Interview
The LiFTED 5: Taka Perry refuses to chase trends
He & Leon Fanourakis have just released THE GRIFFIN TAPES
In 2019, Taka Perry saw Leon Fanourakis play a show in Tokyo. From that moment, he knew they would work well together, which they started to do in 2022. In 2024, that musical vision was realized as THE GRIFFIN TAPES, an eight-track album that has been built around production and lyricism made in tandem.
LiFTED caught up with Taka Perry to talk about production, his new album with Leon Fanourakis, and what the future holds.
Taka, do you think multiculturalism is a superpower? If so, why?
Absolutely - the fact that I can speak English and Japanese fluently means that I can exist in both Western and Asian music markets simultaneously. In a musical context, it also means I can bring Western sounds into the Asian music scene and vice versa.
How did you and Leon Fanourakis hook up? What made you know that you wanted to make a full-length feature album together?
I first saw Leon play a show in Tokyo in 2019, and a couple of years later we got into the studio for the first time. We kept doing sessions, and at a certain point we had about 10 songs that felt really good, and then when deciding what we wanted to do with those songs, the natural answer was to put it all into an album and drop it.
In a quote, you said, “Stylistically, Leon and I wanted to make sure this record felt fresh and continually pushed boundaries on what a Hip Hop record can sound like in 2024.” What are some of the things you have done to push the boundaries of Hip Hop in 2024?
I got so bored with hearing artists jumping on similar Trap beats with the same sounds over and over. I wanted to make sure that the production on the record wasn’t chasing trends, and that it would be something that would still feel fresh 10 years later.
There wasn’t really any conscious thought process on making that happen, but because most of the music I listen to isn’t Hip Hop I end up drawing influences from a wide range of other genres. Experimenting with how those influences can then fit into the context of Hip Hop is where I find myself the most creative.
What are you hoping that people get after listening to THE GRIFFIN TAPES?
Hopefully, people can hear that it’s not a record where Leon jumped on a bunch of beats I had lying around, but rather one where the production and lyricism were built together in tandem. We also made a conscious decision to get features from around the world rather than just within Japan, so hopefully listeners can come across some artists that they may not have discovered otherwise.
Now that this is released, what are the plans for the rest of 2024 and 2025?
More songs. I’m in the studio every day, working on all sorts of music with artists from all around the world, not just Hip Hop. I want to keep surprising my listeners with the creative breadth of the music I’m working on.
Check out THE GRIFFIN TAPES by Taka Perry and Leon Fanourakis below.
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