Interview with GPKISM at Nekocon 2008

Although they haven't been performing together long, GPKISM has been impressing audiences with catchy electronic-goth music and captivating live shows. As their tour schedule came to a close, Kiwamu and GPK sat down with JaME at Nekocon 2008 to give us more incite into their music.


Thank you for meeting with us. Please introduce yourselves.

GPK: Hi, I’m GPK from GPKISM.
Kiwamu: Guitarist, Kiwamu.

You guys enjoy traveling? Are either of you afraid of flying?

GPK: I love traveling!
Kiwamu: Not afraid of, but I am very tired from flying. Before this US tour, we went to South America to Mexico to perform and then flew here.

Kiwamu, you’ve performed at anime conventions here before but this is GPK’s first time. What do you think about the spread of Japanese culture here?

Kiwamu: I think too many Japanese bands are coming to the USA, so I think the Jrock scene will die. Maybe in a few years, too many Jrock bands will be coming and the schedule will be the same as in Japan. Now, in Japan, it’s almost all the same styles of bands; there are many, many of the same Jrock bands, so it will die in time. After that happens, if we can find a way to survive, we will survive, but it will be very hard.

We understand the use of GPK in your name, but can you explain why you chose ISM?

GPK: Basically, the idea of "ISM" is obviously the doctrine of GPK and at the same time, I wanted to use that sort of "ISM" to express a certain type of religious aspect in this case because I feel that lack of freedom within the constructs of our religion in most societies and GPKISM is sort of like, trying to set up a kind of way in which we could try and realize our potential, not bound by morality, and focus on what we want to do.

Have you seen anything outrageous or weird at the convention?

GPK: The companion cube cosplay!
(Everyone laughs)

How’s the convention been for you?

Kiwamu: I think there are two types of convention- One type that is very professional and one that isn’t. It’s hard to tell sometimes which is professional. I think Nekocon is a very professional convention, so we enjoyed our live shows very much. If we have the chance to come here again, I would like to.

You already started to answer our next question! (laughs)

Kiwamu: What’s that?

You enjoyed the concert; did it exceed your expectations?

Kiwamu: Oh! (laughs) In Mexico, there were a lot of problems with the sound so yesterday, especially Saturday night, the sound was very nice. On Friday, we learned very much about the stage so Saturday’s live show was the best show of the tour.
GPK: I enjoyed the performance with Kiwamu onstage at Nekocon. It was my favorite stage, with the sound system and a great audience. I enjoyed it very much, the crowd reaction was much better than I had expected! I’m quite grateful to have had this opportunity.

You have both performed in many places. What’s one experience, good or bad, that you’ll always remember?

Kiwamu: I think I’m used to coming here often now, but this is the first time we’ve toured in the USA with GPKISM. We’ll work hard to tour here in February because we have to have the funds, so this was a good opportunity in my opinion. We will be better than now next time. Next year, we will have a tour with BLOOD and DJ SiSeN, so next time, our show will be much better than now.
GPK: I guess my experience would be my first time at an anime convention. I’m quite overwhelmed by the amount of people who have actually taken the time to dress up and present themselves in a way like this. I never had expected this to happen, you know, with so many anime fans gathering around. It’s amazing to see.

Right now GPKISM it is just the two of you. Have you thought of expanding?

Kiwamu: Now, the problem is the economy. So for this US tour, I couldn’t bring any more members on the airplane to come, so it’s just us two, but if we have a chance to bring Ryonai, we want to bring Ryonai more as a special member next tour, but there are still some problems, maybe.

GPK, you said that you met Kiwamu through MySpace. Kiwamu, what was it about GPK that made you approach him?

GPK: (To Kiwamu) Why’d you pick me?
Kiwamu: (Laughs) When I listened to GPK’s MySpace, there were maybe five songs on his MySpace. I thought they were very good, so I didn’t think they were his original songs, maybe he just put some great songs on his MySpace!
(Everyone bursts out laughing as GPK hangs his head)
GPK: Really?
Kiwamu: But after I talked with him, I knew they were his, so I had much interest in his songs. In this genre- classical metal, or classical rock- Japanese fans like this very much, so I thought it would be very good to do the Japanese visual kei scene. Now his music is unique in the Japanese scene and I think there is a good chance for him, he can steal all their fans.
(Everyone laughs)
Kiwamu: Not steal, get attention... not steal... (laughs)

The two of you have distinct composition styles coming from two different styles. How would you say this differences has helped GPKISM grow?

GPK: Basically, I reckon, music is music. It’s the universal language and whichever genre it might be, it would still be compatible as I have actually suffused baroque style with industrial electronic music and that worked well so there was no problem with Kiwmau’s input, with his death-rockish style guitar. I reckon I would want to try and learn other different genres with the project and try to experiment with new sounds rather than follow the same set of other bands.

Before, you’ve said that eternal love is the key theme to your music. What inspired that theme?

GPK: The absence of love (laughs). I reckon love is the most powerful form in the universe and I believe not only that, but it was love itself that created the universe. I wanted to express that feeling and take our audience back into that specific time to experience the power and emotion, which created us all.

The concept behind your first release is a forbidden love between a fallen angel and a human and has borderline Christian views. When you created the music, was that undertone intentional?

GPK: That undertone is very much intentional and it’s got a lot of metaphor work inside of it on how we are very much bound by a certain religious morality which limits our potential of realization of oneself. So the project itself is to try and expand that idea of ethicality over morality and try to set upon the effects of freedom, which evolve into the next step.

Both of you are interested in design and art, how have you incorporated that interest into GPKISM?

Kiwamu: Both of us are interested in design, he’s good at costume design and imaging. He’s always got some ideas in mind, stored up in his brain, so we talk about it together and discuss the next design for the next singles. I have some ideas too, so we like to combine them together.
GPK: I believe we are living in an age of simulacrum and the visual representation of our contemporary society is fundamentally overwhelming outfits and that is unavoidable. On the maxi-single, I actually have my portrait on the jacket and that, too, is unavoidable (laughs). I was really sort of trying to focus more into the music rather than the image itself, but then again, image is potential towards our success. I’m very happy to give that opportunity a chance.

Wearing costumes is a form of self expression, so what are you trying to express with that image?

GPK: Well, I reckon fashion- all clothing- is an expression of individuality and obviously it’s more than that, it’s all about expressing a certain confident idea. For GPKISM, the image I project upon is very much bending of gender. It’s almost a balance of the two genders that created a synthesis of love, the expression of love. As you can see, I’m wearing a kind of mixture of these two genders and that is the fundamental idea that I have for the project.

Is that image you reflect onstage different from what you are off stage?

Kiwamu: I think two different personalities for me, on and off stage, is not good for my band, right?
GPK: Yeah. I don’t really have a stage persona, I am just myself as I am and I think that honesty towards how I express myself is key to developing a certain kind of relation with the fans because it’s kind of strange if you sort of try and develop a certain persona that you’re not and I wouldn’t want to do that, it’s not fair to the fans. So I will try and just focus on who I am and present myself truthfully.

The Baroque era plays a big part in your style, what about this era attracted you?

GPK: In the Baroque era, they cultivated music in a very formal way. It has the control aspect of compositional styles, tuning systems and harmony variations and I think during the baroque era, there was this very... they tried to break away from secular music onto a more emotional side of things. That moved music in the Baroque era to where we tend to express the compositional style in that the era past that absolute control, that absolute poetry aspect to it. That’s how I wanted to sort of express that idea for electronic music. Within electronic music, you have to have absolute control as well. So that’s how I sort of got into the Baroque era.

What can we expect from GPKISM in the future?

Kiwamu: Generally, we will release our first full album, so we will bring our first full album to the US tour with BLOOD and DJ SiSeN. We hope it will be good and have more fans.
GPK: I actually have an idea of trying to release all my work in instrumentals, using actual instruments, perhaps even work with a symphony orchestra to realize the potential of what GPKISM can become, because we’re just starting this project, it is very hard for us to try and get a groove to that- we’re still trying things we want to do so please support us!

Finally, please give your fans a message.

GPK: Thank you very much for reading this interview, it’s such an honor. I’m grateful for such attention directed upon us, and I wish that you enjoyed our music. We’ll do our best!
Kiwamu: We will be a unique unit because our sound is different. We’ll work for the visual kei and gothic scenes, so I think there’s a brand new style in visual kei. I really hope there’s interest in us, so if you are looking for 'the other' Malice Mizer, we are here!
(Everyone laughs)

Thank you!

GPKISM: Thank you!


JaME would like to thank Nekocon, Tainted Reality and GPKISM for making this interview possible.