Interview with SANA

Shortly after completing his solo tour Three Worlds for you… across Europe and America, guitarist SANA found time to do a few shows with Satsuki on his tour ~ARTEMIS is Calling~EU Release Party~. Before a show in Essen, Germany, JaME Germany took the opportunity to talk to him about his new mini-album Three words for…, his impressions of Europe, anime, and his own recent tour.

We know that your image concept is about being beautiful. To start us off, please tell us what beauty is to you. How do you achieve beauty?

SANA: Beauty is life. I put great effort into achieving it. I do things not to gain weight and I also check my appearance in front of the mirror. I put great effort into making sure people see me as beautiful.

You released the mini-album Three words for… on July 17th. During an interview, you said that the songs on the album are inspired by your tour last year as well as three foreign words that you remember. What are those three words?

SANA: Apart from my policy “I love me”, which is three words, there were also three words I heard on my tour last year: “Wake me up”—these resonated strongly in my heart. This also made me think that “Three Words” might be something really precious, just like “I love you” for example. When relating to people, sometimes only three words are more than sufficient. I wanted to create such an album.

What are your best memories of last year's tour?

SANA: On my European solo tour, it was the first time that I travelled alone abroad, which was interesting. Taking the train, taking the bus, and how I got asked at the airport, what I was taking with me in my luggage, and when I said it was a guitar, they told me I couldn't take it with me, but when I kindly asked them again, I could take it with me. Waking up early in the morning as well—all of that was a lot of fun.

You made your debut solo appearance in the USA at Anime Festival Orlando last month. What are the differences between European and American fans in terms of their reactions during your performances?

SANA: It was my first live in America, so it´s difficult to say what was different ... Wait, I know: they understood English. When I spoke to them in English, everyone understood me. Here, sometimes people sometimes only know French or German, or Spanish, right? But there, they understood English, which was the thing I was most delighted about. The fans‘ reactions were kind of the same—the air was filled with an intense passion.

Tell us more about the songs on Three words for….

SANA: There are a few new songs on the CD, but A Wish is a very old song—I created it when I was thinking about going solo. But all of it didn't really feel old to me, and for me that was very fresh. In regard to last year’s tour, I took the reactions of people from all over the world and put it together on this CD.

Which track on Three words for… is your favorite?

SANA: The song I like most is Wake me up.

You went to Russia, Latvia and Ukraine for your solo tour this year. Can you share any interesting stories from your time there with us?

SANA: In Russia, I went close to Kazakhstan and had … What was the name of the dish? Bagigista? Tagigujisuta? Something like that. I went to a restaurant that specialised in Kazakh food and ordered something traditional. When they were about to bring the food to me, there was a blackout and the whole room went dark, so I couldn't see the food. They tried to light up the room a little using candles, and so I ate the dish, without being able to take a picture or even being able to see what it looked like. The darkness gave the situation a little bit of a “happy birthday” atmosphere.

That´s really funny! How did the dish taste?

SANA: The taste ... was not really for me. I didn't really like it.

How did the opportunity to do some shows with Satsuki for his European tour come about?

SANA: In the beginning, I was charmed by Satsuki’s voice and I tried to get in contact with him, and since we both have the same concept, we became friends. While talking about a lot of different things, Satsuki mentioned that he was about to go on a European tour. And since I had not done any live performances abroad yet, and he said that he was looking for someone who played the guitar, I urged him to take me with him so I could share a stage with him. I was able to go abroad, and I could also stand on the same stage as Satsuki—that was a very impressive thing for me.

How long have you been friends with Satsuki?

SANA: We became friends in 2012, and since then, we’ve gotten along very well.

Now that you're in Germany, what are your general impressions of the country and fans here?

SANA: I really, really like Germany. I was here last winter and the year before that, in the vicinity of Düsseldorf. Though the winters are cold, I got to really like the smell of glühwein and currywurst at the Christmas markets, and the whole atmosphere there is just so nice and happy. I really love Germany.

It’s good to hear that you enjoy it here! Can you speak any German?

SANA: Uhm … (in German) My name is SANA. Good ... morning ... no ... good afternoon ... Good even ... evening! Good evening! Thank you!

Where did you learn that?

SANA: Just like this, talking to people and getting them to teach me, so I can remember it.

Do you have German friends?

SANA: Yes I do! The artist Kai—do you know him? He is a mangaka. We became really good friends.

Where did you get to know him?

SANA: In the past he came to Japan and we both worked in the fashion model industry—that’s where we got to know each other. He also loves the guitar and is a big music fan, so after talking about a lot of different things, we became friends. That is also why I visit Germany frequently.

We know that you enjoy watching anime. Can you recommend a few recent anime series to our readers?

SANA: When talking about recent anime—do you know “Dragonball”? In Japan, a new “Dragonball” series just started: “Dragonball Super”. That one is my recommendation. It's really interesting.

Is there any particular quote from any anime that made a deep impression on you?

SANA: From “Death Note”: “I am going to be the God of the new world.” Those words are really moving.

What are your future plans?

SANA: Around winter, I will probably do some recording. Around next spring, there should be something new coming up. I don't really know yet. Well, but I thought about recording a few songs for now.

To wrap up our interview, do you have a message for JaME’s readers?

SANA: Thank you very much for always supporting me. All of your reactions become my power. I would be happy to get to know your thoughts. From now on too, I will work hard, so please help and keep supporting me.

JaME would like to thank tour promoter TooWild and SANA for making this interview possible.