The Guest List’s Japan Interview: The Hunger for “Something Real”

Last Updated on 2026-08-29 by a-indie

Covers and Original Songs

Wakiki: The Guest List, formed by these five members, gained a huge response from the cover videos you posted on TikTok. I imagine there must have been a lot of pressure to write original songs after that. When you actually started working on original material, how did you feel approaching the songwriting process?

The Guest List – Radiohead「Creep」cover

Cai: We had some songs at the point that we were doing those covers. When that went semi-viral, we had 「161」 and 「Canada」. They’re still fan favourites for some of the earlier songs that we released.
I guess that was reassuring to know that we had some songs ready to go that we believed in. Since then, I’d say it’s just keeping composure and trying to isolate myself as a writer as much as I can. When I go into a writing process, I try to ignore any pressures or expectations and continue to write from the heart.

The Guest List「Canada」 (Official Video)
from The EP『The Guest List』

What the Manchester Scene Gave Them

Manchester, England (Photo: Pexels)

Wakiki: Next, I’d like to ask about your Manchester background. When people think of bands from Manchester, names like The Stone Roses, Oasis, and Joy Division come to mind — bands with a lot of fans in Japan too. Being from Manchester is probably one way for listeners to discover The Guest List, but you’ve also said before that you want to be seen as a Manchester band, while also not wanting to be seen as only that. Compared to other Manchester bands, what would you say are The Guest List’s particular strengths, or things you’re especially particular about?

Cai: I think while we have grown up listening to those bands, which is inevitable for anyone in Manchester, certainly anyone who wants to be in a band themselves, we’ve also grown up listening to bands from all around the country, all around the world. So I wouldn’t say that they’re the exclusive influence on our sound. Similarly, coming up through the Manchester scene has been really useful.
We’ve had loads of opportunities from being that local to so many grassroots venues and a strong grassroots scene with fans that will show up to new bands that they don’t know. That’s a really important thing to have access to as a new band.

So all that’s influenced us but in terms of why we think we’re different to any other bands, I think we just believe that our songs are crafted in a way which is uniquely ours.
We’ve taken influence from working with Matias Tellez in Bergen, which has given us a bit more of a spin from his dream pop world that he works in with a lot of Norwegian artists coming out of that scene. So I think in both respects, when it comes to writing the songs and then recording the songs, we’ve tried to put our own spin on it and do things which would separate ourselves.