MarBell has impressed audiences with their strong gothic appearance on the scene. Having already performed in front of thousands this year at the
HIDE MEMORIAL SUMMIT, the up and coming
MarBell took some time to chat with JaME after their emotional performance at Otakon 2008.
For our readers who are unfamiliar with you, could you please introduce yourselves?
Mar: (In English) I'm
Mar from
MarBell.
AZUSA: On Bass,
AZUSA.
yu-ya: On drums,
yu-ya.
Tsunoda: On guitar,
Tsunoda.
Since we are at an anime convention, do you follow any anime or manga?
Mar: (In English) I love "Sailor Moon!" (laughs)
yu-ya: I really liked "Slam Dunk" in junior high. I was on the basketball team then. Of course, I read lots of other manga as well.
Tsunoda: "Dragon Ball."
AZUSA: I also like "Dragon Ball."
Have you had a chance to explore the convention?
Mar: Unfortunately, we didn't really have the time to look around the convention, but while we were traveling between events, we were taking the corridors a lot and got to see some of the convention. It was very surprising.
Earlier today, you played for the first time in the US. How was that for you?
Tsunoda: I play the guitar, but the audience reacted to everything I did on the guitar, so it felt really good being up onstage playing.
Was there anything that surprised you about the show?
Mar: The American audience was able to express their emotions very vividly!
Earlier this year, you performed at the HIDE MEMORIAL SUMMIT
with many other well-known artists. How was this experience for you?
Tsunoda: It was amazing that so many artists and staff members have been so greatly impacted by the existence of
hide and that they loved
hide so much. This impact, this love, created such a large event, something that was greater than myself. Something greater than I could perceive in its impact and its love. It was an honor to be there and be able to perform at the summit and I think that this experience is one that this band will never forget.
For someone new to MarBell, how would you describe your music?
Mar: Emotionally unstable.
Would you say that MarBell has a specific concept?
Mar: The short answer to that would be "no." I don't think that our music is caught up in concepts or ideas. Depending on the person listening, they can feel that our music is gothic, but different people may feel different things when listening to our music, so we try to not let ourselves get caught up in one single idea.
In your biography, it mentions you use music to express your feelings. Do you think that music has any healing powers?
Tsunoda: I believe that music was first created for that purpose, so yes, I do believe it has healing powers.
yu-ya: I think that healing occurs in different ways. Many different ways for many different people. Of course, we're always listening to the music that we like, and we definitely believe that music has healing powers.
When it comes to making your music, how does the writing process usually go?
MarBell: (Discusses amongst themselves) A master chef never reveals the secret ingredient! (laughs)
How did the collaboration between you and h.naoto come about?
Mar: I was the navigator for a TV show called "Visual Shock" and through that, I had the opportunity to wear outfits designed by
h.naoto. We saw that we had a lot of things in common and we were able to form a very strong bond. That is how he came to produce our band as well and to interact with us in so many ways.
Now that you've played in the US, are there any other countries you'd like to go to?
Mar: The North Pole!
(Everyone laughs)
yu-ya: I don't want to go to just any one country, I want to play in as many countries as I can.
AZUSA: Taiwan and England.
What are the future plans for MarBell?
Mar: I want all of our fans to be able to release their stress and get what they want. Release their lust!
Are there any new releases planned?
Tsunoda: We are releasing a single, then we will release an album next year.
Can you tell us about the new single?
Tsunoda: We are currently in the process of making the single, so you'll just have to wait! (laughs)
Lastly, please give a message to your fans.
Tsunoda: For all our fans who came to our Otakon live and for all our fans reading this interview, we would like you to visit our
official website and take a look at our
MySpace page. Please listen to our songs and send us emails!
yu-ya: This was my first time coming to the US and I got to perform a live. I got a lot of energy from the audience. I definitely want to come again, so please look forward to seeing us again!
Mar: I went into this live thinking, "I'm going to move my audience's emotions whether it's for the good or bad. I don't care whether they love our music, hate our music, find our music annoying; I just wanted to feel their emotions through the live." But having performed it, I find now that it was the audience that stirred my emotions, so I am very thankful to them for that. They were good emotions.
AZUSA: I love the way the audience reacted to our show. I think we really gained a lot from performing this live. We would like to continue to travel across the world, performing in all sorts of countries, so please wish us the best!
JaME would like to thank Otakon, Yaz Noya and MarBell for making this interview possible. Photographs by Kathy Chee from Fundy Photographics.
