Interviews can be
challenging for a number of reasons, not the
least of which are geographical and language
barriers. We were recently offered an interview
with Japan’s “Crossfaith,” who have been making
so much noise in their homeland, that we
couldn’t wait to bring them to your attention.
Armed with this opportunity we spanned the
Pacific, found some translators and (drum roll
please!)… OK, we did an e-mail interview. It’s
not as glamorous as the 14-hour flight into
Osaka, the $300 cab fare from the airport to the
hotel and $500 in sake and sushi with the band,
but it works in these situations. People, we’re
a dot com, not Rolling Stone magazine! Still, an
opportunity is an opportunity and we’re not one
to pass up good fortune. We sent a handful of
questions to Crossfaith, who found time in their
busy schedule to fill in some of our many blanks
regarding the band. But first some details about
them:
Crossfaith is from Osaka
and their music is a mixture of hard-core and
electronica.
Before we start the
interview there needs to be some introductions.
The members of Crossfaith are: Teru (keyboards
and programming), Koie Kenta (vocals), Kazuki
(guitar), Hiroki (bass) and Tatsuya (drums). We
started in all the usual ways…
DB: Congratulation on
your new record, “The Dream, The Space,” tell me
about the new album. Who produced? Where did you
record?
Koie: Thank you so much.
The record was recorded at Kawaguchiko studio
located at foot of Mt.Fuji. We produced
ourselves and Andrew Wade did mixing and
mastering.
DB: What was the
inspiration for songs like “Snake Code
(Caribbean Death Roulette)” and “Stars Faded In
Slow Motion”?
Koie: Regarding "Stars
Faded In Slow Motion," original idea came up to
my mind when I saw the shooting star. We wanted
a song that makes ourselves go apeshit and it's
the idea of "Snake Code."
DB: What has been the
reaction to "The Dream, The Space" in Japan /
Europe / America?
Koie: In Japan, this
record got the more attention and gladly we got
more fans through this. After releasing this
album, we have been touring all the way from
north to south in Japan straight up. Now, when
we play songs, kids are singing along which is
awesome. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to
be told or shown the reaction from foreign
countries directly face to face yet but we are
getting some really good reactions through
Facebook and YouTube.
DB: You are credited
with popularizing hard-core music in Japan, a
country that loves J-Pop, why do you think
Crossfaith has become so popular?
Teru: This means a lot
to us. It is listeners who criticize or
categorize what we are playing so we are not
sure about this to be honest. All we can say is
that we believe in what we play and what we love
to play is something lots of people can enjoy.
DB: You have found a way
to combine hard-core music and electronica in a
new and interesting way, what inspired to you
combine these two very different styles of
music?
Teru: In our early days,
there weren't many bands like us, and it was
kind of hard to know where we were heading. We
always loved techno and psytrance and ideally
what we wanted to do was to mix those influences
to our music. So bands like Linkin Park and Muse
definitely influenced us in a way.
DB: I want to ask about
the growth or the evolution of the Crossfaith’s
sound. Please compare “The Artificial Theory for
the Dramatic Beauty” and “The Dream, The
Space”-- how has your sound grown or evolved?
Koie: "The Artificial
Theory For Dramatic Beauty" was pretty much
based on the first impulse to make something new
and super cool. On the other hand, when we
worked on "The Dream, The Space," we focused
more on details of the songs emotionally and
musically. Songs like "Snake Code" and "Crystal
Echoes are new to us that we never had before.
DB: You have just
released a video for “Snake Code (Caribbean
Death Roulette),” tell me about the video--
Where did you film it? Who produced it?
Koie: Since we started
as a band, most of the videos were shot and
produced by bunch of cool people called MAXILLA.
We used materials that we took on the tour to
make it look really exciting. If there's anyone
of you reading this have not seen it, please
check this out right now.
DB: You have recently
began performing outside of Japan, for instance,
I know you were in Singapore not too long ago.
Do you have plans of touring Europe and America?
Koie: Our management and
booking agency are trying to make it happen, so
this should happen in 2012. Just keep your
fingers crossed!
DB: Is there anything
else you wish to discuss?
Koie: Thank you so much
for reading. We are now recording new EP and
it's coming out great! Be stoked for this!
As Koie has shared, they
are working on a new EP that will be out in
2012. With this, more touring and hopefully a
tour in America. If you haven’t already, check
out the new video for “Snake Code” and buy
Crossfaith’s new record, “The Dream, The Space.”
I want to thank Koie Kenta, Teru and the rest of
Crossfaith for the interview. See you on tour in
2012.
Crossfaith