PSYCHIC FEVER Find Strength in Their Differences on New Album ‘DIFFERENT’: Interview
Categoria: Musica
Billboard Japan had the opportunity to interview the septet in London on the occasion of the release of their second album.
Por Billboard | 18/09/2026
Ever since their debut four years ago, PSYCHIC FEVER has been active both inside Japan and overseas. Through their musical experiences, they’ve come to realize that their strength lies in the individuality of the group’s seven members. Billboard JAPAN had the opportunity to interview them in London on the occasion of the release of their second album, DIFFERENT , an album which overflows with individuality. We chatted with them at length about everything from the making of the album to how their experience with touring has led them to see music as borderless, and the value that they place on “difference,” as expressed in their own words. To start out with, let’s talk about your new album. DIFFERENT, your second album, dropped on July 10. In the four years since you debuted, you’ve built up a lot of experience in Japan and overseas. How do you think your interpretation of “different” has changed over this time? RYOGA: With DIFFERENT , we wanted the album to reflect what we’ve been feeling over the past four years, and the ways we’ve changed and evolved. We’ve been fortunate to be able play not only in Japan but in many other cities, in 15 countries around the world. Over the course of those shows, we’ve realized that all seven of us look different, think differently, and express ourselves in different ways. Each of us has our own way of performing and our own strengths. I think that’s unusual for a modern boy band, and that variety is a good thing. It’s one of PSYCHIC FEVER’s strengths. That’s why we were able to make DIFFERENT . JIMMY: Just a month after we debuted, we went to Thailand for six months of hardcore training, and then people started sharing “Just Like Dat feat. JP THE WAVY.” Around then is when we realized, thanks to our fans, that from the perspectives of overseas audiences, each of us was really unique and distinctive. Up until then, as a group we had this feeling that we needed to have unified objectives and a unified concept. Our overseas experience showed us that all seven of us have our own individual qualities, so we wanted to put that into our album. We also wanted to share a message with our listeners, that it’s okay to be different, that everyone is unique in their own way, and it’s important to cherish the value of each and every person. The album covers a wide range of genres, but it never loses that core “PSYCHIC FEVER feel.” Was there anything you focused on when making the album to make sure it came out like that? Were there any particular standards? JIMMY: We began working on the new album at the start of our fourth year together, after we’d tried out all kinds of different genres, so we focused on music that resonated with our own roots. Hip-hop and R&B is what got us into dancing, and we’d always admired African-American music. I’m part Nigerian, so my roots are also intertwined with Afrobeat. We chose genres that related to us—that we had close ties to. This time, we actually went through the things we’ve tried