LITE have spent nearly two decades perfecting not just a sound, but a process. Since 2006’s Filmets, the band has carefully curated an upwards spiral of dense and melodic masterpieces, and collaborated with a diverse range of artists from mouse on the keys and Redneck Manifesto to Mike Watt of Minutemen and Missingmen. In time, LITE has become one of the most celebrated math rock acts from Japan as new techniques and layers continue to evolve within their sound.
However, when describing the band’s newest video and single, “Double,” guitarist Nobuyuki Takeda offers a sage and minimalistic point of view, describing the song as having “removed the useless to the utmost limit.” And we’re fairly sure he wasn’t referring to a tuner or metronome.
“By removing the useless, I mean that instead of using effects of pedals and such, we stayed close to the real sound of instruments, and it makes ‘Double’ a very physical song. This physical sound expresses the best of our style, born from the history of playing in so many various and sometimes tough environments, and keeps only what’s necessary to express ourselves on stage.”
Okay, so theoretically Takeda could be referring to a tuner or metronome. But we doubt it, judging by the tense, hyper-detailed thrill ride that is LITE’s most recent release, this year’s Multiple. The video features some cool camera trickery, as well as choreography by esteemed dance artist Aoi Yamada.
“When we asked ourselves how to express this physical feeling visually in a music video, we came to think naturally of dance. We chose the spirited young dancer Aoi Yamada, as we believed her contemporary dance, whose world is close to street dance but not limited to hiphop, expresses in the best way LITE’s current identity. The music video focuses on her lively dance, but it also shows the hands of the music players mastering the ‘points’ and how this punctuation combines perfectly with the energy of the dance.”
LITE are currently on tour in the US supporting Multiple with fellow Topshelf masterminds Elephant Gym. Check out the full album here.