Press Conference and Interview with An Cafe in Mexico

After the release of their last single Mosou mo mou sorosoro, popular Harajuku dance-rock band An Cafe returned to Mexico after two years to perform to their fans for a third time. JaME attended a pre-show press conference given by the band.

The band was formed in 2003. How was it formed and how did you choose the name?

miku: Bou, former member of An Cafe, loves horses and that’s why we named the band An Cafe.

We know this is not the first time you've visited Mexico, but we want to know what do you think about the country and your fans?

miku: In Mexico, everything is very cheap and we like to go for a walk here.

We read that you’re going to have a long stay in the country. If this was true, what places do you want to visit?

miku: We have already visited the pyramids of Teotihuacán and a market, so this time, we want to visit a street market or another type of market.

What do you think about the openness that other Japanese groups have had towards Mexico?

miku: We wish there was an opportunity to do a massive event with exclusively Japanese bands in this country.

We want to know if you've gained any inspiration from our country to make music, or if you've done anything that talks about your three visits to Mexico?

kanon: Yesterday we had dinner at a typical Mexican restaurant. We heard Mexican music there, and we liked it.

An Cafe has toured Europe and Latin America many times. In your opinion, what distinguishes Mexican fans from those in other countries?

An Cafe: The language! (laughs). What distinguishes Mexican fans most is the passion they have.

Could you tell us a little about what the band's been doing since the last time you came to our country? What new things are you going to bring to the audience this time?

miku: Last time we came to Mexico was two years ago, and one of the biggest differences is now we're more experienced as we've performed more lives.

How do you perceive the changes the visual kei genre has undergone in Japan since its beginnings?

miku: Before, most visual kei singers had a straight hair style, now almost everyone has curly hair like Yu-ki. (laughs)

Teruki: In the beginning, visual kei was music with dark and violent lyrics, but now it has been changing to make them more colorful. That’s one of the biggest differences in the genre nowadays.

Teruki, you used to have a blog many years ago and said you wouldn’t use Twitter because it was too short for what you wrote, but now you're using it. How do you think this social network has been useful to communicate with your fans and share the music of An Cafe? Did you like it more than writing on a blog?

Teruki: I had my blog on Ameba because I like to write about many subjects; that’s why I didn’t use Twitter. I started using Twitter and realized I could have closer communication with fans, so I changed my mind. Now I really like it.

What is the best gift you have received from fans?

miku: A letter they wrote to me, because it was in Japanese and you could tell it had taken a lot of time to do.

Yu-ki: I really liked a painting drawn in manga style, but it was also a painting with a mixture of Mexican and Japanese styles.

kanon: What I liked the most was a small bronze figure I was given. I still have it.

Teruki: What I liked the most was a USB memory drive that I got the first time we came to Mexico. When I arrived in Japan and I opened the content, I found several pictures of Mexican cafekko. I liked that a lot.

takuya: Tequila! (laughs)

From all the songs you've composed, what is your favorite one?

Teruki: Meguri aeta kiseki.

Yu-ki: Darling.

miku: Snow Scene.

kanon: Mosou mo mou sorosoro.

takuya: Juryoku Scandalous.

You have a lot of fans all over the world and many of them have learned Japanese due to your songs, and also want to visit Japan. In your opinion, what places in Japan should your overseas fans know about?

Teruki: Chiba, where kanon is from, because there’s much more nature and you can do several activities like cycling.

Yu-ki: I recommend going to Chinatown because I like eating there. (laughs)

miku: Minato, Yokohama and Kobe, because there are many ports and I like them a lot.

kanon: Ueno and Asakusa, because there are many foreigners and the service is quite good.

takuya: Kyoto, because you can fully feel the history of Japan there.

We already know that you like Mexican music. Would you collaborate with a Mexican artist who is on par with yourselves?

(miku starts singing part of a song in Spanish)

Once more, please…

(miku sings once again in Spanish, but no one in the room recognizes the song)

miku: We don’t know the artist's name, but we would like to do a duet with whoever it was who made the song I just sang. (laughs)

Are you gamers? What is your favorite video game and how much time do you spend playing?

takuya: Final Fantasy IX.

kanon: Monster Hunter. I have over 500 hours of gameplay.

Yu-ki: I like Minecraft. I haven’t played it for long yet, but I really like it.

miku: Super Mario 2. I have 500 hours of gameplay, although I haven’t finished it because it’s difficult. (laughs)

teruki: I like to play mobile games. Now I have an iPhone and before that I had a cellphone where I played Puyo Puyo, and I played a lot.

kanon, you developed a game called “Pinky☆distortion” and it only had a first part. What happened with this project?

kanon: There wasn’t a second part because my co-workers on the project didn’t continue developing it.

Being your third time in Mexico, what words in Spanish do you know?

Teruki: Gracias (Thank you).

Yu-ki: ¡Hola! (Hello!)

miku: Te amo (I love you).

kanon: Adiós (Goodbye).

takuya: Everyone else already told the words that I know.

Tequila, takuya, tequila!

takuya: Tequila? (The band laughs)

After traveling over 15 hours by plane, how do feel knowing there are Mexican fans who've gone to your concerts in Japan?

Teruki: We are very grateful. Thank you very much for making that journey.

kanon, Kanon Wakeshima recently performed in Mexico and she talked about your collaboration kanon×kanon. What do you think of her and how was working together?

(The other members of An Cafe start making jokes about it and miku jokingly makes a heart-shaped hand gesture)

kanon: I didn’t know that Kanon Wakeshima had come to Mexico, but I think she is very talented and a great person.

Can you give a message to your fans that are waiting for you at tonight’s live?

Teruki: Thank you so much for coming, we came from far away to have a great time with you.

Yu-ki: We came from far away to spend a fun time with you.

miku: I want people to have lots of fun and enjoy this live as never before.

kanon: Although Spanish and Japanese are very different, I feel like the fans and we are like a family. I want to have fun together. I want that when fans return home, they return with their hearts full of An Cafe.

takuya: We haven’t changed since the last time we came two years ago. Rather we evolved our level and we'll show this at the live. I hope fans enjoy it a lot.

This concluded the questions at the press conference. Later, An Cafe met with JaME to answer a few more questions in a more conventional interview.


Once again, welcome to Mexico. How do you feel about visiting your Mexican cafekko and cafe-os for the third time?

miku: Thank you! Every time we come to Mexico, we feel like we returned to our family, our home.

Can you tell us a fun fact about the member you have at your side?

(Everyone turns around to see Teruki and laugh a bit because he is in the corner, so the interpreter tells him to talk about takuya, who is at the other side).

miku: Yu-ki is a bit weird, and when he's late, he says weird things.

kanon: Once miku went to the beach and he had the misfortune of stepping in excrement. (laughs).

miku: Why you tell them that? (laughs)

Teruki: Something interesting? We have a rule in An Cafe which is that you can’t be late. If you arrive late, you have a kind of fine, like writing on the blog… And takuya always has to write for being late. (laughs)

takuya: kanon is always late, but he never apologizes. But since he is a good person, we always forgive him everything.

Yu-ki: Teruki didn’t like smartphones at first and he didn’t use them, but he gradually began to use them and now he even collects many cases for his.

This is the third time you'll be performing in Mexico. What surprises do you have prepared for this occasion?

miku: This time we have prepared a very funny MC in which we speak a lot of Spanish.

Teruki: (in Spanish) A lot, a lot!

Recently you released the single Mosou mo mou sorosoro. Can you tell us the inspiration behind the song?

miku: We made this song thinking of people who can’t express themselves openly, those people who can’t complain and endure a lot until they explode. That’s the idea behind this song.

If you could describe An Cafe with one word, what would it be?

miku: (in English) Home.

takuya: Positive.

kanon: (in English) Identity.

miku: And in Japanese? (The band laughs)

miku: I’m going to change… (in English) theory.

(Yu-ki mentioned a word in Japanese until miku suggests “family”)

Yu-ki: Family. (laughs)

Teruki: I’m going to choose the same word as miku - home (in English).

On November 29th, you will perform at [stylish wave generation’14] with various artists. What other artists would you like to share the stage with?

miku: Stylish wave generation? With…

…NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST, v[NEU], Arlequin…

miku: Yeah… v[NEU], Arlequin, BORN… How many bands are there?

Teruki: With v[NEU], because we’ve played with them before and we’re friends.

miku: (to Yu-ki) X JAPAN! (laughs) Most of the bands that will perform at this event are friends of ours, so I’d rather not choose one.

kanon: With BORN.

takuya: Also with v[NEU], because we know each other quite well.

Finally, could you give a message to all JaME's readers in Latin America and across the world?

Teruki: We are very happy to come to Mexico this time, though we would like to do a world tour and visit several countries in Latin America again. Thanks for your support!

Yu-ki: We never thought that we could travel to many countries, so I want to thank the fans for always supporting us whenever we come.

miku: Thank you for always supporting us. If there’s a reason why we can come to so many countries in Latin America and the world , it's because our fans are always there to support us. Thank you!

kanon: When I saw the information about our last world tour, the first thing I looked for was if there was going to be a Latin American tour, because I really like coming here.

takuya: I like to travel to many countries to obtain inspiration for future works and songs.

Thank you so much and good luck!

An Cafe: Thank you! (in Spanish)


JaME would like to thank to An Cafe, LoveJapan Entertainment and its interpreters for making this interview and press conference possible.