Picture: Dazey Doom
Philly act Kaonashi have been grinding within the heavy underground for a very long time. Initially shaped in 2012, the band shortly gained recognition within the metalcore scene however earlier than lengthy, the trio started incorporating varied components of progressive steel and chaotic, 2000s-style mathcore into their sound. Now, 13 years later, Kaonashi have simply launched their newest album, I Need to Go Residence, which concludes a narrative the band started telling years in the past.
Decibel spoke with Kaonashi vocalist Peter Rono about I Need to Go Residence, rising as a songwriter and the pressures of fan expectations. I Need to Go Residence is out now.
You simply put out a brand new report referred to as I Need to Go Residence. Is that this thematically linked to your different data?
Sure, it completely is. It’s the fourth installment of our story a few ficitonal highschool character that goes to a ficitnoal highschool. That is the fourth and ultimate installment of the Lemon Home saga. The primary one was in 2021, that was the debut LP on Equal Imaginative and prescient. Then it was the 2024 EP referred to as The Three Faces of Magnificence, then one other 2024 EP referred to as A Second Likelihood at Eternally, and that is the fourth and ultimate installment.
Do you are feeling in some methods then that that is the top of an period?
Completely. It appears like the top of an period—it’s the completion of one thing we’ve been engaged on for 9 years. The whole lot we’ve performed since 2016 has been targeted on this story: the merch, the music, the music movies, the tour flyers, promo footage, every part. That is completion.
These ideas and tales are stuff you’ve been engaged on since Kaonashi grew to become a band with a little bit of consideration behind you, proper?
It’s what took us to the subsequent stage. It’s what took us from junior to skilled, newbie to skilled. There’s some nervousness behind it as a result of it’s all I’ve targeted on for therefore lengthy, however there’s additionally pleasure, as a result of I noticed the end line from the beginning and I’m so glad I noticed it by. I’m really on the end line.
You guys have put out numerous music in a short while. What’s the course of of creating these albums and EPs? Do you write when you’re on tour and let these songs evolve on the highway, or do you write once you’re house and buckle all the way down to get issues performed?
It’s type of writing as we go alongside within the studio. We take previous elements, we make them into new elements, nevertheless it’s largely simply dedicating studio time, getting into and writing songs. This report, I Need to Go Residence, is the one time we did pre-produciton. We went up, we wrote, we left and got here again. That was a change on this album; every part earlier than this album, we simply went in and threw issues on the wall and noticed what caught. I grew as a songwriter with this album as a result of it was really laid out [instead of] simply writing issues with no timeline.
The truth that that is the final installment, there are numerous information I had already set in stone that I needed to refer again to. The completion of the story referred to as for extra ready songwriting.
In some methods, watching from the skin, Kaonashi has slowly develop into a extra progressive band over time, the songs have gotten extra difficult musically and thematically. It’s a pure level to come back to the place you are feeling the necessity to improve how severely you’re taking it.
It received extra severe. We’ve simply grown as performers, as writers. I by no means deliberate on being this storyteller. I by no means wished to be an writer, however we’re writing a narrative. There’s characters, there’s occasions, there’s locations and issues. I can’t contradict myself in order that simply naturally got here with it.
Kaonashi is a hodge podge of various genres. You began as a metalcore band, now there’s numerous progressive steel and emo in there. Do you suppose being a band that’s exhausting to pidgeonhole has helped you or held you again at instances?
I believe it’s been useful. To say maintain again could be very pessimistic; I don’t suppose it’s held us again. Anybody that wasn’t going to love it wouldn’t prefer it any extra if we had been easy. They had been going to hate it regardless; it’s separated the actual from the pretend in a means. For those who like us, you’ll settle for us for who we’re and we’re simply eclectic folks, we simply take from numerous locations. I believe it’s helped as a result of it’s attracted the precise viewers to us.
Once I see folks speak in regards to the band in individual or on-line, folks really feel very linked to the music and to the tales. It looks as if it’s touchdown with the viewers it’s on the lookout for.
It took years of refinement. We put it out for the entire world, half of the world stated “no” and two p.c of the world stated “sure.” I really feel like that course of solely comes from milling and touring time and again, discovering these folks.
Would you say that in depth touring and doing reveals with bands like Protest the Hero has affected the best way you method writing or doing issues?
It completely has. Earlier than, it was me simply making an attempt to beg the world: “Please hearken to me. Please look in my path, I make music and I promise it’s adequate for you hearken to,” and now we actually have an viewers.
I can’t lie, I write music for myself. None of it’s contrived, however I’ve that in thoughts, the truth that there’s a child in Scotland who has each report or a child in Fort Wayne, who has a tattoo. This stuff are on my thoughts whereas that wasn’t even the case at first. It’s inevitable I really feel like, to have these issues have an effect on your writing. I simply attempt to maintain it as near the supply as I can.
