My translation of the Rock & Read vol. 101 interview of Moi dix mois members Mana, Seth and Ryux.
(My personal notes are in orange)
I took out the Japanese "nickname" particles like -san, -sama, -kun etc because it makes it easier to read in English. Usually, Mana uses "kun" with other members, other members usually use "Mana sama" and when talking about members who are not present (Hayato, Sugiya) they usually use "san". Seth uses "kun" for Ryux and calls Hayato "Haya-kun" a couple times.
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Mana has appeared in this magazine many times, but this is the first time that you’ve been interviewed as Moi dix Mois with the members of the project. Since this year marks the 20th anniversary of the project's start, we would like to ask you to look back on your progress up to now and talk about the future prospects. We will be talking mainly with Mana in the beginning, so Seth-san and Ryux, please be patient. Let's start with how the project started.
Mana MALICE MIZER was a band based on concepts, wasn't it? I had to keep my personal favorite music out of the band because I wanted to express these concepts in the songs and live performances.
So metal, right ?
Mana Right. So, when MALICE MIZER went on hiatus, I decided to do the music I love the most for my solo project, and bring out my metal spirit. That's how I started Moi dix Mois.
Your support members have stayed pretty much the same, right? Since it is a solo project, it wouldn’t be weird for you to be flexible and change members depending on the songs you want to make, but is there something special about working in the same way as a regular band?
Mana I have been working with the current members for quite a long time, so I feel like they are band members now, but originally I was not too picky about that. I just wanted to have members who would support the music I wanted to make.
What you looked for in a support member is, first of all, someone with the skills to faithfully reproduce the music you wanted to do?
Mana That's right. I think about everything from the visual to the sound vision, so I thought it was important to see how they would reproduce it.
Since MALICE MIZER was a band in which all members are official members, I think you created while taking everyone's opinions into consideration. Was there any trial and error in moving forward with a project that was different from that kind of activity policy?
Mana I wanted to play fast music anyway, so especially the drums seemed to be a challenge. I always liked thrash metal and black metal like Slayer, so I stuck to fast rhythms with two-bass(drums). That's why I was so particular about it. So I told Tohru, the first era drummer, that I wanted to play blast beats, but his response was, "...What's a blast beat?” I lent him a CD and asked him to listen to it, but he said, "It's too fast and I don't know how to play it," so we went to see a black metal concert together.
Tohru, has a history of playing in various bands and is a very talented drummer.
Mana Yes, but we were simply coming from different musical genres. Once, I brought a very fast song that I had made with some special mixing. When Tohru heard it, he said, "I can't do this live," and so he arranged it for me.
If he couldn't reproduce these beats live, you couldn’t just go ahead and play them and complete the song as is, right ?
Mana Yeah, I couldn’t really. Metal drums have to be live.
You where fixed on the fact that rock rhythm has to be live, I see. After about 3 years of working with these initial members, the vocalist, bassist, and drummer were replaced in 2005.
Mana I had known Seth for a long time, and when the three of them left, I had the opportunity to ask him to sing the first single, "Dialogue Symphonie”. It was a great hit, and I knew right then that Seth was the only vocalist for the band.
Seth I have known Mana since the days of MALICE MIZER, and I have been watching Moi dix Mois since the Moi-meme-Moitie fashion show, the first live show you did.
Mana At Shibuya AX right?
Seth When MALICE MIZER went on hiatus, I heard that Mana was thinking of doing metal-based music next, and I was allowed to listen to some of his early sound recordings. I even asked him, "So, when should I come and sing? (laughs).
So it wasn’t a surprise then when, three years later, you found yourself really singing in that project?
Seth That is still a surprise to me (laughs). Because when Juka left and he was looking for a new vocalist, he asked me, "Do you know any good vocalists?” I wanted him to resume his activities as soon as possible, so I was looking for a good vocalist and wanted to introduce him to them.
It was so close he couldn't see it, in a way. ((He asked Seth, a vocalist, to help him find a vocalist... The sentence kinda highlighted the irony in it like, he was so focused on trying to find someone he didn't think about just asking Seth straight.))
Seth It was during this period that I had more opportunities to meet with Mana in private, partly to discuss my own band. At that time, we wanted to prepare for the next development. In short, a demo tape. I think I went to Mana-sama's house to sing because he wanted me to help him. I think I sang there and he was like, "You fit (the song) well, eh”.
Is that how you came to the conclusion that you wanted to work together?
Seth No, I don't think there was a direct statement, "I have decided on the next vocalist.” It was more like, "Your voice fits the song," and then, "Well, let's decide on a name for you”. Then we decided on my name for the band. So, I was like “... wait am I officially joining Moi dix Mois?” (laughs).
It's like you ended up getting married without being proposed to properly (laughs).
Mana Actually, I once thought it would be interesting to have Juka and Seth, as twin vocalists, since Juka was not good at shouting and Seth was in charge of the death voice. Then, when we went to Hiroshima for a live concert, I think, I asked him(Seth) to sing as a test.
Seth At the time, I was doing a lot, so the idea of joining the group fell through. But I started showing up at gigs often after that, and was good friends with the other members, so when the time came for me to join, I did so easily.
The year after Seth joined the band, the third album "Beyond the Gate" was released, and the band went on a European tour, among other things. Time flew by and in 2014, guitarist K passed away suddenly in May, and Ryux joined the band in December.
Mana In the early days of Moi dix Mois, I played the guitar alone, but I wanted to play the harmonies that I love, so I thought about making it a twin-guitar band. That is why I asked K to join the band. Since we now had two guitars, we could play as an ensemble, and the composition of the songs changed.
Ryux, you were originally active in a non-Visual Kei genre group. What were the circumstances that led you to join ?
Ryux I grew up in a punk environment, touring with THE STAR CLUB and LAUGHIN 'NOSE, so I was familiar with blast beats, and later I learned that Moi dix mois had done a cover of THE STAR CLUB. So, I guess we hit it off because of our backgrounds.
Mana I think I am recognized as a very visual-kei person by the public.
Seth A visual-kei incarnation (laughs).
Mana But I was a hardcore punk when I was a teenager.
You had a Mohawk, didn't you?
Mana When I was in high school I did. My parents were very angry with me.
Your parents were teachers and strict.
Mana They taught music in high school. So people would think “What the heck is this son of his doing with a Mohawk!” It was a problem, and I think my father got in a lot of trouble.
So punk Ryux was a perfect match for Mana's tastes, eh.
Mana Punk is one thing, but the deciding factor was when Ryux told me that he liked Paul Di'Anno, the early vocalist of Iron Maiden.
Ryux Oh Really !
Mana I like Iron Maiden a lot, and I used to listen to albums like "Killers" when Paul Di'Anno was the vocalist. However, Iron Maiden was sold worldwide with their second vocalist, Bruce Dickinson, so Paul Di'Anno is not as well known as he should be. That's why I thought it would be great if Ryux and I could talk about shared interests.
Seth It's important to be able to talk to each other.
Mana In the early days, Moi dix Mois members had little in common musically. A band cannot move in the same direction unless we can talk with each other casually everyday, and so I wanted to bring in new members who could share common interests. Also, Ryux was acquainted with K. I thought it would be more reassuring to have someone who had been in contact with the former guitarist, rather than someone who didn't know the former guitarist.
Ryux I was in contact with K right up to the time of his death, and we had talked about doing music together, mainly through livestreams. At the time (2014), there was no one active in livestream-based music, and we never really got around to it. To briefly explain how I joined, I had been friends with drummer CHARGEEEEEEEE, (Ryux was in Omega Dripp for a little while) who now plays in ZIGGY and ZIZ, for about 20 years when I was in a band in the punk field, and through that connection, I met Közi of MALICE MIZER. We hit it off there and started an acoustic event together, (Salon de Közi) and Seth was even a guest once. Hayato of Moi dix Mois, who came to see the concert, seemed to feel something about me. It was an acoustic concert, but it ended up just being an event where people were drinking and getting drunk, like, I wasn't even playing my guitar (laughs).
Seth Before the acoustic concert, I was hospitalized with appendicitis. I was discharged from the hospital so I could go but the stitches had not been removed yet, and Hayato was worried about me and came to see the show. When I think back, K was always carrying around a computer and tinkering with various things, and Ryux was also playing the guitar while click-clacking away on the computer during the concert. I guess that image of Ryux overlapped with that of K in Hayato's mind.
Oh so he was Hayato's recommendation. ((bless Hayato *heart fingers*))
Seth He thought there were good vibes in terms of playing skills, and he told Mana-sama, "I think he's good because he has some things in common with K, and he seems to have good guitar skills.”
Ryux Please interview Hayato about that at another time. I would like to know more about why he recommended me (laughs).
K was a guitarist with a unique look and character.
Mana He used to be in a soft visual-kei band, (K used to be in Ru~ne and GRAND ZERO) and we had known each other since MALICE MIZER days, but the first time we really met was at a meeting with a manga artist named Ami Shibata when we were working on a game-related project. My first impression of him was that he looked like a slender host in a suit with short hair, so I thought we would have no musical connection.
How did you go from there to him joining the group?
Mana I had a strong desire to make twin guitars, and I was thinking of various candidates. Then I suddenly thought that K was cool and had good taste in many things, so I asked him, "Can you make yourself be a little evil, like Moi dix Mois?” He said he really wanted to try it, so he shaved off his eyebrows and shaved the side of his head with clippers. Beast K was born ! From this point on he took the name of K. (K's real name was Kengo)
K in his previous band "Grand Zero"
He really took a 180 from the host look, lol.
Mana He said “I never knew I could be like this!" He was so happy.
Ryux, were you ever made to shave your eyebrows as well ?
Ryux I… didn't have eyebrows to begin with (laughs) (he already shaves them lol). But even though our physical forms are completely different, I feel that I have some similarities with K. I still feel sympathy for him, so I stand on stage with an awareness of how I would do if I were him.
Seth, Mana said that your voice fits the songs, but did you feel at a loss in terms of character creation and expression on stage? In your live performances, you sometimes show your comical side in the "Mana-sama’s message” corner, for example.
Seth Actually, I am not good at public speaking, and in my previous band I was not the type to MC. When I thought about how to compensate for that, I came up with "Mana Sama’s message” corner, a system that did not exist in Juka's time.
Mana Yeah, I feel like we didn’t have that. I thought it was a great innovative system.
Seth I started out with the feeling that if I read the text to convey Mana-sama's message, I could somehow do the MC to some extent. Now I add my own stories to that.
Do you ad-lib sometimes?
Mana Seth often makes mistakes (laughs) In such cases, I give him an earful ((whispers to him)).
Seth I only have one eye, after all. Once I take my eyes off my notes, it takes a while for them to come back into focus the next time I look at them. I get a little impatient because I don’t see well and start reading from a different part of the page. I think that's interesting because it gives the impression of a live performance (laughs).
Was the visual strategy of wearing eye patches Mana’s idea?
Seth Yes,it was. Like, "Seth, let's go with the eye patch character."
Mana I wanted it to be like ”A mysterious vocalist has appeared!” So I changed his stage name, put on an eye patch, and tried to make people think, "Who is this vocalist?” So I changed his birthday and blood type in his online profile to XXX. Well, now he sing enka under the name of Miyoshi Seiji, so I think people have kinda caught up to the bit now. (laughs).
Seth In terms of singing for Moi dix mois, I had a hard time switching between shouts and melody, because Juka didn't shout, and I thought I would be singing a beautiful melody in that vein. I thought that K would do the death voice. However, when I opened the door, he told me, "You have to start this beautiful melody with a shout.” So I was like.. What? I’m going to sing this by myself? I have to switch right there ? I remember being very nervous.
You have to shout at full throttle and immediately change to a shuffling, smooth voice.
Seth : Yeah, So when I sing Moi dix mois songs, I have to think and focus while singing. I have to calm my mind and go into it smoothly right after shouting, so I think I am quite calm in the live performance.
With you saying that, I do get the impression that it is a clever way of singing. I feel that you don’t just shout with momentum, and that's why it sticks in my mind.
Seth And the hardest part was the headbanging. I thought, "Mana, you really be setting the bar high" like, he’d say "I want you to shake your head as hard as you can here.” so I thought "Mana was pretty demanding” (laughs).
Mana I just wanted to do an intense stage performance. There were a few people overseas who did the spinning headbang, but not many in Japan. A frontman spinning his head makes a huge impact, and I really wanted to incorporate that into the show. So I said, "Seth, will you do it for me?” ((it's written in a way that can make you think Mana did puppy eyes for it lol)
Seth LOL
Do you get dizzy ?
Seth I have to stand up and sing right after I headspin and headbang, but my head is still in a daze. But I could feel Mana's enthusiasm, "I really want you to do it!” so I felt I had no choice but to do it.
What other things have made a strong impression on you since joining Moi dix mois?
Seth I had been playing in bands for a long time before that, so I thought it would not change too much and be routine. However, after joining Moi dix Mois, I boarded an airplane for the first time in my life. On top of that, the destination was Germany, so I suddenly experienced a 13-hour flight. Like Mana, I am also from Hiroshima, but I had never been on a plane before, not even when I went back home. (Hiroshima is a quick 1.5 hour flight from Tokyo but also easily accessible by Shinkansen, about 4 hours.)
You don’t like planes ?
Seth I don’t. But this was my first time going abroad, and I think it was a great experience for me. When we went on tour to several countries, I spent weeks with the local staff. Through the activities of Moi dix Mois, I was able to feel the connection between people.
Ryux In addition to the five members of Moi dix mois, including K, the staff members who support us are also very nice. This is the first time for me to be in a band in an environment where there is staff supporting our activities ((Ryux recently said in a Twitcast there are about 10-15 staff! Lighting, sound, taking care of equipment etc)), so it has been a great inspiration for me. Because I want to live up to everyone's expectations, I have become more attentive to my performances, and I am thinking about taking care of my equipment better as well. I'm getting older than I thought I would (laughs), but now that I'm older, I feel like I'm trying to convey the sound properly. It was Moi dix mois and Mana who gave me the opportunity to do so and I am extremely grateful.
Mana Right now, the balance among the members is very good. There are many different personalities, but I feel that we all fit together well. For example, Ryux is so dependable that he is called the captain behind the scenes.
Ryux Am I, lol?
Mana He knows a lot about mechanics, so he's been teaching me a lot about equipment and social networking.
You have a good relationship with the members, including Sugiya and Hayato, who did not participate in today's interview.
Mana Hayato is a unique type of person, maybe cautious ? When we are having a meeting together, he sometimes leaves the room when things get too hectic. I think he probably needs to think on his own a little. I’m like “Where did he go?” and then he comes back with a good answer/suggestion for me.
Sugiya gives the impression of a taciturn, stoic person in his live performances.
Mana It is true that Sugiya is the least verbal among the members, but he knows a lot about equipment. Last January, we did a live stream on Twitcast, and I was excited to bring my new equipment with me. But for some reason, I had a severe feedback problem. I tried everything in my mind, but it wouldn't stop.......When I didn't know what to do, Sugiya said, "The LED on the volume petal is the problem," and he just removed it. And then suddenly it worked ! All of this for me being so excited that I brought the cool volume pedal with nice LED as my new equipment… *cries*.
With the current five-member team, Moi dix Mois is entering its 20th anniversary year. What’s the outlook for the future ?
Mana Moi dix Mois has so far been mainly performing in Tokyo, right? But this year, we are going to various places! I am planning to go to many places this year. The only one that has been announced so far is Hiroshima, but we are planning to move pretty aggressively.
Hiroshima is yours and Seth's hometown, isn't it?
Seth Sugiya is also from Hiroshima. Ryux's parents are also from Hiroshima.
Ryux Sugiya was born just a 5-minute walk from my parent's house; Sugiya went to the same kindergarten than my dad. (laughs). And a childhood friend of my father, who is a teacher, once taught at the same high school as Mana's father.
Mana What Really ?
You didn’t know ?
Mana I had never heard that (laughs), although I knew that Seth's older sister was taught music by my dad.
Seth She said he was a dandy of a teacher.
Ryux When I visited Hiroshima, I was shown a picture of him(his father’s friend) and Mana’s father together (laughs).
It's a small world, eh.
Seth Hayato is from Shimane Prefecture, which is right next to Hiroshima. We’re all from the same neck of the woods (laughs).
So it is a very good thing that the 20th anniversary will start in Hiroshima.
Mana It's been quite a while since we've had a tour-like development that starts in Hiroshima, so I’m super excited. But it is a shame that I can't go overseas. I have received quite a few offers from overseas asking me to come, so if the situation improves, I would love to go back.
At your birthday concert in March 2021, you announced that you would be releasing an album next year (2022) for the 20th anniversary and that you would be doing a lot of activities. What is the situation now regarding the new album?
Mana It is in production. It will include some of the songs that we already play live, so I am sure that many of you have heard them before. I think it will have a lot of "Moi dix mois" feeling in it.
I see. It's been 10 years since the last album release, so the new songs that you have released live will also be included in the album.
Mana Yeah.
Seth I have been thinking about this since I joined Moi dix Mois, and I want to make what Mana wants to do come true. That's why I'm going to use all the power I can within my ability. I have always liked him as a person, and I also really like the music he creates, so it is a great honor for me to be working with him. So I hope I can continue to support him beyond the 20th anniversary.
That's why you overcame the rolling headbang and also do MC now! How reliable of you!
Ryux The first time I saw Moi dix Mois was at the third performance of "Deep Sanctuary" at Akasaka Blitz in 2012. Thinking about it, that was the 10th anniversary of Moi dix Mois. I think there are many people who support Moi dix Mois now who were fans way before me. Of course, there are also people who fell in love with Moi dix Mois after I joined the band, and I hope to make each year a wonderful time with them. For that purpose, I would like to express the world that Mana-sama wants to create with all my might!
Mana Mh, what nice things to say.
Well it’s not like it’s not about you either…. lol
Seth＆Ryux LMAO
