Electric Eel Shock: High Energy, Global Friendship and Rock ’n’ Roll. 

Note: This is a restored interview from earlier version of the site. Made at Muskelrock 2025.

Rokku Sokuho ( RS): You’re known for your high-energy, over-the-top live shows. How do you capture that energy in a studio recording?

Electric Eel Shock (EES):That is one of the most important and most difficult things. At a gig, people can see our faces and all the action on stage. But on an album, they cannot see any of that, so it is hard.

I’m always trying to capture that energy, and I’m still fighting with it. I’m satisfied with our latest album, but I’m not finished. I still want to challenge myself and put more of our energy onto the album. On the next album, we want to show even more energy.

RS: Have you ever thought about making another live album?

EES: We have made one live album. People can really feel our energy on it, and it is a different thing to listen to. I really hope our next album can be a live album.

RS: Gian, your drumming style is iconic. Where did the idea of performing naked come from?

EES: The idea came from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They also used socks as censorship, and that gave me the idea.

In Japan, we also have very long socks that became famous with high-school girls. So I mixed those ideas together. Our socks are even longer than the Red Hot Chili Peppers’.

RS: Have you ever regretted that choice while performing in cold Europe?

EES: Of course! Europe is really cold. Sometimes I have to warm up afterwards. A massage is very important!

RS: What is the wildest thing that has ever happened to you on stage?

EES: In 2004, we played in Hong Kong. After the show, I was arrested because the naked style was a problem there. I spent two days being interviewed at the police station.

We should respect their culture, but at the time we didn’t care about it.

RS: You have spent a lot of time outside Japan. How has touring abroad shaped your view of music, culture or yourself?

EES: We have toured a lot of countries and made a lot of friends all over the world. Our friends have always helped us, and our fan base has helped us too. I hope our music has also helped our fans.

I learned about friendship. We have really great friendships, and friendship is global. We learned that through touring, and that is one of the greatest things we have learned.

RS: Are there any cities or countries where you feel particularly at home?

EES: London is great for us, and Utrecht in Holland is also great. We nearly lived there. We had a base camp there to record two of our previous albums.

So Utrecht is one of our homes, and London is as well. New York City is also important to us because we were based there for a tour in the United States.

RS: You have shared stages with many legendary bands, including Motörhead and The Damned. Which rock heroes inspired you, and did any of them live up to the hype when you met them?

EES: Lemmy from Motörhead. He was exactly the same as his image. He was strong and a really nice guy. We had a great time with him.

Rest in peace. We miss him.

Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden was also a really nice guy. He invited us onto his BBC radio show, and we got the spot three times.

The first time, I talked about my hobby, fishing. When we met him again, he remembered it and asked, “Aki, you do fishing still?” He has a really great memory. Nice guy.

RS: If you could bring one band from music history back and tour with them, who would you choose?

EES: Black Sabbath.

I want to see the show. I want to see the beginning of Black Sabbath, the middle and now — from the late ’60s, through the ’70s and the Ozzy version of Black Sabbath.

They were great. Massive, great.

RS: Your fans helped fund your albums long before crowdfunding became mainstream. What does that relationship with your fans mean to you?

EES: We set up a fan club called Samurai 100. They paid £100, and we got 100 Samurai members.

We used the money to buy equipment for the band, and then we gave them lifetime backstage passes. That was our first fan funding.

It was great, and they still come to see our shows. Last night in Copenhagen, three of the Samurai members showed up.

RS: You have longtime fans as well as younger people discovering the band. What do you hope your fans feel when they hear Electric Eel Shock?

EES: Just enjoy it. I don’t have any advice about how to enjoy our show. Everyone should follow their own way.

I love to see their smile. It makes me happy, and I make them happy.

Happy, happy, happy.

RS: If Electric Eel Shock were a dish on a Japanese izakaya menu, what would it be?

EES: Maybe a gumbo or a mixed plate, because we mix a lot of different types of music.

Maybe there would be eel on it too — smoked eel.

It would be a big plate with a lot of different things: Asian style, Chinese style and Western style, all mixed together. It would be like your smörgåsbord, with lots of different dishes.

That is our dish.

RS: You have been to Sweden many times. How many times have you actually got lost here? ( Lost in Sweden is one of their songs)

EES: I don’t get lost on the road. I was a little nervous just before turning 40 because I was thinking about the future.

So I was lost in my mind.

But I never got lost while driving. I got a ticket today, though!

RS: Thank You. ( Handing over a special made Dalahorse as a gift )