Two all-women rock bands hailing from totally different nations — Japan’s BAND-MAID and Mexico’s The Warning — acquired collectively to file a collaborative single known as “SHOW THEM,” due Wednesday (Aug. 7). The members of the 2 teams hit it off after first assembly at a U.S. music competition the place each bands carried out in 2022.

In this uncommon chat with all of the members of each bands — 5 from BAND-MAID and the three sisters from The Warning — in attendance, the ladies who proceed to blast out onerous rock for followers around the globe spoke about their respect for one another’s music and the method of recording their new single collectively.

Your bands first met while you carried out on the Aftershock Festival in California in 2022, proper?

Miku Kobato (Guitar/Vocals): Yes. We carried out on the identical day, and the members of The Warning discovered us and mentioned hello whereas we had been doing an interview there. They mentioned, “Let’s do something together” and we had been like, “We’d love to!” We hit it off and had a good time.

Daniela Villarreal Vélez (Guitar/Vocals/Piano): I’d needed to fulfill BAND-MAID all day that day.

Paulina Villarreal Vélez (Drums/Vocals/Piano): BAND-MAID are nice musicians and I’ve cherished them for a very long time.

AKANE (Drums/Percussion): That makes me so completely satisfied!

Kobato: We additionally grew to become actually interested by The Warning after our bands joined the lineup on the Aftershock Festival, po. I assumed it was so cool how three sisters are in a band collectively, po.

MISA (Bass/Vocals): There’s a groove that may solely come from sisters, isn’t there?

KANAMI (Guitar/Vocals): They’re so synchronized, on the identical wavelength. It’s one thing we are able to’t imitate. 

Daniela: We’re very shut and share a sisterly bond.

Paulina: We strive to concentrate on clearly separating our time as sisters from our time as band members, so I feel there’s a great steadiness there. But we did simply have a combat this morning. [Laughs]

Alejandra Villarreal Vélez (Bass/Vocals/Piano): We typically conflict after we’re composing. We every provide you with loads of totally different concepts, so typically we get into massive arguments. [Laughs] But we essentially have a great relationship and make up shortly.

What do the members of The Warning discover compelling about BAND-MAID?

Daniela: Japanese rock and the rock you hear within the U.S. and Mexico are the identical style however they sound fully totally different. That’s the principle motive why I used to be drawn to BAND-MAID’s music. I additionally like the truth that they put a really excessive degree of method into their music.

Paulina: AKANE and I’ve completely totally different enjoying kinds, so there have been some phrases that had been onerous for me however I actually loved working towards them. BAND-MAID helped us develop and I appreciated that.

AKANE: Wow… I wish to return these very same phrases to you! [Laughs]

Alejandra: MISA additionally has a distinct fashion from mine, and I feel her efficiency is superior. I discover it actually superb how she will be able to mix components the place she performs with a choose and components the place she slaps in a music, and it’s so fascinating. Tell me how one can play like that. [Laughs]

Daniela: And in fact, I feel SAIKI and Kobato’s voices are actually nice, too. It should be the distinction in language, however Japanese is exclusive in that the melody adjustments one letter at a time, and it’s actually superb how they will sing that so effectively. I acquired loads of inspiration from the vocal aspect as effectively.

By the best way, have you learnt why Kobato ends her sentences with “po”? [Translator’s note: Kobato has a signature way of speaking in Japanese, ending sentences with “po,” an onomatopoeia expressing the call of a pigeon. The kanji for Kobato is “little pigeon.”]

SAIKI (Lead vocals): Tell them why you say “po.” Tell them who you actually are.

Kobato: I’m Kobato, that means I’ve just a little little bit of pigeon in me, po. That’s why I finish sentences with “po,” which is the sound a pigeon makes, po. 

Daniela: So it’s pigeonese. [Everyone laughs] I caught that simply now. “Narimashita, po.”

Kobato: [Laughs] It seems like we’ve change into just a little nearer once more, po.

Let’s discuss your collaborative single, “SHOW THEM.” How did the manufacturing course of go?

Kobato: KANAMI first got here up with the inspiration of the music. We began off by having the members of The Warning hearken to it.

KANAMI: We needed to enterprise out and make a music that might convey out new facets of every band for this single, and that’s how “SHOW THEM” took place. Everyone in The Warning made adjustments to the demo I made. Then we made new recommendations in response to that, and repeated the method time and again till the music was completed.

Daniela: When we heard the demo that KANAMI made, we had been very stunned as a result of it was fully totally different from the course of our standard music. But we quickly started to take pleasure in determining find out how to combine our personal colours into it.

The lyrics are credited to Miku Kobato and The Warning.

Kobato: Yes, po. Since this was a collaboration between two all-women bands, we first mentioned making the music about rising to the highest collectively by depicting a powerful feminine determine who can combat on the earth.

Paulina: While we began off by sharing that lyrical idea, there have been instances we interpreted issues otherwise due to the cultural variations between our nations. But after we got here to Japan and labored on the lyrics collectively, it felt like we had been on the identical web page. The nuances that Kobato was on the lookout for grew to become clear.

Kobato: By speaking nose to nose, we had been capable of perceive one another right down to the smallest particulars, po.

Did you file the music collectively in Japan?

KANAMI: Yes. But we didn’t have a lot time, so BAND-MAID recorded beforehand and The Warning recorded later. I principally directed the performances, and the three of them had been actually nice. We had been finished very quickly.

Paulina: We didn’t truly play till after we arrived in Japan, however did loads of psychological rehearsals on the airplane.

Alejandra: Yeah. We listened to the music again and again.

AKANE: My ardour in direction of performing has actually intensified by way of our collaboration with The Warning. I really feel so pumped now and don’t know find out how to deal with it. [Laughs]

Paulina: It was an excellent expertise for us, too, and gave us great motivation.

How did the vocal recording go?

SAIKI: It was my first time recording with one other particular person, so every part was inspiring. I additionally found loads of issues by singing whereas listening to somebody pronounce English very well up shut.

Daniela: The melody and prosody are totally different from our standard songs, so every part was a problem. But it was actually enjoyable to strive one thing new!

SAIKI: The key was actually excessive, too. We each did effectively!

KANAMI: I actually like vocals that make an effort in the next key, so I might need given them each a tough time. [Laughs] But the consequence was actually satisfying so I’m completely satisfied about that.

Your bands grew to become nearer by way of this collaboration, so it’d be nice in case you may do one thing collectively once more.

Kobato: Since The Warning got here to Japan this time, we’d like to go to Mexico and do a present collectively subsequent time, po!

Alejandra: Maybe subsequent time we are able to work collectively on a music that we wrote the bottom for.

Daniela: I’ll decrease the important thing just a little bit then. [Laughs]

—This interview by Hideyuki Mori first appeared on Billboard Japan