A whole year has passed but TETSU69 has beautifullly
returned to the music scene with the single, "SHINKIROU" before the
sudden release of the single, "15 1/2 Fifteen Half." On the 20th of
November the long-awaited full length album of his was released. His debut in
2001 was nothing short of amazing...he then chose to take a break from his work
after that instead. Now he has come back. Why? What has he been doing? We go
ask him today.
*INT = interviewer
TETSU: Hey, do you really want to know what I've been doing? *laughs*
INT: Yes, I do *timid smile*
TETSU: How should I start...you know I like perfection right...therefore, I
want to make the things I make as good as possible...but it just so happened
that it wasn't very convenient.
INT: But you've already started.
TETSU: Yes, after the single, "wonderful world/TIGHTROPE" was
released...I thought to myself that I wouldn't release another single until I
got everything organized and under my control. I went around doing so many
things, and it dragged on for a whole year...but as I look back over the past
year, I feel "I should have done something?" Now that I think about
it, I didn't really do or accomplish anything tangibly, I felt that I really
took a long time. But that's life *laughs*
INT: You understand life throughly now.
TETSU: I have a stock of songs in keep, so even if I released the singles,
"SHINKIROU" and "15 1/2 FIFTEEN HALF" those songs were
written a year ago.
INT: Is that so?
TETSU: Yes, the songs that are coming out after this also, they were written a
year and a half ago. So if you're to write, "the new and strange side of
TETSU," it should have been written a year and a half ago *laughs*
INT: Even if you had a stock of songs in keep, you chose to take a break.
TETSU: Mm...I did feel sorry for those songs becuase to me, songs are just like
my children. It's very difficult for them to be born. So I want my children to
be born under the best circumstances and environment possible.
INT: So it was a good decision.
TETSU: Well, like I said, I'm one to like perfection.
INT: After you decided to stop, you began to rearrange the way you work. Can
you explain it more clearly?
TETSU: Well, it started from getting staff members. I thought of many
people...personally, I think for an artist to be successful, it really depends
on how much the staff loves that artist. Actually I don't want them to see this
as work, but rather as love. Especially now that I'm doing solo, it's even more
important.
INT: Is that so?
TETSU: I contacted a number of people and began thinking about who would be the
best.
INT: Did you write any songs?
TETSU: None at all.
INT: Why? You weren't in a hurry or anything?
TETSU: ...I wasn't in a hurry hmm
INT: You just spent each day leisurely?
TETSU: ...well, I realy felt "I'm in no hurry" *laughs*
INT: *laughs*Very determined.
TETSU: There are always talented people in this society, but what can we do to
jump ahead of them?
INT: Because you know what reality is really like, you won't give into it.
TETSU: Hm...or you could call it cold-blooded but if someday I really can't
take it, I quit.
INT: Eh!? Stop playing music?!
TETSU: Yes, but *laughs* I might come back again 5 or 10 or even 20 years
afterwards. Even if no one listens to my music then, at least I know that I
haven't given in.
INT: Meaning that you've really got a clear outlook of everything now.
TETSU: Yes, because I like perfection, so I have to be clear to myself what
type of person I am. Will I do it or will I not do it? But if I do it, I want
it to come out to be the best as possible. I don't want to do anything half and
half. It has to come out perfect.
INT: How do you live your everyday life as a perfectionist?
TETSU: That's only the case when I'm working.
INT: It should be that way.
TETSU: How should I say it? Most of the time I would only think about certain
things when I'm being interviewed? "What's this like?" Because
usually I won't think about it.
INT: Because you're goal is to perfection?
TETSU: To make it more deep, "How should I live in this world?"
..."and what should I do to be able to go out of space?"
INT: Even if you can't go, you'll go *laughs*
TETSU: I will try to go *laughs* (maybe that's why Laruku had a photo shoot
where they're all wearing astronaut suits? -D.T)
INT: Were you waiting to be in the mood to work while looking for staff
members?
TETSU: No.
INT: How about you going out of country for about a month in order to change
your mood?
TETSU: When I'm working really hard I would secretly hope and pray for break
time to come. But I didn't feel that way at all because I felt "I have to
do this and that, this and that" So I didn't go out anywhere.
INT: After you contacted a number of people, you finally began seriously
working on TETSU69?
TETSU: It was probably since May or June that we started *laughs* It was just
the two of us, Harry (the producer) and I. It took about a month.
INT: How did you come to work with him?
TETSU: It was really coincidential. About a year ago, I became acquainted with
a certain someone, and I wanted him to become one of my staff members or
whatever. But after we worked together for 2-3 months, it turned out that this
person wasn't really right for it. It just so happened though, that this person
knew Harry. And so we started talking about him, it was only a long time
afterwards did we have a chance to meet. We all went out for a meal, the three
of us. And we completely lost contact until we met again...among the other
people I contacted, I had already worked with some, but it was a very long time
ago. I'm an observant person, plus I'm an artist. So the people that I found
were all professionals that were my staff before. But I don't know why people
who are called professionals aren't as observant as me, or maybe they observe
others from afar? I don't know either *timid smile* Maybe that was a bit rude
of me...but I really feel that way...plus on the contrary, I'm confident of
myself that all the works I've done in the past are of quality.
INT: mm mm mm
TETSU: For that reason I was sucessful. I'm really confident in that. While I
was having those feelings, I met Harry again, and he thought that I was the
main core of the Laruku sales. So I felt that discussing these things with him
would be a good idea. I didn't think of moving companies at the time or even
about working with Harry again *laughs*
INT: Because you were recieving love? *laughs*
TETSU: I did feel that way *laughs*
INT: Now back to the old topic, even if they're really staff members, those who
have experienced success like Laruku in Japan is few, no? When that's the case,
those who are staff members and can be just as successful or even those who
were just what you wanted exactly...they're really hard to find.
TETSU: They are.
INT: Or to go in another direction, even if the staff members who were in
similar situations to Laruku is small, they were all quality people?
TETSU: Not all of them because in a big boat there would always be
"incompetent" people. *laughs* But most of the staff members are very
skilled.
INT: What made you decide to work with Harry?
TETSU: It just so happened that what I wanted to do was what Harry wanted to do
too, whether it was in management or original affiliation. In other words, the
two of us wanted the work to be close to Europe or America.
INT: What kind of emotion did the demo tape you gave to Harry convey?
TETSU: If you're asking that, that means that you haven't listened to it yet
right? *everyone cracks up* Nah, even if Harry didn't listen to my songs, he
wanted to work with me anyway. *laughs* Maybe because he knew me since I was in
Laruku and so he didn't worry about anything.
INT: And the original affiliation?
TETSU: It was the staff's decision about a month ago.
INT: Because the work didn't need so many people, it looked interesting?
TETSU: Yes, everyone has to have the same amount of love to be able to do it.
They also have to have courage because to do something, and you have no
courage, it could never be accomplished. I believe that I was born to play
music, not as a duty...that people collect my works...or give me support...I
never told them to do it but it's because of these people, I shine, that's what
I was born for. No matter where I go, I feel that way...it might sound a bit
farfetched but whenever people talk about that kind of stuff, I would feel this
way automatically. I'm sure there have been some people who waited for my work
after such a long time.
INT: When you think of the fans, it makes you want to release something faster.
TETSU: ...yeah, but even if I say that I think of the fans, I can't finish my
work all by myself. So I would think what about me? When I was in middle school
or highschool, I had artists that I liked too. So I understand the feeling of
liking someone and thinking, "I'll wait whether it'd be one or two
years." Speaking of it, Japanese people are knowledgable people, no? So
they know to not judge what is bad and what is good with their eyes or their
ears, they know that people should be judge by evaluating them. Like from the
buyer or the listener, even if I say that, I still feel that I get influenced
by other people very easily. Even if I've done it once, there are still a lot
of people who take credit for it. So I think it's better not to even think
about bad things.
INT: About the command you just talked about, when did you think of that?
TETSU: I kind of built it up little by little when I was in Laruku.
INT: I thought you thought about it since you formed Laruku?
TETSU: When we first started, I didn't think about it at all. But it started
automatically as time passed.
INT: Let's talk about your work. It's been exactly one year since you released
"SHINKIROU," when did you start recording this single?
TETSU: It was either in May or June.
INT: Why did you choose this song?
TETSU: Harry and I both agreed that, "this is the song."
INT: Did you name the song like when you wrote "SHINKIROU"? (mm...I'm
not sure what she's asking about here: shinkirou or his new single? -D.T.)
TETSU: No, I didn't.
INT: You rewrote the lyrics again?
TETSU: No, because I didn't even write the lyrics yet. I only started writing
it when we started recording it.
INT: The strongest sound in the song is the bass because that it what the song
starts with, so I want to ask you the reason for that.
TETSU: You want me to talk about the bass...I think everyone will be
confused...actually the bass that you hear in the song, I had already recorded
it a year before. Because the sound was already good, I left it that way. At
the time, I told the staff that "I'm not going to play bass," for
that reason, it wasn't released. But...in the past year, many things happened,
and my way of thinking changed. So I came back and listened to this song again,
I felt that it was a really good song, and so I decided to release it.
INT: Then isn't the restriciton that TETSU69 will not play bass too much of a
restriction?
TETSU: mm, it really depends on the song. Like right now I'm recording a new
album, in there, there are songs that I play the synthesizer bass like how I
used to and songs where I really play the bass. Because I write a variety of
songs, the decision to play or not play the bass really depends.
INT: How about the idea of only releasing 100,000 CDs, and selling it with a
t-shirt freebie?
TETSU: That was Harry's idea.
INT: You didn't object at all - the restriction of the number of CDs.
TETSU: I did at first, but I accepted it in the end.
INT: And the concept of ARTIST PHOTO? (the pictures of the artists that are
used for promotion)
TETSU: I thought that wearing a suit would go well with the mood of the song.
During the past year where I didn't do anything, I wanted to do something new.
But while I'd do the new things, I still wanted to keep the atmosphere of the
old things. So I held my same guitar, I didn't want to cause a
commotion...about me moving companies. Because even if I moved to a new
company, I still wanted to keep the old ART WORK in the album.
INT: The commercial ads in the magazine were interesting.
TETSU: Right? *laughs* Because I didn't have the time, I couldn't give any
interviews. I actually didn't want to give any interviews. Because if I was
being interviewed, the topic of me moving companies would definitely come up.
It was inevitable, because no matter how lightly I put it, there would always
be someone who feels sad.
INT: You specifically cut out "SHINKROU" to be a single because it
seems to have a "theme" to it?
TETSU: There is a possibility that people were surprised that I cut this song
to be a single, I think the results would be more like that.
INT: There're even words in the song that created a stir, like "yuki wa
yoiyoi kaeri wa kowai" (snow is good good. returning is scary...err...I
think that's right...?-D.T.) And when a melody was added to this, it became
even more amazing.
TETSU: Plus the name of the song was written in kanji, it really is a song to
create a stir.
INT: And the reviews you got for the song?
TETSU: The criticisms were pretty good, basically because it was a new side of
me that was weird and differnt *everyone cracks up* If...I was a writer, I
would feel the sameway *laughs*
INT:Especially because the melody for the part where you sing, "too
late~" really suits you.
TETSU: Yes.
INT: Other than for the remixing parts, you chose a lot of people from various
places to do this part.
TETSU: When I was in Laruku, I hinted the idea to TATOO-san.
INT: How about Tanaka Fumiya-san?
TETSU: After I heard the song I considered if I asked Fumiya-san to do the
remix, would it be rude? But if just so happened that Fumiya-san agreed to it
so I got lucky.
INT: How about the song, "15 1/2 Fifteen Half" that you released on
the 23rd of October? Why did you choose this song?
TETSU: I have to tell you first though that the release of a single in October,
actually, before I did "SHINKIROU," I had no plans whatsoever. I just
intended to cut out the song that was different into a single. Coincidentally,
this song just came up while I was making the album.
INT: What were the first steps of recording?
TETSU: Mm, when I found out that I had to go and record the song, I wrote the
lyrics within a day. But for the song that I was going to cut out into a single
in the first place, I couldn't write anything no matter what. *everyone cracks
up* Until I felt, "this song is pretty good," I changed my plan (the
song to release as a single) right before going into the recording room.
Actually, the image for this song is different from others, I decided to change
it while deciding whether or not to take photos for the cover. Personally, I
don't really think it fits with the words "15 1/2 Fifteen Half" but
that's no problem! *laughs*
INT: Writing the lyrics to a song smoothly is important.
TETSU: It is, like, "it's coming!"
INT: Is that from past experiences?
TETSU: I've never had anything like that before, this was the first time I
changed something that I had planned beforehand clearly. So it felt like God
was telling me to do that. I don't actually know exactly how the album is going
to turn out myself.
INT: It remains a mystery.
TETSU: Yes, yes.
INT: Did you intend for the lyrics of "15 1/2 Fifteen Half" to come
out the way it did?
TETSU: No, but when I listened to the music it just came out.
INT: And, "SHINKIROU"?
TETSU: When I found out that I had to write the lyrics to "SHINKIROU"
everything came out in pieces. Like, "I should write this like this, and
write that like that." So I had to rearrange all the parts of the lyrics
before it became to what we hear now. So it took quite a lot of time. While for
"15 1/2 Fifteen Half," I just listened to the rhythm and the lyrics
just came out within a day. Especially when we started recording for real, the
music got better and better, when actually, I coudn't think of any music while
doing the demo tape.
INT: It really is nice lyrics, straightforward too, it can reflect your
feelings and thoughts very well.
TETSU: It seems straightforward because I intentionally chose words that
everyone could understand, and I wrote it that way too. Even if people complain
to me that my lyrics are too straightforward, I would ask them, "do you
understand the real meaning of the song?" and actually sometimes the
answers would come out "wrong." Therefore all the lyrics of the songs
that I write aren't all straightforward. Everytime someone writes the lyrics,
they would go to the staff or the director to check first right? But for me, even
if I get suggestions like "this part should be this, and this should be
that" I would still stand by my lyrics and say, "what I've written is
already good." So no matter who, even the staff, won't know the true
meaning of it.
INT: That's a good thing.
TETSU: Because the lyrics that are really personal, if someone hasn't been
through similar to what I've been through, there's no way that they could
understand. And because no one's lives are exactly the same, only I can fully
understand what I've written.
INT: Even if people's lives are the same, when someone understand the true
meaning of it, you should be happy.
TETSU: Not at all! Because if the lyrics came from me thinking about a certain
someone, I wouldn't want anyone else to know.
INT: This is your standing point.
TETSU: Actually, I've never ever wanted to write lyrics to anything *laughs*
INT: Is writing lyrics hard?
TETSU: mm...yeah, it is *timid smile*
INT: Only a 100,000 copies of this single were made, and it is also sold with
the figure TEZMAN.
TETSU: Before releasing the album, I intended to release two single where only
a 100,000 copies of each were made. I also wanted to sell them with something,
the t-shirt sold with "SHINKIROU," was, in fact, good. So we planned
to sell another single along with t-shirts. But when I do something over and
over again, it doesn't feel like I'm working *everyone cracks up* I've had the
idea of creating the action figure, TEZMAN, for a very long time now. In
Laruku, we had a doll named Ciel-chan and the fanclub name Le Ciel. So I had an
idea to have a figure of me with my name, and it has to be different from
MUKIMPO-kun too. And when we made TEZMAN, it collided with the release of this
single, so we decided to have the action figure be a freebie with the single.
INT: That sounds fun, you get to do many different things.
TETSU: But it was a hassle, the cost and time to make the figures were no
different from making the t-shirts, I don't think there'd be much profit.
INT: Yeah.
TETSU: To say it clearly, I! seem to be a very heartless person in the fans'
eyes. Everything is all about money, I never give any freebies. Like selling
the water of "SHINKIROU"? (the mineral water in an original bottle
which was a promotion item for the single, "SHINKIROU." It was only
distributed to those who were involved, sold at familymart dot com). But in
fact, even if we were selling water, nobody got any profit, we did it for fun,
and to connect it to the album.
INT: So when will the album be on sale?
TETSU: We plan to put it on sale on the 20th of November.
INT: What type of album is it?
TETSU: What type of album is it....I should cry *laughs* After I'm finished
with it, I could probably give a better answer.
INT: I heard that you put in one new song that you just wrote?
TETSU: 1 song.
INT: So what will the freebie be?
TETSU: There won't be any. It'll cost about 2500 yen. People would probaly
question why isn't there any freebie when it costs 2500 yen when the single
only cost 1500 yen and it had a freebie. But that was limited. When that's the
case people would ask, "then why doesn't the album have any
freebies?" That part is out of my reach. And I don't want to make people
who support me disappointed. So this album will have no freebie, to take the
place of something valuable. Plus it will also be easier to sell because the
album release will be unlimited. Not many people will have the single because
we only made a 100,000 copies, so now people will be able to buy the album that
incorporates those singles.
INT: And the lives?
TETSU: Lives? I'm going to participate at the Instore Even in Tower Records in
Shibuya. It'll be an acoustic live, I think it'll turn out really well too.
INT: What will TETSU69 be like after this?
TETSU: Yeah, when the working system is all in place, I might have more time to
do something more fun. I don't know if the people around me will have fun too
though. But if I have somone agreeing with me with everything I do, I would be
happy.
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