When SPYAIR stepped onto the stage at Pyrkon in Poznań this June, drummer KENTA wasn’t sure what to expect. Eight years had passed since the Nagoya rock band’s last European tour, and Poland was somewhere they had never performed before. But any uncertainty quickly disappeared. Despite the late hour, the venue was packed, and the audience knew the songs well enough to sing along.
For KENTA, it was an unexpected reminder of just how far SPYAIR’s music had travelled. It was also a particularly meaningful welcome for a band that has spent the past few years finding its feet again.
Following vocalist IKE’s departure in 2022, guitarist UZ, bassist MOMIKEN, and KENTA invited fans to follow their search for a successor through a dedicated YouTube channel. More than 1000 people applied before YOSUKE, a singer from Fukuoka, joined in 2023. He stepped into a band with an established international following, much of it introduced to SPYAIR through anime favourites such as ‘Samurai Heart (Some Like It Hot!!)’ and ‘Imagination’.
Three years later, SPYAIR have begun to establish what this new chapter sounds like. March brought ‘RE-BIRTH’, their first original album in five years and their first full-length with YOSUKE. More recently, they have revisited their anime catalogue with October’s ‘Wadachi – New Version -‘ EP and ‘BEST OF ANIME’, a 17-track collection that brings newly recorded classics together with recent songs such as ‘Orange’ and ‘Awake’. Their ambitions have grown beyond the recording studio too. In September they took their annual outdoor concert, JUST LIKE THIS, overseas for the first time, performing in South Korea before what YOSUKE describes as the largest crowd of any solo show he has played since joining.
Now, SPYAIR are preparing to return to Europe for six dates, beginning at YuniCon in Vienna on October 30th and ending in Milan on November 8th, with stops in Paris, Eindhoven, Frankfurt, and London. It will be their first European tour with YOSUKE behind the microphone, and a chance to reconnect with fans who have waited eight years for the band’s return.
Ahead of the tour, Electric Bloom Webzine spoke with all four members about their unexpectedly warm reception in Poland, finding a new identity through ‘RE-BIRTH’, taking JUST LIKE THIS beyond Japan, and their ambitions for the years ahead. We also discovered that, when it comes to preparing for life on the road, MOMIKEN has one rather unusual travel essential.
Your upcoming European tour will be your first in eight years. Has it been in the works for a long time, or did it all come together quite suddenly?
MOMIKEN: Since 2023, when the new lineup started, we’ve had more chances to play in lots of different countries, and within the team we’d been saying, “We’d love to go to Europe someday too”.
Then this year, when we were approached about Pyrkon in Poland and YuniCon in Austria, a European tour was proposed as well, and we were able to make it happen. I didn’t think it would come together this quickly.
The tour takes you to Austria and the Netherlands for the first time, alongside returns to Paris and London. What’s something new you’re looking forward to experiencing, and something you can’t wait to see again?
YOSUKE: I love football, so seeing a line-up of countries I know through it on the tour schedule gets me excited (laughs). Even thinking about it in terms of my own life, it’s a special opportunity, so I want to put on proper shows and gain experience. Other than that, I want to soak up as much as I can, including the culture.
UZ: When I go abroad, I try to spend my free time going for walks, taking in the streets, and getting a feel for the culture. There are lots of countries I’ll be visiting for the first time on this tour, so I’m really looking forward to it.
MOMIKEN: In the countries we’re going back to, I’d like to go to places I couldn’t get to last time. For example, in France I’d like to visit the Musée d’Orsay and have a cup of tea while taking in the art.
Austria, Italy, and the Netherlands are all places I’ll be going to for the first time, both personally and as a band, so I’d love to hear proper classical music in Vienna, eat authentic carbonara in Italy… If I started listing everything I want to do, I’d never stop (laughs).
KENTA: I’m happy to be going back to countries we haven’t been able to visit for a long time, and I’m also really excited about going to countries we’ve never been to. I’m hoping this leads to us being able to play our own shows in Europe on a regular basis.
You played Pyrkon in Poland in June, just before the European tour was announced. How was it being back on a European stage after so long, and how has it set you up for the autumn tour?
KENTA: It had been a long time since we’d been to Europe, and Poland was a country we’d never been to before, so at first I was worried about whether people would turn up. But when we actually walked out on stage, even though it was late at night, the venue was packed with people waiting for us, and I was really surprised.
On top of that, they knew our songs really well and sang along with us, which made me so happy! Seeing that made me want to come back to Europe again. It was a really precious day.
MOMIKEN: I never imagined there were so many people waiting for us, and it was the event that made me want to come to Europe regularly. Also, it was my first time in Poznań, and the city felt safe, the food was delicious, and the old town streets were really beautiful. Everything was amazing!
“I never imagined there were so many people waiting for us.”
– MOMIKEN
YOSUKE, this will be your first proper European tour as SPYAIR’s vocalist. What are you expecting, and is there anything you’re nervous or excited about?
YOSUKE: It’s my first European tour, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what the atmosphere at the shows will be like! This will be my first long trip overseas, and I’m the type whose condition is easily affected when my surroundings change, so looking after myself day to day while we’re in Europe is going to be important.
‘RE-BIRTH’ was your first original album in five years and the first full-length with the current lineup. Beyond YOSUKE’s arrival, what does the album showcase about the reborn SPYAIR?
YOSUKE: It’s the first album we’ve made since I joined, so I think of it as a calling card for the SPYAIR of today.
MOMIKEN: A lot of the songs on the album were released as singles after YOSUKE joined, so each one brings back the scenes and feelings from that time. Packaging them all together has made it a record you can look back on these three years with, like a photo album.
UZ: This album brings together the songs we’ve poured everything into, one by one, over the three years since we restarted. Having them collected on one record makes it a piece that closes a chapter so we can move on to the next, and there’s a feeling of, “We’ve made it as far as an album”.
KENTA: It’s full of songs that feel like they’re throwing punches with everything they’ve got, which is very SPYAIR, so it makes for a really satisfying listen.
YOSUKE contributed to writing and composing on the album. Was there a lot of pressure creating new songs to add to the band’s well-established catalogue?
YOSUKE: I didn’t feel any pressure in particular. I enjoyed the process of seeing how everything SPYAIR had established up to now would blend with my own essence. As we worked on it, I also had a sense that, little by little, the things that make me who I am were becoming part of SPYAIR.
In September, you took your annual outdoor concert JUST LIKE THIS overseas for the first time. What did taking this tradition abroad mean to you?
UZ: South Korea is a country we’ve visited regularly ever since our first trip there just after our debut, and that’s carried on since we restarted with the new lineup. Whether it’s our own shows or events we’re appearing at, there are always so many fans who get really into it.
Having experienced that for so long, for the past few years we’ve really wanted to hold JUST LIKE THIS there one day. As a band, we’ve been able to make one big dream come true.
MOMIKEN: It’s an important once-a-year festival for SPYAIR that we’ve kept going in Japan for so long, so being able to make it happen overseas is a big leap forward for the band too.
KENTA: Now that we’ve done it in South Korea, I have a new dream of turning it into a worldwide event that we can hold in other countries as well as Korea.
YOSUKE: Before it happened, there were a lot of things we had to plan out and run through, so I was a bit anxious. But when it came to it, it was the biggest crowd of any solo show I’ve played since joining SPYAIR, which surprised me.
Different countries come with different values in one way or another, but once the music starts, it’s fine, and you can get past all of it. I really felt that.
“It was the biggest crowd of any solo show I’ve played since joining SPYAIR.”
– YOSUKE
This year alone you’ve played Anime Expo in Los Angeles and taken JUST LIKE THIS overseas, with the European tour still to come. How are you all coping with so much travelling?
KENTA: Long flights and all the travel are tough, as you’d expect (laughs), but I’m happy to be able to meet fans all over the world in person, and playing overseas is fun because there’s something new to inspire us every time. I feel like those encounters and experiences turn everything into time well spent, the hard travel included.
Do each of you have a travel essential you can’t hit the road without?
YOSUKE: Supplements, medicine, glasses, and contact lenses. I take the everyday essentials I always use so I’m affected by my surroundings as little as possible.
UZ: A neck pillow. It’s a must for getting through long flights comfortably.
MOMIKEN: A neck pillow and foot care products for the flights. Also, a portable bidet.
KENTA: Downloaded videos. They’re essential on long flights.
How do you go about putting a setlist together for a tour like this, and who has the biggest say in what makes the cut?
UZ: We all decide the setlist together. This time, a lot of the countries are ones we haven’t been to in eight years or have never been to at all, so first we pick songs we think will make everyone who comes happy, whether they’re seeing us again after a long time or seeing SPYAIR for the first time.
Then all of the members go into the studio, actually play through it to check the flow, and finalise the setlist.
For European fans who may only know you through anime soundtracks, is there a song outside the anime tie-ins you most want them to discover at these shows?
YOSUKE: I’d love for people to take the songs from since I joined, and the ones I was involved in writing, as the new shape of SPYAIR!
MOMIKEN: We don’t get many chances to go to Europe, so if we can, we’d like to play the songs everyone wants to hear.
After eight years away, is there a message you’d like to send to the fans who’ve been waiting for your return to Europe?
SPYAIR: It’s been a while, but SPYAIR have always stayed SPYAIR, so just like eight years ago, we want you to enjoy the music and the shows with us.
To everyone we’ll be seeing again after eight years, and everyone we’ll be meeting for the first time, we want to make this a wonderful tour that stays with all of us. We can’t wait to see you.
今回のヨーロッパツアーは8年ぶりとなりますが、これは以前から計画されていたものですか、それとも急に決まったものですか？
MOMIKEN：新体制になった2023年以降、いろんな国でライブをする機会が増えたのですが、チーム内で「いつかヨーロッパにも行きたいよね」と、話していました。
そんな中、今年に入ってポーランドの「Pyrkon」、オーストリアの「Yuni Con」の話をいただいた際に、ヨーロッパツアーの提案もあり、今回実現することができましました。
こんなに早く実現するとは思ってなかったです
パリやロンドンでの公演に加え、今回は初めてオーストリアやオランダでもライブを行いますね。新たに体験することや、再訪を楽しみにしていることは何ですか？
YOSUKE：僕はサッカーが好きなので、それにちなんだ馴染みのある国名がツアースケジュールに並んでいるでワクワクします（笑）自分の人生として考えても、特別な機会ですし、経験を積むためにもしっかりライブをやって。あとは、文化含め多くのものを吸収してきたいです。
UZ：海外に行くと、空き時間に散歩をして、街並みを眺めたり、カルチャーに触れるようにしています。今回は初めて訪れる国がたくさんあるので、今からすごく楽しみです。
MOMIKEN：再び訪れる国は、前回行けなかった場所に行ってみたいですね。
例えば、フランスではオルセー美術館に行って、芸術に触れながらお茶したいです。
オーストリア、イタリア、オランダは、個人的にもバンドとして初めて行く土地なので、ウィーンでは本場のクラッシックを聴いてみたいし、イタリアでは本場のカルボナーラ食べたい･･･などやりたいことを挙げるとキリがないです（笑）
KENTA：長い間訪れることができなかった国に、再び訪れることへの喜びもあるし、これまで行けてなかった国に行けるということもすごく楽しみです。これをきっかけにヨーロッパでもワンマンをコンスタントにできるようになったらいいなと思っています。
ヨーロッパツアー発表直前の6月には、ポーランドの「Pyrkon」に出演されました。久しぶりのヨーロッパのステージはいかがでしたか？また、それが秋のツアーに向けてどのような弾みになりましたか？
KENTA：久々のヨーロッパで、しかもポーランドは初めて行く国だったので、最初は「お客さんは集まってくれるかな？」という不安はあったんですが、いざ本番でステージに出ると、夜遅い時間にもかかわらず、会場いっぱいのお客さんが待っていてくれて、本当にびっくりしました。しかも僕たちの曲をしっかり覚えていてくれて、一緒に歌ってくれて嬉しかったです！その光景をみて、またヨーロッパに来たいと思ったし、とても貴重な1日でした。
MOMIKEN：こんなに僕らのことを待ってくれている人がいるとは想像してなかったし、定期的にヨーロッパに足を運びたいと思うきっかけとなったイベントでした。
あと、初めて訪れたポズナンの街は、治安もよいし、食べ物もおいしいし、旧市街の町並みも本当にキレイでなにもかも最高でした！
「こんなに僕らのことを待ってくれている人がいるとは想像してなかった」
– MOMIKEN
YOSUKEさん、SPYAIRのボーカルとして本格的なヨーロッパツアーを行うのは今回が初めてですね。どのようなことを期待していますか？また、不安なことや楽しみにしていることはありますか？
YOSUKE：ヨーロッパツアーは初めてなので、ライブがどのような盛り上がりになるのか、今からすごく楽しみです！
今回、初めての長期にわたる海外遠征になるのですが、僕は環境が変わるとコンディションに影響が出やすいタイプなので、ヨーロッパ滞在中は日々の体調管理が大切になりそうです。
『RE-BIRTH』は5年ぶりのオリジナルアルバムであり、現体制での初のフルアルバムでもあります。YOSUKEさんの加入以外に、このアルバムは「新生SPYAIR」のどのような側面を表現していますか？
YOSUKE：自分が入ってから初めてできたアルバムなので、今のSPYAIRの名刺代わりのだと思っています。
MOMIKEN：アルバムの収録曲はYOSUKE加入後にシングルとしてリリースしていた楽曲が多いので、1曲1曲にそのときの情景や思いがよみがえってきます。それを全てパッケージしたことで、この3年間を振り返えられる、写真のアルバムのような1枚です。
UZ：再始動してからこの3年間に、1曲1曲、全力を注いできた楽曲をまとめたのがこのアルバムです。こうやって1枚にまとまると、次に進むための1つの区切りになる作品になっているし、「アルバムまでたどり着いたんだな」と思いがあります。
KENTA：SPYAIRらしい、全力でパンチを打っているような曲が揃っていて、めちゃくちゃ聴き応えのある作品になっています。
YOSUKEさんはアルバムの作詞・作曲にも携わっていますね。バンドがこれまで築き上げてきた楽曲群に新たな曲を加えるにあたり、プレッシャーはありましたか？
YOSUKE：プレッシャーは特に感じなかったです。
SPYAIRがこれまで築いてきたものと、自分のエッセンスがどう融合していくのかを楽しみながら制作しました。制作を進める中で、自分らしさが少しずつSPYAIRの一部になっていくような感覚もありました。
9月には、恒例の野外ライブ「JUST LIKE THIS」を初めて海外で開催しましたね。この伝統的なイベントを海外へ持ち出すことには、どのような意味がありますか？
UZ：韓国はデビュー直後に初めて訪れて以来、新体制で再始動してからも、ずっとコンスタントに訪れている国です。ワンマンでも、イベントに出演しても、毎回めちゃくちゃ盛り上がってくるファンがたくさんいてくれて。そういう状況をずっと体感してきて、数年前からいつかこの国でも「JUST LIKE THIS」を開催したい、と強く思ってきました。バンドとして大きな夢をひとつ叶えることができました。
MOMIKEN：日本でずっと続けてきたSPYAIRにとって1年に1度の大切なお祭りで、それを海外で実現できたというのは、バンドにとっても大きな飛躍だと思っています。
KENTA：韓国で実現できたので、韓国に加えて、他の国でも開催できるワールドワイドなイベントにしたいという夢ができました。
YOSUKE：開催するまでは、たくさんシュミレーションしなくてはいけないこともいろいろあり不安もありましたが、蓋を開けてみると僕がSPYAIR加入後に開催してきたワンマンライブの中で、過去最大の動員数で驚きました。国が違うと何かしら価値観の違いとかもあるけど、音楽を鳴らせば大丈夫、すべてを越えられる。それを実感できました。
「僕がSPYAIR加入後に開催してきたワンマンライブの中で、過去最大の動員数で驚きました。」
– YOSUKE
今年はロサンゼルスでの「Anime Expo」出演に加え、「JUST LIKE THIS」の海外開催、そしてヨーロッパツアーと、移動の多い一年ですね。皆さんはどのようにしてこのハードなスケジュールを乗り切っていますか？
KENTA：長時間のフライトや移動はやっぱり大変ですが（笑）、世界各地のファンの皆さんと直接会えることが嬉しいですし、海外でのライブは毎回新しい刺激があって楽しいです。そういう出会いや経験が、移動の大変さも含めて、すべてを有意義な時間に変えてくれている気がします。
ツアーに出る際、これだけは欠かせないという「旅の必需品」はそれぞれありますか？
YOSUKE：サプリ、薬、メガネ、コンタクト。できるだけ環境に左右されない様に、日頃から使っている生活必需品を持って行っています。
UZ：ネックピロー。長時間の飛行機を快適に過ごすためには欠かせません。
MOMIKEN：移動の飛行機で使うネックピロー、フットケアグッズ。あとは携帯ウオッシュレット。
KENTA：動画のダウンロード。長時間の飛行機では必需品ですね。
今回のようなツアーのセットリストはどのように決めていますか？また、選曲において最も決定権を持っているのは誰ですか？
UZ：セットリストはみんなで決めます。
今回は8年ぶりに行く国や初めての国が多いので、まずは、久々に来てくれる人、初めてSPYAIRを観にきてくれる人、来てくれるみなさんに喜んでもらえるであろう楽曲をセレクトします。あとはメンバー全員でスタジオに入って、実際に音を出して流れを確認して、セットリストを完成させます。
アニメの主題歌などを通じてバンドを知ったヨーロッパのファンに向けて、アニメ関連曲以外で、今回のライブでぜひ聴いてほしい（知ってほしい）曲はありますか？
YOSUKE：僕が加入してからの楽曲や、僕が楽曲制作に携わった楽曲は、新しいSPYAIRの形としてぜひ受け取ってもらえるといいですね！
MOMIKEN：ヨーロッパに行く機会はめったにないと思うので、できればみなさんが聴きたい曲をやりたいですね。
8年ぶりにヨーロッパへ戻ることになりますが、皆さんの帰還を待ちわびていたファンにメッセージをお願いします。
時間は経ってしまいましたが、SPYAIRは常にSPYAIRで居続けているので、8年前と変わらず、音楽を、ライブを、僕たちと楽しんでほしいです。
8年ぶりに再会できるみなさん、初めましてのみなさんと、心に刻めるような素晴らしいツアーにしたいです！お会いできるのを楽しみにしています
SPYAIR’s ‘BEST OF ANIME’ is out now through Sony Music Labels. The SPYAIR EUROPE TOUR 2026 opens at YuniCon in Vienna on October 30th, finishing at Scala in London on November 7th.
SPYAIR EUROPE TOUR 2026
| Date | Location | Tickets |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Oct 2026 | YuniCon, Vienna, Austria | |
| 2 Nov 2026 | Cabaret Sauvage, Paris, France | |
| 4 Nov 2026 | Effenaar, Eindhoven, Netherlands | |
| 5 Nov 2026 | Batschkapp, Frankfurt, Germany | |
| 7 Nov 2026 | Scala, London, UK |
About SPYAIR
SPYAIR are a Japanese rock band formed in Nagoya in 2005. Guitarist and programmer UZ, bassist and leader MOMIKEN, and drummer KENTA are the band's long-standing members, joined in 2023 by vocalist YOSUKE after original singer IKE left. Their music mixes hard and alternative rock with anthemic pop melodies and electronic elements, and they have held on to the heavier influences of their early years. After playing street and outdoor shows around Nagoya, SPYAIR made their major-label debut with 'LIAR' in 2010. They went on to headline Nippon Budokan and arenas and tour Japan nationwide, and their annual outdoor concert JUST LIKE THIS became one of their best-known live events. They began playing abroad early in their career, especially in South Korea, and have since toured Europe, North and South America, and elsewhere in Asia. Their first world tour in 2018 visited 23 cities, including their UK debut in London. Much of SPYAIR's catalogue is tied to anime, including several songs for Gintama and Haikyu!! and themes for BLEACH, Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, and Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, among others. Their best-known songs include 'Samurai Heart (Some Like It Hot!!)', 'Sakura Mitsutsuki', 'Genjou Destruction', 'Imagination', and 'I'm a Believer'. 'Orange', written for the film Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle, became their biggest streaming hit. IKE's departure in 2022 left SPYAIR's future in doubt, but UZ, MOMIKEN, and KENTA decided to carry on and opened the search for a new vocalist to the public. YOSUKE, a singer from Fukuoka, was chosen from more than 1,000 applicants and joined in April 2023. Since then, the band have re-recorded older songs with him and added new material to the catalogue. 'Orange' has since passed 200 million streams, and the band have returned to touring overseas. In March 2026 they released their seventh original album, 'RE-BIRTH', their first full-length record with YOSUKE. It brings together the singles released since he joined and new songs that gave him a bigger role in the band's songwriting. Later that year, JUST LIKE THIS was held outside Japan for the first time.
