Em and Hamish from Nakatomi tells Jen about their new Single ‘The Knife’ and Tour.

Nakatomi, an 80’s inspired electro-pop duo have released a new single called ‘The Knife’ as well as an some shows that will off the planet. They are the Rocket Bar (Ade) on October 30, Mynt Lounge (Melb) on November 20, The Toff (Melb) on November 22 and Oxford Art Gallery Bar (Syd) on November 26.

Their music video for The Knife has a Sci-fi 80’s vibe that you can watch here

I got the chance to interview both Emily Smart (Vocals) and Hamish Cox on Synths yesterday about their new Song and tour.

Hi Guys, I Love that you named yourselves after the Nakatomi Plaza from the Die Hard Movies, it is unique name with an 80’s history behind it.

Haha glad you love it. We do too. Everytime someone says the name Nakatomi we get reminded of Die Hard and we constantly want to be reminded of Die Hard, so it’s a beautiful thing.

You guys seemed a tad obsessed with the 80’s? Would that be a correct assumption?

Haha obsessed is a strong word, a casual flirt is probably more fitting, or a late night booty call after a few drinks. It’s not like we walk around the house dressed in leg warmers and hyper colour t-shirts, but we do have a soft spot for the 80’s.

Being a teenager in the 80’s I remember what it was like growing up , (yeah I am old…..haha) and I really like your song Knife and your music video. Was it an enjoyable experience making the video?

Em: Ahh thanks heaps. Yeah we absolutely loved it. We got to work with an awesome cast and crew, an amazing director and we got to op shop for trashy 80’s clothes and run around town annoying people. Not only that but we got to create an 80’s trailer about a dystopian future. Can definitely tick that off our bucket list now.

Sometimes bands have amusing stories whilst making a music video do you have one that you can share with us?

Hamish: Haha there were a few but the most memorable for me was when I had to do a prop run to pick up some guns for the shoot. When I got into town to drop them off to our director I stopped in to get a cheeseburger, unfortunately the guns were covered in a well worn plastic bag and as I lined up I realised the bag had broken and there was a huge double barrel shotgun sticking out. It was then I remembered the store was right next to the police station so I panicked and turned around to cover it up, pretty much swinging the barrel of this fake gun into the guy behind me. Weirdly the guy just smiled. I could only assume this guy has seen a lot in his life and this was just a usual thursday for him. I like to think that the smile meant that the guy had my back if shit went south. It was a stupid mistake on my part, as my mum always used to say “If you have a bag of guns in a worn plastic bag, don’t stop to eat a burger next to a police station”. I always thought that was oddly specific, but she was right!

You worked with a local film director and gave him the task to create a music video Blade Runner, one of my favourite movies as I love Science Fiction and of course Harrison Ford! What’s not to love about him as a girl growing up in the 80’s! His idea of doing a movie trailer was brilliant. Were you happy with the outcome of the video and did you have to do a lot of takes or did it go very smoothly?

Em: It went so smoothly. Our director Aaron Schuppan was just so professional and assembled an incredible cast who knew what they were doing. There were hardly any takes for each shot because he’d prepared everything meticulously and if anything changed, he worked on the fly so well. 

Hamish: We filmed the whole clip in 2 days and we were incredibly impressed. If talent was a Ghostbuster, he’d be Bill Murray.

Haha! Have you had fans say they want to see a longer version of the video, as I do!

Hamish: Haha yeah we have had a few people say that and we would personally love to see the extended version. 

Em: Aaron wrote a huge plot synopsis with car chases, gun battles and an intro shot of a hover car flying over an industrial future a la Blade Runner which we’d be soo pumped to see, as I’m sure you would be too, being a fan of Blade Runner. 

Hamish: We’re thinking of just getting a kickstarter campaign going and getting this movie made, because if that’s what he can do in a week with a payment of 3 buttons and some lint, then imagine what he could do with some time and sweet sweet cash.

So about the song itself, can you tell us if it was written from personal experience and explain the meaning behind the song?

Em: It wasn’t any one specific experience, but many experiences, and it is definitely personal. I am very connected with my lyrics emotionally when I write, and also physically when I perform them. I was reading this book around the time, and there was a quote that particularly hit a chord with me, which was ‘when emotional knives hit the heart… we can learn what is illusion and what is real.’ I started to think about the numerous times in my life where things had felt like a knife in the heart, and how they had shaped me as a person, and then how much we are in control of how we view or experience these moments. So the song touches on all those ideas, incorporating my own personal experiences, and then offering a sense of hope.

Hamish: I was really confused about it at first, because I thought Em was singing “How sweet is the WALL” when she first did the vocals on the track. I started to think she just had a thing for masonry, but then she told me it was “How sweet is the fall” and it started to make much more sense. I still like to think she’s singing about a wall though when we’re on stage. Maybe a wall somewhere in the venue she saw when she came in that she’s just fallen in love with.

You have announced an East Coast tour starting this Friday night, then more shows in November, what other sounds can we expect from those shows?

Hamish: We actually run a pretty diverse mix of sounds. We switch from full 80’s to house to dance and then we also throw a dark nu-wave cover in there. It’s kind of a mix match of tracks that we have worked on in our first year and although there are some different styles they all gel really well. It’s one of the most fun sets we’ve played in our lives so I’m really looking forward to bringing it to the East Coast and dancing like a fool.

You guys are really active on Facebook, and reply to all your fans comments. Is this something that you hope to keep up with? Like Nakatomi here

Hamish: Yeah absolutely. It’s so amazing for someone to take time out of their day to send us a shout out so we will always make sure to send some love back. Also it’s such a cool experience to talk to people from all over the place. Just really beautiful and we feel honoured to even have fans so as long as we have one left we’ll keep chatting and replying to them… unless that one person is my Dad. He might give me a lecture about being a ‘good time guy’. That means slacker and not male prostitute thank god.

Do you guys have merch that you will be selling at the shows and on line?

Em: We will have some free song downloads to give out… and maybe some other stuff.

Hamish: I was really rooting to get some weird merch like Yoyo’s or something. 80’s t-shirts are a great idea. I also wanted some 80’s style baseball jerseys but unfortunately we have nothing in the pipeline just yet because we’ve been too busy. I might just do the Flight of The Conchords style approach and just write ‘Nakatomi’ in really small writing with a felt tip pen on a white shirt.

I would love to help you with that! I can imagine so graffiti Nakotomi tees in WHAM style haha

Thanks heaps for your time and I wish you all the best for your tour. If there is anything else you would like me to promote for you please let me know, I shall add in the links for all your social media in the article.

Thank you so much for the great questions. Love to hear from someone with the same passion for the 80’s if you ever need anything else just give us a yell. Thanks again.