Communication Through Music: Soma Yoyoka / Drummer

Direct Talk

"Sparkling" by Yukihide Takiyama and YOYOKA

13-year old Japanese drummer Soma Yoyoka

has been attracting worldwide attention.

Legendary rock musicians
recognize her as a drum prodigy.

Fall Out Boy

She has performed with
many well-known artists

such as Cyndi Lauper.

Cyndi Lauper

In the summer of 2022,

Yoyoka moved with her family
to the West Coast of the United States

aiming for even greater heights.

How did this precocious teenager
become a powerhouse drummer,

and what was it like to leave Japan
and follow her dreams?

We spoke with Soma Yoyoka.

Communication Through Music

Soma Yoyoka
Drummer

The first time I ever touched a drum set
was when I was about one and a half.

I was around drums
before I even learned about

numbers or knew a lot of words,

so drums are sort of my first language;

they were my first physical way
of communicating.

My first spoken language was Japanese,

but drums were how I could express
my emotions before I learned to talk.

So, for me, drums and music
really feel like my first language.

Born into a musical family,

Yoyoka started performing
at concerts at the age of four.

When she was eight,

a drum performance video
released on the Internet went viral.

The reason Yoyoka is called a genius is

because she was born with
a natural sense of rhythm.

It has even been said that she is
the reincarnation of John Bonham,

the drummer of Led Zeppelin often hailed
as the greatest rock band of all time!

What does Yoyoka think about all this praise?

I'm really grateful to be given
these opportunities to perform with legends

and receive praise for it from people;

it's truly an honor.

I don't really have any other words
to describe how I feel about it though.

I honestly would love to know
why this is happening myself.

And I hope I can understand
the phenomenon better one day.

Actually though,

I was happier when I heard that
we received direct approval

from the Led Zeppelin team about
using their songs on my YouTube channel

than when I first went viral.

So that experience had more meaning for me.

I think knowing that there are
people out there who enjoy my music,

that I can cheer up...

and who are rooting for me,

that helped me build confidence and courage.

Yoyoka was born and raised in
Ishikari, Hokkaido, in northern Japan.

Since childhood,

not only did she take up drums,

but she also composes music and lyrics.

KANEAIYOYOKA : "Happy" by YOYOKA

She has been performing
with her parents and younger brother

in the family band, Kaneai Yoyoka.

KANEAIYOYOKA:
"Mirai eno Kodou"(Beating to the future)
by Akifumi Soma

Exhilarating life

Let's all think about it together

Because we're a family band,

we treat each other as band members

and as individual musicians.

Every member of our family is a musician,

and because of that, we all have
our own opinions in terms of music.

So, we are somewhat of an odd family,

but I get many benefits from that.

Family is very important to me,

and I'm truly thankful for my parents.

I really love them,

and I'm grateful,

but at the same time,

I know that one day
I will have to move on from them.

Thank you all for joining the "101Groove"

"101 Groove" is a project that started in 2020

when all live performances
had to be canceled due to the pandemic.

Yoyoka posted her drum
performances on YouTube,

and jammed remotely with
people from all over the world.

Soma Yoyoka
Drummer

We started the project
at the peak of COVID-19.

A lot of people were feeling down,

and even with music...

I was really down too

because I couldn't perform live shows.

So, I created the 101 Groove hashtag project

to try and cheer up people like me.

One thing I learned through the project

was that playing music,
playing an instrument,

and especially performing with others

is something people really desire.

That became very apparent to me.

I was thrilled to play with so many people.

And I would love to perform with them again

since I drum differently now.

So, I'd love to have an opportunity
to do that sometime in the future.

Two years later.

Wanting to go out into the world,

she left Japan and moved to
the United States with her family.

Determined to support his daughter,

Yoyoka's father left his jobs as a civil servant.

Her US visa was supported by
letters of recommendation

from American and European artists.

Finally, her dream of performing
for a wider audience, has come true.

I wanted to move to the US
to learn and experience more,

and to understand the differences
between Japan and the US.

I wanted to know what each country's
best and worst parts were.

I was just really curious,

and I was anxious to learn more
about anything and everything.

That was the big reason why
I wanted to move here.

Globally,

the US is perceived as a place
where a lot of talented musicians

come to challenge themselves.

And I wanted to be a part of that.

I, myself, I'm one of those kinds of people
looking to push myself further.

And to be in the US, a place of challenges,

learning English is an essential step.

As a musician,

it was important to me to

be exposed to music that I enjoyed

and that I was able to go see
musicians and performances that I liked.

To put myself in a situation
where I had the means to do that

seemed like the best step
for me to take at the time,

and that's why I'm here.

Oakland, California.

Yoyoka is currently attending
a public arts school

with an integrated middle and high school.

Every day she tries her best to learn English

and absorb American culture.

Executive director Mike Oz
welcomes Yoyoka to the school.

She seems to be so natural and so at ease.

It seems to be in her DNA.

It's not something that's even learned,

it's something that she was born with.

And you can develop and learn more and more,

but there's something in her
that is just natural.

She's just been an amazing addition
to our school.

I'm very happy that I came to the US,

and I really love the culture here,

where you can be respected musically.

I love that we can all respect each other.

It's such a relatable feeling for me,

and I want to give this respect
back to others.

People here respect me
when they hear my drumming,

and I think here is especially so

because everyone here either plays drums
or some sort of other instrument.

They appreciate my skills,

and I can make friends just by
having them listen to my drumming.

It's really fun.

All these drummers are fired!!

Soma Yoyoka
Drummer

Sound, to me, is a form of language.

By expressing myself through playing music,

people can relate to me,

and I can make friends,
even if I don't speak the same language.

Coming to understand
this was really big for me.

And when I'm having sessions with people,

I can often tell
if I want to be friends with them,

or how kind they are,

or sometimes that I don't want to
really get to know them...

all from just making eye contact.

That's something you can
only do through music.

By having sessions, performing with people,

and learning to respect them
through that experience,

I've realized how much potential
there is in music.

It really showed me that things
like language, race, and gender

don't matter at all.

When you close your eyes,

all you hear is sound.

That's something I think
is really remarkable about music.

Yoyoka is in junior high school,

but with her advanced skills,

she takes drum classes
with high school students.

She is also studying jazz and music theory

to broaden her music education.

What kind of future
does Yoyoka envision herself?

In the future, I'd like to do more musically,

and have sessions with other musicians

because that's the main purpose
of why I initially moved here.

I really want people to listen
to my music and my drumming;

I think that's the
most important thing for me,

and so I'd like to perform
in many different places.

I hope to write my own compositions too,

and play on other people's songs.

I'd like to collaborate with others

and create more music.

My goal is to make music
that give people feelings of

happiness,

courage,

confidence,

and a reason to live.

I hope that one day I can achieve that.

We asked her to write down
some words that inspire her.

Ever since I heard the Japanese phrase

"Hankotsu seishin,"

which means a "spirit of defiance" in English

I felt very attached to it.

I feel it describes me perfectly.

It's a great representation of me!

That's why I choose it.

Spirit of defiance