Calmando Qual in Poland

Calmando Qual's concert in Warsaw was the second during their current European tour. The band arrived at the club around 1pm and after they finished their sound check we were given some time to interview them. Splendor, the opening band, began rehearsing and the club was too noisy, so we decided to go outside and sit on the stairs in front of the club, which is where the interview took place.

Most questions were answered by the whole band, only Sio, perhaps feeling a bit shy as he had only been in the band for a few months, stayed quiet most of the time. They talked, laughed and joked between themselves a lot, so the answers in this interview are rather a gist of all they were saying.


INTERVIEW

I know this European tour is not your first, you've been here a few times already. How do you like it here?
Calmando Qual: Europe is very big, it's very big. [they repeat it a few times]

Do you have any good or special memories connected with playing here?
Calmando Qual: Europe is very big but the car [tourbus] is very small! [everyone laughs]
Kenka: And the beer is very cheap!

Is it tasty?
Calmando Qual: Yeah!

Can the fans expect any live recordings from the tour, like a DVD?
Calmando Qual: In Europe or in Japan?

The European tour...
Calmando Qual: Ah, we'd like to release something but we don't really have any plans yet.

Do you plan to perform in other countries, on other continents?
Hibiki: We'll play anywhere we're invited.
Tak: Even in space.

But do you have any specific plans? I heard you were planning to play in America next year...
[translator] That's what we're aiming to do, I'm actually trying to organise that myself but it's very slow going.

Do you think that the audience here in Europe is different to the audience in Japan? Do they react differently?
Calmando Qual: A lot of the Japanese fans are really shy, they don't really *do* much... but here the audience is very direct [Hibiki shows just what they mean by putting his arms in the air and pretending he's trying to grab a musician on stage]

And do you enjoy that?
Calmando Qual: It's much more fun to play here.

Last week you played at the Amphi festival in Germany. I think it was the first time you played at an event that big outside Japan. How did you do react; how did the audience react?
Calmando Qual: We couldn't really tell how many people were there, it was really dark, we couldn't even tell there were a lot of people. [Note: there were a few thousands]. But no matter how many people there are, a lot or just a few, we always make the same effort.

Did you go to see other bands?
Calmando Qual: No [laughs]. No, we didn't really have a chance to do that.

Your last CD is a remix album. Why? Do you like electronics? I know there have always been a lot of electronic sounds on your CDs but this album is pretty specific. Do you plan to release something like that in the future as well?
Tasc: I created the album. I made it pretty much myself. It was around the time when the old drummer left, so it was a good moment for the band to release that material.

[Hibiki starts humming the song Splendor has just stopped playing]

I really like that album. Were all the ideas yours? I liked the samples in 'Sludge' in particular, was that also your invention?
Tasc: Yeah, I do all the sampling and all the ideas were mine.

'Mechanical Mix...' came out over six months ago. Do you plan to release any new material soon?
Tak: Now that we've finally got a new drummer, we plan to release a new CD.
Hibiki: We're also considering changing the name of the band.

Oh really??
Calmando Qual: The name isn't decided yet.
Hibiki: It's the first time we're telling anyone, you're the first ones to know...

Where do you draw your inspirations from? Is it music, movies, do you have any idols?
Hibiki: No [everyone laughs], I don't have any.
Calmando Qual: There are many musicians we like and listen to.

How long have you been in the music business? Did you know you wanted to become musicians from your childhood or was there something which inspired you?
Hibiki: I knew it when I was born [everyone laughs again]
Tasc: Well, in grade school [everyone laughs and Tak calls him a 'grandpa'] some people were using simple synthesizers. When I realised you could create music this easily, I started asking a lot of people how to do that...

Have you always played the same style that you do now? Or did you play something completely different in your previous bands?
Tak: Our previous bands? We played a lot of different stuff.
Hibiki: I was in a hardcore punk band! Punk, Hardcore Punk, Heavy Metal, Goth. Four types.
Kenka [to Hibki]: Comic band! [everyone laughs]

How do you compose your songs? Does the music come first or is it the lyrics?
Tak: Until recently, one of us would record the basics of a song and then make everybody listen to it, so they would get an idea. But after the new drummer joined, we've been doing jam sessions in the studio as well.

I know that most of the European fans don't speak Japanese. Do you think the language barrier is hard to overcome? I think your music speaks for itself but I'd like to know your opinion...
Calmando Qual: We listen to a lot of English speaking bands ourselves and we don't really understand what they're saying but we can feel the emotions, so we believe it's the same with our music. The meaning is expressed in the sound.

It's obvious that you are strongly inspired by Europe, for example on the flyers you can quite clearly see Christian references. Do you plan to or want to include more 'Japanese' elements into your music or image?
Tak: Japanese elements... I don't think the image of our band is very Japanese, so no. Sometimes we use some typically Japanese phrases but that's it.


Questions from Ukiyo-e

Do you listen to visual kei at all?
[translator] No, they hate it [laughs]

Do you like any European bands?
Calmando Qual: We've just found out about this band called Deathstars... Oh, they're great! [they nod]
Hibiki: And Tokio Hotel! [everyone laughs hard and long]. Just kidding.
Tasc: I used to listen to one European band a lot but I can't remember its name now.

Do you listen to your own music, do you like it?
Calmando Qual: Well... very rarely.
Hibiki: When we listen to our old CDs we are always very critical, it's always, 'ah, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad...'

Would you like to sing in English more?
Hibiki: Not right now. I want to study more English first.

And what do you like to read?
Hibiki: I read a lot of motorcycle magazines.

Well, you've got this song 'erotic grotesque nonsense'. Do you like eroguro? [the interviewer mentions a few names of eroguro writers while Tak nods, signalising he knows them] Any connection with that genre?
Tak: Uhm, only manga.
Calmando Qual: We don't really read more serious books...
Hibiki: I'm afraid my eyes would go bad from all the reading. I don't want to wear glasses! [everyone laughs]



Afterwards, as there was still a lot of time left until the beginning of the show, the conversation continued about a variety of different topics, including bands they listen to and the difference between the European and Japanese Metal scenes. We found out that Hibiki designed his tattoos himself and he admitted that once you get one you only want more. The guys were also rather surprised that they are considered Visual Kei by many people in Europe.



Thanks to: Calmando Qual, Astan, Ukiyo-e, Justin and Andrea!