Interview with Shoxx magazine, issue 271 (September 2015)

 

The most beautiful roses in this world.

Celebrating 20 years of creative activity, Kamijo released the 20th Anniversary All Time Best - Kakumei no Keifu on June 10 and the Royal Blood - Revival Best album on July 15. Along with the opportunity to enjoy beautiful melodies, in these albums you can feel his future. On December 28, 2015, Zepp DiverCity will host the final concert of 20 years of activity.

Q: This year you are celebrating the 20th anniversary of your musical career, what do you think about this?

K: When I had a decade of musical activity, I released Imperial Concerto, and SHOXX published the book Joou to iu na no kikoushi *. At that time, of course, I knew what I wanted, but if we talk about what I can do in music in the future, then I did not see all this in detail. But there is one clear difference between the present me, from me ten years ago. Now a new start is starting, different from that time. At that time, I was "looking back." And now, after 20 years have passed, I do not so much turn to the past as I look to the future. And this is the biggest difference. And although a lot has happened over the years, but like in the photo for the album, where I decided to take a picture, standing with my back, I myself look forward. Therefore, psychologically, this album also reflects the fact that all my past has now become my weapon,

Q: So we can say that you had to look back to choose the songs for the albums "Royal Blood —Revival Best" and "20th Anniversary All Time Best - Kakumei no Keifu"?

K: Yes, but "Royal Blood —Revival Best" is a collection of the best songs that show me being reborn.

And: "Born again" - in what sense?

K: For example, when I wrote "Imperial Concerto", I thought then that this is the most powerful piece. That's how I imagined it. But if I didn’t have old discs, I would make this music a little differently now. The music became more beautiful in my memory, and I wanted to express this new level of beauty. There are songs that have changed completely. And I mixed everything together. For example, God Palace has hardly changed, and I kept the arrangement that was in Versailles. As for "Aristocrat's Symphony", I included it because it is a very important song for me. But since her Versailles arrangement was very complete, I decided to completely change it.

Q: When the song "Fuyu Tokyo" came out, it seemed unusual, but now the rhythm of EDM suits it very much.

K: Ha ha ha! Of course, compared to the past, the possibilities have become broader. But, for example, the composition Bara wa Utsukushiku Chiru acquired its own rhythm precisely because it was performed by the group Versailles. So I grew up playing in different bands myself, and now I am very grateful to all the members of these bands. And since I selected the songs, guided by which of them the current me would like to sing, then this album can really be called a collection of the best songs.

Q: Both the way of singing and the sound of the voice are different from the original recordings.

K: During the recording of this album, I almost did not concentrate on the "voice". The main attention I paid to conveying the content of the lyrics. While rewriting the songs, I wanted to be happy with each of them. Show: “These are great songs!”. And when I was thinking in what form to do it, I thought that the most important thing is my singing, which means that first of all it is necessary to convey the meaning of the lyrics. And when I started to move in this direction, my singing improved significantly. Before that, I paid more attention to how exactly to sing, with which voice to take what tone. Probably, partly selfishness manifested itself here, because I considered the voice itself and its qualities to be the most important. Now I have completely changed my attitude.

Q: Maybe this change was influenced by the fact that now you are not just a vocalist in the group?

Q: Influence? May be. There are things that I began to notice after I started solo activities. However, I think that this question arose already at the end of my work at Versailles. I used to think that my voice should be my "weapon". Now I think the "song" is where I want to go.

Q: In this album you have included 4 new compositions, including instrumental ones.

K: In Kono yo de ichiban utsukushi bara yo, I put a sense of gratitude towards my listeners. I sang it with a sincere wish that people would listen to my music all day. As for "Royal Blood", it was a challenge for me. It took a very long time to record the vocals for this song. I couldn't get it to sing the chorus the way I intended. I've always said that I want to become a vocalist who can sing like a violin. And just when I started to sing the melody of the chorus in this song, it turned out quite differently. But if I can't cope with these, then I can't be like a violin. It was very difficult to sing with the emphasis on legato and portamento.

Q: And earlier you had singing "like a violin."

K: I didn’t understand this way before. But I decided that I should not try "someday", but do it right now. And this challenge, overcoming difficulties took a long time. (laughter). And the rhythm here was quite complex. It was a release from BMP 180. "Aristocrat's Symphony", "Symphony of the Vampire", "Heart" - all of them are mostly written at 180 tempo. That is, basically all my pieces. But I thought that if you take 120 or 150, you might get something new. The rhythm in the chorus is easy to perceive, but I wanted it to go with the slow melody.

Q: HEEL is also a new song on the album.

K: If you translate this word literally, then its meaning is "scoundrel", if you think so, then this is a super-aggressive composition. There is also the meaning of high heels, so during the concert it will be a taming song (laughter). Before touring South America, I wanted to write a song using Latin American rhythms, and although I ended up not being able to perform it in South America, I think it was thanks to the world tour that I was able to write it.

Q: But now that you have written this album, how do you see the future for yourself?

K: In the beginning I created melodies in Lareine, enjoyed playing in a band in New Sodmy, I was able to draw on everything that was in Versailles, I was able to find my own style and shape for what suits me. I would like to further highlight Kamijo, the melody maker. Maybe this is my future. In the future, I want to make arrangements, use a musical style, performances that would further emphasize the melody.

Q: This album only confirms that your attitude towards melody has not changed for 20 years.

K: Yes, only the singing has changed. Also, this album was not recorded desperately, but in a good way, challenging myself, and I myself enjoyed working on it. And since I myself enjoyed it, I think that fans of my music will also enjoy it. And among other reasons why I was able to record this album, maybe the trust that exists between me and my fans. What I like will also please my fans. But this time my album is directed not so much to my current fans, but mostly to those who will become such in the future. I really want these people to listen to this music. This is what I thought about when I sang them. I really want them to like Fuyu Tokyo and Bara wa Utsukushiku Chiru and Imperial Concerto. I would like,

Q: And then you will perform these songs at concerts.

K: Yes, I will also perform many songs that have not yet been recorded. This year there will be a final concert of the twenty years of my career. First of all, during the tour in Japan, I will try to do different concerts, because it is impossible to collect all the songs in one set list, so you can hear all kinds of songs. On December 28th Zepp DiverCity will bring together the members of the bands I used to play in. My first announcement that Teru from Versailles will be in the show. There will be a second announcement this month, so look forward to it.

*Book :

Zdroj:https://www.facebook.com/notes/vive-le-roi-kamijo-fanclub-by-fans/interview-with-shoxx-magazine-issue-271-september-2015/420831775670320/