It was an unseasonably hot October.
The second day of SXSW Sydney had just wrapped. I had spent most of the previous night running up and down Abercrombie St, checking out gigs and shaking hands at mixers. Fast forward twelve hours and I was sitting in a private section of the Lansdowne hotel. I was hot, sweaty, a little sleep-deprived, and yearning for an iced coffee. However, I was also very excited. I was about to chat with Psychic Fever from Exile Tribe.
The seven-member J-pop group is a younger offshoot of the storied collective Exile Tribe, which has been a mainstay of Japan’s media landscape for the better part of two decades. PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE debuted in 2019 and achieved global virality with the high-energy ‘”Just Like Dat’”. After a string of bangers and international tours, they touched down at SXSW Sydney to make their Australian debut.
As I waited for them, I didn’t know what to expect. They had just played the Tumbalong Park Stage the afternoon before. The boys brought an electric set to a packed-out crowd who never stopped screaming, all while basking in Australia’s unforgiving sun. A part of me thought they’d still be recovering, going for the hoodie-and-sweatpants combo (maybe we’re not so different). I couldn’t have been more wrong. The group entered clad in all black leather, studs, and charming smiles—I should’ve known better.
We sat down and chatted to the boys about their early days, global success and why they need to hug a koala.
Firstly, welcome to Sydney.
Thank you. Thank you.
I want to ask about yesterday. What was it like performing in Tumblalong Park in front of Aussie fans?
It was our first time performing in Sydney. It was actually crazy, for real. There were more people than we expected. When we first arrived at the venue, there were like five people or something (laughs). We were so afraid, asking ourselves, “What’s going on right here?”. But when we got on stage, it was so fun. There were a lot of people who already knew our songs, singing in Japanese. We were so impressed.
Is this your first time in Australia?
Yes, yes.
Did you have any expectations of what Sydney would be like?
Koala? Kangaroos? (lLaughs.)?
Are you guys going to go to the zoo?
Maybe tomorrow or before we go back. We’re going to Taronga?
Make sure to hug a koala.
Yeah, for sure (laughs).
I want to take it back to the early days. When you guys were training, you all lived in the same apartment.
Yeah, exactly.
How do you think that affected your bond and chemistry?
Yeah, we spent a decade together, since he was fifteen (pointing to Weesa). We stuck together twenty-four-seven. Eating, shopping… we ate a lot (laughs). We are like a family. We’ve had a lot of experiences and learned so much. Especially during Covid, we really learned how to make music and the effect we had on each other .
Do you feel like you learned a lot about each other in those early days?
Yeah, for sure. We inspire each other. We all have totally different identities and strengths.
For example, I’m a rapper (Jimmy) and he’s a vocalist (nodding to Kokoro)., There’s a lot of essential skills we have that make up the team.
Speaking of the pandemic, you all learned different skills during lockdown. Why did you decide to have those goals at such an uncertain time?
It felt like a time to write something new and evolve our strengths. In that sense, it was a good time for us. We formed in 2019 and then Covid happened in 2020. At first it was tough because we couldn’t properly debut. Everything was shut down, we didn’t have any chances to perform. However, we switched our mindset and tried a lot of new things.
Even before ‘Just Like Dat’ blew up, you’d already put in so much work. What was it like when the song went viral?
It was really sudden, we didn’t expect it. When we woke up, we opened TikTok and saw the first videos. It went viral, for real. I remember we screamed, we freaked out (laughs). We all thought “What’s going on right here?”. After we calmed down, we were so happy to read the nice comments from around the world. We felt so grateful.
In the last couple of years you’ve toured Asia, the U.S, and yesterday Tumbalong Park. What’s it like playing to western audiences as opposed to local fans in Japan?
We feel there’s no difference between Japan or abroad. The only real difference is the language barrier. When we perform, there’s no barrier or boundaries. People in Japan enjoy music from the U.S and Asia without understanding all the lyrics. Everyone can feel the vibe. We’re having fun and I think fans are having fun too.
When I listen to your music, I hear so many different influences coming together. I hear a little bit of Migos flow in the raps.
For real (laughs).
Who are some of your favorite artists?
(Ryushin Handa) Recently, I started to like Maroon Five.
Sunday morning, a beautiful song.
(Weesa) My favourite artist is Mac Miller.
For sure, R.I.P.
(Tsurugi) Post Malone (tips cowboy hat).
(Ren Watanabe) I like Keshi. I love his voice.
(Jimmy) I would say Usher.
He’s been having a viral moment.
(Ryoga Nakanishi) G Eazy, I like his music and his style.
He’s cool and handsome, just like you guys (laughs).
(Kokoro) I really love Bruno Mars.
As a last question, how do you feel more broadly about Japanese artists having success, touring, and playing music globally in 2025?
It’s a great time for J-pop and the Japanese music industry. We’re grateful people are enjoying music without any language barriers. It’s been a really good moment for us as our sound is influenced a lot by the U.S, other Asian cultures, and music from all over the globe. Now, we really want to deliver our own music to the world.
Okay, one final question. So you’re going to hug the koala and see a kangaroo. Is there anything else you want to do in Sydney while you’re here?
Opera House.
Make sure to go to the Opera bar, get a beer and oysters.
For real (laughs). The fish market and the Harbour Bridge too.
I think you can still walk across it? If you can, you definitely should.
I’d like to eat a meat pie. Is it a favourite for people in Sydney?
It’s one of my favourites. The most famous one is Harry’s.
Do you recommend that we go?
A lot of celebrities go. It’s in the same area as the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Sort of close to the city.
We’ll definitely go there.
Thanks to the good people at Hunger Digital and Thinking Loud for making this happen. Check out the boy’s latest single ‘Swish Dat’, here and on all streaming platforms.
