A Q&A with Ginger May

Genre-hopping dark electronica, from Japan…

What’s the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
Our latest single ‘Me and You’ was released at the beginning of July with an amazing music video. And it means a lot to us. First of all, this is our first release with Messina Records. Unlike with our previous release we worked with many people on this single. It is something different but it was a nice experience. And we are grateful to get support from the label. Secondly, we have changed our sound a bit. Something like what we always aspired to. And we are super excited about the new sound.

What was the hardest part about putting this release together, and why?
We guess it’s mixing. In fact, there was nothing hard. It’s just that sometimes when you’re working with a lot of people, it’s hard to come to a consensus about the sound. But we are happy with the result.

Who produced the release – what did they bring to it? If you produced it yourselves what do enjoy most about producing your own material?
Our guitarist Satoshi produced the single. Since he is an experienced and talented producer, it seemed pretty natural to produce our material by ourselves. Of course, labels also took a part in it.

What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
We’d be very happy if our music helps listeners to cope with the difficulties in their lives. When our listeners tell us how our music has helped them, touched them from the heart, and influenced their lives, perhaps, this is the best compliment the musician can receive.

How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
I (Tanya) just have the songs in my head from the beginning. I’d rather say all of my songs are reactions to events that occur in my life. I never write about something that I haven’t experienced. Usually, the melody comes first. And when I have time I take my guitar and create the bones of the song. After that, I create the arrangement with Satoshi Higashida and go to the studio to practice with the band. Satoshi also writes songs for the band. But his process is a bit different. He creates whole songs step by step with his own view. And then I review it and we change it together to fit the style of the band.

What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
It is almost impossible to list everything that has influenced us. We love classical music, pop and rock music from the 50s and the 60s, and rock’n’roll. As for more modern music, maybe rock from the 90s is the biggest influence since we grew up in that era. If you ask about specific bands, we can only name a few. For Example, RHCP, Papa Roach, Evanescence, Blondie, The Garbage. Radiohead, etc. And also we would like to mention a few industrial rock bands like Rammstein, Zeromancer, Oomph!, etc, which partially influenced our sound.

What countries would you like to tour? Are there any standout venues you’d like to play in?A world tour sounds nice 🙂 But especially we would love to tour in the UK. A lot of our favorite bands are from there and personally, we think that the “English” sound is the best.

If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
Only one track? 🙂 It’s hard, especially since we are in the process of recording the new album. But if you want to taste a new Ginger May, you should listen to our latest single ‘Me and You’. After that try ‘Cocoon’. Somehow a lot of people can relate to this song. And another one is a nice ballad ‘Mesmerizer’.

What ambitions do you have for the band/your career?
Perhaps it is establishing an original, recognizable sound. It may seem simple, but we wouldn’t want to set any unrealistic goals. We do what we love – the music.

Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
Thank you. You are amazing people.

For more info visit: gingermay.com