Interview with ν[NEU]
The young, colorful Jrock band ν(NEU) has already found fans beyond Japan. Today (August 6th) their new single “SAYONARA観覧車“ is released in Japan. Some time before we were in luck the band tooke the time to answer some questions to us.
Guitarist nono, bassist hixro and drummer ЯeI took part in this interview. Vocalist jun was not able to take part because of his bad health. We hope he will get well soon.
noi (of jrockradio.com): First of all, our readers are interessed in who you are. So can you please introduce one another with some discribing words?
About vocalist jun:
nono: He is an artistic vocalist with unique sensibility.
hixro: He is a singer who likes stand up comedy and Keroro (a Japanse Manga character)!
ЯeI: He loves music and is like a kid.
About guitarist nono:
hixro: He is a positive and bright pink guitarist!
ЯeI: He’s always super hyper. I’ve never seen him depressed or tired. He’s a strange person.
About bassist hixro:
nono: He is a super bassist who has a cool side and an intense side.
ЯeI: He has a good ear and has an extremely good sense of music composer.
About drummer ЯeI:
nono: He is an idol drummer who has a wonderfully gorgeous stage presence.
hixro: He is a good-looking drummer who is cooler than famous actors!
noi: Japanese rock is a huge category. What kind of music do you make exactly? Can you discribe your style and music and explain why you make this kind of music?
ν[NEU]: We would like to continue advocating a style that is unique to us, the NEW Music style. It is a mixture of digital, POP, and Rock music.
nono: Because this is an age where different music genres are being mixed together, we would like to go beyond the categories and reach out to different music genres. My goal is to never stop taking on challenges.
hixro: I want to make ν[NEU]’s original “NEU Music”, combining digital, POP, and Rock music, because no one in the visual-kei scene has never done that. I would like to make our own genre.
ЯeI: We would like to take in various things, utilize all four members’ sensibility, and not to be restricted by any genres.
noi: All musicains have a bond with their instruments and their role in a band. Can you tell us how each of you got yours and what was the inspiration for it?
nono: I think the position of a guitarist is a part which has an unknown possibility. It could be the rhythm, or the leading instrument. I think I was fascinated by such a changeable instrument.
hixro: I’ve always liked the sound of bass and have frequently try to listen for it in music, and I thought I’d like to be able to play it one day with my own hands. I think that it is destiny that I am playing bass now.
ЯeI: I’ve had the chance to come in contact with Japanese taiko drums and I love the sound of taiko, so when I got invited to join a band in junior high school, I started playing drums.
noi: Was it always your dream to become musicains or did you also have other plans for your future? Maybe even now you have some ideas beside a career as artists?
nono: I wanted to become a baseball player before. Now, I’m interested in works that can contribute to the society, such as an economist, etc.
hixro: I wanted to become a pet groomer, because I love animals!
ЯeI: I want to have my own company.
noi: How did you start as musicains?
nono: When I was 16, I was very impressed by guitar solos so…
hixro: I started playing bass when I was in my second year of high school, because I admired Mr. Ka-yu of Janne Da Arc!
ЯeI: I saw X JAPAN’s live when I was a junior high school student, and I was very impressed by them.
noi: Before you appeared as ν[NEU] the first time in 2007, nono, jun and hixro already played together in the band called HeaRt. After your guitarist Subaru and then drummer Yuki left you back then, you decided to start over together with ЯeI as ν[NEU]. Beside the line-up, what else is the different now? How did you develop?
ν[NEU]: The atmosphere of the songs have changed drastically.The messages of the songs became easier to be understood, and we have more and more desire to seek new sounds. We seek unique sounds that nobody else has.
nono: My position as a guitarist has shifted from someone who adds flavor [to the song] to a position that supports the basis of the song.
hixro: Compared to the past, I feel more responsible for my own part. I have become more serious about everything and aim more for the essence of music than when I was in HeaRt. Of course, I didn’t forget about enjoying music!
ЯeI: Nothing special, because I started from ν[NEU].
noi: How did you get the idea for the new name? I mean, why the German word?
ν[NEU]: We multiply “ν” by “new” to emphasize and express that we want to present new music to the audience.
nono: Personally I am fond of Germany, which is one of the reasons.
hixro: Our band name expresses our feeling that we want to become new from HeaRt. The reason why it is in Deutsch is a secret.
ЯeI: I was attracted by it being not Japanese-like and it has a strong impact. The reason why it is in Deutsch is a secret.
noi: Do you have a common band motto?
ν[NEU]: We all have the mindset that we want to grew up together as ν[NEU].
nono: Of course it’s natural to have fun, but I pursue it as well.
hixro: Three main principles: NEU Music, NEU visual, NEU wave.
ЯeI: I want to make music that makes one smile naturally when one listens to them.
noi: Because I myself like your music very much, I am aware of the fans. I can tell you that German jmusic lovers know about you and you have fans here and in other countries too I’m sure. Can you imagine trying your luck in Europe and Oversea and maybe releasing your CDs there as well?
ν[NEU]: Music has no border, therefore we want not only Japanese but overseas fans to listen to our music. We hope there to be “No NEU Music, No Life”!
nono: I heard that there are many Japanese music in Germany. It seems that some German artists are also making music in Japanese, and I find it very interesting. There are also many German cultural influences in Japan, so I’d like to go to Germany and mix our characteristics.
hixro: Of course, I’d love to do that!
I’d like to have not only Japanese but also overseas audience listen to our music. I want to hear the actual voices of the overseas audience.
ЯeI: We take pride in having music that we believe can be enjoyed by people all over the world, so we would definitely like to go overseas and make everyone smile with our music.
noi: Your latest releases were your 2 first maxi singles, "Kou ban" and "Otsu Ban". You can already tell from the covers that they belong together. Can you tell us a little bit about the singles? What have you recorded there and why do they belong together?
ν[NEU]: We wanted to have the listeners judge the two sides of ν[NEU]. This was not just to present our possibilities or visual elements, but also to suggest the NEU-style, and to be playful at the same time.
nono: We thought we could expand our range by using different images for the two CDs. We wanted to measure how much ν[NEU] will grow from this point on by the two CDs.
hixro: We wanted to explain the image of ν[NEU] to the listeners more in detail. "甲" is the visual color of ν[NEU], "乙" is the casual color of ν[NEU]. When you listen to the 6 songs in a row, they become a mini-full album and one color of ν[NEU].
ЯeI: I wanted the fans to watch our various sides, and also wanted to expand our possibilities from now on.
noi: Are you already working on the next songs? Can you give this information away? (here the new single "SAYONARA観覧車" is meant)
ν[NEU]: One is a digitally-oriented song, the other is melody-oriented and straight pop song.
nono: We finished recording the songs so I think we can release them soon.
hixro: Our next song has the reality color of ν[NEU]. The coupling song is a techno-pop track!
ЯeI: The final product is a straightforward piece of work that sums up this past year. The coupling track has an interesting balance of lyrics and motivation, and is a favorite of mine.
noi: How do you make a new song? Where do you get your ideas and who writes the songs and lyrics?
ν[NEU]: All of us can compose, so we work very fast.
We trust each other, so whatever we bring, it becomes a ν[NEU] songnaturally. That is the main point how NEU Music is born.
nono: I get a lot of inspiration for music when I am singing and taking a bath.
hixro: Melodies, riffs, and phrases just come down to me from the sky unexpectedly.
All of ν[NEU]‘s members can compose.
ЯeI: Melodies come naturally to me when I start humming.
noi: Do you want to feature only great music to your audience or do you also want to give a message with your music?
ν[NEU]: We have many things to present to the audience besides our music, so we want everyone to feel ν[NEU]. fühlen. We also write messages to fans on our blog, so please check them out. (here - it is in Japanese)
nono: I think in the past, music generally had a broad social message. For example, Mozart wrote music for the lower classes although classical music was meant for upper classmen. With such a background, he left a great name behind him. So, I think it is absolutely necessary for music to have a message.
hixro: I would like to express everything of the world view of our music through our music and message.
ЯeI: I’d also like to teach people about ecology.
noi: What music do you listen to?
nono: Trans music, R&B, and melodic hard-core.
hixro: I like digital rock music, techno-pop music lately.
ЯeI: Punk music, rock music.
noi: What do you do in your free time? Does it all center on music as well, or do you have other hobbies?
nono: Going to the theater, playing outside, and so on. I’m usually not home.
hixro: Playing bass, playing with dogs, and eating sweets, etc.
ЯeI: Watching DVDs, cooking, and drinking, etc.
noi: Often fans struggle through the Japanese web pages and blogs of their favorite bands, but more and more Japanese musicians offer the possibility to keep up to date in other languages.
Is there also a chance for our readers from Europe and Oversea to discover your world and learn more about you and your music?
ν[NEU]: We take pride and believe that our music can be enjoyed by not only Japanese people, but overseas audience as well, so we would like to expand the range of our activities.
nono: I’d love to learn German or English and it would be great to be able to communicate with more people!
hixro: We are very interested in MySpace. I think it would be great if we can use MySpace to post our music, promotional videos and comments.
ЯeI: I’d like to learn English and German because I want to be able to convey my own messages.
noi: Finally, can we relay a messages from you to all your fans and everybody who just started to get known you?
nono: I am very happy to know that ν[NEU] has gone beyond borders and reached our overseas fans. If you listen to our music a lot, we will be very happy, and we would like you to enjoy the ν[NEU] world.
hixro: We’ll work harder to have more people listen to our NEU Music, so please continue to support us, thank you. I promise that we will be close to you someday, so please wait till then!!
ЯeI: I’d like to go to Germany one day and hear all of your voices. We are performing and working hard in Japan, so please support us.
ν[NEU] homepage
Loop Ash homepage
Author: noi
Translation: hibara and Christina
Special thanks go to Japan to hibara, who make the contact with the band possible, to Christina, who did a great job in translating together with hibara, to Michiru of Loop Ash, who enable the interview and made the new single available to us (you find it in our playlist) and of course to nono, hixro and ЯeI, who took a lot of time for this interview.