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DAMILA recently celebrated their 2nd anniversary. If you need a fresh and energetic visual kei band, then we can definitely recommend them! Great music, funny videos on YouTube and a styling that screams: We are visual kei!
Thank you very much for agreeing to an interview with us! How are you feeling today?
Yami: I‘m glad for the opportunity to deliver a message to fans of music all over the world.
Meguha: I’m great! Thank you for your time today (in English).
Lit: I’m happy that everyone celebrated our anniversary together with us at our last concert.
Futaba: We are the ones who should thank you. At the moment I feel very sleepy, but I’m always like that!
Gabu: Sai&kou!! (Super&fine)
You celebrated your second anniversary this year. You basically started your band activities when corona started, didn’t you? It must have been really difficult for you in the beginning. What do you think about your first 2 years as DAMILA?
Yami: It wasn’t an easy journey to continue our activities this far. However, given the critical situation the world is currently in, I think it’s the same for everyone. Thanks to the support of our fans and the collaboration of the livehouses despite the situation, a new livehouse culture emerged that made it possible to survive the pandemic. At our second anniversary concert, I wanted to convey my grateful feelings towards these newly formed bonds that the past two years made me feel on a different level.
Meguha: I feel these two years have been extremely long. That’s how fulfilling they were for us. Because all kinds of things happened.
Lit: We had to face many difficulties due to the pandemic, but despite that I’ve really been able to enjoy our activities during the past two years.
Futaba: It’s a very difficult path. It still is difficult. But I want you all to take care while having just as much fun as we have, ok?
Gabu: Many different things happened, but I think we managed to overcome them because it’s us.
You released your new single ARTEMIS in March. Artemis is the Greek goddess of hunt, wilderness, the moon and chastity. Can you tell us why you chose this name for the song?
Yami: This work completes our previous trilogy, as a new theme I draw a mirror as the motif. The title “ARTEMIS” suggests a moon theme in the lyrics, but I hope you’ll enjoy it while thinking about how the two words “mirror” and “moon” are connected together in the song, the lyrics and the MV.
When you started to work on the new songs for the single, what was the starting point and how did you proceed from there?
Yami: This time, the members completed the work as it stands in its current form only after a lot of trial-and-error.
Lit: We mainly have two patterns when it comes to creating new songs. The first pattern is when we write a song based on inspiration. The second one is when one of the members or staff state their opinion during a meeting about what kind of song they want and then we try to write a song based on their expectations.
Which song would you recommend to those who haven’t listened to your music yet?
Meguha: I want to recommend the song TOXIC. Its progression is quite dramatic and sticks to the composition of the whole song.
Lit: Of course our new song ARTEMI, but first of all, please listen to ALICIA (アリシア) which also has a MV, I think you’ll understand what kind of band DAMILA is.
Futaba: I personally want you to listen to our first single ALICIA (アリシア). It represents the origin and the beginning of DAMILA after all, and it’s a song that motivates me when I listen to it.
Gabu: I want you to listen to ALICIA (アリシア) by all means!
How would you describe your concerts?
Yami: While reflecting upon what it means to be delivering music at live performances during times like these, I sing with my soul at each concert.
Meguha: We hold our lives based on the idea that the stage comes alive with the things we feel at that exact time.
Lit: We’re delivering the hottest performances.
Futaba: A fairy seeming to have fun whirling around? That’s how we look, I guess?
Gabu: Smiling face with white makeup!!
What made you want to become a musician?
Yami: It was a revelation.
Meguha: By the time I’d come to my senses, I already was one. It’s like nature put me on this path.
Lit: My motivation was to form a band as an extension of playing with friends.
Futaba: When I was about 13/14 years old, I discovered a visual kei band. I listened to the songs of my seniors and I felt like creating a band myself.
Gabu: Because being a musician is cool!
We noticed that most of the comments under your YouTube videos are from overseas fans. Thanks to Spotify, YouTube and Twitter for example, it is a lot easier for overseas fans to get in contact with Japanese music and bands now than it was 10 years ago. What is it like for you to be able to read the impressions and emotions directly from the fans?
Yami: I think we’re in a very convenient era, when we can share music with people all over the world through the internet. While the corona virus is still around at the moment, I can receive messages from people abroad and it always gives me courage. Thank you very much.
Meguha: It’s a nice era. We ourselves also got more opportunities to come in contact with foreign music than before. I hope our music will also spread on the internet.
Lit: I’m delighted because there are many happy comments.
Futaba: I’m very happy. One day, in the distant? near? future, I want to create a place where you can see, hear and feel our music directly, you know?
Gabu: I’m happy that there are people who support me by writing comments, sending me direct messages or watching my twitcasts.
We also want to know a little bit more about the members of DAMILA! You participate in many events with other bands as well. We are sure there must be a few interesting stories! Please let us hear some funny things that happened!
Yami: Our drummer Gabu often wears white makeup, but at an event, there was a band whose members all wore white makeup, I mistook one for him and began to talk with him (laughs).
Futaba: Actually I’m surprisingly shy, so I often stay alone. Due to that, I don’t have many friends, I guess. I’m expecting the other members to have interesting stories (laughs).
Gabu: I’m too shy to talk to the other bands, so I want to overcome that quickly (cries).
Is there a member who always finishes their meals especially fast or slowly?
Futaba: As said in the previous question, I’m often alone so I don’t know (laughs). I think I’m the one eating slowly.
Gabu: Meguha is the fastest, and Futabin (Futaba’s nickname) is the slowest, I guess.
Who would be the first to share their opinion if someone asks for advice (about song production etc.)?
Futaba: As expected, it would be our vocalist Yami, or Lit because he composes a lot?
Gabu: Yami and Lit! Probably!
Please leave a message to your fans overseas!
Yami: Thank you for reading until the end. Your support always becomes our strength. We’ll continue to deliver music to you, so we hope you’ll support us.
Lit: Thank you for supporting DAMILA. And I hope we’ll be able to perform in the countries you all live in.
Futaba: Thank you for everything. I really want to meet you. We’ll definitely make an opportunity to meet you all over there someday, so until then, please support me on social media channels such as Twitter and Instagram. Please love me.
Gabu: Thank you for always watching our videos! We’ll update Twitter and YouTube a lot, so I hope for your support!
Interview: Jenny
Translation: L-A
English Edit: Franzi
It would be great if you could support us with a small donation.
It might not be much for you, but it would help us providing more and better interviews in the future.
With a little bit of your support we might be able to realize even more!
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