MOB intends to represent the emotions of “zako” in various situations.
With that in mind, MOB wants to show the feelings and scenes that people who are defined as “zako” might imagine and feel in society, relationships with friends, school life and their position in a hypothetical world of devastation.
MOB Thank you very much for the opportunity of this interview!
MOB are:
Vo. 祐 (U)
Gt. 千尋 (CHIHIRO)
Gt. MAST
Ba. 奏 (KANADE)
The world of MOB is very interesting so could you please tell us more about the world of MOB?
The word MOB(crowd) is a connotation of “zako(a nobody)”. Originally, the word referred to a crowd or other people. We decided to express the feelings that a “zako” has inside his heart if he is in the middle of a crowd.
Also our lyrical worldview is:
We intend to represent the emotions of “zako” in various situations. With that in mind, we want to show the feelings and scenes that people who are defined as “zako” might imagine and feel in society, relationships with friends, school life and their position in a hypothetical world of devastation.
We try to create a sound that gives a melodious impression while emphasizing a heavy bass.
Anyway let’s learn a bit more about each member. Don’t we all have a single Kanji which fit our personality or just keeps or own attention? So what’s your favorite?
U: 新 (shin)(new)
Because new things are wonderful.
CHIHIRO: 千 (chi/sen)(thousand)
Because it’s a part of my name.
MAST: 初 (hatsu)(first)
You don’t forget your original intentions
KANADE: 響 (hibiki)(sound)
I like to make sounds by singing and playing an instrument.
We all do have hobbies isn’t? So besides music, what are your hobbies?
U: I love to drink and to watch various videos.
CHIHIRO: I like to travel around.
MAST: I like to travel around.
KANADE: I like to play around with gatchets.
Anyway what about your musical background, do you have any?
U: I’ve been through a lot of bands.
CHIHIRO: Actually I don’t have a long band history,… so
MAST: I’ve been in the visual world for a long time.
KANADE: I tried punk and rock, changed the guitar to vocals and then I became a bass player.
Are there any artists and / or events which have influenced you the most?
U: DEAD END. The live of “1989/09/09 HYPER d. at Tokyo Hibiya Yagai Daiongakudou” is the best!
CHIHIRO: L’arc’en’ciel. When I saw the flower PV, hyde left an impression on me.
MAST: LINKIN PARK. I was fascinated by the band’s musical skills, Chesters voice is my favorite and it’s a band that incorporated various genres.
KANADE: 蜉蝣 (Kagerou). I like their sound, lyrics and worldview, I still do listen to them.
You all love visual kei isn’t? But how did you encounter it?
U: I like Japanese metal, so it grew with me.
CHIHIRO: It was l’arc’en’ciel
MAST: When I saw Luna Sea on TV, I was impressed and thought they were so cool.
KANADE: It started with Dir En Grey and started listening to other bands from there.
Anyway what is visual kei? Is their any connection between music and visual?
U: The band’s appearances look like artworks, the sound is like art pseudo-sense.
CHIHIRO: It requires make-up and an over-the-top hairstyle.
MAST: I still don’t know.
KANADE: It’s a bundle of fun. Also the music will never age.
Being an artist isn’t always easy so what’s most difficult thing for being an artist?
U: Just the feeling of wanting to do it.
CHIHIRO: Feelings
MAST: The difference between your vision and reality.
KANADE: It’s a fight with yourself. If you are satisfied or give up, it will end just there.
Let’s talk about MOB’s image, style and music.
Could you tell us something about your costumes
It’s an image of a decadent worldview.
Please tell us something about the CD jackets. What’s the idea behind all jackets?
1st single: Gomibako (ゴミバコ)
It represents the members of MOB thrown into a garbage can.
The jacket is covered with the mask which we use in our live shows.
Live limited: HUMAN DEBRIS
As the title suggests, it’s ragged with human scum in mind.
The jacket is a doll with a deformed mask which we also use at our live shows.
The jacket also reflects the image of the recorded songs.
Live limited: Gizensha NA kimi O Bokusatsu (偽善者ナ君ヲ撲殺)
We were inspired by a scene of a person beaten to death, so we created a jacket with a photo of the band member holding a baseball bat.
It’s also our first release after new members joined MOB, so that’s also a reason why we used a band photo as a cover.
To learn a bit more about each song, could you give some nice self-liner-notes to each MOB song?
- KILL ME WONDERLAND
It’s a song with the story; living in a small world is a paradise for some people wile for others it’s a hell.
- Gomibako (ゴミバコ)
It’s the SE of our 1st single.
It expresses the world feeling of the current MOB.
- Signal (シグナル)
The title already suggests it, but it’s a song about how no matter how many signals you shouted out with the message of “help me”, you won’t receive it.
It’s a song about a life that ends up ugly, no matter how hard someone tried.
- Karma (カルマ)
This song let’s you realize the karma of being born as a mob.
It depicts the struggle to find an escape route.
- BOKU NO NAKA Deco Lolita (ボクノナカデコロシタアイツ)
Are you the killer?
It’s a song packed with envy and grudge.
With other words, a song about “someone in the way”.
It can be described as the highest (or lowest) grade.
- BOKU NO TSUKUE NO ICHIRINKA (ボクノツクエノイチリンカ)
This song answers the song BOKU NO NAKA DE KOROSHITA AITSU (ボクノナカデコロシタアイツ).
Hate or grudge the result, it’s a song which made you choose to disappear.
- RYOUKI NARU RIDDLE (リョウキナルリドル)
It’s a song inspired by a tragic incident.
It’s a story that tells the story of a young man who couldn’t maintain his mental health.
- OVERDOSE
The theme of this song is destruction and imagination.
The song is about a person who misunderstood the idea of becoming a new self by destroying himself by relying on scientific things.
- Gizensha NA Kimi O Bokusatsu (偽善者ナ君ヲ撲殺)
It’s inspired by scenes of “beat to death”, so we wrote a song with this theme.
You thought to be protected, however nobody is protecting you, after all it’s only about oneself pleasure, isn’t it? That’s the message.
- Kankin My Room (監禁マイルーム)
How did she spend her days after being trapped for two and a half years?
We wrote this song with that question in mind.
THE MV of “シグナル” has a really nice cool atmosphere. Could you tell us something more about the idea behind?
The world of BOKU NO NAKA DE KOROSHITA AITSU (ボクノナカデコロシタアイツ) is very much like a school, so we shot it in that kind of atmosphere.
If a new song has been created how do you actually decide the title of this new song?
The lyrics to a song will be written after creating the melody of a song.
What do you enjoy the most about playing live shows?
U: That you are surrounded by music to which you are able to express yourself.
CHIHIRO: It’s about going wild in the middle of an explosion!
MAST: To make MOB as a complete piece by matching our music with our appearance. Also to express yourself with music.
KANADE: The ability to express yourself with music.
Since a band is always writing new songs, can we expect a new release this year?
We have recorded a bunch of songs, we will let you know shortly when we will release them.
Until now what’s the most valuable thing that has happened to you in your music career?
U: I’ve felt the feelings of various people better than I would in normal life.
CHIHIRO: Everything.
MAST: To be able to play a show in front of a big crowd
KANADE: Everything is valuable, because it’s stuff which I cannot experience in a normal life.
We face a worldwide problem now named corona, how do you as an artist face it?
U: I’ll do what I can do to express myself, however I don’t want to cause trouble.
CHIHIRO: We just have to do what we can do.
MAST: I love music, so we just have to take measures against corona and that’s all we can do.
KANADE: We’ll do what we can do, while taking the necessary precautions.
What’s MOB’s ultimate goal for the future?
U: Living a fun life.
CHIHIRO: I would be happy if you would continue to enjoy our music forever.
MAST: I hope that I can play music with these guys forever.
KANADE: living my life without no regrets.
We came to an end, so please share your message to your fans and readers.
U: Please enjoy the world of MOB. That’s all. Everyone, please be careful about your health and take the path you think is fun!
CHIHIRO: Currently we cannot perform live because of the current situation, but I’ll send out messages in other ways, so please support us!
MAST: It’s a tough time right now, but I’m sure the future will be bright, and that we are able to live the life we wish to live. Until then, we won’t give up and look forward to the future, so please keep your head up!
KANADE: It’s a tough situation, but MOB will continue to move forward, so I would like to ask you for your continued support!
Thank you very much for this interview, we wish the band all luck for the future!
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