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Kalafina Vital Stats
Yuki Kajiura - Songwriter Keiko Kubota - Vocalist Wakana Ootaki - Vocalist Hikaru - Vocalist Kalafina song sample |
Kalafina Interview
In 2007 the talented songwriter Yuki Kajiura brought together three female singers to form the vocal group, Kalafina. They've recorded several
successful singles, including the theme song for the anime series "The Garden of Sinners" (Kara no Kyoukai). On March 4th, 2009, they released
their first full album, Seventh Heaven.
Kalafina will be making their US debut from May 22nd to the 24th at the Anime Boston 2009 at the Hynes Convention Center. Be sure to check them out. On May 8th, 2009 the members of Kalafina were kind enough to give an interview to Andrew from J-Pop World. All photos courtesy of Kalafina.
Let's start with your latest news. On March 4th Kalafina released their first full album, "Seventh Heaven". How long had you been working on the music and how would you describe its musical style? Yuki Kajiura: The 1st single was written during the fall in 2007, then the 2nd, 3rd single came along, so it took about a year and a half. It's hard to describe what the musical style is. I guess all I could say is that it's "Kalafina Style". The song Seventh Heaven was the theme song to The Garden of Sinners (Kara no Kyoukai). Can you tell us more about your involvement in that anime film series? YUKI: First of all, I became in charge of the soundtrack for the film, and then I started to produce all the theme songs with this new project "Kalafina". Can you tell us about the song Oblivious? What's the story behind it? YUKI: I'll leave that up to your imagination. I think that the interpretation could vary from person to person, so whatever you felt, that's the truth to this song. Which songs on the album are your favorites to perform live? WAKANA: Love come down, because we could all dance to it! KEIKO: Ongaku (music). HIKARU: ARIA. The combination of the fantastic chorus and the subtle, yet strong melody would feel even more beautiful during our live performance. Can you describe what the recording sessions were like? YUKI: First we'd record the melody part, and then we would add the chorus on top. Sometimes the chorus would change during our overdubbing process. You also released the group's latest single "Lacrimosa", on March 4th. Can you tell us about the songs Lacrimosa and Gloria? YUKI: Lacrimosa was the ending theme for the anime series "Kuroshitsuji" (Black Butler), and since the series had some religious elements to it, I interpreted that view into my music. I wanted this song to have a strong energy to live even inside sadness. Gloria is about a very happy couple who has now decided to live together. But some people have pointed out that it doesn't sound happy because of the sad melody line (laughs). WAKANA: Lacrimosa is a song about the passionate shouting spirit. It's got a clear contrast, and it could sound either "calm" or in "motion". Gloria is about the silent sorrow, and also the passion deep inside the heart. KEIKO: I fell in love with Lacrimosa when I first heard it! I remember that the melody line smoothly soaked in. It was the first time to sing so strongly with Wakana, so that was a very fresh feeling for me. And Gloria is actually perhaps my favorite song. I've always enjoyed listening to simple, acoustic songs, like piano & vocals, or acoustic guitar & vocals. But when it comes to performing, I like to sing more of energetic, dynamic songs (laughs). HIKARU: If Lacrimosa is the passionate red, Gloria is the silent blue. But I feel like both songs share a purple partial as well. How would you compare Lacrimosa's sound and feel to the other songs on your album? YUKIi: I think the lyrics are especially influenced from the animation. WAKANA: It's an intense song with even more of a fantasy, classical vibe. I felt that this song too, faithfully reproduced the original anime feel/image. KEIKO: I instinctively felt that Lacrimosa has a strong sense of the Medieval European feel! HIKARU: I sang this song with a little touch of spirituality compare to the other songs. From May 22nd to the 24th you will be attending Anime Boston 2009 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. How did you get involved with them? YUKI: It was a recommendation from the record company. What can fans who attend expect to see? YUKI: There is a different attraction from the recorded overdubbed chorus, to an actual live chorus work, so I hope you enjoy their live performance. WAKANA: Visually, the driving live performance, and our individual characteristics. Musically, our 3-part chorus and the intricate melody. KEIKO: The gap between the image of our voice and our actual voice (laughs). I hope you could enjoy our music live! HIKARU: I hope that you could enjoy our "live feel". Will this be your first time as a group traveling overseas together? YUKI: Yes, it's the first time. What do you think of the fascination so many people around the world have for Japanese animation and music? YUKI: Animation is still a young culture in Japan, so I feel that there are many creators that have a very free mind with an adventurous spirit. Perhaps that might be why it's getting the support from the young people overseas. WAKANA: I think it's great! I personally love animation and manga, so I'm simply happy to see our culture being accepted outside of Japan as well. KEIKO: I feel simply happy! We wouldn't be able to go to Boston if it wasn't for that, and I really thank all the anime music fans all over the world. Do you have a final message to all your fans? YUKI: It's our first overseas performance as Kalafina. The members seems to be all excited already, so I hope we could all have a great time together. WAKANA: I'm nervous to perform abroad for the first time, but I'll be looking forward to see you all! I hope you could feel and enjoy our music with us! KEIKO: I'm very excited to meet you all! I love you all~ HIKARU: Thank you so much for all your support. I'm already excited for Anime Boston, and I hope to enjoy with you all!
For more info checkout Kalafina's official site. Leave your comments about this interview and read what others had to say at the following link: Interview Comments |