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HOWL’s breaking into the overseas market! We are honored to be the first site to present HOWL to their overseas audience. Let us tell you, that the true meaning behind their band name is not what it seems and that the band’s way of including their fans made them even more amiable!
Thank you for your time today. We are going to ask you about your new single and, of course, about your band. But first of all – how are you feeling today?
mayoi: It’s very rare to be interviewed by media catering to overseas fans, so I’m hoping that a lot of people will listen to our songs after reading this interview.
yoppy: I’m very happy about the opportunity to become known in places outside of Japan. I want to go overseas someday, so I would be glad if you supported us.
yuto: HOWL’s breaking into the overseas market! I feel great! Thank you for having us!!
yuki: I’m very excited about our first interview for an overseas audience, because up until now we have only been active in Japan!
To start, we are going to ask you a generic question. Could you tell us more about the name of your band? Your band name is an English word, so the meaning is pretty obvious, but why did you choose this name?
mayoi: I think the meaning differs a bit from the word’s original meaning, but one thing we wanted to imply with it is “resonance/sympathy”. People respond to each other with feelings, and those feelings resonate with each other. We want to become a band that can create resonance between people’s feelings with its songs, as well as its concerts. Actually, we have one more reason why we chose this name, but that’s still a secret.
Well then, let’s start talking about your new single. The title is UNDERTAKER. This word can be strongly associated with “death” and I think it’s a very cool title. Which parts of the single should your fans pay close attention to?
mayoi: Other than the lyrics, I want them to pay attention to the sound. I believe our band had a poppy, bright image up until two singles before this one. But actually, the root of Howl’s music lies in electronic rock. Despite that, the topline of this single is pretty catchy and easy to listen to. I believe we were able to bring out the best of our potential up until now.
yoppi: The new song shows that we polished HOWL and improved. If you like this song, I would be glad if you also listened to our older songs.
yuto: We recorded two music videos for songs from this single, so I want you to listen to them while watching the videos. The sound structure is interesting, the rhythm is very nice, and the lyrics will make you reflect a lot about yourself. There are a lot of things to pay attention to!
yuki: I want you to pay attention to the songs themselves and the sound of our band and listen to it a lot, because we were able to create the best sound we ever have and made sure to deliver the best music we possibly could at this point.
The place where you shot your new music video is superb – I love it. The new outfits fit it really well and the aesthetic is very pleasant. How did you come up with the concept for the music videos?
mayoi: It all comes down to the lyrics. An undertaker is the person taking you to your grave, and I wrote the lyrics imagining the conversation each and everyone has with the undertaker living in their heart. An undertaker for me is someone who confirms someone’s end at the final stage, when they get buried after throwing away their dreams. Sometimes, the undertaker will take a form like how we looked in the music video with our fantasy world inspired outfits, and sometimes it will take the form of a young boy. That’s why we cast a child actor for the music video. I also want you to pay attention to the coffin placed in the forest and the lyrics.
A phrase in this song says “I don’t know where I belong anymore, where did I go wrong?”. I think a lot of people can relate to this phrase. What do you personally do when you feel like this? Do you have any habits to make you feel good again?
mayoi: When I’m at my limits, I drink alcohol and sleep like I’m dead (laughs). If I just lightly feel depressed, I go out for a drive, have fun at concerts, and create artworks to feel better.
yoppi: I write my feelings down in a diary and sort them out! Other than that, I simply talk to people.
yuto: I drink alcohol on my balcony. To regain energy, I also go out to eat my favorite foods!
yuki: I throw myself into my hobbies! Also, I believe many people do this, but when you eat good food you forget about all the awful things, so that’s a good way to recharge too.
Your current one-man tour lasts for 3 months and you will play 11 shows, including the final in May. You will travel from Japan’s bottom to top, from Fukuoka to Hokkaido, and will stop quite a few times in between. That’s a lot of traveling for such a short period of time. How do you prepare for such long trips?
mayoi: Personally, I love the time we spend traveling, so it’s not hard for me. I often go for walks and run around to feel the atmosphere of the different places, so that I am able to have even more fun during the show there.
yoppi: I travel looking forward to yuto’s (ba.) gourmet research!! It doesn’t matter if you go to a place you’ve already been to or a place you’ve never been to, there’s always a lot of good food to eat, and I would love to be able to go overseas to eat as much good food as I possibly can!!
yuto: I clean the car, and make sure that we can drive safely!
yuki: Because we travel for so long, we work a lot during the drive. We also have meetings with all of the members.
Please recommend a song to people who don’t know HOWL yet.
mayoi: Our latest single, UNDERTAKER.
yoppi: Our coupling song REIJUU ESCORT (隷従エスコート) . It’s the best heavy live song!
yuto: GOKURAKUJOUDO (極楽浄土), from our first EP KILLER TUNE.
yuki: I want you to listen to the ballad ETSURAN KINSHI (閲覧禁止).
What are the main characteristics of HOWL’s concerts?
mayoi: Our shows are extremely hot. We’ve been doing a lot of call and response with our fans from the very beginning, and recently it’s allowed to scream and shout at lives in Japan again, so I hope we will be able to regain the hotness of our shows by letting out all the feelings we’ve suppressed.
yoppi: As our band name implies, we and the fans respond to each other by voice, and our voices resonate with each other – I love that part. Also, at one-man gigs, we are having fun talking and smiling with each other on stage, and our enthusiasm is also something I can take pride in.
yuto: Our concerts are not just full of heavy songs, and also not only fun, they’re rather like a rollercoaster!
yuki: We are shouting and screaming together with everyone, creating very hot shows.
If you were to compare the other members to animals, what kind of animals would you choose?
mayoi: yoppi would be a sea turtle. He often imitates one. yuto would be a wild boar. He always rushes into things recklessly. yuki gives off white cat vibes.
yoppi: mayoi would be a raccoon. Even though he’s cute, he’s a fighter. I also think that yuto would be a wild boar. He’s very straight-forward. yuki would be a bunny! He’s cute but mysterious.
yuto: mayoi would be a raccoon. Just look at him. His face looks exactly like one. yoppi would be a crow. He’s very sharp, you know?! yuki would be a shark. His aura just gives off shark vibes.
yuki: mayoi would be a turtle. He’s a very easy-going person (laughs). yoppi would be a Chihuahua. He has a lot of energy (laughs). yuto would be a flying fish. He’s very lively!
What was the funniest place you ever fell asleep?
mayoi: I don’t really just randomly fall asleep…
yoppi: In a park, at night. When I was in school, I was having fun and then fell asleep. When I woke up, nobody was there anymore (laughs).
yuto: It’s a common place to fall asleep I guess, but on the train (laugh).
yuki: Under my kotatsu at home!
If you could become invisible for one day, what would you do?
mayoi: I would love to watch a concert of my favorite band from the stage.
yoppi: I would walk around the streets, lifting things up to create a crowd (laugh). I want to surprise people.
yuto: I would sleep next to the person I look up to.
yuki: There’s only one thing it could be (laugh). I would love to snatch a lot of food (laugh).
At last, could you leave a message to your fans overseas?
mayoi: Thank you for all the messages you’re always sending us. For translating them to Japanese, sending them to me, and following our activities. A lot of overseas fans also comment on our YouTube videos and realizing that we’re sought after makes us want to play overseas. I believe that music overthrows nationality, and I believe that you will be able to see us someday in the future, should we resonate with you even a tiny bit. I would be glad if you supported us from now on as well!
yoppi: I’m very happy to receive a lot of supportive messages from fans overseas. They’re writing that they want us to come and play a live show in their country. And we want to live up to these expectations. I’m looking forward to meeting you all!! Let’s create hot live shows together!!
yuto: Overseas! HOWL has never played overseas up until now, but we definitely want to go. Unfortunately, we can’t really meet each other, but we are connected through social media, so I’d be glad if you followed our activities. Let’s create the best live show together once we meet!
yuki: I really want to go to meet you all someday. Please wait for us, and if you can, please come to see us. Let’s create hot live shows together once that day comes.
Interview: Chris, Jenny
Translation: Tiffany
English Edit: Kaity
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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