For more than five years XaaXaa has enthralled Japanese and foreign fans alike with its unique worldview, which is driven by pain and sadness. In its sixth year of activity, the band delivered three releases and will commemorate its sixth anniversary with a one-man live on December 3. But way before that celebration will happen, we caught up with the band to ask about its latest singles, Horror, and Ashita Hareruto Iina, and how COVID-19 has altered life on the stage.

: Vocalist Kazuki

: Guitarist Haru

: Bassist Reiya

: Drummer An

“I used to work at an udon place before but I couldn’t give up on my dream” —Haru

We’ve asked several visual kei CD stores in Japan about what they would recommend to foreigners. XaaXaa was the first name to pop up! We can also confirm that your music has been very popular with our readers overseas. Why do you think that is? What makes your music stand out?

Kazuki: That makes me really happy. As XaaXaa, our lyrics are written in Japanese with the utmost care, and we use a lot of melodies that have that Japanese flair to them, so I think that might be the reason.

Haru: I think the biggest reason might be that within visual kei, there aren’t many artists whose lyrics are entirely in Japanese. Also, I think it’s because our music, although it is hard rock, isn’t particularly “hard”.

Reiya: I’m honored. XaaXaa is a band that expresses our pure emotions through music, so it might be that people can feel that, I think.

An: I can’t say it’s this for certain but, maybe we stand out overseas because our music has a really strong Japanese flavor to it?

Were there ever any intentional actions taken to make your music more attractive to your overseas fans, or did it just happen to overlap?

Kazuki: So far, we’ve only been able to play in Taiwan but, we’ve had a lot of attention from people in other countries so I think it just happened that our audience has naturally grown.

Haru: I think it was unintentional. I feel like we’ve always said that we wouldn’t use foreign languages from the very beginning.

Reiya: It was pretty natural. We’re just making the music that we want to make after all.

An: It was natural. But there may or may not have been someone in the group who was conscious of it [laughs].

If you were to describe XaaXaa’s sound in a few words, how would you express it?

Kazuki: Painful and sad.

Haru: Music played by real people. A cluster of humanity.

Reiya: Sadness, tears, rain.

An: Passion, shedding tears, raw emotion, “a band”.

Can each of the members share the main reason which led you to become a musician? And specifically, the decision to join a visual kei band?

Kazuki: From the time I experienced the power of music—which can move people in only five minutes—I felt the beauty of that link between the visuals and music.

Haru: I greatly admired hide from X Japan, so I started playing music myself.

Actually, I used to work at an udon place before but I couldn’t give up on my dream so I made up my mind to become a visual kei musician.

Reiya: When I first heard Kuroyume, my eyes were opened to the world of rock music and from there I simply thought, with all my heart, that I wanted to be in a band. Since then, I listened to a lot of visual kei bands and got really into it.

An: I was really into baseball when I was younger but I ended up not being a regular member of the team. So when I was thinking about what else I could do, a friend of mine started playing guitar so I started down the path into bands and music.

When I’d go to see visual kei events in my hometown (Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture), there were so many people who attended and I was blown away, I thought “If I’m going to be in a band, it has to be visual kei!” and well, here I am.

XaaXaa

Aside from music, is there anything else you are passionate about in life?

Kazuki: Anime and movies, etc.

Haru: There’s a lot of areas I’m interested in at times—it’s really easy for me to get into things.

Reiya: I really love clothing, but in particular, I like motorcycle jackets.

An: I was recently reminded that I’m really fond of “moe” anime from the early 2000s.

It wasn’t all about fighting or romance at that time, there were a lot of titles that weren’t flashy but carefully written stories that showed the warmth of the soul.

“I was really nervous because people from all over the world were watching us, but I was also really happy to see the reactions” —An

You just released your new single Ashita Hareruto Iina (明日晴れるといいな) on June 7. Originally it was meant to be a live song for your tour Nihon Juudan Ame Furashi (日本縦断雨降らし). However, that tour was canceled due to the pandemic. Can you tell us why you wrote the song and its correlation to the tour?

Kazuki: Due to the coronavirus situation, we have been unable to perform live. Though we are unable to see a future where it’s possible right now, this song is our wish that we will be able to perform as we did before.

Haru: When we were going to perform a livestream show, we were wondering if there was something else we would be able to do. One thing led to another and we decided to perform a new song.

Reiya: Because of coronavirus, during this time when we aren’t really able to meet our fans as usual, we wanted to create a song to get across our thoughts and feelings to everyone, which this song does perfectly.

An: I think the song wouldn’t exist if the tour hadn’t been canceled in the first place, because it’s about wanting to see everyone soon even though so many shows have been canceled.

Earlier this year, you also released the single Horror. We understand it’s based on western horror movies. What inspired you to choose that concept?

An: Horror was Kazuki’s idea and I thought it might be interesting to do so, I just went with it! Please ask Kazuki [laughs]!

Kazuki: I love horror movies from other countries, and I thought it would make something interesting if we were able to combine that worldview with XaaXaa’s own worldview.

Haru: When it comes to the details, I don’t really remember but when we were making the song, our conversation was like “We haven’t made this kind of song in a while, let’s do that”, and so we did.

Reiya: One of the biggest reasons is probably that I’ve always liked horror movies.

Are you guys fans of horror movies yourself?

Kazuki: I love them.

Haru: I don’t like them at all.

Reiya: I love them!

An: I don’t really watch them, or can’t really watch them. Either way, I’m not very good at watching horror movies.

Do you have any recommendations? If none, how come?

Kazuki: Nightmare on Elm Street, One Missed Call.

Haru: They’re scary and long.

Reiya: Child’s Play

An: Peace comes first, and I’m simply a man who wants to smile, sorry.

Your first album came out in 2017, it’s been three years since then. Can we expect XaaXaa’s long-awaited second album anytime soon? What can we expect from it?

Kazuki: It’s a secret. Please look forward to it.

Haru: We would really like to release a new album.

Reiya: I wonder. Moving from our previous work to our next, how are we going to show the evolution of XaaXaa? We’ll see what happens.

An: We still haven’t decided the basics but, we really want to release something! The next one is going to be a deep album for sure!

As you know, traditional concerts have been postponed or canceled because of the coronavirus. However, many bands such as yours have been streaming concerts online—in empty venues. What’s it like performing on stage without an audience present?

Kazuki: I think there’s a lot we can convey in a performance, even without an audience present, but really, I enjoy performing while looking at the faces of those who have come to see us.

Haru: The feeling that you’re putting on a show really isn’t there without an audience, right? But in the current situation, if we can cheer for those who are watching us, even just a little, I’d be really happy.

Reiya: It’s definitely very different when there’s no audience in front of us, but we performed with all our hearts the same as we always do.

An: When we tried it, I definitely felt that with or without an audience, a show is a show. I was really nervous because people from all over the world were watching us, but I was also really happy to see the reactions from so many different people!

Was there anything you learned or realized through this experience of performing to a virtual audience?

Kazuki: I learned that it’s not just about a powerful performance, but also that expressing those finer details is more important.

Haru: I realized there are fans supporting us all over the world.

Reiya: I’ve become more aware of how I can express the music of XaaXaa beyond the screen.

An: Even if it’s just being able to say hello, I’d like to be able to communicate in a lot of different languages.

Besides concerts, how has the pandemic affected XaaXaa personally? What can we as fans do to help musicians such as yourselves in these difficult times?

Kazuki: I don’t really like wearing masks, so wearing one every day is stressing me out. If you buy our merchandise and CDs, I will continue to live.

Haru: As everyone can see, there are no shows or events, and I feel like I’ve lost my way of life.

Reiya: It’s the same overseas but, not being able to go and see people in different places countrywide within Japan is one of the biggest things.

Little by little, the situation will improve I think, and we’ll start to be able to go to more places, so for now please wait.

An: Times are a little dark right now and there’s not much we can do about it, but we’ve been rehearsing and creating new music, so I think we’ve managed to keep working and not get defeated by the coronavirus.

I’m happier than anything to know that our fans will always love our music.

Lastly, please send a final message to your overseas fans who are reading this right now.

Kazuki: I would love to tour a lot overseas too.

But first of all, we need to become more popular in Japan before we can do that, so please keep listening to our music and wait a little while longer.

Thank you for your support.

Haru: Right now, I don’t know exactly when we’ll be able to meet but, we’ll live on and certainly meet someday.

Reiya: Though XaaXaa hasn’t been able to perform overseas before now, once we’ve overcome the coronavirus, we most certainly will meet. We’ll keep sending out our songs, so please keep listening and wait for us.

An: I really want to go overseas, so when we’re able to, please let us hear your voices loud and clear! Thank you very much! I’m An from XaaXaa!

We would like to thank XaaXaa for taking the time out of its ever-busy schedule to answer our questions. We also send our thanks to the good folks at Chaotic Harmony for making this interview happen!

You can now find much of XaaXaa’s discography on Spotify. However, if you want your support to pack a bigger punch consider purchasing the band’s music from one of the store links below.