It wasn’t too long ago that we chatted with Isiliel’s Himari Tsukishiro. She left a major impact with her show last fall in Philadelphia, so when it was announced that Isiliel would be returning to the United States, and the east coast in particular, it seemed a fine opportunity to catch up with all of the activities she has been working on in the half-year or so since we last sat down to chat. So this time, an anime night in New Jersey called Natsu Matsuri, provided the backdrop as we spoke on the building’s roof, with translation provided by Himari’s manager, Ricky Wilson.
On her latest single, “Qliphoth”
Isiliel’s most recent single is entitled “Qliphoth,” a haunting and aggressive track stacked with some elegant melodies and a thrilling chorus. “I think one of the big differences between “Qliphoth” and some of the other songs we have done is that I really wanted a song that people could get into. Something that was easy to follow along with and listen to,” states Himari. “There’s a lot of repetition in the lyrics, which is different from some of the other songs. It’s mainly so people can get into it with the first listen.”
She continues, “with the first album, Moonbow Genesis, I really wanted to show Isiliel’s world as well as my own abyss. It’s very much focused on what I wanted to show. But for “Lilith” and “Qliphoth,” I wanted to start doing some songs that would be easier for people to get into, and easier for them to grasp onto with the songs themselves.” “Lilith,” which she performed back in Philly last year, also captures that same visceral energy – a mysterious atmosphere, shredding musicianship, and of course, Himari’s elegant vocals, which includes a prime opportunity for audience participation with a sing-a-long chant.
So in addition to this more audience-engaging approach, the video for “Qliphoth” also showcases some bright and eye-catching rope art. Something that Himari has been doing since Isiliel’s inception. “The first artist photos of Isiliel and the first visuals we produced were with the rope artist Hajime Kinoko, and at the time I really knew nothing about that world. I was a complete newbie,” she admits. “But my producer Ricky [Wilson] said he wanted to do this type of visual and work with this artist/photographer, and present this image. When I heard about the reasoning behind it, I thought, ‘Ok, I can get behind this.’ I thought it was a cool image. It was something that I wanted to show, and I would like to use for a visual.”
“When we were shooting with Hajime, he said that for him, he doesn’t think of it as ‘shibaru,’ which means to tie down or constrict/restrict, he thinks of it as ‘musubu,’ which means to connect. So that was a word that really resonated with me and I really liked, because for me words are very important. That concept of not restricting, but connecting, is something I really wanted to push forward and use whenever we are doing those visuals. Another facet of that, is obviously when you are tied up, it can be painful. It’s not comfortable. But there is something beautiful born out of it. I think part of Isiliel and the overall project, one I really want to present to everyone, is that through adversity or painful experiences and difficulty, beauty can be born. This is one way to show that it’s beauty through perseverance or enduring those difficult situations.”
Pink Promise and April Fools
Back on April Fool’s Day, Isiliel fans were given a gift instead of a trick, in the form of the song “Pinky Promise.” A song that deviates entirely from Isiliel’s unique brand of heavy metal and delves full-on into melodic Japanese city pop. Himari explains, “Isiliel has been doing a lot of heavy metal. It’s basically a heavy metal project, but to do something completely on the other side of that with something really bright and light on the city pop side would make for a nice contrast.”
Those who watch the accompanying music video and familiar with the anime movie Perfect Blue are in for another treat. “From the beginning, we wanted to include that Perfect Blue reference. Perfect Blue is kind of a retro movie, from the ‘90s, but to have that sort of ‘80s retro pop sound in there to kind of link through the entire concept of “Pinky Promise” and Perfect Blue,” she explains. If one really wants to dig in, watch “Pinky Promise” and then “Qliphoth” to catch the continued reference to Perfect Blue in her newest single.
So why drop such a genuinely sweet song on April Fool’s Day, a day that many of us in the United States associate with jokes and pranks? “In idol culture, the concept of April Fools is something people really run with, and to be honest, I fucking hated that,” exclaims Himari. “A lot of times you say, ‘why would you be almost lying about something like this,’ and other times you are thinking, ‘is this real? Is this a joke or fake? I don’t even know what we are supposed to be doing.’ So I never really liked that.”
Those who had seen Isiliel live before “Pinky Promise” were probably not too surprised at the song’s title. “On tour, we had a lot of driving. I was using the term ‘pinky promise’ throughout the tour at every show on stage. I was thinking that I’d like to use that concept of ‘pinky promise’ in a song and really do something kind of outside of the mold, or a complete reversal of what we are normally doing with Isiliel.” She elaborates, “but what would be a good opportunity? Oh, April Fools! That would be a perfect opportunity to do a one-off that is completely the inverse of everything we are normally doing.”
Cosplay
Having touched on Himari’s love of cosplay with our last chat, we dug in deeper, having seen more pictures since our last discussion with anime backdrops (such as Madoka Magica recently in her return to Philadelphia), and more cosplay pics from her dressed as characters such as Homura Akemi, Tomie, and Sailor Mars. Himari notes, “I never want to do anything that would deflate or bring down the image of that character or that anime. I always want to respect the character or the contents that they are coming from. For me, personally, because anime is something that really saved me. Because of that, whenever I am cosplaying, I want to be sure that I am honoring and respecting the anime and characters. I never want to do anything that would be possibly viewed as disrespectful. That’s always first and foremost in my mind.”
So what characters does she typically tend to favor then? She thinks, “I have a tendency to choose characters that resemble myself. I tend to go in that direction and right now I am in a dilemma in trying to break out of that mold and do some more new or original characters that I haven’t really tried yet.”
With that idea in mind, one recent anime that has caught her eye has been that of Dungeon Meshi. Himari emphatically explains, “I would like to cosplay Senshi! He’s always doing his best to kind of make delicious food to support the people around him. He also has a soft and fluffy body. This is a bit spoiler-y, but towards the end of the first season of the show, they showed a bit of his backstory, and in seeing that, I realized I can really relate to characters who have a difficult past or have been through a lot of trials to get to where they are. You can feel the depth of their love after that.”
Live streams
In addition to her current 2024 world tour, Himari also routinely live streams concerts on location. When asked how she looks at a live stream in comparison to performing with a room full of people, she states, “I think I definitely have a different approach to the two types of shows. One particular thing I have been working on recently is bringing people into the shows and really enjoying the shows together. When I really think about it, it’s not so much ‘regular live’ versus a ‘live stream,’ it’s ‘today’s live.’ Like, how should I approach today’s live? Like this one today, so that everyone can really enjoy it and we can come together through that live.”
That very sentiment seemed to embody her performance later where she would, in addition to her commanding on-stage interactions with the crowd, literally leave the stage during “Pinky Promise” and interact with just about everyone she could manage before the song’s end. It’s that level of commitment and dedication that shines through her live performances. It’s also what powers her through the challenging set up of a live stream. “Whenever we are doing live streams, we are always doing them through very small speakers and it’s difficult to hear. The ground is never level – it’s usually dirt or gravel or something like that. So if I turn a bit, I could go sliding. There’s also a lot of bugs! It’s always a fight with bugs,” she urges.
So these are not just a simple set up of throwing on a camera and recording from some bland studio. But there’s a drive still to make these online experiences even more unique and intriguing. “So up until now, it’s always been whatever country or part of the world we are in, just trying to find something with a good view or somewhere with interesting locations that we can shoot at,” Himari explains. “But the new series we are starting right now, which is the first time we have discussed it, is ‘Metal Uma,’ which is about (u)nidentified (m)ysterious (a)nimals, like a cryptozoologist. The theme behind that is going on a cryptozoology hunt before or after the show. So areas in the world that have these sort of legends associated with them and merging the show as well as cryptozoology into the backstory.”
Stage acting
At the beginning of the year, Himari began acting on the theater stage in the production of War of Black Empirez. A different experience for her than just being the sole voice for Isiliel in the live setting. “For Isiliel, it’s just me on the stage, and I’m always trying to kind of express the world of the songs, or the backstory of the songs, through my performance,” says Himari. “But in War of Black Empirez, I played the character Persephone. My struggle there was to really show Persephone as she should be. I think she is the coolest. To have her presented as cool as she possibly can be and to really live out that character on stage, it’s a totally different kind of feeling. It’s a totally different approach.”
Himari is also quick to state that her character Persephone was not only an influence on her, but that it was more of a two-way street. “I feel like Persephone and myself have a circular influence. We influence each other. When I first started playing her, Persephone was a really weak character. She couldn’t do action scenes at all. She could have disappeared from that play at any moment. It’s not uncommon to see characters come and go very quickly. She could have been one who came in once and was gone. But I really tried to grow her as much as I could. With her, I felt myself growing as well. We were sort of growing together, the two of us.”
Having previously spoken of her goal of voicing an anime character in her future, we also discussed the theater stage as a potential future goal as well. “Definitely,” admits Himari. “I am always trying to find new experiences and areas that I can challenge and get into. For example, on this tour, we had a very long photoshoot with a photographer. My producer and the photographer really decided what kind of situations and images the photo sessions would take. A lot of those were things I hadn’t done before, so it was experiencing that as a model for the first time. But it was really good because it gave me the opportunity to try some things I hadn’t done before. So I try to find new areas to branch into and grow.”
Staying strong and looking forward
That said, the road into new territory is never an easy one to break into, and negativity can be a crushing blow if one lets it, as Himari is quick to acknowledge. “It’s not always that easy, and everyone has their own opinions. Sometimes you are doing your best to try to do something new and fresh, but some of the feedback you get is not the type that you want to hear. Kind of cutting words, I guess you could say. There’s always that type of risk and fear of trying something new. How are people going to react to it? But for me, I want to keep pushing myself and going into as many new areas as I can.”
Given her tenure of over ten years in the Japanese idol industry, one would think she might have developed a trade secret or two in fighting off some of this adversity. “I don’t have one,” she exclaims! “I didn’t have that source of strength. A lot of times in the past, whenever something was said or I got some negative feedback, it would hit me hard and I would find myself unable to get out of bed for a few days, with the tears coming down. But I look back at the lyrics that I have written and all of the things that I have done, and I can just now start to say that all of those experiences that I have done are a part of what makes me who I am today. It’s what got me to where I am today. They are the springboard to moving forward. But that’s a very recent change.”
It’s a challenge for sure, but it’s nothing that she can’t overcome, which again speaks to her character as a whole. “Everything. The good and the bad, with time it all flows away. I think that flow can be like the flow of blood in your body. All of those past experiences are flowing through you, and enabling you to do what you are doing today and what you will do tomorrow. That leads to a brighter future – those shiny days to come,” Himari smiles, as we giggle a little bit at the emphatic passion in her response. “Because it can get a laugh out of you, it shows that it’s the truth.” It’s hard to argue with that nugget of wisdom.
Future plans
Given that it’s now summer and festival season in Europe, it seems a prime subject as she is on her way over after her final US shows. But she feels she has a little ways to go before she can start shooting for those very big, prominent stars. “I think for me right now, rather than wanting to play a certain festival, I just want to grow and get strong enough to be able to play with some of the elder statesmen of the metal world that I really respect and look up to.”
“Right now we are in the midst of a world tour, as we complete each show I can sort of see that it’s finished. I feel some uncertainty – these shows and events that you are looking forward to become the past. A lot of the bands that I really look up to, they have schedules out for years in advance. I want to get to that level that I can say, ‘we are going to be doing this next year, or doing this the year after that.’ We are still in the process of that. I think it would help my own uncertainty and also the fans, who can plan ahead more. So that’s a big goal for me.”
Given her sheer earnestness and willingness to play the long game to get her where she needs to be, could we see the follow-up to Moonbow Genesis in the near future then? Himari is honest about being too rash with a second album. “ I was talking to my producer about how there is a well-known phenomenon about how if your first album is really well-received, the second album ends up being bad. So I want to put the time, love, and care into making a second album. So I want to make a second album, but not rush it. I want to put the time in to really make sure that it gets as much love as it needs to be as good as it can possibly be.”
To wrap up, we discuss the strengths of her recent singles since Moonbow Genesis and the unique position that Isiliel is in musically, and it sparks a clear eruption of joy from her. “I was recently having an internal struggle because sometimes fans would try to put things into a box and categorize things. Genres and categories are important, but for me, I don’t want to be restricted into one box. I want to grow into the type of performer who can break down those walls and have the freedom to try new things and attempt things that we haven’t done in the past. When people try to put you in a box, then ask why you aren’t in that box, it’s really difficult. So hearing [your] opinion was the thing I was hoping to hear because that’s also my goal. I don’t want to be restricted to one category. I want to branch out and be free to be more expressive.”
Given her enigmatic live show and beautiful vocal performance, which have somehow gotten exponentially even better in over little more than a half a year, as evidenced by her later performance that night in New Jersey, the sky does seem the limit for Himari Tsukishiro and Isiliel. Few in the music business seem as genuinely grateful for all they have while continuing to set their sights even higher. If anyone is deserving to shoot up the metallic ranks, it’s certainly her.
Photo: Hajime Kinoko