Interview with RE:MAZE

RE:MAZE Thank you very much for this interview,  Please introduce yourself with a few words to those who don’t know you yet.

Kyosuke: I’m vocalist Kyosuke, you can call me the Jiro Visual Kei bandman. (I love to eat at RAMEN JIRO’S)

riku: I’m guitarist Riku, I am an artist who loves curry! 

Toyoyon: I’m bassist Toyoyon! My future dream is to be successful with this band and to run a tapioca restaurant with the money earned from being successful!

TAiKi: This is TAiKI on dums, I like fashion and I started to be a bandman to create my own fashion brand. 

If you would need to describe RE:MAZE with a single Kanji, which Kanji would you choose and why so?

Kyosuke: 「変」 (Hen, change) → A band that keeps changing.

Please also describe yourself with a single kanji and please tell us the reason.

Kyosuke: 「挑」 (Challenge). The most important thing is to challenge yourself, challenge yourself to do everything!

riku:「羽」 (Wings/Feather). I like the idea of being free. So I would choose my kanji to represent myself with “Wings”. Because I want to “fly freely in the sky”. (^^)

Toyoyon:「甘」 (Sweet). I love sweet things!

TAiKi:「耐」(Endurance). I believe that when you endure and overcome difficult things and defeat the face of adversity, you will be a little better off as a person than you are now.

Please introduce each other, also please say something pleasantly fun about each other.

Kyosuke: Toyoyon and I are the most positive people in REMAZE, and Riki and TAiKi are the ones who have negative energy.

Riku: Everyone in the band are pretty decent people. (laugh)

Toyoyon: Kyosuke to me has a real knack for speaking well, Riku is an individual artist, and TAiKi is a very good cleaner. 

TAiKi: Kyosuke has always been a Talker, Riku is very enthusiastic about walking, and Toyoyon is a Tapioca loving artist. 

What’s the reason why you wanted to become a bandman? 

Kyosuke: When I was a college student, I saw a live show of my friend’s band, and on that night I thought “This is such a unique sense of expression?!!”. Actually I was aiming to be a novelist, but that night gave me the thoughts that I might be able to express a story with music, so I moved to Tokyo and aimed to become a bandman.  

riku: After discovering Janne Da Arc, I longed to be a musician myself. 

Toyoyon: The reason why I decided to become a bandman was when when I was in highschool, I was invited into my friend’s band.

TAiKi: When I saw the way that a band performs live for the first time live, the band that I saw live had something unique inside them which attracted me. 

What is the biggest challenge of being a bandman? 

Kyosuke: The biggest challenge is how much can you put your feelings and heart inside your music while performing live. In order for me to do that, I need to improve my musical abilities and accuracy as a vocalist. I want to ultimately get better at live performances.

riku: One challenge of being a bandman is not only do you have to think about how to create good music, but also how you can reach a lot of people with your music!

Toyoyon: To keep going! That’s all.

TAiKi: Even if you have beaten one struggle, there is another high and thick wall beyond that which needs to be beaten. 

BAR or Izakaya? Where do you like to drink the most? 

Kyosuke: I love to drink at home (laugh).

Riku: I like drinking at a BAR! Because I want to drink and talk calmly. A bar is also a place that is neither too quiet or too noisy, it’s just right. 

Toyoyon:  Izakaya. I love to drink at Torikizoku and Hidakaya. 

TAiKi： Izakaya. I like the feeling of drinking alone with the hustle and bustle around you. (laugh)

Which CD did you play the most? And please tell us something about it. 

Kyosuke: Billy BanBan 『時は今、君の中』.It’s the folk song that is played in the commercials for iichiko. I like that sadness, and it’s the root of my love for music. I like music that makes me sad rather than bright tunes.

riku: La’cryma Christi 『Sculpture of Time』. This ensemble of music has been honed to the ultimate perfection. It’s a really great album, so definitely listen to it.

Toyoyon: B’z 『B’z The Best “Pleasure”』

TAiKi： L’Arc-en-Ciel 『ray』

It seems that everyone of RE:MAZE likes bands from the 2000s, but what about bands from other eras? Do you know bands such as, ARB, THE MINKS, BOØWYand TH eROCKERS? 

Kyosuke: I don’t know them. (laugh)

riku:  BOØWY

Toyoyon: I know BOØWY. Personally I listen to everything from British rock from the 60s to modern progressive metalcore in the 2020s. 

TAiKi: I played in a BOØWY coverband. We played songs such as DREAMIN. 

When and how was RE:MAZE formed?

riku: Originally, there was a band called “AMAZE”, a predecessor band that I mainly gathered members from, and from there, “Remaze” was formed with the current lineup.

REMAZE was born as AMAZE, so for what reason did you decide to change your name?

Kyosuke: The name was changed to 、リメイズ(REMAZE) in the sense that it will restart from AMAZE. We decided on this name to carry on and change without denying our past activities. The reason for the name change was to restart the band as a visual kei band, and the band name was changed because there’s a “crack” in between.

We live in a world greatly affected by the Coronavirus, has Corona taught you anything?

Kyosuke: Many live houses and bands have disappeared during the corona period, but I realized that what we have now isn’t here forever. So I decided to cherish the time we have as a band. 

riku: That there is a possibility of sudden loss even in everyday life, and we usually take it for granted.

Toyoyon: As riku says, We used to take everything for granted. 

TAiKi: I was reminded that we are connected to each other as humans.

Has Corona had any positive impact on your life?

Kyosuke: It gave me time to think about some things. I’ve been running a band until now, but what will happen when I stop? What should we do from today on? With that in my mind, I decided to restart the band. That’s a bit of a background on how “REMAZE” was born, which was a positive thing. 

Toyoyon: Personally, because we couldn’t perform on stage for a while, we started to use more SNS to connect with the world and that also had a positive effect. 

Please give us some nice self-line-notes (comment about each song) about your 1st single “REDEMPTION.”

– REDEMPTION

Kyosuke: When I got the demo from riki, the song’s energy felt like it had a feeling of “ruin” and “demise”. So I wrote the theme of lyrics about the “End of the world”. I always wanted to write a song about “heartbreak”, and since this track would be the title song I wrote the lyrics with such a theme. I think we can use this song as our business card for the new RE:MAZE. 

riku: I wrote this song with the development of the song in particular in mind. I hope you enjoy the contrast between the heavy, dark section from the intro to the A-verses and the catchy, melodic chorus!

Toyoyon: Overall, the A and B verses are pretty well thought out, so I’d like you to listen to it!

– résistance

Kyosuke: The theme of the song is “Fist of the North Star” (laughs), The song has been around since AMAZE days. I arranged the fallen chorus a bit, so that’s the highlight of the song.

riku: It’s a very hardcore song. The performance is intentionally simple and heavy.

– リライト (Rewrite)

Kyosuke: Personally, this is my favorite song out of the three, and I think the highlight of the song is the chorus where the tone drops and the scenery of the song changes dramatically.

Toyoyon: The bass line moves around quite a bit, so I think it’s the most rewarding song on the new single. Even in the interludes and outro, I’m cramming in the number of notes by playing fast with three fingers.

Why is live performance important to the band? Why is it a fun challenge?

Kyosuke: Listening to live music is the source of music. The instruments are used to vibrate the air, so a live show is the most important part of music. Also, even if the setlist is the same, live performances are never the same, so I’m always looking forward to standing on the stage!

riku: A live performance is a space where you can enjoy the music with all of your five senses.

Toyoyon: I think it’s a valuable opportunity to hear (and see) performances that can only be performed at that time.

TAiKi: There’s a power and emotion that comes from a live performance in a space where the band is there and the audience is there. I hope people will come to experience that.

What is your biggest inspiration for making music?

Kyosuke: It’s about being moved by something. I don’t care if it’s because of a movie, a novel, music, or anything else, my motivation is to recreate an emotional experience.

riku: My inspiration comes from taking frequent trips by myself to see the scenery of different places.

Toyoyon: My inspiration comes when I see other people’s live performances.

TAiKi: I get mine from looking back on the past.

Where is your favorite place to write a new song?

Riku: My favorite place to write a new song is at a location with a beautiful night view!

How would you like to see fans support RE:MAZE?

Kyosuke: If you like what you hear, please come to our live shows!

What is your ultimate goal for the future of RE:MAZE?

Kyosuke: Going on a world tour! (Laughs)

Riku: I’d like to see us appear on radio stations.

Toyoyon: I guess it’s a tie-in with a tapioca shop!

TAiKi: My ultimate goal is To make music that will be around 100 years in the future.

Why do you think we should listen to “RE:MAZE”? What is unique about you that other artists don’t have?

riku: Although I try to create rhythms that people can enjoy and sounds that raise the tension, first of all it’s a “song” and a “melody”. I’m not a vocalist, so I always think about the sound as we would be an instrumental band and play with the image of a song in mind. Not only in Visual-kei, but in every genre of music today, I think there aren’t many bands that have this in mind. It’s a bit of a shame, though.

Please give a message to your fans and readers.

Kyosuke: I’m still a fledgling, so I’ll continue to do my best!

Riku: Please support us! Be sure to listen to our CD!!

Toyoyon: Nice to meet you! Hopefully I’ll see you at the venue sometime!

TAiKi: I think it’s a miracle that we are still around. So I would be happy if you could come to our lives to witness this miracle.

Thank you very much for this interview!

ENGLISH Grammar/Spell Check: Katt