Vif A9 Personal Interviews #003 - Tora

A9 Personal Interviews Part 3 is with the guitarist, Tora. According to Show (vocalist), he is a romanticist, but upon hearing what Tora has to say about many different aspects, he objectively looks at the situation the band has been placed in, and we are able to catch a glimpse of the realist inside of him, who accepts the reality of the situation. In order for A9 to progress even further, we see Tora steadily making progress while always taking on new challenges. Furthermore, when asked about that certain hot topic from Part 2, we uncover a new truth?!

Last time when you were absent from the A9 interview, it turned out to be like a trial in absentia (laughs)

Tora: I’m sorry about that!

It’s okay (laughs). According to Show, you are “someone who looks stern but is actually a gentle romanticist on the inside”.

Tora: Who knows, because I don’t (laughs). But I think I’m a realist.

We also got a hold of some information that you learned to have a permanent smile from the corner of your mouth around the time you played at Shibuya Kokaido during the band’s third year (laughs)

Tora: Ahaha (laughs). I thought that since everyone was enjoying the show, I should probably show that I am enjoying myself too. In terms of image, don’t you find it distasteful when you go to Disneyland and one of the cast members are really sullden? I think it’s the same as that.

I really get where you’re coming from.

Tora: I actually look at everyone’s expressions quite a lot. I hope to be like those guys on the Jungle Cruise attraction. It’s actually quite difficult playing while looking at the audience. It’s not like it’s something that you practice either. But it’s not like I force myself to smile or anything; I’m having fun. There are times when I have so much fun I forget that I’m performing. I’m like “Oh, crap” (laughs)

(laughs) In the e-mail interview, you mentioned that you did most of the recording for “Ginga no Oto” at home, but is this something you only did for this release?

Tora: For the last one to two years, I’ve been doing recording at home quite often.

Was there are a reason for this?

Tora: Nothing in particular. There have been advancements in equipment lately, so there’s not much difference between doing it at home and in a studio, so I thought it would be better to do things at home, where I can relax. You can spend a lot of time working on something, and there’s no pressure to hurry up and finish things. The best thing about working at home is that you can do it indefinitely.

But on the other hand, there will be times where you can’t seem to finish things.

Tora: That’s true. Or rather, you don’t know when it’s a good time to finish. But rather than finishing things, starting them is harder (laughs). Just by not having a set time, you just end up going “Oh, I have to do that”. Once I start, I strangely end up being able to concentrate really well, but I can’t actually find myself starting.

For this release, were there any parts in particular where it was a good thing that you did recording at home?

Tora: I think I was able to be more particular about the phrases. I was also able to do the more detailed parts as I wanted to.

So, I think all of the fans are curious to know what you have to say, as you are the only member of A9 not active on social media. Please tell us your honest thoughts about the live on August 23rd.

Tora: It was white.

It certainly was (laughs)

Tora: Since it had been a year since the last live, there was the issue of whether I could play 20 songs stamina-wise, but I thought that it was just like riding a bike: your body actually remembers how to do it. We did practice a lot, too. But I’m glad we were able to come back with no problems. Also, although during this one year, on the surface it looked like we had paused activities, we were also doing our own solo projects, and we met up weekly and went into the studio, so I’m glad that we were able to make our return after making some progress, and not in a weakened state.

How did you feel the moment the opening song “PRAY” had ended, the curtain had dropped and you saw the crowd?

Tora: I was like “Oh, there are loads of people here”. I was glad that everyone waited for us.

At this live, did it feel like you made a complete comeback?

Tora: Honestly, I won’t know untll I go around on tour. We have an Asian leg of the tour this time too, so once that is all over, I want to think that over.

How did it feel playing the new songs for the first time?

Tora: I felt that it was tough.

Since you’ve made that much progress.

Tora: True. When you have the time to compose songs, the phrases become more detailed, which makes it more difficult at lives.

At this live, another highlight was the solo sessions. What were your thoughts on doing that?

Tora: Saga was the one who came up with the idea of having solo sessions, and it was only decided on with a little time to spare before the show. My solo part was complete two days before the live. But I thought that just a solo session would be boring, so I also created the background footage myself. I ended up creating the background footage for Show’s DJ section, so I thought I’d try making footage for my own part too.

The word “Tora” written in calligraphy style on a single background had a lot of impact and was cool.

Tora: I thought that this sort of things suited me most, and that I shouldn’t make it too fancy (laughs)

Please tell us the scene that hit you the hardest; that left the strongest impression on you.

Tora: It would be the part at the end where we all sang “Subete e” together. We put up the lyrics on the screen behind us, and everyone sang it. Since we’ve never hand something like that before, I though it was nice. On the other hand, I had my doubts about how people would view the first song, “Phoenix”. It was a song we had recorded quite a while ago, and quite a long time has passed since we uploaded it on YouTube, but it was the first time we played it live. But it didn’t really feel like we were playing it live for the first time. When it was put into the setlist, strangely enough, it felt like we had been playing it for a long time.

I thought that since “Phoenix” has A9’s new sound and vigour, it was very fitting as the first song of the live. So, which moment gave you the greatest feeling?

Tora: Right… It felt great playing “Scarlet”. It doesn’t feel good playing the new songs yet. Your body has to get used to it.

So it requires playing them a few more times. The tour has started and you’ve already played two shows, so how was it?

Tora: It was great. It was hot. Both us and the fans are more energetic than I thought. I also get the feeling that there are some new fans at the shows too.

You can just tell, can’t you?

Tora: If it’s a small venue I can tell. I also got the feeling that we’ve gotten more male fans. No matter where they are in the venue, new fans often look at the vocalist the whole time. Even if they are in the corner they look at the vocalist. If they don’t particularly know the members, they only come to hear the songs, so I think it’s natural that they look at the vocalist.

It seems that as the tour has started, Director Tora has made his debut, so how did you making the videos (on YouTube) come about?

Tora: Since it’s been a while since we toured, I thought that we had to let everyone know what we were doing. I hate keeping things on the inside, or rather, I’m the type of person who wants to spread stuff on the outside. I want to show everyone what we can show; that we are doing this for real.

You want to put your existence out there.

Tora: Even if we intend to boldy go out there and say “We’re back!”, I think that the rest of the world thinks we are making a slow start. I think that’s a mistake that a lot of people make. To people who don’t really know us, I think it seems to them that we are being really half-assed about this. They probably also don’t know for what purpose we took a break, and a majority of the people reading this sort of interview are clearly fans, so I thought that if we were presenting something easy to digest, like footage or something, perhaps people would consider giving it a watch. I think that the best thing to do is to not put on airs. If we make this sort of footage fanclub-only footage, then nothing will change. I want to put something that’s easy to understand out there.

Have you always had a hand in film-related things?

Tora: Not at all. It was in this last year that I learned how to use such software. We always wanted to do things ourselves. I’m the type of person who doesn’t really want to rely on others. When it comes to things I have no interest in, I will leave it to others and let them do it how they want. But for things I am interested in, I want to do it myself and I get stressed leaving it in the hands of others.

And just like with music, once you get particular about it there is no end in sight.

Tora: If you get particular about it, it will end up costing a lot of money. Although it’s difficult, I would like to do it, to a certain extent, myself.

By the way, is there a reason that you aren’t on social media?

Tora: Not particularly, and actually, by the time this interview goes up, I will be on Instagram!

Really?!

Tora: The reason I haven’t been on social media is because I don’t want people to know what I do. When I look at other people, it’s too real.

There are also times when things get too close and personal.

Tora: True. I mean doesn’t everyone only just talk about food (laughs)? I don’t get it. My private life is actually pretty lame, so even if I am to upload a picture of food, nine times out of ten it will be lunch bought from the convenience store (laughs). Apart from that, I don’t think I can do it. But I feel like Instagram will be okay for me.

That reminds me, in Saga’s interview, he said that A9’s dressing room was really dirty, and he said that the main culprits were Tora and Nao.

Tora: What, I don’t think it’s me.

Manager: Saga is also one of the main culprits (laughs)

Tora: It’s actually everyone but me.

Huh? This is not what I had heard (laughs)

Tora: I mean, I usually don’t have anything with me.

Manager: The person who leaves behind canned coffee and other drinks lying around is Tora.

Tora: That’s true.

Manager: The person who leaves half-eaten food lying around is Saga. The person who leaves really questionable and random things lying around is Nao.

(laughs)

Tora: When people arrive, first they put down their bags on the tables and leave it there. For some strange reason, no one wants to put their bag down on the floor. I don’t know, since I don’t carry a bag. Then everyone just scatters their things on the table, so it ends up looking dirty. Since the large tables are filled with bags, everyone leaves their empty lunch boxes in the corners of the room. So the entire dressing room gets full. Then our outfits arrive and the place is just full of things. It’s actually not dirty.

It’s just full of things.

Tora: Yeah, that’s why I think.

I think I would like to hear what Hiroto and Show have to say on the matter (laughs). So finally, what kind of band do you want A9 to be?

Tora: I think it would be great if we were a band that could do anything. And it would be great if we were a band that could get more distinctive characterisitcs. Honestly, a guitarist that can only play the guitar is a really outdated thing. I think I have to be able to do a variety of things.

I think that since going independent, there are a now more things that you have to do out of necessity, so did this feeling become quite evident over the last year?

Tora: Just by being in a band, there are a lot of other things that come with it apart from playing music, so if you have the skills, you can pretty much do anything. Up until now we relied way too much on other people, and I get the feeling that by doing this, the band’s direction was all over the place. I think that if we can do everything on our own, we can make things the way we want.

It seems like A9 will keep on showing us new things.

Tora: That’s right. Maybe Nao will also come to be able to compose his own songs. Or maybe not (laughs)

Zdroj: https://mokkoriness.tumblr.com/post/129684945044/vif-a9-personal-interviews-003-tora/amp?fbclid=IwAR1Xk_J1Ss9-N78BMrsLJSTRKWUsQxcGrbEPTXYUcZyk8Kgjrqo8eTRY-3Y