Interview with D'espairsRay in the Netherlands

On November 10th, D'espairsRay started their European tour in Utrecht, The Netherlands. This was the first time for them to perform in The Netherlands, so we took this opportunity to interview the band.

Unfortunately, the band had a very busy schedule, so we shortened the interview. Between the soundcheck and the band's dinner, we had a short talk with the bassist Zero and drummer Tsukasa.


D'espairsRay was the first big visual band that played in Europe. Now, two years later, you’re the first visual band to perform in The Netherlands and other countries. How does it feel to be the first to cross boundaries every time?

Tsukasa: This time we will be playing six days in a row, something we've never done before, not even in Japan. And the first time we're doing this, is here in Europe. So of course it’s something new what we'll experience this time, but we have confidence in ourselves and we know we’re able to do this.

How does it feel now, now that you’re at the beginning of the tour?

Zero: It is our first time playing here in the Netherlands and we’re looking forward to it since it is the first time, but at the same the schedule is so tight that I imagine it to be very busy with concerts every day and that we won't be able to really enjoy being over here so that's kind of sad. But of course we’re looking forward to the whole tour.
Tsukasa: Of course today we will perform the best, and after the Finnish concert we probably still want to stay here and not go home and hopefully everybody will be able to enjoy themselves together with us.

This time you have a long tour through Europe with 14 concerts, why did you decide to do this instead of a tour with only two countries again?

Zero: In the beginning we started with playing in Germany and France, but that was just a starting point. But we have been getting emails from fans and realized we had fans everywhere and everybody wants us to come to their country. So that's why we decided to take this chance to reach out to more different places we've never been before and hopefully we will be able to meet all the fans and perform for them. This is something new for us too.

Will this tour be featured on a DVD?

Tsukasa: We have been filming each other, so there is off-shot material. But there are no plans to release a DVD yet, so we don’t know.

You have been in the visual kei scene for quite some time now. Do you think that it has changed a lot during those years, for example with the newer 'cute' bands?

Tsukasa: We've been in the scene for a long time now and all that time we've just been doing all the things we wanted to. We don't have any interest in those 'cute' bands you mentioned and we wouldn't want to make music like that, the 'fluffy' or 'pop' music.

D'espairsRay is still together after seven years, with exactly the same line-up. How does this make you feel when a lot of other bands around you disband, such as Kagerou who will disband in January?

Zero: Every beginning has an ending and of course it's sad and regrettable but those are just our personal feelings. The visual scene won't stop or disappear when disbandings happen; this scene is fascinating and full of surprises.

When you started the band, did you ever expected to become famous outside of Japan, was it one of your goals or did you just get the opportunity and took it?

Tsukasa: When we first started we had interest in the overseas market and yes, we wanted to go there. And as we continued our career we came to the point where we said, "hey, let's try it, maybe we have a chance to go overseas" and just as we were talking about that, we got the offer. So we took it and hopefully we can expand. But yeah, we were interested in going overseas before.

What are your own favourite songs from D'espairsRay and why?

Tsukasa: For me it's a song we haven't released yet, even the title is still not decided on. But we will play it today, so you'll be the first to hear it. The lyrics and the music are kind of sad, but I really like it. Even though it's a new song, I'm very proud of it and I have a preference for it.
Zero: All our songs. All of the songs are very precious to me, so I feel like a mother who has to choose between her children; it's impossible.

Throughout your whole career, what was the most memorable concert you've ever played?

Tsukasa: All of them. (He says 'all' in English a few times, to empathize this and is quiet for a moment before he continues)
The first time we came to Germany, I don't remember where that was.
Berlin.
Tsukasa: That was very memorable for me because the audience was something we had never experienced before; it was different from Japan. So it was something that left an impact on me.

Can we expect any new releases from D'espairsRay soon?

Zero: Next year we'll be releasing a CD.

Will it be an album or a single?

Zero: An album.

Do you have any message for your fans?

Zero: This is a very, very big tour for us and we will still be in Europe when this interview will be online, so I hope that if you have the chance, please come and watch us. We will be waiting for you.
Tsukasa: In Japan, on September 9th, we celebrated our seventh anniversary with a concert. And I feel like we were able to communicate with the Japanese fans on various levels. This European tour is the start of our eight-year and it will be a chance for us to reach out to our European fans and hopefully we can continue to bond with them.

Thank you for the interview and good luck with your performance tonight!


Thanks to Gan-Shin and Twisted Talent for organizing the interview, and to Nora for the translation.