Last Updated on 2026-04-05 by a-indie
Why They Chose to Cover The La’s
-yabori: In the middle of the album there’s a cover of The La’s classic “There She Goes.” Why did you choose to include that song on your debut album? And what does The La’s mean to The Parade?
The Parade: Been a fan of The La’s music since there 1990 album and this song has been a favourite, and we thought lets make a cover of it but lets make it much slower and simpler. Worked out great we think, without destroying the track in anyways, we really liked to do it with respect of The Las, sadly as we where hold on a label for such a long time with Im Dreamer, wish we had released the time to release it before many other made a cover of it, but thats how its goes sometimes.
Why the Alternate Versions Are Included
-yabori: Your debut singles “I’m a Dreamer” and “Shame” appear on the album as Alternate Versions. What was the reason for including different takes rather than the versions that were already released?
The Parade: It’s such a boring thing as we had to make a tiny different version of each song so our record label could re-upload the tracks again for our Album. We where really happy with the original version so nothing is really changed that much.
The Thinking Behind the Track Order
-yabori: The album opens with “Someday” and closes with “A Little Bit Sad.” When “A Little Bit Sad” came out as a single, I had assumed it would land somewhere near the beginning or middle of the album, so finding it as the closing track was a real surprise. The album also includes an instrumental, and the whole sequencing feels very intentional. Can you tell me about the thinking behind the track order?
The Parade: “A Little Bit Sad” was made very late of the album, and turned out what we think a lit bit far away from the other songs, but we stil liked it and wanted to have it on the album..but as it was a lit different form the other songs and we wanted a nice flow, we placed it last almost like a bonus track.
What the Album Title Means
-yabori: The title “City of Dreams” is a phrase that can hold so many different meanings, from optimism and fantasy to longing and even disappointment. What does that title mean to The Parade, and why did it feel like the right title for this collection of songs?
The Parade: Yes we did feel it had this longing, melancholic feel to it, so it felt right for the album.
Music Before the Age of Algorithms
-yabori: The album’s liner notes describe it as “pop songwriting from before the age of algorithms and social media,” and that really resonated with me as I listened. In 2026, when those influences are stronger than ever, what made you want to focus so deliberately on the craft of the music itself?
The Parade: We love making music so it was not hard as we doing music for our self and love of it not for fitting any algorithm, there is sadly so many people in the music “business” that noteven has experience how the music “business” was before algorithms and streaming, wish is sad, as now they only thing about nummers fake or if the are real doesn’t matter for them, instead of focus on the music and the craft. Same with listeners but not blame them its very hard to tell what fake or real this days, saying that we felt that just focus on music works for us, its all about the music not how high you can jump on app or say something that gett attentions, we are not clowns.
The Song That Surprised Them Most
-yabori: Were there any songs during the recording of “City of Dreams” that genuinely surprised you? Something that ended up in a completely different place from where it started, or a track that revealed something unexpected about the band?
The Parade: The track “Together” wish we co-wrote with our dear friend Emma, it took a few directions, and also a few tempo changes, before we did find the right way it might be the hardest one to finish., we did know we had something but we did just to have to get it to fit with the rest of the album we felt.
Thoughts on Live Performance
-yabori: It seems like your focus is on making music rather than performing live. If you’re comfortable sharing, I’d love to know how you’re thinking about live performance at this point.
The Parade: We are open for it, if we could get crazy offers and it fits our schedule why not, but perhaps after the 2nd album, so we have more songs.
The Ideal Listener
-yabori: When you picture someone listening to “City of Dreams,” who do you see, and how are they hearing it? While you were making this record, was there a specific person or a particular moment in the day that you had in mind?
The Parade: We did not have person in mind or any moment, we hope it finds its ways and it will surprise people and get a good feeling from it, nostalgic or hear something new., all depends on who you are.
A Message for Fans in Japan
-yabori: This interview will be read by music fans in Japan. For most of them, this will be their very first encounter with The Parade. Would you like to share a message for them? And please feel free to add a few words for anyone who’s already dreaming of seeing you perform live in Japan someday.
The Parade: Hope our path will find our ways one day, and that you enjoy listen to our music.
-yabori: That wraps up my questions. Thank you so much for your time. I’ve been listening to “City of Dreams” from start to finish while putting these questions together. Since I started using Spotify as my main way to listen to music, this is the first album I’ve felt compelled to listen to straight through from track one since Men I Trust’s “Untourable Album.” I see it as a record that trusts its listeners, takes songwriting seriously, and chose doing it right over doing it fast. I really hope that someday I’ll get to see The Parade perform live in Japan.
The Parade: Thank you very much very very happy to hear that we enjoy answering your questions here in the studio, and hope to see you one day!
The Parade: Album Release
Debut Album 『City of Dreams』
Release date: March 13, 2026
Tracklist:
1. Someday
2. Sail Away
3. She Knows
4. Together
5. Lost and Found
6. There She Goes
7. I’m a Dreamer (Alternate Version)
8. Echoes
9. Shame (Alternate Version)
10. How Long Will I Be Waiting
11. A Little Bit Sad
Listen on Bandcamp
Writer: Tomohiro Yabe (yabori)
Editor-in-chief of BELONG Media and A-indie. Since 2010, he has been writing for the music blog “Masterpieces That Transcend Time,” the predecessor to BELONG.
After contributing to “only in dreams,” a platform curated by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION vocalist Masafumi Goto, he went on to study music business at a specialist music college.
Over more than a decade, he has written about music both in Japan and internationally.
He previously worked at a music CD rental shop with a catalogue of over 100,000 titles, where he was responsible for garage rock, psychedelic rock, and Japanese indie rock.
Drawing on that experience, he has published 26 issues of “BELONG Magazine,” a music magazine dedicated to the theme of roots rock.
He currently writes with an SEO-informed approach developed through his work at a web production company. His hobby is watching the Japanese antiques appraisal programme “Nandemo Kanteidan.”
All past articles are available here.
Twitter: @boriboriyabori
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