Interview With Kaya At Anime USA

The day after an incredible set at Anime USA held in Crystal City, Virginia, Kaya met up with us in a closed off hotel restaurant to talk about everything from his costumes to his dancers to his fans' reaction at his drastic style change.


Thank you for meeting with us. Please introduce yourself to our readers.

Kaya: Hello, I’m Kaya. I am a singer. I am always looking for beauty and beautiful things to sing about. Please take care of me!

How has your experience at Anime USA been so far? Have you seen anything that caught your attention?

Kaya: Definitely the cosplay! There are so many different people! I was actually at another convention in California last year and compared to that, there are so many more people here - I’m just amazed! There were a lot of “Pokemon”! (laughs)

You like “Pokemon”?

Kaya: I like Pikachu! (laughs)

Between the dance choreography and your detailed costumes, has there been a time where you had to adapt the dance because of restricted costume movement?

Kaya: There were a lot of different changes that had to be made. For example, I have a microphone, so I can’t do movements with both hands open. In this case, I had to alter my movements to suit my props. There’s a lot of little things like that that have to be considered.

When it comes to your dancers, do you select them yourself?

Kaya: Ah, yes I do!

What do you look for in your dancers?

Kaya: Just like singing a song, but not being able to express certain things by singing alone, I try to express those things with makeup and costumes, so I look for dancers that could express emotions such as passion, with their dancing.

What does ‘performance’ mean to you?

Kaya: Ah… (thinks) ‘Performance’ is such a big, broad word. I really had to think about it, but ‘performance’ to me is self-expression.

The last time we talked with you, you said you wanted to appeal to a freedom of gender and fashion by you, as a man, wearing a dress. How does that express that freedom? What do you want to accomplish by wearing a dress?

Kaya: The reason why I wear a dress is because traditionally, a female wears a dress and a male wears pants. I don’t like these traditional values that have been set. I think it’s fine if an old man wears a dress. If they want to wear it, then fine, they should. Anyone should be able to wear what they want to wear and by wearing a dress, I’m going out there and showing the world that someone like myself exists. I want to become that bridge, that person that opens up the door for them to say “Oh - someone like this exists, maybe it’s okay for me to do it, too.” That’s the reason why I wear dresses and go on stage and perform.

Since image is an important part of your performance as a whole, what is it that you’re aiming to convey visually to your audience? Are the visuals expressing the music or is the music expressing the visuals?

Kaya: It’s both! The music enhances the visuals and the visuals enhance the music. They come hand in hand, both of them are on the same level expressing ideas that I want to convey.

For artists without a strong image foundation, do you think they can convey their music with as strong a conviction as those artists do have one?

Kaya: That’s a hard question…I’m not sure about the answer, but personally, I feel that an artist has to have a strong, clear image to have that conviction.

You mentioned before that Akihiro Miwa has been an inspiration to you. What about him has inspired you?

Kaya: His aesthetic expression. Being able to put that out there for so many years has really been inspiring.

Looking back on your solo career, is there one memory in particular that sticks out as your fondest that you could share with us?

Kaya: There’s a lot of different things and I can’t really pinpoint one thing… but going to Los Angeles for the first time last year and coming to Washington D.C. this year definitely sticks out. Since I started my solo career, going to Los Angeles was the first time I went overseas, followed by this trip. Going overseas is definitely one of the main things that has occupied my mind!

By releasing an album with French chansons, you moved away from the gothic trance/neo decadence sound and the image many people had associated you with before. How did your fans react?

Kaya: I’m not sure. There were a lot of people, many people, that were shocked. However, a lot of them said, “Wow, thank you so much for opening up the door for us to see something else.” So I feel that maybe they did accept it, but generally, a lot of people were completely shocked.

Is remixing previous songs of yours something you’re interested in?

Kaya: Definitely! I do love remixes, I love going clubbing so I’m very influenced by club music. I want to remix all of the things I have released and make it possible to do something like a ‘Kaya Night’!

You recently performed at Tokyo Decadance where you showed a much wilder and sexier side of yourself. What inspired you to do this? Will you continue to present this image in the future?

Kaya: (laughs) Did you know about what I did there?

We’ve heard, but some of our readers may not know!

Kaya: (laughs) I went as an oiran; it’s a type of geisha, the less inhibited type. Since the word ‘decadance’ is at the end, at a point during Kugutsu, I got naked from the waist up. There was a cake and I took a handful and had the audience lick it off my hands and things like that (laughs) so it had quite an impact. Maybe I could do that a couple times during the year but because it’s very reserved in Japan, perhaps people there will be too shocked if I do it too often. (laughs)

Next year you will participate in a Jasmine You memorial event with Versailles and Matenrou Opera. What meaning does this event hold for you?

Kaya: It’s going to be a big event with a big meaning. That meaning is something that cannot be expressed in words. I’m going to sing with all my heart.

Do you have any future plans you could divulge? Maybe a new full album in the works?

Kaya: I haven’t made an album in a while, so I am thinking that I would like to make a new album, but I’m not sure. Also, on December 27th, I’m going to be performing at Yakuruto Hall in Tokyo, and in April I’m actually going to be performing with an orchestra, so I’m focusing on that right now.

Lastly, please give a message for your fans.

Kaya: Hello, I’m Kaya. Thank you so much for cheering me on all the time! I’m going to be doing all different kinds of songs in different outfits and will keep on performing. I’d love to come to America again, so please keep on supporting me and I’ll see you soon!


JaME would like to thank Anime USA, Midori Maejima and Kaya for making this interview possible.