Interview with Rose Noire

Rose Noire is a young band who made their American debut in March last year. Siblings Louie and Jill who create the duo have classical musical education, which gives Rose Noire an unusual sound. They accepted our invitation for an interview, so we asked them about their beginnings, influences, emotions about playing with DER ZIBET on the same stage and even about their favorite alcohol.


This is the first time we have the pleasure of interviewing you. Please introduce and say a few words about each other.

Louie: Jill is my sister and violinist of Rose Noire. She is good at drawing.
Jill: Louie is my brother and vocalist, composer and arranger of Rose Noire. He is a very gifted musician.

Your fans are debating about the beginnings of Rose Noire's activities, such as the date of your band's formation. Can you clear their doubts and tell us you how and when you started Rose Noire?

Louie: Our official date of formation is 2009, but some works were created before that date.

You both gratuated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Why did you choose to study there?

Louie: Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music is one of the universities in Japan where we can receive high quality education.

You have also studied in USA. What have you gained from that?

Louie: Some musical knowledge about many other genres of music, except classical music.

Is working with your sibling more of an easy or difficult thing? Are there any tension between the two of you when you work or do you always agree with each other?

Louie: I think it has both good points and bad points, but it is the same as forming a band with others. Between siblings, it is easy to understand the backbone of each other's musical history.

How did you sign to the Darkest Labyrinth label?

Louie: We were booked at the event in 2010, and the organizer of the event introduced us to Kiwamu who is the owner of Darkest Labyrinth.

Has being part of Darkest Labyrinth helped you in your career and influenced your activities?

Louie: Yes, a lot! We tend to make music, perform and build the visuals based on what we think is good, but Kiwamu helped us to promote ourselves to fans and others. Surely, good music and shows are very important, but musicians need listeners and audiences!

Your music is based on classical music. Are there any composers in particular that influence you?

Louie: J.S. Bach, S. Prokofiev, S. Rachmaninov and recently W.A. Mozart too.

What things influence you most?

Louie: Movies, comics and philosophy.

The music that you play is filled with emotions, like Driven which just captures the heart of the listener. When you create the songs, do you put a part of yourself into it, such as your soul and personal experience? Please tell us more about the process of creating your compositions.

Louie: Yes, it is part of my life and thoughts. I think real experiences and feelings are needed. Without that, music with deep emotion cannot be created. But the process of composing is not so well-ordered. I cannot grasp the details of my feelings and emotions in the beginning, and my job is to shape the sound and clarify my emotions.

After the earthquake in March you have recorded a charity song The Power to Revive. What did you want to convey through this song?

Louie: We wanted to show the power of music and that it can help people more than we expect.

How does the black rose in your name relate to your music?

Louie: The impression a black rose gives is dark, beautiful, and imaginary, and that's the impression our sound gives i think.

What is the symbolish behind the logo that you use?

Jill: The cross and thorns which form the black rose mean the redemption from sin.

Jill, on numerous occasions you said that you like wine. Which one is your favourite and which wine would you recommend?

Jill: Recently, I prefer champagne to wine and my favorite champagne is Veuve Cliquot!

Louie, some time ago you wrote on MySpace that you got yourself a new tattoo with a quote from Psalms. Can you explain why you chose it?

Louie: It cheers me up because of the content. If I lose my confidence, thinking about my tattoo can help get my confidence back.

You have accounts on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. Do you think that a presence in social media is necessary for present day artists and their work?

Louie: I think Facebook is because musicians need many people who take an interest in their works, so it means more active users are needed in the network. Twitter is not bad but sometimes we feel inconvenienced by the limit of 140 letters if we express our thoughts and feelings seriously. The balance of listeners and musician on MySpace is not good now I think.

Your first album was titled in English, but your mini album was titled in French. How many languages do you speak and which one is the best to use in music?

Louie: Japanese and English only, but i want to use other languages of course. English is suitable for the modern rhythm but it depends on the genre. As for singing, Italian is good for the vowel.

Your album APOCALYPSE is sold out. Do you plan to re-release it?

Louie: Maybe some years later!

Are you working on or planning a new release? Can you tell us more about what we can expect from your new works?

Louie: We are in the process of working on a new release! I believe it will be really amazing as it is more like Rose Noire. It is based more on classical music with so many strings, choir, organ, harpsichord, and it's heavier than the first and mini album.

Chaos Royale recorded a remix of one of your songs. Why did you decide to collaborate with them? How did the collaboration go?

Louie: Luke of Chaos Royale is one of my best friends. We always discuss about sounds and he would teach me how to make it heavier. Before the release of Le paradis de la Psychose, I talked to him about it. Our genre of music is definitely not the same, but I respect him, and after the meeting with him he sent me an e-mail about the remix. Of course I answered "YES, PLEASE!"

Rose Noire remixed a song on the EP of Seileen, which was released in August last year. How did you come by this opportunity? Would you like to repeat this experience?

Louie: Sisen and Selia are label mates but we are friends and we respect them. When we signed to Darkest Labyrinth, Seileen was making their EP and they needed a remixer, so Kiwamu suggested that! It was very fun! Of course, I'd like to do that again if there is a chance!

You took part in the Midnight★Mess HALLOWEEN SPECIAL!!†Nightmare before Halloween† celebrations. How was your performance during this event?

Louie: It was great and I believe the audience enjoyed our performance!

In March last year you played your first concert in USA during the Zenkaikon V convention. Was this your first overseas gig? Would you like to repeat it?

Louie: Yes, it was my first time as Rose Noire, and I want to repeat it of course!

During that convention you played two concerts and took part in a Q&A panel. What are your memories from that event? How did the American fans receive you?

Louie: Many fans came to our concert and we were really happy! A lot of cute girls received us and the cosplay of Pikachu was really nice. (laughs)

As you know from Twitter, you have fans in Poland and other European countries. Are you planning on visiting Europe with a tour?

Louie: Really, really we want to go!!! There is no plan yet but we really want to go!

Are you planning to continue as a duo or do you want to accept new members?

Louie: We think we want to continue as a duo.

On December 24th you'll be performing as DER ZIBET's opening act. What do you expect from this concert?

Louie: We were support players at some of DER ZIBET's shows, but this time we are performing as Rose Noire, so I'm excited that we can play our songs before the fans of DER ZIBET!

What would you like to achieve with your project? What are your goals?

Louie: Our goal is that more and more people will know Rose Noire and like us all over the world! There are many of our fans in every country!!

Thank you for the interview. Please leave a message for our readers.

Louie: Thank you so much, and I'm looking forward we can have shows front of you and meet you!!
Jill: Thank you for meeting us and loving Rose Noire! Please keep your eyes on us and support us. Thank you!!


We would like to thank Rose Noire and Kiwamu once again for their help in conducting this interview.