Press Conference with Survive Said The Prophet at Anime Friends 2023

On the day after Survive Said The Prophet's first show in Brazil, JaME was able to attend a press conference with the rock band where they talked about the influence of anime songs on their career, their ambitions as an international band, and their impressions of Brazil.

Since you've done many anime songs, do you think it helps Japanese bands to become more popular internationally?

Yosh: Initially, our goal was always to be an international band, and that happened after we started doing anime songs. We must do things like come to Brazil, walk around, meet the audience, look into their eyes, feel their hearts, and convey that feeling to the whole world. That's why we want to have an international career.

You combine clean vocals and screams so well in your music. In yesterday's concert, for example, the drummer Show was doing the scream along with Yosh. How is the production of this kind of music done? Does it come naturally in the composition process?

Yosh: With the right feeling, I can convey and create the music. We must understand each other's feelings before we go into the studio and create our music. Until we do that, we don't create anything. To reproduce what you asked about our feelings and the mix of voices in the concert, we must deliver it in the simplest and most sincere way, so we always practice together beforehand to see if everyone agrees on how it will be. If they agree, then we proceed with the idea.

Regarding "Vinland Saga," Mukanjyo and Paradox capture two stages of the protagonist Thorfinn's life quite clearly. The first stage, more rebellious and full of anguish, and the second in search of his own peace. What was it like creating openings for such an emotionally charged story?

Yosh: We had only one month to prepare Mukanjyo, but that's normal for anime songs. By coincidence, I followed a similar path as Thorfinn, so it was easy to express the "kanjyo" (emotion) in the song. For Paradox, we had a year of production due to COVID, but it was good, as it brought Survive Said The Prophet to where we are now.


What are the band's upcoming projects? Are you considering a European or American tour with bands similar to your style? Do you have any plans, or are you waiting for opportunities?

Yosh: We want to go all around America and Europe. Eventually, of course, we want to perform worldwide. We all feel that music was our salvation, so we want to convey that to the whole world. We teach others what we have been taught. We want to create a community, like a fan club, but on a global scale.

Do you have any rhythms or styles you'd like to try in a new song or album?

Yosh: We love rock, but we also want to show other musical styles. We want to experiment with pop and rap, which are becoming more popular. You can expect that we will release more songs soon. Each of us has their own studio, and ideas can come from various places. You can expect good things to come.

Which bands influenced you to start in this musical style? Do you have plans for new collaborations with international or Japanese bands?

Yosh: We like many bands, I think you all are like that too, right? (laughs) When I was young, there were bands like The Used, Story Of The Year, My Chemical Romance... Some of them even invited me to sing along.

Tatsuya: Yes, we want to collaborate with many artists and bands. Each album has at least one guest. We want to have international collaborations, but we haven't decided with whom yet.

Yosh: We have already collaborated with Sawano Hiroyuki, and we want to work with other artists in a similar way, in significant projects.

Could you tell us about the band's history? How it was created, the reason behind the name, and what was the first composition that was important to you?

Yosh: In short, I was in the United States working as a recorder. At that time, I didn't necessarily want to be an artist. I returned to Japan during college summer vacation, and someone told me that if I were to perform in Japan, I should introduce myself to Sony Music. When I returned to Japan and introduced my CD, Sony didn't accept it. So, I thought, "Let's make our own band." At that time, each of us was in a different band. All of us had a moment where we considered giving up on the artist's life, but because we love music so much, we couldn't stop. And that's how Survive Said The Prophet was formed. We wanted to convey that passion to the entire world, and that's why we're here at Anime Friends. This time, Sony called us. (laughs) Good things happen when we work hard.

About the name, a "prophet" is someone who knows both the future and the past. But... if people only know the answer, the future can change. A true prophet doesn't change the future but tread his own way to achieve it. He doesn't keep trying to improve the future. The name itself is related to the music that we love so much, to survive with it.

What Japanese musical influences do you have?

Yosh: Personally, I started singing Japanese music much later. I prefer English over Japanese, so I haven't listened to many Japanese songs.

Ivan: Well, I was born in Hong Kong, and I've really liked X JAPAN and LUNA SEA since I was a child. They were some of the influences that led me to start a musical career.

Show: When I was in school, the drummer from Bump of Chicken used to come to the bar near my house frequently and taught me how to play. It was thanks to that influence that I started playing the drums.

Tatsuya: I had piano lessons and used to listen a lot of Joe Hisaishi's music. He is responsible for many songs from Studio Ghibli's movies.

About your album Wabi Sabi, “Wabi Sabi” is a term that's part of Japanese aesthetic, but it's something difficult to define since it's a matter of "feeling". Could you try to define it for those who don't know the word?

Yosh: (smiles) "Wabi Sabi" has a deep meaning. We are a rock band, there's a lot of shouting, but that's not all we want to show, and that's why we chose this name. When I worked at a record label, my boss gave me a book called "Wabi Sabi". The book was in English, and I found it very interesting and funny, and the inspiration came from there.


What did each of you enjoy most about Brazil?

Ivan: The people here are very warm, I really liked that. I didn't know much about Brazil itself, so that's what I can say.

Show: Since I didn't get to know the country that much, I will also choose the people. Our bodyguards, for example...they are serious, but when we talk to them or ask for something, they smile. I appreciate those kind gestures.

Yosh: The enthusiasm of the Brazilian people.

Tatsuya: Brazil's beer is the best. I won't remember the name of it, but I really liked one that I drank at Beco do Batman.

JaME would like to thank Survive Said The Prophet, interpreter Eidji Moreira and Maru Division for making this article possible.

-------------------------

Survive Said The Prophet took to the Anime Friends stage on Saturday. They'd already gotten fans excited by performing SPINE during the soundcheck, but it was just a taste of what was to come. When they stepped onto the stage, Yosh showed contagious energy as he jumped and walked around, interacting with the audience and enjoying hearing everyone singing loudly and shouting along. He shared vocals with drummer Show, who handled a significant portion of the screams.

The band brought a set full of songs for anime series like "Banana Fish" and "Vinland Saga", and the audience sang along so loudly that it sometimes overpowered the band, especially during the song RED, which has a slower rhythm. Survive Said The Prophet thanked the audience and promised to come back for a solo concert.

Set list

01. found & lost
02. Fool's gold
03. Beauty Queen
04. NE:ONE
05. Papersky
- MC -
06. Right and Left
07. Find you
08. RED
- MC -
09. Paradox
10. MUKANJYO
11. Mary
12. Network System