1-800-mikey manifested a life goal with his perfect song “japan”

Two years ago, Mikey Barker had just moved to a new spot in Parramatta in greater Sydney. It was shortly after the release of his outstanding power pop album Digital Pet under the name 1-800-MIKEY. “I’ve just installed new curtains,” he said. These were the early days of fixing shelving, putting art on the walls, and hanging better lighting. Soon after our conversation, he started setting up the home studio where he’d eventually record his 2026 follow-up to Digital Pet, In Yun. 

Arguably all of his music bears the markings of someone obsessed with Japanese culture. His aesthetic? Kawaii. His subject matter? Plushies, Tamagotchi, Rent-A-Girlfriend, and Mothra. It’s only logical that one of his best songs is “Japan,” where a perfect hook and driving rhythm lead to a chorus that also serves as a persistent statement of intent:

“I just wanna go, I just wanna go, I just wanna go, I just wanna go, I just wanna go, I just wanna go, I just wanna go, I just wanna go, I just wanna go, I just wanna go, wanna go.”

“I have never been to Japan, and it’s really bothered me for so long,” Mikey told me. “I wrote the song and I was like, ‘God damn it, I'm 27 years old, I fucking love Japan and everything about it.’ The idea of it, the culture, the fashion, the everything.” As manifestation goes, he crushed it. The album was released in October 2024, and one month later, he revealed to me on a call: “Funnily enough, I’m going in December.”

This interview, built from conversations that took place in late 2024 and early 2025, precede the recording of his exceptional new album In Yun. There’s a palpable change in production on the new album, which is a result of the new studio he was starting to set up during our first chat. The first conversation took place when he was freshly returned from conquering the U.S. as a touring member of R.M.F.C. and GEE TEE.

We tried to set this up last week, but I beefed the time zone difference and you said you’d been pretty tired anyway. How are things now? Why were you so tired?

So last week, it was the first GEE TEE and R.M.F.C. show back in Australia. So we played in Parramatta on Saturday night, and I guess we just hung out all night, really. So Sunday was a complete write-off for me. I was on the couch. and it was also funny, I had a link as well come through my email and I thought it was you, but it was a scam. I clicked on this link and it’s like, “All right, get the camera going, get the microphone going.” And then I was like, “Wait, this doesn’t seem right. This name doesn’t match up.” 

Oh shit, I’m sorry.

It was fine. I mean, I was really confused about that and just really sleepy. I just fell asleep on the couch. I’m glad we could do it today, instead.

How was the American tour for y’all?

It was really, really good. I can’t lie, it was probably the best tour that we’ve done. And it’s probably the longest tour that we’ve done. So it was pretty hectic, but also incredibly fun. And you know, meeting lots of people and seeing a lot of amazing bands and seeing familiar faces, yeah, it was the best time.

Who did you meet out this way? Who are some friends you made? 

It was really good to meet the Indiana crew. I feel like we’ve been online friends for a while. Hanging out with Skull Cult, and Jackie and Susie, they play in a couple of bands over there. And the Cowboys, meeting them was amazing as well. Seeing them as well, I was like, my god, I’m fangirling over this.

Also...so I had a pen pal from 10 years ago that I finally met in real life in New York, which was so bizarre. I didn’t think they would remember me. But I just sent a direct message, like, “Hey, I don’t know if you remember, but we used to be pen pals 10 years ago. I’m going to be in America if you want to meet.” And we met up and it was just so weird. 

Whoa, how did you become pen pals with this person? 

It’s a long, long story. But I think just to round it up, I found them online and just reached out. I was like, “Hey, like, I think you’re really cool and I think we could be pen pals. Do you want to be my pen pal?” And they’re like, “All right, here’s my address.” I’m like, “OK, here’s mine.”

What was the meeting like? 

It was at TV Eye. They came to the show, and that was real bizarre because you know, it was the last show of the tour, everyone’s kind of got crazy emotions. Like, we finished the tour and then I’m like, “This is my pen pal from ten years ago.” Everyone there was like, “What?” But they they had a great time. I don’t think they realized as well…they’re not fans of the bands at all. And so they were like, “What the hell? People are here watching you and going crazy.” It was hectic. 

But then we also hung out the next day after TV Eye and we were hanging around Manhattan and stuff. Then I was like, “What’s your favorite art piece that you own?” Because I don't know, I feel like they collect heaps of art. And they’re like, “Daniel Johnston.” I’m like, “I’ve got one, too. What about Adam Green?” And then they’re like, “Yeah, he’s actually my friend and he’s playing tonight. And I was like, “What?” So then we got to go hang out with Adam Green and see him live and I was like, Oh my God, this is too much.

So that tour ends with this strange, serendipitous New York City post-mortem, and pretty much right after, Digital Pet gets released. Have you had the bandwidth to process that record being out?

Not really, to be honest. It felt really quick, but also, I don’t know, I just had to do it, you know? I was like, Well, I don’t wanna do it while I’m on the road. That was the original plan, so I think it worked out in the fact that we finished the tour and I was like, “All right, well, that was awesome and now I'm gonna try and promo the record.” 

Digital Pet is a record with its set muses, so specifically I wanted to talk about the process of writing these songs.

It was very much like to start off with a topic in mind. Yeah. I’ll write out a list of things. I’m like, I miss Tamagotchis and Digimon, stuff like that. So I was thinking, Let’s write a song about a digital pet, and that's it. 

Not to put you on the spot about your self-esteem, but do you know if a song rules as soon as you’ve written it? Your songs are extremely good and I wonder if you have any awareness of what you’ve done while it’s happening.

No, no, no. Sometimes, when I finish the song, I’m like, What the hell? I hope it’s all right. I hope it sounds good. I don’t know. I don't think I’m ever instantly like, This is great. But there are moments as well where I finish the song and I listen throughout the week. I'll go to work and I listen to it and I'll be like, You know what? This is quite good. I'll let that happen.

I’m curious about your pop touchstones—is there a sound that you strive for when you’re writing or recording?

That’s a really funny question because when I think of what I wanna sound like, it’s not really like rock music in general. I don't know, there’s a lot of 12-string on this record, and you know, that’s a lot to do with playing 12-string in R.M.F.C. I'm like, All right, I’m gonna whack this on. But the idea of the 12-string, it just sounds so pretty. In anime openings and hyperpop and stuff like that, there’s a lot of cool little sparkly things coming out and I’m thinking like, “That’s what I want to try and do.” I don’t know if I did it, but that’s what I'm trying to do in a way. 

“Sparkly” is definitely the right adjective for your music. Where are you with hyperpop right now? What are you listening to?

I’ve been slamming the new A. G. Cook album. That’s been on repeat for the past three or four months. Probably previous to that, just listening to a lot of Bladee as well. You know all all those like pretty bell sounds and FM synths, like even though I don’t really use it, I just like the idea of it. 

Do you think it's important for people who make rock’n’roll or punk music to listen beyond that genre for inspiration?

Absolutely. I think it's so important to let your ears listen to something else because there's so much rock’n’roll. And I love rock’n’roll. Probably like 90% of my records are punk and rock’n’roll and hardcore. But when it comes to just daily listening, I can't just listen to this all the time. I need to change it up.

Visual artists talk about that a lot—to seek inspiration outside your medium.

Yeah, no, absolutely. You kind of get stuck. You’re in a feedback loop if you're just constantly keeping yourself locked into one type of music. But I do also have to say, my friends probably are my main influence. Like the 12-string fell into my lap because I play in R.M.F.C., so I need to have a 12-string on my record. Or like: Well everyone else can drum, I need to learn how to drum, so then I drum on my record now. Watching Buz, Ishka, and Kel being these powerhouse songwriters, it’s like, fuck, you guys are always showing me new songs and stuff. And I’m just so amazed and I wanna do this. So I’ll do it my way. 

What’s the biggest difference between Digital Pet and your earlier songs?

I guess the main one is I learned to play drums for this record. During COVID, I just bought a drum kit and tried to play. The first record it was very much like, “Hey Kel, can you help me out and drum on this?” And he's like, “Yeah, sure.” And then, “Ishka, can you help me out and drum on this?” And it's fine. But I wanna do this myself.

Also, the process of writing these songs was very much like, I want to do an album. That first release, it was like, I’ve collected a couple of these. I had more songs and then I had the first EP, it’s like, we’ll put it into PLUSHY. And then here’s the first record. You know?

I've never seen or read Rent-a-Girlfriend. Are you an avid anime watcher? What are you watching lately? 

Honestly, I haven’t had too much time lately, like coming back from America and I’ve recently moved, so I haven’t had a lot of couch time. But when I do have some couch time, I’m definitely whacking on some anime. The last one I watched was Jujutsu Kaisen, which is very popular. Like a colleague recommended it to me and it’s definitely more action-packed than Rent-a-Girlfriend. That’s a slow burner. It’s like I’m crying, I’m laughing, and I’m crying again.

What’s happening around Australia that you’re excited about? Music that rules but you’re not actively part of making?

That’s a good question. There’s this band Kissland from Melbourne. They just put out a 7", I bought it yesterday and I’m amazed by it. It’s insane. It's thrashcore, which I'm not really a fan of, but I feel like they've done it really, really well. It’s got members of Swab, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Faceless Burial. They’re all in all those bands down and it’s just another project for them, and I was like, My God. And the cover is so cute as well.

Since you’ve always been Sydney-based, is there any competitive undercurrent to that scene with Melbourne’s or…

It's all love. Everyone’s very supportive and very helpful. If someone comes up here, you know, we’ll set up the show and it’s the same if we go down to Melbourne. It’s very, very nice. There’s no competition, there’s no hate, there’s no beef. Everyone’s just stoked on each other. 

With you setting up a new studio space in your new spot, is there anything special you’re trying to do? Like is it going to have its own room? 

Yeah, pretty much. I’ve never really had like a proper space for it. It’s just been like a laptop and a four-track and my headphones. So this time, I want to set up a desk, get some monitors, and make it real locked in and nice. 

OK, let’s get to your long-awaited Japan trip. How did it go?

It was everything I expected it to be. It was really surreal, like I don’t know, the first couple of days I was just walking around. As soon as I landed, actually, we got in at like midnight and I was like, Man, I’m just going straight to FamilyMart. I’m buying a beer and some cigarettes. But then my partner, she was just exhausted, so she went straight to the Airbnb and just had a bath. I'm there at midnight on the street. Like no one’s on the street. Like I think I was just outside of the main area—more of a business district.

So I’m just there having a beer and a cigarette and I’m like, Damn, I’m in Japan. [laughs] I’m here! And I just walked down the block, staring at a vending machine just being like: Yep, that’s just how I expected the vending machines to look. [laughs] The hot drinks and the cold drinks? Like damn. God damn.

What do you feel like you based your expectation of Japanese vending machines on?

Just through anime, that kind of thing. They’re really cool! Like my whole trip, I was just slamming them. I was like: Ooh there’s a vending machine! I'm gonna get a coffee now. Maybe in the last week of my trip, we were in Osaka, and for some weird reason I couldn’t find one. I’m like: This is fucking weird. I’m thirsty, I need water. Where’s the vending machine? They should be within a hundred meters of each other or something. 

But no, it was a really, really good trip. The first couple of days I couldn't really believe it as well. I was just so excited, got up really early and just headed out into the city, hung out in Shinjuku and then went over to Shibuya and just did all this walking around. But then it also felt really overwhelming, ’cause there’s so much to see and so much to do, so I’m trying to cram in as much as I possibly can. In a way, that was great. But then also, I didn’t really just chill and take it all in. I was just kind of like: My God, look, there’s the claw machines. All right, let’s go over here and like look at all these toys over here and like I'm gonna go shopping and try this ramen.

Can you give me an overview of your itinerary? Tokyo then Osaka?

Pretty much, that’s it. We only had two cities that we booked accommodation in. So we stayed in Tokyo for about a week and then Osaka for about a week and then we went back to Tokyo for a couple of days before flying back. But we did do a day trip into Kyoto, that was on the back half of the trip. I think we were pretty exhausted and we also got a bit sick. 

Oh dang.

Yeah, especially my partner. I think we were just drinking and smoking way too much. It just hit the critical mass. There was a lot of coughing and my partner did have a temperature, but I think it was like traveling, partying, and not resting or looking after yourself. 

In terms of life ambitions, where did a trip to Japan rank for you?

It's right at the top. I've been waiting my whole goddamn life for it. I never had any ambition to go to Europe or go to America or Southeast Asia. It was always Japan. “I just wanna go,” you know? So when I finally went, I knew exactly what I wanted to do and wanted to see. It was all planned subconsciously over the years. So number one, for sure.

Did you think about the song “Japan” while you were there?

It was on my mind. That feeling of that song was how I felt when I actually got there.

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