A couple of weeks before the start of the first European tour of metalcore band I Promised Once, JaME had a chance to ask the musicians about their beginnings, their second mini-album, and their expectations for the upcoming tour.
Hello I Promised Once! Thank you for taking time out for this interview. This is your first time talking to JaME, so please introduce yourselves!
I Promised Once: Hello dear JaME team! We are George, Flo and Nils, the German-speaking members of I Promised Once. Our band is a metalcore formation from Tokyo. There are six of us and we have been producing music for two years now.
Nils: George is our frontman and vocalist, and the leader of our band. He is half-Japanese, born in Kobe and used to live in Düsseldorf until his school graduation. Flo is our clean-parts singer, and apart from that he is also responsible for the production of the electro and synthesizer aspects. You can meet him DJ-ing in the clubs of Tokyo. I play guitar and write songs. I grew up in Düsseldorf and have been living in Tokyo for six years now.
I Promised Once is a German-Japanese band. How did you guys meet?
Nils: George and I have known each other since we were kids. We both used to live in Düsseldorf until we were finished with secondary school. We started making music together back then and understood the necessity and also the chance of starting off in Japan! Flo and I used to live in the same building in Tokyo, so he joined our band for I knew he was an expert in electro music. George and Kunio used to play in a visual kei band before. Hiro and I used to play together in another band. As for our bassist, Joe, we hired him through an advertisement.
What challenges do you face being a German-Japanese band? What kind of opportunities arise from these challenges?
Nils: A band with international membership benefits from standing out from the crowd, which raises interest. Our music is exceptional thanks to the diverse cultural influences in the song writing, for example, in the song structure. What is challenging for us is meeting the needs of both of the fan bases that we are struggling to bring together — metal and visual kei. Apart from that, our Japanese members would be pretty reserved in expressing their opinions about the band, but actually it never turned out to be a negative thing. That is how it was also possible to notice the cultural differences between Germany and Japan.
George and Kunio, you two used to play together in a visual kei band in Japan. Did it have a certain impact on the music of I Promised Once, and if so, how?
George: Yes, we used to play in a visual kei band before, and visual kei does still influence I Promised Once both visually and musically. It becomes especially obvious during our shows because we use elements of visual kei in our stage performances and costumes. At our Japanese shows we see a mix of visual kei and metal fans.
Your second mini-album DUST TO DUST was released in April. How would you describe the songs on this album? Which song embodies the sound of I Promised Once best?
George: The songs of DUST TO DUST turned out to be harder and gloomier compared to the first mini-album New Blood. In some songs we dropped down the tuning in order to transmit this atmosphere. We also dropped the EDM elements and substituted them intensively with classical instruments, such as the violin and piano. You can hear it in the songs FAR AWAY and THE WALKER PART 0: GENESIS, which are explicitly shaped by the violin and piano. Naturally we retained the sound of New Blood, especially in the songs UNDER THE INFLUENCE and THEY HATE US CAUSE THEY AIN’T US.
How do you share the tasks in your band? Who is responsible for the composing or for the lyrics?
George: Everyone has their own tasks that are regularly reviewed and sometimes changed. But as some of us come from Germany and some from Japan, it is natural that the Germans solve international issues and the Japanese solve the Japanese ones. All of us can compose songs, so we gather together and do it. As for the lyrics, out of linguistic practicality they are mostly written by the Germans of I Promised Once.
You say you want to introduce a new trend in the music genre. How do you think the Japanese music scene has changed?
Flo: The new trend has to arise from the mix of Japanese and German influences as well as from the fusion of different musical backgrounds. We combine these diverse influences into one whole peculiar sound, which can easily be heard in our songs. This sound seems to be accepted in the Japanese music scene. Our German background also has a refreshing effect.
Recently, you finished your second tour of Japan. How was it? Did everything work out exactly as you planned? How did your first experience from the mini-tour influence the recent one?
Flo: The Japanese tour was superb. It was cool to play in other Japanese cities and to get to know local fans. It seemed as if they had been looking forward to seeing us for a long time and it was a cool feeling. Of course we play in Tokyo often, but for fans from the whole country it is not always that easy to get to Tokyo.
Apart from the Japanese tour, you have played together with other international bands such as ARTEMA and NoisyCell. Have these bands and shared concerts inspired you or had an impact on your goals?
Flo: The chance to share the stage with such famous and experienced bands is, first of all, the opportunity to learn a lot about music and performing in general. ARTEMA and NoisyCell are our "senpais". Their sense of music and acting is extremely professional. Our shared shows inspired us to go further in order to be able to perform perfectly. It counts for both instruments and vocals.
You are setting off for your first Europe tour soon. What are your expectations? Is there anything that you especially anticipate?
Flo: I think we are all looking forward to experiencing the atmosphere of European cities. Until now we are only familiar with Japanese fans and we are curious about the differences in mood between European and Japanese gigs. I think it is going to be somewhat crazier in Europe, which is something we are looking forward to. That is what we would love to give to our European fans — the chance to rock and dance away.
What can European audiences expect from I Promised Once's shows?
Flo: You can expect that we will have wild fun. Our schedule is pretty tight and it will be stressful, but still be prepared for the best mood. We will try our best. We are counting on your support and looking forward to seeing you on tour.
Thank you for the interview. Please say a few final words for our readers!
George: We can hardly wait to finally play for you! We will do our best so that you can spend an unforgettable evening with us! Listen to New Blood and DUST TO DUST till you turn blue — shout, dance and party with us!
You can watch a video comment from the band about their upcoming Europe tour below.
JaME would like to thank I Promised Once and Otaji for this interview.
