Interview with GANGLION

Members of GANGLION answered JaME’s questions before their tour final on November 15th at Tokyo’s Harajuku Astro Hall. The band shared with JaME about the memory of their first live abroad on October 31st at Oni-Con, an annual Japanese pop culture fan expo in Galveston, Texas. Vocalist oni also spoke on the band's behalf about their vision for 2015.

Interview

As this is Ganglion’s first appearance in JaME, can you please introduce yourselves? Also, Ganglion played their very first show abroad at Oni-Con in October. Please share your most memorable moment of the event with us.

oni: My name is oni and I'm the guitarist and vocalist. I was amazed by the huge capacity of the venue. So many people came to enjoy our show. It was very surprising to see people who already knew about us. It was also moving to see people who just showed up to listen to our music, without having any prior knowledge of us, and even bought our records after the show. I gone the impression that American people are very open to music and are also eager to discover new favorites.

sagara: My name is sagara and am a guitarist. I was delighted that every single item we brought from Japan got sold, and some people even asked us if we had more left. I was so happy to be able to spend good time with our American fans.

ebi: My name is ebi and I play bass. Everyone was so open and receptive to our music. The fans’ response to our performance was so direct. And I ate so much ham!! They were so big and delicious! I think there were four packs of them, and I think I ate three of them just by myself!

vivi: I am vivi and I play drums. It was so great to see fans responding so positively to our music. I also enjoyed seeing people in cosplay since Oni-Con is also an animation convention.

How did your experience in the USA change you as a person or a musician?

oni: I gained more confidence. We performed in the same way we usually do in Japan, and we got great responses from the American fans.

sagara: I used the venue's sound system for the show, instead of my own. I was able to discover more about what my guitar sound is like and became more flexible as a musician. The whole experience enabled me to solidify my musical foundations.

ebi: I love eating hams more than ever before! I was so nervous about the language barrier before going to the US, but I no longer have more complex towards English anymore. I was able to communicate with American people even if I could not speak in English, even with a lady I met during the flight back to Japan! And I found my cuteness is universal!

vivi: I've become more relaxed and easygoing thanks to my experiences in America. People I met at Oni-Con were so positive and energetic. I used to feel down quite often before, but I no longer worry as much as I used to, even when I make a mistake during a show. The positivity and openness I received from Americans has helped me to be less of a perfectionist.

The Christmas season is approaching. Do you have any plan to create a Christmas song? Can you imagine what a GANGLION Christmas song would be like?

oni: I’m thinking positively about it. I’d come up with a catchy pop number.

sagara: I would come up with a melancholic ballad.

ebi: I would create a song about the end of childhood innocence. It would be a song about a young child finding out a shocking truth about Santa Claus. It was his dad, not Santa Claus!

2014 seems to have been a very exciting year for GANGLION as you released a new mini album and your tour is about to end. Please share your vision for 2015.

oni: We were able to achieve our long-term goal to play a live show in the United States this year. We'll be aspiring to broaden our musical activities even more. We'll continue to base ourselves in Japan, but we definitely aim to perform in many more countries.

Finally, please give a final message to our readers.

oni: I think some of you will discover GANGLION for the first time through this interview. Please check our music out as we are creating cool new songs all the time.

sagara: One day, I would like to meet you in your own country so please support us.

ebi: I would like to explore various countries and enjoy eating great foods!
I am looking forward to finding my new favorites!

vivi: I would like to visit more different countries and meet with new people. And I’d love to see more people outside Japan discover and enjoy our music.


JaME would like to thank GANGLION for consenting to this interview.