Midori of LOVEBITES
Interview by Chris Woods
July 17, 2018
With their UK debut concert, LOVEBITES indisputably confirmed themselves as a force to be reckoned with, showcasing their significant talent, songwriting skills and undeniable high level of musicianship. And, if the raucous audience reception was anything to go by, LOVEBITES are on the path to make a real mark on the hard-to-impress Metal scene.
A busy few days for you – Hyper Japan and the Underworld Camden show. What were your experiences like for those days in the UK?
Midori: It was definitely busy – a full set live at The Underworld after two days of Hyper Japan. It was my first time performing overseas, as well as performing on three consecutive days, but it was fun, fulfilling and a wonderful day. My thoughts were that LOVEBITES’ ambition was to become known around the world from the start, and I am convinced that this was a wonderful first step. Throughout this tour, we were all able to grow together as a band.
What has the response been like?
Midori: The Underworld audience was amazing and the best of any venue we’ve played recently! Everyone cheered for us continuously – and notably at The Underworld, we saw lots of audience members singing along with us. I was delighted to realize that our music was already that well known in the UK. People from the music scene and industry representatives were also there, so I think we acquitted ourselves admirably.
How did it feel playing to a completely new audience at Hyper Japan?
Midori: A lot of people came to Hyper Japan encompassing all ages and genders. I’m sure, let alone the name LOVEBITES, I think it would be fair to say that many of the audience had probably never heard much metal music. Despite this, we had no apprehension – we felt straight away that although we can play pretty aggressively, people appreciated our music. I saw the entire audience enjoying our performance; personally I felt something awaken in myself.
How did you decide the set list for the Underworld show?
Midori: Our set list was essentially the album AWAKENING FROM ABYSS – released in October 2017 – per the order of the CD track list. This is the same as our Japanese tour, but I think it’s also the most popular set list, in that the feel of the album is best conveyed this way. Also, given it was the first tour after the debut, we also covered Halestorm’s “Love Bites (So Do I)” – the source of our band name – in the encore.
Any particular memories from the weekend you’d like to share?
Midori: Memorably, everyone visited Abbey Road prior to The Underworld show. After the rehearsal, it was already quite dark, but I hurriedly took a picture imitating the Beatles album cover. We also saw Abbey Road studios from the outside. I got a nice picture and it’s a good memory.
Japanese artists who have come to London to play live shows at the Underworld have since played even bigger live shows in the UK. Do you think LOVEBITES be playing again in the UK soon?
Of course I also want to play again soon in the UK! We’d love to play some metal festivals – give us a call! We’ll continue with our musical activities in earnest so we can invite you to see us on another live tour soon.
Please share any messages you have for your new British fans and everyone reading online…
Midori: “Hello everyone, it’s been great to meet you all!” And for everyone who’ll continue to support us, “Thank you!” LOVEBITES has a new record (Battle Against Damnation). I think we’d love to take the set on tour again in England and various other countries again this year. Please do come if you can make it to one of our future shows – we look forward to seeing you. And check out the new record… Thank you very much for reading to the end! STAY METAL!!
LOVEBITES will be playing two Europe dates this summer – get heavy with them at Wacken Open Air on August 4, 2018 and Bloodstock Open Air on August 10, 2018.
Thanks to Tom and the JPU Records team, Midori from LOVEBITES and JVC / Victor Entertainment
Midori’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midoritatematsu/
LOVEBITES website: http://lovebites.jp/
LOVEBITES twitter: https://twitter.com/info_lovebites
LOVEBITES on JPU Records: http://www.jpurecords.com/artists/lovebites
