The girls of color-code were on their first tour of Europe last march, during which they had the opportunity to show off their singing and dancing skills to the audience of Made in Asia in Belgium twice. The impression left by Nanami, Marisa and Mako was not that of a simple pop group and showed they were so much more than just that. They were received well by the audience.
Before their great performance, there was an opportunity to sit down with these three ladies and talk about color-code, Nicola Formichetti, colours and of course their music!
AVO: Since this is the first interview with AVO Magazine, could you introduce yourself?
Nanami: My name is Nanami, I am the leader of the group, at the moment I am our songwriter.
Marisa: I’m Marisa, I studied world history at a university. I like history and I also like idols and musicals.
Mako: I am Mako, I have bangs and long hair so I have a very typical Japanese style look. I love dancing and I also love drawing and design.
AVO: When I got introduced to color-code, the first thing I saw was the colours in your hair and later on the colourful and inspirational clothing. This gives extra strength in the name color-code. Could you explain what color-code exactly means for you?
Marisa: One of the first things people notice is the colours in our hair and in our costumes, but we chose the name because we all come from different backgrounds. We have different personalities and characters, but we wanted to mix them together and create unity. We each express different colours and together we are like a rainbow of colours. We also liked the name color-code because it sounds like an internet expression.
AVO: When did you start to get in touch with music? Since when are you interested in that?
Nanami: It’s different for each of us, for me I think it was when I was 14 years old. The first kind of music I liked was international, music from Europe and America. My interest grew from there. But it’s difficult to be sure exactly when I got in touch with music.
Marisa: I became interested in music I saw Takarazuka, a Japanese all-female musical theatre. It made me see that through music you can send a message and express yourself. It made me want to make music myself and made me become interested in music in general.
Mako: I don’t remember when it started to interest me. Maybe when I was an elementary school student, I started dancing and became interested in music genres like R&B and Hip-hop. So maybe that’s where my interest in music started.
AVO: color-code exists since 2013, you had your debut single in 2014. What is the most important thing you have learned in this period?
Nanami: When we became color-code we had a lot of people near us, to help us. Many people helped and most importantly loved us, people who did our make-up and hair but of course also our producer. The main thing we can remember is to love and help other people.
Marisa: When the band was created we all had to audition separately, without knowing one another. We had to do a shoot with all of us together. So at first maybe we were thinking we wanted to sing alone, but then we were got mixed in together and we realized it was good to be in a group as well.
Mako: I agree with Nanami and Marisa.
AVO: In the time that you have been in color-code, what is the most exciting thing that you have done with color-code?
Mako: The fancyHIM “RAINBOW TURNS GOLD” event in Tokyo Shinjuku 2-chome!
AVO: Do you feel the fashion world and the music world are very different, since you work in both?
Mako: It’s hard to explain, but we don’t see them as different worlds, because both fashion and music are a way to express your thoughts and feelings. The way you express yourself is different, but it’s still the same.
Nanami: In Japan music and fashion go together.
AVO: color-code has been started by Nicola Formichetti, he is famous as a fashion designer for DIESEL and Mugler and his collaboration with Lady Gaga. What is the best part of working with him?
Nanami: He is very kind. When we first met him we knew that he had worked with Lady Gaga and so we wondered what he would be like. But when we met him he was very nice. He is a very warm person and he is always well prepared and makes sure everything runs smoothly.
AVO: If you could play with any musician, who would you like to play or collaborate with?
Mako: I love Beyonce, she’s a very big star. If I could pick anyone to be on one stage with it would be her. I respect her a lot.
Marisa: Sheena Ringo.
Nanami: Katy Perry or the Japanese band ONE OK ROCK, I love them!
AVO: Let’s talk about Europe! Is it the first time for you all to be in Europe? What has been your first impression of Europe?
Marisa: We feel like everyone here is more relaxed. In Japan, everyone is very kind, but people are often in a rush like in Tokyo. The food in Europe is also very good.
Mako: I like the individuality and the passion people have here.
AVO: The European Tour consists of dates in France, Belgium, Germany and Denmark. There are a lot of countries not on the list, for the next European tour, in which countries do you want to perform?
Nanami: All countries.
Mako: We can’t choose. We want to meet everyone.
AVO: After the tour, what will be your plans? Can we expect a new release?
Nanami: We brought a new mini-album to Europe, which hasn’t been released in Japan yet. We want to do mini-concerts when we return to Japan, so we can introduce our album there as well.
AVO: We are at the end of the interview. Do you have a message for the Dutch and Belgian readers of AVO Magazine?
Nanami: If you’d like, please keep following us. Thank you very much for your support and please keep on supporting us. And keep going to our concerts. Thank you very much.
I’d like to thank Nanami, Marisa and Mako for their time, Mary for translating during the interview and Yuki for her help in completing the interview. I also want to thank HIGHFeeL for making this interview possible. Want to know more about color-code and would you like to keep up with the girls? Follow them through their hun website, Facebook and Twitter account.
