Introducing Fishing in Japan.

The indie rock band has been making waves in the Dallas scene since their formation in early 2018. Formed by singer Wolfgang Hunter and lead guitarist Landon Headstream, the duo has since bloomed into a quartet, adding drummer Matthew Luna and bassist Dante Zatto. Fishing in Japan has made a name for themselves through consistently optimistic songwriting, thought provoking lyrics, and satisfying basslines. When all put together, it makes for some really great, jangly guitar-pop.

While it might be easy to coast on such a breezy sound, Fishing in Japan loves to add subtle complexities in their records. Take “Tiger’s Eye Caught on My Wrist”, a standout single released at the end of 2020, for example. Clocking in at just over 6 minutes, the track starts with an austere reverse guitar loop that is subsequently layered with programmed drums, old kilter piano lines, vocals, synths, and more to glorious effect. The Busker team had the pleasure of picking the brain of lead singer Wolfgang Hunter.

Q: How did you guys start making music together?

Landon and I went to high school together; he started showing his songs to me sophomore year. We shared some classes so there was a lot of time to just mess around and try out stupid things. I brought my computer to his place one weekend and we recorded some demos on the spot. We asked Matt to record some drums the week after and started releasing under Fishing in Japan. Dante joined when we started playing live shows. Landon and Dante had been in bands together before this, but Matt and I came into this having no experience with performing our own music.

Q: Who are your musical inspirations?

I think we’d all have some different answers, but there are definitely artists that we all love. Some recent repeats have been NNAMDÏ, Cornelius, Fiona Apple, Jeff Buckley, Maxshh, Katie Dey, and Elysia Crampton.

Q: What is the perfect setting to listen to Fishing in Japan? 

Not sure. It’s probably more about who you listen with, no? Wherever you go, we follow. <3

Q: Can you speak on the writing process for “Tiger’s Eye Caught in My Wrist”?

I wrote one of the choruses as a poem after my mom died. She was a bad alcoholic and she got real crazy towards the end of her life. There’s a mountain of regrets I hold over me too and it sucks. I recall my last conversation with her and imagine one that I’d have with her today; I don’t really know what I’d tell her, though. Sometimes you just write and write and write some more until you’re not thinking about what you’re doing, and then somehow it’s done. You bury yourself in the work and don’t pay enough attention to the process. The rest of the song, the progression and structure, was the result of loads of experimenting. It’s definitely a little weirder, and I wanted to try putting more of what I’ve been learning regarding arrangement to a field test of sorts.

Q: How has living in Dallas affected your sound? 

The scene is so amazing, loving, and supportive of growing artists. I love it here and there are so many people making amazing music; Ego Jones, Amari Amore, Kyoto Lo-Fi, Naked in Public, Calculated Chaos, Cure for Paranoia, John Aqua, EMGOR, Xyzsa Love, and Sceau to name a small handful. There are some really great things happening here.

Q: What are your goals for 2022? 

We have an album coming out soon, that’s the main thing. It’s gonna be something different from what some people may expect us to release. But who cares? I think that it’s got some of the craziest and most beautiful songs we’ve ever written, and I want it out there in the world so bad. It’s been one of the biggest projects of our lives, and we’ve poured so much love and care into these songs. So that’s out soon and it’s gonna be great. We’ll be playing more live shows and putting out a number of videos with our good friend Julian Jordan as well. Overall a very transformative year ahead, and we're incredibly excited for what's to come.