Link to page: http://nipponproject.com/en/article.php?id=195 Interview with Stereopony Date: 2010.08.05 We had the chance to get to know Stereopony through a mail interview shortly before their concert at AnimeNEXT in New Jersey, USA on June 2010. Unfortunaly, due to an unforeseeable private emergency, Stereophony's management could not send us the completed interview earlier. We deeply apologise for the delay. Nippon Project: Firstly, would you like to introduce yourselves to the readers of Nippon Project? Hello, we are Stereopony! Aimi: I’m Aimi on vocal and guitar. Nohana: I’m Nohana on bass. Shiho: I’m Shiho on drums. How did you choose the name Stereopony and what does it mean to you? It’s a coined word. We wanted to combine the word “Stereo” which for us had a cool/three-dimensional image, and “Pony” which has a cute image. How did all of you meet, and what made you decide to work together? There is a music studio in Okinawa where all the music lovers hang out, and Aimi and Nohana met here in the studio. Then Aimi asked Shiho to play the drums where the two were classmates in high school. You're native of Okinawa. What was your perception of Tokyo? Has it changed since then? Aimi: I used to think that everywhere outside of Okinawa is a big city, so it felt like I was in a big festival when I went to Shibuya for the first time. I also had a scary image too. But now it’s been over a year since we moved to Tokyo, and it feels like my next home. Who is the artist that inspired you to attempt this career? Aimi: Yuki (Judy and Mary) Nohana: Namie Amuro Shiho: It’s too hard to choose one… Some of youｒ songs were used as anime themes, do you think you gained popularity thanks to that? Yes, we very much feel that especially outside of U.S., and we are thankful about that. Do you follow any anime or manga? Aimi: Sailor Moon. Shiho: Dragon Ball Nohana: I like everything from Shojo to Shonen manga. Which of your songs has been the most meaningful for you? Shiho: Hitohira no Hanabira, as that was our debut song and I have a special feeling for it. We wrote the song before our debut and we’ve been performing this song since then, so it reminds me of back home in Okinawa. Aimi: I do it is also a song we’ve played together with YUI before our debut, so this song is also meaningful for us. For someone new to Stereopony, how would you describe your music? It’s difficult to define our music. We hope that people could feel the gap of our look and our music. We want to create our own “Stereopony” sound. On June 9 you released your new album titled “OVER THE BORDER” could you tell us something about it? With our new album, we think that we were able to express our music even more. It was also great that we were able to come back to America and have this great opportunity to perform at AnimeNEXT around the time we released this album in Japan. It really represents the title “OVER THE BORDER”. How long did it take to write and record this album? Writing this album took a long time, and we’re not certain exactly how long that took, but recording wise, it took about a full month. Will it be available on Itunes too? We hope so! How did it feel when your releases ranked in the top 10 of the Oricon charts? How did you celebrate? Aimi: I remember getting many phone calls from my friends and family. Many more people started to visit our website since then, and we were very much thrilled. Now do you feel pressured to reach this rank ? Do you take a look of the sales of your releases ? Aimi : We did feel pressured around the time we released Namida no Mukou, but now we feel like we were able to move forward to the next step. Shiho, you played drums for YUI's song "Again". Was it different from playing with Stereopony? Shiho: With Stereopony, we always record the drums first, and then we’d track the bass over that. But with “Again”, we recorded together with the bassist and that was really exciting and fun. In your single Hanbunko, you made a cover of the band Bivattchee. Why a cover of this song? Aimi: I was blown away when I first heard their music. We didn’t just want to do a simple cover, and it made us think how to express Stereopony through this song, and it forced us to face ourselves in a good way. Since your single Hanbunko, your CD jackets changed their designs. Who is the artist creating these designs and how did you start this collaboration? Aimi: The artist is called Okonikk. I personally always wanted to have an illustration CD cover. You performed for the first time in the USA at SXSW 2009 . How was that for you? We were very nervous as that was our first time performing outside of Japan, but it was so much fun! That experience meant so much for Stereopony. In a few days you'll play at AnimeNEXT. Do you have any expectations or concerns about the audience? We are very nervous, but we look forward in performing in America again! Is there anything you are looking forward to seeing or doing while you'll be there? We want to walk around the convention and around the city. In which countries would you like to perform in the future? Why? We’ll go anywhere if we’re invited! Did you know that a lot of foreign people follow your career? Not at all, and we still can’t believe it! Thank you so much for all your support. You are busy with your career but do you still have time to see concerts in Japan? If yes, which artists? Aimi: I love concerts, so I try to always go whenever I’m invited whether it’s a small/big venue, or if it’s an artist that I don’t know. Shiho: I was blown away when I first saw Boom Boom Satellite’s show. What's your biggest dream for your career? Shiho: Hmmm, I try not to set sort of a goal. Aimi: I want to be performing live until I physically can’t anymore. What can we look forward to from Stereopony in the future? We’ll be touring in Japan once we get back. Our experience from last year’s SXSW has been a great influence for us, so this AnimeNEXT’s experience will be a great inspiration for us. Please give a message to our readers. Thank you very much for your support. We hope to come back again, but please check out our website and our music on iTunes! Nippon Project would like to thank Strereopony for this interview and Ryu Takahashi for the translation
