INTERVIEW: Prepare to be Infected by Zombie!

If you haven't heard of Zombie, you've been missing out. Formed in 2013, this quirky-yet-charismatic indie band started making waves early last year, when they began releasing catchy singles accompanied by engaging and artistic PVs. VKH Press recently got a chance to interview the members of this upstart band to learn more about their style and sound. Check it out below!

VKH: Please introduce yourselves for our readers who may not be familiar with your music.

Kanata: 
I'm Kanata, the vocalist.


Sho: I’m Sho, the guitarist.


Aoi Midori: I’m the bassist, Aoi Midori. I write, compose, and arrange all of our songs. I also do other things like costume design.

REIKA: 
I’m REIKA, the drummer.


VKH: Could you describe the concept behind your band and why you picked the name Zombie?

Aoi Midori: The concept is “infection.” I like the idea of the band being like a zombie, infecting people.


VKH: What kinds of themes or topics do you like to cover in your lyrics?

Aoi Midori: The theme of the lyrics change depending on the song, but I have the type of personality where it's easy to accumulate negative thoughts, so the songs often have that content.


VKH: What are each of your favorite bands and artists?

Kanata: I like SOPHIA.

Sho: GLAY.

Aoi Midori: X JAPAN, MIYAVI, Yasutaka Nakata, Mr. Children, and many more. I'm inspired by Japanese music as a whole.

REIKA: Yukio Mishima, Shingo Katagiri (zero zero z), BUCK-TICK, gibkiy gibkiy gibkiy,
deadman, DEATHGAZE, lynch., HOLLOWGRAM, sukekiyo, Matenrou Opera, 101A, TOTO, Tower of Power, WARPAINT, Alabama Shakes, John Mayer, and more.

VKH: You do a great job of mixing rock music with other types of music, such as symphonic or electronic music. What sorts of inspiration do you draw from when deciding which styles and sounds you want to put in your songs?

Aoi Midori: Since I like electronic music as a genre, I often incorporate it into my own music. Basically I will start with the melody, and then incorporate elements from various genres to fit the music’s atmosphere as needed.


VKH: Which song of yours means the most to you and why?

Aoi Midori: “Shineba ii no ni” (“Just go die”).
In the lyrics there's the line, “DIE!!”. The spewing of malcontent and poison, those types of phrases are our weapons.


VKH: How do you produce new songs? Does the whole band work together on one song, or does every member make one song alone?

Aoi Midori: I make it by myself. I compose the songs on my computer at home.


VKH: We’ve noticed that for your singles so far, you usually make 2 PVs: one that focuses on a live-action story, and another more artistic one that uses a lot of animation. What made you decide to promote your singles in this way?

Aoi Midori: Everyone puts out live-action PVs. I feel that having animated PVs can give people who aren't necessarily fans of visual kei the chance to hear our music, without prejudice about our appearance.


VKH: Can you describe the process that goes into making those two different types of PVs?

Aoi Midori: We’ll meet with the video production staff and discuss what location we'd like, the extras we'd like to use based on the imagery from the song’s music and lyrics, and go from there with ideas from the staff.


VKH: What is your favorite PV that you’ve done so far?

Kanata: “Abnormal Therapy.” I like our white outfits.

Sho: “Abnormal Therapy.”

Aoi Midori: “Daikkirai Tokyo” and “Hakaba de Love Song.”

REIKA: “Daikkirai Tokyo.”

VKH: Your latest single is Daikkirai Tokyo/Kamisama Gomennasai. Can you talk about what each song is about?

Aoi Midori: “Daikkirai Tokyo” is a song I wrote based on the frustration I felt leaving my hometown and going to Tokyo, and thinking about all of the people that I hate. I originally made “Kamisama Gomennasai” with the idea that it would be a waltz, but it ended up becoming a song with its own unique world.

VKH: What do you think has changed about you musically since your debut, and what do you think has stayed the same?

Aoi Midori: What's changed is having an office and staff being able to support us in various aspects while we’re able to concentrate on our music. What hasn't changed is my attitude towards making better music, and the heart of my beliefs/way of thinking.


VKH: Your live concerts are very energetic! Which song do you like to play live the most and why?

Kanata: The song I have the most fun singing is “Daikkirai Tokyo.” I really love seeing everyone in the audience going crazy.

Sho: “Daikkirai Tokyo”, because it raises the mood super high.

Aoi Midori: I think at that time it would be a new song, because I’d want to be able to express it the most.

REIKA: “Abnormal Therapy”, because I can beat it out with the most emotion.


VKH: What are your future plans?

Kanata: I wanna try to do an overseas tour. I want a lot of people to be able to experience Zombie’s music and live performances.

Sho: I want to perform overseas.

Midori: I want to do one-man lives in places we’ve never been, and someday make performing overseas a reality.

REIKA: I want to do a one-man tour through all 47 prefectures.


VKH: Thanks so much for answering our questions! Do you have anything you’d like to say to your fans who might be reading this?

Kanata: Once you've been infected by the band Zombie, you'll never be able to escape!

Sho: Getting infected will make life more fun!

Aoi Midori: Thank you so much for always cheering us on. I'd be very happy if foreign v-kei fans would check out our songs.

REIKA: Please continue to support us in the future!


LINKS:
OHP
Euclid Agency Official Twitter
Kanata's Twitter
Sho's Twitter
Aoi Midori's Twitter
REIKA's Twitter

Special thanks to FAKE STAR, USA for making this possible!

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