Conducting an interview with Envy is a rare privilege, and doing so at this year’s Motocultor Festival was nothing short of an honor. Sitting down with guitarist Nobukata Kawai and vocalist Tetsuya Fukagawa, we had the chance to explore the emotions, philosophy, and artistic vision that fuel one of Japan’s most unique bands. Since only Nobukata speaks English, he kindly translated both our questions and Tetsuya’s answers, making this exchange as intimate as it was profound.
How are you today?
Nobukata Kawai (guitar): We’re doing fine. We just arrived around noon today. Yesterday, we played at ArcTanGent in England.
We had friends there who told us they cried during your set.
Nobukata: That’s a good thing!
They also saw you wandering around the site. Did anything strike you at that festival?
Nobukata: ArcTanGent was very special. It was the first time Envy had played there. One of our supporting members, Tsuji (guitar), had always wanted to attend that festival as a fan – but instead he came as a performer. So it was a really nice experience for him, and for us as well. We’ve been going around a lot of festivals this year, but that one stood out. And now we’re really looking forward to playing at Motocultor.
This year you’ve been performing new songs from your latest record. The album is called Eunoia, which can be translated as “a beautiful way of thinking“, so what was the most beautiful thought you had while composing it?
Nobukata (translating Tetsuya, vocals): The title was chosen after all the songs were finished. We had several options. We looked at all the titles, then at all the options, and Eunoia felt the most important, the one that best expressed the overall feeling of the record. It came very naturally.
With your music, there’s always this sense of striving for perfection – the right sound, the right words, the right emotion. But beauty can also be found in imperfection. What place does imperfection hold in Envy’s music?
Nobukata (translating Tetsuya, then adding his own view): Do you think Envy is perfect? (laughs) For us, it never feels complete. Envy plays music that might sound “perfect” from the outside, but within it there’s always a beauty that comes from being unfinished, from imperfection. Each member probably has a different way of thinking about this, but personally, for example, Tetsuya writes lyrics about the growth of his children. Children aren’t perfect, but there’s beauty in watching them grow. Envy itself is not complete – and that’s why we keep going. We’re seeking the beauty of imperfection. The band might sound like it has reached a finished form, but it’s still in progress. That process is where the beauty lies. That’s what keeps us moving forward.
During your sets, there are moments of calm that move people to tears, but also moments of storm and violence. How do you feel those transitions on stage?
Nobukata (translating Tetsuya): Tetsuya says he tries to convey his emotions directly when he sings. Since he writes the lyrics, he’s filled with emotion. Sometimes it’s powerful, sometimes melodic and gentle – it depends on the song. As a band, all of us have both sides: we can be very aggressive, but also very melodic. That wide range of emotions allows us to move from one extreme to the other on stage.
Over the years, we’ve also grown a lot as people. We’ve gone through so many experiences in Tokyo and all over the world. Now we’re able to express a much wider variety of emotions and memories. A long time ago, Envy was more aggressive. Now, with Eunoia, there is more beauty and mellowness, but we haven’t abandoned our aggression. Instead, it accumulates, and together it becomes what you hear today. Off stage, though, we’re gentle people. We’re not really aggressive by nature. Unless someone makes us angry! (laughs) On stage and off stage, it’s like on and off – two different modes.
We feel like when you’re a child, you only have four basic emotions – joy, anger, fear, sadness. As you grow up, you learn more words to describe them, and you discover more and more nuances. Music is the same: do you find more shades of emotion as you grow older?
Nobukata (translating Tetsuya, then completing): Yes. Tetsuya believes Japanese is a very beautiful language, which is why he chooses to write in it. For him, the lyrics are part of the expression. He doesn’t think too much about “art” in the abstract sense. The artistic quality comes naturally when words and music come together. Like yesterday at ArcTanGent – many people cried during the show. Most of them didn’t understand Japanese, but they still felt the emotion. That’s because it’s not about the literal meaning of the words, but the emotions carried through them.
We believe that the Japanese language itself has beauty. What Tetsuya writes is always sincere and filled with emotion. That creates a message – not a linguistic message, but an emotional one – that reaches the audience. It makes them feel something inside, even if they don’t understand the words. That’s the power of music.
What’s the next dream for Envy?
Nobukata (translating Tetsuya, then adding): It’s not really a dream anymore – it’s more like a goal. When we were younger, we had so many ambitions. But now, at our age, the most important thing is simply to continue. Tetsuya’s goal is to keep making good music, to tour, and to go as far as possible with Envy. Many people who talk to us always say, “Please continue“. And that’s what we want too. To stay strong and keep going.
There’s also a Japanese way of thinking that comes from the samurai era: when you are young, you think about how to live. But as you grow older, you start thinking about how to die. It’s called bushidō – the way of the warrior. Of course, we’re not saying we want to end the band tomorrow. But we do reflect on that idea: how to reach the end with dignity, how to continue this journey until the right time. So for now, the “dream” is simply to continue. To live in that process, carrying Envy forward as long as we can.
Our media is called RockUrLife. So last question: what rocks your life?
Nobukata (translating, then reflecting): For me, rock n’roll itself is the answer. If you imagine a rock rolling down a hill: at first it’s sharp and edgy. But as it keeps rolling, it becomes smoother, rounder, more beautiful in its form. That’s how I see rock n’roll – as a process, something that shapes you over time.
Envy is in that same state: still rolling, still changing, still smoothing out our edges. What rocks our life is that journey – continuing to play, to live, to grow through music. Every day is part of that rolling process.
Website: envybandofficial.com
