INTERVIEW ~ GPKISM: November 10, 2008
Arlington, VA
We got a chance to sit down with the members of GPKISM at their USA debut.
Please introduce yourselves and what part you play.
GPK: Hi, I am GPK, vocalist of GPKISM.
Kiwamu: I am Kiwamu, I play guitar.
What is the concept of GPKISM?
GPK: The concept of GPKISM, it revolves around the exploration of love. I wanted to use the baroque essence of absolute control, aboslute poetry, to express that idea.
GPKISM has already been able to perform in Japan, Australia, and Costa Rica, and now here in the USA. Ken, did you ever think you would be able to achieve this when you began your musical career?
GPK: I never thought that I could ever have the opportunity to play in so many countries. Due to such high demand, I was ready to focus and try my best for this project.
Have you noticed any differences in audiences' reactions in the different countries?
GPK: The reaction is tremendous. The fans were quite excited during our concert, and I'm very grateful for that.
What was your favorite place to perform? Why?
GPK: I believe this, here in the states, during Neko-con, we had a very good stage and sound system, and the fans were all very very good. I enjoyed it a lot.
Kiwamu: In Australia, the show was very nice.
What were your expectations for this performance?
GPK: I really just wanted to do my best, and give all I have. I don't really have many expectations...just trying to focus on what I can do, and just go for it.
What are your impressions so far?
GPK: I think so far, people are starting to notice our music, and our unique style. I reckon it is essential to move on to the next step and experiment with different sounds. Always trying new things, instead of just falling into some other style.
GPK stands for Gothic Prince Ken; what is "Goth" to you?
GPK: Goth is like a moth. It would try to kill itself when it sees the light! That's what Goth is!
Are you saying Goth is a bug?
GPK: Yeah, kind of like that.
Ken, what made you decide to work with a Japanese label rather than an Australian one?
GPK: Well....mm, tough question! I guess it is the opportunity that I have rather than what I can choose from. I believe that in Australia, there is obviously limiations of what I can do. It is quite hard to achieve success in Australia because there is a tremendous amount of Tall Poppy Syndrome. Anything you try to do, people will try to bring you down. It's not a very healthy scene at all.
(note: Tall Poppy Syndrome is as Ken says; basically it is a social attitude where people criticize others if they rise above the masses socially, economically, or in this case, it would be musically)
What sort of difficulties do you face working a music project that is based in two different countries?
GPK: Well, sometimes...the internet is not a very trustworthy tool to use. I just try to do as much as I can, and then try to focus on just my work rather than spending a lot of time expressing what I want to do to Kiwamu. Basically, I finish everything, and then send it to him to get his opinions.
Kiwamu: There are many differences in ways to make things. Of course there are many problems because of schedule. But he lives in my appartment now, so it'll be better than last time. So the works will be better because of good discussion.
Kiwamu, how is working with GPKism different from your work with BLOOD, or any other projects you've done?
Kiwamu: Each project has it's style, but I learned very much here on productivities, so I can put help and advice to each project. Each project needs some help and advice about something, so I want to help them in each way.
Ryonai from Blam Honey is a keyboardist for your live shows. How did you get involved with him?
Kiwamu: Last year I found him on mixi, and I sometimes emailed him, and he replied to me. He has interest in my works, so he wanted to work with me, and I had his past works, so I had much interest in his new project. So, I decided to offer the live member for GPKISM. If he is on the stage with us, it was very gorgeous. He will not play keyboarding, but his costume and his character is very interesting. when we had first live show, he asked me about five minutes talking on the stage...it was very interesting.
GPK: Well, I actually met Ryonai on MySpace, too. And I've known his work from years ago. I am very grateful and honored that he participated in GPKISM's activities.
Kiwamu, originally your record label was called "cure," but has been changed to "Darkest Labyrinth," which is also the title of the compilation CD you produced. Why did you make this change?
Kiwamu: I respected The Cure from UK, so I chose the name Cure. But, it is just a respective meaning. If I want to make and introduce more original ideas to bands, I should have an original name for the label. So BLOOD's vocalist, Fu-ki, made this word, Darkest Labyrinth, for the compilation album. I liked that very much, so I decided to change the label name and the compilation. I changed the event name in the USA and Europe.
Do you have plans to make another compilation CD like Darkest Labyrinth?
Kiwamu: When I released the first compilation CD, I heard many good Japanese bands in the dark scene. But dark bands are not numerous in Japan. So if I want to release the next compilation, I should wait one or two years. Maybe there will be more new dark bands in the scene.
What can we look forward to from you in the future, music-wise?
Kiwamu: I want to introduce good visual and good sounding bands to many fans. I have many connections in Europe, the USA, and Japan, so I hope every artist will be known by many fans.
GPK: I definitely have been putting much more time into composition. I wanted to sort of try and focus more into the technical side of things, as in, mixing and mastering. As most of you have noticed, the sound of GPKISM has changed dramatically from the first album, and I will be doing much better work in the near future. I wanted to try and experiment with other sounds, blending of different genres, and try to create new worlds that are unique to everyone.
What are your goals for the coming year?
GPK: I don't think I have any goals...just try to survive, I guess, in this dark time, where things may not seem to have a solution. Then again, I am quite faithful in terms of how we can try and survive and overcome our problems.
Have you ever been to Game Traders Robina? (Game Traders Robina is a large video game store in Australia.)
GPK: No, I actually haven't gone over there, but Roger keeps telling me that I have to go there. Sorry Roger!
Will you go there?
GPK: Yeah, I definitely look forward to going there to check it out.
Is Fosters really Australian for beer?
GPK: I don't drink beer, sorry!
Kiwamu: You should not drink any more because it causes troubles!
Do you have a final message for our readers?
GPK: Thank you very much for so much attention directed upon us, and we are very grateful for this interview, this opportunity to talk about our work. Thank you very much.
Kiwamu: We will release a new album in January, and we will do a US tour with BLOOD and DJ SiSeN. So see you at the US tour!
interview by Matt; photo copyright to Darkest Labyrinth
Thanks to GPKISM for taking the time to answer our questions; thanks to Tainted Reality and Neko-con for making this possible. Thank you also to DJ Sid for letting us borrow her recording equipment.
Also be sure to catch GPKISM on tour with BLOOD and DJ SiSeN on BLOOD's final USA tour, La Fin de la Journée.
January 28 - Mexico City, Mexico - Altavista
January 29 - Los Angeles, CA - ANIME JUNGLE -in store event-
January 30 - Los Angeles, CA - The Knitting Factory - 8pm
January 31 - San Antonio, TX - Sam's Burger Joint - 7pm
February 1 - Cambridge, MA - The Middle East - 7pm
February 2 - New York, NY - Santos Party House - 7pm
February 3 - Philadelphia, PA - Maido -in store event-
February 4 - Philadelphia, PA - Yakitori Boy
February 5 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean - 6:30pm
links
GPKISM Official Website
GPKISM Official MySpace
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