Interview with multi-faceted musician Gothique Prince Ken

This evening, I’m extremely happy and excited because I have no other than composer and musician Gothique Prince Ken with me. Welcome GPK, how are you?

Thanks so much for having me Vivian; I am honored to have given this wonderful opportunity to talk about my works. =)

You recently teamed up again with “Flood of Rain”, was that something that happened spontaneously or the result of a long process?

I’ve always been intrigued by Adrian’s ability to write beautiful poetic music. We’ve been friends for years and his talent is unquestionable. To able to work with him again is indeed a great honor for me. We’ve talked about the idea of collaborating again a while ago. We released “Grey Sky” for “Surge & Subside”, it was an Electronic / Industrial FUNDRAISER compilation for the flood victims in Queensland, Australia.

Yes, I remember. More than fifty towns were left awash in those horrible floods and thousands of people were displaced as hundreds of homes, farms and businesses went under water. It’s not easy to switch from such a tragedy back to my next question, but I’m sure your fans are curious to know if we can expect a full length “Flood of Rain” album in the near future.

Yes, we’re definitely planning an album but we have not decided on the release dates. An album requires tremendous amount of work but we believe the end result would be pleasing for our audiences.

We know you are very passionate about industrial / electronic music. Is your solo career – composing songs of that particular genre – what mainly keeps you occupied these days?

Industrial/electronic music is one of my favorite genre and I wish to experiment and expand upon it for my solo project. I wish to give my audience a chance to enter into the world where I belong and to feel the power and energy in my songs. Recently I’ve been busy working on demos, remixes and compositions for my next release, lots of work to be done. =)

On your Facebook page you share a few demo versions with your fans. “Amorphous”, “Logos” and “Ascensio”, for example. Are you doing that to, well, let me call it “wake your fans appetite” and make them hungry, curious for more? You also seem truly interested in their feedback and input…

Online social network is indeed a very powerful tool for promotion and to keep in touch with my audiences. I believe great music should be born out of great constructive criticisms, hence why I wish to use this opportunity to gain feedbacks from my audiences. They are vital information for making decisions on the direction I’m heading right now.

Much industrial / electronic music consists of a repeating beat with a thin melody woven throughout. You songs are richer, they have depths. It appears to me your goal is not only to entertain the crowd but convey a message at the same time. The last time we met you said… and I quote: “Music is poetry without words”. Is that how you would best describe your songs?

In my opinion there’s always stagnation within a particular genre. I’m all for innovation and experimentation, that is indeed the spirit of industrial music. I’ve experimented on fusing baroque composition with industrial music for GPKISM and now for my solo project I would like to try something different, perhaps it is evolution… or mutation. =)

I studied fine art and I’ve reapply the academic process of creativity into my music. Though music is rather intangible in comparison to visual art, discipline is indeed the foundation for both. Anyone could write a piece of music, but to write great music, great skill is required. I am not the best but I’ve always do my best for my art. To me, art should be open to interpretation and able to provoke ideas, that is my goal.

You also told me that you are fascinated with etymology and symbolism; most of your song titles have Greek or Latin names…

Yes, semiotics is one of my interests and I believe everything we see can be reduced to symbols which we could interpret. How much we’re able to interpret them really depending on our knowledge and experience. I am also fascinated with the evolution in words, it gives me a clearer understanding of its etymological signification. I used Greek and Latin song titles to evoke the esoteric aesthetic feelings which I have placed within my songs.

Do you plan on releasing a solo (industrial / electronic) album this year, or are you dedicating 2012 to experimenting and fine-tuning demo versions?

That is indeed what I’ve planned for this year. I would release a mini album and followed by an EP. I hope to launch it before my European tour this year. 2012 is an important year for me and I will do my best.

So, it sounds your fans will see GPK live on stage in the near future, either with “Flood of Rain” or solo?

Definitely, I can’t wait to perform on stage in front of my audiences again ~=)

As a part of “Flood of Rain”… you not only act as a composer, you’re also doing main vocals for the band. Are you happy to have the opportunity to show off your versatility as a musician? Do you enjoy standing behind a microphone instead of a mixing board?

Adrian is the master mind behind Flood of Rain and like I said I am honored to work with such talented individual, and that’s where my pleasure lies. I prefer to be on the stage performing as that is where I belong. =)

Let’s switch back to your solo career; after all, that’s the focus of our interview. As a listening sample you brought us “Phoenix”. Any particular reason why you chose that song? 

It marks the rebirth of the self, just like the Phoenix. Reborn from its own ashes. That which does not kill us makes us stronger. This song evokes the feeling of struggle and utter transcendence.

GPK stands for Gothique Prince Ken. If you had access to a time machine, would you like to visit the Gothic time period, check it out for a while or do you prefer today’s, well, let’s call it “Neo Gothic” art, fashion and design? 

The name Gothique Prince Ken is for the lulz and should not be taken seriously. If I were to have gain access to a time machine, rather than visit the gothic era, I would go back to the beginning of time and to witness the birth of this universe.

The word Gothic were used as pejorative term to describe the somewhat less refined architectures in the late medieval period. I guess the word is now associated with things dark and gloomy. I don’t think I need a time machine to experience such feeling, it always has existed and it will continue to exist.

In closing… is there anything we forgot to talk about? Anything you would like to tell your fans?

Thank you so much for your time and I enjoyed this interview very much. Lastly I would like to give a short message to those who have supported me all these years. I will never going to give you up nor would I ever let you down~ lol~. Thank you all!

The pleasure was all mine! See you in the green-room. =)

This interview was conducted by Vivian Murakami, President/CEO of NEON PROMOTIONS, Inc. 

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