When PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE (サイキック・フィーバー・フロム・エグザイル・トライブ) performed at their first solo concert in Kuala Lumpur on 21st September at Zepp KL, they surprised ForEVERs with a performance of their then-unreleased track, ‘Talk To Me Nice”. Fast forward to November 2024, and the song is now available for streaming, igniting fans’ excitement for the powerful track.
“Talk To Me Nice” is penned in English to appeal to a global audience and the song’s lyrics highlight PSYCHIC FEVER’s exceptional vocals and rap skills. The track also expresses a different “masculinity” and “power” from the band’s previous songs, filling it with their passion and challenging will. Renowned Thai music producer NINO, who previously worked on the group’s hits “FIRE feat. SPRITE” and “BEE-PO,” once again lends his expertise to this latest track, crafting an addictive and catchy song.
In this interview with members TSURUGI, RYOGA, REN, JIMMY, KOKORO, RYUSHIN and WEESA, we talk about their new single, the performances and what they have planned for the future. Continue reading to learn more from these J-pop artists:
1. Can you share more about the new song “Talk To Me Nice”? What is the concept for the track?
KOKORO: This time, in addition to NINO, who worked on “To The Top feat. DVI” and “FIRE feat. SPRITE,” we welcomed Thai artist TAMP, who helped us from the production stage, to create a powerful and provocative song that is a chemical reaction of the passion we have for our dreams. The result is a powerful and provocative song.
2. What was the inspiration behind the song?
TSURUGI: This song expresses the proof of our existence and our determination and spirit to break new ground! We hope this song will make you feel passionate and encourage you to take on new challenges! We will be going on a US tour next year, so this song also contains our passion for that tour!
3. Did any of the PSYCHIC FEVER members take part in the production of the song?
WEESA: We all participated in the project. During the recording process, we had a trial-and-error recording session with NINO, who produced the music.
4. Can you share a behind-the-scenes story from when you were creating this song? Were there any interesting moments during the recording?
JIMMY: Producer NINO always proposes new challenges to us when creating songs, and this time we chose songs with strong dubstep elements as a new draw when we were interviewing and gathering references for the song. I knew that my low-pitched voice would be a key point of the song, including the strong overall atmosphere, so I recorded the song with a lot of edge to my singing.
@psyfe_official #TTMNchallenge with TANP 🎙️💫 #TAMP #PCF_TTMN #newmusic #PSYCHICFEVER
♬ TALK TO ME NICE feat. TAMP – PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE
5. You also collaborated with Thai singer-songwriter TAMP and Thai producer NINO on this track. What was it like working with them?
REN: Since we are close in age, the atmosphere of the place was good, and he gave us a lot of advice during the recording process, which made it go smoothly. I learned more from listening to his songs and he can also compose music, so it was a stimulating time to work with him.
RYUSHIN: We have been working with NINO for a while now, starting with “To The Top feat. DVI,” so I feel that he understands what we want to do and that we were able to create a very good song! During the recording session, he told me that I could sing as I pleased, so I was able to relax and take on the challenge! And TAMP is the same age as me! When I met him, he seemed mature and cool, but when I talked to him, I felt that we are of the same generation. When I listened to the music, TAMP brought out the expression that we couldn’t bring out on our own, and I am very grateful to him!
6. What is your favourite part of the song or your favourite lyric?
RYOGA: This part that I sang, “You know what’s up, Imma do it my way, yah”. This part also leads to KOKORO’s prechorus. It has a strong message of going forward in our own way. I am conscious of the connection between the two, so I sing more powerfully than usual to convey my feelings.
KOKORO: My favourite part of the song is the B melody “Here we go again~,” and the calm atmosphere before the chorus makes it easy to listen to. I also like the fact that this is the fourth song produced by NINO, which seems to have increased the passion of the song!
WEESA: I like the catchy part of the chorus. I am looking forward to singing “Talk To Me Nice” many times with the audience at the live performance.
7. The choreography also appears to be very energetic and powerful. What do you think is the “key point” move?
TSURUGI: The choreography in the interlude section is a point of particular interest! The energy is in full swing and the choreography is aggressive! This may be a particularly striking point throughout!
RYOGA: Junna Yagi, a dancer who is active all over the world, created the aggressive choreography for this song. In particular, I like the last dance part. It is a thin choreography, but the voltage gradually rises. I hope you will enjoy watching us.
RYUSHIN: This time, we had a female choreographer create the choreography for the first time, and I think we were able to express ourselves in a new way! Especially, the chorus expresses the lyrics through dance and an explosion of emotions, so I hope you will pay attention to the choreography!
8. You also released a music video for the song. Do you have a favourite scene from the music video?
JINNY: The part where the camera is pushed down was actually shot in a very acrobatic way, with me grabbing the camera and falling on top of the cameraman. The scenes actually appeared several times in the music video, so please pay attention to the momentum and the expression of the camera man!
REN: My favourite scene is the dance scene. This song has a lot of powerful choreography, but the dance scene in particular is powerful and vigorous in a way that we have never seen in our choreography before. The choreography builds up towards the end of the song, and it is a very spirited scene. The choreography, as well as the lyrics, matches the song quite well, so I hope everyone will pay attention to it.
KOKORO: There is a scene in which Jimmy and I are acting for the camera, and we actually pushed the cameraman during the shoot, so the scene has a very realistic feel to it! The last dance scene was the last cut of the filming, so we tried to give it everything we had that day, so I recommend paying attention to this part as well!
9. You first performed the song during your HEAT Asia Tour. How did you feel performing the track for your fans for the first time?
RYOGA: Thankfully, it was a very awesome turnout. The song is very exciting to perform live. Even if you don’t know us, you will naturally want to sway your body to the music. This is a song that was created for that purpose for the fans, so I was very happy to see the excitement. Especially at the last dance part, the excitement was at its peak.
JIMMY: As it was the first performance of the song, I had the impression that the audience was surprised to hear the song and see the dance. We performed it at the encore and the fact that it was the first time in a while that the song had been performed with such intensity, I felt that the heat level of the entire venue rose dramatically!
WEESA: I am so happy to see so many people’s wonderful reactions. I would like to perform this song in front of more people.
@hypemalaysia #PSYCHICFEVER suprise fans in Malaysia with a performance of their unrelease song, “Talk To Me Nice”! #PCF_inKualaLumpur #PCFinKualaLumpur #PCF_HEATinKL
10. You also performed the song at your Kuala Lumpur concert. What do you remember most about the fans’ reactions to hearing the song as a surprise track?
TSURUGI: I was really happy that all the fans were shouting and getting excited! We had many surprises in Kuala Lumpur, but especially since we performed a new song, I thought it was a moment when we could communicate with everyone and become one!
REN: When we first performed this song, you all must not have known it, but you got excited with us, and it was a great memory for us. We gave it our all to live up to everyone’s expectations, and your cheering really got us fired up.
RYUSHIN: I was very happy that everyone was so excited! It was our first performance in Malaysia, so I think there were many people who didn’t know the song, but they sang along with us during the chorus, and it was hard to believe that it was our first performance!
11. Will “Talk To Me Nice” be part of an upcoming album?
JIMMY: I can’t reveal much detail yet, but if you guys continue to like the song, I would love to include it in the album, and I would like to have more opportunities to perform it. We still have more songs to release, so please look forward to those as well!
12. Do y’all have some TikTok content for “Talk To Me Nice”?
RYOGA: Of course. If you are good at dancing, we would like you to dance the original version that we are dancing. We also came up with a simpler version of the choreography that everyone can learn together. Please watch our TikTok, dance to it a lot, and share them all with us!
@psyfe_official Let’s Try #TTMNchallenge 🔥🔥🔥 #PCF_TTMN #PSYCHICFEVER
♬ TALK TO ME NICE feat. TAMP – PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE
13. We’re roughly 2 months away from Christmas. Any plans yet?
TSURUGI: I don’t have any definitive plans yet. But I do hope to be able to spend Christmas with you all in some way! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!
RYOGA: Maybe there is? Ideally, we would like to meet you all in person, but even if that is not possible, I hope to see you all at live streams to spend Christmas together.
REN: I don’t have any right now, but I think it would be most enjoyable if I could spend time with all of you. I would like to continue to make many memories with you all, and I hope we can share a good time together, so I hope we can do something.
JIMMY: We still have plans to go abroad to Spain, the U.S., and Thailand. I spent Christmas in Thailand last year as well, and I am looking forward to what I can do in each place as I can enjoy a different atmosphere than in Japan!
KOKORO: I don’t have any plans at the moment, but I hope to spend a wonderful Christmas with the members. Just kidding!
RYUSHIN: I haven’t decided yet, but I will be happy if I can spend another year with the members and ForEVER!
WEESA: I would like to have a Christmas party with all the members. We have not had a Christmas party yet, so that would be nice..
14. What were y’all doing last Christmas? Can you recall what you received?
TSURUGI: We had a solo LIVE! It was a beautiful day! I hope to do it again this year! I don’t think I got any gifts, but I bought myself a gift! I buy one every year!
RYOGA: Last year, we spent Christmas in Thailand. I like sweets. I wore a cake costume, and I spent time with all the fans. The Christmas cake we got from the staff was delicious.
REN: Last year I received precious memories with all of you in Thailand. I dressed up in costume for the event and spent Christmas with you all. I would like to spend Christmas not only in Thailand but also in many other countries.
JIMMY: I spent Christmas in Thailand. We had an event with our fans ForEVER, and I have great memories of dressing up and having a lot of fun!
KOKORO: On Christmas Eve, we had our first overseas solo event, PCF in Thailand! It was a wonderful life memory for me to spend time with all the fans.
RYUSHIN: Last year we were in Thailand for a Christmas live concert! It was a gift in itself to be able to hold a Christmas event for the first time, and I was more than happy to spend Christmas with ForEVER!
WEESA: I think we were in Thailand. We all did a Christmas shoot together in Thailand. It was a lot of fun.
Watch the “Talk To Me Nice” music video here:
Adleena, May and Justin contributed to this article.
