This is our second interview with Canary Complex, this time about their surprise single, BEL ESPRIT.

Canary Complex, thank you very much for this opportunity!

Hello again! It's been about a year since we last interviewed you. What has the past year been like for you artistically?

It's been an exciting year. We've played some amazing shows as Canary Complex as a full live band, with my co-producer Michael as drummer, as well as Violet on guitar and Bea on bass. I've also been writing and recording a new album with Flood District; we spent October recording at a beautiful studio in Minneapolis. On a personal level, I've been practicing guitar very intensely in preparation for performing with KAMIJO.

One of the biggest changes has been seeing Canary Complex evolve from a studio project into something tangible that we can share with people face-to-face. There's something very special about seeing the world we've been creating come to life onstage.

On October 23rd, a re-recording of BEL ESPRIT was suddenly released.

This time, you've unexpectedly dropped a new single, BEL ESPRIT. What inspired this surprise release?

Being that it came out in 2023, I always felt that the original recording of BEL ESPRIT hadn't quite reached its full potential. I knew the song could resonate strongly with my fans if we were able to bring it to the level of production and emotional intensity we achieved with "A Whisper of Spring".

Now that Canary Complex is performing as a live band, we also wanted to represent the song in a way that was closer to how we play it onstage. I feel we were able to surpass that goal, and I hope people who loved the original recording can feel that same passion in this new version.

Please tell us a little bit about the sound and worldview of the song.

This version is a very intentional exploration of the musical world of the "Imaginary Paris" that Camary Complex exists within. It brings the dreamlike quality I'm always seeking to express to a new level, while also feeling much more raw and emotionally intense.

The lyrics are an allegorical exploration of grief that I was processing when I originally wrote the song. At the time of the first recording, I was still very focused on expressing that feeling directly. With some distance from that period of my life, I can now explore the story of the song more deeply.

Musically, we wanted to improve the production quality while bringing more of a "live" feeling and aggression to the sound. Along with its baroque orchestration, I also wanted it to feel like you've stepped into a room where the band was performing right in front of you, rather than hearing something constructed through recording software and modern production techniques.

Was there anything that challenged you with the creation of BEL ESPRIT?

I think the recording and rearrangement process actually went quite smoothly. This was the first recording where Michael was involved from the very beginning of the arranging and recording process, so having another trusted ear in the room who understands the worldview and creative process of Canary Complex was a very positive experience.

The most challenging part was finding the exact emotion and sound I wanted for the vocal performance. Being able to collaborate on that (rather than having to figure it out on my own) ultimately helped us arrive at the sound I had hoped for.

You released a PV for BEL ESPRIT on the same day. Please tell us a little bit about the making of it.

Unlike the recording of the song, creating the PV was full of challenges! Michael directed and filmed it (just as he did for the PV for "Papillon ~Snow Angel~" last year) and we developed the concept together.

Originally, we had a completely different idea involving a Victorian house near one of the beaches here in North Carolina. Unfortunately, the location fell through at the last minute, so we had to quickly find another way to tell the story.

We decided to film in the mountains instead. Because we couldn't control the setting in the way we had originally planned, we had to come up with the shots and the flow of the video intuitively as we were filming. Although it might sound like we were scrambling to put everything together, we actually felt very inspired and refreshed by the scenery and the creative energy of the shoot.

By the time the video was finished, it was completely different from our original concept, but we feel that it was the exact setting that this song needed.

The past year has seen greater opportunities for Canary Complex within the visual kei sphere

Recently, you've performed with visual kei acts based in the US. Do you get the sense that a new visual kei scene is forming?

Yes, I really feel that something is beginning to develop. We're seeing visual kei events appear in different parts of the country, including Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles, and of course New York. It's encouraging to see these communities growing in different places rather than everything being concentrated in one city.

I think there are a lot of fans in the United States who are genuinely hungry for this culture. There's still a lot of room for the scene to grow, but it's exciting to see more opportunities for artists and fans to connect.

On October 31st, you'll perform as backing guitarist for KAMIJO at his Halloween Rock Show. How did this opportunity arise?

KAMIJO became a supporter of Canary Complex around the time “A Whisper of Spring” was released, and he invited Michael and myself to his (then-upcoming) show in New York. When we met, we spoke briefly about our mutual musical tastes, and during that conversation he brought up the possibility of performing together. I was completely shocked at the time, and the memory still feels a little unreal.

I've loved his music for so many years. As a teenager in rural North Carolina listening to Versailles and LAREINE, I never would have imagined that one day I'd be performing his awesome music alongside him.

True to his word, after moving to the United States, he reached out to me directly and asked me to perform with his band at this show. It's an opportunity I'm incredibly grateful for.

Are you preparing differently for this show compared to others?

Yes, definitely. This is the first time I'll be performing live with guitar parts written by somebody else.

This is the type of technical, precise music that requires a lot of thought and attention. I've been looping sections and drilling songs multiple times per day for months.

Within Canary Complex, the parts I write are only really based in emotion, so often they are simpler and slower. As such, I focus on elegant flow and playing whatever represents my lyrics best. In Flood District, my playing is a bit more energetic, but it's still a very different approach from KAMIJO's music.

You have appeared in the World Visual Kei Guide Book, fans wearing your merch have been seen at other visual kei concerts, and now you'll performing with KAMIJO—does it feel like you have become more accepted within visual kei?

Absolutely. When creating “A Whisper of Spring”, I deliberately wanted to create a work that represented what I love about this music so fully that it would be difficult to classify it as anything other than visual kei.

Japanese fans have generally been accepting of the idea of Western artists performing visual kei, but until several years ago it felt like Western fans struggled to accept this.

These days, I know that the people who have found my music understand that my passion for this music is pure and genuine, and I couldn't be more grateful for their support.

Finally, if our next interview is another year from now, what do you hope to have accomplished by then?

My hope is that another album will have been written and recorded by then! A vague vision of what the next Canary work shall be is beginning to materialize, but only time will tell the shape it takes.

I also hope we'll be able to perform more both in and outside of the United States. We have so many supporters around the world we'd love to meet, and I want to show my gratitude by bringing our live show directly to them.

Canary Complex appreciates vkgy and everything you do for the culture, and we are looking forward to future collaborations. Thank you for the wonderful interview!

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Be sure to check our two-part interview with Canary Complex from 2025: Part One / Part Two

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