07-26-2020, 12:29 PM
So a surprise entry into last years JMF top ten's was The Sheglapes 'Back'n'Forth', and there's little available on this band iin English, so I've translated their interview in Metallion #67 below:
A one-of-a-kind group from Kansai who produce a wide variety of songs with their excellent playing ability announce their 1st mini-album!
Hailing from Osaka, THE SHEGLAPES is a melodic metal band that beautifully blends captivation and drama. In their mini-album “BACK'n'FORTH'' released in April 2019, there are many promising things to listen to, such as expressive vocals and surprising arrangements and performances of the musicians. The impression is that a band with real prospects has appeared. Keiko Kanie <vo>, Ruka <b>, and
Chizuco <key> talked about the history of the band's formation and the content of "BACK'n'FORTH".
——First of all, can you tell us how the band started?
Keiko Kanie: At the Nishikujo Brand New, a long-established live venue in Osaka, we’d been holding metal session events for a long time, and the booking manager at that time took the opportunity to assemble the band.
——The original members were different slightly different, it seems.
Keiko: That's right. From the beginning, it was Ruka and CloudBerry<g> and I. Then in the second session, the drummer was replaced and keyboardist Chizuco was added.
——How did the session become a real band?
Ruka: There were a total of 3 sessions, and after that, the booking manager asked me “What if we try out with these people?...”
Keiko: There was a “Let’s do it” feeling.
Chizuco: I thought I could do anything with these people.
——Did you want to form a band like this or did you talk about it in advance?
Keiko: Without meeting beforehand, all of us were writing songs, so we’ve contributed these songs jointly, it was all decided naturally.
——After that, what made you decide to make BACK'n'FORTH?
Keiko: It's fun just being around everyone, you want to do this, you want to do that, and it wasn't really organized, but the schedule was decided by a call from our current label Black Listed, so eventually, the atmosphere became like "Let’s do it!"
——Bands with that close a relationship are unusual.
Ruka: We’re always laughing in the studio as well. (Laughs)
Keiko: We laugh too much and its tiring (laughs)
Chizuco: There are times when nothing gets done.
Keiko: It’s like “Do we practice today?” (Laughs)
——Did you have any concept in mind when creating a mini album?
Keiko: Since there was one Halloween song written around October 2018, at first we were thinking that we would release a single centred on that, but later, when it was decided to do a mini album, the direction as an album was not decided, so we chose this title. "BACK'n'FORTH" means "to go and come back", as all the songs have different timing, backgrounds and stories, so we’re going back and forth between the various stories.
——Now let's talk about the songs that are included. Isn't "Jack's Lament" a song written by yourself?
Keiko: This is a song with a Halloween theme, but it took longer than expected to get to the main story. At first there was talk of dividing into two songs, but I let everyone try to finish it, so eventually the song went over 7 minutes long.
——The tempo dropped in the second half, but the soprano-like songs are very listenable too, the songs are great.
Keiko: I wanted to incorporate a variety of styles. A chilly Halloween feeling for instance. I also wanted to give the impression that there were many different characters, so for some songs I use different voices.
——You were originally studying music, right?
Keiko: I studied vocal music at a music school for three years in high school.
——What’s the bass line of this song like?
Ruka: At the time, it felt like "Wow, that’s fast!" (Laughs)
Keiko: Ruka is the band member who has been immersed in metal the least.
Ruka: Because I've always done pop, I'm not used to such fast songs
Keiko: Her bass is easy to sing to. I think it's good to have something that people who come from metal alone don't have.
——How about the keyboards?
Chizuco: The progression is bewilderingly fast, the place where the interlude part returns to the song and such, so I wondered how to bring it to a proper conclusion.
——The keyboards in this song are very metal, is Chizuco from a metal background?
Chizuco: I stated on classical piano, but when I was a high school student, I began participating in metal sessions as well, and from that time I started listening to metal.
——What bands do you refer to in terms of your play?
Chizuco: I like the melodic keyboards of CIRCUS MAXIMUS. Also, I often listen to KAMELOT.
——The next song "MARIE" was composed by Chizuco. What kind of song is this?
Chizuco: At the beginning, the hook for the intro melody popped into my mind, so I gave it some thought, and created a story where a princess ran away and blended in with ordinary townspeople, with that in mind, I wrote a cute little three-beat part for it.
——How about your vocals?
Keiko: It's difficult.
Chizuco: Sorry!
Keiko: First I listened to the story idea, and then I expanded on the idea. “MARIE” comes from Marie Antoinette and I wrote the lyrics with the concept of a refined princess.
——How was the bass?
Ruka: I like 3 beat measures the most, so it's fun to play. With the instrumental "Beyond the Sadness" in between it and “Rebellious”, another song written by Kanie.
Keiko: When I wrote the demo version, it was a more of a pop rock song. Because this was a song that was written at an early stage, I wasn’t familiar with other songs, so it was fixed then. But rearranged, it gives the work some good vibes
Chizuco: It’s unexpectedly vigorous. It seems like it has an ‘everyone pump your fists” type feeling.
Keiko: The lyrics are also boyish, like shonen manga.
Chizuco: Although the style of "rebellious" in the early days was different, it became easier to make keyboard arrangements because it became so vigorous.
——The interlude including the guitar solo is elaborate...
Ruka: It was hard to remember. I had to listen to it many times because the timing of the chord changes is difficult.
——Parts of SHEGLAPES songs often take a melodic direction, and I think it's nice that there is also such “easy listening” sections during live performances.
Chizuco: I feel like that’s our aim really.
Ruka: That’s a little feminine, but in a good way…
——That's true. Next, "Singularity" is a song written by CloudBerry..
Keiko: When CloudBerry wrote it, it was given a title and a world view something like, "Science develops to the point that AI overcomes humanity." So I wrote the lyrics with the idea of that as the near future. It came with just the chorus melody, so other than that, I wrote the backing melody and such.
——Sounds a little like L'Arc ~ en ~ Ciel, right?
Keiko: So it’s said (laughs)
——It's also in Tetsuya of L'Arc ~ en ~ Ciel's style.
Ruka: Because I was in an L'Arc ~ en ~ Ciel cover band, and because of the way the vocals are sung, I was very tense when I played the bass for this tune.
——What about the keyboards?
Chizuco: To give it a sense of being set in the near future, I wrote it while thinking that it would be interesting if the sound could be heard in a variety of places.
——The last song, "Ruta Graveolens" is LUNA SEA-like, right?
Chizuco & Keiko: Oh…
Keiko: You've caught us! (Laughs) I think it's mostly LUNA SEA actually. (Laughs) CloudBerry also wrote this song. I thought it didn't have a vocal melody but when I added my own melody and returned it, CloudBerry said, "I'm sorry, I already have a melody." So, I just got the hook part, the melody that I thought of was left out, but I think it's okay if a song is something like a vocal countermelody, and the hook has really become voiced in that way.
——The bass line of this song is also impressive.
Keiko: I like it!
Ruka: Kyaa! It's fun to play! It's a song where you listen closely to the vocals when you play the bassline. When it's a fast song, I usually concentrate on the drums, but I like playing a part where you’re connected to the drums and the vocals in a good way.
——Can’t you can also follow the keyboards.
Chizuco: Originally I don't really think in terms of music genres, such as metal, pop, jazz or classical, so I wondered what would happen if I put everything I was listening to right now together. I hope that I can play a role that enhances the song rather than just be the front woman, I also like to play along with random chords. I'm doing a lot of things I've never done before.
——You plays conch shells both on CD and on stage, how was this?
Keiko: I also wanted to play some kind of musical instrument, so I was thinking about it lot. The song "Part of Your World" on the 1st single is about “The Little Mermaid”, the band name is “The SheGlapes” (Note: Sea Grapes = a type of seaweed) and isn't my name Kani (Note: Japanese for ‘Crab’)? That's why I chose conch as a sea-like instrument. Actually, I used to play brass instruments, I found information on the internet that the conch is played the same way as brass instruments.
——Can you get a scale out of it?
Keiko: You can. It’s got a metal mouthpiece and you can change the pitch with the tension of your lips as you would with a brass instrument. It's surprisingly deep. One of these days I want to do a conch solo as well.
——What kind of activities are you planning in the future?
Keiko: We’ll release a single this year and do a live concert. I hope we can release a full album next year, and we’re talking about that. For that reason, we have to write more and more songs.
——So please give us a message at the end.
Ruka: The mini-album "BACK'n'FORTH" is a work we put everything we can do into, so I really want you to listen to it.
Chizuco: There’ll be many live shows this year and next year. By all means, please come to see us live, but I’d also like it if you to purchase our CD. There are so many things I want to do, so I hope we can continue well into the future.
Keiko: In "BACK'n'FORTH", there are parts that I wrote because I wanted to go beyond the very limit of what we can do, so, if you can see us live, I think you can appreciate that "these kids are really pushing the boundaries". The things that we want to do are inexhaustible, but I want us to continue having fun, so please provide some support!
■■
A one-of-a-kind group from Kansai who produce a wide variety of songs with their excellent playing ability announce their 1st mini-album!
Hailing from Osaka, THE SHEGLAPES is a melodic metal band that beautifully blends captivation and drama. In their mini-album “BACK'n'FORTH'' released in April 2019, there are many promising things to listen to, such as expressive vocals and surprising arrangements and performances of the musicians. The impression is that a band with real prospects has appeared. Keiko Kanie <vo>, Ruka <b>, and
Chizuco <key> talked about the history of the band's formation and the content of "BACK'n'FORTH".
——First of all, can you tell us how the band started?
Keiko Kanie: At the Nishikujo Brand New, a long-established live venue in Osaka, we’d been holding metal session events for a long time, and the booking manager at that time took the opportunity to assemble the band.
——The original members were different slightly different, it seems.
Keiko: That's right. From the beginning, it was Ruka and CloudBerry<g> and I. Then in the second session, the drummer was replaced and keyboardist Chizuco was added.
——How did the session become a real band?
Ruka: There were a total of 3 sessions, and after that, the booking manager asked me “What if we try out with these people?...”
Keiko: There was a “Let’s do it” feeling.
Chizuco: I thought I could do anything with these people.
——Did you want to form a band like this or did you talk about it in advance?
Keiko: Without meeting beforehand, all of us were writing songs, so we’ve contributed these songs jointly, it was all decided naturally.
——After that, what made you decide to make BACK'n'FORTH?
Keiko: It's fun just being around everyone, you want to do this, you want to do that, and it wasn't really organized, but the schedule was decided by a call from our current label Black Listed, so eventually, the atmosphere became like "Let’s do it!"
——Bands with that close a relationship are unusual.
Ruka: We’re always laughing in the studio as well. (Laughs)
Keiko: We laugh too much and its tiring (laughs)
Chizuco: There are times when nothing gets done.
Keiko: It’s like “Do we practice today?” (Laughs)
——Did you have any concept in mind when creating a mini album?
Keiko: Since there was one Halloween song written around October 2018, at first we were thinking that we would release a single centred on that, but later, when it was decided to do a mini album, the direction as an album was not decided, so we chose this title. "BACK'n'FORTH" means "to go and come back", as all the songs have different timing, backgrounds and stories, so we’re going back and forth between the various stories.
——Now let's talk about the songs that are included. Isn't "Jack's Lament" a song written by yourself?
Keiko: This is a song with a Halloween theme, but it took longer than expected to get to the main story. At first there was talk of dividing into two songs, but I let everyone try to finish it, so eventually the song went over 7 minutes long.
——The tempo dropped in the second half, but the soprano-like songs are very listenable too, the songs are great.
Keiko: I wanted to incorporate a variety of styles. A chilly Halloween feeling for instance. I also wanted to give the impression that there were many different characters, so for some songs I use different voices.
——You were originally studying music, right?
Keiko: I studied vocal music at a music school for three years in high school.
——What’s the bass line of this song like?
Ruka: At the time, it felt like "Wow, that’s fast!" (Laughs)
Keiko: Ruka is the band member who has been immersed in metal the least.
Ruka: Because I've always done pop, I'm not used to such fast songs
Keiko: Her bass is easy to sing to. I think it's good to have something that people who come from metal alone don't have.
——How about the keyboards?
Chizuco: The progression is bewilderingly fast, the place where the interlude part returns to the song and such, so I wondered how to bring it to a proper conclusion.
——The keyboards in this song are very metal, is Chizuco from a metal background?
Chizuco: I stated on classical piano, but when I was a high school student, I began participating in metal sessions as well, and from that time I started listening to metal.
——What bands do you refer to in terms of your play?
Chizuco: I like the melodic keyboards of CIRCUS MAXIMUS. Also, I often listen to KAMELOT.
——The next song "MARIE" was composed by Chizuco. What kind of song is this?
Chizuco: At the beginning, the hook for the intro melody popped into my mind, so I gave it some thought, and created a story where a princess ran away and blended in with ordinary townspeople, with that in mind, I wrote a cute little three-beat part for it.
——How about your vocals?
Keiko: It's difficult.
Chizuco: Sorry!
Keiko: First I listened to the story idea, and then I expanded on the idea. “MARIE” comes from Marie Antoinette and I wrote the lyrics with the concept of a refined princess.
——How was the bass?
Ruka: I like 3 beat measures the most, so it's fun to play. With the instrumental "Beyond the Sadness" in between it and “Rebellious”, another song written by Kanie.
Keiko: When I wrote the demo version, it was a more of a pop rock song. Because this was a song that was written at an early stage, I wasn’t familiar with other songs, so it was fixed then. But rearranged, it gives the work some good vibes
Chizuco: It’s unexpectedly vigorous. It seems like it has an ‘everyone pump your fists” type feeling.
Keiko: The lyrics are also boyish, like shonen manga.
Chizuco: Although the style of "rebellious" in the early days was different, it became easier to make keyboard arrangements because it became so vigorous.
——The interlude including the guitar solo is elaborate...
Ruka: It was hard to remember. I had to listen to it many times because the timing of the chord changes is difficult.
——Parts of SHEGLAPES songs often take a melodic direction, and I think it's nice that there is also such “easy listening” sections during live performances.
Chizuco: I feel like that’s our aim really.
Ruka: That’s a little feminine, but in a good way…
——That's true. Next, "Singularity" is a song written by CloudBerry..
Keiko: When CloudBerry wrote it, it was given a title and a world view something like, "Science develops to the point that AI overcomes humanity." So I wrote the lyrics with the idea of that as the near future. It came with just the chorus melody, so other than that, I wrote the backing melody and such.
——Sounds a little like L'Arc ~ en ~ Ciel, right?
Keiko: So it’s said (laughs)
——It's also in Tetsuya of L'Arc ~ en ~ Ciel's style.
Ruka: Because I was in an L'Arc ~ en ~ Ciel cover band, and because of the way the vocals are sung, I was very tense when I played the bass for this tune.
——What about the keyboards?
Chizuco: To give it a sense of being set in the near future, I wrote it while thinking that it would be interesting if the sound could be heard in a variety of places.
——The last song, "Ruta Graveolens" is LUNA SEA-like, right?
Chizuco & Keiko: Oh…
Keiko: You've caught us! (Laughs) I think it's mostly LUNA SEA actually. (Laughs) CloudBerry also wrote this song. I thought it didn't have a vocal melody but when I added my own melody and returned it, CloudBerry said, "I'm sorry, I already have a melody." So, I just got the hook part, the melody that I thought of was left out, but I think it's okay if a song is something like a vocal countermelody, and the hook has really become voiced in that way.
——The bass line of this song is also impressive.
Keiko: I like it!
Ruka: Kyaa! It's fun to play! It's a song where you listen closely to the vocals when you play the bassline. When it's a fast song, I usually concentrate on the drums, but I like playing a part where you’re connected to the drums and the vocals in a good way.
——Can’t you can also follow the keyboards.
Chizuco: Originally I don't really think in terms of music genres, such as metal, pop, jazz or classical, so I wondered what would happen if I put everything I was listening to right now together. I hope that I can play a role that enhances the song rather than just be the front woman, I also like to play along with random chords. I'm doing a lot of things I've never done before.
——You plays conch shells both on CD and on stage, how was this?
Keiko: I also wanted to play some kind of musical instrument, so I was thinking about it lot. The song "Part of Your World" on the 1st single is about “The Little Mermaid”, the band name is “The SheGlapes” (Note: Sea Grapes = a type of seaweed) and isn't my name Kani (Note: Japanese for ‘Crab’)? That's why I chose conch as a sea-like instrument. Actually, I used to play brass instruments, I found information on the internet that the conch is played the same way as brass instruments.
——Can you get a scale out of it?
Keiko: You can. It’s got a metal mouthpiece and you can change the pitch with the tension of your lips as you would with a brass instrument. It's surprisingly deep. One of these days I want to do a conch solo as well.
——What kind of activities are you planning in the future?
Keiko: We’ll release a single this year and do a live concert. I hope we can release a full album next year, and we’re talking about that. For that reason, we have to write more and more songs.
——So please give us a message at the end.
Ruka: The mini-album "BACK'n'FORTH" is a work we put everything we can do into, so I really want you to listen to it.
Chizuco: There’ll be many live shows this year and next year. By all means, please come to see us live, but I’d also like it if you to purchase our CD. There are so many things I want to do, so I hope we can continue well into the future.
Keiko: In "BACK'n'FORTH", there are parts that I wrote because I wanted to go beyond the very limit of what we can do, so, if you can see us live, I think you can appreciate that "these kids are really pushing the boundaries". The things that we want to do are inexhaustible, but I want us to continue having fun, so please provide some support!
■■
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Please bear it mind I'm always busy though and it may take a while!
Please bear it mind I'm always busy though and it may take a while!
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