We are once again meeting new artists this year at Japan Expo! After THE SIXTH LIE, =LOVE and Tokyo-Rickshaw we were able to ask our questions to LUV K RAFT members!
LUV K RAFT is a pop-rock band which already has 5 years of experience under its belt. The band was composed of three members until 2017: Karen on vocals, Masato Kitano on guitar and Kazya on percussions, then joined by the new singer Mishu.
The great particularity and strength of this band resides in its production capacity: the members produce their own music, their music videos but also the visuals and packaging of their albums. This is also part of the high quality of their music and their growing popularity since their debut in 2013.
Their songs are also gaining popularity through commercials and various television shows.
Their first mini-album “ROCK-A-TRONICA” was released on September 14, 2016 before the arrival of the second singer. As for their second EP, it was recently released, on August 1, 2018. This new album is called “Luv it“.
In the meantime, we let you familiarize yourself with this band and its universe through our exchange that you can read below.
Could you introduce yourselves individually, as well as the band?
Karen: My name is Karen, I sing.
Mishu: I am Mishu, I am in charge of singing and performance.
Kazya: I am Kazya, the drummer.
Kitano: My name is Kitano, I play the guitar.
In our music, we try to use the style of the 80s. We take as reference artists and also music that marked the 80s, and we play it but with our own style.
What does the name of your band mean and how did you find it?
Karen: The name of the band comes from an author who writes horror books. We chose it because that word represented the group well. Even if there is the word “love” in it which gives a cute side, we have a cynical side that is seen in our music, so we thought it was a group name that looked like us.
You are yourself producers of your band. Who is in charge of which part?
Karen: Kazya and Kitano take care of the music. I am in charge of writing lyrics and visual creation.
Mishu: I also take care of the lyrics with Karen but mostly the rap part.
Isn’t is too difficult to do all this work?
Karen: It’s really very difficult (laughs). In this case, when an idea comes to my mind we discuss it. In this group, the boys love the hard rock side and the girls the hip-hop side, even if I do not want too much hard rock in our music. We give our ideas and that’s how we create together.
You did several opening acts of concerts for other Japanese artists. Which one do you remember the most?
Karen: Even if it is not an opening act, I will say that the concert of Japan Expo marked us the most. We were worried about the reactions of the French audience. Will they enjoy our music? We were surprised because French people were very nice to us.
Mishu joined the band in 2017 while you formed it in 2013. Why and how did the integration of her style happened?
Mishu: I was part of another group originally but when my band decided to split up, I joined LUV K RAFT. I had already collaborated with this band for their song “Troublemaker”. I really enjoyed their music so I absolutely wanted to be part of it. Despite some differences, I was able to keep my style within the group.
Karen said she takes her inspiration from Paris fashion to choose clothes for filming, and with Mishu, they talked about the architecture of the French capital city. Did you have time to visit a little or to go shopping?
Karen: We had one day to visit Paris. We were able to do a lot of photos and we could not stop taking pictures because it was so beautiful. We also filmed some videos that will be used to promote our new album.
Your second mini-album “Luv it” will be released on August 1st, what can you tell us about this new release?
Karen: What we can tell you is that we usually do our photos ourselves but for this second album we wanted to have the opinion of others, so other people took the photos. We seek to know how others perceive us.
Kitano: With this second album we did something different with other artists. We also wanted to contrast with the music in the studio and the one we do live for the concerts.
Yesterday [editor’s note: Thursday – 1st day of Japan Expo], you gave a cooking class on the Washoku stage. What do you prefer in Japanese cooking?
Karen : I like natto. I add natto everywhere in burgers, eggs, really everything.
Kasya : I really like sushi.
Mishu : Hmm … I really like everything (laughs).
Kitano : I like udon.
Do you have a message for your French fans?
Karen : We are very happy to be in France and especially at Japan Expo. This is our first time in a foreign country and we hope that this will allow us to take our first steps abroad to become more famous and if it is possible, to come back here. We would like to hear “Welcome back to France”.
A lot of thanks to Japan Expo for the organisation
and to LUV K RAFT for this interview!
