VIDEO PREMIERE: Tashaki Miyaki- "Anyone But You"

Tashaki Miyaki is the mysterious haze-pop Los Angeles trio, Paige Stark, Luke Paquin and Alexandra Rae Augusta Denton. The band offers a nice ode to the yesteryear of music when songs were planted then grew inside you. Their tunes are easy to listen to, akin to the feeling of interlocking fingers with a lover on a wind-swept Los Angeles night. The band’s sound is rooted in a love of film which is evident while their sweet breeze of melodies swirl in the ear transporting you to a love story of your very own.
In “Anyone But You” we get a taste of their soundtrack prowess with a cinematic fete directed by the photographer/director Janell Shirtcliff‘s west coast dusk tinted lens. The video takes us on winding California canyons, wind in your hair and a heartbreakingly accurate description of what it’s like to be young, yearning, beautiful and free. We chat with Paige about the bands process, kismet energy and the words she has for Neil Young.
Tashaki Miyaki ‘s The Dream is out now via Metropolis Records.

Who does “Anyone But You” make you think of right now?
The President. But in the literal sense. Anyone but you D.T. Anyone. I’d rather have anyone but you be president. Well maybe almost anyone because Pence seems just as bad. It makes my head spin.

“One of These Days”  by local artist Bedouine. I heard it for the first time last week and it’s wonderful. Her voice is so rich and clear. As far all all time favorites, I love driving around Los Angeles in the Summertime listening to anything by Astrud Gilberto, it feels really right and warm and romantic-like it matches the weather. I adore the song “Big White Cloud” by John Cale which has gorgeous, lush string arrangements and another all time favorite is Neil Young’s record On the Beach. My very favorite thing is listening to beautiful instrumental music when I’m daydreaming…anything from Satie to Miles Davis.

It was a big cosmic “YES”. I feel like I have known Luke for a million lifetimes. He’s the closest person to me and it’s been that way since day one. We first met in 2004 and have pretty much talked every day since. We met on the street in Hollywood. He was a guy I knew from High School and we immediately connected and made plans to make music together. It took on many different forms before this band came together. Tashaki Miyaki was the first time it was just the two of us. In the beginning, we had no bass player. It was just Luke on guitar and I had just learned to play drums, so that felt really magical too. I taught myself drums and no one would ever jam with me so I would practice drums singing to myself that’s how I learned to play and sing. So the genesis of this band was a really special thing because there was so much newness in so many areas.

The chemistry in the video is SO dreamy. Can you tell us some of the behind the scenes from set?

I was only on set at the beginning of the first day. I brought food and coffee and came to say hello and meet everyone. It was actually the first time I’ve been on set for any of my videos. I like to let the director just work. And so far the band has decided not to appear in the videos, so there hasn’t been a need for me to be there. Anyway, originally there was going to be a different storyline there were four girls and it was like a girl gang doing different things in LA-everyone was very unique looking and I was super excited. Then after a day of shooting Janell came back to me and said she wanted to change the story because she loved the chemistry between two of the girls and wanted to shoot an extra day and make the whole video just them and the story of their connection. I like to trust my directors and let them be free, so of course, I said yes. I think the girls had a lot of fun and had a lot of natural chemistry which is clear when you watch the video.

I don’t have much trouble writing sad songs. Happy songs are the ones that seem to elude me. But I guess the hardest thing is to say something new. Or at least something specific that hasn’t been said in just that way before.

I grew up here so it’s a part of my soul. I have traveled a bunch and studied abroad in Europe, but I always felt like a California girl. I think some of the sleepy beats come from the laid back lifestyle we live here and the closeness to the ocean. There’s an element of relaxed that shows up in our music in general I think. Since I live here I am generally writing about people and places and things I experience here. I also feel influenced by the spirit of creativity that’s all around the city. The culture in LA is so rich and varied and there’s so much history. Sometimes I like towalk around at night by myself when I’m thinking of lyrics and absorb and listen. I wrote the song on the album “City” about that.

Perform with the LA Philharmonic, play a show on a bill with Neil Young, open for Nick Cave. And I’ve always wanted to play the Wiltern. My Dad took me to my first ever concert there when I was about 2.  It was John Prine. I remember falling asleep in my Dad’s arms and John Prine’s magical voice. So that has been a forever dream.

We have a show next week on Monday 6/19 at the Echo. And we are playing Oakland Popfest August 19th. I’m currently writing Tashaki record 2 and will start demoing that this Summer. I’ve also been producing a record for a new artist. So staying busy.

Thank you.