The Interview After Juka Left

 

- Was there any talk of doing a live in Europe before this?

Mana: Yeah. Some people said they wanted me to do a live when I participated in the "Japan Expo" in France last year. And after that I got the agressive part of the band down, and we thought this Spring seemed like the best time to do it. We went along with the PA lights team went along with us. When there's no sequence, if the people don't understand what to do they can't use the acoustic surfaces. And that means we couldn't express the MdM world in its entirety.

- When I see the pictures, I can see how many of the fans are from the actual area, and your high level of popularity overseas.

Mana: Yeah. We've been in German magazines too, and we didn't really promote much but France was sold out as well. It's strange how everyone knew. Well, I guess it was good the hall was large. But it was still like a box that was suppose to hold less than 1000 people.

- I heard that European fans have a certain thing for metal, but is that true?

Mana: When we went to France before I did a handshake event, and I understood most of the fan's enthusiasm, but it was the first time for K, so he probably was somewhat shocked.

K: Maybe because their way of expressing emotions is abundant and direct. And when they get excited, they get pretty excited. In Japan people call the member's names during the songs, but over there if there was even a little break in the song it was like "Aaaaaarrrrggghhh!" (laughs) In fact, it was so loud we couldn't hear ourselves play sometimes, and that was a culture shock for me.

- As someone who grew up listening to western music, was there anything that moved you?

K: It actually feels like we've become a foreign celebrities (laughs). We actually are though.

- Mana, as to the people who knew about you from the time you were in Malice Mizer, do you think it was like a legend had appeared before them or something like that?

Mana: Yeah. For me too, I was honestly moved by how enthusiastic they were. They remembered the songs perfectly too. We sing in Japanese, but it was moving to see people who were still mouthing the words along with us. The stuff we've licenced and are selling in Europe are "Dix Infernal" and "Scars of Sabbath," but we haven't released "Nocturnal Opera." But at the live we focused on Nocturnal Opera, and everyone remembered the songs and everything.

- So maybe the got a hold of it through an import company?

K: And after that, internet mail order.

Mana: Maybe that's it. There were quite a lot of people with make-up and cosplay, and I was happy to see a lot of males as well. There were especially a lot in France, like it felt like around maybe half of the audience.

- Did it seem like they were the kind of people who would listen to normal metal as well?

Mana: There were people like that, and it seemed like there were people who'd like positive punk music too. Like, they had white faces and stuff...

K: Someone had my hair (laughs).

Mana: I feel like the two types of music are jumbled together. Our songs are more metal and our look is more punk, so I feel like in that respect we've united them (laughs).

- Was there any trouble in France or Germany?

Mana: Well, it was nothing big, but there was something for me...

- Was it machinery-related?

Mana: No. It was Drink Trouble.

- Drink Trouble? (laughs)

Mana: First, in Germany the straws were really short and after I'd drank up to a point I couldn't get any more out (laughs)

K: You have to tilt the cup and slorp it.

Mana: And in France there was a slit in the straw, and so no matter how I tried I couldn't get anything out.

- You just have to put those things aside (laughs). Why is it, that there was a slit in the straw?

Mana: Gosh, I have no idea why, but drink trouble is a repeat occurance (laughs)

K: And after that the France hall was uber-hot and we asked for an electric fan, but for some reason it was abnormally huge (laughs). And the guest seating was really hot on top of that, and we were constantly faced with those kind of conditions.

- From the beginning to the end the audience seating was like that?

Mana: Yeah, it's amazing. But it's also because after the live they don't go home. Even though the announcement said the live was over, it was like even 30 minutes after no one had left. It's sad only being able to do 2 performances.I was wondering if anyone would leave even after they locked up.

- Was there anything that touched you about the place?

Mana: The day before the live in France I went to see the place with the staff. And as luck would have it, it was "Death/Black Metal Day."

- Eh? Really?!

Mana: From the afternoon to late at night, and there were 10 somesuch bands, and the one I saw had on white make up and looked kind of thorny, and I thought, "there are people like this..?" There were a lot of bands, so I don't remember the name though. I'm glad I got to see that. There were a lot of people who came to it too.

- Black metal is popular in France too, huh~

Mana: And the members from anorexia nervosa came to see us too.

- Really? That's right, the vocalist said he liked Malice Mizer and other Japanese bands, didn't he?

Mana: The staff over there are friends with A.N. and so they came to see us. "The live was great," they said. - Did you get an offer to have you come play again?

Mana: Not just Europe, but from other places as well. When I first started Moi Dix Mois I had thought of doing overseas activity, and so I'd like to do more of it from now on. It's just I don't like airplanes (laughs) That's the only bad part.

K: I just sleep on the plane, so I'm OK going overseas whenever.

Mana: I can't sleep, so I'm basically awake the whole time. I'm constantly anxious. That's my hard part in life (laughs). And we're releasing a DVD where we're going to show all this stuff, but the main part's the live. There's also a documentary on Germany and France, and we plan on showing special things from AX and some scenes from when I wandered around.

...

So France and Germany were over, and at the Final Event at Shibuya AX Juka left the band. "This is the last song I'll sing here. Lets all dance together in the end..." he said and they played Pageant. When the music ended, he stood in the middle of the catwalk, and all he said was a quiet "Thank you" and left. Faced with this, MdM has to do new stuff.

- We were suprised to hear Juka'd be leaving after the AX live...

Mana: Yeah, my original position for Moi Dix Mois was to aim for a basically rock feeling. And Juka doesn't naturally have that in him. I felt it when he first joined, and as we went forth with the band I was hoping that separation would lessen, but the gap didn't decrease as I had imagined, and that's roughly what it was. Especially when we tried going overseas this time. I was brought up influenced by western music after all, and because I had a sense I began taking a stance where I wanted to try doing something overseas. But it seems like it never really stirred up anything inside him.

- And so you made this decision after the tour?

Mana: Hmm...it was hanging in the air before then, but I always felt that kind of temparature difference or something in regards to rock. With the twin guitars there was even more of a rock taste, but with Moi Dix Mois I'd always wanted to go as far into rock as I could quickly. You could say that difference in stances was the main reason, hm. And before K came along, Juka had to do a death voice, and it seemed like he didn't know what a death voice itself was, but I think he really tried with that one and did well. His stage presence's gotten really good too.

- A lot of people are probably worried about what you will do in the future.

Mana: I've been thinking about a lot of different things, and I feel that MdM is a project I can do anything with. We became a 5 member band and did a classic/slash metalish combination, and then there was the normal and death voice, and I think it all came together into one category. And this time we've lost a member, and rather than just looking for a sucessor and continuing on like that, I think maybe we can do something new. Like before I added violins and choruses and stuff without focusing on form. I'm going to keep looking for an interesting form for MdM; like, I'd like to try experimentation.

- When the voice that gives the project its image changes, there's a big overall change, isn't there?

Mana: That's true, but I perceive MdM as a project, and so I'm going forward with it in a way that it won't get too top-heavy. I wanna be able to find all sorts of different possibilities! But what we were able to complete stylistically as a 5-man band is one of the directions I've been aiming for, so I don't mean that style is going to disappear from MdM completely. It's more like I'm wondering if I still can't find something no one else has done yet. K: I've also been able to get into the style, and I want to express the evilness and manliness in MdM from now on too.

Mana: We have twin guitars now, so our visual image lies in the antithesis of the them, and I'm having fun with that part too. He can do things I can't, and in the short time he joined a character was formed from the split. It was like, "woah, quick..."

- The new song, "unmoved" revived that the unique twin guitar quality, and the good old slash metal quality blended well with the MdM-ness.

Mana: Plus, there was the good old CO2 from back then as well. I arrainged it with the twin guitars in mind, to a point where they're ringing out amidst the simplicity. I recently gave a demo tape of the new songs to him, but in the end we're still doing metal (laughs). I went through making "unmoved" and began wondering what a more MdM heavy metal sound would be like, so I put in the cembalo and stuff, and the fusion of the sounds turned out rather well. As quick as possible...within the year, I'd like to show you the next MdM.

- It sounds like a lot of fun...like maybe you could make some sort of appeal for vocalists or something.

Mana: Yeah. I want to find a new possibility, and I'll be on the lookout for something.

- Well then, if you send something to Foolsmate we'll post it. And I think the fan's mental state at the last live was pretty complex, but in the end you stood there alone and there was a thank you scene, and when I saw you it seemed like you were thinking, "I'll have to change the member lineup and continue on with MdM." And you've conveyed a strong determination to risk it in here.

Mana: Yes...Especially going to Europe; the memories of that are really strong. There are people waiting in different countries, and I think I'd like to include Japan, and then go on a world tour. I'm not going to stop because of this.