Interview with Jrock Revolution

Not-quite-newcomer DELUHI took some time to connect with JrockRevolution.com. This powerhouse quartet have already begun to carve a name for themselves. How did they begin, how far have they come and what is in store for their future? Read on and find out!


JRR: Please introduce yourselves for those on JrockRevolution.com who might not know you yet.
Leda: DELUHI is a “Visual-kei” band formed back in January 2008. The four members are: Juri (vocal), Leda (guitar), Aggy (bass) and Sujk (drums).

JRR: Please describe Deluhi in two words.
Leda: Aggressive and melodious.
Sujk: Heavy and delicate spirits.
Juri: Screaming. Shouting!!
Aggy: Hard and destructive.


JRR: Why did you choose the name DELUHI?
Sujk: Well we just chose it because it had a nice ring to it. It's kind of a coined term.
Leda: It has no particular meaning to it. But I have one thing to point out. English speaking people tend to pronounce it with an accent on the middle syllable, just like this: de-LU-hi. We want all the syllables to be stressed to be pronounced right. We know it's not an English kind of pronunciation, but since we named it because it sounded pleasant to us, we want it to be said right.

JRR: Why did you decide on being a visual-kei band as opposed to other options?
Leda: We thought this type of music was the best way to express our selves.

JRR: When and how did you first get into music and decide that it was what you wanted to do?
Leda: I used to hang around with an acoustic guitar when I was in middle school, but I wasn't really into music until one friend of mine came by and played X Japan and Luna Sea. That's when I became really aware of music in general, and rock music in particular.
Juri: When I was about 12 years old, influenced by my brother. I listened to Glay and got shocked. That's when I started playing music myself.
Aggy: A friend of mine came to my house, and left his bass guitar in my room. That was the very first thing in the beginning.
Sujk: I used to love music as a child. When I was in middle school, we were talking with friends to put together a band or something, and I said "I'll play the drums", and voila, here I am. (laughs)

JRR: How did you meet each other?
Leda: The whole thing started when I met Juri. I was looking for a singer, and I thought "Hey, Juri isn't really a vocalist yet, but he's got talent, it might be cool to form a band with him". So I called him and we formed DELUHI's predecessor band. Then of course we'd look for a drummer and a bassist, and auditioned many drummers and one of them said, "You guys are looking for a rhythm section, right? I've got a friend who's a bassist", and that friend of his was Aggy. This drummer guy eventually quit, and Aggy stayed. We started looking for a drummer again, and we auditioned two drummers and jammed together. The second guy was Sujk. He got really late to the studio, but we played one song and just as the four of us played a note, we thought he's gotta be the one! We all thought this was going to be the band. I think it was an inevitable chance that came by.

JRR: Your latest release is your Jagganath single.
Leda: Yes, but we will be releasing a DVD single called FLASH:B[L]ACK on May 20th. JAGANNATH, VISVASRIT and MAHADEVA form part of a trilogy, and the respective concepts are creation, prosperity and destruction. The songs in these singles represent DELUHI itself, and are all very important songs.

JRR: What is the reason/meaning behind your band’s logo?
Leda: The first mini album SURVEILLANCE was released back in March 2008, and its theme was the word surveillance itself. This was our debut work, and we just formed the band and were doing the recordings at the same time. Right then, we came up with the logo of an eye, meaning under surveillance, and put the letters D, L and H of DELUHI in the logo.

JRR: What was it like to film the Hybrid Truth PV? Did you enjoy the experience?
Leda: HYBRID TRUTH has now become DELUHI’s anthem. It perfectly concentrates every musical aspects of DELUHI into one song. Every musical characteristics of DELUHI are packed inside this four minute long song, so the progression is extremely fast and heavy. We all have strong feelings for this song. The PV shooting was fun too, although it was REALLY tough (laughs).

JRR: If you could pick any place to have a concert, where would it be and why?
Leda: I'd love to go anywhere in the world if they be fans waiting for us. Right now we haven't spread our activities to overseas countries, but we sure are seeking possibilities for this. I want to visit many countries.

JRR: What are your current interests/hobbies?
Leda: Out-of-body experiences.
Sujk: Meditations.
Juri: Riddles.
Aggy: Japanese culture.

JRR: Where do you get the inspiration for your music?
Leda: I get inspired by beautiful landscapes. Not only of Japan, but I also enjoy getting inspired by seeing pictures of foreign countries. When I go overseas sometime in the future, the first thing I would do is to look up the sky, get a great view of the landscape and get inspired.
Sujk: Watching films, maybe. Well, I get inspired by my brain getting inspired by watching the film.
Juri: I'd like to ride my bike along the coast. I bet there are plenty of things you get inspired of out there.
Aggy: Nothing in particular, I always get inspired by everything around me.

JRR: Is there anyone that you look up to?
Leda: Someone like SUGIZO, hide and a lion combined together.
Sujk: There are so many I can't pick. If I were to choose one, I'd pick Danny Carey of TOOL.
Juri: Chester Bennington of Linkin Park.
Aggy: My father.

JRR: What did you listen to when you were younger? Do you still listen to any of that music now?
Leda: X JAPAN. Their music is my bible.
Sujk: KORN. I still like them.
Juri: GLAY.
Aggy: Nirvana.

JRR: What song would you recommend for a first-time listener of DELUHI?
Leda: HYBRID TRUTH and Orion once again.
Sujk: LivingDead.
Leda: If you want something fast, HYBRID TRUTH is the one. If you want a heavy one, LivingDead is your choice.

JRR: Do you have a favorite DELUHI song?
Leda: HYBRID TRUTH.
Sujk: Baby play.
Juri: s[K]ape:goat, from our latest single due May 20th.
Aggy: I can't pick one. I just can't rank them.

JRR: How about a favorite song from another band or artist?
Leda: Just Another Star by BULLET FOR MY VALLENTINE.
Sujk: TOOL's Parabol/Parabola
Juri: Nagai Aida by Kiroro
Aggy: Search & Destroy by Iggy and The Stooges

JRR: If you were not in music, what other job do you think you would have?
Leda: Never thought about it.
Sujk: Some guy in an electric store.
Juri: Some fish dealer.
Aggy: I'd be selling crepes.

JRR: What is one band or artist that you would most like to share a stage with?
Leda: There's too many to choose from.
Sujk: SLIPKNOT.
Juri: Teru, from GLAY.
Aggy: Johnny Depp.

JRR: On May 20 is the release of your first DVD single, is there anything in particular about the upcoming release that you would like your fans to know?
Leda: The main song in this single, s[K]ape:goat is a Requiem for a friend of mine who passed away.
Juri: The shouts at the bridges are the highlights.
Leda: Guitarwise, I stick to the solos and main riffs. I've also concentrated on the guitar sounds more than ever. I'd like people to take a listen to the thrashing guitar sounds.
Aggy: The small riff right after the drum fills in the intro. I really concentrated on this part.

JRR: Have any of you ever been overseas? If so, where did you go?
Leda: No, but I'd love to go sometime.
Sujk: Never been abroad. I want go to the US.
Juri: I went to Hawaii once when I was still in my mother's womb.
Aggy: Thailand and Saipan. Bayview was great.

JrockRevolution.com would like to thank DELUHI and BRAVEMAN RECORDS.

Additional thanks to Kei Nagase, manager, for conducting the interview and Jun Hasebe for the English translation.