Not every Italian rock band can say they’ve played V-ROCK Festival in Japan, but DNR (Dreams Now Reality) can. Formed in Italy by bassist Kira and drummer Ash after years playing together in a Poison tribute band, the four-piece blend the swagger of classic Western hard rock with the soaring melodies of Japanese rock and metal. Their story has taken them all the way to stages in Japan.
Officially launched on 2nd May 2008, exactly ten years after the passing of X Japan guitarist hide, the band are now preparing their most ambitious project yet: NANTO 2077, a concept album inspired by the legendary manga Fist of the North Star, featuring a host of international guests who are still under wraps.
We caught up with Kira to talk Visual Kei, power naps and why the band have never played the UK.
Who are you and where are you from?
We’re DNR (Dreams Now Reality), an Italian rock band made up of Flow on vocals, paZ on guitar, Ash on drums, and myself, Kira, on bass.
We’re four musicians with a clear vision of what we want to express, both through our sound and our image. We like doing things our own way and staying true to who we are.
Oh, and we’re from Italy, but we don’t like pizza… Just kidding! We’d probably have our Italian citizenship revoked if that were true!
How did DNR form, and how did you find your sound?
DNR started with an idea that Ash and I had while we were playing together in a Poison tribute band. We wanted to create something of our own, bringing together the energy of classic Western hard rock and the melodies of Japanese rock and metal, which we both loved.
We officially announced DNR on May 2, 2008, exactly ten years after the passing of hide, the legendary guitarist of X Japan. That date wasn’t a coincidence. He was a huge inspiration to us, and in many ways, his music helped guide the direction we wanted to take.
How would you describe your music to someone discovering you for the first time?
Even journalists sometimes struggle to put our music into a specific category. But I remember an Italian journalist once saying that our melodies have a way of sticking in your head, and I think that’s the best compliment we could receive.
To me, music is food for the soul. If someone finds themselves humming one of our songs the next day, then we’ve achieved something special.
But if you really need a label, I’d say melodic hard rock, with touches of pop and metal.
Your music blends melodic hard rock with Japanese influences. Where does that connection to Japan come from?
We’ve been passionate about Japanese rock and metal for many years, long before Visual Kei became widely known in Europe. Bands like X Japan and Luna Sea showed us a different way of approaching rock music, both musically and visually.
But we never wanted to copy anyone. We wanted to keep our Western hard rock roots while learning from those incredible Japanese musicians and creating something of our own.
When we released one of our early singles, ‘Beyond This World’, along with its music video, we caught the attention of two remarkable people in the Japanese music scene: Seiichi Hoshiko, widely regarded as the father of Visual Kei and the man who coined the term itself, and music journalist Akemi Oshima. Both believed in us and helped open doors that eventually led us to perform at events such as V-ROCK Festival and Stylish Wave in Japan.
We also paid tribute to hide by featuring his iconic Yellow Heart guitar in one of our music videos. He left us far too soon, with so much more music still to give.
Looking back after eighteen years, I think those experiences and the people we met along the way have shaped us just as much as the music itself.
What’s the story behind the new album NANTO 2077?
NANTO 2077 is probably one of our most ambitious projects. It’s a concept album inspired by Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star), particularly the six masters of Nanto and the guiding stars that shape their destinies. Each song reflects the emotions and inner struggles of a different master, while the album as a whole takes you on a journey where every chapter has its own meaning.
But you don’t need to know the manga or anime to enjoy it. Just close your eyes, press play and let the music take you somewhere else.
There’s also a deeper message behind it. We live in a world where everyone wants everything immediately, often forgetting that life is a journey. Every step matters, every challenge teaches us something, and even the smallest victory can give us the strength to face what comes next.
And when you look at the world today, the post-apocalyptic vision imagined by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara sometimes feels disturbingly close to reality. Yet we wanted NANTO 2077 to carry a message of hope: no matter how dark things become, there’s always a reason to keep moving forward.
Concept albums might not be the most commercial choice, but this was a story we felt we needed to tell.
The album features some international special guests. Who’s involved, and how did those collaborations come about?
For three seasons, I co-hosted a rock and metal radio show called Tommy n Kira NoisePark! with my friend Tommy (Tommaso Dettori) on Metal Maximum Radio. Thanks to our collaboration with Frontiers Records, every week we had the opportunity to introduce one of their artists, sometimes presenting a new album, other times interviewing them personally.
Over the years, I developed a special connection with some of those musicians, both on a personal level and through our shared musical ideas. So when we started working on NANTO 2077, I asked a few of them if they would do me the honour of being part of the album. The response was incredible, and I’m genuinely proud of what we’ve created together.
Their contributions will be revealed when the full album comes out, so I can’t give away the names just yet. But here’s a little clue: if you look back at the rock stars we interviewed on the show, you’ll find them among those names!
Are there any tracks you are especially proud of, or that mean the most to you?
I’m particularly proud of our two latest singles, ‘SHIN’ and ‘REI’, especially ‘REI’.
‘SHIN’ is about inner suffering and the strength we can find to turn that pain into something positive, into the energy we need to fight back. ‘REI’, on the other hand, has an almost theatrical quality hidden beneath its melodies and arrangements.
Even when we write a fast, powerful song, we never want to sacrifice melody. If you listen closely, you’ll discover orchestral layers, strings and vocal harmonies that create an atmosphere beyond what you hear at first.
Our guitarist, paZ, is a conservatory-trained composer, and his musical background brings a wonderful orchestral perspective to our songwriting. We spend a lot of time shaping and reshaping every arrangement, drawing inspiration from classical music as well as modern rock.
For me, a song isn’t just the melody you remember. It’s also everything happening underneath, all those little details that give it a soul.
And that’s why I’m so proud of these songs and can’t wait for everyone to hear what’s coming next.
What is the rock scene like in Italy?
To be honest, it’s going through a difficult time. Many small live venues are struggling or closing down, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for bands playing original music to find opportunities to perform.
Strangely enough, over the years we’ve often had more opportunities to play abroad than in our own country!
But there’s another side to the story. Italy is full of talented musicians, young bands and people who still put their hearts into what they do. That passion is very much alive, and I find it encouraging.
I don’t think Italy has a shortage of good rock bands. What we’re missing are more stages, more opportunities and perhaps a little more willingness to take a chance on something new.
After all, every great band started somewhere, usually in a small club with a handful of people listening.
Can you tell us a funny, emotional or dramatic story from your time as a band?
Oh, we could tell you plenty of stories, but there’s one running joke in the band that never gets old: our drummer Ash and his legendary power naps!
Ash is probably the funniest person you’ll ever meet, but also one of the most reliable. The funny thing is that he has this incredible ability to fall asleep absolutely anywhere, a bit like Grandpa Simpson!
Over the years, we’ve collected videos of him sleeping in the most unlikely places, from backstage areas to video shoots. You can even find some of these moments in our Instagram reels.
Whenever Ash disappears, we know exactly what’s happened. He’s finished everything he needed to do and has found somewhere to take a nap. The only problem is that sometimes he hides so well that we can’t find him, and suddenly the whole band is on a treasure hunt!
Honestly, finding Ash before a show should probably be an official Olympic sport by now!
What’s next for DNR?
Our main goal right now is to release NANTO 2077 and then get back on the road to promote it.
That’s actually one of the reasons we’re working so hard behind the scenes. We don’t want to simply release an album and leave it there. We want to bring these songs to life on stage, meet our fans and hopefully reach new audiences along the way.
So, for us, the next chapter is pretty clear: a new album and a new series of live shows. We’re working to make those two things go hand in hand.
After all, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of playing your music in front of a live audience. That’s where everything really comes to life!
Where can people find and follow you?
You’ll find all our official channels on Instagram, Facebook, X, Spotify and YouTube.
I’d genuinely love it if RAMzine readers stopped by, listened to our music, left us a comment or simply said hello. And of course, if you like what you hear, we’d be delighted to have you following our journey!
There’s also something I’d really love to see happen: DNR playing in the UK! Believe it or not, we’ve never had the opportunity to perform there, and it would mean a lot to us.
And luckily, our singer Flow speaks excellent English, so at least one of us could do all the talking without giving away our Italian origins in the first five seconds! Haha!
Seriously though, we’d love to bring our music to a British audience one day. Hopefully, this interview will be the beginning of something special!
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