NEW SINGLE: THE HAUNTED OUT 13th NOVEMBER 2024

Images: Lee Paine – @Leepyphoto James Harris – @wopian_ Guitar Guitar @GuitarGuitarEpsom

1.Who is ‘Re:O.’

Rio Suyama – Founding Member, Vocals, Synth. James Wright – Bass. James ‘Jay’ Stevens – Drums. Jon Roberts – Guitar, Backing Vocals

2. For someone that is yet to discover you, how would you describe your music?

Rio: Metal x Dark Pop combining dark ambient electronic J-Pop tones with high energy and blood pumping metal. Described by our fans as ‘Japancore’ a beautiful mix of Industrial Metal, Dark Pop, J Pop and Metalcore.

3. What inspired you as an artist?

Rio: When I was a kid, I went to piano school. It wasn’t my intention so I didn’t like it. But a few years later, I watched Muse lead singer Matt Bellamy’s guitar performance video which impressed me. It made me wanna learn guitar so I got the guitar. I made several bands as vocalist and guitarist but they didn’t work. So I decided to make my own project, Re:O, and watched video tutorials about producing music. This is where I am now.

James: I went through one hell of a bad time as a teenager where music became a very powerful outlet for me, I pour a lot of those horrible and haunting feelings into the music because I don’t want anyone to experience what I did and if they are experiencing it then they have something to lean on that they connect with. Playing wise It would be Mark James Klepaski from Breaking Benjamin’s original line up. The sheer skill and beautiful intricacies he added to Breaking Benjamin’s songs, for example So Cold was mind blowing for me and I still aspire to be able to write to that level.

Jay: I am a child of the 80’s and grew up in the Ground area so bands like Nirvana, NIN, Smashing Pumpkins, G&R, Greenday, Silverchair, Korn etc were my driving force of getting into playing music.

Jon: Playing music is a way for me to say all the things I can’t find the words to say. If I’m in a good mood, I play guitar – if I’m in a bad mood, I play guitar. Different things come out at different times but it’s a way to get out of my head. Even better if I can make someone else understand me a little more once they’ve heard my playing.

4. What is your process for preparing to perform live? Do you have any Diva demands?

Rio: I do some vocal warm ups, stretching and having a cup of tea.

James: Tech is super important for getting our sound right so for me it’s less about a demand from the venue and more about ensuring everything is perfect and ready to go!

Jay: Plenty of water, no food. star jumps and arm stretching.

Jon: Hydration is vital, somewhere for me to disappear and get into the right headspace for it. Music is meditation, it’s a ritual that needs careful preparation for me.

5. Where do you feel you fit into the music ?

James – Honestly we have no clue but from the recent tracks we’ve recorded it feels it fits somewhere in the Alternative Metal scene. For anyone that likes bands such as New Years Day, SpiritBox, Dreamstate, BabyMetal or Eyes Set To Kill they’ll love what they hear with ‘Ronin’ and our other upcoming songs.

6: What are your favourite musical genres, and are there any you dislike?

Rio: Mostly I listen to Industrial rock, Metalcore and Electronic music such as Dubstep and Drum and Bass.

James: I love and appreciate most genres but my favourites are Post Hardcore, Alt Metal and Nu-Metal.

Jay: I like my Rock bands ( none cheesy Brit pop ) sucker for some rock rap, Hip hop, D&B, Nu-metal.

7. Is there a story behind the band’s name’?

Rio: I was talking to my brother about my project at that time and he suggested to me that Re:O can be a cool name. I thought it was a good idea and decided to name after this project as Re:O

8. What would you say is your greatest strength as an artist?

Jon

Rio

Rio: I am very emotional and sensitive. I believe you can’t write music without expressing your emotions.

James: Our Live Shows. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed it’s how Rio captivates the crowd and how receptive they always are to our show’s, the jumping, head banging and singing along to our songs it’s insanely humbling but it’s amazing and I love seeing everyone at our shows involved being mesmerised by our show and giving us as much back as we’re giving to them.

Jay: for me it would have to be the sometimes Crazy drum beats i get sent from Rio in Demos. I have to sit there and listen to see how many arms I have to grow each time. But the thing is i like that if i am not challenging myself as an artist, then where’s the fun in that.

Jon: If you give me the bones of an idea I can turn it into something greater. Arrangements excite me, and when I get the chance to do something that doesn’t sound like a guitar but can’t be recreated by anything else, I know I’ve made something irreplaceable.

9. What would you say is your greatest weakness as an artist?

Rio: I take lots of time writing the lyrics because I want to find the right words for every song. I don’t want lyrics to ruin each song so I am very careful to do it.

James: The creative differences between me and Jon. Although overall it’s a massive asset to our sound and our music it can cause some tension and friction but we’re getting pretty good at navigating that and having better sounding songs as a result!

Jay: Going cross eyed when the rest of the band are talking about notes… I’m a drummer man not a Doctor… lol Jon – I have a very specific way of writing and playing that is how nobody else does it, navigating that can be tough sometimes

10. What can fans expect from your new single ’ ‘The Haunted’

Rio: The Haunted takes the new high energy metal direction we set ourselves on with ‘Ronin’ and explores our darker side with dark ambient syntonic melodies coupled with haunting vocals and pulsing riffs to create a haunting and oppressive mood that will captivate you from the first note to the last.

11. What music artist would you say have influenced your work?

Rio: Nine Inch Nails, REZZ, Linkin Park, SpiritBox, Bad Omens, Muse, Ramstein

James: Breaking Benjamin, Eyes Set To Kill, Linkin Park, Tool.

Jay: Nirvana, Foo Fighter, Greenday, Muse, Korn, Sleep Token, Linkin Park, Tool

Jon: Metallica (obviously), Gojira, Sabaton, Oasis, Alter Bridge, Ghost, 3TEETH, Poets of the Fall, plus a whole bunch of other stuff that makes no sense when I look like this

12. Who would you most like to collaborate with artistically?

Rio: Mick Gordon. His guitar riffs are super simple but they leave us an impression. I think if we can have an opportunity to create music with him, it would be great!

James: I’d agree with Rio I’d love to work with Mick Gordon especially with his work on the Doom (2016) soundtrack! That soundtrack has a special place in my heart!

Jay: I would love to do a song with Dave Grohl.

Jon: Mick Gordon would be a lot of fun, otherwise I love the weird angles that Tobias Forge takes in writing Ghost’s stuff and would love to get under the skin of those ideas.

13. What was your worst performance?

Rio: This is a long time ago and I had it before I made Re:O but I drank Sake before playing live and started arguing with the band mates. Everyone thought it was a part of our performance.

James: I haven’t had a performance I haven’t loved or in some way went catastrophically wrong. Although there was one show a couple years back when I just couldn’t play the song, No idea why I just played the wrong notes at the wrong time it was disastrous.

Jay: Ok, so many years back now i was playing guitar and singing in a band with some close friends, and we played a few shows at our local just for fun. But this one time I may have gotten a little drunk before the show , let’s just say that was the last time I – A drank before a show, and B sang live on stage.

Jon: In my first band I was also the singer and for about a month at every single show I’d forget a different part of the words for different songs. It was formative in teaching me how to handle things going wrong and making it look intentional.

14: What was the most difficult obstacle you have ever faced and how did you overcome it?

Rio: Finding the right members was difficult for me. Surely, there are great and talented musicians around the world but even if they are highly skilled, it doesn’t mean they have the right goals and motivation as you do. I thought we wouldn’t be able to complete the line-up but we believed that we could find them and just kept doing it.

James: Promotion, As a small independent band it’s proving extremely difficult to get any sort of attention. We appreciate everyone that’s spoken to us and given us a platform to promote on but honestly it’s a real struggle trying to find the opportunities to share our music. We’re determined to ‘break the wall’ and find our spot in the scene but it’s going to be a long road ahead and we’re ready for it!

Jay: Social media is a killer you either have it or you need to check a ton of money at it for sometimes a very little gain. But yet we keep on pushing and thank all the followers old and new for their support and love.

15: What is your creative process when making music. Do you work with others or is there just you?

Rio: I make the basic idea at first and create demo songs on Ableton. After we agree that we would work on them, I make the melodies and James (Bass) and I write the lyrics. We then get together with the demo and end up changing pieces such as the Drum beat pattern, guitar riffs, bass and fit it around the existing synths. Honestly sometimes we just tear it all up and it becomes an entirely different song!

16: Where do you see your musical career in 10 years?

Rio: Hopefully, we will be able to go on a tour to other countries and play live at Wembley Stadium in 10 years!

James: I’m hoping we’ll be in a position where we can do this full time and focus only on the music. I’d love nothing more than writing and performing full time.

Jay: Would love to say Download, and any other Festival UK or overseas. But definitely have a few tours under our belts by then, in our own Re:O Mystery machine Tour Van.

Jon: If I’m not ranked above Taylor Swift in the next greatest guitarists list it’s all gone wrong! Nah, as long as I get to stand somewhere with a guitar in my hands and hit some strings real hard, I’m happy with whatever happens from here.

17: The UK seems to have gone in to melt down regarding the Oasis Reunion, are you bothered by It?

James: Not about Oasis reuniting, I wish them luck and I’m sure they’re show’s will be incredible. I am however disgusted with how the ticket vendors have gouged the tickets to an insane price with the ‘dynamic pricing’ nonsense which is just punishing to fans. It’s unfair and that needs changing drastically.

18:Your Top 3 Overrated Musicians, who when you hear them you think ‘ How The Fk………….. ?

Imagine Dragons, Kayne West, Machine Gun Kelly

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