There's a lot of excitement building with Anime USA coming up in two days. Each year the con seems to grow and bring more great entertainment to fans.
Last year Kaya came as one of the musical guests and when I sat down for an interview with him, I found he was quite the giggly comedian.
Onto the interview:
“When I’m out I dress as a male” I recall from Friday’s Q&A as Kaya enters the Crystal City Hayatt’s exclusive top floor restaurant, the Chesapeake Café. He glances out the window which overlooks the Capital and a slew of D.C.’s other historic monuments, taking a seat with his translator on a nearby sofa.
It was only the night before when the androgynous man had been twirling across the stage in five inch heels and an extravagant “Baby” dress. This morning Kaya has chosen a more masculine outfit while still maintaining the sophisticated style of his aristocratic influences. Similar to the “prince” outfit he debuted during his show, he wears a black lace-trimmed vest with an added gray pin-striped blouse underneath and two bows fitted snugly around his collar. He crosses his legs, fitted to the knee with double-decker boots and a pair of black slacks. Lastly he adjusts his glasses, a transparent shield that does little to hide the façade with no makeup.
“How are you doing this morning?” I begin. “You must be tired from the concert last night.”
“daijoubu” He replies curtly.
I find this answer surprising as I gather my notes and turn on my tape recorder, remembering the effort and energy Kaya put into the concert along with his backup dancers. Although to say fairly, he was the only one who wasn’t flinging sweat at the audience.
“This time around I haven’t been able to get out of the hotel…” Kaya chuckles while describing Virginia, his second US stop within a year. Although DC and LA (Kaya’s last stop for his 2008 PMX Debut) are both hot destinations for the typical tourist, they differ quite a bit.
“This feels more like a city than over there. I had this feeling that LA was like an endless beach, like a country.”
With a smug smile he adds that he loves America, “The skin color of everyone is different and diverse. It’s fun to watch the different types of people who live here, unlike Japan.”
Aside from his worldly observations, Kaya also shows his love of diversity in his music. Spawning from an interest in Kabuki Theater, Kaya has chosen a variety of characters to become. In 2007’s Carmilla he became Joseph Sheridan’s notorious vampire villain. In 2008, he traded in his Victorian dresses for plaid and transformed himself into a love struck school boy (or school girl depending on which version of Chocolat you bought). And now, his latest endeavor has landed him the role of playing Shakespeare’s tragic heroine Ophelia.
“The main thing altogether is beauty…” He nicely ties together. “I want to be able to express and create beautiful things.”
With 2009 gone and a new year emerging, Kaya provides some insight as to what sort of “character” he’ll be playing next while also describing the ever-changing sound of his music.
“As of right now, there isn’t any release information but I want to release a cd next year. However, there’s a new theme I showed last night, Prince and Princess Kaya. I want to be able to start a story about that and I want it to continue for two or three years.”
With a polished image, a vision for the future, and a sense of optimism that could shed light on the worst of situations, it’s clear that Kaya can do anything he puts his mind to.
“I want to become a changing artist, like a kaleidoscope. I want to sing songs that touch someone’s heart.”
Whether it’s listening to his emotional tracks or watching him dive into your favorite song, Kaya truly puts his all into every album and performance. Performances especially, are what drive the strong connection he has with his work and the fans. For Kaya, and for many artists, there’s a decisive moment that makes a live show feel, well, alive.
The vocalist describes this beautifully as, “The moment that my voice, the song, and the voices of the fans blend together. Like the moment that our souls hit each other.”
Having brought four costumes and five backup dancers, Kaya also talks about the kinds of performances he likes best and the outrageous antics he’d like to add in the future.
“I like both large and small venues but my performance is like a show so I’m sure a bigger hall would allow more fans to see. And there are a lot of different things I want to do. I want to make fire come out! But also, I want to add illusions.”
And that’s not all Kaya has up his sleeve. He’s also been thinking of rekindling his 2007 vocal trio project, Node of Scherzo.
“I personally want to do it but it’s not my choice. I have to ask my darling.” He says with amusement as he refers to Versailles’ front man Kamijo.
Unfortunately if Scherzo were to reunite, it wouldn’t quite be the same. Amongst the five members (including Hizaki and Juka) was Versailles’ bassist, Jasmine-You, who passed away suddenly in August. Having toured with Versailles and Jasmine-You’s other projects on numerous occasions, the two became close friends. Kaya was one of the first to respond to his death publicly by sharing a somber message with his fan club members who in turn were also grief-stricken by the news.
Hesitantly, I ask if Kaya is willing to talk about his fallen friend but he politely declines.
“I haven’t gotten over it yet…I’m sorry.”
Kaya’s respectful response is certainly admirable, admiration being a trait that comes from his fans, friends, and up and coming pop singer Nomico. Nomico, who happens to be Kaya’s younger sister, follows Kaya’s footsteps closely although both of their talents lye in completely different genres. Kaya enjoys teaching Nomico, who is less experienced in the music scene, yet in turn he learns from her as well.
“As for my sister, she can do all sorts of voices and accents because she does the anime stuff. But when it comes to singing, she has less experience so I teach her from that perspective. We learn from each other a lot.”
And like a good brother, Kaya is even selling Nomico’s albums this weekend at his merchandise booth, one of the many places you might find him during the convention.
This weekend every lucky fan was able to see Kaya at Friday’s outstanding q&a panel. Kaya took every question, laughing and answering with wit as he occasionally took sips from his corset-fitted water bottle. One burning question which arose just minutes after the panel started surrounded Kaya’s biggest influence and former producer, Mana (ex. Malice Mizer, Moi dix Mois).
“Mana is my master” Kaya responded as the audience erupted with applause.
“He doesn’t say a certain thing directly...” He elaborates, having mentioned that he calls Mana on occasion if he needs advice. “But he’s someone that follows through totally one the essence of beauty he’s created. I really learned a lot from it and it’s interesting to see and watch him.”
Kaya, who has a fondness for Gothic and Lolita, admires his “master’s” brand, Moi meme Moite. He gives an excited reply as I ask him if he’d like for Mana to design one of his stage outfits.
“I personally love Moi meme Moitie so I would have to ask Mana. But you know, since that’s a world he’s created, I don’t know if he would let another artist wear it. You would have to ask him probably.”
Alongside the elegant gothic guitarist, America’s boldest pop queen, Lady Gaga, was also a hot topic fans asked about. Kaya admitted during the session that he’d just bought one of Gaga’s albums so her sound is relatively new to him. He does like her music nonetheless which earned another round of applause from his fans.
“You just found yourself in a fight with Lady Gaga, how do you defeat her?” I ask, knowing Kaya will enjoy the light-hearted question.
He starts to laugh loudly, giving a perky response.
“Eh!? A fight, ne? Maybe I should bring her down with words.”
Remembering the number of otaku that sat among his fans at the panel, I remind him of the Pokemon cosplayers he could use at his disposal. (One such cosplayer, dressed as a Dragonite, had to explain to the vocalist what she was. He proceeded to call her out, yelling “Pokemon?...Oh! Pokemon!” at the next night’s concert)
“Hrm, maybe…” He replies. “But I think I would get along with her.”
And the fight seemingly concludes, with Kaya coming out as the winner…and Gaga’s new bestie.
With a cheerful grin, Kaya responds to his last question, giving a message to his devoted fan base.
“Thank you so much for cheering me on all the time. I ‘m going to keep on creating beautiful things so let’s keep living a beautiful life together.”
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