GARNiDELIA Bio
GARNiDELIA is two unit group consisting of Maria and Toku-P. They have released numerous singles from hit anime series like the second opening to Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei, the second opening to Kill la Kill, and Maria-san even being featured on the opening to Mekakucity Actors, “Daze”. Steadfastly climbing the popularity chart, GARNiDELIA is a rising force in the music industry. The powerful vocals of Maria coupled with Toku's ability to piece together numerous instruments into a musical arrangement that sets an atmosphere allows this dynamic duo to deliver electrifying performance that gets the audience hyped up.
GARNiDELIA came from humble origins. Toku originally arranged music for Vocaloid, the most famous of which was SPiCa. He made sure that his background of Italian classical music is infused with some of his music. This unique fusion is somewhat of J-Pop music with a twist of elegance. Don’t let his cool demeanour on the cover CD’s fool you, Toku-san is actually very lively and cheerful.
Maria started performing as a dancer and a singer at age 13. Extremely talented as she is beautiful, she used to be part of a dance group before it was disbanded. Now she provides the vocals of GARNiDELIA when she first collaborated with Toku on their debut single, “ambiguous”.
GARNiDELiA 『ARiA』(Short Ver.)
Q&A Session with GARNiDELIA at AFA 2015
The organisers from AFA 2015 has been generous to allow ourselves, as well as our media friends from other outlets to conduct an interview with GARNiDELIA.
Let’s hear it from GARNiDELIA themselves, here is a transcript of the whole Q&A session:
Media Friend #1:
-- Your new album BiRTHA is a collection of your indie songs, how would you say is the change from indie songs to GARNiDELIA
Toku:
At the time of ARIA, Maria-san was just 18 years old. For BiRTHA, Maria re-sang the songs. From that time, her voice as well as herself would've matured. As we meet more fans, it had really helped to boost our confidence as we are not indie singers anymore but operating under the name GARNiDELIA.
Media Friend #2:
-- The cover art for your new album looks really good, how much effort has been put into the cover art and how do you feel about showing your real appearance instead of a mascot character?
Maria:
We used a mascot character during our indie days. After our debut however, it will always be the real GARNiDELIA on all of our covers. On the topic of costumes and art, I will produce everything and discuss it with the producer and crew such as the expression, colour and theme of the song. We will also discuss what clothes we will don for a performance as well.
Toku:
Why we use a mascot character in our indie days was because it was popular at that time for doujins to release mascot characters instead of our real persons. When we debuted however, it is easier to gain popularity and also let the fans know more about us, hence our real appearance and GARNiDELIA!
Media Friend #3:
-- Maria-san, you always look cute and beautiful, do you have any inspiration for your fashion?
Maria:
I have no specific person that I look towards to. I generally observe the people that walked on the streets and draw inspiration from them. Other sources of my inspiration are anime characters of course! I also draw reference from the different seasons of the year and Paris collections as well. Once I have come up with a basic idea of what I want, I will discuss it with my stylist.
Honey's Anime:
-- When you were starting out, what were some of the main challenges you guys faced?
Maria:
During our indies period, we were only focused on upping videos to YouTube and NicoNicoDouga. Of course, these comments drew comments, both good and bad I would say. Some of them can be very hurtful and we try our best not be too affected by the bad comments. Of course, we will try to improve ourselves as well after reading both good and bad comments. When we were active on the Net, we always tend to perform online and sometimes, we feel that we don't get as much audience as we do. We only had 10 people viewing us during a particular performance.
Now, we are thankful for as we are getting thousands of views. We also have the chance to perform overseas and to meet overseas fans as well. With these attention, we need to be stricter on ourselves and not get sick. We cannot fail and we must do a performance that won't let our fans down.
Honey's Anime:
-- What is the happiest moment for the both of you as a performing group?
Toku:
I'm always happy!
Maria:
They most enjoyable time would be the one man lives and the chance to meet new fans. But the happiest moment, it would have to be the news of us debuting.
Media Friend #4:
-- What relaxation activities do you all do when you’re away from music?
Maria:
We love music. Doing something that we love is the most fulfilling thing of all. If I had to say recreational activities after that... Sleeping!
Toku: We are linked with our music and every noise that we hear or any environmental cues that can be used as an inspiration for creating music. I would say other than that... when we eat and then we sleep!
Media Friend #5:
-- What advice do you have for budding music artistes?
Toku:
There is an increasing pool of artistes nowadays, in the early days, it was easier to be in this field as there were lesser competition. However, these days, people are more polite the journey will be smoother for you, competition however is going to be very stiff.
The most important part in music is to develop your own sense of style. Find your strengths and research on them such that it becomes something irreplaceable such that one could replicate it. Be firm in your beliefs! Don't be swayed by the flow!
And that was GARNiDELIA! Their passion for music and their immense dedication to their fans will only allow them to grow and reach new horizons.
Here at Honey’s Anime, we will leave you with a picture of GARNiDELIA as well as their autographs. Strive on GARNiDELIA! Your talent and boundaries as musicians are limitless and you can certainly attain new heights in the industry!
Author: Araragi
Singapore AFA2015 Article Tour
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