Tokyo. I was listening to them talking and I heard them constantly saying “so, so, so.” It’s a pretty cool name actually. We use the “tokyo_berlin” as a second name because otherwise it wouldn’t be easy to find on the Internet.

It’s not so easy to find something about us because one year ago we decided on what to invest time in: prioritize social media or do the fun thing and perform a lot of shows. We thought the latter was the best option and since then we have performed in different countries.

Q: You have been to many conventions too. Did you decide to prioritize conventions then?

Miyu: Tomorrow we will fly to Sicily!

DRFTR: Yeah, we visit a lot of conventions but also 18+ events sometimes, just like today [they were about to perform at “Akuma no Mori,” a Saturday night event in DoKomi].

Q: Are you both based in Berlin?

Miyu: Yeah, we are. I’m from Tokyo but now I live there.

Q: How did you meet each other?

Miyu: He was looking for a Japanese singer. Before SOSOSO, he was involved in a project collaborating with Asian artists. But my background is actually modeling. When we met, I told him ‘I can’t sing, why did you contact me?’ Yet I tried it and a karaoke and he liked my voice.

Q: I would have never guessed that after watching your performance at Iberanime Santarém.

Miyu: Thank you!

DRFTR: She’s pretty good.

Miyu: I like to sing, but I never tried to work as a singer before. I still work as a model too,

Q: You put a lot of effort into the performance and the aesthetics of your shows.

DRFTR: I was in love with an 80s song I found on the Internet. I thought it was pretty cool. I have made music for many genres and languages. But I was particularly amazed by this song and how the use of Japanese music had a special rhythm. We produced a video inspired by this song before we were officially SOSOSO.

We even did the video shooting on May 1st. On that day in Berlin, people held a demonstration, closer to a riot. I asked a film director for help and we walked around the demonstration. We even recorded a scene in which a police car came towards us, and it even pushed my leg a bit. There were thousands of people.

Everything was real. At some point the camera and film director were pushed down by the police and then the riots started. We stopped the recording but we were stuck there for one hour. It was dangerous but interesting.

This was the first time we collaborated on a higher, energetic level. Since then, we kept the project going.

Q: Before SOSOSO, you worked on a cross-cultural project, right?

DRFTR: Yeah, with many countries. I recently sold a song to a Chinese label. I’m a producer, so I’m spending more time producing music than playing with the guitar. For SOSOSO, I put together what I find interesting at the moment in a song. If Miyu approves, then we do it. Sometimes she comes up with ideas too.

Now that we are in a convention, the music we perform is not supposed to be listened to while sitting down. Each song changes after one minute. This enables us to play in various places. We have performed in metal festivals, dark wave events, and with punk rock bands in Tokyo.

Q: People at conventions really enjoy your performance approach, even if they didn’t know about you beforehand. It’s like a “party.”

DRFTR: Yeah, it’s full of energy. It’s a pack of entertainment; not only to listen to the songs. Talking about our concerts, Berlin is a special city, Tokyo is a special city. They are very different but they share some similarities too. In both cities there’s a certain “edgyness,” in the dark sense. We have many tracks about dark themes.

Q: That’s interesting. What do you value the most from the conventions?

DRFTR: It’s a form of self-expression. People are tired of the real-world problems, so it’s a nice and playful way to express yourself. I saw that in a demonstration in another country they used the One Piece flag.

Q: In Peru we used it for a demonstration recently!

DRFTR: It’s a pretty smart way to demonstrate. It’s a playful way to say to the governments, “we don’t like what you are doing.” This is why it is spread worldwide.

Q: How hard is it to reach out to your audiences on the Internet?

DRFTR: We opted to interact in live performances. These days, you need to boost your content and know how the algorithm works. But we focus on practicing every day even if we are tired, like a dojo. This enables us to move around, like our upcoming flight to Sicily.

Q: Have you been to Spain? We have a lot of conventions there, too.

Miyu: Not yet but I would love to!

DRFTR: We just play and new opportunities appear. It’s a natural process.

Q: I discovered you at a Iberanime Santarém, so that probably happened with other fans. Would you say it’s hard to handle concerts in different countries? From my experience, each European country is like a separate world.

DRFTR: We are like a circus; we can change our faces. Style, hair color, or even the show itself. We select the tracks on what we think can work better for each audience. It’s the mixture you also will find at conventions.

Q: From where do you get inspiration for your songs?

DRFTR: For me, it could be from any idea.

Miyu: I’m always reviewing Japanese news on X, Instagram, Tik Tok, and take note of some trends and write down some song with them.

DRFTR: Then I work on the production of the finished track on my computer. We’re basically just the two of us working on the songs.

Miyu: I work on the part of Japanese lyrics.

DRFTR: Yeah, I focus on the sound, syllables, and such.

Q: Interesting. When I interviewed MADKID, who also performs in Japanese and English, they told me about the differences in the sonority of each language. Is it hard for you to handle both languages?

DRFTR: She’s very talented with languages.

Miyu: I speak German, which sounds like “logical” or “mathematical” to me. If he speaks Japanese with the English-sound, it feels like a gaijin. But if he speaks in the German way, he sounds like Japanese. I was also studying French. I forgot almost everything since I haven’t been speaking it, but I can understand what people tell me in French.

Q: What are your plans for the future?

DRFTR: As I mentioned, it’s a natural development in which we try different things. I’m working on a better live set up for our concerts. I would love to have a full band but organizing all of that may not be a good idea.

We’re focused on moving forward and taking each new opportunity.

DRFTR: More than planning, we are thinking of the next step.

Q: Finally, could you give a final message to your fans?

Miyu: Thank you very much for your support!

DRFTR: Keep the positivity, especially in these times full of crisis. If we don’t let this negativity in, it won’t manifest in the world. Keep dreaming, keep going, and enjoy your life!

Bonus

Q: What is your favorite anime?

Miyu: Chainsaw Man and Tokyo Ghoul.

DRFTR: Chainsaw Man too. But I haven’t watched the recent movie yet. The other one I really enjoy is Takopi’s Original Sin. It’s dark but also an intelligent story.

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We want to extend our thanks to SOSOSO tokyo_berlin for their time before their night show at DoKomi. We are sure we’ll meet them again at future European conventions, and enjoy their interactive shows again!