An Interview With the Ontario Band, LOST IN JAPAN On Their Single, ‘Ego’ and More!

London, ON-based Lost In Japan were inspired to write their newest single, “Ego,” while on tour for their first record. “After playing show after show you start to get this sense of disassociation from your on stage persona and off stage. We saw this happen to ourselves and a lot of people we were playing shows with, so it set the footprint for the song.”

Listen to the latest single ‘Ego’ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojd9kRV839Q

Stream on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/334P9cJiIyyVup9ax7uyXy?si=LyJF5pZLTGuVM0icpv89_g 

Learn more about Lost In Japan in the following All Access interview:

Thank you for your time. So given these unusual Covid-19 times, what does a typical day look like for the band? How have you all adjusted to these times?

Well we try to plan something at least once a day so we’re still working on something. But for the most part we’re all really focused on songwriting. We’ve been writing probably harder than ever before due to the pandemic.

What has been the hardest/most challenging part about being quarantined? Is your city starting to open up more now?

Probably cancelling shows and having to replan our single release. The shows pay for the majority of everything we do and when that’s cut off it’s difficult to scramble together enough funds to finish the record. Luckily we have had some amazing donations and online sales to keep us going for now.

What has it been like having to reschedule so many of your spring, summer and most likely fall shows? What shows in 2021 are you already excited for?

It’s been weird. Shows are definitely our favorite thing to do and when that’s not there it’s difficult to keep that motivation. We all were excited for rock the park in London this year. We will absolutely be going in 2021!

Since we are all desperately missing live music, can you recall a favorite show of yours from the past? What do you think ultimately makes for a great show for this band?

The first time we saw The Arkells was an amazing experience to see. Their live show is insane. What makes them so good and really any great band have a good live show is the connection to the crowd. Sure you can be an amazingly talented musician but if you’re not involved with the audience then it just doesn’t work. Well, for us at least. 

Let’s talk about your newest single, “Ego.” What was the inspiration for this track? How does it compare to anything else you have written? 

Ego came to be when we were on tour for our last record. The idea came from a disassociation from our on and off stage persona. Like on stage we try to be as good as we can be and will want to please the whole world. But off stage we’re just four guys who like to jam. Ego is different from everything else we have written but for this next EP we are really trying out new sounds for the band which we are super excited about.

Do you plan on releasing a full album soon?  

Full album is going to come out probably 2021. For now an EP is coming very soon.

How do you think future music is going to be influenced by this incredible and absolutely necessary Black Lives Matter movement that the US and even the world is going through now? Is it inspiring you and your music today?

Well it’s already being influenced with a huge outcry of songs being developed from people who are oppressed. It’s such a strong cause because it’s something that has been overlooked and ignored for too long. It actually has inspired us to write a song which won’t be out for some time. 

If you could get into the studio with any artist today, who would it be? What musicians continue to inspire this group

It would be amazing to work on a session with Anderson Paak. The dude is incredibly talented as a songwriter, musician and performer. It would be pretty crazy to see what we could come up with. Big inspiration for us is The Arkells for their live show and song writing.