GANGLION – Interview (2012)

Interviews J-Rock

GANGLION
Interview by Adrienne (Shattered Tranquility)
May 28, 2012

GANGLION

GANGLION is a four member, all-girl band that formed in June of 2010, and started official activites in August of the same year. The members consist of oni on vocals and guitar, sagara on guitar, yui on bass, and vivi on drums. The band released their first mini-album, “Returns to you” in January of 2011. Later that year on August 10th, their first single, “REVERSE” came out. Their most recent single, “TWILIGHT” made its debut on February 22nd.

1. Please introduce each member.
oni: Hajimemashite! I’m oni, guitar & vocals. I also model for a magazine called KERA.

sagara: Hai, I’m sagara, the guitarist. I also sing backing chorus. I’m the one with crazy ideas, sometimes.

yui: I’m yui, I play the bass. My favorite food is namako-su (vinegar-marinated sea cucumber)… love it! It’s yummy! Also I like Gundam! My favorite is Char’s Gelgoog!

vivi: I’m vivi, on the drums. I like pink stuff. And…I like cats.

 

 

2. How would you describe GANGLION’s music? What is the band’s main concept?
oni: Let’s see… as for our genre, we’re a Girls’ Emotional Hard Rock Band. Until now, it seemed like Japanese girls’ bands are all either metal or pop. So we decided to do hard rock that’s in the middle.

sagara: We’re always saying that we want to do something cool, even though we’re girls! I like many genres, so why just pick one? We wanted to be a girls’ band in a new genre where we’d be the first ones ever!

yui: I hope that people will feel something new when they listen to GANGLION music. Even for the same song, the feeling can vary for different persons, and sometimes it’s very different from what we predicted. I’m really interested in how many different ways we can affect people.

vivi: We want to express our emotions without being stuck in one genre, or being considered just one type of band. As yui says, I think that it’s good for the listeners to empathize with different elements in our music.

 

 

3. What is each member’s favorite GANGLION song?
oni: I’m attached to all of them, but I especially like “Returns to you”. The lyrics express some of my deepest feelings. The same goes for “TWILIGHT”.

sagara: “Tsuioku” and “OVER THIS WALL”. We haven’t recorded “OVER THIS WALL” yet, but we’ve been playing it live, and the lyrics make the difference for me. Both songs carry a lot of emotion for me, so they bring out my most emotional performance!

yui: “Catch your way”, which is another new song. The melody line is beautiful, and it creates a great atmosphere, too!

vivi: “Heart Of Ripley” and “Catch your way” for me. I like them because of the heavy sound, and I can really dive into the world those songs create. I have a really strong connection to them, so it’s easy to play them live.

 

 

4. How do you think GANGLION will change in the future?
oni: I want to become a band that makes men and women think “Wow! This band is really cool!”

yui: Since women have our own unique coolness, I want to express that!

sagara: Each of us constantly absorb things from our outside lives and bring them into the band. Even we don’t know what’s coming in the future, I’m sure we’ll all keep bringing in new and unpredictable things, so it’s certain that we’ll keep changing. I’m looking forward to it!

vivi: I want to say “Me, too!” to what they’ve all said.

 

 

5. Why is fashion important for GANGLION members?
oni: For a long time, I’ve had the concept in my mind that fashion = music. Since I started to model, I feel like that even more. When we decide on the costumes, we all choose as we’re thinking about the image of the songs.

sagara: We’re always looking for new ways to be cool, and our fashion is the result. It’s one of the ways that we express ourselves!

yui: I’m the same way — I think that fashion is one of the best ways I can express myself, too! My feelings about life come out in my fashion and music!

vivi: Fashion is what gets me excited. Fashion makes it easier for me to connect to my feelings.

 

 

6. Please give a message to your fans from around the world.
oni: Truly thank you for always supporting us! GANGLION will keep moving forward with you together!

sagara: Please listen to GANGLION songs!! And please invite GANGLION to America–!!

yui: GANGLION is a band that keeps evolving! We won’t get boring, so follow us!

vivi: Your warm support helps us. We will come see you, so wait for us!

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