Toshiya’s creativity Vol 04 “Touch”

 

An approach to the private and personal side of Toshiya, Dir en grey’s bassist. The fourth theme of these series is “Touch”.  Focusing in things he touches every day, we asked him about them. We also took pictures of him with his personal effects,  talked about memories and his current state. We explored touch and the feeling related to some things that  are in Toshiya’s heart.

 “Looks are also importante when it comes to choose an instrument. If I think that it looks good when I’m carrying it, then it’s ok”.

This time we thought that we wanted to peek at Toshiya’s private side a bit more so we asked him “Could you please reveal some of your personal effects?” Despite being very busy during the production period, he agreed. Then, “Touch” was chosen as theme. We were really looking forward to what kind of things he would bring.

First thing was a small bass for practice. Being Dir en grey’s bassist, it’s a natural choice for things  he touches.

“This is really a thing  I only use for practice. The movement of the fingers, their position or rhythm.  If you connect it, it also sounds. I use it at home or at the hotels during tours. If you ask me if the feeling is good or bad…. I would say bad (laughs) But for practising a little, it’s ok. If I want to practice properly, I have many other basses. The feeling with this one is good cause it’s easy to use.”

What’s Toshiya’s criteria when he chooses an instrument?

“From the professional side, there are many things that I would have to explain but at the beginning I think it’s ok to focus on the look of it. To me, I think it’s important when you are carrying it and feels like your tension is rising and looks good. Then, to make it better, in the next stage I think you should choose it by sound or touch. Indeed, it’s important to match the current atmosphere with the chosen instrument, I started to choose instruments that matched  the music I was making at that time. So, I will consider if while playing it matches guitars and drums, also the song highs and lows or accent. 

Second thing is a portrait of Toshiya, drawn by Japan’s representative painter and illustrator Yumihiko Amano.  He is the son of Yoshitaka Amano, who is part of the character design of the internationally popular game “Final Fantasy”. A surprising relationship, they seem to be acquaintances.

”I had a common friend with Amano (Yumihiko). So, he came to Dir en grey’s live. There was a lot of parts of him  I personally feel comfortable with, so we became friends. I was given this portrait in 2011 as a present and I was really happy. Since then it’s part of my decoration”. 

It is known that Toshiya has a deep knowledge in arts and he is also familiar with paintings.

“Besides Amano’s draw, there are many other paintings as decoration. When I rapidly look at them, I feel uneasy. It really hits me.”

He is interested in music and arts, creative aspects but also, he has developed an interest in the inner side of these.

The next thing is his favourite sunglasses. As he is producing himself an apparel brand, his pickiness is strong.

“It’s hard to find glasses or sunglasses that match my face. But these ones fit me really good. As the shape is really basic, they are easy to use. That’s why I have been using this one all the time. Use them for disguise? No, I don’t use them for that at all (laughs) Sunglasses are for when the sun is really strong or I get in the mood to wear them. It’s dangerous to wear them throughout the night (laughs) It also feels like that at overseas, but in Japan I  feel like sunlight is getting stronger. It is said when you feel the ultraviolet rays in your eyes, you are getting a sunburn. That’s why sunglasses are really important for the upcoming season”.

“I’m concerned about the texture of paper. I also like the smell of it.  The unique atmosphere and smell of bookstores are is good too.”

A thing he touched during his childhood would be “Dark Myth” by Daijiro Morohoshi. This manga is about the legend of Yamato Takeru, features stories and historic ruins in Ancient Japan, Buddhism…also incorporates magic and science fiction elements.  It’s the story of a boy drawn by a strange fate.

“I read it for the first time when I was an elementary student. At that time, it was traumatic (laughs) But I have already read it several times.  Sometimes I suddenly want to read it. It’s strange, isn’t it? I also like other works by Daijiro Morohoshi, so I read them too”

He likes manga and anime, so we asked him which mangas he is reading recently.

“I haven’t barely seen any recent work.  If anything, I often read again things I have read in the past. When I have time, I read the whole story again. Also, I casually go to the book store, and I buy what seems interesting”

With e-books growing moment, book stores at cities seem to be rapidly disappearing.

“It’s not like I don’t use e-books, but after all I want to go to the bookstore. If I have free time, I go back. I like that smell, the smell of paper, right? I like both, new and old books.  Then, I care about paper quality. ‘It’s a bit thick, so it’s good’ or ‘This paper is thin/weak’ and things like that.  E-books are useful but I think that things like picking it with your hands and coming into your sight are really important”

Keeping the talk focused in paper, a vivid blue sketch set attracts our attention. He doesn’t remember how many years ago he got it, but the state of it is nice and neat.

“It’s really useful. It has a lot of pencils with different hardness. The cover is hard so you can draw everywhere. The size is algo good.  When I still haven’t decided what to draw, I feel like doodling.  I just draw what comes to my mind at that time”

Flipping through the pages, there are designs for his apparel Brand “Dirt 100% Natural Dirty” as well as other rough sketches. In this way, it feels like he is outputting the things he has in his head.

“I don’t carry it with me everyday, like the previous bass, I take it with me when I’m on tour. At that time, ideas often spring up and because of that something comes up”

As it feels like he has a thing for drawing things, we asked about it a bit more.

“Preferences…. it would be pencils.  But mechanical pencils are ok too. As I think that being able to erase is important, with pencils I feel like drawing directly. I also like colored pencils too. While you are using them, you can get other colours mixing them. For example,  blue and red, and those used to get green colour as well get wasted soon.”

The last two ones are things from Toshiya’s hometown area, Nagano: A small cup of local famous sake brand Miyasaka  “Masumi” and a plush toy of the local character “Arukuma”.

”Recently, I got the change to go to the sake brewery of ‘Masumi’. They let me observe it closely and taste a sample. It’s the original cup they made there. I got it in my hands and it was a bit heavy, when it touched my mouth, the feeling was so good. This is of course Japanese sake but whiskey is good too. It may be a useless way of drinking but I drink whiskey here and there.  More like  taking shots. Doing this, I can get drunk fast (laughs) It’s my recommendation, when you get into your hands and get drunk fast (laughs) Times that I want to get drunk? I have those moments too….. There are times when I can’t do it. So I go home and drink alone. As soon as I drink, I get sleepy so it’s better to be at home. If I get sleepy I can sleep without worrying about anything, I will get up and drink again. It’s the best when I can do it during the daytime in a day off.  Waking up in the morning “Ah, it’s a day off” and then drink beer. I drink while I am watching films or things I recorded”

It seems like Toshiya has his own pace when he has a day off. It was surprising that the last thing he brought was a plush toy of Arukuma.

” When we went to Nagano on a tour in September last year,  we invited Arukuma to the show. At that time I got this plush toy from him but it seems that it’s not an item for sale. As I’m  a local, I knew this character exists. Also, I knew Arukuma imitates my way of playing bass. That’s why I thought about calling him when there was a show. It was the first time I saw him in person….I thought “he is really big” (laughs) Well, it’s cute. The plush doll is in my living room.  Although it feels good when you touch it, I haven’t touched it a lot (laughs) I just touch it when I have to move it when I’m cleaning. I always liked characters a lot. I even did a collaboration with Gremlins for my apparel brand.”

It was a charming meeting with Arukuma. Since the topic of his apparel brand came out, we felt that he maybe is picky about the fabrics or materials that touched his skin directly.

“Favourite material to touch….. I want to put a towel on a pillow. Is it called a Pile cloth or so? Then, it comes about shirts the feeling of soft satin or silk is really good.  Since I started an apparel brand, I usually touch several fabrics samples. It’s difficult to choose them because they are totally different in size and thickness”

Even if he is the creative director of an apparel brand, his sense of touch seems to be not really sensitive. Finally, we asked him a question related to touching but in the sense of “touching a chord”. Are there things that have shaken your emotions recently?

“Everyday there are moments like that…..I can’t react to everything one by one. What I really think is that I’m like just like that.  The correct way to say it would be that I’m becoming insesitive? I noticed it, I understand it but I cannot truly accept it. There are also moments of giving up and feeling I should be doing more than I’m doing now. It’s contradictory but I also think that having again a sensitive time like when you are a child would be nice. I want to come across again with interesting things that fascinate me. I feel it’s a waste to say that “I’m busy” a lot”  

Toshiya’s favourite things to touch.  The daring feelings he is trying not to touch. It seems like we showed a new side of him. Next time we will explore further about Toshiya. We are exploring a new plan!! Stay stuned!

Zdroj:https://thepriceofbeingaroseisloneliness.tumblr.com/post/162403546997/toshiyas-creativity-vol-04-touch-23