London-based Japanese electronic metal artist Esprit D’Air has today released their latest single and visual accompaniment for “The Abyss” featuring Ryo Kinoshita of Crystal Lake. The track is taken from their upcoming album ‘Oceans‘, which will be out on Friday, February 18, and additionally features appearances by Ben Christo from gothic rock legends The Sisters Of Mercy and remixes by Heavygrinder and Shirobon. Speaking on “The Abyss“, Kai shared:
“Working with Ryo was incredibly exciting. I love his powerful vocals and what he does in his band Crystal Lake, so it is truly an honor to have him on my album.”
How was your birthday?
I had the best birthday of my life! We had an album launch performing at one of my favorite venues in London—the O2 Academy Islington, where I personally saw a lot of my heroes play. A lot of fans gave me gifts—drawings, cake, cards, and handmade jewelry. It was our first show in three years, and the first time I saw my band in so long, so I was really happy.
You are a Japanese electronic rock metal solo project. What is your upbringing?
I spent most of my life in London. Since it’s a multicultural city, I have a lot of friends from Japan here too, and it is where I met all my band members and Esprit D’Air was formed.
You first discovered metal music with the help of Iron Maiden. Did you see yourself making music for a living?
I didn’t really see myself making music for living, but I also could not imagine doing anything else. I think if I did anything else or chose an easier path, I wouldn’t be happy. Discovering” The Number of the Beast” album surely changed my life, and they remain one of my favorite bands.
How did you start to write music?
It took me a couple of years to finally gain the confidence to start writing. In my teens, I started to compose and write and I made a lot of draft recordings and notations. I’d write every part of the song including all instruments. I kept these to myself for a long time, until I finally took the courage to send them to other musicians and friends. To my surprise, they said they sounded really good, and I was like, “really?!”. One of those songs was ‘Shzuku’, which we released with Esprit D’Air in an EP in 2010 and as a re-recorded single in 2012. Another was ‘Reminisce’, which we released in our debut album, ‘Constellations’. I thought they were really bad songs, but looking back, I was just very hard on myself, and they were actually good songs. ‘Shizuku’ ended up being the first Japanese song in the game Rock Band 3, and ‘Reminisce’ was in an album that ended up winning an award judged by Slayer, Sepultura, and Amy Lee. The hardest part about composition and songwriting is having the confidence to start doing it and showing it to the world.
At 15, your mom bought you your first guitar, an Epiphone Les Paul. Do you still have it?
Unfortunately, I don’t. I regret giving it away, but I don’t really play Les Paul guitars anymore.
What is your guitar of choice now? Year, make, and model?
I use a Schecter Omen Extreme-6 guitar. Ocean Blue Burst, of course! I also own an Ibanez S-series model. Those are pretty much the only two guitars I have now.
Describe your music.
Mostly, it’s metal infused with electronic elements, but it must always have a melody. I am a sucker for good melodies. I always like to change things up, so my description of my music will always change.
What was your first performance like?
My first performance was in front of eight people. When we first started out with Esprit D’Air, we kept it quiet. I also didn’t really want people there (laughs).
What makes a good songwriter or composer?
That’s definitely a subjective question. To me, it’s people who could authentically be themselves and find their own sound.
What is the process of writing your music?
I start with the first idea I have in my head, whether that’s a melody, a guitar riff, a bassline, or a drum groove. I start creating it in layers, and more layers until I feel I have something good. I like to draft a lot of ideas and go with what really sticks or feel has potential for a really good track. Normally, I produce and record all of the instruments and that’s everything you hear on the record. Then for live shows, I get the live band to learn it!
How is it to release something new every 6 weeks?
I have never been more productive in my life, but also never been so stressed in my life! It was a very bittersweet thing to do, but I am glad I did it. Once I finished a song, I already had to think about recording the next one within two weeks, whilst simultaneously getting artwork and a video done for it while the track gets mixed and mastered. It was a non-stop journey, working all year round and sticking to a tight schedule.
Tell me about your new single and video “Dead Zone”. How was it to work with Ben Christo on the single?
Back in September, I asked Ben if I were to produce a track, whether he’d be interested in collaborating with me to create the lyrics. I have always admired his way with songwriting and words, so I trusted him to deliver something really meaningful. He was really enthusiastic about working with me on it, and I was really glad he was happy to! As soon as he said yes, I quickly put together a demo producing all the instruments and elements, with his dark style in mind. I knew that if we were to work together, it had to be thematically dark. Composition-wise, it was quite simple, but I thought it was dynamically strong with the soft, atmospheric sections and an energetic chorus.
When I sent it to him, Ben was really inspired, and within a month, we had the finished song – his first ideas turned out to be the final ideas, and we didn’t need to alter anything with the music or the lyrics and melodies. The collaboration just fit like a perfect puzzle piece, and it made us both think, “why didn’t we work together before?!”.
On your newly released album ‘Oceans’, why are there so many tracks?
I guess I kept myself very busy during the pandemic and with the people I collaborated with. I ended up producing more tracks than I intended to for the album, but at the same time, I put a lot of thought into each track, making them unique in their own way.
What is your favorite track on ‘Oceans’?
That’s a tough question. A lot of the tracks mean a lot to me in many different ways.
You have over half a million listeners on streaming platforms. How do you feel streaming has helped your career?
It has helped a lot! People can say what they want about Spotify, but it is where I have had a lot of success having my music being recommended on their algorithmic playlists like Discover Weekly as well as thousands of other playlists on there.
Do you prefer digital vs. vinyl?
I love vinyl and I have my own collection. Sonically, they both have their advantages and disadvantages, but all my work is done digitally. I don’t really have an answer for this.
What song from the past is on your mind right now? Moreover, what does that song mean to you?
I relapsed into listening to Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory album, and I guess the opening track “Papercut” comes to mind. I was thinking about how that album still holds up, even today, and how forward-thinking they were to release something like that in the year 2000. It still sounds like it could be a record released today!
If “Video Killed the Radio Star”, do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid-19 virus is going to affect the music business in the future?
It has definitely destroyed live music and it has already affected the music industry in such a big way. Live music is still making a comeback from it and working on recovering from it. I see venues closing down, as well as tours postponing every month. It is still going to take some time for the world to recover from it, and I hope people will soon feel safe and excited to have live music return properly.
Recently the virus has come back with the Delta outbreak, then Omicron, which has caused many people in the industry to worry about the future of live music. How would you like live shows to be held to keep both you and fans safe?
Nobody knows what the future is for live music with the outbreak. It’s unpredictable. I see a lot of bands are still carrying on with tours, and some bands are postponing or cancelling them completely. I guess we can only take the same precautions to keep ourselves safe.
Your music is the first Japanese music on the popular video game Rock Band. With so many Japanese bands out there, why do you think it took them so long to get Japanese music on it? I am glad you were the first.
I guess simply because our music is mostly not in English. I think the popularity of bands like Babymetal, as well as Japanese pop culture has generally helped over time, but I also like to think that Esprit D’Air is kind of pioneering a movement to help bridge the gap in a smaller way. We will continue to stick to what we do, despite the language barrier, and I think something is working there.
Do you think that Covid-19 somehow could have been a plus to an artist’s career? What have you been doing with your time during lockdown?
For me, I got to focus a lot in the digital world. I spent all my time working on new songs from home and finishing my album, so I guess I used that to my advantage. It also opened up an opportunity for us to perform a livestream concert for the first time. Without Covid-19, no artist would have really thought about that. I was able to perform in front of people all over the world where I haven’t been able to tour in, so it was also their first chance to see us.
How do you stay healthy during the lockdown?
Honestly, I don’t think I did. I had a lot of health issues from overworking, and I have been in hospital a few times because of it. I encourage people to take breaks, exercise when they can, and of course eat healthy. My mental health definitely wasn’t there, but I persisted and kept going.
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
I rediscovered my love for gaming! I spent a lot of time playing the Final Fantasy series, including the remake of Final Fantasy VII. I also rediscovered my love for cooking, particularly vegan food.
The show Star Trek introduced people to the holodeck: an immersive, realistic 3D holographic projection of a complete environment that you could interact with. Today, holograms are already being used in a variety of ways, such as medical systems, education, art, security, and defense. Performers like Tupac, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Buddy Holly, Ronnie James Dio, Marylin Monroe, and Whitney Houston have done it already. The band ABBA just announced that they will be doing a comeback together after nearly 40 years as holograms on their next tour (with the help of George Lucas). If the cost was down to the point you could do it also, would you be willing to do holographic concerts in our living room?
Yeah, sure, why not! I have been involved in some virtual reality projects myself, and we’ve had holographic screens used in some of our shows a long time ago, but never holograms made of ourselves. It was something I talked about back in 2016, but we never got the chance to explore it. Funding is obviously a big issue.
In the past, if a musician were to stop doing music they found a new career. For example, David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for six years, Dan Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) did voice-over work for SpongeBob SquarePants. If you couldn’t do music, what else would you like to be doing?
Yeah, I have always thought Dan Spitz was really cool for doing that. I couldn’t imagine not doing music because I have never really been good at anything else. It would have to be something creative. I enjoy design, and art. I could always be a streamer and play video games for a living too because I love to play games (laughs).
What (or where) is your happy place?
Iceland. It’s quiet and beautiful. Take me back!
Anything you would like to say in closing?
Eat healthy, and wash your hands!
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