LIGHTS ON

IT'S BEEN A LITTLE WAIT, BUT ONE OK ROCK ARE WELL AND TRULY BACK WITH 'LUXURY DISEASE'. IN THIS BRAND NEW, EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, TAKA MORIUCHI WALKS US THROUGH THE JOURNEY HE AND HIS BAND TOOK TO WEATHER THE PANDEMIC, CREATE ONE OF THE GREATEST ALBUMS OF THEIR CAREER, AND TAKE ON AMERICA ONCE AGAIN. THIS IS THE STORY OF AN ERA.

- Maddy Howell

'Dream big'.

Whether it’s spoken to children to encourage them to follow their hearts or printed on a piece of tacky inspirational home décor, it’s a phrase that can come across as trite. In a world that rarely seems geared towards making dreams come true, and can sometimes be responsible for crushing them altogether, it can feel like pinning your hopes on something exceptional is just setting yourself up for failure, but that’s not always the case.

The reality is that dreams are rarely too big, you just have to be prepared to put in the work to get there. Through determination and perseverance, sometimes even dreams that once seemed impossible can be accomplished, a belief that has pushed ONE OK ROCK forward since forming in Tokyo back in 2005. Founded on the idea that if you can dream it, you can do it, the four-piece started with a simple wish to share their music with the world, before having a monumental rise to success in Japan. Playing in venues that far surpassed what they had initially dreamed, after a decade of dominating their national rock scene, they looked to take things to the next level, eager to play the international stages that their heroes had once stood upon. Signing with US label Fueled By Ramen back in 2016, their sights have since been set on communicating their music with Western audiences, and in 2019 they had their biggest breakthrough yet.

Leaning into their pop influences, the band’s ninth studio album, Eye Of The Storm’, sent them on their largest run of international shows to date. From a headline North American tour with Waterparks and Stand Atlantic, to playing shows around Asia with Ed Sheeran, before a summer that saw them blitzing through Europe and stopping by the Vans Warped Tour, they found themselves connecting with their overseas fans more than ever before, and they weren’t about to let the momentum slip.