Interview with TRILL-DAN at Japan Expo

The co-ed trio TRILL-DAN, unusual in the Japanese music scene in many ways, showed us their unique personality as they talked to us about their beginnings, music, Europe and their hopes for the future.


Could you please introduce yourselves to our readers?

JUAN: Hello! I am JUAN, guitarist and singer.

MARU: I’m MARU, I play bass and sing.

GIVA: GIVA, on drums.

How did you all meet, and what motivated you to play music together?

JUAN: MARU and I met in a music club in college. As for GIVA, he was part of another club, but since he was good at drums and a good looking guy, we jumped on him. (laughs)

Coming from Kobe, was it difficult to make yourselves known in the music industry?

MARU: At first we only did lives in the Kobe area, where we learned quite a bit about music and working on stage. At some point, we said to ourselves it might be good to win over the capital, Tokyo, where musical and artistic activity is denser. When we got there, we found ourselves face to face with a number of impressive groups from the four corners of the country, and technically, or on the level of experience, we realized we were really far from being perfect. But on the other hand, we had something a little unique compared to others, good stuff that came from the fact that we're from Kobe, things we learned over there. That's what compelled us to go on.

You started your activities in 2001, but your first mini-album came out in 2005. What happened during that four year interval?

MARU: Before our first mini-album Goguraku tougenkyou came out, we recorded a demo-tape on CD-R, which we made ourselves at home, and we sold it during our live for 100 or 200 yen. The response from the audience became more encouraging as we went along, and in 2005, with the aid of certain people, we were able to contact an editor and have the album released.

Your album Megabasutarizumu was produced by Kiyoharu. How did you meet him?

JUAN: We had the opportunity to work with Kiyoharu thanks to his label; they contacted us and proposed a collaboration. Of course we were happy to accept.

Can you tell us about this album? What does it mean for you?

GIVA: We've encountered many difficulties during the course of our career. With Megabasutarizumu, which is a word we invented from "mega" and "buster" which means destruction, we tried to demonstrate how TRILL-DAN is now ready to break down all the walls that have hindered our progression.

We know that the name of the group, TRILL-DAN, is from a medicine. Is there a reason for this choice? Your energetic rock and roll, can it heal the ailments of an oppressive and totalitarian society?

MARU: Oh good question! We've never thought of that. We'll use this concept of healing in the group profile now. (laughs)

JUAN: Actually, we just said to each other the name of a medicine would be nice. So we opened a pharmaceutical dictionary, somewhat by chance, and we said, "Here, this one." (laughs) It sounds pretty cool.

GIVA: We just wanted an original name with a good sound. But yes, "to heal society." I think now we'll use this idea to explain how we chose our group name. (laughs)

Aside from this theme of healing, (laughs) what are your sources of inspiration, and how do you make your compositions?

GIVA: Our inspirations come from our common tastes. For instance, groups like Zebrahead, Rage against the machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Limp Bizkit, Marilyn Manson...

JUAN: Where the lyrics are concerned, we get our inspiration from everyday life, from the things that surround us: movies, video games, books, manga... Things that interest us, or allow us to get away from ourselves for a while.

Which of you does the composing?

JUAN: All three of us do, when we go to the studio and reflect on the melodies or the chords. We also each find a quiet space at home, where we whistle the tunes to ourselves. (laughs)

Most rock groups have one main vocalist. How did you two, MARU and JUAN, come to sing together?

MARU: Another good question. (laughs) We felt it wasn't very interesting to have a standard line-up with one vocalist, like most groups have. We decided to put ourselves, JUAN and me, in the front and sing while playing our instruments. We don't sing together at the same time, like you see elsewhere. Instead we each have our own lines, and we interpret them one by one. This kind of group configuration is not too common in Japan, so we thought it'd be good to do it this way.

The image of TRILL-DAN is that of two sexy, feminine dominatrix figures. GIVA, how do you assert yourself?

MARU: That's a question Japanese people often ask. (laughs)

GIVA: I joined the group last, and it's true that at first, finding myself facing these two sexy girls, it was a little dangerous. (laughs) But we've been playing together for nine years now, and that feeling has disappeared bit by bit in favor of something along the lines of a familial relationship.

JUAN: I'm shocked that you'd say that! (laughs)

Turning now to Japan Expo, yesterday you played your first concert in Europe. Did you have any specific worries, and what did you think of the experience?

JUAN: We weren't particularly worried or stressed. Mostly we were excited and happy that we could play.

You released a mini-album for this European tour. It's through that album you'll become exposed to a whole new audience. Did it have a particular concept, compared to your earlier releases?

JUAN: For this album, we recorded five songs and tried to include all the different aspects of our personality: violence, love, our cool attitude, our cuteness...

GIVA: We also tried to mix different musical genres. We wanted to do something special for the European audience, different from our usual work in Japan.

Last year, you won the award for best performance at Tokyo's ViBirth Live GP. And this year you're doing a tour abroad. Years ago, did you ever imagine you'd be able to do all that?

JUAN: Ah, we never thought we'd have the opportunity to one day play in Europe. And as for the ViBirth Live GP award, we'd already won awards on other occasions, so we were confident we could win. (laughs) But really, it was unthinkable that our music would be discovered abroad. I'm really glad we've been able to do that.

MARU: When I learned we'd be in Europe, I changed my cellphone so I could get service outside of Japan. (laughs)

What are your future projects, and what do you hope for in the future?

JUAN: When we return to Japan, we'll start a new tour, then we'll do a one-man in Kobe for the end of the year celebrations. Then we'll go into recording for our next album. As for the future, I hope we'll continue to do tours overseas, in Europe or in the United States.

Early in the interview you told us about the groups that influence your music. Could each of you tell us an artist or album that’s particularly significant to you?

JUAN: I’d say X JAPAN's Silent Jealousy.

MARU: For me, it’s the first album of Zebrahead that really left an impression on me. It was the first time I heard a style like that, and it really influenced me.

GIVA: There are a lot of groups I like, but I would say the one who influenced me most is The Blue Hearts. Their music made me want to do music myself. The Blue Hearts is a group that has great importance for me.

Do you have a final message for our readers?

GIVA: Although we’re only in Europe for a few days, we already feel comfortable here. The people are very warm and the cities are magnificent. We’ll get better and I hope we’ll be able to return, so please look forward to it. Thanks so much for your support.


JaME would like to thank TRILL-DAN, Japan Expo and Rightsscale for making this interview possible.