Interview with heidi.

heidi. has been busy lately with the release of a new album in May and the start of their Ashita naki tsubasa tour on June 3rd. In the midst of that tour we were able to interview heidi. about their recent album and tour, their growth over the past few years, and their goals for the near future.


Could you introduce yourselves please?

yoshihiko: I’m the vocalist of heidi., yoshihiko.
nao: I’m the guitarist, nao.
kohsuke: I’m the bassist, kohsuke.
kiri: I’m the drummer, kiri. It’s nice to see you.

We know Heidi as a Swiss story about a little girl whose name is Heidi. Does the name of the band have any relation with that, and can you explain how the band chose its name? And why do you put a period at the end?

nao: It doesn’t have a special meaning. I didn’t want to put a meaning in the band name, and I thought it sounded easy to remember, so I used that name for our band. I put the period at the end because it seemed tenser. (laugh)

Did you actually choose the name from the anime that we all know?

nao: No, I was not really conscious of it when I chose it……

kohsuke: We lined up various words that were easy to remember, and nao brought ‘heidi.’ in. Well, I know heidi is known to all over the world as Heidi from [the anime] "Heidi, a girl of the Alps."

That's why I thought maybe you liked the anime.

kohsuke: Well…….I like it. (laugh) People usually think that. We also aimed to have a gap from the pretty image that Heidi has in the anime.

Can you tell us about what influences your music and visuals?

kiri: When we made the band, each of us had already been in various bands, and we got together and talked about what kind of band we wanted to do. We concluded that we wanted to make our music come first, moving our listeners with our music and lyrics. So that's a little different from being influenced by something. We all came to the same decision at about the same time.

So you weren’t influenced by something in particular and you didn’t have an image or concrete style that you wanted to do, right?

All: No we didn’t.

When I saw your poster for the first time, I was impressed by your simple appearance. You wore black and white costumes and you were barefoot. I felt it fresh since your image was different from other visual kei bands which have really gorgeous and showy images.

nao: I see. People have that image of visual kei, that it is gorgeous and showy, but we didn’t want to be saddled with that kind of image, so we just did a style through which we could express ourselves as we were, then we became like this naturally. As a result, we are looked at differently from people who are said to be mainstream visual kei, so I think it’s good for us.

How do you compose songs and write lyrics?

nao: How we make songs is different for each member, but we started to use a PC recently. We used to go to a studio and play guitar and sing to show other members roughly how a song would be. We were kind of like an analog computer, I think. (laugh)

kohsuke: In the end we have to play with all the members present. Recently we've been able to present what we made by using a PC, so we can show each other what we've made easier than before.

Do you bring your song data into a studio and play together?

kohsuke: We can judge songs before that. Before, we used to play and sing them to each other.

kiri: Using a PC is just one method, but before, we couldn’t imagine songs until they were completed, but now members bring in demo data, so we can judge them more easily like “This song could be better" or “This song wouldn’t be good.”

Thinking of songs like Ganbou or Sentimental, "change" seems to be a strong element in your music. Besides changing the whole atmosphere of a song - musically or lyrically, there are also songs with various rhythmic changes, like Hoshi no koe. How important is this element of change to you and your music?

nao: Um, we are not especially conscious of that, but when I composed those three songs I made them thinking that I wanted to make them more interesting. Now we are more likely to just play a song straightly, and if it is good, then it’s ok. Before, we would have tried to make it more interesting by putting more bits into it.

Though singing about sadness and despair, your songs often leave some kind of hopeful impression. Could this "ray of hope" be a message you want to convey through your music?

nao: I think that in some ways they just happen to be like that, but we also want to send the message that you can get up again after sadness and despair. I think that if we didn’t present that we would always finish in a dark mood. I’m not saying it's not okay to finish like that, but I don’t like it that much. I want to say that you can find the light using your own strength.

What kind of impression do you want to leave on the people who are listening to your songs?

kiri: The members who write lyrics mainly in this band are nao and yoshihiko, but we all want to send the message that there is hope even in sadness and despair.

By the way, you are doing many lives. How are you doing on the tour?

yoshihiko: I just sleep all the time.(laugh) I sleep more than any of the other band members, since I can sleep anywhere.(laugh)

You spend time effectively. (laugh)

kohsuke: Well, I know it’s not wrong but….(laugh)

kiri: We usually listen to music or sleep when we are on the road.

kohsuke: After we have a live, we watch our live images by using a PC in a car. We sometimes have self-reviews there, sometimes we play games together, we spend time in different ways.

Do you have any unique episodes during tours that you can share?

Manager: Once we changed course just to get some good food.

How do you get information about good food or restaurants?

kiri: Usually from staff. (laugh)

Being on coupling tours with other bands such as Jully, lynch. or Jinkaku Radio, is there any difference concerning routine or atmosphere in comparison to a one-man tour?

kohsuke: It’s different. In one-man live tours, we stay with only our band members, but when we stay with other bands, we often go out eating and drinking together, and use the same dressing room, so we talk about different things, and the mood becomes very casual. (laugh)

So they are friends of yours?

kohsuke: Yes. We couldn’t go on a tour with anyone who wasn’t. (laugh) I think we wouldn’t do coupling tours if we didn’t like the bands we were going to be with.

You enjoy it, right?

All: Yes.

kiri: I think the merits of playing with other bands is that you see their good points and learn from them.

You're celebrating heidi.'s third anniversary this year. Looking back on your beginnings, how did you improve, personally and as a band, during these three years?

nao: What I think improved most as a band is that we are more confident playing on the stage. Before, I couldn’t see around me, but now I could see the wider picture, which is the biggest thing for me.

Did you become able to see other members, and the audience too?

nao: Well, I’m not sure if I could see the audience too (laugh), but all the members of the band have become more confident too, so I think we all grew together.

kohsuke: I think the view of our songs is spreading, and as a band we are going in a good direction. Our lives are really different from before, and our band is growing, as we reach and then change our goals. But I still want to grow even more.

yoshihiko: I think that I have more confidence now since we've done lots of lives. I think I can stand on stage a lot more firmly, it happened very naturally too.

Did you change your way of singing?

yoshihiko: I think so. When I listen to our former CDs and newer CDs, I think I can sing in different ways now.

How do you usually take care of your throat?

yoshihiko: I have just recently started to care about that. (laugh) Like I don’t drink alcohol before lives now. (laugh) It’s more just a belief so I know that it'll be okay. (laugh)

kiri: I think if I compare things to when I first started, I feel that my range and view of music that I want to do is expanding. Personally, I think I like the way I play drums now more than when I first started in heidi..

Do you feel these three years have been long? Or short?

nao: Very short.

Are there any moments that really left an impression with you over the past three years?

nao: What impressed me most was the one-man live Shidou ("start moving") which we played in Ikebukuro CYBER in 2006.

kohsuke: Mine was the hide Memorial Summit, where we played in Ajinomoto Stadium in May, 2008. Of course, I remember Shidou so much, but when we played in the hide Memorial Summit, I was surprised that it was so awesome. And I felt like I hadn't known that kind of place until then. More famous people play in that kind of place. Until then, I was surprised to see 2,000-3,000 people, but the audience increased by another digit there. As I was able to see that world I began to think that I wanted to play there too. So it was a good experience for me, I think.

At that time, you were very tense. (laugh)

kohsuke: Yeah, we were! (laugh) We had never been tensed up like that before, everything seemed to go wrong…….and we suddenly turned out to be the opening act! (laugh)

Things were changing even up until just before the event started. (laugh)

Manager: The time of heidi.’s appearance changed at midnight.

Yes. I was surprised when I was told by the reception desk that heidi. was changed to be the first performer of the day. (laugh)

Manager: nao knew the morning of the event, since I couldn’t contact him until then. (laugh)

yoshihiko: I remember most the Orange drama live we played in C.C.Lemmon Hall on December 28th, 2008.

kohsuke: The first edition of our latest single Tsubasa includes a DVD with live footage from Orange Drama.

kiri: I remember most Shidou in 2006, too.

Catching a glimpse of your future, where do you see yourselves as a band in another three years?

nao: After three years, I want to be a band where anyone who listens to our songs will know who we are.

kohsuke: I hope so too. I want to be a band who is known by the general public. I think we have to be like that.

yoshihiko: After three years, we would have done this band for 6 years, so I want people know our band name, of course.

kiri: I want to be a band where more people will listen to our music.

heidi.'s music has impressive melodies.

nao: I’m happy you think that, I think it is fresh for foreign people.

Do you have wishes for the future soon, like playing in overseas?

All: Of course!

I think you hear various rumors from bands that played overseas, like it was good or bad. Do you imagine playing overseas and how it will be?

kiri: I think it would be simply fun.

nao: I've heard different things about playing overseas, like troubles, big differences from in Japan, language troubles, bad food….(laugh) But I think I'm ready for them since I've heard a lot…

Please give your messages to foreign fans.

nao: heidi. hasn’t been overseas yet, but we’ll work hard to go in the near future, so please enjoy listening to our CDs, and wait for us.

kohsuke: I don’t know how many people are waiting for us or listening to our songs, but I want to go, so please wait until we can make it happen.

yoshihiko: I want to play lives overseas, and I’ll go in the near future, so please look forward to seeing us.

You don’t sing English lyrics?

yoshihiko: I've never thought about that. Well, I have thought that it would be good to speak English.

You want to sing in Japanese?

yoshihiko: Yes. I hope I can send Japanese songs of heidi. to foreign people.

kiri: I’m really interested in lives overseas, and I think it would just be really fun. I am sure there are people who like heidi. who are living in places we don’t know. I want to go to those places and play for them.


JaME would like to thank heidi. for taking the time to grant us this interview.