On June 17 a music video for a song named “Breed” went live on YouTube. SLEIPNIR, the group behind the song, describe themselves as ‘Gothic x High Fashion x Loud x Rock’, and consists out of three members: vocalist ルージュ (Rouge), guitarist シュンヤ (Shunya) and bassist ジャック (Jack It Out)*.
It probably won’t surprise you if I told you that “Breed” also made it into my YouTube recommendations, and despite being a more ‘simple’ style visually, the video did catch my attention. Thanks to Francisca from AVO Magazine I got in touch with bassist ジャック (Jack), who initially asked me if it was possible to feature the music video on Arlequin Magazine. Which yes, of course that’s possible. ‘But how about we make it a little more interesting than ‘just’ a feature of that one music video?’ Yes, I am talking about doing an interview. (I know dear readers, it’s been a while since you’ve seen one of those here. Sorry about that!)
ジャック (Jack) enthusiastically responded with “Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. I think this will be our very first interview article, so we hope that you, the reader, will take this opportunity to get to know our members’ personalities more!”
So without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to SLEIPNIR!
* In Japanese ジャック (Jack It Out)’s name is shortened to just ‘Jack’, so I will use this version to refer to him during this interview as well.
“We like nerdy, cheeky GOTH.”
The reason for this interview might be the song and music video “Breed”, but as stated in the introduction, I don’t want to tell you about ‘just the song’. I want to tell you about the band’s members as well. So naturally, the first question I asked them was to tell them a little bit about themselves. And rather than telling me about themselves, each member actually said something about the other two.
“ジャック (Jack) is the heart of the band when it comes to songwriting. We share a great sense of connection between us, both good and bad. Unlike me however, he is a goofball. And passionate. シュンヤ (Shunya) on the other hand is super cute. He’s kind and gentle and balances the relationships within the band. And even though I’ve only known him for a short time, I’m excited to get to know him more through this interview as well!” ルージュ (Rouge) says, before シュンヤ (Shunya) continues: “From the first time I met ルージュ (Rouge) I thought she was a very stylish person. I really admire her ability to lead the group. I met ジャック (Jack) in my previous band, and he stood out from the start. His unwavering integrity and straightforwardness are very cool.”
“ルージュ (Rouge) is a phenomenal DJ and an overwhelmingly powerful stage presence. シュンヤ (Shunya) has been a musical friend of mine since I came to 名古屋 (Nagoya), and he has the ability to understand and translate my abstract impressions.” ジャック (Jack) concludes.
The group was formed by ジャック (Jack) in March of this year, inviting the two other members to join him with the idea to prioritize each individual’s presence over their performance techniques.
“Selecting songs based solely on performance technique, or using AI to compose them could create a good song, but the persuasiveness and sound quality depend on who composes them, and on who performs them. I think that is the appeal of players in a band.” ジャック (Jack) explains when asked about his motivation to start a band with these members.
“Because I was invited to join by ジャック (Jack) I’ve decided to keep moving forward at a high speed, and if I am no longer satisfied with the results, I’ll leave.” ルージュ (Rouge) adds, while シュンヤ (Shunya) has a more reserved approach: “ジャック (Jack) invited me to join, and after hearing his thoughts about the band I wanted to try playing with this lineup.”
The name ‘SLEIPNIR’ wasn’t chosen at random either. “We named the band after the war horse of Norse mythology. Since it expresses the concept of being strong, fast and beautiful in action.”, according to ジャック (Jack).
On YouTube the band describes their first song as ‘a brutal collision of sound and shadow’, which is quite reminiscent of what the ‘original’ Sleipnir looks like. The horse himself is described as having eight legs, being immensely strong and – unsurprisingly – the fastest horse that exists. It’s even said that it has created Iceland during its first step here on earth.
Visually the group immediately shows a more gothic approach in terms of their outfits, and if you remember, they describe themselves as ‘Gothic x High Fashion x Loud x Rock’. “We like the music and fashion of bands like KORN and Limp Bizkit, but… Their fashion doesn’t suit us. We like nerdy, cheeky GOTH. Our first music video “Breed” had a black image, so who knows, maybe we’ll do something that is the exact opposite for our future release. Like white. Since even with a white base I think we can deliver something heavy, intense and cool.” ジャック (Jack) replies.
While ‘goth’ fashion is usually associated with dark colors, it can also be used in a more white setting. Something we saw Y-xiz do last year with their music video for the song “Silence”, where both members were dressed in fully white outfits and used a mostly white decor for the background of their music video.
“Our hair, makeup and clothing are often considered to be ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei), so we use the word ‘visual’ in our social media tags as well. Despite that, we don’t wear wigs or dresses like some traditional V系 bands like Malice Mizer did. I do think the genre has a certain aesthetic quality, so I am honored to be considered a part of it. Even if people would love us just because of our looks, I’d be happy. I don’t think we’ll suddenly start looking like SLIPKNOT or Limp Bizkit or anything, but I’d be happy if people would think of us like fans of My Chemical Romance during their THE BLACK PARADE-era, Marilyn Manson or Motionless in White.” He continues.
With names like SLIPKNOT, Limp Bizkit, My Chemical Romance and Motionless In White, some of which I am personally quite familiar with from my time in high school, I couldn’t help but wonder what their personal preferences are in their downtime. “I like game music like the soundtracks of Romancing Saga, Elden Ring and Undertale, but also Japanese bands like DIR EN GREY and DEXCORE – another band from 名古屋 (Nagoya). But I also like international artists like Erik Satie. The only thing I probably don’t listen to is pop music.” ルージュ (Rouge) answers.
“I particularly like bands that combine funk and rock, like RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and Extreme. But Japanese bands like LUNA SEA have had a big influence on me too.” シュンヤ (Shunya) adds, actually surprising me with his non-Japanese choices. Because from all the things I expected from him, it definitely wasn’t those two!
“I like a wide variety of genres, but I don’t have a particular favorite. Oh, but I listen to THE CURE a lot!” ジャック (Jack) concludes. And admittedly, that answer I did kind of expect to come up in this interview.
For an absurd life, you either kill or be killed, for eternity
The lyrics for their song “Breed” were written by ルージュ (Rouge), expressing feelings of grief, anger, resignation and a desire for salvation. “ルージュ (Rouge)’s roots are complex, so they can be difficult to understand. But I think these lyrics will resonate with those who are interested. The sound is based on metal and post-hardcore, and I’m very happy that people from all over the world have seen the music video!” ジャック (Jack) tells me happily.
“Our home country of Japan, and especially our hometown of 名古屋 (Nagoya), are very conservative. They prefer things that are well known or already established. We opted to write and sing our lyrics in English because we thought that overseas audiences would be more drawn to it intuitively. A few days before this interview we played our very first live show where we sang all of our lyrics in English, but I don’t think the majority of the audience understood what we were saying because they’re not used to hearing English. Plus, we aren’t very good at English ourselves either! So I don’t think it was very easy to understand for overseas listeners to make out what we were saying, sorry lol!” ジャック (Jack) laughs before continuing.
“The overseas market was definitely on our radar from the start. We’re very conscious of marketing and sharing, since I think that other bands who create their lyrics entirely in English have the same goal in mind as we do. Artists want as many people as possible to know what they’re expressing, after all. I can tell you that our song “Breed” peaked at number 4 in the metal genre on the iTunes Store in Japan. Numbers 1 to 3 were all for Ozzy Osbourne. It’s an honor.” He adds.
The music video was filmed at the TIGHT ROPE live house in 名古屋 (Nagoya), the shooting location being generously provided by the owner, mister 矢神氏 (Yagami), who also filmed the music video. “The music video was filmed at the very same venue we held our first live a few days ago. The owner, mister 矢神氏 (Yagami), provided the location and filmed the video. All members are very satisfied with his skills. ルージュ (Rouge) is the one who came up with the overall image of our costumes and makeup, but everything else was done by mister 矢神氏 (Yagami).” ジャック (Jack) says.
“Everyone says it’s hard to believe that we’ve only been together for a few months. We’re a local, handmade indie band that just recently played our first live show. At the moment we’re having trouble finding other artists to play with for joint gigs. We’d be thrilled if artists, promoters, record companies and magazines read this article and reach out to us because of it.” He adds, definitely making me feel the pressure for this interview. Especially since it’s the first one I’m doing in this style.
Aside from wanting to do more live shows, SLEIPNIR has more plans for the (near) future already. “Now that our first live show is over, we’ll be working on recording and releasing a music video right away.” ジャック (Jack) confirms. “We don’t have the backing of a promotion agency or a record company, so we needed the revenue from our live shows to shoot a new music video. The live show was a big hit, so we promise to release at least one music video by the end of the year. If possible we’d like to release two. And we want to release them as soon as possible!” He adds.
As mentioned various times, SLEIPNIR is still a relatively new band, mostly operating from their official X account, and of course the personal social media accounts from each member. And despite only one song being revealed to the audience online (meaning the ones coming to the band from YouTube or streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music) they’ve managed to tell me a lot about their style and ideas in this interview.
The best way to stay updated on their next steps would be by following them on social media (all links can be found below), but before we end the interview, the members do have a final message for you:
“We need more followers so that we can release more songs smoothly. We would be happy if you could spread the word on social media, but also if you’d subscribe to our YouTube channel and leave comments. We’d also be very grateful if you’d buy our music. We still need new followers and your support, so please support us!”
I hope you enjoyed seeing an interview in this style, since I personally feel like this format gives me a lot more freedom to tell you more about the band and add information to their answers without it looking like you’re just reading a checklist. And of course I hope you enjoyed learning about SLEIPNIR!
Like mentioned already, you can find the band and their work in a lot of different places online, but please follow their official accounts to stay updated on their future works and live shows. “Breed” is available on Spotify, which we’ve linked for you below.
 N/A (digital) // ¥255 |
2025.07.31 Shop / Stream: linkco.re |
More about SLEIPNIR
      |  (Rouge) |  (Shunya) |  (Jack It Out) |
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's still the one responsible for the interviews and most of the live photography you see here at Arlequin, but the majority of reviews and behind-the-scenes work is also done by her.
The reviews she writes are from the viewing point of an overseas fan, and thus written in English before being translated to Dutch, Spanish and Japanese. In the English versions she also tries to explain the meaning behind certain kanji or song titles to the readers, but what you don't see here is that these explanations are omitted in the Japanese versions in order to appeal to these readers more.
She speaks Dutch and English on a native level, but also understands Japanese and German.