On September 4, VK Blanka released his new album, Equestrian club. In early 2024, he embarked on his first North American tour in nine cities across the United States and Canada. In July, he appeared at the largest anime convention in South America, Anime Friends 2024in Sao Paulo, Brazil, followed by his first Latin American tour, VK Blanka Latin America tour 2024in Santiago and Mexico City. This new album is his first in three years, released in the middle of this heavy overseas touring schedule. These overseas performances had a tremendous impact on him, which comes through in his music.
How was your first solo tour in Latin America?
It was so much fun. It's the other side of the world, so there was a whole different type of excitement. What really impressed was everyone shouting their love for my music. In Japan, for our shows, we try to create something of a journey, but the audience in Latin America has stepped up all the way, regardless of the flow of the show. That made me feel great.
So can you feel differences in the national characters of the countries through the reactions of the audience?
Right. In Japan, there is this feeling of humanity and spirituality. In Latin America, whether it's Brazil or Mexico, everyone is always so happy. With North American audiences, sometimes they go crazy, but sometimes they're cool and collected. All that arises in the performances. For the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia everyone shouts “Yes!” So in that way, it feels the same as North America, Latin America and Europe… except that no matter how energetic the show is, the audience sits back and watches it from those comfortable seats. Then when the show ends and you say “Thank you so much, Saudi Arabia!” they applaud you. In their culture, the way you watch a musical performance is the same as the way you watch a performance. I think these differences are really interesting. In that sense, playing in places outside of Japan is very exciting.
In countries like Saudi Arabia, clothes can't be too revealing, so I guess these cultural changes could also affect wardrobes.
Yes, I was advised of this. You can't wear shorts, so I wore full-length pants, despite the heat. But in the city, you'd see Europeans wearing shorts and jogging like it's no big deal (laughs). So there were people from countries who didn't care about such things, but because we're Japanese, we made sure to dress the “right” way. You'd see that gap, too, in a lot of places, which was interesting.
Have these experiences abroad brought about changes in your lifestyle?
Yes, they have changed the way I think. Naturally, I have become more interested in different countries and the experience has brought things like social situations, politics, economics and culture closer to home. For example, now if I see a demonstration taking place in France, I know where it is taking place and I think of the friends I have there who are my age. I wonder what they think of the situation. By performing abroad, you make many more such connections. I feel that, without even realizing it, I have become more “borderless”.
What is the meaning behind the title of your new album, Equestrian club?
I like to give my albums beautiful names, like “wizard” or “Devil” (laughs). So, in line with that, I was originally thinking of calling it “Knight”. But then I decided to give it a more musical title, so I got 'nightclub', which has a cool feel to it, and then I put a 'k' in front to make 'Knightclub', which would also have the double meaning of a legion of knights.
The first song, “Yomigaeri (with Noriyuki Makihara & ayaka),” has a spiritual feel. What is it?
This wasn't the kind of song I set out to write from the beginning, but it ended up being about this life and death thing. Ever since I was a grade school kid, I've been thinking about what it means to live and what it means to die. I feel that my perspective on life and death has been rounded out by the different experiences I've had.
“Daddy (Dying in NY)” is an English-language song from the album that begins with a chaotic soundscape. What is the story behind it?
When I did a show in Europe, one of the fans yelled “Dad!” I didn't know what it meant at the time, but when I looked it up later, I found out it was sexual interference for a hot guy. I talked about it on the North American tour as well, and then one day I played this show in New York. The show was incredible and it was the last of the tour, so by the end I felt completely spent. That's why I gave the song that name, like “a hottie dies in New York.”
“High Love” is a standout song, sung entirely in falsetto. You did it all, including the chorus, right?
Right. I recorded the whole thing in my home studio. When I debuted, what set me apart was how much falsetto I used and how high I sang. The music I wrote after my debut was more flexible, but one day I realized that I had never gone full-steam since my debut song, 'Slave of Love'. I wanted to use the same approach again, so I wrote “High Love”.
“Never Run” has an 80's feel to it. What can you tell us about this song?
Los Angeles musician Josh Cumbee, who mixed the song with me, said, “There were bands whose music all used this beat, so if we use it, it's going to sound retro.” I found it quite amazing. It wasn't my intention to revive an old sound, I just thought it was a great beat, the kind of beat that could always get people moving. The lyrics to this song are also all in English, and the audience really took to it during our Latin American tour. It's hard for foreign audiences to sing along with Japanese songs, but this song was surprisingly easy even for audiences in Chile and Mexico. The song showed a lot more world potential than I expected, which I think is exciting.
“Fortress” is a beautiful, soaring ballad. What were you trying to express through it?
The issue is “defense,” which, in a way, is a passive act or mindset. In the song, I tried to embody this concept not of defending or carrying something out of weakness, but because if you go all the way in your defense, then you will be unbeatable.
So is playing the piano and singing where your true musical roots lie?
Even now, the piano is always my main instrument. That will probably never change. But the direction I use when playing changes. Actually, playing live shows, it's really tight to be trapped behind the piano all the time. I want to move around more and be more active, so there are parts of my approach that are slowly changing. One thing that applies to both my first album and this album is that I handled all the arrangements myself. Recently, I asked a lot of different people to work on the arrangements of the songs, but with this album I came full circle and did all the arrangements myself again. This is a connection between the new album and my first album.
“Matane” is a simple song with very familiar vocals. I feel like it gives a glimpse of the real you.
I took a simple, genuine approach with “Matane”. When I wrote it, I thought it would be a good song to end the album on, and I hoped it would stick with the listener even after it ended. My idea for this was to create the same feelings I hoped the audience would have at one of my concerts on their way home.
What do you see in your future?
I want to create great music, have everyone listen to this music and play shows in every city. Other countries are no longer a mystery to me. The world is my home now, so I think it would be great to do a full world tour, playing cities in Japan, Latin America, North America, the Middle East, Europe and Australia.
—This interview with Takayuki Okamoto first appeared on Billboard Japan
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/vk-blanka-interview-knightclub-album-1235769311/