Matenrou Opera’s European tour will start soon and in a month the band will perform in the Netherlands for the first time. Time for an interview with the band!
AVO: This is our first interview with you for AVO Blog. Thank you very much for your time. Are you excited for the upcoming European tour?
Matenrou Opera: Very excited. To be able to go to Europe for the first time after 9 years, we are really looking forward to it!
AVO: The Netherlands is one of the tour destinations and I have spoken with a few fans who are very excited that their beloved band Matenrou Opera is coming to their own country. What is your image of the Netherlands?
Matenrou Opera: We’re going to The Netherlands for the first time, and are really excited. Japan and The Netherlands have a long history together, and they say that of all countries in Europe that the relation between Japan and The Netherlands is the best. Japan has learned many things from The Netherlands, there are many Japanese soccer players who play in The Netherlands, and we would like to deepen the musical friendship between our countries in the same way.
AVO: Matenrou Opera was formed in 2007, so that means that the band has been active for 10 years. In those years the band kept a pretty strong line-up with not many changes, but you guys are still going strong. Where do you find the motivation and passion to go on like this?
Matenrou Opera: The pleasure of making music and of having fans that enjoy and feel our music, these are the two things that have supported us. Also, of course, the fact that we have fans in Europe is the best pleasure of all.
AVO: With the extensive discography that Matenrou Opera has, new fans of the band have a lot of music to choose from. For those who aren’t very familiar with your music, but want to get to know more about you before your European tour, which album/EP should they start listening to and which song describes Matenrou Opera the best according to you?
Matenrou Opera: Matenrou Opera has been influenced a lot by heavy metal from Europe. Of all our music we think ‘GLORIA’ and ‘PHOENIX’ would be very easy to accept for European fans.
AVO: With the release of PANTHEON -Part 1- in April, the fans can look forward to an album with 10 new tracks to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Matenrou Opera. What is the exact concept of this part 1 and can you tell the readers something about ‘part 2’ and maybe ‘part 3’?
Matenrou Opera: It’s an album in which we want to strongly express the many influences of heavy metal. Of course, this also goes for the other parts. Please look forward to it!
AVO: With all the steps that have been taken to grow the band Matenrou Opera and its band members in the last 10 years, if you look back at it, what is the best memory you have of being part of Matenrou Opera?
Matenrou Opera: We have a lot of memories. There are many places where we wouldn’t have been able to go if we didn’t make music. That we were able to visit all those places is the best memory. I am sure that our next tour in Europe will also become the best memory ever!
AVO: While you’re celebrating the band’s 10-year anniversary with an album, national and international tours, you’re probably looking back at those 10 wonderful years. But it is also a good moment to look towards the future. Are there any goals you would like to set to make Matenrou Opera grow even more?
Matenrou Opera: We haven’t decided on a general goal. We’re just happy if we can have many people listen to our music. Also, like the many musicians that inspired us, we also think it would be great if our music can inspire other young people who start making music.
AVO: During the upcoming European Tour, called PANTHEON TOUR -the second movement-, what kind of setlist can we expect from you? Will you only focus on the new(er) songs of Matenrou Opera or can we expect a sort of a ‘best of Matenrou Opera’ setlist?
Matenrou Opera: Matenrou Opera has over 100 music pieces. We really want to perform a lot of them, but from all of them, we carefully make a selection and prepare a list with the music of which we think European fans would enjoy the most.
AVO: We look forward to seeing you soon. Do you have anything you’d like to say to your fans in Europe?
Matenrou Opera: This first Europe tour ever in all these 9 years, we’re all looking forward to it, and are excited to everyone. Let’s make a lot of nice memories together!
I want to thank Matenrou Opera for their time and B7KLAN for making this interview possible, and an extra thanks to Jinn for translating and the rest of the AVO crew for their support.
