Interview with Dolly

This March, four-piece visual kei band Dolly released the singles Ryuuseigun-Shooting Star- and Moonlight Disco. We took the opportunity to interview the band to get to know them a little better, talk about their new singles and ask them about their experiences during the SXSW event in Austin, US last year.


Please introduce yourself to our readers.

Mitsu: Nice to meet you. I’m Mitsu, the vocalist of Dolly. I’m pleased that many of you who read this interview will get to know more about Dolly and our activities.

Let's start with the beginning of Dolly. How did the band originally start?

Mitsu: Well, I fell in love with the members as artists and together we made Dolly. I think it was fate really.

How was the band's name ‘Dolly’ chosen? Does it have any particular significance? Who chose it?

Mitsu: I chose it. I took it from the name of the sheep, which was the world’s first successful clone. In a world flooded with originals without identities, I thought it was interesting that a clone would have such originality. I named the band that because we wanted our music to be unique, like “Dolly”. Also, “counting sheep” leads people to sleep, to dream, and I wanted to express this kind of magical aesthetic view of the world.

Where do you get ideas for your costumes? Do you have specific themes for each style?

Mitsu: I often get inspiration for our costumes from high brand shows and my favorite movies. Especially costumes and objects that appear in Stanley Kubrick’s movies, they’re marvellous! They have such an aesthetic sense that it’s hard to believe they were created so long ago.

Please tell us about your song-writing process. Who writes the lyrics and who composes the music? What usually comes first, the music or the lyrics?

Mitsu: I write all of the lyrics and all of the members compose the music. Masa composes most of the songs as he is the main composer, so we mainly create songs with him. As for the lead songs, we start creating them after I share my views on the world with the other members.

Dolly is known for its nostalgic melodies and fairy tale creativity. How do you integrate such concepts into your music?

Mitsu: As for the melody and world view, I think they come from what I have absorbed from my life and the music I have listened to. Concepts connect to the music naturally so I’m not really that conscious of it.

Over time the style and concept of bands often change. Has Dolly’s changed much since you began?

Mitsu: If I only refer to our music then yes, I think so. However, that’s because the band is growing. Our concept and outlook on the world hasn’t changed since we started. They will never change as long as we are Dolly, because that is Dolly.

Your releases have very artistic covers. Who designs them and how do you come up with the ideas for them?

Mitsu: First, I either sketch an image or convey my idea in words to a professional designer. I select an idea from the drawers in my own head, then select what I think matches the concept at the time. I usually try to put things into the drawers in my head as much as I can, absorbing things from different art fields such as movies and books.

What was it about the visual kei scene that made Dolly decide to take that route as opposed to general rock or alternative music?

Mitsu: I thought it would be the best genre to express Dolly, with the fashion and world view. Also, visual kei is visual, just like it says, and is a music style that isn’t boxed in by limits. I think being able to play such music is appealing.

What do you think about visual kei’s growing popularity overseas? How do you think your performance at SXSW in the USA impacted that popularity?

Mitsu: It’s pleasing, but I think it really depends on us and what we do ourselves so I’m not really interested in what surrounds us. SXSW ran at a high right up to the encore which gave us more confidence in our music. And the responses after SXSW were amazing so we felt we wanted more people in the world to see Dolly.

Most of your overseas fans do not speak Japanese. What are some of the themes that you sing about?

Mitsu: It varies depending on the song. I’ll explain a little bit about Angelfish no namida (Tears of angelfish) which is one of our new songs. The theme of this song is “tears”. Tears fall when you feel various things. I drew comparisons between colorful scenes and memories and colorful tropical angelfish. Please feel it with the music.

You will release two singles in March with the concept “moon and stars.” Why does this theme appeal to you?

Mitsu: The moon and stars are what form the night and the night invites us into dreams. I thought it would be interesting if the grown up Dolly returned to its origin and created a dream world with the concept of moon and stars with our present musical style.

How do both singles relate to the theme of “moon and stars”?

Mitsu: As you can see in the titles, the theme of Moonlight Disco is the moon and the theme of Ryuuseigun-Shooting Star- is stars. First I wrote Moonlight Disco, drawing a comparison between a mirror ball spinning in a club and the moon as well as a comparison between people dancing on the floor and mermaids. I created Ryuuseigun-Shooting Star- comparing precious thoughts and memories shining in everyone’s heart to the stars twinkling in the sky.

Please tell us more about each single. What will they sound like and how did you compose them?

Mitsu: Okay, I’ll start with Moonlight Disco. As I said before, for the lead song Moonlight Disco I imagined a club and a disco and composed it with house music that is particular to Dolly. There are various kinds of house music, but I made sure the song consisted of views and sounds that maintain the melancholic yet glamorous parts of Dolly.

Angelfish no namida (Tears of angelfish) is based on the theme of tears and expresses the fragility of these tears and feelings through an irregular rhythm. In Music’s Cube I compare the world of music, which can change human thoughts, to a colorful Rubik's Cube. As for its sound, we expressed the cubic world using techno rock sounds and the psychedelic colors with addictive melodies.

And for the digital single Ryuuseigun-Shooting Star- we created the sound using the theme of shooting stars. For this we used a synthesizer to represent stars and expressed a flowing sensation through the drive of the song. We created this up-tempo song making sure the lyrics, together with the tune, go straight to the heart of the listener.

SXSW showcases a diverse selection of bands, which hasn’t included very many visual kei bands. What was it like performing in front of an audience that wasn’t made up entirely of Japanese music enthusiasts?

Mitsu: It was really refreshing. It was a moment when I felt that music exceeded both form and borders. The audience responded directly to our sound and words and it reminded me of when I first encountered music.

Do you have any plans or wishes to perform abroad again?

Mitsu: I really hope so, and I’m sure it will come true. To all our fans overseas, please wait for Dolly.

A fun question: if you could be another member of the band, who would it be and why?

Mitsu: I don’t really have an interest in any other parts in the band, I’m just interested in being the vocalist. If I may answer beyond the band to broader fields, I would like to be an author of picture books or a movie director.

Finally please give a message from the members of Dolly to your international fans.

Mitsu: We haven’t performed overseas since SXSW so we hope to do so again in the near future. When we come to a place near you, please come and see us. And please remember that Dolly‘s music can always reach you at the click of a button. We really hope you are touched by the world of Dolly.