Not sure if this has been mentioned here before:
http://asianbeat.com/en/feature/interview/16.html
2014.08.1
Interview Now ～Kalafina～（1/3）
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Since their debut in 2008, Kalafina have performed theme songs for numerous big hit anime. They’re attracting a great deal of attention from overseas, and as such, the scope of their activities extends beyond Japan’s domestic borders. After a successful two-day solo concert in Hong Kong in May this year, the group kept their foot on the gas, performing to an audience of 5,000 at their first appearance at “Japan Expo” in Paris in July and then going on to release their first best of albums,
THE BEST “Red”and
THE BEST “Blue,”currently sweeping the music charts. It was announced recently that Kalafina will be performing a two-day concert at the Nippon Budokan on February 28th and March 1st next year, and as part of their national campaign, group members Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru visited Fukuoka on July 24th and they took time out of their busy schedule to sit down and talk to us!
Speaking with the trio, their loyalty to their fans and their passion and drive to spread Kalafina’s unique stylings to more and more people throughout the world is clear.
Towards the end, we also have some autographed cards signed by Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru to giveaway to a few lucky asianbeat readers, so take your time and enjoy the interview!
Kalafina, the release of their first best of album, and their upcoming solo concert at the Budokan next year.
Q.(asianbeat) Your best of albums,THE BEST “Red”andTHE BEST “Blue,”released on July 16th have been extremely well received. Congratulations.
Kalafina： Thank you so much!
Q. I’m sure you get feedback from various places on a daily basis, but how do you feel about it now?
Wakana：It’s been a week since it went on sale and we’ve been on this national campaign, going around to a whole lot of stores, giving live performances, watching people’s reactions and listening to their feedback, and they often say things like, “Thank you for putting out a best of album,” and “With these two discs I can learn more about Kalafina.” Hearing from the customers directly like this makes me glad that we were able to put out a best of album. There are fans who have supported us our entire careers and so we tried to sum up the past six and a half years onto these two discs and hopefully a lot of people go out and have a listen. We wanted to show our gratitude to our fans with these two albums and I’m really happy with the result.
▲Wakana
Keiko：From the day of release until today, we’ve been going around to all different places. We’ve visited record stores, met customers at our campaigns, and it’s hearing back from the customers in various ways like this that makes me glad we put out these best of albums. Because it’s our best of albums, I want to take my time and hear feedback from as many people as possible.
Hikaru：What I feel most is happy. I posted the announcement on my blog, “Now on sale,” and seeing all the comments from people like, “Congratulations, that’s great,” it made me really happy that we put out a best of album.
▲Keiko
▲Hikaru
Q. I listened to your two best of albums and even watched your live performance on Blu-ray, and I have to say, the richness and harmony of your beautiful voices is really soothing. Your producer is none other than the great Yuki Kajiura, right? What is she like in real life?
Wakana：Kajiura-san is a very feminine and wonderful person. She’s extremely good at expressing her own musicality to us during recording, etc., and we often give live performances together and she’s very good at speaking in front of people; I’m always learning from her. When we left to go on this national campaign, she told us, “Make sure to take bath salts,” handing us a whole bunch of them – that’s the kind of wonderful person she is.
Q. Is there a meaning behind the title of these albums,“Red”and“Blue”?
Keiko：The concept behind the two albums is the same, but
“Red”and
“Blue”both have their individual meanings. We’ve sung songs for so many different genres over the past six and a half years and we’ve come to realize just how broad a field music is. So we decided to divide our songs into two general categories:
“Red”representing the up-beat, energetic songs, and
“Blue”for the soul-soothing, more relaxing songs. We selected an even number of
“Red”and
“Blue”songs for each disc, so even though they have been divided into
“Red”and
“Blue,”the same elements have been compiled into both discs.
Q. You always have such amazing outfits with each one being slightly different from the other two. Is this a reflection of your individual personalities or a personal preference perhaps?
Hikaru：Each time we get our costumes made, we get our jackets and other pieces made to match the theme of a particular concert or the vibe of a particular song. Of course they take our opinions into account, too, but they also know our voices are unique in their own ways and they keep this in mind when they’re putting our costumes together.
Q. When you see the finished product, do you ever think, “I like that one better”?
Wakana：The design can be a point of jealousy at times.
Keiko：They’re all fabulous, but we’re always mindful to maintain a balance between the three of us.
To be honest, the past six and a half years have felt both short and long.
Q. It’s been almost seven years since your debut and the beginnings of your activities with the “Kara no Kyoukai (The Garden of Sinners)” theme song project in 2008; have the past six and a half years felt long to you, or short?
Wakana：To be honest, it’s felt both. There have been moments when it’s felt like time has just flown by, and plenty of others that have felt really long, like when the three of us would think things through together, have discussions, rehearse, and then repeat the process all over again.
Q. All of your songs are wonderful but if you had to choose a favorite or a particularly memorable song from amongst the thirty songs on your best of albums, which would you choose?
Wakana：Mine would be “oblivious,” on
THE BEST “Red.”This was Kalafina’s debut song and whenever I listen to it it transports me back to that time and what I felt back then at the time of our debut. It’s also a reminder of Kajiura-san’s flawless musical sensibility and that we too always have to be moving forward.
Keiko：Each song really is packed with memories, but I would have to say “Hikari no Senritsu” on
THE BEST “Red.”We were doing a lot of live performances around the time that we finished this song and it’s the song that we would most often close our set with, so we would slowly build up the right mood with the crowd and by the end we would have this really warm atmosphere and then we would sing “Hikari no Senritsu” and everyone’s face would take on this gentle expression - that really left an impression on me. It was a big reminder of how important it is to deliver songs to people directly.
Hikaru：For me, it’s “Magia” on
THE BEST “Blue.”It has a unique sound that’s darker and more powerful than any song we’ve released so far, so I was a little worried how people would react to it at first, but it’s been quite popular; a lot of people have listened to it and it’s now a regular on our live set, so I’m really happy. I think Kalafina’s musical stylings really grew from there.
Q. You’re also quite popular overseas and the Kalafina name is becoming known throughout the world as one of Japan’s leading acts. I asked you previously about your Asia tour in 2010, but did you feel anything had changed since then compared to the concert you gave in Hong Kong in May this year?
Keiko：This was the fourth time we’ve performed in Hong Kong and the first time in four years, but unlike the previous occasions, this time we had our band members with us and we performed solo over two days. We had a lot more time than ever before to enjoy our music with the crowd and really take our time to let them listen to the new songs we’ve made in the past four years. It was also a chance for us ourselves to listen to how we sound now and that was something I really looked forward to.
There were also a lot of people in the audience who saw us perform live for the first time, and that was something about Hong Kong that left an impression on me. A result of all the work we’ve done these past four years and the songs that have come to life through all the encounters we’ve made, no doubt. Of course there were lots of people there who had seen us before and had been waiting for four years for us to return, too, so the two days was a time to show our appreciation to those fans as well.
Q.What do you all do on your days off or when you want to relax?
Wakana：: I like to laze around watching DVDs, or if it’s a day off, go out somewhere.
Keiko：I love to clean and exercise, and eat really good food. Eating a lot is the source of my energy!
Hikaru：I just sleep most of the time…
Kalafina：(lol)
Q. Wakana, you were raised in Fukuoka, but is there anything that the three of you “must do” whenever you’re in Fukuoka?
Wakana：Eat “Tai Chazuke” at “Yoshida” – we went there during our last campaign. We actually had lunch there just a moment ago. We were all like, “
Oishii ne~” (“So good”).
Keiko：Will we have time (for Tai Chazuke) in Fukuoka?! Please let there be time!We pleaded.
Wakana：I think from now on Tai Chazuke will be a must-do whenever we’re in Fukuoka (lol).
We hope to see you all at our solo concert at the Nippon Budokan!!
Q. Lastly, could you share what your plans are from here on? And if possible, a message for all the Kalafina fans throughout the world.
Wakana：2We’ll be holding at two-day concert at the Nippon Budokan on February 28th and March 1st 2015, and following a similar concept to our best of albums,
THE BEST “Red”and
THE BEST “Blue,”our concert “Kalafina LIVE THE BEST 2015” will feature both a “Red Day” and a “Blue Day,” so I hope that fans from around the world come to see it. I want to see the people of Fukuoka there too, so in the meantime, have a listen to our two best of albums and find out a little bit more about Kalafina.
Keiko：After we put out these best of albums, it really hit home to me just how broad a range of genres we’ve been singing in. There’s a song that’s bound to get through to everyone, so I hope that people from countries around the world and people from all different regions pick up these two albums and have a listen. Thank you.
Hikaru：We occasionally get the opportunity to perform live in various places around the world, but there are still so many places we haven’t been to yet and hopefully with the release of our best of albums we’ll get more opportunities to take our music directly to the people of those places from here on. Thank you for your time today.
Kalafina Profile
Formed by producer, Yuki Kajiura, Kalafina exploded onto the scene with their debut single “oblivious” in 2008, as part of the “Kara no Kyoukai” (The Garden of Sinners) theme song project.
Their albums have all placed in the Oricon Weekly Charts Top 10 upon release, with their 4th album, “Consolation,” released in September 2013, peaking at #3 on the chart.
Their activities turned full-scale from 2009 and in 2013, in the wake of their 4th album “Consolation,” their national tour drew a crowd of approx. 20,000, giving 15 performances in 9 cities.
They are also drawing attention offshore, performing at a Boston-hosted anime event in 2009, holding concerts in Taipei, Shanghai, and Hong Kong in 2010 in what was their first international solo Live Tour, and also performing at anime events in L.A., Singapore, Malaysia, and Germany thereafter. They performed with full band support at “Anime Central 2013” in Chicago in May 2013 and at their two-day concert in Hong Kong in May 2014, and are truly a vocal unit that’s turning heads all over the world. Their two-day Nippon Budokan concert will be held on February 28th and March 1st, 2015.
■Kalafina Official Website
http://www.kalafina.jp
Kalafina autographed cards Present Campaign!
Three lucky readersof asianbeat have the chance to win a card autographed by Kalafina: Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru! Don't miss this chance to win!
[Application Period]
August 18th 2014 - September 30th 2014
The lucky winners are...
鹿目まどか san
aerialsiganl san
Suniv san ......Congratulations!!
(asianbeat will contact the winners directly.)
別冊カドカワ 総力特集 Kalafina
*awestruck*