Interview with Jean-Ken Johnny from MAN WITH A MISSION in Paris

At the end of August, rock band MAN WITH A MISSION returned to the UK and Europe for a short tour. The day before the sold-out date at Le Trianon in Paris on September 4th, JaME had the chance to catch up with guitarist/vocalist Jean-Ken Johnny and learn about his mindset going into the remaining shows and his feelings as the band approaches its 15th anniversary.

Your music often blends various genres like rock, metal and electronic. How do you approach the creative process to maintain such a unique and dynamic sound?

Jean-Ken Johnny: Um, I guess like we—me and most of the members of the band—we are really big fans of the music that was going on in the 90s, and I believe that era was full of like, experimental, kind of collaboration genres. Like especially rap metal and all the "mixture" kind of music was actually established in that era, and not only that, but like "alternative" rock, and that word is really convenient, you know. It was a different genre from what we were listening to and they kind of mixed up a lot of genres like club music and stuff like that. We were really huge fans of what was happening in that era, like blending a lot of genres together, but having a solid base of rock music, and I guess that's what we're still trying to do, kind of a heritage of that era. But like, time's passing, you know, time goes by, so what we can do with that spirit in this era today, I guess that's why we kind of experiment with a lot of genres and stick it together, yeah.

Over the years, you've gained a strong international following. How do you feel about the global reception of your music, and do you approach songwriting differently knowing your music reaches fans worldwide?

Jean-Ken Johnny: First of all, the reception, the comments that we get from overseas, it's really great. I guess like most of the time I was listening to the music that was going on all over the world, not only Japanese domestic music, but I was, I am still, a huge fan of the rock music that was going on all over the world, so it was always like, it was always a dream for me to write songs that could hit people internationally, like from all over the world. Like watching videos about festivals that were going on everywhere, like England, France and America, it was always so exciting to see all the bands. You know, it didn't matter which country they came from, it was so international, it was truly like crossing the borders. Writing songs and creating music like that was always a dream for me. So I guess nothing really changed with my process, like focusing the world or not, because from the beginning I always wanted to do that, yeah.

Your live performances are known for their high energy and strong visual impact. How do you prepare for a live show?

Jean-Ken Johnny: How do we prepare? I guess that doesn't change that much compared to human beings. We have to stretch our muscles a lot because you know, we can't move like in our 20s. I sometimes hurt myself, so yeah, I stretch a lot. Actually yeah, not to spoil it, but we really do prepare a lot. I mean, I stretch my body, I even like to do some vocal tests, stuff like that, but that's kind of boring information. I guess you're trying to ask like if there's a ritual or something like that, but, yes, I guess like we always focus on—there is a saying in Japanese that you have to live your day like maybe you could die that day. Today is another day, but it's always the nearest, the freshest day of your whole life. So yeah, I really admire that way of thinking. And I hope what we do during the show expresses that feeling.

What role does audience interaction play in your live performances? How do you adapt your stage presence to different audiences and venues, from small clubs to large arenas?

Jean-Ken Johnny: It's definitely like physical changes, you know, when it's small, we're really close to the audience, so there's a lot of reaction and I also like talking to them. It's so easy to connect to the crowd. Like, when you're talking about large stuff and not moving much really, like the small moves don't make anything change. So yeah, we kind of focus on visuals and stuff, but I guess the energy that we're trying to put out doesn't change a bit even if it's small or large, so it's all about what we're focusing on, you know. When you're on stage, it's not about the amount of people, or like the size of the video, it's all about just putting in the energy always, yeah, just putting out what you have.

Can you share some anecdotes from your tours?

Jean-Ken Johnny: Yeah, there's been a lot. I mean, since we're talking about France, I got pickpocketed in France, and actually, I was left behind in Belgium. We were touring in Europe. We were supposed to go to Paris by bus, but I was left in Belgium. I don't know why, but the bus driver just left before. He told me that we were gonna be on the road at 8am and I was there at 6am, 7am, or something like that. I didn't see the bus, so I called the manager and said, "Well, where's the car?" and he was on the bus. He was sleeping, and he didn't understand the situation, he thought I was calling from the bus, you know. He was like “I can't get the situation and I'm gonna call you back,” and I was like, "What the hell happened?" and I called him again and then he said, "Oh right, now I'm in the toilet, so I'm gonna call you back again." Yeah, I've got a lot of stories like that!


You just came to Europe one year ago. What do you have planned for this tour?

Jean-Ken Johnny: It's been a year since we last toured Europe, and I believe that it was pretty fast to come again, like continuously in one year, but what I really wanted to do was, you know, connect to the fans, since it was really fast for us. This time, well, one year is not that fast, but I really wanted the crowd to know that we are willing to come this much, and so far each and every country has reacted so much.

Well, there were a lot of people that came to see us last time and even more than that, so, yeah, so far, it's just really great.

In your last interview with JaME, you spoke about how the pandemic affected the band’s activities, especially in terms of touring and fan interaction. How has your relationship with your fans evolved post-pandemic, and do you see any lasting changes in how you connect with them?

Jean-Ken Johnny: I guess the pandemic really affected not only us, but like worldwide, it really affected the way we listen to music and I think people really appreciated that. Especially like live performances, it's not normal to do that. It's a really great thing to do, and if some pandemic hits, you can't gather because of that plague, and I guess people really are enjoying and appreciating what live music can do now these days. Especially our fans, I realized that after the pandemic. I believe that people are really like—I really focused a lot more than in the old days on going to lives. It's not normal, you know, it's a really great thing that happens like I said, you have to enjoy each and every moment of your life, and I kind of talked about that to the audience like during the MCs and stuff like that, so yeah, I hope.

It was a sad thing that happened, but it really changed our minds and both like live shows and even like the online scene, the streaming apps, the streaming services that everybody started using. That was really something that we should have thought about a long time ago. I mean, people, human beings, they invented the internet and, you know, if you can do more than what we can imagine performing in front of 100 people by streaming and somebody is, if I'm talking about in Japan, somebody in Brazil watches that, maybe like 10 million people can watch that live, that really changed the opportunity of music. That also made live shows important and significant at the same time. So yeah, I believe the fans are already aware about that, and they notice that and like now these days when they come to our shows, they're really enjoying each and every moment, you know.

Are there any particular challenges you faced while producing your last album that you hadn’t encountered before? How did you overcome them?

Jean-Ken Johnny: The challenge was we never really—I never really wait for songs that have a direct message of like a significant subject, you know. It's always blurry, in a way, and kind of like expressing the entirety of something, but that album was definitely singing about them. The era that we are living in right now, the pandemonium of the pandemic, and stuff like that and how they affected us, we never did that before it. It's kind of my policy, I never want to just be singing about a significant subject or something like that, it always has to be—it always has to cross borders. It always has to be timeless. That was my opinion, that was my policy, but that album, we really focused on the era that we're living right now, talking about the pandemonium, and it really opened up my mind because I had to be more—I had to explain things more concretely, you know, really explain the situation. Even if you use different words for the lyrics and stuff like that, it really can kind of change the working process. And I guess even though I had a policy before, we made the album in a different, but powerful way. Compared to the other albums, it was a lot of fun, yes.

You've collaborated with various artists and producers over the years. Are there any dream collaborations you still hope to pursue in the future?

Jean-Ken Johnny: It's always a pleasure to work with people like this, you got Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy, that was really amazing. I'm a huge fan of that band and the creative process that he showed me was really inspiring. So it's always a pleasure and really inspiring to work with a lot of people, but talking about my dream collaborations, I'm really not good at imagining that because all my heroes from mid—for example, from the 90s, I mean, they are probably well, they are definitely difficult people, you know. I hear a lot of stories about them, like from all the interviews that I've read in the magazines and stuff like that, I've heard they are not good to work with, but I love it that way. I mean, that's what an artist should be, so like it would be an honor to work with them, but like sticking to just as a fan or a listener and maybe learning from that, yeah, I'll stick to going that far, you know.


milet, in her interview with us, described her collaboration with you on Kizuna no Kiseki and Koi Kogare as being like working with family, with her feeling like your little sister. How do you perceive your relationship with milet, and how did this close bond influence the creative process?

Jean-Ken Johnny: She is one of my favorite singers in this era. The first time I listened to her, I was probably washing my dishes in my living room and her voice came out from like the opening of a drama and it only took me two seconds to say “Whoa, who is she?” The fabric that she has in her voice, it's amazing. I mean, she is definitely one of the greatest even in our era right now, and I've been talking about that for a long time with the members.

The first contact was probably—I was the first saying that there is an amazing singer right now, and I introduced her music to our bass player and he was like, "Whoa, she's amazing!" and we kind of started a collaboration. Writing a song with her, we did a couple of songs together. She sang on our song and also Kamikaze, the bass player, produced a song for her. So the relationship went really early in the days, but this time Kizuna no Kiseki and Koi Kogare, it was an idea from the producers of the anime. They wanted the theme song to be like a duet of a male artist and a female artist and yeah, it just happened. I mean, it was an honor collaborating with her again, with this really special opportunity. Like I said, I'm just a huge fan of her and yeah, it was just fabulous. The working process was so easy because I really kind of made that song Kizuna no Kiseki imagining her singing to it and I kind of, as a fan, I kind of you know, imagined, like her vocal style, her vibe and that's why I wrote that song, so I mean there were no hardships in writing it.

Both Kizuna no Kiseki and Koi Kogare are tied to "Demon Slayer," a series with a strong emotional and narrative depth. How did you approach composing these tracks to align with the intense and intricate storylines of the anime?

Jean-Ken Johnny: I just read the comic book a lot. I was already aware of how huge this animation was becoming in the whole wide world and I was a reader of the manga itself, but after I got the offer, I finished reading the whole story and kind of interpreted the philosophy or even the message that the story has, and it was, it was really pretty hard for me to find out what our band could naturally sync to in its themes while also making a really persuasive opening theme for the animation. But a lot of lines in that manga were really fabulous and it was full of really deep philosophy, so yeah, I think what I mean, what I tried to focus on was like trying to be a storyteller of the manga itself—the whole story not only the season, but the whole philosophy of what "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" has. It's always a pleasure to do that, like trying to be a storyteller and trying to be one of the characters in the manga and like imagining, pretending to be a writer of the story, you know. That's how I tried to do it.

You will soon be celebrating 15 years as a band. How would you reflect on your journey so far?

Jean-Ken Johnny: It's been great. I've always dreamed about being in a band enjoying traveling all over the world just showing our music and getting a reaction and wanting more, like going for bigger festivals, a bigger audience. I mean, there was never a concrete image of my goal, but it was always about just being on the road. Let's just continue doing that. So far, this 15 years we, if we were able to do that, we are able to look for some more inspirations and new stimulation, so I guess I'm not really good at like answering questions like, "Are there any goals for you?" and stuff like that, but yes, I guess not answering it is the answer. We're still on the road, and that's what matters, and so far, thank you so much.

Celebrating 15 years together is a significant achievement. Are there any special plans or events in the works to mark this occasion? What can fans expect as part of the celebration?

Jean-Ken Johnny: Oh yeah, actually, we're planning it right now. 15 years. It's yeah, 2024 is almost coming to an end, so yeah, we are planning a lot. Actually, we wanted to do something in the 10th year, the 10th celebration, but it was kind of, you know, postponed because of the pandemic, yeah, well, not doing that. But since it's the 15th anniversary, we're planning a lot—probably a lot. Not only for the fans, but for everybody, you know. We're trying to celebrate the 15th year with everyone, not only people in Japan but everybody in the whole wide world. And I hope we can do something like that, yeah, normally, when we do that, we only focus on Japan, you know and it's gonna be like Japanese or something like that, but I hope we can. Dude, for the 15th anniversary, it could be a lot more worldwide. You know, guiding along the reaction of everybody worldwide. Yeah, this time, I wish I could do something with that.

Could we expect a new album soon?

Jean-Ken Johnny: That depends on our work, but to tell you the truth, we are planning to start a little bit of recording this year, so not sure if an album is coming up. I'm definitely sure that there will be new items. Yeah, you should be expecting a lot of new items from this band.

Do you have a last message for our readers?

Jean-Ken Johnny: Thank you so much for your support every time and yes, it's always an honor and a pleasure for the fans to read my interviews and stuff like that. If I'm not answering the questions correctly, please let me know. It's great to be back here in Paris. Thank you so much for your support, it's always a pleasure and an honor to visit all the countries the readers are from. I hope I can see you at the live show. Please come anytime you want. This was MAN WITH A MISSION.

Thank you very much!

After the interview, Jean-Ken Johnny also kindly recorded an English video message for JaME's 20th anniversary. Check it below: