Formed originally and accidentally by Corinne Adams and McGregor on a hitchhiking trip from Tokyo to Hiroshima, and later becoming a trio when joined by friend and flautist Yuko Takeo, the career of The Sparrows has been as chirpy and carefree as the melody of their music. Demonstrating a broad ability with instruments, including guitars, piano, violin, cello and glockenspiel, this three-piece band is not short on talent. Previously based in Tokyo, they are now swarming the UK and were most recently heard at April’s Golden Hour.
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As a band, you claim your origins in Japan. How did you all meet there?
Well, the three of us went to the same university in Japan, which is the easy answer to this question. The more detailed answer is that Corinne ran a creative writing group through the university, which is how we all met in the first place. Becoming a band was a slightly more complicated process. Corinne and McGregor (sometimes called Yuriko) began playing music together on the violin, cello, and piano- some classical pieces, but this then shifted into projects of transcribing and arranging songs such as Nick Drake’s “Road” and “The Crane Takes Flight” by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. Corinne already played full time in the traditional Irish band “Mutiny”, and the two of us were asked to accompany one of the musicians from that band in a Christmas gig in Hiroshima. In the process of hitchhiking all the way from Tokyo to Hiroshima in the middle of winter, a band (and a close friendship) was formed. Later, Yuko began playing flute and adding some vocals and it was decided that we needed her musical talent and her level-headedness permanently.
What made you move your act to the UK? Are you settling here?
This is a difficult question on many levels. The truth is, we all migrated to the UK at the same time by “coincidence” (read “serendipity”). Corinne graduated from university in Japan, and McGregor and Yuko moved to London to do a year abroad. We never wanted to break up the band to begin with, so we decided to make a major effort to continue it in the UK, despite the major obstacle of the distance between London and Edinburgh. None of us are completely sure if we will be staying, Yuriko and Yuko in particular have close ties to the UK as they both grew up partially in England. However, we definitely have plans to keep the band together, despite the drawback of changing geography.
You all boast an impressive range of instruments between you, from guitars, piano string instruments and a ukulele to a ‘deathmetal kazoo’. Was music always an important influence in each of your lives, growing up?
Corinne: Music has always been my first and main love in life. I started playing the violin when I was 9, and I had to absolutely beg my parents to let me learn. They wanted me to study piano, because we had one already and they were certain I would play the violin for a month and then get sick of it. But I hounded them so, and they finally made a compromise that if I studied the piano for a year and showed that I could commit to music, they would help me get a violin. I grew up with classical music and rock from the 60′s and 70′s; both of my parents were really into listening to a range of music and are musical themselves. The two things I am always wanting to do, every second of the day, are make music and write poetry, and both arts are irretrievably linked in my mind. I also studied traditional Irish fiddle, Indian singing, and various other random instruments/styles of music.
McGregor: It’s more just therapy now, but music was a synonym for many things in retrospect – obligation, alternative language, selling point, socialising skill, stress relief, birdcage… it all gets a bit lengthy in explanation. But yep, music’s been important, almost like roots and stones in Ta Prohm – without music, there’d hardly be a life left to talk about.
Yuko: Although I’ve always played the flute and have loved music, for me it has only become a significant part of living life only recently. Thanks to music though I think I’ve managed to meet and have some sort of connection with people I never thought I would have. It sounds cliché, but I’m impressed in its ability to bring people together. I also have a lot to thank my fellows for in terms of discovering new music.
Your style of music is quite unusual, where you refer to yourselves as playing a “Folk/Eclectic mish-mash”. What type of music do you listen to yourselves? What artists do you think have influenced your style?
Well, I think we’ve all had really different influences, which makes it even more exciting to make music together. Corinne is particularly fond of expressive classical music like Saint-Saens or Dvorak, and is heavily influenced by eclectic and lyrical singer-songwriters; particularly Bill Callahan, Joanna Newsom, and Diane Cluck. She also listens to, and would argue is influenced by, a really bizarre range of stuff, such as New Jersey punk musician Ted Leo, the Japanese musician Shiina Ringo, her upbringing of rock music from the 60′s and 70′s, CocoRosie, Nina Simone, Modest Mouse, Andrew Bird, traditional Irish music, and old musicals.
McGregor says her disorganised iTunes tells her that genre-wise, she listens most to Alternative&Punk, Electronica/Dance, Alternative, Rock in that order with ‘Other’ reigning top. Everyone seems to want to re-educate her in my musical taste though, so she really can’t say. Her current playlist has Dillinger Escape Plan followed by The National. If the music she scribbles ever decides to go public, she’ll be ready for claims from artists like Ludovico Einaudi, Patrick Wolf and Lily Allen. Oh, and Beethoven might be turning in his grave too.
According to Yuko, as a band, she doesn’t think she has contributed much creatively (she lies!) but she loves music with beautiful lyrics or beats/melodies that make you move. She listens to a mixture of folk-influenced music like Joanna Newsom, Belle & Sebastian, Andrew Bird and a mixture of alternative/indie music like Modest Mouse, the Shins, Beirut and four tet. She loves some Chopin and Latin Music (she will always admire Buena Vista Social Club) as well, so she’s not sure where she stands musically. We all think the fact that she is a lovely Flamenco dancer has some effect on Yuko’s musicality as well.
Basically the band meets musically under artists such as the Be Good Tanyas, Nick Drake, Joanna Newsom, Modest Mouse, Andrew Bird, and we all bring in this bizarre mash of influences, which makes creating music an absolute blast!
And, finally, where can we listen to more of your wonderful music after April’s Golden Hour?
Well, we don’t yet have an answer to this! We would like to do some more serious recording this summer, but that will depend on time and funds. There will probably be another gig in Edinburgh at some point in the next few months, since this last one was so incredibly fun, but the best I can do now is say that we’ll post any news of gigs on our facebook as soon as we’re aware of them! We’re hoping to get a little tour together for a few weeks in July, but everything depends on us being able to get ourselves organized.
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Updates on The Sparrows and samples of their music can be followed via their Facebook page!
Check out this awesome video of them playing ‘Osaka Cat Blues’ at the Golden Hour: Osaka Cat Blues