A band I stumbled across during the Red Bull Live On The Road contest last spring caught my eye. A new band, just formed by the vocalist, SYOGO in 2012. That band was ICE ELEMENT.
Though young, they have already self-produced and released 1 single, 4 mini-albums and 1 full album, as well as a dvd of their Music Videos. The music video's themselves, are also produced by the band. Their desire to commit to their music evident by their consistency and growth.
Eager to share their music, the band aims to keep their Lives frequent, as well as their activities online via their YouTube channel. Their music is also available by mail order via their OHP!
Meet the members and read the interview after the break!
Vocals
Birthday: Jan 6th
Instrument Brand of Choice: LINE6
Favorite Colour: Green
Favorite Food: BBQ
Most Known For Saying: ICE ELEMENT is COOL
Guitar
Birthday: Mar 27th
Instrument Brand of Choice: PRS
Favorite Colour: Blue
Favorite Food: Hamburger
Bass
Birthday: June 8th
Instrument Brand of Choice: Lakeland
Favorite Colour: Black
Favorite Food: Chicken
Birthday: Mar 25th
Instrument Brand of Choice: Many...
Favorite Colour: Black
Favorite Food: Grilled Beef
It's been a very busy year for the guys of ICE ELEMENT. Though I initially spoke to SYOGO early 2014, the final pieces have come together and we were able to get this interview published! They have a new track coming up since we spoke, "アテナ(ATEME)" which you can check out through the link. Be sure to keep your eye on them!
Q. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. Would you please introduce yourself to those reading about you for the first time?
SYOGO: We're a band whose activities are based in Japan. Our genre puts a focus on melody, and its like a mix of screamo and rap. I think it's probably a genre that's unique to us.
Q. ICE ELEMENT is a very young band, started in 2012. How did you come together to form the band? Were any of you involved in prior projects?
SYOGO: I took advantage of the internet and used it to recruit members.
Q. How did you come up with the band name "ICE ELEMENT" and how does it relate to your music and style? How does the logo fit into this theme?
SYOGO: Well, I like the skateboard brand "ELEMENT" and since it sounds pretty nice, we added "ICE" onto it. There's really no special meaning to it. Same with our logo.
Q. It is my understanding that you produce all your own music as well as video for the band. SYOGO, you especially seem to have great creative influence. As an indie band, does this make it harder to get your music out to the listeners? Does this limit your production, or make it easier to have full creative freedom?
SYOGO: No matter the situation or circumstances, the people who we present ourselves as on stage do not change. We're constantly working towards a cool image.
Q. The band, as a motto has stated "to sell enough to continue the music" rather than "make music to make money", is it hard to stay true to this? In a highly competitive world, where costs are always rising, and new bands pop up every week, what makes ICE ELEMENT driven to that goal?
SYOGO: We don't really have an answer to that right now... We're simply doing what we "want to do" and what we think is "cool".
Q. Though a young band you have released 1 single, 4 mini-albums and 1 full album. Quite an impressive line-up. How do you feel your music has grown since your first release "WHITE ICE"? If you were to pick one release to introduce your band to a potential new fan, which would you pick and why?
SYOGO: Thank you very much. When we first started out, we were doing trendy music, but these days we're doing a thorough investigation of how to express the kind of music that we personally want to play.
Q. Though you latest release 'RESIST' is still relatively fresh off the press, what do you have in the works for ICE ELEMENT?
SYOGO: I'm not sure what exactly there is at this point, but we're continuing to make songs.
Q. You have expressed a desire to reach your music out to the world. What world music influences you, both as ICE ELEMENT and on a personal level? Who would you love to share a stage with?
SYOGO: All of our members have been influenced by bands such as LINKIN PARK and Periphery. As such, we'd like to perform together with those bands.
Q. Let's say an international fan won a trip to see you play live in Sapporo and they also got a tour of the city with the band, where would you take them and what would you eat?
SYOGO: In that way, I'd like to eat seafood in Sapporo. They have delicious crab♪
~Project: Lixx~
A HUGE thank you ICE ELEMENT: SYOGO, SYOTA, YU-SUKE and YU-YA for participating in this feature!
Be sure to check them out through their official links below.
