JaME sat down with the up and coming visual kei band NAZARE to talk about their formation, their upcoming release and shows, plans for the future and more.
Since this is our first interview, please introduce yourselves.
Issei: I’m the drummer, Issei. Yoh: I’m the guitarist, Yoh. Uta: I’m the bassist, Uta. Mio: I’m the vocalist, Mio.
You’ve just recently formed. Could you please tell us about how you came together?
Issei: I uploaded a demo to twitter, and Yoh contacted me about it. Then this guy Mio followed me, and I captured him. And suddenly Uta appeared. And so we started. (laughs)
Could you tell us a bit about the concept of the band?
Issei: I had Jesus appear in a dream… Yoh: You liar! (laughs) Issei: And I saw Israel, and I thought about what it meant, so it was shown me by God. (laughs) So I made what came to me into form with this band.
Your official start will be the one-man show at Ikebukuro BlackHole on January 12th 2019, but you are already playing a bunch of secret lives. Why did you choose to proceed this way?
Issei: I thought it would be interesting for people if suddenly guys who they have no idea about appear. Although we have only announced the one-man, gigs are experience after all, so I thought that we should be playing more. So it’s a way for us to gain experience.
You get introduced as ex-D.I.D. or ex-DIMLIM, so people are pretty familiar with Issei’s previous bands, but can you tell us about the other three members’ backgrounds?
Yoh: I used to play guitar in a genre outside of visual kei, in loud bands. Uta: I’m a complete newbie. Mio: Me too, I’m a newbie. Yoh: Well if you say so, it’s the same for me. Issei: It’s cause I like newbies (laughs)
How did you decide to venture into visual kei?
Yoh: (pointing at Uta) He looks the most visual kei out of all of us. Uta: I think I got invited because I have the look. (laughs)
What music do you like, what music do you use as inspiration?
Issei: DIR EN GREY, of course. Mio: Sheena Ringo. Yoh: Slipknot. Uta: DIR EN GREY. Mio: Maybe we should have all said DIR EN GREY (laughs)
If you say that you like bands like DIR EN GREY, you probably hear a lot of “they’re just DIR EN GREY copycats”, what do you think when you hear that?
Issei: That’s very welcome (laughs) I want to be told that.
Mio probably gets told “you look like you like DIR EN GREY” a lot.
Yoh: He gets told that all the time. Mio: All the time. I really don’t mind it. They can totally tell me I’m a rip-off.
Do you listen to any foreign music, other than Slipknot?
Mio: I like Bruno Mars. I don’t listen to metal much. Issei: I’ve liked Killswitch Engage for a while now. Uta: When I was in high school, I used to play in a copy-band of bands like Metallica and Megadeth.
Yoh, you play an 8-string guitar. That’s not very characteristic of someone who has just started, how did you get here?
Yoh: That’s right (laughs). I used to play a 7-string guitar for about 10 years… Uta: That’s not a newbie (laughs) Yoh: When I was going to get a new guitar, I thought I wanted to bring out some individuality, so I bought an 8-string guitar.
Mio, could you talk about the meaning of your lyrics for people who don’t understand Japanese?
Mio: The topics vary. There are two songs that are diss tracks towards a certain individual, and then there are lyrics that are very not metal-like, not violent lyrics. There is a lot of emotional theory, but it’s not a very “visual kei” sort of world view in our lyrics.
Your first album Jingai will be released on the day of your one-man show on January 12th. Could you tell us a bit about the creation process?
Issei: We wrote the songs individually, mostly myself, but the others too, then I arrange them, and we have them go back and forth between us.
Were there any interesting stories happening around this recording?
Issei: I usually can’t do the back up vocals, but I did them only for the recording. Uta: The place where we recorded was interesting. Issei: We recorded everything at my house, so from noon we were shouting and stuff. I live in a regular apartment. (laughs)
What can we expect from the finished product?
Uta: It’s going to be strong. Issei: There’s a lot of variation within the album. There are dark songs and light songs, fast songs and slow songs.
The album is only going to be sold at the one-man show, the tickets to which are already sold out, so there will be many people who are unable to get it. Are you thinking of releasing it later, maybe in a different version, or even to the overseas audience?
Issei: I don’t think we will be able to sell it overseas, but we are thinking about possible different variations. We should have more information soon. But not overseas, so maybe you can buy it off resale websites or auctions, just don’t upload it to YouTube please! (laughs)
2018 is coming to an end, and I think you will have more announcements, possible at the one-man, but can you tell us a bit about your plans and goals for 2019?
Issei: We are thinking of what’s in front of our eyes right now, for now. Well, we are going to do our best. We want to do one-man shows regularly.
What about your individual goals for 2019?
Uta: (to Yoh) Increase the number of guitar strings? 9 strings! (laugh) Yoh: I want to concentrate on what we have in front of us right now, so the one-man show, and then other things that will be announced from now on, I want them to have a good outcome. Mio: I don’t have a clear goal, but I want to create an environment in which we can do more than we can imagine doing now. Uta: I want to lose weight. (laughs) Mio: Let’s lose weight together! Issei: I want to go overseas for fun. Yoh: Please invite us overseas! Issei: Please invite us!
So if you go overseas, where would you like to go?
Yoh: Hawaii! Uta: You’re just thinking of having fun! (laughs) I want to go to England. I want to take a picture with the Harry Potter cart. Yoh: Hey, you’re just thinking of having fun as well! (laughs) Mio: America and Taiwan. Issei: I want to go to Luxembourg and Switzerland.
Last, please give a message to our overseas readers.
Issei: Fuck with us! Uta: I want to play with Slipknot. (laughs) Yoh: I will bathe you in sound! Mio: I want to become friends with Marilyn Manson. Uta: That’s not very realistic. (laughs)
JaME would like to thank NAZARE for this interview opportunity.
