Re:O (London) – Interview – Thanks for Asking!

RRX: Every artist’s first song is a milestone. But so is the latest song. Describe the first song/album you recorded, and also the latest song/album you recorded; what are the differences?

Rio – Quality and Power. When I recorded the song  Hide and Seek and released it as my solo project, there are no real drums nor bass. I made the song with drum samples, synth including bass and guitars. I recorded vocals in my tiny bedroom. I wasn’t able to mix and master so I found a producer online. It was not that I worked with them, but I just asked them to mix and master it. In contrast,  In March this year I had a brand new line up with Jon Roberts (Guitar), James Stevens (Drums) and James Wright (Bass). We recorded 4 songs with a professional producer Simon Jackman in a professional studio. That was my first experience of working with a producer to really bring out the best in my music and refining what I wanted out of the songs. Overall the polish, the sound quality, structure and overall experience I have gained has made our new singles sound more refined and in line with what I wanted to create.

RRX: Like songs, every artist has a unique feeling about their first show. What was your first show like? Was it your best show? If not, what was your best show like?

Rio – Our return to live shows was in August this year. We Played at the Spice of Life, Soho, London. We were planning to arrive at the venue 2 hours before the show so we can prepare our first show as we were not sure if everything is going well as planned. On the way, our car had an engine issue and wouldn’t start again. We tried to work it out for 2 hours. Nothing happened. We managed to get to the venue 10 mins before our show started and had to unpack our gear, set up the stage, I changed my outfits in a hurry and we weren’t able to even do a line check to see if we could hear the backing tracks and click tracks or if our instruments were even working properly. I was not able to sing as well as I usually so since I hardly heard my singing. Totally, it was a disaster but it was a good fun and luckily we had a great sound engineer that night and all the gear worked!

RRX: Music genres are difficult for some artists. Some strictly adhere; others not so much. What is your perspective on the genre you play, or the genres you hover around?

Rio- We don’t know. We find it really hard to categorize our genre as it’s a mix of so much! Someone mentioned to us at one of our shows that our music is ‘Japancore’ as mixture of Industrial Rock/Metal, Metalcore, Techno, Dark Pop and J-Pop/J-Rock. Ultimately we write what we love and what we would put on our own playlists and turn the volume up when those songs are played.

RRX: Stereotypes are a bitch. I mean, aside from the really bad ones, you have cultural stereotypes about everything, including music.  Would do you think is the stereotype for the music you play, and how far are you away from it?

Rio – I’ve found when I mention we play a weird hybrid of J-Pop / Dark Pop and Metal people just assume we either scream every vocal group or that because we have a huge electronic part of the music then it’s not ‘metal’. We’re so far away from any box you could put us in with any genre. We don’t even know what to call it, so if anyone knows please let us know! All we know is that the refusal of us to add in harsh vocals, screams and to continuously intertwine heavy guitars and various synth styles to our music creates something that constantly surprises people and ourselves. Plus we love what we make and that’s what matters at the end of the day.

RRX: What would you like fans to know before they come to see you play? (No basic stuff; get specific.)

Rio- We bring and use lots of equipments such as drums kits, electric kits, bass, guitars, guitar/bass pedalboard, Mac etc. If you think I am just a Japanese alien, you would be surprised because I move a lot, like I made a circle pit and broke my elbow the other day. So you might find it difficult to take picture of me. Our show’s are chaotic and extremely high energy. We love interacting with the crowd, their involvement is as much a part of the show as the rest of the band are. If you’re coming expect to be jumping, crouching, head banging and having me jump around with you, in your face and next to you. There’s no sitting our show’s out, you’re involved, you’re part of the band. Forget life for our set and just have fun! Come say Hi after too! We love hanging out with you all!

RRX: What instrument would you add to the band if you could? Is there anything you are trying to do musically that would be helped with one or more additional players?

Rio- Violin. I know some bands add it to their music like Yellowcard and Imminence.  I’ve seen some bands collaborate with orchestras when they play live.  The beauty of intertwining Violin and Heavy rock is extremely stunning. It might be because I used to be surrounded by classic music as I used to do a ballet when I was a kid.