Psycho le Cemu was invited as a guest to perform at Japan Expo in Paris, and we had the chance to interview them before their big European debut! The band also recently released their newest single, Oedo Tabigarasu, on May 25 of this year, so we asked them about it and they were even nice enough to talk a bit about their upcoming album as well!
Jrock veterans probably know about this band, but the younger generation might be wondering who Psycho le Cemu is, and it should not come as much of a surprise, for the band had been on hiatus for several years before re-uniting and continuing the band in 2015. But worry not! Let the band members themselves inform you of who they are!
Please introduce yourselves to readers who are not familiar with the concept of Psycho le Cemu.
DAISHI: Hi, I’m DAISHI, the singer of Psycho le Cemu.
LIDA: I’m LIDA on guitar.
SEEK: I’m the bassist, SEEK.
LIDA: I think our concept itself changes with each new release.
SEEK: In Japan we’re often called the “cosplay band”, but really our goal is to take inspiration from the worlds of anime and video games and through our costume design and incorporating elements of dance and drama on stage, and present it to the fans in a really unique experience.
Psycho le Cemu has been on hiatus for quite a while. How do you feel you have grown as musicians during this time?
DAISHI: I’m not sure if I’ve really changed much at all! [laughs]
SEEK: I think you’ve grown much deeper as a person. Of course you had a certain willpower before, but now you’re more mature and there’s more weight and consideration to everything you say [laughs]. As for me, I’m the oldest member of my new band [Mix Speaker’s,Inc.] but I think I held it together OK, right?
LIDA: To put it simply, I think I’m stronger than I was then [laughs]. But what we do, it’s not just playing the guitar, the singing and dancing really gets you to use your whole body. I was able to discover a new side of myself. And SEEK, you’ve learned some new basslines right? Before you just stuck to the root note! [laugher]
You guys have experimented a lot with different musical styles, like wagakki (traditional Japanese instruments), rap and electronic music. What’s your musical vision for the future?
DAISHI: I always want to try new things and find something that no one else is doing.
SEEK: Since the trends in music are always changing, it means there are a wide range of genres we can incorporate as a band. I also think it would be fun to try out some new instruments.
LIDA: Of course I want to incorporate the latest popular genres, but for once I want us to set a new trend! Or, maybe we can all sing together, or swap [instrumental] parts! [laughs]
You described yourselves as a “cosplay band”. What games and anime most inspire your costumes?
DAISHI: I always try to be aware of many things, so I regularly check what anime and games are popular in Japan.
LIDA: I’m interested not only in anime, but also in a variety of movies and comedy, so I bring all of this to Psycho le Cemu.
SEEK: In order to clearly define the members’ characters, we try to reflect Japanese anime and games in our color choices and costume design.
Would you say your costumes inspire your music, or does your music inspire your costumes?
SEEK: I think our costumes inspire the music. For example, if we have a very Japanese-style song, the costumes are also naturally inspired by traditional Japanese dress.
LIDA: Usually, before we determine what kind of costume to wear, we decide on the concept. We design the costumes based on that concept, and then the musical direction also follows in the same vein. Sometimes we also design costumes just to fit a certain song, so it works both ways.
DAISHI: Since the song excalibur (聖〜excalibur〜剣) was finished before we decided on our costumes, we designed them with the song in mind; for example, I wanted to have a sword. I think in our early days this was the general flow—first music, then costume.
You’re known for performing short skits during your live performances. What kind of skits do you like to act out, and why did you decide to do this?
SEEK: I think it’s an effective way of introducing our characters to the fans. Incorporating these little skits also helps to make a more enjoyable atmosphere where even members of the audience who aren’t fans of Psycho le Cemu can feel welcome. Because the comedy helps break the tension, I think it’s an indispensable part of who we are as Psycho le Cemu.
LIDA: It also serves to introduce the members and concept, and express our worldview.
Do you come up with the skits together, or is there a particular member who plans everything?
SEEK: Usually DAISHI comes up with an idea, and then the rest of us help flesh it out.
DAISHI: It’s a completely delusional world [laughter]. In particular I find it difficult to incorporate the comedy elements, especially on an international level. Really, when I’m thinking about a skit I just want people to enjoy it.
SEEK: Our home prefecture [which is Hyogo, in West Japan] has such a rich culture of comedy, it’s a part of our way of life, so I think that has an influence on our performance.
Do you ever forget part of your skits? How do you improvise in that situation?
LIDA: Because Psycho le Cemu’s skits are basically a kind of pantomime, I always just make movements that match the lines [laughter].
SEEK: Since we came back from hiatus, we have a professional writer who helps write our skits, so they’re getting more and more complicated. It’s so difficult to remember all of the movements, we have to have separate rehearsals for both the music and the acting. I made a mistake just recently in one of our performances [laughter]. But since these things are a kind of unique experience at the concert, we can all laugh about it together with the fans.
Many visual kei bands gradually lose their visual aesthetic over time, but you have retained your cosplay style throughout the years. What motivates you to keep dressing like this?
LIDA: To be honest, I just really enjoy it.
SEEK: Even we have a kind of scale. Comparing it to food, if the customer eats only meat, they will get full and also grow tired of it, but if you sometimes present them with fish, they will want to try that instead. But despite our variation in style, at our core we are always Psycho le Cemu.
LIDA: It’s not that we’re actively trying to retain a specific style, but rather that our costume is just part of what Psycho le Cemu is.
DAISHI: Even if we become old men, the thought that it would still be fun to perform in these costumes is what it means to be Psycho le Cemu.
So you have been invited as a special guest to JAPAN EXPO PARIS. What do you hope to accomplish during your performance here?
SEEK: Coming here is fulfilling a dream. We want to give 100% with all the experience we’ve gained over the years. I think the crowd will really enjoy it.
LIDA: Since this is our first performance in Europe, I hope it will lead to more shows here in the future.
DAISHI: I hope we can convey Psycho le Cemu’s unique worldview.
SEEK: We’ve been invited to many events before, and whenever we perform on stage it becomes the world of Psycho le Cemu. I hope the same thing will happen when we play abroad too.
How are you planning on creating an exciting show for fans?
SEEK: We want to keep the show as similar as possible to our performances back in Japan. That means incorporating a lot of different elements for the fans to enjoy. Usually we perform in Japanese, but this time we’ve tried to make the show understandable even for the audience here in France.
LIDA: We’re going to condense all the aspects of Psycho le Cemu like music, dance and acting into this one performance, so please look forward to it.
You recently released a very lively and upbeat single called “Oedo Tabigarasu”. What are you trying to express with this song?
LIDA: The theme for this song was “wa” (Japan), so we decided to use the synthesizer and drum machine to help present an Edo period world.
SEEK: The word “Oedo” is familiar to all Japanese people, but perhaps “tabigarasu” has a very unique nuance in Japanese (it implies a kind of wandering journey).
LIDA: I wonder what kind of impression it would give if we translated “tabigarasu” into French…
SEEK: As a band we’ve had quite a journey over the years ourselves, so I think we wrote this song with our own experiences in mind.
Your recent singles “Akiramenai Days” and “Oedo Tabigarasu” have both been received very well by fans all over the world. Now there’s news of an album, which has everyone really excited! Can you tell us anything about it?
SEEK: This time we’re not only recording new material but also re-recording some old favourites, so I think this album will be a great way to get a feel for the history of Psycho le Cemu.
LIDA: We’re making an album that both old and new fans of Psycho le Cemu can enjoy.
I think it’s difficult to really understand us without listening to this album. There’s a variety of different genres but I hope fans can feel that the album as a whole represents Psycho le Cemu.
Are you planning on performing outside Japan more in the future?
SEEK: I want to visit many different countries and meet all kinds of different people. At least once, I want to go to as many places as possible.
What is your current goal as a band?
SEEK: In Japan, the Budokan arena is a kind of sacred place for rock bands—it’s where the Beatles first played, and many famous artists have performed there since. We would love to hold a solo performance there one day. I hope we can have support from our foreign fans too when that time comes.
So this is your first time in Europe, right? What do you want to see here?
DAISHI: I’m looking forward to the atmosphere when people of a different country and culture see us for the first time.
SEEK: Yeah, I like seeing people’s reactions the first time they see us. I want to prove that being in a rock band is not just about looking cool.
Despite visual kei gaining a broader audience over the years, many fans have the impression that it’s dying out. How do you think the visual kei scene is in Japan now? For example, how is it compared to around the time you first started Psycho le Cemu?
SEEK: Well it’s been almost 20 years since then, and I think now the visual kei scene is firmly established in Japan. Because of this many Japanese visual kei bands have had the opportunity to perform overseas, and so even foreign fans now have more discretion to listen to particular bands that are to their taste. I think that this variety of choice means that as a single band it’s more difficult to garner attention. Just as we were asked to play here at Japan Expo in France, the places visual kei bands can perform these days is increasing exponentially, so I don’t think it would be fair to say that the scene is in decline. Even within the visual kei scene, Psycho le Cemu occupies a slightly unique niche, so I think there could be any number of possibilities for visual bands to reach a wider audience. We are working to try and make that kind of era a reality.
Finally, please send a message to all the fans at JROCKNEWS.
SEEK: We’re really pleased to be able to talk to our fans overseas through JROCKNEWS, but you’ve only seen us in photos and videos. I hope you can come and experience for yourselves the characters and performance of Psycho le Cemu.
That concludes our interview with Psycho le Cemu! If you’re in Paris these next few days, definitely try and go to Japan Expo and go to their live performance! Who knows, maybe they’ll become your new favorite band! Lastly, we would like to thank Takeshi Asai for giving us the great opportunity to interview Psycho le Cemu!
More info:
Psycho le Cemu official website
Psycho le Cemu in Japan Expo