Interview with ALSDEAD in Finland

After only a small break after their first live in Europe, ALSDEAD shared their thoughts with JaME in Helsinki on the 14th of November. In the laid-back interview we asked the band questions about their music, thoughts and experiences.


Please start by introducing yourselves.

Setsua: I'm Setsua, the drummer.
Reito: I'm Reito and I play the bass.
Maki: I'm Maki, the vocalist.
Shin: The guitarist, Shin.

This was your first live in Europe. What kind of impression did you get from the audience?

Reito: It's unbelievable that even though we're here for the first time they welcomed us so warmly. The whole night was amazing!

Have you enjoyed your stay in Helsinki? Has the city been like you expected it to be?

Shin: We expected something like this (moves his hands apart a bit) but Helsinki is like this (spreads arms wide). It has been so much more than we expected!
Maki: Japan is somewhere in between! (laughs)

For a relatively new band you've visited the USA quite often. Was it a pre-thought decision to reach overseas?

Maki: So far we have mostly played in Japan and the US but for quite some time we had been thinking that we'd like to play in Europe as well. The invitation to come play at Tsukicon came exactly at the right moment and we decided to accept the offer with no hesistation. After this we'd be delighted to tour more in Europe.

You released your first full-length album earlier this year. What things or thoughts did you want to express with it?

Shin: The idea was to gather everything we've done so far into one album. We sort of wanted to make a collection that tells what we have achieved so far. This was the first step from where we'll continue towards the next.

How was it like to make a full-length album, compared to making singles?

Reito: Singles are usually done within a few months from the beginning to the end. When we were doing the singles, we were just starting our career as a band and the relationships between the band members weren't completely clear yet. Therefore we concentrated more on just making the songs. Now we have gathered all that into one album.
Maki: It also means that all the songs have been thought through again and improved, which required a huge amount of work. In a way we have now put together everything we did when we didn't yet know each other as well as we do now. Now that we know who we are, we've basically re-made everything in accordance to these relationships.

How would you like your music to sound like? What do you want to express with your sound?

Shin: As our lyrics are in Japanese, most of our audience here won't understand them but there are a lot of things that can be expressed with just the sound. We hope that that's exactly thow the listeners would find the message in our music and get into it better.

How are your songs made?

Shin: Usually, the idea comes from Maki who presents his thoughts about the song to me. Then I usually do most of the composing after which I return it back to Maki who makes some changes and works on the lyrics. When we're making a song we're tossing it at each other, back and forth.
Maki: When the frame of the song is somewhat ready, we continue developing it together with the whole band. In a way Shin and I are in charge of the beginning but the song will be built to it's final form together as a band.

Would you like to tell us about some memorable live experiences?

Maki: Helsinki! Definitely this live here today! I must say that when we came here we couldn't even have imagined we'd be welcomed this way.
Reito: There's nothing like this in Japan. The whole show went so fast, just a blink of an eye and it was already over.

How would you describe your on-stage personality? How are you as performers?

Setsua: In this band, I'm most of all the rocker. Rock'n Roll Samurai!
Reito: When I step on stage I try to be as cool as possible. Well, not only cool but I try to be a little cute too.
Maki:When I'm on stage I feel like I'm the ruler of the world. Everybody else is completely under my power.
Shin: Normally I'm kind of a shy boy and not very extroverted so on stage I'm basically the opposite and go all out.

You represent the visual kei style. What do you think about it having become more and more popular abroad within the past few years?
Reito: It's a really good thing because we are a visual kei band. The fact that this culture that was previously known only in Japan has spread to other countries means that we get to play lives in many different places. So please spread information about this style!

In the audience today, there were also fans who've followed you since your previous band, DICE AND JOKER. How does it feel like to have fans outside Japan who have known you for this long?

Maki: DICE AND JOKER was a project we did rather quietly on our own. We did visit the US and even released one album there. Although, when the album was released, the band was already starting to cease its activites, but we thought that if they want us to release the album there then why not. That's why we were so surprised to hear that someone actually knows us from that time. It was such a small thing that it feels amazing that we had fans even here.

What's the best thing about being a musician?

Shin: Freedom. The ability to do exactly what you want.
Setsua: The fact that you really get to travel around the world. If you are a normal Japanese, or a normal Finnish person, you won't get to travel around so much. That's the best thing about being a musician.
Reito: Music is a language you can use to communicate with people from all over the world.

We've heard you know some Finnish bands as well. What is it in the music of these bands that influences you, differing from for example, American bands?

Maki: American rock is pretty strong, maybe even too tough for me. The good thing in Finland is that traditional, really old folk music has been combined with influences coming from for example, America. It makes Finnish music very deep and that's something that sinks in well with us Japanese. We understand it. When you listen to it, it gives you the feeling that there is something special in it.

Who are your idols? Do you have any?

Shin: There are so many of them!
Setsua: Hanoi Rocks.
Reito: Sonata Arctica.
Maki: There are so many bands, only from Finland we could name so many.

What are your plans for the future?

Setsua: World tour!
Reito: I wish that our music would be sold in every country and it would spread everywhere.
Maki: For now, I really want to play live in Helsinki once more.
Shin: I want to try even harder in Japan, so that we would become even bigger there and more people would know us.

Please leave a message for your fans.

Setsua: I would like to hug a Finnish girl once more!
Reito: We will definitely come back to Europe someday and will play a live in Finland too. Until then, listen to our album and be patient. We will come!
Maki: The fact that our first live in Europe happened in Finland really means a lot to us. From now on, we will keep Finland in our minds and it will always be a special country to us, also when it comes to making music.
Shin: The whole day has been amazing and in the future we will make a song about our memories from Finland! I love you! (said in Finnish)


JaME would like to thank the band and JrockSuomi. Pictures by Anna Nikkinen.