Right to Left: Dr.HIRO, Ba.YOU, Vo.DAISUKE, Gt.Kazuha (support)
On February 16th, I got the chance to interview THE SOUND BEE HD at Katsucon 19. It was an hour or so after their panel, so there was still a positive vibe in the air, but the interview was in a very peculiar location: the Artist Alley. We were right next to the Tainted Reality table, standing and sitting in a relatively tight circle to better be able to hear each other over the commotion of passing con-goers and the echoing of the room. The reason it was in such a location was because the label requested the band be at their table as often as possible--thus, all of their interviews were held there between the time of their fan Q&A and concert.
First of all, would you please introduce yourselves!
DAISUKE: I am vocalist, DAISUKE.
Kazuha: I am guitarist, Kazuha.
HIRO: I am drummer HIRO.
YOU: I am bassist YOU.
How was the flight? Was everything ok?
DAISUKE: Ah, the air on the plane was very dry, so my throat is a little scratchy.
Being here at Katsucon, what is something you would want to see differently from your fans this time? What has been different apart from last time?
DAISUKE: The only thing on our mind is to just do the best we can and to really give it our all even though that's what they did at Nekocon, we just hope to do the best we can possibly do.
THE SOUND BEE HD is a very unique name. What do you want people to think when they hear it and what do you believe they think when they hear it?
DAISUKE: The band name itself is actually just based on my favorite things; things I love and can't live without. I think that as long as people hear that name and enjoy the music we play and like the band, I' m happy with that. I just hope that people who enjoy it will listen to it more often.
In the past years, the titles of your releases were related to bees in general, but with your recent release titles, 葬 -SOU- and Cross, aren't related to bees at all. What's the concept behind that?
DAISUKE: The previous four releases; Hachi, Doku, Ade, and Hana, before they were titled based on bees and were first put together based on a single concept of rock music with a bit of Japanese taste or influence like with the Koto instrument, but with Cross and 葬 -SOU- we have come back around to our original sound before we started with the '"bee" based music. We wanted to go back to that darker and heavier sound with our two most recently released albums.
There have been different amounts of time passing between each of your releases. Five years between your second and third and approximately six months or so from then on. What's the reason behind such a long wait, exactly? Have you walked away from the scene entirely or have you been doing something else?
DAISUKE: Refering to the the time that there was a longer wait in between our albums is something I actually get asked about a lot, but at the time I couldn't quite see where I was going with my music. I didn't have a definite goal or anything in mind. It was at a point where I was having more fun performing than recording, so for a while the band was more based off of performance and just kind of seeing the reactions of the crowd. Then, I was thinking that we should get back into the release timing, so it was right around then that I met Kiwamu (Starwave Records owner), spoke with him and joined the label. It just so happened that that was when we took off again and started releasing albums more frequently and had more fun with releasing works and performing to see how the crowd reacted. I would gauge the reaction to remind myself that I'm alive.
How do you go about releasing and promoting music as a band? Who is more responsible for what?
DAISUKE: Really, I do most of the music production and such; I make the music and on the most recent album, Cross, Kazuha wrote some of the songs himself. In the future, things will continue to change for future releases.
For those who have never heard your music, how would you describe it to them?
DAISUKE: It's something that they will have to see and hear for themselves! Music is not really something that you can explain; you have to experience it to know what it's about.
In 2011, your guitarist YUICHI left the band and, as of January of this year, Tak was also forced to leave due to his activities with his other band, Calmando Qual. How will THE SOUND BEE HD continue? Are you currently searching for members?
DAISUKE: Music is basically my life and, regardless as to whether or not I were living, without music I would be practically dead. It's really important to me that everyone in the band is going in the same direction and wanting the same thing on the same level. As long as there's anyone in the band that's not on the same page and is not with the band, I think that's not good for the band. That's basically the reason for the other members leaving; and for Tak-san because he has so much going on. Various members have a lot going on and have different reasons for leaving. As long as all of the members agree and are together, then we can continue performing as such. I make most of the music as it is now, so I keep that in mind as I search for New members that hopefully think the same way I do and help us perform as one--to have that unity. As long as we can keep that, we can keep performing.
Kazuha, you have been working with THE SOUND BEE HD as a support guitarist for some time; what has this been like for you?
Kazuha: It's pretty much the same for me, no matter what band I'm playing for; I'm always trying to do my best. The same with this band, I'm doing the best I can.
How would you compare this to working with BLOOD?
Kazuha: Somehow there's less pressure working with this band than with BLOOD. Probably because the leader of BLOOD (Kiwamu) is running the label and there's a lot going on with that, so with this band there is definitely less pressure. Both bands have played overseas before, but traveling with this band now has a lot less pressure than there was traveling with BLOOD.
What would you say about working with Kazuha?
DAISUKE: First when I was looking for a new guitarist, I told Kiwamu that I wanted one like Kazuha, so I asked him to find me a guitarist that was like Kazuha. Then Kazuha came up to me himself and volunteered to be a support guitarist; I was really happy about that. It turn out that Kazuha had this visual element that he contributed to the band, as you can see from his obvious appearance, but I also didn't know until after he joined the band that Kazuha can also write music! From then on, he's contributed to writing music for the band and I add my vocals and such to it. We're actually having a lot of fun with that right now! Of all the musicians I've worked with and written music with, Kazuha has been the one to better understand my vision and the direction in which I want to take our music when writing. He's understood the most, so I'm having a lot of fun writing music with him.
DAISUKE, what is the reason that you wanted to work with Kazuha?
DAISUKE: It started when I had seen Kazuha performing with BLOOD in their concerts and just from first glance, I thought Kazuha was a really interesting guitarist. And, over the years, I have learned that when I have an impulse like that, I should just go with it. That's kind of what makes music the way it is for me. I've followed the initial impulse that if I see something interesting then I should go for it! That's why I was interested in performing with Kazuha.
HIRO, why is that you're wearing a mask in your current look?
HIRO: (laughs) uhh... I had a cold around that time...
(Everyone laughs)
Finally, would you please send a message to our readers on VKH...
THE SOUND BEE HD: Please listen to our music and, if you like it, please come and see us perform!
After the interview, we all gathered for a snapshot! (below) Some hours after, around 10pm that night, was their concert.
Click here for the photo album!
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| Left to Right: Vo. DAISUKE, Gt. Kazuha (support), 蘭 -Ran- (VKH), Dr. HIRO, Manu (VKH assistant), Ba. YOU |
VKH would like to thank Tainted Reality, Starwave Records and Press Relations of Katsucon for making this interview possible!
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