Interview by Miriam C.
Well, Japan, despite its limited geographical width, is able to offer one of the best and exciting musical scene in the world (excluding the Scandinavian one) like we have disclosed during this months offering you exclusive interviews and reviews both in Japanese and English. So, it’s time to introduce you the industrial rock band SoundWitch and their latest release “Romanesque”, in order to do such we’ve asked a couple of question to the singer TWIN. For this interview we really want to thank for the help and effort Mr.Dave Cirone from Resonance Media!
Welcome to Femme Metal Webzine, TWIN – how are you?
Good afternoon! I’m doing great!
For the metal fans that are not familiar with SoundWitch, would you like to introduce yourself and tell us how you joined SoundWitch.I’m one of the founding members of SoundWitch and I’ve been part of the band since its inception. SoundWitch is an industrial rock band active primarily in Japan. Using electro as a foundation we also include dance, gothic, industrial, metal and other various elements in our music. Because of this we think that everybody can enjoy our music however they want. It’s definitely worth a listen!
Why has so much time passed between “Grotesca” (2010) and “Romanesque” (2014)? And when did you start writing the lyrics for “Romanesque”?We started writing “Romanesque” about three years ago. After we released “Grotesca”, we spent a long time touring. During that time, we had some member changes too. Before we knew it, while we were recording and making songs with these new members, suddenly four years had passed by the time we released “Romanesque”.
After 4 years, how has your method of composing your songs changed? What are the main differences between “Grotesca” and “Romanesque”?I think the experiences we gained during our long tour after releasing “Grotesca” are reflected in “Romanesque”. During our tour we all were able to deepen our understanding of and confidence in ourselves. Now we are confident that, without detracting from our style, we can incorporate musical elements from any genre in a very SoundWitch kind of way. So, even more so than before, without fearing any taboos, we can make our songs freely and play with different techniques.
Besides the album title, I really love the cover. What you think about it?I really like the cover too! The cover shows two images of one woman. The images are the reverse of one another. This is a symbol for the contrary feelings that always exist as a set within one individual. Much like good and evil, light and dark, sadness and happiness, there are many sets where the one cannot exist without the other. I’d like to think that “Romanesque” is a work that manages to stir up such contrary things. So this is really a perfect cover for this album.
There are two new songs called “Electric Kiss” and “Gemini”. While recording “Romanesque” we collected a lot of songs, so many that they couldn’t all fit on the CD. However, because every song is great and we really want everybody to listen to them, we released these two songs exclusively on DVD.
The band line up is quite peculiar because it features 2 drummers. How do Shark and Sack interact together in SoundWitch?Sack is currently taking a break. He still helps us write songs, but because he’s taking a break from live shows Shark takes charge of those. That being said, we do sometimes perform with twin drummers. So that’s why we have two drummers.
As always the addition of a new band member, like a new guitarist in this case, brings a breath of fresh air and consequently an improvement in the band’s musical style. How Maiden has integrated himself in the band’s equilibrium?Since we added Maiden, we use more electro sounds. However, that’s not all. To the same extent we added electro sounds, we also do stuff like emphasize our human groove elements. I think, as much as Maiden‘s contributions have increased, the other members’ playing and staging have also expanded in response.
I really adore your outfit in the promo photos. It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. How did you create it?Thanks so much. It’s reminiscent of the terrifying queen from Alice in Wonderland, isn’t it? Haha. I created that look thinking of “A Wonderful Nightmare” as the theme. I was all dressed up and proper in a silk hat, yet crying black tears. I was expressionless but striking a ridiculous pose. It’s somewhat strange and grotesque, but at the same time very exciting. That’s the kind of wonderful nightmare I was imagining.
Well, we’re at the end, please greet your Japanese fans and our overseas readers freely. Thank you very much for your time!Thank you all for reading the interview! We’ve made the sort of album that’s both timely and timeless – an album that expresses different things to different listeners. Please enjoy SoundWitch‘s “Romanesque”! Thank you so much!