Interview with Schwarz Stein at Anime USA

As Anime USA kicked off its 16th year in Washington D.C., JaME met with Schwarz Stein prior to their Saturday concert, to ask a few questions about the band’s reunion.

Welcome to the US! Can you please introduce yourselves?

Kaya: I am Kaya, the vocalist.
Hora: I am Hora, on keyboards.

During Kaya’s final performance in February 2014, he announced that Schwarz Stein would be reuniting. What sparked the reunion?

Kaya: We had reunited a few times in the past, and this ended up just being really good timing for us to reunite. I was going to be wrapping up current work with my solo project in February 2014, and then Hora contacted me and suggested we do a formal reunion. So I said, “Let’s do it!”

You reunited briefly in 2011 for your ten year anniversary. 2014 marks ten years since your disbandment, and now Schwarz Stein has revived. Was that a coincidence?

Kaya: It was a total coincidence. It was fate!

Your first single was released in March 2014, just one month after the revival announcement. How far in advance had the reunion been in the works?

Kaya: It was very fast. We made the announcement, and immediately began working on the single. However, the reunion itself has been in the works for almost a year.

So will your solo work stop while Schwarz Stein is active?

Kaya: No. It will continue alongside it.

You both have had a large number of solo releases since the initial disbandment of Schwarz Stein. How has this time apart helped you grow as musicians?

Kaya: I have been doing my solo project for eight years, and Hora was actually the person composing my songs.

Even though Schwarz Stein was not together, he was composing music for you?

Kaya: Yes, that is correct. For example, Chocolat. Most of my songs were composed by Hora. I feel like as Schwarz Stein, we worked as band members, and after we broke up, it was more like business partners. The way we think about the music has changed, as well. I also saw Hora differently, too. It’s like when you’re in a relationship, you don’t always see the important things right in front of you. But if you break up, all of a sudden, you see all the things you missed before.

So what you’re trying to say is, absence made the heart grow fonder?

Kaya: Yes! We understand each other more, too.

Hora: In my solo project, most songs I create are instrumental, but I have sung in a few. I noticed though, that being a vocalist is really difficult! For this reunion, I think the most important focus for me is the melody. In the past eight years, we both gained a lot of experience and tried a lot of different things. This time around, we’re writing our music with our fans in mind. We really want our fans to enjoy our music.

What do you wish for your overseas fans to know about Schwarz Stein that they may not otherwise know, due to language and/or cultural barriers?

Kaya: I think our melodies are very Japanese. Also, I think everyone can understand our lyrics, even without understanding Japanese; there are no borders.

(Kaya pauses for translator, and thinks before resuming.)

Kaya: Schwarz Stein’s lyrics also aren’t particularly positive. They’re kind of dark. We write our music for those people who have negative experiences; through our music they have a place they can escape to. Our music gives people the time they need to think, and is cathartic.

Finally, please give a message to our readers.

Kaya: There were so many fans asking us to come to America as Schwarz Stein, and we were happy to make that dream come true. I hope we can come back again. Please continue to support us.

Hora: I really, really wanted to come to America and I am so happy to be here. If we get another chance to come back, we would love to. Please enjoy our show.

JaME would like to thank Anime USA and Schwarz Stein for this interview opportunity.