Ahead of their four year anniversary, J-pop group PSYCHIC FEVER celebrated the end of the beginning with an exciting new chapter.
For their latest album DIFFERENT, all seven members–KOKORO, WEESA, TSURUGI, RYOGA, REN, JIMMY and RYUSHIN–showcased their versatility in more ways than one. Actively taking part in the songwriting process, the group has continued to expand on their musical journey through 10 new tracks. From afrobeats with “Cinderella Pt. 2” to pop ballads like “Dream Flight,” there’s something for every listener anywhere.
Coming fresh off release weekend, Sweety High sat down with PSYCHIC FEVER to chat about their artistry behind the scenes. Read our exclusive interview with them below.
Sweety High: What was your favorite music video to shoot?
JIMMY: This time we dropped two music videos, but my favorite is “I Got Ways” because I grew up with early 2000s R&B and hip-hop. The music video was heavily inspired from this era so I really like that, especially the scene where we’re dancing in the rain. For me, it was a really traditional way to shoot R&B music.
TSURUGI: My favorite is “If You’re Mine.” This music video is really PCF vibes, you know? The PSYCHIC FEVER sound is, for example, “Just Like Dat,” “What’s Happenin’” and “Paradise.” “If You’re Mine” follows a jig beat, which is very famous in Japan. So, I love this song. This is music, this is dance.
(Photo credit: LDH Japan)
SH: How did you choose “I Got Ways” and “Pink Lemonade” to be the pre-release singles for this album?
JIMMY: Actually, we considered a lot about which songs should be pre-released or released as well. We brought a lot of demos to Warner UK and did a lot of meetings, especially Weesa and I. We decided the lead song would be “If You’re Mine”, and then we released “I Got Ways” first.
WEESA: I think “Pink Lemonade” is kind of catchy for Japanese people, so that’s why we released it first. Of course, it’s for all around the world but it’s especially for Japanese people. Then we released “I Got Ways” with a music video, because we wanted you to feel new vibes from us.
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SH: When you’re all in the studio, what does a typical songwriting session look like?
JIMMY: It’s so chill, actually. We’ve been working on this album since last year, so we still had a lot of spare time to make each demo. Then we tried a lot of words which fit PSYCHIC FEVER, because it was our first opportunity to write a song for us. Weesa and I basically write a lot of songs for a duo, but it was our first time to write a song for the team so we tried different things in the studio. I think we did great.
SH: Out of all the lines you wrote for this album, what’s your favorite lyric?
JIMMY: I co-wrote “Cinderella Pt. 2.” with other writers, but my favorite part is “Cinderella, It’s your time to shine.” The original story of Cinderella is kind of like, she came from zero, right? But I would make a totally new version of Cinderella on this song like, you have value, you got something. So I already know it, but no one else does. I wanted to make a more romantic story with this song, so these lines mean a lot to me.
WEESA: For me, it’s “No idea where I’m going tomorrow” from “Uh Oh” because we want to do a world tour. It’s my dream, like I always want to tour. So I want to be like, “I don’t know where I’m going tomorrow anytime.” That’s why I love that lyric.
SH: Which song felt the most natural to create, and which challenged you the most creatively?
WEESA: Maybe “If You’re Mine.” You can feel the most PSYCHIC FEVER sound from this song, so that’s why it was natural. When we listened to the demo it was like, “Oh, this part is this guy, this part is this guy” easily.
JIMMY: The most difficult song, I think, was “Into You” with the afrobeats.
SH: How did you approach the styling process for this era?
JIMMY: We had a discussion with our stylist and then we tried a new stylist as well. I really wanted to keep the same image of the previous song or PSYCHIC FEVER’s style. So, we actually mixed it with a new taste and the PSYCHIC FEVER taste. It takes time as well, actually, like the same as the music.
SH: What has it felt like to see fans’ reactions to this new album?
RYOGA: Very good. [Gives an enthusiastic thumbs up.]
JIMMY: We’re still in Japan, but there’s a lot of people who listen from all over the world. I’m so thrilled to see the reaction. Actually, I saw a reaction video from overseas. There’s actually a lot compared to before, especially after we released “If You’re Mine.” We’re so happy to see that and the reaction. Everyone gave us a lot of compliments as well.
SH: From your last EP PSYCHIC FILE III, what’s a lesson you learned from that era that you brought into making DIFFERENT?
KOKORO: The PSYCHIC FILE series was a challenging EP and had an experimental essence. So through creating it, we found a new side of ourselves with new songs and skills that grew into making DIFFERENT this time.
SH: What’s been your favorite memory from your time touring this past year?
RYUSHIN: My birthday is on Dec. 1. After I debuted, I celebrated my birthday outside Japan in places like Thailand and the United States. Celebrating my birthday together with our fans made me very happy.
SH: What songs off of DIFFERENT are you most excited to perform live in the future?
JIMMY: For me, I can say it’s “Uh Oh.” Because we didn’t shoot a music video or other content for it, everyone only knows about the song. But actually, we made choreography by ourselves. I really can’t wait to perform it in front of an audience.
RYOGA: I’m going to choose “Into You.” I choreographed the song and it’s been receiving a good reaction from fans, so I’d like to see what that’s like when we actually perform it.
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SH: What’s your process for creating live performances?
JIMMY: Actually, we create the setlist by ourselves. We can compose music as well, especially me and RYOGA. So even sound effects or a dance track, we can make everything. We plan it by ourselves every time before the show, so that’s why we can try a lot of things and then fix it if we need to. After the show, we have a conversation and then we’re going to fix it little by little to make it even better.
SH: You guys are good at everything, period!
PSYCHIC FEVER: [Entire group laughs.]
SH: How do you see yourselves continuing your journey as global artists this year?
KOKORO: It’s been a dream come true to be an international group. Today is actually PSYCHIC FEVER’s fourth debut anniversary, so I’m really thankful to all the people who support us. I truly appreciated all our fans, so I try to give back to them by providing good music and a good performance.
SH: Lastly, is there anything else you want the fans to know that we didn’t ask about?
JIMMY: After we released DIFFERENT, we don’t have any plans to perform overseas for now. But we’re planning to perform there, or do a fun meeting or other opportunities as well. We’ve been looking forward to it and if we decide to, we’re going to inform you on our official site or social media. So please stay tuned, thank you!
Looking for more group interviews? Click HERE to read OMEGA X talk about their newest EP.
