CuBerry

I know I keep saying it, but my Instagram browsing habits continue to bless me with more great artists from all over the world!  This time, it’s Cuberry from Kyoto, Japan! This four-piece initially caught my attention with their uber-catchy, garage inspired tunes and sweet harmonies, but after digging deeper, I became obsessed with their highly creative, narrative-driven music videos and short films.  Given the emphasis on the visual aspects of their work, the band uniquely describes themselves as more than your typical “band,” additionally categorizing themselves as an “art unit” and a “video and music unit.” 

CuBerry is set to release their first album, New Story, on July 1st.  I chatted with the band via e-mail to get the scoop on their videos, their origins, and their plans for 2020!

Hi Cuberry! Please introduce yourself.

We are CuBerry from Kyoto in Japan. Because our activities are varied, we refer to ourselves as an art unit, a video and music unit, and a riot girl band, depending on what we’re currently working on. Kanaco and Yuiko are sisters and Sue is their cousin. Setsuka is our friend. Kanaco plays the guitar and sings. She also writes CuBerry's songs and lyrics. Yuiko plays drums and sings. Sue plays bass and sings. Setsuka is in charge of artwork, especially the videos and lyrics.

How did you meet and start playing together?

Cuberry formed in 2016 when Setsuka and Kanaco met at Kyoto City University of the Arts. Setsuka originally asked Kanako to make music for a film. Then they decided to hit each other and form an art unit. Kanako invited her sister and cousin to form a band. Setsuka and Kanaco continue to make films together. The themes of their films also influence CuBerry's music.

How did you come up with the name Cuberry? What does it mean?

Cuberry is the name of a strawberry fairy. She is our mascot character. She also appears in our films. In addition to it, the word “CuBerry” is a coined word (cube + berry). Our first music video is a story about a little fairy "Cuberry" that comes outside to explore the outside world.

I love the band’s sound! It’s very sweet sounding with nice harmonies. What are you singing about in your songs? What are your lyrics about?

Thank you! Recently, CuBerry's songs have a lot to do with the films that Setsuka makes. For example, the song “Mr. Postman”  is based on her film “The Story of The Postman and The Small Letter.” In addition to it, some songs on our new album are about gender and feminism. Kanako really likes riot grrrl bands like Bikini Kill, the Slits, Sleater-Kinny, and Vivian Girls. We all like these bands, too. Setsuka is making a new film now, the main theme is " Fairy tales and Feminism.” Other lyrics come from personal memories, beautiful nature phenomena, etc. Usually Setsuka thinks of lyrics at first, she passes to Kanaco, then Kanaco adds or deletes or changes some words. But recently, she started to write lyrics herself.

I love the “Mr. Postman” video. What is the story behind the “Mr. Postman” video and how’d you come up with the idea? Was it hard to make?

The story is from Setsuka's film "The Story of The Postman and The Small Letter". This is based on the Czech Story "The Story of The Postman " written by Karel Čapek. Setsuka created the story, where the Postman delivers the small letter to a girl named Matilda. The letter is from the strawberry fairy, Cuberry. This film is made from cutout animation, but in the music video, Setsuka decided to use fuse beads.  When she was a child, she loved to make motifs with fuse beads. Then two years ago when she was 21, her friends invited her to hang out and they playing fuse beads. She felt nostalgic and came up with the idea of making a music video with fuse beads. It was quite hard! She made a few hundreds of motifs, but she enjoyed it!

Do you animate the videos yourselves? Is there a specific member of CuBerry who does this or do you all work on it together?

Most of our videos are made by Setsuka, but her father has also collaborated with her at times. He is an artist, familiar with video. CuBerry's music video “"少年” (in English, "The Little Boy")" is his work be made for CuBerry. Kanaco and Yuiko's father collaborate on music sometimes, too! (For a time he was a support member of CuBerry. Therefore, CuBerry is "family band" haha :))

Cuberry has also released a series of short films, the most recent being “Louiza and the Town of Iberis.” How’d you come up with the stories and what’s it like writing music for your own film?  What’s the process behind creating the video and the music for it?

We are glad you checked our films! Setsuka and Kanaco love Eastern and Central Europe and Russian animation. Kanaco had researched it while studying at university. Therefore, we decided to make the films in this tyle. We chose topics from Czech, made films using the way of cutout animation. Then Setsuka expanded the story centered around the fairy named Cuberry. "Louisa and the town of Iberis" is the next story of "The Story of The Postman and The Small Letter" series. Now she is making a new film, "The Blue Castle.” It is based on two stories. The first one is the Polish Legend "The Warsaw Mermaid.”  The second one is the same as the title from the novel "The Blue Castle" written by Lucy M Montgomery.   The way music is attached to movies is also influenced by Czech animator Jiri Trnka. For many of his films, the music is written by the same composer.  Their style of collaboration is very influential to Kanaco. The basic image of film music Kanaco makes is a piano practice song that a small child practices. That's because Kanaco thinks this music is very familiar to people from all over the world.

Who are some other bands/artists from Kyoto that you’d recommend?

We recommend our friend, Eulalie, who is active in Kyoto. She is a bedroom producer, who creates meditation soundscapes and whispery vocals washed over in hypnagogia and dreams. Her music is amazing. She was touring in the US and England, but her most recent tour was canceled due to the coronavirus. 

Check out Eulalie’s song and video for “Sleep & I’ll Be Decent.”

New Story

What are your plans for 2020? Will you be releasing any new music?

Our first album, New Story, will be released on July 1st. Two songs have already been released, but the rest will be available starting in July. In addition, we haven't decided anything yet, but we want to release a new EP this year, and also finish working on a new film. We think the new EP will be related to the new film.

We hope people from all over the world listen to our music! And we dream to perform in other countries someday!

You can order CuBerry’s new album, New Story, via their website. If you’re ordering from the U.S., make sure to turn on Google translate. You can also like CuBerry on Facebook, follow them on Instagram, and subscribe to Setsuka’s Youtube Channel. Their music is also available to stream on Spotify.