Interview with Scarlet Valse

After the departure of former guitarist Raizo in early July, ex-Misaruka member Rin officially joined visual kei band Scarlet Valse during a free one-man held at Shibuya VUENOS on July 12th. With this new line-up and their album Legendary Place to be released this fall, Scarlet Valse talk with JaME about their creation process, the strengths of the band and their brilliant future ahead.

Since it's our first interview with you, could you please introduce yourselves?

Kakeru: I’m the vocalist Kakeru. My favourite food is eggs. I also write lyrics for Scarlet Valse’s songs.
You.: I am the guitarist You. (pronounced as Yo-u).
Rin I am the guitarist Rin. I like traveling. Playing the guitar is both my hobby and my job, I am a lucky person.
Shian: I am the bassist Shian. I like all things fantasy!
Yo-hey: Hi! I’m Scarlet Valse’s drummer, Yo-hey!

What is the concept of the band?

Kakeru: The band’s sound is rooted in heavy metal and classical music. Our image is based on the rose, and dances. With our sound, we break and reimagine the scene. Our concept is like a dance, elegant and wild.

Where does the name Scarlet Valse come from?

Kakeru: As with the band concept, it’s the scarlet of the rose and the dance. The reason for the fusion of the English “Scarlet” and the French “Valse” comes from a certain Japanese anime, where there is a destruction spell that sounds like “Valse”. This became the origin of our name.

For our readers who don't understand Japanese, could you tell us what your lyrics are usually about?

Kakeru: I’m always the one writing the lyrics. I often write lyrics that would make the listener feel better, that talk about facing difficulties. To give some song examples, these would be Flames, Dear or Raison d’etre. I also write songs about painful love. These would be La neige or Misty Night, for example. Misty Night is a vampire story, a forbidden love between a vampire and a human. Furthermore, although these are rare, I write some erotic lyrics as well. For example, this would be songs like Shadow's Game or CopyCat.

What is your usual song creation process?

Rin: Someone writes the base for the song and we complete it with all the members.
You.: We then come together and finish it in the studio. When I write songs, I usually create guitar phrases, then sample drums and bass, and pass the result to the members to arrange.
Kakeru: Usually we all have the same creation process! For me, there are times when I start with the lyrics, and times when I start with the songs, and times when I start using the guitar and bass, or when I start with the piano. When I write, I don’t only think about the image and the worldview of the band, but also about how to make the song fun during shows.

Kakeru and You., there have been a few member changes since the band was founded in 2011, with you two being the founding members who have stayed with the band throughout the years. What would you say is the core of Scarlet Valse that hasn't changed, and what are some strengths that the band has now that it might not have had in the past?

You.: Our musical sense hasn’t changed, but with the current line-up we have become stronger both from the rhythm and the twin lead guitar perspective.
Kakeru: What we are doing and our feelings towards the band have not changed. But with the current members, our power of expression, our attacking power, has gone up. The core of my mind has not bent through being active in the band, and I am happy that members who agree with these thoughts have joined us. With these members, I think that we will be able to prove that if we believe in a dream, we are able to fulfill what we were not able to but have wanted to do until now.

Rin, you just joined the band starting from the one-man at Shibuya VUENOS on July 12th. What is your impression of the other four members? Have you made any interesting discoveries since you joined the band?

Rin: The members are kind and funny, and it’s fun to be around them. The unity between the four members was strong, but it wasn’t complete, so I could easily insert myself into the band. Everyone is good at their instruments, so playing with them is a lot of fun, and I am very happy.

For the remaining four members, what are some unique points that you think Rin is bringing to Scarlet Valse?

You.: He has a very sharp sense of humor. He can give advice about anything with a positive attitude, so he is very reliable.
Yo-hey: He has excellent technique when playing the guitar, sound sense and the ability to write songs. And he is also beautiful. And he has an interesting personality that makes him likeable to many people!
Shian: His guitar is stable, he is good at improvisation and is responsive, so you can rely on him. He also has a lot of ambition, so he never runs out of topics when talking about what he wants to do!
Kakeru: There are all the positive things that the members have mentioned, but I personally find his ability to perform clear-headed judgement admirable. It must be because he has had many great experiences until now.

Your new album Legendary Place is scheduled for release this fall. What is its theme or concept, and what can we expect from it?

Kakeru: We want to include songs from Rin. The theme of this album is as the title says. Our journey to the future starts from this place. Regarding the detailed concept, please listen to the album and try imagining it. If we have a chance to do an interview after the album is released, I would like to talk a bit more about it.
Rin: I think this album will be a big crossroads moment for Scarlet Valse. Please look forward to our brilliant future!
Shian: I think this will be an album with a high musical level! I think you will be able to enjoy a variety of worldviews in it!

You are touring across Japan a lot and are even going on a one-man tour around Japan in the fall. If you were to tour overseas, which countries would you like to visit and why?

You.: I want to go to anywhere there are fans waiting for us!
Rin: I want to go to the US, especially New York. I want to see the wide world and broaden the world of Scarlet Valse even more!
Shian: I want to go to America! I’ve heard that anime is becoming popular, and visual kei is also being spoken about at the same time, so I am scared but thrilled to go and see how big the reaction would be!
Yo-hey: I would like to go anywhere if there is an opportunity! Personally, I want to go to Asia and Europe! I am a fan of HELLOWEEN, so especially Germany!
Kakeru: If we can go to places where everyone wants to go, I am okay with that! But... Personally, Europe, South America, no, North America or Asia... I can’t choose. I’m greedy. (laughs)

Please give a message to JaME readers worldwide.

You.: Thanks for supporting us! We will do our best to be able to go on a world tour one day!
Rin: Thanks to JaME for giving us this opportunity, and thanks to all the readers. I really want to go and play in your countries. Until that day, please keep loving Scarlet Valse. Thank you.
Shian: Thanks for reading until the end. We will do our best to be able to go to places outside of Japan as well, so please wait for us!
Yo-hey: Thank you for reading until the end! We will become a band that will be able to send our message all over the world!
Kakeru: Everyone, do you have a dream? Scarlet Valse is a band that makes dreams come true. Everyone’s dreams will become reality. So please watch us, and long for us! We will go to see you for sure!

JaME would like to thank Scarlet Valse and Royal Stage for this interview opportunity.

Below, you can watch a spot for No.6 featuring Rin on guitar: