ADAMS is all about LOVE, an ultimate love that is far from the barriers of gender, borders and clichés. Vocalist ADAM and guitarist Shota describe themselves as a “NEOSEXUAL” rock duo who incorporate the theme of ultimate love across the borders of gender into their lyrics, music videos and live performances. All to create something that’s original, revolutionary and timeless.
The sexy image, captivating music and the never before seen concept of ADAMS create an irresistible combination that has proven to be successful, since after their very first show in The Netherlands at AVO J-Rock Festival (organized to celebrate 10 years of AVO Magazine at that time) you pretty much can’t say that you have never heard of ADAMS.
The duo has literally taken the world by storm, and they are as ambitious as ever still.
So, let’s not wait any longer and…
Let’s start!
I’m pretty sure that most people will know who you are all too well, but can you please introduce yourself to the readers anyway? Just to make sure everyone is up to speed again…
ADAM: I’m ADAM! I’m the lead singer of the group.
Shota: And I’m Shota, the guitarist. But I also do vocals here and there as well.
Well then, let’s get straight to the point. You’ve said that with ADAMS you tell the story of creation as Adam and Adam, rather than the traditional Adam and Eve. But with the topic of sexuality coming up so often in this day and age, how did people respond to your concept?
Shota: ADAM and myself were already in the music industry together for around three years or so. But as individuals we have been active a lot longer than that. Maybe around ten years or so. We both come from the ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) scene, which includes heavy makeup and insane hairstyles like for example X JAPAN, a style pretty much everyone knows by now.
We do see ADAMS as ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei), or at least as a new style within the genre. We are two guys, and our concept was Adam and Adam. So when we presented our project there were a lot of people who were immediately interested in it, accepting it rather than rejecting it because it was something new to them, and they encouraged us too.
The creation of a new world
Staying on the subject of sexuality for a moment, your project is a frequent topic among fans here in The Netherlands. Even before your very first live performance here people were saying they visited the event just to see your show, because people of all sexual orientations feel welcomed by your music. But what do you think of this yourselves?
Shota: Our opinion is hat you don’t have to hide, you just have to follow your heart. We don’t care what someone’s sexual orientation is, we see love as “one”.
A love song is not from one boy to another, or one girl to another. Or a girl to a boy, or vice versa. To us love is universal, no matter what your orientation is. This is what we try to communicate with our songs too. As artists we make music, and everyone can listen to it.
If someone doesn’t like our music because of us seeing love the way we do, I personally don’t care. If people like it and feel better from our music, that’s just amazing!
This is your third show in The Netherlands. Yesterday you played a show at OshareCon, but what was this like for you?
Shota: The schedule at the convention yesterday was very tight, so we only got to play our show there and do the signing session. But we saw a lot of fans there, and they all came to the signing session as well, so that was very fun.
Today we could walk around in Utrecht for a while and have some lunch there before coming here to Den Haag for tonight’s show. All the people we’ve ran into have been very nice to us. The only negative comment though… It’s so cold here!
I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of cosplayers in the audience during yesterday’s show. Wasn’t that very strange for you?
Shota: People can be wearing any fashion, I really don’t care. For my own fashion I choose clothing that fits my style, but not everyone shares the same style. People can have other styles, so I pretty much like all fashion.
Unfortunately we don’t have a lot of time left for today, so let me squeeze this question in real fast: you’ve both been in the music industry for a lot of years and I’m sure all the experiences you’ve had helped you grow as individuals. But if you could say something to your younger self, what would you tell him?
Shota: You can find the way. Do your best!
ADAM: You should start ADAMS, open your mind sooner!
And to finish off this interview: Do you have a message for everyone who has been reading today’s interview?
Shota: Of course I want to thank you so much for reading the interview! We’ll continue to make a different kind of history, so please join us in our making of a beautiful world.
ADAM: I also want to thank you for reading! And please have faith in us, and please continue to support us and our future.
Extra information
As mentioned before, ADAMS have a very unique concept for their work. But at the same time it’s also very accessible for people who aren’t specifically interested into the world of ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei). They are making some big waves in the music industry, so we definitely haven’t seen the last of ADAMS just yet.
If you have the opportunity to visit one of their live shows I would absolutely recommend you to do so, because even though you can experience ADAMS’ music on sites like YouTube and even from their CDs, their live show is where the true potential of ADAMS’ revolution comes out.
We also took photos of their performance at 330live (The Hague, The Netherlands). You can find these photos on our photography portfolio, Arlequin Photography, by clicking the image below!
(In 2021 Arlequin Photography was officially changed into a full photography portfolio, while all interviews and news were moved to a new domain called Arlequin Magazine. At this time ADAMS were no longer active in the music industry. This is why there is no social media section for this article.)
雪 (Yuki) is the owner and driving force behind Arlequin.
She originally started the project in 2009 as a photographer under the name of Arlequin Photography, but developed an interest in journalism and translation ever since. Because of these interests interviews and reviews were added to the project, until it eventually hit the limits as a "photographer" in 2021, and Arlequin Magazine was added to the mix.
雪 (Yuki) is a native Dutch speaker with a graphic design degree, which means she is also the main person behind Arlequin Creations.
After all these years she is still the main person who does interviews the interviews and live photos that you see on Arlequin, but also a large chunk of the reviews and behind-the-scenes work and communication goes through her.
She speaks Dutch and English on a native level, but also understands Japanese and German.