Interview ~ SiSen: February 4, 2008
Tour with BLOOD ~ Darkest Labyrinth vol.7
Monday night was the last show from BLOOD's Darkest Labyrinth vol.7 tour, featuring DJ SiSen. After a little unwinding from the show, SiSen kindly took the time to answer a few of our questions.
For our readers who may not know you, please introduce yourself and tell us what you do.
I'm DJ SiSen, but I'm not just a DJ, I also perform at events.
What sort of scene do you DJ?
Basically, goth clubs, where there's a little more variety than just dance.
What first caught your interest in this scene?
Since my childhood, I've always had an interest in strange things. I liked bands that were different from everything else, I started to get bored with some of the stuff early on, so I started to get into the club scene. I took interest in that and got into dance and industrial music.
How would you explain your music and DJ style?
I hope to appeal to people who like strange things, like I do, and fans in the gothic and industrial scenes. I think there’s a lot of fans who like visual kei and that sort of thing, as well, so I hope that as a DJ, I can help increase the gothic and industrial scene in Japan. Right now it’s kind of small.
What about your personal style—your fashion? Can you tell us a little about that and what inspires it?
I am male, but there is also a part inside of me that is a bit female. I don’t necessarily like dressing as a woman, I just want to be able to express that part of me. When I was a child, I did a lot of drawing, but I don’t really draw much anymore. But I also want to express that artistic side of myself through my fashion.
Your costumes look like they’re difficult to put on. How long does it take you to get your costumes ready for events?
It’s actually pretty easy. The clothing probably takes about ten minutes, and the make-up takes maybe thirty minutes, so it really doesn’t take that long.
One of the things I liked about your costumes is the pacifier. Is there a reason why you have that as part of your ensemble?
Ahh… (laugh) It’s not because I want to be a baby or anything. At clubs I saw people that are into the rave scene, wearing lots of accessories and things. One of the things that was in fashion was the pacifier; I thought that was kinda cool, so I thought I could use it.
Do you have any fashion tips for our readers?
I prefer a more colorful style, so people who want to go colorful, it’s important to keep a balance, and try to keep a simple edge to it. Even if you have a lot of different parts, try to keep it simple and balanced.
You’ve been to Europe before with Tokyo Decadance, but is this your first time in America?
I haven’t been to America with Tokyo Decadance before. It costs a lot of money, and so we would have to have a really good sponsor. I hope to find a good sponsor and bring Tokyo Decadance to America someday, so look forward to it.
What impressions have you had of America?
Before I came here, I saw a lot of things about America on TV. I thought it was kind of scary (laugh) with all the guns and rape going on everywhere! When I came here, not so much here in Chicago because of the snow, but in Los Angeles and San Antonio, the weather was really nice, and the people were nice and cheerful, even more so than in Europe. I really like it!
What’s it like doing a tour in America with a band like BLOOD?
I’m really happy about going on this tour, because I’ve always been waiting for an industrial and visual type band to come to in Japan and to work with them, so I’m really excited to have a chance like this.
Have you had any strange or interesting experiences on this tour?
There hasn’t been anything in particular that stands out, but I’ve had a lot of fun.
What have you been doing in the music scene recently? Are there any projects you’re working on?
My main goal is to expand the goth and visual scenes in Japan, as well as around the world. There’re all kinds of interesting cultures in Japan, like anime and all the different music scenes, but they’re all scattered. I want to bring them together a bit. Even though I’m a DJ right now, it’s not like I want to be really famous, or that I even want to be a DJ forever, but my main goal is just to enlarge that scene in Japan through what I’m doing.
You have one song on the Tokyo Dark Castle CD, SaGa. Was this song inspired by anything in particular? How did you put it together?
(laughing) There were a lot of male sex voices, gay video voices in the song. That’s partially because there’s a lot of songs with female voices that way, but not many with the male voices, so I thought it would be interesting to try that. Also, partially because there’s a bit of male and a bit of female in myself, I wanted to express that people who are into sexual things like that are not only after sex, but also want pure love. There’s kind of a sad edge to it; even though it may just sound perverted, that sadness is important. The sadness is…fucking without love. Also, the meaning of “saga” in Japanese, it’s written with the character for sexuality. So it seemed to fit the image really well.
Can we expect more songs from you—maybe your own release with a single or mini-album?
I’m studying and learning as I go with making music. But I do want to make more.
Last year was a big year for Tokyo Decadance in Europe, and for Japan’s Tokyo Dark Underground scene in general. What would you like to do for this year?
This year I plan on going back to Europe in May. I want to do some things I haven’t done, stay a little bit longer, go to some countries I haven’t been to. Last year I went to Europe six times and kind of got tired, so I want to take it a little easier this year and not overdo it.
I’ve also grown to like America a lot, so I want to come back here, and also maybe Canada and Mexico, and other countries outside of Japan.
America’s cyber and industrial scene is behind Japan and Europe’s; what do you think us Americans could do to catch up?
Sort of crazy that it’s behind…I think that it would help if there was some kind of large-scale event that could draw a lot of people together. It’s such a big country, there’s so much to it; you just need something to bring everyone together. There are a lot of great artists in America, about a third of my favorite DJs are American. There’s a lot of potential here.
Which American DJs or artists do you like?
I don’t have one particular favorite, I like lots of artists. Currently my favorite is Caustic. I even used it in my set tonight.
Can you give us any recommendations for music, Japanese or otherwise?
There’s one Japanese group that I really like…they have an industrial sound. They have a female vocalist, she’s very cute and anime-like, and male guitarist and percussion. I don’t really use it to DJ though. Their name is Yoseiteikoku ( 妖精帝國 ).
What other hobbies do you have outside of DJing and music?
Things that are related to what I do. I might have a liking for designing clothes, but that’s a secret! On my days off, I like to take walks. I like nature.
Do you collect anything? Maybe…plushies?
This might sound boring, but plushies…I don’t really collect those. Actually, right now I live in a small house—there’s not much room, there’s a lot of clothes and things, so I’m trying not to collect much.
If you could only get one present from your fans, what would it be?
Their love is enough for me!
And finally, do you have a message for American fans?
I hope more people will grow to like Japanese music; I hope to continue to work to bring that to more people and spread the influence. So support them!
interview and photos by Melony
Thank you to SiSen for taking the time to answer our questions; thank you to Tainted Reality for their help in making this possible.
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