Kra at J-ROCK INVASION - A to Z

For Kra, Germany’s J-ROCK INVASION event was their first event abroad. The day before the concert, JaME met up with them backstage at the Palladium, where we were greeted warmly. Then we sat down with the band for an interview with questions from A to Z.


Anime: Do you like anime?

Keiyu: Oh, I like several anime series, but my favourite is "Neon Genesis Evangelion".
Yasuno: I like so many anime series! (laughs) I can’t really pick one. But I especially like "gundam shâ no gyakushuu" (Gundam - Char’s Counterattack).

Bassist: Please tell us something about your bassist Yura!

Kra: (They discuss it for a moment and laugh.) We think that he’s a typical Japanese guy. He is very precise about everything and always aims for a certain goal, he doesn’t give up until he’s completely satisfied with something!

Cover band: You once had a cover band named 36481. Could you please tell us something about it?

Kra: Oh, yes. This band looks a lot like us, but it’s actually not us. (laughs) The cover band shows a different side of us. Our appearances and performances look the same and there is a certain connection to Kra, but the music is completely different, it sounds different.

Dom: The cathedral in Cologne.

Yasuno: I’ve seen the Dom this morning. I really liked it. Excellent! (laughs) In general we like Germany a lot and are really happy to be here. We hope that we have a lot of fans here and that our performance tomorrow will be a success.
Keiyu: I also liked the Dom a lot. By the way, I’ve been to Germany one time before.

Elegance: What do you think is elegant?

Keiyu: I have to think of something typically Japanese then, namely cherry blossoms. They look very beautiful, but one knows that they will perish. That’s also an expression of beauty and elegance. The cherry blossoms are only to serve as an example though, it’s more about the ‘perishable feeling of beauty’ in general to me.

Family: Please tell us a little about your families.

Yasuno: Our families are very important to us, but as a band we are of course seldom at home and often on the road together. So that’s why I think that we as Kra are like a family.

Guitar: Please tell us something about your guitarist Mai.

Kra: (They discuss it and laugh.) Well, he is a little crazy, but in a positive way – when, for example, we are thinking about something and concentrating very hard, he suddenly says something that helps us to move forward.

Hair colour: What kind of hair color do you prefer?

(Everybody looks at Yasuno and laughs.)
Yasuno: In the past I’ve changed my hair color very often. At the moment I like blonde, so that’s why I keep it this way. (laughs) But actually I would like to try red sometime!

Idols: Who are your idols?

Yasuno: It doesn’t really have to do anything with us, but I really like the Formula-1 driver Ailton Senna. I like cars and really like to drive as well.
Kra: The word 'idols' doesn’t necessarily have to stand for idols but also, for example, for the typical Japanese idols, for idol singers or pop stars. Then we have to think about Shokotan, or Shouko Nakagawa, who is really popular in our home country.

J-ROCK INVASION: How do you feel about it?

Yura: I think this goes for all of us, when I say that we’re really excited to participate in such an event in Germany. And we’re definitely happy about it!

Kra: Could you describe the band?

Yasuno: Who Kra is? Well, I think that we are like a collection of people who found each other by coincidence. All members are an important part of the band and are equally important. (laughs)

Label: What do you think about your label, PS Company?

Kra: The label is somewhat like a family business, with the president as the mother. (laughs)

Music: What music do you listen to in private?

Keiyu: I like Buck-Tick.
Yasuno: I listen to several things. I like hard rock and progressive rock and I like to listen to LUNA SEA. I really like their songs and their music has inspired me. Their influence aroused my wish to play in a band. There are moments in which I simply need to listen to their music.
Yura: Because I’m a bassist myself, I listen to songs in which I like the bass.

New album: Please tell us about your new album Creatures.

Keiyu: I think that when one listens to this album for the first time, it sounds different from our previous releases. When you listen to this album more closely, then you’ll notice that this is work from Kra. We have used some new methods, which makes this album special and makes a certain difference. A few old, typical characteristics of Kra won’t be found on this CD.

Off time: What do you do in your free time?

Yura: I play videogames. (laughs)
Keiyu: I spend my free time with my pet! It's a lizard.
Yura: I have a pet too, a ferret! (He shows pictures of his pet on his cell phone.)
Mai: I sleep, but once in a while I also watch a movie.
Yasuno: I like to shop, but usually I just look at the clothes without buying them. Window-shopping! (laughs)

PV: Is there a new PV coming out?

Keiyu: Four or five days ago we shot one for our newest single.

Question: If you could choose, what question would you ask yourself in an interview?

Keiyu: Hmmm... I would probably ask myself what kind of band I would like to form if Kra didn’t exist and which musicians I would pick. With the theme: "Out of all of the PS Company's band's members, which ones would I choose to form a band with?"
What would you answer?
Keiyu: As guitarist, Toraof alice nine., he is really great! Hmm... I can't think of any others now. The question is more difficult than I thought it would be! (laughs)

Religion: You often use religious themes in your lyrics.

Keiyu: Yes, it’s true that our lyrics are often about that. I write the lyrics, but I’m not religious myself. I don’t know which religion is right, and that’s why I don’t want to commit myself to one certain religion. I think that if I were to commit myself to one religion, I would most likely discover aspects that I personally find wrong.

Shopping: What do you like to buy?

Yasuno: I usually have no money, so I’m always searching for cheap clothes. (laughs)
Kra: We also buy PC accessories and manga merchandise quite often.

Tokyo: Please tell us what you think of the city.

Keiyu: Tokyo is a big town with many small quarters. Almost all the parts are different and there are parts that look very traditional, but also parts that are very modern with many electronic things. I think that makes every individual quarter very interesting, there is a big variety in Tokyo.
Yasuno: It’s a crazy town! (everybody laughs)

Unlikeable things: What do you dislike?

Yasuno: I don’t like insects.
Keiyu: I don’t like insects either!
Mai: Celery!
Yura: Places where it’s cold.
Do you think Germany is cold?
Yura: Not as cold as I expected it to be. (laughs)

Vocalist: Please tell us something about your vocalist Keiyu.

Yasuno: He looks very small, but his heart and his appearance make him big.

Wish: What wishes do you have for the future?

Yasuno: I’m very happy about the fact that we are now in Germany and have the opportunity to perform here. Also, I want to remain in this band and be successful with the rest of the members.
Mai: I would like to live together with a dog. (laughs)
Yura: I definitely want to continue to have success with Kra and be a respected bassist in the technical sense.
Keiyu: I would like to play abroad.
Where, for example?
Keiyu: At the moment I can’t think of any country in particular, but Germany is for example a very big country. I would like to play in various regions of Germany.

Xmas 2007: How did you spend Christmas?

Kra: On Christmas we had to work, but we had fun. We did a concert.

Yasuno: Please tell us something about the drummer of the band, Yasuno.

Kra: He's a poser, he likes to be in the spotlight. Sometimes he doesn’t understand the graveness of a situation, but he’s actually a very sweet person. (laughter)

Zoo: Do you enjoy visiting zoos?

Yasuno: When we were on our way to the Palladium we saw a zoo, but unfortunately we couldn’t go there. (laughs)

Thank you very much for this interview. To end with, do you have a message for our readers?

Yasuno: I hope that all of you will have fun at the concert, especially the ones who will see us for the first time!



JaME would like to thank Rock Identity and PS Company, who made this interview possible. We especially want to thank Eri Maruyama who helped us with translating afterwards and Rei Sato for the Japanese translation.