[clairebear]

Interview with the new membaz! :3


In the midst of Antic Cafe’s present Live Cafe Tour ‘o7-‘o8 ,“NYAPPY GO AROUND FEVER,” it has been half a year since the new members, takuya (G) and Yuuki (Key), joined and formed the five-member band.
Now, An Cafe is extending their reach from Visual-Kei into the J-Pop scene, not to mention an increase in the ranks of the Cafeccos!
With all of this we have the first appearance of takuya and Yuuki alone together and we will ask them about their thoughts on their changing half year, the original members, and the plans for next year’s new release.

-Half a year has passed since you both joined An Cafe. Has it been a revealing time for you?
takuya: Yes very revealing.
Yuuki: We haven’t been able to appreciate the seasons it’s been so busy.
takuya: Yeah but we have gotten used to the new environment. It definitely feels more like work then it has before.

- But you still don’t know what working in a professional band means right?
takuya: Yeah, I still don’t know what it feels like and stuff even though lately I have felt like a pro.
Yuuki: I have felt very tense about concerts and I hadn’t really thought to hard about it. But now I have become self-conscious especially when I think about how people are spending money to come see our show.
takuya: Also, lately the pressures I have felt have changed. The pressure has come from anticipation but as we continue, in order to climb higher I will have to work hard or else. I feel pressure to see things as a pro would.

-I see. Do you also have pressure Yuuki-kun?
Yuuki: Everyday I feel pressured...
takuya: Really?
Yuuki: Pressure comes in all shapes and sizes. At the very beginning when we joined, I was really afraid of the fan response. I was supposed to have a more “Visual” face. Then gradually pressures that stretched my musical abilities came along as well as pressures to entertain everyone at concerts. Even now, I feel different pressures in different situations.

- When you had these worries did you ever talk to each other about them?
Yuuki: Every now and then?
takuya: When it’s just the two of us we do talk.
Yuuki: We also talk about private issues like, ”Lately, you see...” that don’t concern the band.
takuya: We both joined at the same time and we are also the closest in age and sensibility.

- Before you joined you were not acquainted with the members of An Cafe?
Yuuki: That’s right, because we all came from different prefectures.

-Because you entered at the same time did you feel like rivals?
takuya: No, we didn’t have any rivalry...
Yuuki: Yup, none.

- Not even if the other one played a cool phrase of music and you thought, “Shit! I have to put my mind to it!” Anything like that?
takuya: Oh. I felt that. Yuuki-san has been playing the piano since he was young and he has a lot of skill. When we were copying down An Cafe’s old songs and I couldn’t catch a phrase there were many times when I would ask Yuuki-san for help. At times like that I definitely felt a sense of awe. Also when we were thinking up songs he had a very good melody and I thought that I couldn’t be careless.
Yuuki: Before I knew someone who was the same age as me and played the guitar and appreciated the complexity, but I met Takuya who could play really fast and I was surprised and thought “wah?” I was impatient from the start though.
takuya: Instead of calling us rivals, it was more like we encouraged each other to be better.

- That sounds like a very rewarding relationship. Then, I would like to ask you a few questions about Miku-kun, Kanon-kun and Teruki-kun who are not with us at the moment. Firstly, from your point of view, what kind of person is Teruki-kun?
takuya: He’s a very fine and caring person and he really supports us I think. He really feels like a kind older brother that I can rely on.
Yuuki: Yeah, He is a person with a lot of leadership. Also, he gives me advice like, “here you should do it like this.
takuya: Yeah, Teruki-san often says stuff like, “do it this way” about the keyboard. The keyboard holds the key to making a regular song into an An Cafe song I think. He often scolds Yuuki-san.

-Really!?
Yuuki: No... wait... Yes...

- hahaha. Let’s move on, How about Kanon-kun?
takuya: He takes everything at his own pace...I get the feeling of the living thing called “Kanon-san” He’s like Buddha, I feel calm when I’m with him.

- He doesn’t really say stuff like, “do it this way, do it that way”?
Yuuki: Not at all. Instead, I usually ask something like, “What about this part?” and he gives me his opinion, “wouldn’t it be better like this?”
takuya: I feel like he’s watching over us in a protective way.
Yuuki: Before I met Kanon-san I thought he had a cool and aloof image and he always had a snappy retort up his sleeve.
takuya: I thought he was really scary and he would do whatever he wanted. But when I met him in person he wasn’t like that at all.

- Have you ever been invited out to Akihabara by the Anime-figurine-loving Kanon-kun?
Yuuki: Ah, one time he asked me to go to an arcade with him.

- Hahaha. Then last, what about Miku-kun?
Yuuki: The first time I talked to him he seemed above all else very serious and focused but after that I thought he was normally a unique person.
takuya: Really? I thought he was unique from the beginning.
Yuuki: He was bright and unique and he could entrance people.
takuya: Yes he has an entrancing aura. He is a person that has a lot of charisma. Also, when Miku-san and Yuuki-san play video games in the studio he laughs, “kya hahaha” but as soon as he tells the staff that he is getting down to work he completely switches to work-mode.

- Eh? So Miku-kun is that sort of person?
takuya: People who can change that completely are pretty rare I think. I want to learn his trick. Also, Miku-san can talk about a variety of subjects.
Yuuki: Yes he’s got a lot of knowledge.

- He doesn’t just talk about music...
Yuuki: He talks about stuff like urban legends. It is fun to hear all his different stories.

- During this half year what are the things that have made you glad you joined An Cafe?
Yuuki: I think meeting the members of the band and the staff has made it worthwhile. Until now the people around me have mostly all been my age but now there are older and younger people that I can have interesting conversations with. Being able to meet these people has made me happy.
takuya: Same with me but I feel it the most right after a concert. I want to shake the hand of every fan I am so moved. They are the source of my support and whatever happens I always feel very grateful to them.

- Currently (the middle of November) you are in the middle of recording but what is your next song going to be like?
takuya: First of all the lyrics are really good.
Yuuki: Yeah, really good.
takuya: It’s a song about the scene of graduation.

- Once you listen to it you can’t stop?
takuya: That’s right. The lyrics will make you want to think back on your past
Yuuki: The students who are graduating can experience what it’s like and those who aren’t graduating can say farewell to the upper-classmen. We think everyone can empathize with this song.
takuya: I haven’t been able to listen to the final version yet though...
Yuuki: I heard it yesterday! It’s a pop song but it’s got a rock feeling it’s a very pretty and sparkly song.

- Oh! I’m looking forward to hearing it!
takuya: Since I haven’t heard the final version I am also looking forward to hearing it.
Yuuki: Yes everyone look forward to it.