Re:plica was created in May
2012 as J-rock cover band; they first met thanks to a tangled web of
friendships and formed a group united by their passion for Japanese music. The
band members spent a lot of time making covers of their
favourite songs from different bands, such as d’EspairsRay,
Girugamesh, Ayumi Hamasaki, the Gazette etc., but feeling the need to express
their own feelings, they began to create their own songs. This effort let to
the development of their first track: Double Call.
It would be another year, a lot of changes in the line-up, and even more perseverance, before the band could finish the demo project, and release their first demo, entitled: “:The Chains From The Core”.
It would be another year, a lot of changes in the line-up, and even more perseverance, before the band could finish the demo project, and release their first demo, entitled: “:The Chains From The Core”.
Please introduce yourselves for those who don’t know
you yet. What is your function in the band?
Ikki: Voice
Makkuro: Guitar and voice
Hisashi: Bass
Tamotsu: Drums
Ikki: Voice
Makkuro: Guitar and voice
Hisashi: Bass
Tamotsu: Drums
Why did you choose this band name? Does it have a
special meaning?
Makkuro: Our band was originally called “ZeroDome”, but that project was abandoned.
Hisashi: Yes. Later we decided to restart the project and, in order to differentiate the two bands, we called the new one “Replica Group”, and the name stuck, but we added the colon (“:”) as a tribute to the song by Due le Quartz.
Makkuro: Our band was originally called “ZeroDome”, but that project was abandoned.
Hisashi: Yes. Later we decided to restart the project and, in order to differentiate the two bands, we called the new one “Replica Group”, and the name stuck, but we added the colon (“:”) as a tribute to the song by Due le Quartz.
How did you start your music careers?
Hisashi: For me, I started to make music mostly because I wanted to affect people personally through my music.
Makkuro: When I was little, I was one of the fastest sprinters in Italy. 5 years ago or so, after an injury, I decided to stop running. I didn’t know what to do next, until one night I saw a friend of mine’s band performing. The next day I bought my first guitar!
Ikki: For me the role of my family was essential, as almost all of them play an instrument! I was also really driven to make my voice heard.
Tamotsu: Everything started when I listened to Slipknot for the first time. Joey Jordison became my idol immediately. Every time I listen to one of their songs, I am enchanted and fascinated by his way of playing. And that’s way I started doing it too!
Hisashi: For me, I started to make music mostly because I wanted to affect people personally through my music.
Makkuro: When I was little, I was one of the fastest sprinters in Italy. 5 years ago or so, after an injury, I decided to stop running. I didn’t know what to do next, until one night I saw a friend of mine’s band performing. The next day I bought my first guitar!
Ikki: For me the role of my family was essential, as almost all of them play an instrument! I was also really driven to make my voice heard.
Tamotsu: Everything started when I listened to Slipknot for the first time. Joey Jordison became my idol immediately. Every time I listen to one of their songs, I am enchanted and fascinated by his way of playing. And that’s way I started doing it too!
Which are your musical influences?
Ikki: Actually, each one of us listen to very different musical genres and I think that we complete each other because of that. With Jrock – Visual Kei, we jump from bands such as Crossfaith to Luna Sea, or from d’EspairsRay to One Ok Rock.
Hisashi: And it’s also the same thing regarding bands from other countries. Tamo comes from Metal and Nu-metal background, Makku from Electronicore, Ikki has listened a lot to Classic Rock and Californian Punk Rock, while I was used to listen to Glam before switching to Visual Kei.
Ikki: Actually, each one of us listen to very different musical genres and I think that we complete each other because of that. With Jrock – Visual Kei, we jump from bands such as Crossfaith to Luna Sea, or from d’EspairsRay to One Ok Rock.
Hisashi: And it’s also the same thing regarding bands from other countries. Tamo comes from Metal and Nu-metal background, Makku from Electronicore, Ikki has listened a lot to Classic Rock and Californian Punk Rock, while I was used to listen to Glam before switching to Visual Kei.
Have you had any critical moments during the making of
your project?
Ikki: Yes, plenty! (laughs)
Makkuro: The first hurdle we had to overcome was the transition from a cover band to creating our own songs, because it required much more work and time that not every member of the first line up was able to give. For this reason they ended up leaving the band and we had to find a way to replace them.
Hisashi: And this led to other problems, namely finding a new singer, which took us almost a year. As we’ve mentioned, our band is pretty atypical in the Italian music scene (and in general!), so finding a singer that would work for our genre and our style was definitely not easy.
Tamotsu: Until I joined the band and replaced Ikki on drums!
Ikki: Exactly! Tamo’s arrival was really fortunate because it let me change my role in the band and become the singer! And that is how our group got to where we are now.
Ikki: Yes, plenty! (laughs)
Makkuro: The first hurdle we had to overcome was the transition from a cover band to creating our own songs, because it required much more work and time that not every member of the first line up was able to give. For this reason they ended up leaving the band and we had to find a way to replace them.
Hisashi: And this led to other problems, namely finding a new singer, which took us almost a year. As we’ve mentioned, our band is pretty atypical in the Italian music scene (and in general!), so finding a singer that would work for our genre and our style was definitely not easy.
Tamotsu: Until I joined the band and replaced Ikki on drums!
Ikki: Exactly! Tamo’s arrival was really fortunate because it let me change my role in the band and become the singer! And that is how our group got to where we are now.
Your songs “LAST” and
“DOUBLE CALL” are available on Soundcloud and on your You Tube Channel. Could
you please tell us something about your music? What are you trying to express
with your songs?
Ikki: Well, we see our music as a way to break free from the dissatisfaction and the loneliness of everyday life, through dancing and singing your heart out, for example. We aim to create songs which have this effect on those who listen to them.
Tamotsu: Our message is that you need to face your problems with your head held high and without losing your self-assurance. We believe that through instruments we can share much more than you can imagine.
Ikki: Well, we see our music as a way to break free from the dissatisfaction and the loneliness of everyday life, through dancing and singing your heart out, for example. We aim to create songs which have this effect on those who listen to them.
Tamotsu: Our message is that you need to face your problems with your head held high and without losing your self-assurance. We believe that through instruments we can share much more than you can imagine.
How do you create your
songs? Do all of you contribute to the composition?
Ikki: We would say so. The songs are mainly born from our personal experiences and then Makku takes the ideas and works on the songs.
Makkuro: I manage the making of the tracks from their first draft until their completion, but my bandmates support me a lot in this process.
Hisashi: As for the lyrics, I usually propose a concept which Ikki then reworks.
Ikki: We would say so. The songs are mainly born from our personal experiences and then Makku takes the ideas and works on the songs.
Makkuro: I manage the making of the tracks from their first draft until their completion, but my bandmates support me a lot in this process.
Hisashi: As for the lyrics, I usually propose a concept which Ikki then reworks.
What
motivated you to sing in English? Would ever consider writing something in
Italian?
Ikki: Well, we decided to use English because we want to make our songs clear and accessible to everyone in the world.
Makkuro: But we are working on some collaborations that could involve other languages, but we can’t reveal them quite yet!! – laughs.
Ikki: Well, we decided to use English because we want to make our songs clear and accessible to everyone in the world.
Makkuro: But we are working on some collaborations that could involve other languages, but we can’t reveal them quite yet!! – laughs.
Tell
us what your expectations are for the future.
Hisashi: A lot of work, definitely. And a lot of satisfaction.
Ikki: Lots of effort. But in a good way: work, work and work more to give and receive the best. I think that the best future you can imagine is to have all of your dreams become true… And this requires a lot of effort and hard work!
Hisashi: A lot of work, definitely. And a lot of satisfaction.
Ikki: Lots of effort. But in a good way: work, work and work more to give and receive the best. I think that the best future you can imagine is to have all of your dreams become true… And this requires a lot of effort and hard work!
Do
you have anything else you’d like to say to your fans?
First of all we’d like to say hi to everyone that contacts us everyday, and are interested in our work and have supported us even in the times when we had almost disappeared. Overall, thanks to you all for sticking with us even if things seemed lost, and helping us find the motivation to continue to follow our dreams. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts to all of our Re:plicants!
First of all we’d like to say hi to everyone that contacts us everyday, and are interested in our work and have supported us even in the times when we had almost disappeared. Overall, thanks to you all for sticking with us even if things seemed lost, and helping us find the motivation to continue to follow our dreams. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts to all of our Re:plicants!
Offiicial Link
Re:plica Official Facebook
Re:plica Official Twitter
Re:plica Official Youtube Channel
Re:plica Official SoundCloud
We thank the band for the release of this interview!
Versione Italiana: replica-nasce-una-nuova-band-visual-kei
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