Otenki

Houston, TX based band Otenki are set to release their second EP on May 3rd entitled ‘Kinetic’.

The bands new EP was produced by James Paul Wisner, who was worked with the likes of Paramore, underOATH and Dashboard Confessional.

Otenki draw their influences from bands such as Jimmy Eat World, Anberlin and Armor for Sleep.

The band have already been part of Warped and Taste Of Chaos, as well as a variety of support slots.

With all this happening, we wanted to find out more and caught up with the band to discover who Otenki really are….

The band have a very interesting name, what is the story behind this?
The name originated from the band’s two guitarist’s, Fausto and myself (Enoma). When we started jamming, we were kicking names around trying to find something that stuck out a bit. Both Fausto and I speak Japanese and he just brought up the name OTENKI which translates to weather. We like the name because it’s something that gives us the freedom to change our look and sound however we wish.

How would you describe the band for those who haven’t heard your music?
Currently, I would say we’re a mixture of rock/pop/electronica.

What can we expect from your upcoming EP?
For people who may have heard us before KINETIC, I would say prepare to be blown away. We’ve never sounded better and we can’t wait to share this. For those who have yet to hear us, you can expect 5 really solid songs that are intense, and catchy! More importantly hopefully you’ll hear something you can really connect with.

What would you say differentiates yourselves from bands alike?
I would say that the one thing that really defines our band is energy. It’s something that manifests itself when we play live because we just lose ourselves in the moment and give every single performance our all. I feel sometimes that bands in our scene care more about how they look while playing, more than what they are playing; and that vanity is something we don’t share.

We’re not trying to share we’re better cause we don’t care about how we look…it’s just more about how we just like to lose ourselves and give off energy that the crowd feeds off of and they decide to let loose and have fun. Shows are supposed to be an escape from everything going on and we want to help provide a path to your great escape.

How did it feel working with James Paul Wisner?
Working with James was a dream come true. Admittedly we were all a little “star struck” when he said he was interested in doing our record. He’s worked on some bands that we truly love like Further Seems Forever, underOATH, Paramore, There For Tomorrow, and our boys National Product and My American Heart. Before we even got there it was just like, “Wow, we’re working with a legend.” He’s an incredibly gifted producer/engineer and musician who really challenged us to be at our very best. I can’t say enough great things about him.

With basing your songs on personal experiences, do you find your influence for writing comes easily?
A majority of this band’s lyrics come from our lead guitarist Fausto. We all put our own personal spin on the ideas that he brings to the table and on this record our keyboardist Colton and our vocalist German definitely had their influence. Most of our lyrics come from either our own personal experiences or from things we see around us. That could be a situation our friends are involved in, stories we like to make up or things we see or hear about in the news. The writing really comes from having a solid melody and from there we just write and so far it seems to work well for us.

Out of all the tours you’ve been a part of, which has been the most memorable?
Honestly, it’s really hard to say because with each Taste of Chaos or Warped Tour experience it brings something new and exciting to the table. Of all the big shows we’ve done I would say our first self booked 2.5 month long tour was probably the best experience ever. We had very little touring experience up until then and it really got us prepared for the life we decided to live. We had a broken down van that took us from TX, to NYC, NYC to LA, meeting all sorts of people along the way. Best summer of our lives for sure.

You’ve taken part in a few charity events, do you feel this is something that is important to the band?
Definitely. I think that everyone at some point in their lives needs to do some sort of service for their community. As band I would love to get us more involved in charity events that our friends from Music Feeds People and Music Saves Lives put together. We’re proud to be a contributing part of their efforts. This year I believe we’ll be doing some donating and possibly some more volunteering as our schedule permits.

What does the future hold for Otenki?
The future for OTENKI involves a lot of touring in the summer and the fall. We’re gearing up for the release of our new EP “KINETIC” which is slated for a May 3rd release. Outside of that, we have some performances with some national acts that have just been confirmed. I can’t talk about it just yet but we’re excited for the future and we couldn’t be more blessed or stoked for what we have in store!

You can check out the band at the links below to find out more for yourself!
www.myspace.com/otenki
www.facebook.com/otenkirocks
www.twitter.com/otenki