Interview with HALCALI at Japan Expo

On July 9th, the hip-hop group HALCALI performed for the first time overseas at the French event the Japan Expo. On Friday afternoon, the first day of the event, we already met up with the two girls to have an interview with them. Yukari and Haruka, both dressed in trendy outfits, seemed relaxed and excited to be in France, so the interview starts with a pleasant atmosphere.


How did you get the idea to mix your first names, Haruka and Yukari, to form the name HALCALI?

Yukari: During one of our meetings with Rip Slyme, they were a bit drunk and were very tired to call us Haruka and Yukari all the time. Therefore they put our first names together to make HALCALI (laughs)

When you started HALCALI, neither of you had experience with rapping. How did you learn it?

Haruka: We sang a lot of songs by Rip Slyme and other rap songs; that was the main training for us.
Yukari: And we had great training doing karaoke.

What made each of you decide to participate in the audition of Ryo-Z and DJ Fumiya of Rip Slyme?

Yukari: First of all, the posters for the auditions were in pink and very cute. And secondly, the concept of being the 'female part' of Rip Slyme was very interesting to us. Even if we didn't have any experience in rap, we were already dancing together. Thus we decided to go there to see what would happen.

Were you familiar with the band already, or were you fans of Rip Slyme?

Yukari: We weren’t really fans of the group, though we did like their music.
Haruka: In the beginning we didn’t know that the audition was by them. It was really because the poster was cute and we later found out that it was them who organized the audition.

What kind of support have you gotten from the Rip Slyme members?

Yukari: Rip Slyme manages all the production; they made the group and we create the songs.

If there is a disagreement, how do you usually fix these?

Yukari: So far, we haven’t had any disagreements. We have confidence in them because of their experience.

You will soon release a new album, Cyborg Oretachi, can you tell us more about this?

Haruka: We started this album without clearly identifying an idea or concept. This was positive because we were able to have diverse genres of music in the same album, thus it stands out as a very interesting album.

How does the composition and the arrangement of your music usually go?

Yukari: That depends on the songs or the concept of the album, they're all different. Sometimes it's like "we want to make a song with that group", someone we like, and we just do it.

You worked with different artists during your career like such as Rhymester, Fantastic Plastic Machine, POLYSICS, Skaparahorns, and so on. How did you get the opportunity to work with these artists?

Haruka: It was mainly us that asked artists we liked to work with us, or to provide a song.
Yukari: For example with Fantastic Plastic Machine, we have worked with them for three or four years.

Did these artists accept your proposal easily?

Yukari: This is also due to the efforts of the producers, but of course, the groups were very enthusiastic. For example, with VERBAL of m-flo, we hadn't contacted him, it was he who contacted us and said "I made a song that I want you to sing".

In general, is there a main message in your songs?

Yukari: Nothing in particular. We just want everyone to have fun, just like we do. We also put word games into our lyrics.

The samples that you use in your songs are sometimes very unique and eclectic. Which styles would you like to try in the future?

Yukari: It's interesting to mix diverse styles with hip-hop. So why not include samples of traditional songs like those from Okinawa for example?

What does the word "Halcalism", which is used in the song Candy Hearts, mean to you? It is a way of being, a manner of thinking or something different?

Yukari: (They think about it for a moment) There are several. It is of course strongly linked to the word 'freedom', it's for that that we make these songs.
Haruka: It’s also something natural. When we’re recording we’re not trying to make it sound like Halcalism, that just comes naturally. It’s also linked to the fact that we work with other people.

And how about the term "datsuryoku rap", can you explain to us what it means?

Yukari: "Datsuryoku" literally means something relaxing, without energy, soft. We didn't choose the name, it came from the audience. When we listen to our first songs we didn't think that they are so calm instead very high-tensed, but at any rate, as long as the audience is happy and like our music, we are happy.

How did it feel when you just released your first single and it ranked in the top 20 of the Oricon charts?

Haruka: We were very happy!

Did you treat yourself to something special when you celebrated?

Haruka: It’s something unique to Japan, as we were still in high school, we couldn’t go clubbing.

Too bad!

Yukari and Haruka: Oh, yes! (laughs)
Yukari: We could hear our song during the lunch break, it was special.

Some people think that you are to hip-hop what Puffy is to pop. What is your opinion on this?

Haruka: We have a lot in common with Puffy.
Yukari: Like the fact that we’re both two girls. We have liked Puffy for a long time so we’re very happy to be compared to them.

What made you decide to release songs that were download-only?

Yukari: There are several reasons for this. The first song we released like this was a song for Christmas, which can only be used for one month. So we didn’t feel comfortable with the packaging and all that so we only made it downloadable.
Haruka: It’s interesting in a country like Japan to have a song that’s only available for download. That makes it more special and it changes the impact.
Yukari: So we continued with this seasonable cycle, like we had a song for Christmas, Valentine’s day, New Years, so it’s for special seasonal occasions.

You aren't worried about piracy?

Group Manager: Actually, It’s only available for cell phones.

How was it to change your label in 2005?

Haruka: Apart from the environment, nothing changed.
Yukari: We make the same music, therefore we remain the same.

Your promotional videos are really funny to see. Do you have any anecdotes about them, for example the video for It's Party Time, it looks like it was shot in a French supermarket (Carrefour), wasn't it?

Yukari: Thanks!
Haruka: Yes thanks! (Laughs)
Yukari: There is a Carrefour in Tokyo. We decided to do it there when we learned that we were going to come to Paris.

How did this shooting go? Did you have fun?

Yukari: It was very fun to make it but we shot all night, therefore we were frustrated to not be able to do some shopping.
Haruka: On the way to come to Japan Expo we saw a Carrefour. We thought it was a small store but in fact it was only a gasoline stand!

How do you come up with the really cool and eccentric dances that you do?

Haruka: Oh yes, cool! (laughs)
Yukari: We discuss it a lot first. We try to give them a feeling that follows the lyrics.
Haruka: And sometimes we include funny moves while we’re having fun ourselves.

Your look has changes a lot. Is it like a competition for you to have a different look every time?

Yukari: There are changes, but it's not really planned, they're not meant to be big changes. What’s good, is that we happen to usually have the same taste so that’s why we wear the same outfits sometimes.

Which of you decides on the look first, Haruka or Yukari?

Haruka: What you see in the clips is also influenced by the director of the video. It’s not like one of us advocates more than the other to make any change in our look.

Would you like to something new?

Haruka: It’s what we were doing today, we are renewing. We saw quite some eccentric styles at Japan Expo, like characters from manga and cosplay. We think that for periodic events it can be very interesting.

Next to music, what are your other passions? How do you like to spend your free time? For example your nails, they look very detailed, didn't it take a long time to put it on?!

Yukari: (shows her nails while making a grimace expression and afterwards everyone laughed) In fact doing our nails is a hobby, we do it when we have time to do it. Otherwise we like to drive!
(After the interview, Yukari mentions that it took four hours to decorate her nails in this way.)

How would you describe the other in one word?

Yukari: (speaking of Haruka) freedom.
Haruka: Freedom also for Yukari!
Yukari: We're both very free spirits.
Haruka: We say often that we are so free that we don’t need free time, like here in Paris! (Laughs)

You recorded a video message in French on a French channel. Was it difficult for you to speak French?

Haruka: (in French:) Difficult!

Why? One can say also that Japanese is difficult!

Yukari: No, Japanese is easy, French is not. Well, sometimes I forget kanji.

What do you expect from Japan Expo?

Yukari: It’s our first performance outside of Japan. The public doesn’t react in the same way and we are very impatient!

You're only doing a short performance of thirty minutes at Japan Expo. Can we expect more from you in the near future like an one-man or perhaps a complete European tour?

Haruka: (laughs) Yes!
Yukari: If there is a demand, at any time.

Thank you very much for the interview.


JaME thanks HALCALI and their team at Epic Records Japan (Naoki Sekine in particular) as well as JMD and of course our translator Yuta.