The day after their first concert in Poland, Ra:IN attended a brief press conference and sign session.
On July 22nd in Hydrozagadka club, the day after Ra:IN's first live in Warsaw, a signing session was held. Due to organizational difficulties, the planned interviews turned into a short press conference. Some of the fans waiting for the signing session came to it as well and were also allowed to ask their questions, but only a few of them did. Though the band members were obviously tired, they answered cheerfully and the whole meeting had a very warm, relaxed atmosphere.
Good morning, I’m from JaME Poland and I’m very happy to have an interview with you today. You played your first concert in Poland yesterday. Do you have any special memories about it?
michiaki: I was very happy to play in Poland. Very happy. (gives the microphone to PATA) Please.
PATA: Well... I enjoyed it. (laughs)
D.I.E.: That's all?
PATA: That's all. I’m just reticent.
(everyone laughs)
D.I.E.: Well... fans in Poland are amazing and very energetic. It was our fourth concert during our European Tour, but this one was the best. And I also really enjoyed the time after the show. (Everyone laughs.)
Ra:IN is here for a whole tour in Europe this time. Why did you decide to play in so many countries and also an additional gig in Slovenia?
(Everyone laughs.)
michiaki: This is our European tour and we wanted to play as many lives in as many countries as we could.
It’s your first time to our country, isn’t it? We'd like to hear about your first impressions of Poland.
(The members pass the microphone to each other, everyone laughs; finally D.I.E. decides to answer.)
D.I.E.: Polish cities are very beautiful and the food is really tasty. What else...? The girls are also very cute (everyone laughs), but it’s very cold here.
Has anything about the culture surprised you so far?
PATA: I’m still jet lagged, so I haven’t noticed anything yet. But maybe something will happen in the near future that will surprise me.
According to your MySpace, you've started making your fourth album. When will it be released? Will it also be available in Europe?
michiaki: We plan to start recording after our European Tour and we might even release it at the end of this year. And we hope, of course, that it will also be released in Europe, but now we're looking for a label.
We also heard that you plan to make a new DVD, which will include some footage from your concert in Gdynia. What else will be on this DVD?
D.I.E.: Really? Did you hear something like that? (everyone laughs) The promoter of the live in Gdynia gave us the offer. Our two cameramen who filmed our live in Warsaw will also record our show in Gdynia, so maybe we’ll combine the footage.
At the moment, it seems that there aren’t many PVs for Ra:IN’s songs. Do you think that will change in the future?
michiaki: Yes, we hope so. (everyone laughs) We only have one PV for Kai, which was made about five years ago. But we plan to make another one.
You're a band whose songs are almost entirely instrumental. It’s quite unique. Why did you choose to make instrumental music? Was it hard to get a fans with these kinds of compositions?
(Everyone laughs.)
Tetsu: The reason is very simple. We have no vocalist now. We asked Robert Plant to be our vocalist, but he said he was too busy to do that. So we started to make instrumental music.
Fan: michiaki can do vocals!
Interpreter: michiaki? Do you think so?
Fan: Yes. I think his voice is very good.
michiaki: (pointing to PATA) He should do vocals. (Everyone laughs.)
Your former bands included vocalists. Is there any difference between playing concerts with a vocalist and playing without? In your opinion is it harder or easier without one?
D.I.E.: (in English) I do vocals sometimes. But when a vocalist is on stage, the band sounds too loud and the vocalist thinks: “Where is my voice?” (Everyone laughs.) But sometimes we invite vocalists... (laughs)
In your opinion, what is the best thing about playing concerts?
(michiaki nudges PATA)
PATA: Eh? (everyone laughs) Well... (laughs and asks for the question to be repeated) The best thing about playing concerts is that we can enjoy it.
You have been in the music business for a long time. What does music mean to you now? Is it still like an adventure or is it just a job?
(Everyone laughs.)
D.I.E.: (in the background) If you could choose between an adventure and a job, what would you pick? Adventure, of course!
PATA: Both.
Thank you so much for this interview.
All: Thank you.
Questions from the fans
Nice to meet you. We are very happy that you are here with us and we'd like to thank you very much for the next concert. Do you like Polish fans?
D.I.E.: Yeah, of course.
I have a question for PATA. How do you make your hair look so beautiful?
(Everybody laughs.)
PATA: I don't do anything. (laughs)
Why did you decide to play a free concert tomorrow?
michiaki: Yesterday we played one concert here, but we wanted to see more Polish fans, so that’s why we decided to do a free show.
In the next part of the meeting, the musicians signed album covers, t-shirts, tickets and even photos from Sunday’s live. They also agreed to take photos with fans, who eagerly took advantage of the opportunity. But Ra:IN didn’t leave Hydrozagdka empty-handed. They received vodka in furry packaging from representatives of one of the Polish online magazines about Japanese music, and they started to drink it during an interview made by benefactors - of course, in the Polish way with apple juice. In addition, the grateful fans gave them a special cream cake.
JaME would like to thank Ra:IN and Gekido Tour for making this interview possible, Kayo for interpreting and Anna Kuligowska for translating afterwards.
