Interview Exclusive

Interview with Chilli Beans.

20/01/2025 2025-01-20 16:00:00 JaME Author: LuCioLe

Interview with Chilli Beans.

Rock band Chilli Beans. speak to JaME about their "ONE PIECE" ending theme "Raise," their second album "Welcome to My Castle" and their next steps.


© Chilli Beans. All rights reserved.
Formed in 2019, Chilli Beans. is a rock band with an indie and garage-inspired sound that has quickly begun to attract attention from fans around the world. After the viral success of their song lemonade, they were chosen to perform an ending theme for the popular anime series "ONE PIECE" in 2023. Riding on this momentum, their music is now being distributed internationally by Germany's Black Screen Records.

Towards the end of 2024, JaME had the opportunity to speak with Chilli Beans. about their latest mini-album blue night, their second full-length album Welcome to My Castle, and the different elements that have made their music a hit both at home and overseas.

Can you tell us about the origins of Chilli Beans.? How did the three of you come together to form the band?

Lily: All three of us went to the same music school together, we formed the band through our teacher there, who put forward the idea.

What was the inspiration behind the name "Chilli Beans."? Does it hold any special meaning for the band?

Lily: "Chilli" comes from "RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS," and "Beans" is because we’re still like little beans that will grow.

Your music blends indie rock with garage influences and catchy melodies. How did you develop this unique sound, and what are your main musical influences?

Lily: All of the members can do music arrangements, so there are many ways we produce music. At the demo stage, there are times where we take a piece of something a band member made and expand it together and or other times where one person produces a song from start to almost finish. Personally, my main influence comes from the indie rock scene. For example I like The 1975 a lot.

Maika: For me, I get a lot of influence through pop music. Additionally I also like funk, and Dua Lipa and Bruno Mars and funkpop are big influences to me. Not to mention dance and club music.

Moto: I personally like dark pop. I like to mix melody and sound so it creates almost an eerie vibe.

As a band, how do you balance individual input from each member while maintaining a cohesive sound?

Lily: We try to understand the world of the person (within the members) who brought the demo and we try to add our own element to it. I love songs that Moto and Maika love so there’s a lot that I learn from that as well. This is the part of creating songs that might be the most interesting. Each member trying to understand the elements and the world of the other has become a natural process to us.

Maika: I think that what makes us so interesting, so Chilli Beans., is the fact that the band is a melting pot of all the thoughts of the three of us. We develop worlds and sounds that can’t be created from one person alone, that’s what makes it truly exciting.

Moto : The demos each one of us bring get progressively cooler and cooler over time. More open-hearted, showing more strength and sensibility. When we have something I couldn’t have written on my own I get really excited!

Your single lemonade became a viral hit on Spotify in Japan. What was your reaction to its success, and did it change anything for the band?

Lily: It was the very first song we released as a band so we would have never thought it would go viral like that, we were surprised to say the least. We came to realise that we can make songs that have the potential to reach a lot of people, and that made us very happy.

Maika: Many people came to know us through that song, which I find very moving.

Moto: It is a truly happy thing!


Your second album, Welcome to My Castle, features the track Raise which was used as the ending theme for "ONE PIECE." How did this opportunity come about, and what was the experience like for you?

Lily: Moto was and still is a huge "ONE PIECE" fan, listening to every ending song so far, so this song was heavily influenced by that. For applying to the newest ending song, we chose Raise, a song that was built upon a demo Moto had made when she was 20 years old, a song we finished a while back. The reason for this choice was that the whole arrangement and atmosphere was already pirate-y because the song was full of Moto’s energy from that time.

Just before putting this song in the anime, we made last-minute changes. We replaced a word in our lyrics that references Moto’s favorite "ONE PIECE" scene and the song was finally completed. This whole experience was full of surprises. Raise is a song that could only be written lyric-wise and energy-wise at the time around the formation of the band, and through combining it with the animation it sends a new, much stronger message that had even saved us, too.


What are some of the key themes you explore in Welcome to My Castle? How do these themes resonate with your personal experiences?

Lily: The theme for the album came through a conversation we had with each other one day. We wanted to make a concept album, in which we would portray our place of belonging like a castle.

We build up the songs so it feels like opening doors in a castle, which takes the listener through different worlds, exploring the many facets of ourselves. Each world with distinct influences in music and ways of showing emotions, though at times they might be weird, seeks a place of belonging, a home in the same castle which represents us three residents really well, I think.

Maika: When you listen to the album from start to finish, you can explore many of our different sides and emotions.

Moto: We hold many facets, at times we’re sunken in our sad melancholy, other times we feel anger or deep calmness on a sleepless night. Each of us get really close to these emotions and put them all into this castle together with our hopes and wishes as a form of self-expression! It’s an album that, through having a good look inside, which might require a little bit of fantasy, one can explore some hidden elements in it.

You recently performed at Nippon Budokan, a milestone for many artists. How did it feel to play at such an iconic venue, and what does this achievement mean to you?

Lily: To me, Nippon Budokan is a place where I got to see big figures like John Mayer and Paul McCartney, being heavily moved by them. The fact that I got to stand at that place, but as a performer, has been the biggest achievement. Seeing so many smiling faces that just came to hear our words and music, we were so thankful that we continued this and didn’t give up. The concept of the performance was based on the worldview and atmosphere of our second album, where we ended up having more and more ideas for our future and went home empowered.

Maika: It’s been almost a year now, but I still remember the feelings and scenery so clearly. That day left a strong mark on me and showed me that this path I took was indeed the right one for me. A happy and exciting day. I thank all the people who were there to support us in making this happen, including all the people that listen to our music, thank you!

Moto: Retrospectively, I think that a lot of people, each with different day to day lives, gathering together and enjoying the moment is such a blessing. I felt as if the time halted for a moment and calmly carried us away. The performance, as well us our guests, and we ourselves, understood that it was a moment to let go and just enjoy ourselves. Such a fun time!

Both of your albums are now being released internationally. What are your expectations for this global release, and how do you think international audiences will respond to your music?

Lily: As western music has been a big influence to all of us members, we’re stoked to be able to release globally. It would be so nice to visit all the places we admired and, even though the language is different, thinking that we can somehow converse through sounds makes me excited and content.

Maika: Just like we love music from overseas, crossing the ocean, crossing language barriers, if there are people who do that to love and appreciate our music, I feel truly blessed.

Moto: It might be an interesting sound or a funny wordplay, maybe a melancholic scene or maybe just learning that people like this also exist, or being able to relate to us, all of this fills my heart.

Your songwriting often feels very personal. Can you walk us through your creative process? How do you usually start a song?

Lily: I like to imagine the world I want to flee in and make music from that. My wish is to make music to free that me that experiences failures. It often starts with my impulse to make some sounds with the guitar.

Maika: Songs that make me forget my overthinking thoughts while singing are my favourites, and I feel like I end up writing many of these kind of songs. Musical phrases that come to me oftentimes come to me through rhythmic pattern of drum and bass.

Moto: I often start with the guitar, synthesizer, a particular melody or drums to produce a new song. Does it sound good? Is it fun? These are the question I pose to myself while making sounds and words into music.

Your music often reflects a vibrant energy, especially in your live performances. How do you channel that energy into your studio recordings?

Lily: We have a lot of fun during live performances. Because all of the members are there, it makes me release my playful energy and I feel the urge to start dancing! In recording, especially for the guitar, we try a lot of different sounds, even layering it. I want to make sure that every layer sounds lively and full to get closer to the world that I would like to create. After that, I’m able to say, "That’s something I can listen to many times!"

Maika: I, too, love the times we play live! I feel like through these times we grew gradually stronger as a band.

Moto: I think you naturally imagine a girl and sometimes different figures in our songs. Even though I present them, in the world of this song still lives a different resident. I take this approach, to represent the world of this character in the music.

What challenges have you faced as a relatively new band in the Japanese music scene, and how have you overcome them?

Lily: For bands, there oftentimes is an impression that things like genre and fashion are fixed, which doesn’t match well with our at times weirdly deep and other times soft, gentle and caring sides. These extremes, they get totally messy sometimes. They don’t seem uniform, but they still come from the same people. Our continued wish is that this funny way of existing as a band could be appealing and inspiring to others.

What can fans expect next from Chilli Beans.? Any upcoming projects, tours or new music?

Lily: We are currently preparing for a live performance for our new mini-album called blue night, releasing on December 4th. Watch out for our tour next year! Also, we’re so ready to work on a new album again, and looking forward to what shape and form Chilli Beans. is going to take on next!

Finally, do you have a message for our readers ?

Lily: Thank you for reading until the end. I hope one day we can directly deliver our music to you. See you then!

Maika: Thank you for your interest in getting to know us. We going to have a blast at the concert one day! Excited to meet you guys there!

Moto: Thank you for your continuous support! It fills my heart to imagine you guys listening to our songs and living the same feelings or feeling a bit better through them! I’m also excited to meet you one day!

JaME would like to thank Chilli Beans. and their team for this interview opportunity.


Chilli Beans. have also recorded a short video message, which you can check out below.

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