The Visual Kei genre of music established itself in the Japanese mainstream music scene in the 1990s. By the 2000s, the movement had morphed into what is known as “Neo-Visual Kei”. Bands in the Neo-Visual Kei style are changing and evolving constantly. Among all this excitement in the Neo-Visual Kei genre, [amber gris] stands out for its unique interpretation of Visual Kei. What makes amber gris stand out from the rest? For the first time ever, without their makeup, amber gris shares their thoughts and feelings towards their music.

amber gris
Visual Kei band started in February 2009 with five members: Temari on vocals, guitarists kaname and wayne, Koto on bass and Yuma on drums. They have released two singles on CD and one mini album, all of which are available on their official website (http://www.amber-gris.com/pcshop.html). amber gris will be performing their first live show at Takadanobaba AREA on Sunday, October 17th.

10ten Magazine: I think for Visual Kei bands your image is very much tied into your makeup and clothing, but you guys came with no makeup and regular clothes. Did you hesitate to be here today without that image?

Temari: First of all, the actual Visual Kei boom ended like 10 years ago, and now that the boom is long over, Visual Kei occupies its own place in the music scene. For those who’ve never been interested in this kind of music they may only see the outrageous costumes and over-the-top makeup; they probably see us as a pretty narcissistic group of people. But Visual Kei is a culture-in-itself. This interview gives us a good opportunity to talk to the non Visual Kei media and really be ourselves while we talk about “what Visual-Kei is really about” and “what kind of band amber gris is.”

Koto: I didn’t really feel hesitant or awkward, either. For Visual Kei specialized magazines, it might be too early to show our ‘naked’ side, but for 10ten Magazine, I think it’s fine.

So, tell us. How does amber gris define Visual-Kei?

Temari: Visual-Kei is a kind of music that uses both visual and sound elements to express our world as artists. Most musicians just focus on their sound for shows and recordings, but for Visual Kei bands, we have the visual element to add in as well. As artists, we think that having this visual element puts us at an advantage artistically. We’ve been influenced by lots of different genres of music, but for the creativity allowed to us by the visual side of Visual Kei, we’ve decided to stick to this.

wayne: For me, Visual-Kei is the coolest genre. The current music scene in Japan is kind of boring because it’s just mimicking the Visual Kei sound of ten years ago.

So you’re saying that musicians in other genres may also have roots in Visual Kei?

Koto: I would think so. There must be some kind of influence for those who grew up listening to Visual Kei music. So from our perspective, there isn’t a distinct line between our sound and that of other bands.

kaname: The clear difference is that they don’t want to wear makeup! (All members laugh.)

wayne: Unfortunately, there are only a few people like us who are pursuing the actual style of Visual Kei. So that’s why they sometimes refer us as different, unique, or even unorthodox.

Temari: We think what we do is pretty simple and natural, but in the current music scene, it’s unconventional—, they treat us like some rare species.

Why, though? How are you guys different from other Visual Kei bands?

Temari: The easy example is that we don’t play-up to our audience.(laughs) These days, Visual-Kei bands tend to be too close with their audience, as if they were friends or something. This can really take the professionalism out of performing.

What do you mean by “too close to the audience”?

kaname: This might be hard to imagine if you’ve never seen a Visual Kei band perform live, but some bands have these choreographed gestures they do with the audience: like if we raise our right hands, the audience does, too.

Temari: That kind of thing is popular among other rock bands, as well. They sort of make the audience do what they want them to do. But the bands start to think of themselves as idols or cheerleaders because of all the audience participation and shouts. It really lacks in professionalism. We’d rather cut all that out of our show and put on a performance for our audiences. We think that all Visual-Kei artists should do so. By doing that, we stay true to the spirit of “what Visual-Kei is really about” as well as show the audience that there are still artists like us who can create an alternate world. Hopefully we can open people’s eyes to Visual Kei and let them enjoy the fantasy.

Have you guys always shared the same concept or vision? When your band was coming together, did you talk about a vision?

Temari: We never really talked about it but naturally developed our concept by playing music together. When we’re in the studio, I talk to our group about my vision of the world and how I want to express that through song— like with scenery, flowers or characters I see in the song. Each member translates those images in their own way into music, and eventually we have a song. We enjoy this process and put importance on having fun when formulating our style, so not too much talking or discussing the topic of concepts and so on.

Isn’t it difficult to have a concrete concept to stick to? You know, things can go all over the place.

wayne: Well, we actually want to be open to those kinds of changes. “Without a concept”, is kind of our concept; we generate our music in our own way.

So amber gris is always growing or evolving?

wayne: Sure.

Koto: It actually happens a lot when we make a new song—we go, “Wow, that’s new! But, cool!”

wayne: Yeah, “new” is like the best thing someone can say to me. (laughs)

kaname: If the image of amber gris is too concrete, it’s like we got all answers and it’s no fun. Because we never stick to one concept, we’ve been able to become what we are now.

Temari: So in other words, for music fans who want to have a defined image towards their favorite bands, they tend not to like us. But that’s just how things are with amber gris, and whether they like our music or not, we appreciate that they would even take the time to form an opinion on us.

Now for something a bit basic; for each of you, why do you create music?

Temari: I was raised in a pretty regular family. But for as long as I can remember, I have always had the feeling that something was missing. I wondered about the meaning of my own life or had an urge to find something special about myself., I kept questioning myself about this while I was growing up. I was a crafty kid, so I drew and made things and won prizes at school and stuff. Gradually started to see that creating something could be a way to express myself. Then, at the right time, a friend of mine asked me, “Hey, wanna start a band with me?” It just happened like that. So, if he had said, “wanna make ceramics with me?” I might have had turned out to be a ceramic artist. (laughs) Either way, I think I’d be lost without music, because I’d lose the means to express myself. Making music can be tough and even painful sometimes, but it also makes me feel my very existence.

wayne: As for me, music was the only thing I was ever actually interested in. At first, I was just a fan of the famous guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei, and started playing the guitar. But then I started to write my own songs, and this one time when I was on a stage with my band, I felt this strong release of emotions; it was like I cleansed or purged something deep inside of me. I believe that those who put serious energy into their music probably understand this – it’s not about the applause by the audience or anything, but you really get caught at the moment of what you’re playing… I think it’s the kind of emotion that you have to be really lucky to be able to experience. One of the reasons I keep playing is because I know that it’s out there and I might be able to experience that feeling again.

Koto: I have this artist who influenced me in various ways, but then, he died. I learned so much from him, and somehow his death made me think that I should do something like he did for me for younger generations. So, that’s how it was for me. I’d be glad if someone could learn or experience something out of what I do… Also, on another level, I think I want people to know and remember my existence in some way, you know, so that I will be here even when I’m dead.

kaname: I started playing guitar because of my father and brother. I just thought it would be cool at first, but one day I wrote my own song, and I was like, “Wow, I can write songs!” As a kid, I kind of felt like I didn’t really know myself, but every time I wrote a song, I learned something new about myself. Now, it’s become one of the ways I can understand and learn about myself. For me it was the guitar, but if there’s anything else that can be used to help me know myself better, then I’d like to try.

Yuma: For me, playing drums was the only thing (amongst everything in my life) that has lasted until now. I used to read magazines about some guitarist or someone who was saying, “So far, guitar is the only thing that has lasted all my life,” and all I thought of was, “Yeah, right.” But here I am, saying playing drums is the only thing that’s stuck with me. (laughs) I had always liked Visual Kei music, but I wasn’t a very outgoing type so I never thought I’d be up there playing it. But at the same time, I wasn’t sure if I fit into the life of having a normal job at some company, getting married and raising kids, you know. I’d rather be with different people every day and fill my life with excitement. And to add to this, a friend of mine who used to be in a band with me died, and I owe him to continue doing this. And of course, I owe my family for supporting me, too.

You all have very different reasons and motivations, but for all of you, music is “the thing” you do for yourselves. What are your plans for the future?

Temari: One thing we aren’t aiming for is to make a big hit or anything like that. I think that what we get from our music or the satisfaction is something we get from just playing. At the same time though, we’re not doing this just for fun either, so we are eager to know how far we can go. That’s about all we want, really. To sum it up, I think we are just really lucky we’ve found music – there must be lots more talented and better musicians out there who simply don’t find the satisfaction on the process.

kaname: If I were shown this (picking up their album Child Forest) when I am old, I wouldn’t believe it. I just make music, and put it into the format of amber gris and send it out to the universe. So being popular or big doesn’t really matter to me.

Let me ask you something from a different angle. You don’t belong to any agency and do everything on your own. Why did you choose to represent yourself?

Temari: We used to be in different bands (separately) that belonged to agencies. I was really young back then, and for me especially, they took care of everything…

wayne: Meaning you were a spoiled kid! (members laugh)

Temari: Anyway, they took care of everything but I couldn’t really find any success in that; I felt helpless. I kind of want to show them what I am now, sort of as a return for what they’ve done for me. Also, I love the process of us working together and having to make sure that we are all on good terms with each other. The process of managing our relationships ourselves and sharing ideas improves our music.

I heard you guys made your own homepage, as well. From designing to programming, and even the artwork on your CDs—everything is done with your own hands?

Koto: Yup. I do the programming, and wayne and kaname are in charge of design.

wayne: I never even knew what Photoshop was before. (laughs) But I’ve always questioned letting others handle the artwork of your own CDs.

Temari: Especially for Visual Kei bands, they should do it themselves! (laughs)

I’ve also heard you rarely spend money on your promotion?

Temari: Yes, and that’s very rare for Visual Kei bands, nowadays. (laughs) If we have an agency to rely on, we could get exposure in magazines every month, but we don’t. And buying a page in a magazine is pretty expensive—we can’t afford that. We’ve always been concerned with the lack of originality in Visual Kei ads, too. They are all about headshots, and there’s no creativity there. Fans expect you to be in magazines every month, and when you aren’t there, they think you must have disappeared.

wayne: It’s sort of like on-screen talents. If you don’t see them every day on TV, you think they’re done. I mean, we get that everyone has their own style, so no we don’t judge though.

Koto: Personally, I’d like people to know about us more through word of mouth and come and see our shows that way. We are a rock band at the end of the day. Of course, I’d be glad if anyone is interested in us from magazines, I think it would only be about our appearance.

So on a promotional level, you just do live shows, exclusively?

wayne: We do sometimes get exposure through interviews and stuff through people we know; each of us have friends with magazine contacts. We really appreciate this network of people around us that support us.

Temari: I think this support network is sort of ‘the fruit of our efforts’, and we are really thankful for it.

kaname: Or, they simply pity us for not being “Ikemen” (good looking)! Sort of like a charity cause… (They all laugh)

Temari: When we make appearance in magazines, we don’t just do headshots but wear our own clothes and create the atmosphere on our own. For a Visual Kei band, once again, the artwork is very important.

Koto: And I think not belonging to any agency enable us to do so. If an agency comes in, we just have to do what they think is the best for us, meaning, for us to be successful.

wayne: I agree. And in terms of business, that’s what they have got to do.

Temari: I hope people understand that we don’t just sit back and relax, make no effort. We tend to be thought as a free-spirited group of people who don’t think and do what ever we want to do.

kaname: Well, I see some true in there though… (laughs)

Temari: But especially for Visual Kei bands, we always get, “They say they are busy with their work, but I bet they are just hanging out with girls.” (laughs)

Ok, so these days, I hear that Visual Kei bands are worldwide attention. What do you think of that?

Koto: I’d be interested in playing overseas, too.

Temari: Well, it’s good news, but I think we should be successful in Japan before going out there and get international attention. I think foreign people could be open to what we do and listen to us without any prejudice. I’d like to know what kind of response we’d get.

wayne: I’m curious what they see in us though? To get all this attention… I’d like to ask that someday.

The last question—Can you express amber gris in 10 words?

amber gris: Here is our essence in 10 thoughs: 1) To live, 2) To die, 3) You, 4) Me, 5) Pain, 6) To lose something, 7) To gain something, 8） To love, 9) To enjoy, 10) To be happy.

Thank you for today!

Amber gris: You too!!

Interview: Hideaki Komesu
Edit & Translate: Natsuki Yamada and Cylinda Marquart
Photography: Ikumi Mochida

・amber gris official web site: http://www.amber-gris.com/
・amber gris My Space: http://www.myspace.com/ambergrisjapan

●CD infomation

　1st Mini Album 2010.09.15.Release
Child Forest
　2,300 yen （tax incl.）
1. sadness hides in golden sand hill
2. over flow girl’s sick
3. Amazing world
4. See breeze, rain, and the last letter
5. snoozy and roll
6. Dark green Loreley
Selling Agency: an griffon　/ Distribution source: ONG DISTRIBUTION / Product Number: AGR-003

Available in CD stores all around Japan, or online:
　●amber gris official web site（shop）
　●Amazon.co.jp

●Live Schedule

amber gris 1st One Band Live
A girl in a Heart Wrecked Forest

October 17 Sun @ AREA Takadanobaba
OPEN: 18:30 / START: 19:00
Advance ticket: 2,800 yen / On the day ticket: 3,300 yen

**Tickets are available at:
– Like an Edison Tokyo No. 001-100
– Lawson Tickets (L Code: 76833)　No.101-450