Kamijo. Life is pink.
Q: Welcome back, Kamijo-san! Although it happened that you worked alone in Lareine before, but now you started a solo project for the first time under the name of Kamijo?
K: Yes, it is.
Q: Before, you preferred to work in groups - Lareine, NEW SODMY, Versailles, so why now a solo project?
K: Since Versailles needed a break, we stopped our activity. For me meeting with the members of Versailles was fateful, if we talk about the band, then for me it would be Versailles - and everything is fine .. So I decided to do a solo this time. In fact, I had thought about solo activities before, just before the formation of Versailles, and even announced it. But then fate brought me to Hizaki, and I thought that now, probably, I will only work in a group. And that's why I was quite distanced from the solo project that I wanted to do (laughter).
Q: Although you remain a singer, I think that there is a big difference between being a vocalist in a group and a solo vocalist. Why is it good to be a vocalist in a group?
K: The main difference is the lack of a team. But I think that for a solo artist this is also necessary. For example, in Lareine, all the participants, as one, strove for a tragic worldview. This taught me the joy that can be experienced if everyone follows the same goal together. In the created after this group NEW SODMY, I again reaffirmed the joy of teamwork. It was a group where you could feel the joy of making music with friends. Then, after the revival of Lareine, the group Versailles was formed, which brought to life what could be called "kireigoto" (completeness). Perhaps we were able to prove that idealism can be shaped. Based on this experience, from now on I will engage in solo activities, but I am not at all going to move forward, relying only on my own opinion. Having a discussion with many people ...
Q: I have been following your activities for more than 10 years, and I have a purely personal, very strong impression ... You, Kamijo-san, are very lucky to have people.
K: At the moment when the Versailles activity was stopped, many people immediately contacted me, comrades with whom I was associated in the past. Indeed, the people who now surround and support me have been with me all my musical life. The staff who work with me on the label worked with me even before Lareine's debut.
Q: Both Lareine and Versailles became big projects after their major debut, didn't they? I think that after participating in them it is difficult to reach the next level. It takes time to erase the image of "a former member of such and such a group." But in the past you were able to switch to a new project in a relatively short period of time. Was it because it showed the support of others and your own willpower?
K: I must say that all the time in Versailles, from the moment of foundation and up to the termination of activity, I was fighting with myself, Larein's. There is what I myself call "Kamijo Power". And during the Lareine period, this power was remarkable. When I started working at Versailles, I had to destroy it on my own. Now I can say that this struggle continued constantly.
Q: Because the musical character created in Lareine constantly came forward.
K: Lareine played a gig at Shibuya Kokaido back in the Indies period. We performed in Nakano Sun Plaza for two days in a row and sold several hundred thousand copies in total. If you think about it now, there was no need to compare, but I wanted to beat Lareine in all areas. To be honest, I didn't really care about other bands, my opponent was myself in the past. But in the end I was able to perform in NHK-hall, in which I had never performed before with either Lareine or Versailles, and I was able to win in the fight against my past self, not only in terms of art, but also to feel it. So now I don't think about my past at all.
Q: Will the fight with Versailles' Kamijo begin now?
K: Not at all. If you have already fought with a person once, then there is no more sense. Now I will think about my future self.
Q: I think the image of Versailles' Kamijo is much stronger, but Lareine's Kamijo has become such a big obstacle.
K: Of course, embellished memories are very powerful. It takes great strength to fight what has become a legend. Only now did I really feel the victory, both psychologically and tangibly, and I feel that I have acquired something very important. I can take on anything! You need to write music that will have an impact on your younger companions.
Q: Yes, there was also a tailwind of the era, so the times of Lareine's active work appear now in a somewhat embellished form. And now, having conquered yourself from the past, do you think about your position on the current stage?
K: No, I don't understand the current scene. I used to analyze scene trends and understand them at a certain level, but now I really don't understand. Previously, looking at magazines and websites, it was easy to understand the situation on stage. But now, due to the fact that magazines and sites are somehow shredded and cannot catch the general trends, everything has become different. But I think a lot of people rely too much on visual kei.
And what does it mean?
K: I would like the visual kei scene to be a collection of something amazing. Now the scene has become very diverse, so it is impossible, as before, to put everything together, however, I must have moved away from what is now called visual kei ... I just think this. Everyone says, "I want to shake the stage!" But for this it is necessary to create a work of art that can make a lasting impression. And if you just follow popular trends, you won't get anywhere with just presentation. Therefore, I personally want to do more individual things. But at the same time, I do not want to impose my way of thinking on people. It's just that I will do what no one else will do.
Q: What are the things now that only you can do, Kamijo-san?
K: This is exactly what visual kei are - these are roses! You cannot call visual kei what you do if there are no roses in your heart! (laughter). In this sense, it is very important for me that Mana-san also took part in the music video for my first single in a solo project.
Q: When Malice Mizer was still an Indies band, were you one of their roadies too?
K: The first time I saw a picture of Mana in a magazine. And at the same moment I thought: "I want to be close to this person in order to learn from him." It was a call to the world of roses. And then a friend of mine, a high school classmate named Kinzo, who we used to play in a band with, brought me to Mana.
Q: It was this meeting that became the basis of the "world of Kamijo" ...
K: The subtitle of the single is life in pink. I wanted people who listen to it to get pink too. These thoughts have remained unchanged since the days of Versailles. This time, through cooperation with Mana-san, my inner aestheticism reawakened, and many things became clearly visible. In one word, I wanted to be like a makeup tool for those who listen to me.
Q: People can become more beautiful by touching the world of Kamijo.
K: Yes, Kamijo is like cosmetics (laughter). I'm kidding, of course. I want to bloom the life of those people who listen to it with my music.
Q: And in this sense, how did the collaboration with Mana-san go?
K: In the beginning, we drank with Mana-san in the evenings, and he talked about how he wants to somehow raise the world of aesthetics. There were talks about doing something together, and I asked him to participate in my solo project, not hoping for consent at all. For me, he is primarily a teacher, so I was embarrassed by my own insolence ... But Mana-san easily said OK. During the filming, I once again became convinced of the power of his exactingness and learned a lot from him. There is no limit to my gratitude.
Q: What exactly did you learn?
K: It was the scene where Mana-san wakes me up, this part we filmed many times, adjusting the camera from different angles. Mana-san said, "To film a good thing, you have to do it several times." I thought that I didn’t have such a high consciousness yet.
Q: How was the songwriting for the solo project? Have responses to the single already appeared on the official facebook? Probably there are many things that you felt and learned?
K: Of course, there is always something to learn, but this time a big event happened. In the process, I had to completely change the melody of the chorus. I already wrote the music and took up the lyrics. And then the words came to my mind: "Life in pink" ... I had to change the melody completely and change the chorus.
Q: So these words, which became the key words in the song, came about by chance?
K: I myself was amazed. The content of the lyrics I wanted to write was the same, but suddenly words appeared that I hadn't prepared at all. The melody, which was born out of words, turned out to be very strong. And now I am carried away by these words, like no others. I changed the music over and over again. This time I learned how one word can change the image of music. Then it was difficult to achieve unparalleled sound.
Q: In what sense is unparalleled?
K: I think there are almost no examples of an orchestra and a gothic arrangement being added to the band's sound in a solo project. I wanted to bring the orchestra to the fore more than it was in the Versailles period ... Whatever you say, this song in which I did everything I wanted to do. Maybe it sounds loud, but despite the fact that this is the first piece, I have put into this project everything that I have achieved in music so far.
Q: A music video is uploaded on YouTube. What are the fan responses?
K: The response from the fans left me confused! After all, all listeners have been waiting for this release for more than half a year, and finally, I released music in which I am completely confident, in which I expressed my vision. And after hearing the feedback from the fans, I realized that my feelings and those of the audience coincided with a high degree of accuracy. I felt that I was able to convey my aesthetic vision. Because it is very important for me to convey not only music, but also an aesthetic understanding, including artistic taste. And I am very glad that I succeeded in full.
Q: Since you yourself have no doubts, the fans can follow you without anxiety.
K: Well, if so. But I really don't doubt it myself. In comparison, it looks like Midosuji! (Central street in Osaka - approx. Transl.).
Q: An interesting example, but not clear.
K: Ha ha ha! It’s like a wide one-way street, it feels like we are walking along with a lot of fans like a parade. More precisely, this is the most cheerful and cheerful mood that I have not experienced in the past.
Q: Now it is clear why this magazine contains your photographs with a smile for the first time.
K: I'm just tired of my face (laughter).
I: That's the news! (laughter)
K: (During the photo shoot) someone from the editorial department was holding a flat reflector, on the silver surface of which I reflected myself. But when the reflector was lifted, fingers protruded on the silvery surface. You can't see who is holding, only a leotard that anyone could wear. And I imagined different images, that's why I smiled (laughter).
Q: Well, let the smile be caused by such a reason (laughter). But before that, you have never chosen photographs with a smile for publication in magazines, have you?
K: This is completely different than the smile of idols. This time I wanted to choose photographs that convey joy, that reflect today's mood. And in terms of music, and in other creative matters, I want to gradually challenge new things more and more ... This is also this issue of Rock & Read, I think I am lucky to have conditions that allow me to do something new.
Q: Probably, this is also due to their own aspirations, which become the driving force that allows you to create an amazing piece of art. It is wonderful. What are your goals and ideals now?
K: Mm ... now I can do whatever I want. Now I just have a perfect position. So, most likely I will develop what I am doing now. If we set ourselves the goal of giving shape to our ideals, and then we transcend them, are we not then moving even further ahead of our ideals? But in concrete terms, if you ask me where the ideal is, then I will not be able to indicate this place. I'm walking on a one way road. And it is not so much the direction that matters to me as the feeling that many flowers are blooming.
Q: And in those days when you just started performing in a group, you probably set yourself goals to perform in large halls, to conclude a major contract?
K: There are such specific goals of the movement even now ... If we talk about music and about the vision that I have to express, I can do whatever I want to do. That is why cultivating it is like letting flowers bloom. And it would also be ideal from now on to weaken the strength a little.
Q: What does it mean to weaken the power?
K: It's not at all like working sloppily or getting frustrated. For example, if you walk against the wind, then it feels stronger against your own speed. But if you stop, the same wind will feel much more pleasant. In this sense, I would like to live more elegantly.
Q: How have you changed, Kamijo-san! Of course, the character itself has not changed, but when you talk to you, the impression is completely different.
K: I used to always talk around the bush (laughter).
Q: Here's how. When you want to say too much, then gradually the conversation becomes wider and the thread is lost.
K: Exactly, that's how it was with me (bitter smile). But I myself am aware of this. It often happened that in the midst of a conversation I ceased to understand what they were asking me about and asked again: "What was the question?"
Q: I think that even now there is a lot that you want to say, I want to convey to the readers, but everything seems to be very orderly.
K: Actually, I wanted to say too much before. I thought that an artist in an interview should never say the phrase: "Listen to the CD, and you will understand everything at once." But now I feel like I can say so.
Q: Now there is no rush, but at the same time there is no reason to say that you can stop.
K: Yes, I'm not at all in a desperate situation. Moreover, it may be strange to say it myself, but lately the atmosphere has been very refined, I enjoy myself amidst the calm stream.
Q: But while working on the record, time still urges you on.
K: Nothing of the kind (laughter).
I: But this is great!
K: I would like to finish the necessary things as soon as possible and go to have fun (laughter). But of course, I'm not trying to finish faster just for entertainment. By completing matters in the best possible way, I create an opportunity to spend time in peace. This is just amazing. I would like to quickly share these feelings with the fans.
Q: Please tell us about your plans for the next releases.
K: I think that the next one will also be a single, and I have already started working on it. Concerning concerts, this is a matter for the future. This year it would be nice to give a concert, if only for the members of the fan club. Of course, since there is no band, the preparation for the concert will take time. But I think about it, interesting things have been outlined, so wait for the announcements soon.
Q: I am very glad that we had a conversation with a positive-minded Kamijo, which is aimed at the future. Finally, a few words for the fans.
K: With the fans who support me, we are connected for life. For example, I can't even imagine that if I write some bold song, then everyone will turn their backs on me. I believe that we will be together, no matter what happens, and I think that this is not my subjective idea at all. And I want to write music that responds to all these feelings of the fans. And I would also like to leave something of my own on the visual kei stage. And this is my mission now. At my own pace in a solo project, I will do exactly what only I can do.
And that's great.
K: After Versailles was suspended, listeners had to wait over six months. And if we talk about new releases, then they have not been for more than a year. And that's why I really want to answer your expectations.
Zdroj:https://www.facebook.com/notes/vive-le-roi-kamijo-fanclub-by-fans/kamijos-interview-at-rock-read-n49/301159738104080/
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