Cornelius’ Top 10

Japanese musician Cornelius’ latest album, Sensuous, is difficult to describe in all its glitchy, electronic, infectious glory. It needs to be heard to be believed. Or seen.

Cornelius’ live shows are closer to performance art, with synchronized videos, manic lighting, and a backing band in matching outfits—truly a “Sensuous Synchronized Show,” as he promises. His fan base includes the musicians who ask him to remix their work, from Beck to Blur. At his recent New York City show, Theme spotted a run-of-the-mill groupie handing Cornelius homemade cookies in a Tupperware container; then we realized the “groupie” was James McNew of Yo La Tengo! Read on to see which musicians Cornelius would give cookies to.

Theme: Why did you name yourself after a character in Planet of the Apes?
Cornelius: I like the monkey scientist named Cornelius, who is the middleman between the monkeys and the humans. Later on, I found out that the author of the original book, Pierre Boulle, was taken captive by the Japanese army during World War II. He wrote Planet of the Apes based on this experience. I guess Japanese people were like aliens to him.

Are you glad you took that name?
I don’t know. I still go by my real name too, Keigo Oyamada. It’s okay when Westerners simply call me Cornelius, I think most of them don’t know my real name, but it does feel a bit weird when Japanese people out of politeness call me “Cornelius-san.” [Laughs.]

You just returned to Japan after an extensive tour through the U.S. and Europe. Did you enjoy the U.S. audience?
Generally, yes. I think Americans express their feelings more openly than the Japanese do, so I get more of a reaction from them.

We saw you perform in N.Y.C. Your performances are an incredibly sensory experience. Do you collaborate with someone to create your visuals?
I used to make my own videos, but now the video artist Koichiro Tsujikawa does my visuals. He and I have been friends for a long time, even before he started making videos. The music video for “Fit Song” is simply amazing, with everyday objects moving around an empty house and flying through the air. That was also directed by Tsujikawa. The scenes progress according to the meaning of the lyrics. It was partly inspired by an old film called The Way Things Go. [Ed., A movie by Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss, released in 1987.] All the moving things are done in computer graphics and later added to the background, [which] was shot inside a small vacation house—a typical traditional Japanese home, small and cozy. I found out that the vacation house actually belongs to an old classmate of mine from junior high and high school. A complete coincidence!

You use a lot of found sounds in your music. How do you find them?
I just record whatever sounds I find interesting in my daily life. For example, in my office, there is this inkjet printer. The sound it makes somehow sounded musical to me, so I recorded it and used it in my song called “Toner.” It’s a jam session with an inorganic being.

Any hobbies outside of music?
[About 10 seconds of silence.] I guess I don’t really have a hobby. I have a cat at home, but that’s not a hobby. [Laughs.]

Can you give us your top ten?
I’ve been browsing through the tens of thousands of songs I have on iTunes, but I can’t choose. Is it okay if I choose my favorite artists that start with the letter “S”?

01 Steve VaiFlex-Able (1984)
Steve Vai is a guitarist and vocalist; he recorded albums with David Lee Roth. Flex-Able is unlike anything I have ever heard; it stimulates my brain in a way it has never been stimulated.

02 Steve Tibbetts Steve Tibbetts (1976)
This is an instrumental album that’s hard to describe. It seems to float me away from reality. It’s a dreamlike world, quite difficult to grasp.

03 Steve Reich Music for 18 Musicians (1976)
This is minimal music, a layering of simple and small pieces. I listen to it while on the bus on tour, because it goes with the monotonous scenery streaming by the window.

04 Stevie WonderMusic of My Mind (1972)
All my songs are on iTunes now, so it’s easy to come up with my own playlists; but Stevie comes from way back, when things were totally analog, so I still listen to his album from beginning to end, just how records used to be.

05 Scritti Politti Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985)
This album is groundbreaking because it was recorded using Fairlight CMI, the first digital sampling synthesizer—very rare back then. The sound was unlike anything that existed before. I used to listen to it a lot when I was in high school, so it brings back a lot of memories.

06 The Stooges Fun House (1970)
When I listen to this album, I can feel what rock is all about. It’s like, “This is rock.”

07 Sonic Youth Sister (1987)
I’ve loved this group since I was 17 or 18. They have always been and will always be good. There have been countless bands that I liked for some time, but after a while I got over them. Sonic Youth may be the longest group I’ve stuck with.

08 Ryuichi Sakamoto B-2 Unit (1980)
I met him when I was playing at a Sketch Show performance. This is my favorite album of his.

09 Silver Apples Silver Apples (1968)
This is a duo of a drummer and a guy who plays a primitive synthesizer. There was no other band like them, composed of just drums and synthesizer, so their sound was very unique and cutting-edge.

10 Sly & the Family Stone Fresh (1973)
I like the song “In Time.” I just love how Sly is so cool, yet hot and real funky.