Interview with ayabie in the US

Having successfully completed their third tour in Europe, ayabie have thrilled audiences with their unique look, catchy music and equally contagious dancing. Making their way over to the US for the first time, the five members of ayabie sat down for their first American JaME interview.


How are you doing? Have you recovered from the long flight, or are you still jet lagged?

ayabie: We’re fine!

Yumehito, Intetsu mentioned in a comment on the ayabie US Tour MySpace that you’re scared of flying. How was the trip for you?

Yumehito: I was very scared and stressed out!

Aoi, you said you used to live in Los Angeles. How long was that for?

Aoi: A little less than a year.

Could you tell us about why you were living in Los Angeles?

Aoi: I was studying cooking (laughs).

Besides Aoi and Intetsu, have the rest of you been to the US before?

ayabie: Takehito's been.
Takehito: Yeah, I’ve been to the US before.

Was there something you were looking forward to seeing or doing here besides the concerts?

Intetsu: Museums.
Kenzo: Times Square.
Yumehito: China Town!
(Everyone laughs)
Aoi: This is my first time to New York, so I want to go some place famous.
Takehito: The Statue of Liberty.

Before coming here, you played in Europe for the third time. Looking back at the first time you toured in Europe, how would you say this time was different?

Aoi: The first time we went to Europe, everyone went really crazy, even during the quiet songs they were crazy. But this time, since we have released live DVDs in Japan, I think the European fans have watched those DVDs. Now they act the same way the Japanese fans do with their hand gestures and things like that.

This is the first time you're playing in the US. Coming into it, what are your expectations for this tour?

Yumehito: I'm looking forward to seeing how the American fans react to our music!

What has been the most rewarding experience thus far throughout your career for each of you personally?

Kenzo: I'm very happy that we've gotten to the point where even though we're a Japanese band we can tour Europe and America.
Intetsu: It's about the same for me. I'm always happy to meet a lot of people, not only going overseas, but also inside Japan when we go someplace we’ve never been before.
Aoi: The same. Especially when we go to places where we don't understand the language. Even then, with our music, we can experience things together.
Takehito: The same as Aoi!
Yumehito: (Hasn't been paying attention to his bandmates answers) Being able to go overseas and play.
Kenzo, Intetsu, Aoi and Takehito: That’s what everyone said!
(Everyone laughs).

In the recent interview you had with our Finnish team, you mentioned the language barrier hindering the meaning behind the lyrics. In instances where there is a language difference, what do you feel is the best alternative to communicate that meaning and emotion?

Aoi: Ah, that’s a hard question. I think the song is both the music and the lyrics in all one piece so that even if you can't communicate it with the lyrics you can communicate it with the sound of the song. Besides that, I try to sing so that what I'm talking about, the meaning of what I'm singing, will come through.

When each of you started your music career, what made you decide to start a visual kei band?

Intetsu: (Raises hand to answer question) Because Takehito created a visual kei band so he's my reason!
Takehito: (mumbles)
(Everyone laughs)
Kenzo: Because I like KISS!
Yumehito: My friend was in a band so I started a visual kei band because of him.

What attracted you to visual kei and made you decide to start a band in this style rather than any other?

Aoi: The fact that the music style in visual kei is very crazy, so you can make any kind of music. Also, I like the stunning visuals of visual kei.

Your costumes change very often. How does the designing process usually go and how do you decide what theme your next look will have?

Aoi: I match the costumes to the songs we're playing at that time and everyone talks about what they want to do. Then we all meet with the designer individually and discuss the costumes.

Have you ever felt uncomfortable in an outfit?

Kenzo: (Laughs) That happens a lot!

Why?

Kenzo: It just doesn’t match my vision of it; like if the designer's not good, it doesn't look like what I expected it to. Things kind of like that.
Aoi: Everyone gets tired of their costumes pretty quick, so we all want to move on to a new costume.

Lyrically and musically, ayabie’s music maps out a vivid picture for the listener. Where does the inspiration for each song come from?

Aoi: They're all different, but I like movies, so a lot comes from movies.
Yumehito: I like movies as well.

Is the music inspired by the lyrics or are the lyrics inspired by the music?

Aoi: The songs come first and the lyrics are inspired by that.

ayabie's style is very diverse, but always retains that distinct element that is ayabie's sound. To someone unfamiliar with your music, how would you describe to them what makes ayabie "ayabie"?

Yumehito: It's interesting that we don't have a specific style where you can say "oh, they're like this." That's ayabie's sound.

Intetsu, you've played piano in some of ayabie's songs. How long have you played piano for?

Intetsu: When I was a child, I played piano for about six years. My mother really liked piano so she made me go and study it. After I quit piano, I decided to go and join a band, so I'm glad that I did play piano.

Do the rest of you play other instruments?

Yumehito: I can play a number of instruments! And I'm proud of it! (laughs).
Kenzo: Everyone can play other instruments...
Yumehito: Yes, we could form an orchestra! (Imitates playing violin)
(Everyone laughs)

You have an alter-ego band called Deathbie. Why did you decide to do this?

ayabie: Ah!
Kenzo: It just... happened.

What kind of concept does it have?

ayabie: (Laugh).
(Yumehito puts his cell phone on top of his bottle and moves his hands around imitating karate moves)
Aoi: With ayabie we do a lot of different stuff, but the style is a little lighter. We knew past visual bands with like, the black lipstick and that kind of thing, so we wanted to try something like that, so that's what we're doing with this.
(Yumehito karate chops his cell phone and knocks it off the bottle)
(Everyone laughs)

Your newest single, Mikazuki no Kiseki, comes out at the end of this month. In comparison to Melt Away, would you say the style is more on the heavy side or more on the electronic pop-rock side?

Aoi: It's more pop, but we're trying to do a different approach to it. We put a lot of different sounds into it, not only band instruments, but we used a lot of sound effects and stuff like that. It's going to be different from what we've released before.

Could you tell us about what went into making this single?

Aoi: Normally, everyone kind of writes songs and we choose the ones we want to do. This time, the choices were a little different from anything we had done previously, so we decided to do them. Once we got into recording, it actually went really smoothly even though it was different. I think it's going to be better...
Intetsu: It's going to be the best thing we've produced!
Aoi: I agree!

Can we expect a new full album soon?

Kenzo: No no no no no...
(Everyone laughs)
Aoi: We have absolutely no plans.
Intetsu: We have no plans to do it right now (laughs). It's not that we don't want to or anything, we're just waiting for the right time and having enough songs.

Lastly, please give a message for your fans.

Aoi: It's our first time in America, so I expect a lot. I want to see something we can't in Japan that’s a special American-only reaction!
Yumehito: I'm looking forward to seeing all the faces of the happy American fans!


JaME would like to thank Emily Devan, Electric Orchid Productions and ayabie for making this interview possible.