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A Second Round with KalafinaSince we last interviewed Kalafina back in 2009, so much has happened with the group. From chart-topping singles to now performing with a live band, Kalafina has become a hot group with a growing fanbase worldwide. With a recent concert at

Anime Central in Illinois, J!-ENT recently had the opportunity to interview Keiko, Wakana and Hikaru of Kalafina.

By Dennis A. Amith

ince we last interviewed Kalafina back in 2009, the group has had several hit singles and albums, have performed in the United States and in other countries and now per-forming with a live band. Known for their distinct musical style, Kalafina’s music manages to separate them

from other Japanese pop groups which fans have praised their unique music. And for those who have followed Kalafina since the beginning, the group has maintained consistency but also manages to experiment with different styles of music. To know Keiko, Wakana and Hikaru, it all began in 2007 when Kalafina was first formed by well-known Japanese composer Yuki Kajiura, known for her musical work for

many Japanese animation and video game series (“Mobile Suit Gundam SEED”, “Madlax”, “Noir”, “.hack//SIGN”, “Aquarian Age”, “My-HiME”, “My-Otome”, “Tsubasa Chroni-cle”, “Xenosaga”, to name a few). For the group’s initial startup, Kalafina featured com-poser Kajiura and vocalists Wakana and Keiko who released their first CD single in Jan. 2008 titled “oblivious”, which featured three tracks used on the animated films titled “Kara no Kyoukai”. The single was followed by a remix mini- album in April 2008 titled “Re/oblivious”. Auditions were then held by Yuki Kajiura and among those participants, Kalafina’s third member Hikaru would be selected and she would later join composer Kajiura, vocalists Wakana and Keiko. Kalafina has since released 12 CD singles, with their

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

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single “Magia” (used as the ending theme for the anime series “Puella Magi Madoka Magica”) becoming their best-selling single release thus far. In March 2013, Kalafina released their fourth studio album “Consola-tion” which include “Mirai” (used as an insert song for “Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part I: Begin-nings”), “Manten” (used as an insert song for “Fate/Zero” season 2), “to the beginning” (the second opening theme for “Fate/Zero”) and “Hikari Furu” (used as the ending theme for “Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part II: Eternal”). In May 2013, Kalafina returned to the United States with a performance at Anime Central in Chicago. Their first performance in the U.S. with a live band. J!-ENT recently had the opportu-nity to interview Kalafina about their latest performance in the U.S. but to also see how their career has changed since our last interview with them back in 2009.

Hello Keiko, Wakana and Hikaru. The last time I interviewed you was for your American debut in Boston back in 2009. Since that time, as a group, how much has Kalafina changed musically in the past five years? WAKANA: At that time we were still not used to performing live and at times scrambling to figure things out. Compared during the time we were in Boston, even Kajiura-san’s style has musically changed. Kajiura-san told us that when she watches our perfor-mance she gains inspiration and with that she creates new music for us. The energy that we send through our live performance is what makes Kalafina’s music.

I feel that Kalafina’s music is going to continue to involve and 5 years from now if you asked us the same question, I would like to look back at Chicago and hope that Kalafina has changed even more musically.

I know that your singles and albums have done well on the Oricon Charts. Also, your na-tionwide tour have also been successful. But you also have become beloved by fans all over the world. Does it surprise you that your music has reached fans all over the world? KEIKO: It does surprise me that our music has reached fans all over the world and because of that I have to remind myself to always be apprecia-tive.

Kalafina is here today because so many factors such as our tie-in with anime, our producer Kajiura-san and support from so many other people.

You have just performed at An-ime Central in Chicago. Having performed in America before,

does it make it any easier to perform for American audiences? Or do you still get a bit nervous? HIKARU: This was our third time to perform in America but we definitely still get nervous. But when the audience gets excited before the show starts, the more I get hyped to get on the stage. This time we had a great time performing.

For your performance at Anime Cen-tral, you performed with a full band. Back in 2009, you performed with Kajiura-san. What do you each enjoy about performing with a band? WAKANA: It is a truly great experience not just for us but also the fans to be able to hear our music with a live band. The band gave us a sense of security which allowed us to focus on singing during the performance.

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Cover image for Kalafina’s album “Consolation”. Image courtesy of SME Records.

Kalafina and the musicians of their live band with the Anime Central audience in Illinois. Image courtesy of SME Records.

It was really cool to feel the energy of the band and even Keiko was hooting during the performance.

Let’s talk about your fourth album “Consolation”. How was the expe-rience of recording this album for each of you? And how long did it take to work on this album? KEIKO: One month. We would record one song a day, sometimes two. I remember that it was very quick compared to our previous recordings. I attribute it to our focus being very high throughout the whole recording process.

Of all the songs included in “Con-solation” which track was the most challenging song for each of you? WAKANA: “signal” was very memo-rable for me because it was a different type of solo chorus and adjusting to

Keiko and Hikaru vocal during record-ing was difficult at times. Afterwards when I started performing this song at concerts, the more I liked the song. KEIKO: “obbligato”. The melody was very hard to grasp at first because I thought it was a rock melody at first but then it changed to have some clas-sical melodies to it. HIKARU: “Hanataba”. The lyrics were great and it was the first time we used an accordion during the song.

My favorite song on the album is “Hikari Furu”. The music, the vo-cal arrangement is fantastic! But can you each tell me about your experience on working on this al-bum and what you enjoyed about making this song. WAKANA: We are delighted that “Hikarifuru” is your favorite song! As you know this song is the theme song

for “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” and we watched episodes of the TV show before we recorded it. It was such a simple but difficult song to record. HIKARU: This album I was able to have fun. I was able to challenge and try many new things such as a chorus part I have never done before.

For “moonfesta”, love the musical arrangement of the song because it’s so different from your previ-ous singles. When you heard the musical arrangement for the song for the very first time, what was your reaction and what was it like to make this song? WAKANA: When I first heard it I thought it was a cute song. It has a melody that makes you want to dance which is not typical of a Kalafina song. It was also fun to record the music vid-eo and everyone was all smiles.

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Cover of Kalafina’s 10th CD single “To the Beginning”. Courtesy of SME Record.

For each of you, which song on the “Consolation” album is your favorite and why? WAKANA: “consolation”KEIKO: I want to say all of them… but I guess “Door”. Normally I listen to songs from a singer’s point of view, from the perspective of Keiko from Kalafina but this song allowed me to listen to it as just as the person Keiko and I listen to this song the most.HIKARU: “to the beginning”. It is a song I listen to when I want to feel strong. Makes you feel as if I am go-ing to go on this path no matter what!

I know that many American fans will be familiar with your songs from “Puella Magi Madoka Magi-ca” and “Fate/Zero”. And I know that one of the fan favorites is your 2011 single “Magia” for “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” but how do you feel about people discovering your music through anime ? KEIKO: I feel the reason we are able to travel abroad is because of anime. It is an honor for us to be able to sing for anime. We hope that our songs will be used for anime in the future and that more people discover us.

I need to ask this question for the fans who discovered your music through these anime series. Do any of you watch anime or read manga and if so, what are your favorite titles? WAKANA: Yes I love anime! Espe-cially Studio Ghibli films. Sometimes I borrow manga from Hikaru.KEIKO: I started watching anime a lot more when I started performing for Kalafina. Most anime give you hope and dreams, and I really like that about it.HIKARU: I love anime and manga, especially ones from the manga artist group CLAMP. I also love shoujo manga.Back in 2009, I asked if I was to

look into your MP3 player, what artists or music would I catch you listening to? Wakana, you said Spitz. Keiko, you said Ken Hirai and Hikaru, you said that you only have Kalafina music on your iPod. But here we are in 2013, I’m curious to ask, if I went to look at your MP3 player today, which artists or songs would you be lis-tening to? WAKANA: I said Spitz last time… and in 2013 it is still Spitz (laughing). On top of that I listen to Mr. Chil-dren, Morning Musume and different kind of genres. When it time for our concert though, the frequency of Kala-fina songs tend to increase.KEIKO: I recently discovered a Stu-dio Ghibli album with songs that are jazz arranged. It helps me relax and also reminds me of different Studio Ghibli films while I listen to it.

HIKARU: Acid Black Cherry, Evanescence and of course, Kalafina. (Everyone laughs).

Whenever you are not busy mak-ing music, what hobbies do each of you like to do in your free time? WAKANA: Watch movies and I also go to Kamakura to see the ocean.KEIKO: I try to stay active and one of the things I do is cleaning. I love cleaning (laughing) and afterwards to the gym.HIKARU: My hobby is …. sleeping. Mostly sleeping. And I also go for walks to refresh my mind and body.

In our last interview, we did a J!-ENT word play. This time, I’m going to give each of you five sentences and you fill in the blank with your answer.

a. When I come to America, the food I always have wanted to try is _____________. KEIKO: ChocolateWAKANA: CookiesHIKARU: French Fries

b. Before a concert performance I like to _____________. KEIKO: StretchWAKANA: Eat a lollipopHIKARU: Meditate

c. My favorite music vid-eo that I enjoyed filming is ___________________.KEIKO: “Yume no Daichi”WAKANA: “Symphonia”HIKARU: “Kagayaku Sorano Shijimaniwa”

d. The last movie I watched in the theater is__________________.KEIKO: “Les Miserables”WAKANA: “Evangelion 3.33”HIKARU: “Detective Conan”

e. I love to see the audience reaction when I perform the song ____________________ in concert.KEIKO: “to the beginning”WAKANA: “Ongaku”HIKARU: “Hikarifuru”

What would you like to say to your fans all over the world? KALAFINA: We want to keep per-forming and seeing more fans from around the world. If there is a chance that we stop by your country please come out to see us. We promise that we will do our best to have a great show. So please wait for us!

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For more information on Kalafina, please visit their official website and official blog at:

http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Info/kalafina/

http://blog.oricon.co.jp/kalafina/

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A J!-ENT MUSIC REVIEWgrooveworldJ!-ENT

KalafinaConsolationSME RecordsDIGITAL through iTunesDURATION: 58:59RELEASE DATE: March 20, 2013

01. al f ine02. consolation03. moonfesta04. Door05. 未来 (Mirai)06. 花束 (Hanataba)07. signal08. obbligato09. 木苺の茂みに (Kiichigo no Shigemini)10. 満天 (Manten)11. to the beginning12. ひかりふる (Hikarifuru)13. 夢の大地 (Yume no daichi)

A J!-ENT MUSIC REVIEW

In the past five years of listening to Kalafina’s music, there have been a good number of positive aspects that I have enjoyed about their music. Consistency, ability to try various musical styles that are incorporated to their music but also to feature music that is unique, to the point that you hear their music and know it’s Kalafina. So, here we are with the trio’s fourth feature length album titled “Consolation”, which is available on iTunes USA. Featuring songs written and composed by Yuki Kajiura, the album reached #3 on the Oricon Weekly Album charts. The album kicks off with the ethereal track “al fine”, a track that sounds if playing on loudspeakers from a distance and transitions to a beautiful melody with the vocals becoming more pronounced. The album’s slow track is changed with the more fast-paced “consolation” with the similar Kalafina feel but beautiful melodies heard from the background with a moving musical arrangement. A beautiful track that I enjoyed tremendously! “moonfesta” is the group’s 11th single and a song that incorporates an almost traditional Irish dance song. But it’s a fun, happy song that I have continually listened to over and over. The fourth track is “Door” and what I love about this song is it demonstrates the beautiful vocal ability of each member of Kalafina. A beautiful song! The fifth track is “Mirai” (which translates to “Future”) and is used as an insert song for “Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Part I: Beginnings”). A great combination of music and vocals and the harmony is exquisite. The sixth track is “Hanataba” (which translates to “Bouquet”). A moving upbeat track. The seventh track “signal” is a fantastic upbeat track and at first I wondered if this song was from an anime series because it sounds like one of the tracks you would hear during a “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” action/fighting battle. Quick synth, cool beats with experimental sounds and

< A Fantastic Fourth Album from Kalafina!“Consolation” features captivating music, beautiful vocals and variety! An impressive album!

perhaps one of their more fiercest songs by the group. Love it! The eighth track is “obbligato” and is one of the more ethereal tracks on the album for its opening. From the vocal chants, the song quickly transitions to rock with the electric guitars churning and it’s a pretty cool song that transitions in and out of its rock and roll style of music. Also, a track featuring awesome vocals! The ninth track on the album is “Kiichigo no Shigemi ni” (which translates to “Raspberry Bush”) and is a piano and strings melody which brings a certain familiarity of older Kajiura/Kalafina style. A beautiful track! The tenth track on the album is “Manten” (which translates to “The Whole Sky”) and is an insert song for the second season of the anime series “Fate/Zero”. Love the use of strings/rock n’ roll and a song that has gentleness but also an aggressiveness during its transitions. The eleventh track “to the beginning”, is the band’s 10th CD single and is the second opening theme for “Fate/Zero”. I love the use of strings and vocals for this song. I found it to be captivating and enjoyed the arrangement of the strings for this track. Absolutely beautiful!

The 12th track on the album is “Hikarifuru” which is the 12th single from Kalafina and a song used for the animated film “Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part II: Eternal”. I absolutely love this song. It not only shows the vocal strengths of the group but it’s just a magical style of song that is a beautiful ballad that I found addictive and fantastic! Just an amazing track! The final track on the album is “Yume no daichi” (which translates to “Land of Dreams”). A song that is a perfect bookend type of ending for this soundtrack. Love the use of percussion and flute for this track but a fun track that incorporates dreamy vocals and beautiful arrangement. Overall, “Consolation” is a pretty fascinating album because it offers a style which is different for some tracks, but also songs that are similar. Yuki Kajiura’s music is simply wonderful and the vocals by each member of Kalafina is just magnificent. There is no doubt that the group has matured since their debut, but a chemistry that shows harmony in music and vocals and everything comes together perfectly. Kalafina’s “Consolation” is one of their best albums and is highly recommended! A— DENNIS A. AMITH

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J!-ENT STAFF FEATURED FOR THIS INTERVIEW:

DENNIS A. AMITH is the Editor-in-Chief and founder of entertainment and pop culture website J!-ENT. He is also the owner of the multi-disciplinary communications and design business, nt2099 media and entertainment. Graduating from California State University, Fresno with an educational background in mass communications and journalism, Dennis A. Amith has interviewed and featured many talents and industry professionals in the United States, Europe and Asia and is recognized for promoting the entertainment and pop culture of different countries to an International audience. Currently residing in California.

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