Kroi is the five-member Japanese band that has made waves in Japan’s music scene and recently captivated international audiences with a standout debut at SXSW 2024. As music creators, Kroi showcase their boundless creativity as they blend genres such as funk, soul, rock, and hip-hop and use unconventional percussion to create their distinctive sound. They are determined not to be pigeonholed into a single genre, and instead claim their right to explore and create music without restrictions.

Their recent album “Unspoiled” features 14 tracks that expand on their diverse, genre-blending style, including popular anime theme songs like “Hyper”, “Sesame”, and “Water Carrier”. The record aims to attract a broad range of fans, both within the J-pop scene and beyond.

The band just dropped “Jewel,” a single and music video that perfectly blends great music with minimalistic yet elegant visuals. This pop ballad, with its vintage vibe, feels as fresh as a morning breeze on your face.

“Jewel” captures a whirlwind of emotions—love, heartbreak, pain, and the pull between wanting to stay and knowing it’s time to leave a place that no longer feels right. The video complements the song’s vibe, with the band casually playing in an environment that feels both comfortable and familiar.

We had the chance to sit down with Masanori Seki, bassist of Kroi. In this exclusive interview, he opened up about the band's journey, and shared insights into their dynamic, the creative process, their unique blend of personalities, and the evolution that led them to create “Unspoiled”.

Let’s begin with some context about you guys.  How and when did the band start?

Back in 2018, Yuuki (guitar) and I [Masanori, bass] were both posting cover videos of songs by Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine on Instagram. We didn’t know each other personally, but were aware of one another through those videos, and eventually connected through Instagram DMs to form a band. At the time, Yuuki (guitar) and Leo (vocals) were already in a band without a bassist or a drummer. Even though I was working a regular office job, they asked me to play bass for them, so I reached out to my college buddy, Hidetomo (drums), and the four of us got started. Later on, we met our manager, Andy, through a recording engineer who was helping us out. About a year later, we found out that Andy’s roommate, Daiki (key) could play the keyboard, so he joined, completing the current five-member lineup.

You are five people with different mental worlds. How do you get along with each other, and how do you manage to harmonize your talents to grow this musical project?

As you said, we’re a group of five people with pretty different personalities, but I think it’s those differences that help us complement and respect each other. I’d also say we’re a band with a clear division of roles. Whether it’s songwriting, mixing, making merch, designing, and planning our live shows – everyone takes the lead in what they’re good at, so we don’t waste much time getting stuck, and that really helps us grow faster. It’s not just the members, either. We’re fortunate to have an amazing, trustworthy team in all areas, including our staff, so even when minor issues or accidents happen, we don’t get thrown off. That’s one of Kroi’s strengths.

About “Unspoiled”. Can you tell us about the creative process behind your latest album? What was the inspiration for it?

We went with “Unspoiled” as a form of irony. It means something isn’t rotten, isn’t bad, or hasn’t been ruined—basically, it’s still good and even has some value left. For us, it’s about the idea that things people think are old or outdated can actually feel new again, or stuff considered uncool can actually be really stylish. That’s been a core part of Kroi’s philosophy since the beginning, so we thought this title really captured that vibe.

Our first album was more of an introduction, and the second was a polished version that better expressed who we are. By the time we were releasing our third album, the number of listeners had grown, so we knew steering it in the right direction was crucial. We wanted to be mindful of making music that’s accessible to a wider audience but still keep our signature sound because, without that, it just wouldn’t be interesting. I think we found the right balance, with the anime theme songs adding mass appeal and the other tracks staying true to our style.

Additionally, this album had a new feel because of the recording we did in LA, along with performing live and appearing on TV shows during the recording period, which was something we hadn’t experienced before.

As for the album cover, we worked with Rak, a designer we trust completely. I (Masanori) presented the initial design ideas and explained the meaning behind the title, and Rak took that and reimagined it into what you see now. It’s got a bunch of cool gimmicks, and I think it turned out to be something people will want to own as a physical piece. We’re really happy with it.

Oh, and another little detail: there’s a bonus track called 'Trend' that’s only available on the physical version. Just a hidden gem for those who pick it up.

What are some of the most important pieces of equipment or gear that you use while recording or performing? Have you recently added any new gear to your setup?

All the members are pretty big gear enthusiasts, so if we come across any cool equipment on social media or find something we want to try for a recording session, we add it to our setup without a second thought. For this album, we definitely brought in a bunch of new gear and playing techniques. But to be honest, there’s so much that I can’t really remember exactly what we added off the top of my head. *laughs*

Is there any juicy/fun/challenging story you can share from the making of the album?

Compared to our previous recording periods, the schedule this time was extremely packed, with constant switches between recording, live shows, TV appearances, and photoshoots, which made it quite challenging. Plus, we had already announced the release tour, so the deadlines were super tight. There were definitely some nerve-wracking moments where we were freaking out, wondering if we’d even be able to finish the album on time. Now that it’s completed and released, I’m amazed we managed to pull it off. Also, there’s this song called “Meimetsu” that we randomly decided to record in LA. It was totally a spur-of-the-moment idea—like, “Let’s try recording this in LA!”—and that decision ended up being crucial, strengthening the entire album. I’d call it LA magic. *laughs*

‍What role does each band member play beyond their primary instrument? How does this dynamic influence your music and performances? 

Building on what I talked about in Question 2 if I were to roughly assign roles:

●  Leo Uchida (vocals): Creates demos and arranges all of our songs

●  Yuuki Hasebe (guitar): Handles merch production and design

●  Masanori Seki (bass): Works on cover art and directs live performances

●  Daiki Chiba (keyboard): Does all the mixing and arranging

●  Hidetomo Masuda (drums): Our secret weapon

It’s a super-efficient division of roles. Since we all fully understand each other’s strengths, we’re able to balance things intuitively, both during live performances and in our recordings.

You made your North American debut at SXSW 2024. How was that experience for you, and how did it compare to your performances in Japan?

Even though most of our lyrics are in Japanese, seeing so many people get excited and into our music at SXSW gave us a huge confidence boost. That confidence has carried over into our current tour, allowing us to take on our first solo show in Taiwan and perform at the Busan Rock Festival in Korea without hesitation. The experience we gained from SXSW played a significant role in that. But honestly, I still feel like we haven’t completely nailed communicating the heart of our music to international audiences yet. There’s so much room to grow, and that’s something we’re really focused on improving. We’re excited to keep pushing forward and take on more opportunities to perform in the U.S., including going back to SXSW and playing more shows.

We know that in addition to your music projects, each of you is involved in a variety of other artistic projects, including modeling and designing. Could we elaborate on this? Is it possible that we might see something from Kroi in terms of fashion?

We’re a pretty curious bunch and always interested in trying new things. Even though our hobbies are different, we all have a strong passion for fashion, so we’ve had vague ideas about how fun it would be to work on a project in that space someday. Recently, Yuuki put out some apparel as part of our merch that he made from scratch, including designing the patterns. If we keep refining that and really pack in more of our vision, it’d be awesome to eventually go beyond just artist merchandise and maybe even launch a brand. It’d be amazing to start a whole new movement that way.

Can you tell us about any dreams you have as a band?

Our goal, which hasn’t changed since the beginning, is simple: To go as far as we can. 

We don’t have anything specific in mind, like certain venues or a particular level of fame, because even we don’t know what the limits are for Kroi. As we continue to grow, new opportunities and places we never imagined start coming into view. Being an artist means always striving to see what’s next, and we hope to keep moving forward, always looking ahead. 

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