There is something beautiful in the music made by Japanese-British quartet, Re:O that not only grabs your imagination but also speak to your very soul. It’s hard to describe this feeling, but when you are listening to their new single “Ronin”, one almost feels invincible. Hard to categorize, absolutely unique, the band is the talk of the town and they are just starting! We sat down with the band to discover who they are, talk about their plans, upcoming headline gig in London and plans for world domination. Be ready, Re:O are coming!
“Ronin” single cover
Welcome to Indieterria! Please introduce yourselves to our readers. Where are you based and who is in the band?
Rio: Hi! Thank you for introducing us! We are really excited about this interview! I’m going to be the first one… My name is Rio and I am a vocalist and make/produce music. We are based in Maidenhead, UK.
James: I’m James and I play bass and write a lot of the English lyrics for Re:O.
Jon: I’m Jon, I make guitar noises that sometimes don’t sound like a guitar, it’s great fun.
Jay: I’m James number 2 but you can call me Whatever. I play drums and Do most of the Tech stuff, Art work and Videos for Re:O.
The first thing that draws attention to your project is the name, Re:O. Is there any proper way of pronouncing it? We are also very interested to know if there is a story behind this enigmatic name. Some of your fans on Twitter swear this is a reference to the famous survival horror – Resident Evil Zero, apparently an all-time favorite game among all the band members.
Rio: Haha, I know so many people get confused about our name! In my opinion, it’s a good sign because we can be mysterious. Anyways, Re:O is pronounced as Rio which came from my name. It used to be RIØ that was inspired by a Danish singer MØ because I thought it looked cool at that time. But one day I was talking to my brother about my stage name. He told me that the name should be easy to search because there are so many musicians in the world and suggested the name “Re:O” to me. I was like “This is much cooler!”. Then I changed the name soon after that. I thank him truly.
James: Although, I prefer the Resident Evil theory and I love that game franchise! Resident Evil 3 ranked as my favourite!
Jon: Resident Evil 0 is our favourite game? There was a period of time where people would ask me how Re:O was spelled after hearing me say it and I tended to land on “R-E-O, like Speedwagon”.
Jay: I thought it was from the Urban Dictionary “Reo is a beautiful, sweet, lovable and adorable soul”.
According to your biography Re:O started out in 2020 in Japan as a sole project of the singer and multi- instrumentalist Rio Suyama. Two singles were released “GUILD” and 嘆きのシルエット (“Sorrow’s Silhouette”). Can you tell us about the beginnings? It surely wasn’t easy to start a new project during the pandemic.
Rio: I was in another unknown band when I was in Japan. The band members told me that we didn’t succeed because of me. Basically, it was kind of like they kicked me out. I was depressed about it and I thought I should’ve stopped making and playing music. Then, Covid happened and it was hard for me to find members because everyone needed to stay at home. So, I was like “I can make music by myself, can’t I?”. Then I started studying how to make music on Ableton from YouTube tutorials. Some tutorials have so much information that really helped me a lot! I made so many horrible songs that I can’t show to everyone haha. Surely, I still remember it must have been difficult for musicians because lots of venues had been shut down and the music industry. But for me, I was able to make time for myself to learn how to make music because of Covid. For me, it wasn’t bad.
Re:O photographed by Agnieszka Rzesniowiecka
The band resurfaced last year in the UK, as a fully formed four-piece. What prompted Rio to move half the word away from home? And how did you all meet?
Rio: It was a tough decision for me to move here because I had to start everything from zero! But, this is a country I yearned for. I think, it’s because of the music scene. I have been listening to UK music since I was a kid. Especially, I liked Arctic Monkeys at that time. Also, I wanted to challenge myself in a different environment and experience something new. I went to some countries but the UK I thought was a good country to move to!
James: I met Rio when she was recording her single “Stains On My Soul” In Powerhouse Studios in Surrey. Luke Archer, who was recording and mixing it at the time, actually introduced me to her as I was recording parts of a band I was in at the time with Luke called Aorta. From there me and Rio got talking and well she spoke about how she wanted to write heavier music by combining it with her already interesting synth sounds and well I was sold.
Jon: Since moving to London from my home town of Sheffield, I’ve met a lot of musicians who have the spirit but not necessarily the ability to see their ideas through, and I resolved that for the next band I joined, I didn’t want to be the best musician in the group. I want to be pushed and I want people that can make me go beyond what I can already achieve on my own. I first heard Guild through a lucky suggestion on Apple Music and ended up seeing that they were looking for a new guitarist at roughly the same time. Having heard the older stuff, I knew I’d be in for something different. Re:O definitely does that for me, especially with mixing it all up and tap-dancing for my weird patch changes, whilst harmonising vocals with Rio and playing an awkward lead part all at once!
Jay: I was in a previous band that went on a hiatus for some time and I was online just seeing if any bands were looking for a new drummer in the local area and came across Rio. So, we pinged a few messages and emails back and forth for some time and then we booked some time in the studio for a jam. I think we did an hour or 2 and I had to pack up as they had another drummer coming in to audition the same night, so I was packing up as the other guy was walking through the door. I remember walking out thinking, these cats are younger than me and the guy that just walked in looks more like their type of person, so I just drove back home happy with what was playing and looked forward to hearing anything in the coming days/weeks. It didn’t take that long, the same night I got back, Rio had sent me a message and the rest, well let’s say you know…
There seems to be more talent between four of you than in a whole orchestra. Rio sings and plays synthesizers, bassist James Wright is also a member of hard rock group Kabuki, drummer James Stevens was in The Final Cause of Tacitus while Jon Roberts is locally known as a guitar prodigy. It`s not everyday that we meet up-coming bands consisting of such varied and established personnel. Your experience and musicianship truly set you apart from other acts on the scene. In your own words, what do you hope to achieve with this project?
Rio: All of us have different music tastes and different personalities. I am mostly influenced by rock, emo, nu-metal, pop and EDM mostly. I make catchy melodies with EDM elements because of that I believe. To make the songs heavier, others put their ideas on it. I can say, all of us have different talents which is why we make good music. I hope we can play at big festivals and go on a tour to other countries. And we will make more music that lots of people can enjoy.
James: The band’s variety, I feel, really adds to the music, especially when it comes to writing as me and Jon regularly disagree on where a riff should be or what the final one should be. Honestly, I feel this helps us to create some really interesting songs and it just adds to the final product. So, I was in Kabuki which I absolutely loved but unfortunately due to the limited time I had available for music I had to pick between Re:O and Kabuki and well Re:O won. What do I want to achieve from this project? Excellent question, I first took up music when I was in a super dark period in my life and for lack of a better term it really really saved me. I write from my previous experiences that I don’t want anyone else to go through and if they do well I hope they find some kind of connection in our music and it helps them get through whatever they are going through.
Jon: Calling me a prodigy is a very flattering lie. I just spent a lot of time playing by myself and building up a right hand I’m pretty proud of. I’m never going to be an Eddie Van Halen (THE greatest guitarist of all time, I will hear no arguments to the contrary) or an Akira Takasaki, but I can do a damn fine Me. It feels good to be in a group with other musicians that really know what they’re doing, and much like before, I really enjoy being in an environment where I get to turn up and just be Me rather than a pastiche of something else that’s come before. Pastiche is a lot of fun, don’t get me wrong, but bedroom playing is for when I want to scoop all the might out of my sound and hammer it out …And Justice for All for a few hours.
Jay: For myself? The free entertainment I get from James and Jon butting heads on chords of a track we are working on (laughing). Myself and Rio sometimes go off and play synths on our phones in the background and let them fight it out. I was in TFCOT and I was lucky enough last year to go on a Euro tour, which I would love to do with Re:O one day and who knows maybe, if invited over, in the USA.
Your first UK release “Stains on My Soul” was mixed by Luke Archer (of the band Follower) and mastered by Iain Thomas at Soundtopia – a popular Scottish studio known for their work with young and emerging artists. How do you remember that collaboration?
Rio: It was an interesting experience and I enjoyed it. That was the first time, I properly recorded and worked with engineers in person. Back in Japan, I created a recording room that was made with some blocks like styrofoam with my dad in the shape of a small box. I used this to record my vocals in the box when I recorded “GUILD” and “Sorrow’s Silhouette”. I then took the rough recordings and passed them to sound engineers in Japan remotely so they can mix and master songs. I used to record everything by myself at home. So, having the opportunity for the first time to be in a recording studio and work with someone in person to bounce ideas off of them was an awesome experience.
Re:O photographed by Agnieszka Rzesniowiecka
To date “Stain on My Soul” has received almost 13K streams on Spotify and has been picked up by Radio 1 and the BBC Introducing. Your concerts bring quite few people on mere word of mouth recommendations. All that without backing up of a major label or even management. Did you expect such an incredible response to your music?
Rio: We didn’t expect that! It was a very great thing. I have never expected that “GUILD” would be played on the BBC. A new era of Re:O has just begun so hopefully more people can enjoy our future songs, too!
Your newest release – “Ronin” will only solidify your standing as one of the acts to watch. It brings together metal riffs with choruses that would not be out of place in a pop song. There`s melancholy and fury in it. Ronin were masterless samurai, outcasts of society, but also the only truly free figures in a feudal order maintained by the bakufu. Do you see yourselves as outcasts or free agents, able to move into places where others can go?
James: Interesting question. When we were in the studio working with Simon Jackman recording “Ronin” and a few other unannounced singles, we were all talking about how we were going to market these songs and the regular question we would ask is “what fucking genre are we?” Honestly, we still don’t know and even Simon said to us “I don’t know but it’s a subgenre of metal”. So, from that perspective, yes I feel we are outcasts as we don’t fit into a box and it makes it hard to get our music out there but honestly in the long run I think that’s a good thing.
Rio: We could be outcasts like James said we can see our music different to other bands’ music since it’s mixed with many genres of music. But outcasts can be a good thing because we could be outstanding haha!
Jon: I kind of like that it doesn’t fit neatly into one box. When music does, it becomes easy to write it off. “oh, that’s very thrash metal, you just want to be Evile who wants to be Metallica” or “that’s very symphonic and you have a female singer, Epica, Within Temptation, Evanescence, and Nightwish all say hi”. That it’s more difficult to do is, I think, one of our strengths.
“Ronin” is sung in both Japanese and English, which is quite common in J-Rock or among Visual Kei bands. Would you consider yourselves as followers of those trends or would you rather be seen as separate from those genres of guitar music?
James: To be totally honest, we just write the type of music we enjoy. The aim of writing our music is to release something we’re proud of and we would actively listen to and add to our own music libraries. I don’t think we purposely follow any sort of trends or design our music with a “we must be like this band” or “we need that here or else it won’t be commercially successful”. It’s more of a case of “that sounds sick, throw it in!”. Ultimately, if I’m proud of the song we’ve released and I’m pissing off all my friends showing the song to them like with “Ronin”, then I’m happy.
Rio: I’ve never thought about it. And it’s not like we mix Japanese and English lyrics or copy music types like our favourite bands. We aren’t doing this because we want to be other bands, it’s just we like what we’re doing is really fun to us. Then, the magic of music happens!
Jon: Given the different iterations of stage make up I’ve been messing with, Visual Kei definitely has some sort of influence on me, even if it’s not immediately apparent. As far as the music goes, it really is just as simple as “does it sound good, and if yes, do it”.
Jay: Hmmm, for me no. I like to keep an open mind in music and art and do things that I like and not follow the crowd. I don’t really care much if it has been done before as long as I am happy then, that’s good for me.
At Indieterria we often say that every day is a school day. We learn new things from each band we interview. Today for example we discovered the existence of what is known as “kyosei music”. It takes it`s name from the Japanese term “tabunka kyosei” or “multicultural coexistence”. It is used to describe bands in western music which have Japanese band members, or vice versa. From Trivium and Ibaraki (both fronted by Matt Heafy), though incredible Polish/Japanese AcidSitter to Re:O, and maybe even Chaidura by extension – there seems to be a thriving movement bridging gaps between cultures through musical expression. What`s your take on it as a Japanese – British band? Do you think we will see more collaborations like this in the future? British bands playing Budokan perhaps?
James: I hope so! It brings much needed variety and an interesting blend of playing techniques and writing styles to western music and vice versa. It also brings new visual experiences that aren’t overly common in western music from Japan and that can only be a win.
Rio: I really hope we can play live at Budokan! That would be great. Well, it could be unique because I don’t think there are so many Japanese/British bands but at the same time it must be challenging because English is the common language in this world and most people seek English songs in my opinion. But hopefully we can be pioneers like Trivium and see more multicultural bands!
Jon: BRING. ON. BUDOKAN. The more we get these weird little cultural blends, the richer we all are for it. It’s only ever a good thing in my experience, so I’d definitely like to see more people following suit on this kind of thing in time.
Jay: 100% open to any new music that kills the main stream BS that floods our airways.
If anyone wants to book or work with Re:O, what’s the best way to contact you?
Rio: Email us at ReOEnquiries@gmail.com, this is the best way or if they shoot us a DM on Instagram @reotheband that could also work! We will reply as soon as possible!
What are your plans for the remaining months of 2024 and beyond? What can we expect from the band?
Rio: We will play live at The Spice of Life on 30th August, Soho, London! This will be the first time to play with a new line up so we hope you guys can come and hang out with us! Hopefully we can play more shows this year and we have been making more songs so we can’t wait to show you! You can buy tickets at: https://www.ents24.com/london-events/the-spice-of-life/reo/7141488
James: Don’t forget you can also buy tickets through our Linktree for the show! We’ll see you all there!
Jay: Maybe releasing one more song release before the end of the year ??
Last question is always a bit of fun at Indieterria. Imagine somebody decided to draw a comic/manga about Re:0. Who is the author and what type of a comic book is it?
Jon: Comic or manga? They’d be very different!
I don’t know why but I get the feeling something utterly absurd like しかのこのこのここしたんたん (My Deer Friend Nokotan) would be funny, mostly for the anime adaptations that would inevitably come out of it. Oshioshio just gets it. Plus, if it was ever turned into an anime, it’s an excuse for me to be impressed by the animators matching up hand movements accurately, a la Metalocalypse. I already have my own little rip-off pinch harmonic to censor swears and everything!
Or, I’d love to see a shōnen style manga about stylised training to become the ultimate musicians, complete with guitar/bass/drum battles and Dragon-Ball style powering up sequences before hitting some sick riffs. It’s a shame that Toriyama-Sensei isn’t with us anymore to have something like that suggested to him. He’d have done it justice (and given us all some truly incredible hair, truly the most important part of it all).
Jay: I was born in the late 70’s and grew up in the 80’s and 90’s so for me it would have to be something like a post-apocalyptic dark Cyberpunk World from the mind of Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) for those that don’t know.
Follow Re:O online at:
https://www.facebook.com/reothebandofficial
https://www.instagram.com/reotheband/
https://reomusic3.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/user-532691948
https://www.twitch.tv/reo_o_jp
https://x.com/re_oofficial
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsicWava4-eRqVvrHOEOeMg
https://ko-fi.com/reotheband
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5rLfw0m94PhKR4pnbomrqB?si=xE0iSSyxQ9udwJwDBytIVA&nd=1&dlsi=4983dfe252f741b8
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