Ahead of their live show in London for the European tour, ‘MONSTER’, we caught up with the rhythm team of Girugamesh, bassist ShuU and drummer Ryo, to talk touring, recording, and what has made the band what it is today, at their ten year anniversary.
Welcome back to London! What are your feelings on returning for another world tour?
ShuU: We are so happy! Excited!
Good to hear! And on top of the tour, Girugamesh is now 10 years old! Did you think the band would ever grow the way it has, to achieve such worldwide popularity?
Ryo: I started out in a band very young, and I remember in English class during middle school my teacher knew I was in a band. He asked what I would do if my band ever toured overseas and I couldn’t speak any English. I told him, ‘That’s never going to happen!’ I now regret not paying more attention in that class (laughs)! I really need English now!
How has the tour been so far? Any memorable moments?
ShuU: Going to every city, and meeting all the fans has been really important this time, as it’s three years since we’ve been here. We’re going from place to place very quickly, but each one means a lot to us. The only thing I regret is not having any time to look around or sightsee.
Even though you go to so many places! That’s such a shame.
Ryo: We often have a few shows in a row, and even when we get a whole day off, it’s filled up with travelling to the next country! That’s the not-so-great side of touring.
At least you seem to be enjoying the shows! And it is of course your ‘MONSTER’ tour! Which are your favourite tracks from MONSTER to play live and why?
Ryo: Well, even when we were recording the album, there was one song that felt like the core, and that was ‘Drain’. This song has a video too, so it’s a favourite of ours.
There is a strong vibe of both electronic and rock music in your latest releases, but what were your main inspirations for writing the album MONSTER?
Ryo: We have very wide ranging interests, but we wanted to make something that was really ours. We are listening to a lot of electronic music and metalcore, so they show up a lot. I also like dubstep!
And how about the LIVE BEST album?
Ryo: This one is like a concert track list, it’s made up of the songs we think of as a good introduction to Girugamesh, even for someone who knows nothing about the band.
And after tonight, you will be almost done with the tour promoting these albums! What have you missed most about Japan? There must be some big culture changes throughout Europe!
Ryo: There are some very big changes in every country. Our vocalist Satoshi often protects his voice by wearing a face mask, but that means something different in other countries. When we tried to go into a restaurant yesterday, a man came over and said, ‘(in English) Hey! Hey you! What’s up?!’ and told him to take it off before coming in, like we’re robbers or something! I guess in the UK you probably only use products like masks or nasal tape at home, but in Japan it’s very normal to wear these outside, especially in flu season. Oh, and we also wear masks in Japan when we don’t have any makeup on!
And how about the language barrier? Have you picked up any more English or other foreign words?
Ryo: Not so much English, but I’ve been learning some German. Hmm…for English?
ShuU: That’s kind of you!
Ah, that’s very polite English!
Ryo: Oh, and, ‘(in English) Practice makes perfect’. But we’re still learning! We mix up ‘better’ and ‘butter’…and ‘never’ comes out ‘neba’. It’s a difficult language!
We have plenty of odd pronunciations in English, don’t worry! But once you are back on native ground, will be you be working on new material? If so, can you give us any sneaky ideas as to what to expect from Girugamesh’s upcoming releases?
Ryo: Of course! As soon as this tour is over we’ll be in the studio recording. We’ll be working on a new CD, and late this year we’ll be touring Japan again, so you can expect some new songs around then! And we’re hoping to come back to Europe next year too. But the next songs will be (in English) heavy heavy heavy! Probably more metalcore.
Sounds great! Finally, can I get a quick comment for the fans?
ShuU: We’re almost done, but all these shows have given us new motivation to work even harder overseas. We want people to see us one day as a band, not just as a ‘Japanese band’- we’re a band that makes music. Hopefully we can work the market and get some more fans over here, so we can look forward to our future concerts overseas even more.
Ryo: Actually, after talking about MONSTER, I want to explain about what happened after GO, our last album. We were trying to break into a mainstream market as we said, but our management encouraged us to write more pop-style material. This was a big mistake for us, as the album didn’t sell as well and actually caused us some trouble. We should have stuck to what we wanted, and we took our break afterwards to try and work it out. With our new manager, we have been allowed to produce our music as we want it to be, and all of the overseas support for MONSTER has helped me to keep writing.
Words by Lauren du Plessis