Interview with DAMILA

DAMILA is a band that creates new music while maintaining a strong visual aesthetic, incorporating heavy distorted sounds. Their concept is ‘the liberation of the darkness and suicidal thoughts that everyone possesses‘. Their goal is to show the future of the current visual kei era.

■ Self-Introduction

Vocal – Ai: My birthday is March 1st. My blood type is A. My favorite food is super spicy dishes.

Guitar – Lit: My birthday is February 26th. My favorite food is yakiniku and ramen.

Drums – Masu: My birthday is July 20th. My favorite drink is highball. I used to smoke, but I managed to quit a year ago.

■ Do you have a favorite Japanese mascot character?

Ai: Pichonkun

Lit: Pochacco

Masu: If I had to choose between Gachapin or Mook, I’d pick Mook… the red one. I like him.

■ What’s your favorite kanji, and why?

Ai: 夜 (yoru – night). Because sad feelings can blend into the darkness of the night.

Lit: I’m not good with kanji, so I don’t really have a favorite. If I had to pick one, it would be 一 (ichi – one). It’s easy to write and sounds nice.

Masu: 貪欲 (don’yoku – greed/greediness). I want to stay that way forever.

■ Is there anything you’re currently obsessed with, or have been obsessed with in the past?

Ai: Making Chinese and Korean food from scratch.

■ What made you decide to become a band member?

Ai: Because GLAY and hide from X JAPAN looked so cool.

Lit: When I was a student, my friends suggested starting a band together.

Masu: Back then I was really into SID, MUCC, and the GazettE. I wanted to be in a band like them.

■ Why did you choose your current instrument/part?

Ai: The vocalist in the band I used to play in was really bad at singing, so I decided to do it myself. I think I was 17 or 18 at the time.

Lit: I went to buy a bass, but I couldn’t tell the difference between a guitar and a bass. The guitar looked easier, so I went with the guitar.

Masu: I got really into the DrumMania game at the arcade and wanted to play real drums.

■ If you could choose a different instrument, what would it be?

Ai: Guitar

Lit: Violin

Masu: Bass or saxophone

■ Do you have any hobbies outside of music?

Ai: Cooking

Lit: Watching movies and reading manga

Masu: Finding delicious restaurants

■ Is there anything you’d like to say to your future self?

Ai: Don’t become homeless.

Lit: Live every day happily.

Masu: Go get a full medical check-up.

■ Please introduce DAMILA. (Around 3–5 lines. Something that gives newcomers a good sense of the band’s atmosphere.)

DAMILA is a band that creates new music while maintaining a strong visual aesthetic, incorporating heavy distorted sounds. Our concept is ‘the liberation of the darkness and suicidal thoughts that everyone possesses‘. Our goal is to show the future of the current visual kei era.

■ For the reactivation of DAMILA, Ai and Masu have joined the band. Could you tell us how the three of you met, and why you decided to restart the band together?

Lit: DAMILA never officially went on hiatus — DAMILA just progressed very slowly. So this isn’t really a “reactivation,” but more like adding new members. I met Ai when someone introduced him to me while I was looking for new members. As for Masu, we’ve been drinking buddies for a while, which led to this.

■ Who is the leader of DAMILA? Could you tell us why that person was chosen and what their role is?

Lit: I handle leader-like tasks such as communicating with staff and organizers, but it’s mostly just miscellaneous chores (laughs). When it comes to the direction of the band, all members decide together, so in a way, we’re all leaders.

■ How do you decide on DAMILA’s visual style? Where do you get your visual inspiration from?

Ai: We create it by twisting and turning ideas based on the lyrics and the mood of the title track.

■ Visual kei has many different styles — kote-kei, iryou-kei, menhera-kei, etc. What style best represents DAMILA’s aesthetic?

Ai: 漆黒 – shikkoku  (acording to vkgy, it’s not an official subgenre)

■ Visual kei music spans many genres, including rock and metalcore. What genre best characterizes DAMILA’s sound?

Lit: Next-generation mixture rock band.

■ Through DAMILA’s music and lyrics, what kind of feelings do you want to deliver to the listeners? For example, deep emotional resonance, or any other reactions you’d be happy to receive?

Ai: A feeling of discomfort that is almost like sadness.

■ What do you consider most important when creating music for DAMILA?

Lit: Making sure it feels like “DAMILA.”

■ Please share your enthusiasm and message regarding the retake collection “New Era”!

Ai: It was my first time facing those songs as a new member, so it was really tough.

Lit: With Ai and Masu’s fresh ideas, new dynamics emerge and the songs grow even more. Please give them a listen.

Masu: The arranging process was really fun.

■ Please share a comment on your first single “Saitei” (最低)!

Ai: It’s a song about infidelity.

Lit: It turned out to be a song that really matches Ai’s vocals perfectly. The death growl in the final D-melody is a highlight.

Masu: It really is the “worst”, huh. [Saitei means “worst”]

■ Starting from January 2026, you plan to release one single every month, both physically on CD and digitally. Why did you choose to release monthly singles instead of a full album?

Lit: We wanted to give everyone something to look forward to every month.

■ Please share your thoughts on the fourth single in the series, ‘BLOODY MARY’!

Ai: The lyrics are a continuation of a song I wrote a long time ago, so I think this song brings the story to its conclusion.

Lit: It’s from a demo I wrote around 2018 and upgraded it for this release. On the sound side, the guitar arpeggio, the cutting in the chorus, and the drum solo are all the highlights of the song.

Masu: Headbang… 

■ What are the good points and difficult points of visual kei? Also, how do you approach the difficult parts?

Ai: Because I’m wearing makeup, I can say things I wouldn’t normally say. It’s a way to attract people who haven’t been exposed to the visual kei scene yet.

■ Visual kei artists often give off androgynous or feminine impressions. Is this to make it easier for female fans to relate, or is there another reason?

Ai: I think it’s because there are so many “Okama yarou” 

Lit: I don’t know if there’s a specific reason, but we do it because we love visual kei.

Masu: Isn’t it just depending on the worldview you want to create?

■ What does visual kei mean to you, and what kind of influence has it had on your life?

Ai: My body is starting to fall apart.

Lit: It was the trigger that made me start music, and it has become my life.

Masu: It’s my reason for living.

■ When interacting with overseas fans, do you feel a language barrier? Or does music help overcome that wall?

Ai: Music can change the world’s situation.

Lit: There’s no language barrier. We connect through music.

Masu: Music has no borders.

■ Have you ever been overseas? If so, what was the purpose and what were your impressions?

Ai: I’ve never left this small island country.

Lit: I’ve been to various countries, but always as a tourist. I enjoyed all of them. In Thailand, I had a friend living there who showed me around, and I was able to experience some local culture.

Masu: I’ve never been overseas, so I’d love to go someday.

■ What are your wishes for 2026?

Ai: I hope that kids in the future will watch our live shows and want to start a band themselves.

Lit: This year we have many important lives and lots of releases, so I want to make sure every single one brings joy to everyone.

Masu: We have a ONEMAN planned for September 6th, so I want it to be a success.

■ Finally, please give a message to the readers and fans!

Ai: After you finish reading this interview, please make sure to burn it.

Lit: Thank you for reading all the way to the end. We look forward to your continued support for DAMILA.

Masu: Thank you for reading! There were quite a lot of difficult questions (laughs).

===WEB・SNS===

OFFICIAL WEB SITE
OFFICIAL X @damila_official
OFFICIAL YouTube @damila_official_youtube
OFFICIAL Instagram @damila_official_ig/
OFFICIAL TikTok @damila_official_tiktok
OFFICIAL TuneCore @damila-official

=== LIVE INFORMATION ===

2026/08/29 (SAT) Shinsaibashi JUZA

DAMILA Shusai OSAKA THREE MAN LIVE 
BLOODY MARY SHOW-666- Episode 2
CAST：DAMILA / HUMAN ERROR / glamscure

2026/09/05 (SAT) Sugamo Shishio

DAMILA Shusai TOKYO THREE MAN LIVE
BLOODY MARY SHOW-666- Episode 3

CAST：DAMILA / HUMAN ERROR / glamscure

2026/09/06 (SUN) Sugamo Shishio

DAMILA ONE MAN LIVE
BLOODY MARY SHOW-666- Episode 4

CAST：DAMILA

===BLOODY MARY Release information ===

DAMILA 9th Single
BLOODY MARY
2026.04.02 (Thu.) Release
CD & Digital Release

■CD limited edition
¥1,100 / JDRC-0021

〈CD limited edition〉
・BLOODY MARY(Instrumental Ver.)
・「BLOODY MARY」 Music Video Download QR Code
・「BLOODY MARY」 Music Video Making-of video download QR code
・A special bonus will be given to those who purchase all 12 CDs (details on how to receive the bonus and the contents will be announced around the beginning of 2027).

■CD is exclusively available to purchase at DAMILA OFFICIAL WEB STORE and lives
Webshop: purchase URL

■Streaming and sale started on April 2nd on various platforms
Digital streaming
Spotify / Apple Music / amazon music / LINE MUSIC / TIDAL / YouTube Music / dヒッツ / AWA / Rakuten music / SMART USEN / and more…

■Download
¥255・normal quality
¥510・High-quality 

Stores：iTunes Store / amazon music / mora / music.jp / レコチョク / dミュージック / and more…
High quality：mora / music.jp / レコチョク / dミュージック / and more…

■Digital purchase URL

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Tracklist
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1. BLOODY MARY
2.BLOODY MARY (Instrumental Ver.) ※CD only