Nyappy Around the World: An Cafe in Germany

One hour before their show in Bochum, Germany, we met up with An Cafe. It was the fifth concert within their NYAPPY GO AROUND THE WORLD tour through Europe and the five members seemed rather relaxed and satisfied. When we explained to them that the German JaME team collected questions from fans for this interview, and that we would ask them these questions now, the calmness was gone, because the musicians were really curious about what the fans wanted to know from them...


Your tour schedule is rather tight. Do you have time to relax or walk through the various cities at all? (Jasmin)

Teruki: We usually have a day off after three shows, on days like this we can do sightseeing and get to know the city we're in. Lately we wanted to do something in Hamburg, but it was really cold, so we didn't go too far!

What did you expect in relation to Germany? (Nathalie & Roxani)

Teruki: We already knew more or less what would await us, after we played at J-SHOCK in Germany last year. We gained some experience: We noticed in particular that for example the fans welcomed us very enthusiastically and that they danced a lot, we looked forward to that before we started this tour.

Now that you touched on that subject - did you notice that Para Para/ Furitsuke is by now pretty common overseas? (Christina)

Miku: It seems like Para Para is primarily popular in Germany, we definitely noticed that especially here fans imitate this Japanese dance style.

How did you choose your band name? (Sally-Marie)

Miku: Our former bandmate Bou is a big horse-racing fan. When we thought of a name, we definitely wanted to include the word "Cafe", because Bou's favourite horse was called "Manhattan Cafe". Our name evolved from this.

Which An Cafe songs do you like the most? (Milou)

Yu-ki: My favourite song is called Wagamama Koushinkyouku.
takuya: Snow Scene!
kanon: I like Lock On The New Sekai.
Miku: Like kanon! Lock On The New Sekai.
Teruki: Tekesuta Kousen.

Why are you releasing your new album in Europe first? (Roxani)

Miku: Our European tour was accelerated, so it seemed reasonable to us to release the album in Europe first, and then in Japan. So this album belongs to our tour somehow.

How do you get the ideas for your shows on stage? Especially this hammer-thing? (Virginie) (note: Hitting fans with a big plastic hammer is a common practice in An Cafe concerts in Japan)

Miku: I use the hammer to hit our fans (smirks).
Why do you do that?
Miku: I think it's a nice idea! But in fact i stole it from someone else... (laughs)

What was the most beautiful moment you ever experienced during a concert? (Franziska)

Teruki: Well, for me it's always great when Miku lets the fans sing and I can hear them.

Do you think you are an Oshare Kei band? (Ania)

Miku: People call us and our style Oshare Kei, but we personally don't think that we are like that. We have a different concept, I'd call it "Harajuku Rock Kei." We prefer this description.

Yu-ki, why did you choose an extraordinary styling like that? (Jana)

Yu-ki: I imagined a styling that'd be really awesome, and this is what came out of it... (He smiles, while the others burst out laughing)

kanon, you played an otaku in your movie. How much of this character are you in real life? (Jana)

kanon: (He thinks for a long time) Well, that's how I am - I am an otaku. (The others laugh)

How did the photo shoot with Miku, Tatsuro and Ryutarou in SHOXX Vol. 180 (February 2008) happen? (Bettina)

Miku: On New Year's Eve a big concert called Over the Edge '07 took place at Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall. Amongst others MUCC, Plastic Tree and An Cafe performed there and in the end the pictures accrued in line with that.

Which fan presents make you happy? (Laura)

takuya: I like fan letters, because they are usually very affectionate.
kanon: Cigarettes! (laughs)

Please say something about the person who's next to you! (Sarah)

Teruki (About Miku): Miku is excellent! He is mature but at the same time also childish. Well, I think he has got a child's heart but also the mentality of an adult.
Miku (About kanon): In my opinion kanon is very calm and oversees everything well. He is like a Tibetan monk!
Kanon (About takuya): I think takuya is very masculine! (Everyone laughs when kanon shows his muscles to demonstrate his manliness)
takuya (About Yu-ki): Yu-ki is a very honest and friendly person. Well, he doesn't look like that, but he really is! (laughs)
Yu-ki (About Teruki): Teruki is like the manager or father of our band. He organizes a lot for us.

Do you have any idols? Or someone you admire very much? (Carina)

An Cafe: There are lots of musicians we love and adore, but it's difficult to name any idol in particular.

What did you do before you formed An Cafe? (Franziska)

Yu-ki: I was a student.
Teruki: Actually Yu-ki studied music!
takuya: I was also a student.
kanon: I worked as a paper delivery boy (laughs).
Miku: I visited a university, so I was also a student.
Teruki: I played in another band before.

If you weren't famous, what job do you think you would have? (Yvonne)

kanon: I think I probably would draw manga.

What's your cell's current ring tone? (Roxani)

Teruki: Brrr! Brrrr! My cell phone just vibrates (laughs).
Does anyone have a song as a ring tone?
Miku: Yeah, me! I've divided everyone into different groups on my phone, and whenever a member of An Cafe calls me, Ryuusei Rocket starts to play.

Do you have favourite movies? (Anne-Kathrin)

Miku: I like I am Sam. This movie is really beautiful.
Yu-ki: Spiderman (laughs)!

Which music do you like? (Katharina)

Yu-ki: I like calm music. I prefer ballads.
takuya: I listen to everything that sounds good.
kanon: Trance.
Miku: Usually I listen to pop charts, I always check the top ten.
Teruki: My favourite band is called Janne Da Arc, but when I'm tired and go to bed I like calm music, for example Enya.

What would you do if you could be the world's presidents? (Roxani)

Yu-ki: I would improve the world.
takuya: I wouldn't do anything.
kanon: (He thinks for a long while) Well, I think I would improve the world for myself, so that I could live out my hobbies.
Miku: I would pass a new law, a law that says that one man is allowed to have many women (laughs)!
Teruki: I don't think that I would be able to do something like that, to the world.

Is there any person from the past you would like to meet? (Nora)

Miku: I'd like to meet Einstein!
And why?
Miku: Well, I'd like to find out what was his secret. I mean, how is it possible that someone who is really pretty birdbrained becomes a genius like him?
kanon: Randy Rhoads, because he was a great guitarist.
Teruki: John Bonham, because I admired him as a drummer!

If each of you had the chance to fulfill a wish, what would it be? (Nora)

Yu-ki: Satisfaction.
takuya: A new guitar! (Everyone laughs)
kanon: Well, I guess I'd wish for a fortunate life. Oh, and next to that I'd wish for a life without work, so that I could laze around forever.
Miku: Um, my desire is a little bit different, I'd like to be a teenager again and visit High School.
Why?
Miku: You know, at that time I had lots of fun. I kept this time in my heart somehow, but nevertheless it's a thing of the past, it's over. I really would like to go back.
Teruki: I'd wish for more stamina, I'd wish for a body that's in good condition. I'm always very tired...

Thank you for this interview! Do you have a last message to our readers?

Teruki: Today we play the fifth show of this tour. We feel very comfortable in Germany and are grateful to our fans, since we came so far just because of them. We are very happy.
Miku: We are glad, that there are so many Cafekko's in this world! In fact we thought we just had fans in Japan, but we were wrong, because we were cordially received overseas. I want to visit every place where Cafekko's exist!
kanon: Please remain true to us from now on. I hope that our fans will always stay at our side.
takuya: I agree with kanon. Please remain with me!
Yu-ki: This tour is very important for me. Actually, I already performed in Germany with An Cafe last year, but this is my first overseas tour with this band. This means a lot to me and I hope that I can gain experience and nice memories.


JaME would like to thank Gan-Shin, Twisted Talent and of course An Cafe, who made this interview possible. We especially want to thank our readers, because you sent us so many questions for this interview and we got lots of posivite feedback.