Interview Nemophila: Close to Themselves
Last year, I published an interview with Saki (Mary’s Blood, Amahiru) in which, among other things, she introduced her new band Nemophila. Recently, JPU Records bundled the band’s three Japanese singles and released them in Europe under the title ‘Oiran Extended Edition’. The frequently published covers on the band’s YouTube channel also attract a lot of international attention. An excellent excuse to get acquainted with the band. I spoke with singer mayu (ex-Lipstick), guitarists Saki and Hazuki (Disqualia) and bassist Haraguchi-san, who form the band together with drummer Tamu Murata.
“In the early summer of 2019, mayu contacted us because she was looking for musicians for a session band”, Saki explains. Some of the members didn’t know each other yet, but this proved to be no problem: “All the members hit it off immediately, so we decided to continue working together as a band. Not just because of the personalities of all the members. I also had the idea that my favorite music could be enhanced in this band.”
However, Nemophila is a bit heavier than most of the bands the members are known for. “The most important difference is that I started playing seven-string guitars”, says Hazuki. “The various ways in which mayu sings are an important feature of Nemophila. Her raw voice is very characteristic. That is why we were aiming for a heavier sound, so the number of strings we played on would inevitably increase.”
Facial Expression
Since it has been mentioned early on: mayu’s voice is in deed a versatile card in Nemophila’s deck. Grunts, screams, but also powerful clean vocals. She appears to be reasonably modest about it herself and mainly points towards the compositions as a reason for her vocal approach. “First, I listen to the tension of the song”, she explains. “Then I think about what facial expression fits the vocal parts. I think it is the vocals’ job to capture what the song claims to be.”
Capturing that, mayu writes both English and Japanese lyrics. “Which language is the best fit is defined by the melody”, the singer says. “If the melody has a relatively small number of sounds, I’m more tempted to write English lyrics. And when I have something to say based on what I hear, I write them in Japanese. But of course, it has to be pleasant to sing. And if that’s in English, I’ll sometimes change it flexibly to make it sound cool.
Our lyrics are generally quite positive. I am a quite positive person myself and as such, I enjoy writing lyrics that make me feel cheerful and energetic. That is another thing that I think makes Nemophila unique.”
Image
Nemophila’s music notably is largely written by composer and producer Kensuke Akiyama, despite multiple members of the band having extensive professional experience writing songs. And yet, the band members do have significant input. “After the songs are finished, we discuss the image the song has to convey with mister Akiyama and each other”, Saki explains. “Then we add our own ideas to the demos and that will be the foundation of the song. The process really isn’t all that different than when we write our own songs. Since the image of the song is something we share with each other from the beginning of the composition process, there is no difficulty in making it something of our own. And the more we play with each other, the more familiar I feel we are becoming with each other as musicians.”
And then the songs have to be played live. A seemingly difficult task, given the layered nature of the material, but Haraguchi-san reassures us: “During our live performances, we want to take the songs to a higher level than on the recorded versions. That is not easy and we are aware of that, but it is something important. Our live shows are energetic, which may cause us to play violently at times!”
Ideas
Not long after the first videos were published online, there appeared to be international interest in Nemophila. The band seems to take this interest seriously by also providing English information on their social media. “From the very beginning, our intention was not necessarily to limit our activities to Japan”, says Hazuki. “Our focus was always on the stage. Our first live shows were done as opening acts for festivals that also included foreign bands, such as HammerFall. It was great for me to open for bands I have been listening to for a long time.
Since the release of the video for ‘Dissension’ on our YouTube channel, we noticed the increasing number of reactions from foreign viewers. When the tipping point was exactly, I don’t know, but our first video, a cover of Iron Maiden’s ‘The Trooper’, also got a lot of reactions from abroad.”
A large portion of Nemophila’s YouTube channel is taken up by covers of various domestic and international artists. What is the cover choice based on? “We decided which songs to play based on what the band members want to play”, says Haraguchi-san. “Regardless of genre. So far, we have had so many ideas for mayu, haha! Some of the covers also date back to the first sessions we played together.”
Identity
In last year’s interview, Saki told us about the idea of making Nemophila’s heavy metal and metalcore compositions wiht a “yurufuwa” (which means as much as fluffy) approach. She elaborates: “Traditionally, rock bands have a strong, masculine image. The concept of “yurufuwa” is to stay close to ourselves rather than forcibly portraying our female identity as masculine. We thought it was interesting to make the cuteness of something fluffy come together with intense metal parts. You can feel it in the choruses of ‘Dissension’ and ‘Raitei’, but also in our behavior on stage.”
When we can witness this in Europe is unclear, in part due to the covid crisis, but Saki wraps up with a promise: “Of course we want to play concerts the same way we did before when it becomes possible again. We plan to continue broadcasting our concerts, so they can be viewed by people outside of Japan as well.”
‘Oiran Extended Edition’ is out now. It is available on cd through JPU Records and online through the major streaming platforms.
Thanks a ton to Stephany of Arlequin Magazine for translating!
Kevy Metal 
No trackbacks yet.