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SPLENDID GOD GIRAFFE is the new band of the ex-LEZARD members shuto, kosuke and TACC. We had the pleasure of being one of their very first interviews! Find out where their band name is coming from and what animals they compare each other to!
Thank you for having an interview with us. There are many bands with interesting names, but yours is truly one of the most interesting ones we have come across so far. Before commencing activities as SPLENDID GOD GIRAFFE, you were active in a project called KIRIN DAISAKUSEN G (麒麟大作戦G). You officially changed the name of this project to SPLENDID GOD GIRAFFE just recently in April. How did you come up with this name and what motivated the change in names?
shuto: Originally, KIRIN DAISAKUSEN G was a limited-time project, and when we started our activities as a real band we decided to change our name. However, we wanted the name to have a similar theme, and that’s why we kept the giraffe as a general theme. I chose the band name SPLENDID GOD GIRAFFE to become a band that mixes the peculiar existence of the animal giraffe with the unique existence of the divine beast giraffe.
kosuke: The name KIRIN DAISAKUSEN G was a name for the three of us to play some covers at concerts until the new project, SPLENDID GOD GIRAFFE, started. We had already chosen the band name SPLENDID GOD GIRAFFE before starting KIRIN DAISAKUSEN G, and we didn’t want people to think that KIRIN DAISAKUSEN G’s activities were the real project, so we chose a slightly playful name. I think our intention has been conveyed to our fans.
TACC: The project KIRIN DAISAKUSEN G was originally a limited-time name for the formation of the band, so we had planned to change the name as soon as everything was ready.
Your previous band, LEZARD, consisted of 4 people. How does it feel to be a three member band now with SPLENDID GOD GIRAFFE? Do you feel any difference?
shuto: Personally, I’m not particularly picky about the number of members. I think that depending on the band, the number of people doesn’t matter. What is important is having the best members for the band and being in the best condition. And I think that it’s the case for the three of us now.
kosuke: From my own experience so far, I thought that it’s very difficult for several people to work in the same band or musical activities. Because differences in our passion or the way we think will arise. Of course, a full band is ideal, but I think that it’s more important to have members going in the same direction with the same enthusiasm. That’s why instead of forcing us to be four, we started with three members.
TACC: I like being in a band of four members, so the bands I joined until now were all formed like that. However, the relationship of mutual trust was unwavering between the three of us, so I didn’t wonder what kind of new band it would become if a new member joined us, but instead I thought about what kind of music the three of us could do. I think that these three members together make a lot of sense.
shuto, you changed positions from being a drummer to being a vocalist for SPLENDID GOD GIRAFFE. Have you always wanted to try vocals? What was the most difficult thing about starting out as a vocalist?
shuto: Of course, I’ve wanted to try being a vocalist since long ago. After all, the vocalist is the star of the band. Regardless of the band, I’ve been moved by many vocalists and I admire them. In addition, I’ve always noticed from my position in the back, how difficult it was being on vocals and I was worried whether I could become skilled in that field, whether I had the courage to start from nothing and whether I was ready for that.
You released your first digital single, “EVE”, and dropped a music video for it in the beginning of May. The CD cover, your outfits, and the neon light beams in the music video are very colorful. Could you tell us what inspired the colorful concept for your first single?
shuto: We didn’t plan to make it look like this or that, but instead wanted to create expressions and a world for “EVE“ only us 3 can come up with. I think the MV naturally reflects this.
kosuke: I think it came from the music. I’m sure that we’ll continue to get inspiration from our compositions to start new things. Instead of composing a song with a specific goal, we create a song and confront the video or the concert from there.
TACC: It’s a new start so we wanted to express our hope. It turned into a song of hope that can only be expressed by the three of us. I don’t think we were inspired by something else; it came from our inner parts.
shuto, you wrote the lyrics for “EVE”. Have you ever written lyrics before in your career? How did you go about writing the lyrics for “EVE”?
shuto: I had never written lyrics until now. At first, I had trouble trying to put into words various thoughts, such as thinking about the words I want to deliver, or words that express the future of the band, etc… but for better or worse, I didn’t have any fixed phrases in my head yet, so I thought “What about writing about what I honestly feel without pretending anything?”
Which part of yours in “EVE” is your favorite? Which part of yours should fans pay close attention to?
shuto: I think that the phrase “hanatareta koe no saki ni warau kimi ga iru” (There’s you, who laughs in front of the unleashed determination) in the last chorus is something I could write only because I’ve been a drummer so far. It’s the climax of the song, so I place even more feelings in it when singing it.
kosuke: I’m supervising all parts and I want you to pay attention to all parts. Including the drums. I got more into details than all the recordings I did before. I went back and forth many times while I worked on it, but the guitar solo has been improvised and taken as such.
TACC: My bass play is basically the culmination of what I’ve done so far. It’s a bass play that takes into account the balance of the whole song and that is aware of stillness and motion. To go more into details, I recorded the pitch and the timing of each sound more strictly than ever. I think I’ll make use of such points for our future live performances.
Your first live-stream concert, “EVE”, on April 29th, was sold out. Congratulations! The live-stream was also available to watch for fans from overseas. Why did you decide to do a live-stream concert for your first concert?
shuto: Even though the restrictions have been relaxed, there are still many people who can’t come freely to the venues due to the influence of COVID, so first of all, we wanted you to experience our music from everywhere in the world, so we made it possible with a live-stream concert.
kosuke: The environment of live performances has totally changed from before, and we thought the best way now is to have a live-stream concert. Of course, we greatly want to convey our music and concerts not only in Japan but also overseas. We’d like to continue doing live-stream gigs.
TACC: After all, we’re still under the pandemic, so we chose live-stream thinking it’d be a good way for fans, no matter their situation, to watch it.
How did it feel to play a live-stream concert with no audience in front of you? And what do you think is the biggest difference between in person concerts and live-stream concerts?
shuto: It was a strange debut having people listen to my voice for the first time through a screen, but having them listening to our songs and being able to concentrate on singing the songs was really nice. I guess a concert without an audience gives the opportunity to share in real time what we’ve created, whereas a concert with an audience gives the opportunity to create something together.
kosuke: I think a live performance with an audience is built with the fans who come to see us. It’s a concert that can be done at that time only. This aspect doesn’t exist with concerts without an audience, but I thought it’s possible to create an enchanting atmosphere that is more in tune with the music.
TACC: At first, the fact that there weren’t fans in front of me made me feel quite uncomfortable. But I realized that another good point for non-audience concerts is that we can focus on the musical performance and show ourselves in a new enchanting way through our performance while imagining our fans in front of the screen.
Your first in person concert was a three-man concert on the 29th of May. Can you please tell us a bit about what fans can expect from your in person concerts?
shuto: Of course, no need to say we’ll make you enjoy the show, moreover we’ll make the hearts of all our fans shiver. I think the strong point of SPLENDID GOD GIRAFFE is to be able to deliver songs and music that can deeply move you.
kosuke: I think that if someone is missing at a performance with an audience, it makes a different concert. I guess it’ll only be songs you’ll hear for the first time, but it would be great if we could improve these songs together. I want to create a new space that can be created only during live performances.
TACC: I don’t want to do a concert where it’s all about acting wild only. Of course it’ll be a funny performance, but I’d like to create a space where you can listen to the music properly and feel moved, and not just have fun.
Is there anything you want to challenge yourselves to with SPLENDID GOD GIRAFFE?
shuto: I want to deliver music around the world that only we can create and express. And as long as I’m a vocalist, I’ll become the vocalist and we’ll become a band like the ones we admired when we were young.
kosuke: We’ll create a country called SPLENDID GOD GIRAFFE and live there together with the fans as citizens. It’s a Japanese joke.
TACC: It’s to freely express our cool sound and the messages we want to convey. It’s an ordinary goal, but I think it’s surprisingly difficult.
Now, we would like to ask you two questions to get to know you better. First, could you tell us a bit about what you enjoy doing in your free time? Also, did you discover any new hobbies during the pandemic?
shuto: I started to view everything like anime, music, etc. from a different angle. I’m re-watching some works I used to watch in the past, wondering what kind of memories they left me with. Also the opportunity to overwhelmingly drink alcohol at home increased.
kosuke: I’ve been deep into a cute character I had no interest in at all before. Also I started to find cute things cute. I became an adult, for sure.
TACC: Unfortunately I didn’t find any new hobby. I’m someone who is difficult to heat up and cool off. I just watched my favorite anime (Ghibli and Neon Genesis Evangelion) and I had a little more time for fishing (laughs).
Since your band name is SPLENDID GOD GIRAFFE, if you had to compare the other members to an animal, what would they be and why?
shuto: kosuke would be a dog, friendly with a nice personality, but with his own beliefs and clever. TACC would be a pheasant, looking flashy and eccentric at first look, but like a pheasant, who flies through the sky, he’s someone who can think about things calmly from different points of view.
kosuke: shuto would be a puppy. He has a puppy face. TACC would be a cat because he does things at his own pace.
TACC: shuto would be a dog, isn’t his face a bit dog-ish? And he has that image of being sociable and not being shy. kosuke would be a cat because of his own pace and his strong beliefs.
Finally, to close this interview, we would like to ask you to leave a message for your fans overseas.
shuto: Everyone around the world, nice to meet you. I’m shuto on vocals. I want to become a person that comes to your mind when you think about Japanese vocalists, so please look forward to our future activities. We will definitely do a world tour one day, so please look forward to it.
kosuke: There are songs that I absolutely want people from overseas to listen to. I believe we can share with you how cool we are. I want to create a cool concert with both Japanese and foreign fans someday. I think we’re going to continue doing live-stream concerts, so please join us!
TACC: Nice to meet you, everyone overseas, hello! I’m TACC! We’re going to share cool music, so do look forward to it, okay?! Thank you for reading until the end!
Interview: Tiffany
Translation: L-A.
English Edit: Kaity
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It might not be much for you, but it would help us providing more and better interviews in the future.
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