efore saying goodbye to girugamesh who has been in our lives for the past 12 years, we conducted a pre-tour interview with these four music pioneers, with the help of our good friends over at GAN-SHIN Records. The interview was conducted just before the official announcement of their disbandment, so none of these questions are related to any of that. We also took the initiative to interview BigBear who is the mastermind behind the bonus track from the band’s latest album “chimera”.
JROCK NEWS will be covering girugamesh’s upcoming EU-tour in May, but for now, please enjoy this pre-tour interview!
Satoshi: Vocalist
Nii: Guitarist
ShuU: Bassist
Яyo: Drummer
BigBear (Okuma): Guest artist
You guys are finally coming back to Europe, how does it feel?
ShuU: We are so excited to bring a big present “chimera” to our European fans. Not that many Japanese artists can go on a Europe tour recently, so we are happy that we could go back to Europe.
Tell us about the concept “chimera” and how it reflects in your music.
Яyo: The concept of “chimera” is negative feelings like an inferiority complex and anger.
How much would you say this album differs from your past albums? What makes it unique? We noticed It’s a lot heavier than your previous album “gravitation”.
Яyo: Yes, both the lyrics and atmosphere of the songs are heavier than the last album, also this time we are particular about sound making. We worked with the engineers who are good at that genre.
What was your biggest influence when creating the album chimera?
Nii: That was our past songs.
Which song from the new album “chimera” has gotten the audience most excited?
Satoshi: In Japan, “Horizon” is the most popular one. There is a chorus part that everybody can sing together, so we wanna sing together when we go to Europe.
Before a live session, do any of the members have any routines they like to perform before starting?
Satoshi: I always do warm-up, inhaling steam and voice practice before the show.
You’ve been experimenting with a lot of genre, are there any musical styles you’ve have not yet explored yet, and would like to?
Nii: At this point there are no musical styles I’d like to try but I’m always gathering information to find a new style of music.
Recently you’ve been collaborating with BigBear, also known as Okuma. How did this collaboration happen?
BigBear: Actually I decided to make the remix on my own accord. Recently I replaced all my old equipment and it just kind of happened while I was testing everything out. I was really pleased to hear that the guys liked it and it ended up as a bonus track on “chimera”.
What was your inspiration in creating this remix? Did you have anything particular in mind?
BigBear: I was trying to draw on the best parts of the songs in a very different direction to the typical girugamesh. Instead of their hard metal sound, I went with a more nostalgic and classical feel.
So you’re working on a remix of “chimera” at the moment. Is it safe to say that we’ll be seeing more collaboration between you and girugamesh going forward?
BigBear: Yes, my next remix is in production but it’s always a challenge. I’ll give it my best!
So a question to girugamesh, does this collaboration indicate any future collaborations with other artists perhaps?
Яyo: Basically we won’t do that I guess. Okuma-san (BigBear) is my best partner, he helps me a lot. I hope I can continue working with him because his taste in music and his sensitivity are close to mine.
A question to Яyo-san the “TrackMaker”, we’ve been really enjoying your YouTube videos! Do you have any particular plans for future video releases?
Яyo: Of course I’ll keep entertaining our fans with cover songs and furthermore, I’d like to distribute videos specialized for Digital Audio Workstation. It would be great if I can help people by teaching them.
We’ve seen Satoshi modelling for “STREET ARTS” and the brands from that store, how did you get started with that?
Satoshi: Originally I was close with an apparel maker called “ripdw” which I started modeling for. Then I met the shop “STREET ARTS” which is located in my hometown Chiba, and I’ve been modeling for them since then. I like to have my picture taken, so I really enjoy this work.
We also noticed that ShuU got a lot more fashionable recently, how would you describe your current style?
ShuU: Do I look like fashionable? Haha, thank you. Recently I like the combination of heavy tops with skinny bottoms. If there are any shopping malls you can recommend, please let me know, I’d love to go there and buy some clothes!
If you could each give budding musicians one piece of advice, what would you like to say?
ShuU: It’s actually up to the band’s style but the most important thing is to have common goals. Each member should seek a quickest way to archive the goals and make a big “ship” involving people around the band, then you can make your band bigger naturally.
To the eager fans abroad who have been waiting to see you, do you have a message for them?
Satoshi: You guys give us the reason to live through music. Thank you so much.
This concludes our interview, we would like to thank girugamesh for taking their precious time to answer our questions, and GAN-SHIN Records for making this possible, also you, the reader for coming this far!
More info:
Official Website
Facebook
Twitter
Twitter (Satoshi)
Twitter (Shuu)
Twitter (Nii&Ryo)
Twitter (BigBear)
Vine (Nii&Ryo)