The Interviewer
A - Aoi :)
() - explanations in the text
[] - my comments & explanaitons
Aoi seemed to be in a quite defiant mood...
Since it’s been about 2 years since working on the previous album, it’s been a while since making an album, so was there any special sense/consciousness you felt?
A: Aa, yes, yes. I see, roger that. Is this in a personal interview sense? If personal, what am I being asked? Eh? A, it’s already been asked (laugh)?
Certainly, it’s the system where questions are asked (laugh).
A: A, I understand, I thought it was an introduction. You must say it. Like, we’ve started already. What was it again (laugh)?
[XD – admit it Aoi – you haven’t really been listening properly to this person talking, have you…]
Eh? One more time!?
A: Ahahahaha! Yes, yes. I’ll listen properly (laugh). [XD] It’s been a while kind of feeling, right? If that was said [asked], then you didn’t say it clearly. Since the previous work till the stage now, since we were releasing singles, the recording didn’t really have that it’s been a while feeling, there was constantly the working on the singles and working on the album, I didn’t really get that kind of sensation [of it’s been a while].
I understand. This time, the “DIM” word that was used seemed to have been inside Ruki before the album, but were you informed about it?
A: At the stage of composing, we still hadn’t known this word. Not saying anything about this image, we had the sense of composing freely/as we wanted all the while.
Music filled with metal melodies, was it Uruha, Aoi’s composition? Or was it contrary to our beliefs [was it someone else]?
A: Ahahaha. It was different.
Like SHIROKI YUUTSU. From the ones made now, it was the most singeable [they use one kanji for it which means: accompanied the singing in which the singing is emphasised over the instrumental part…and that was ONE kanji…] one. Songs where the violent is coming and going contrary to the ones which attack hard, ah, was it like that? Kind of.
A: Yeah, yeah. Well, how to say it, I’d say it’s the kind of song where the beautiful things hidden under the surface exude completely. Yeah. You can’t really help it there. (Managers sitting close smile bitterly; Aoi: smile). Oi! You there! What’s so funny!
Team Manager - Saito & Sakai: Noting, nothing, we thought like that too, really (bitter smile).
A: Did you now~. I got it.
Sai-chan (Saito), you said that personally SHIROKI YUUTSU was your favourite from the album.
A: It’s good, ne~ Sai–chan (with satisfaction). I wonder about Sakai-kin.
Sakai-kin … kin … (the person himself [-> Aoi] said it with the meaning of ‘KUN’).
A: Aa~a, we’re going away [from the topic]. We haven’t finished with this job (the interview). Aa~a.
Sorry, sorry. Aoi-sensei [XD this person actually said it]. Let’s continue with the discussion (laugh).
A: It can’t be helped. The talk about SHIROKI YUUTSU? So SHIROKI YUUTSU, I had the kind of ‘What is love?’ question.
Really?
A: Ahahaha. Really (laugh). When I made my own love song, “What it is I wonder” I thought. It doesn’t mean that I fell in love (laugh). I didn’t make a song which would make you feel that way, well maybe once. Everybody brought a lot of songs for the album, and it’s always fun to try different ways of recording. In my story [he used the word ‘story’] SHIROKI YUUTSU was a love song.
It’s got a beautiful arpeggio, there’s Ruki’s whisper-like vocal, it’s got a very beautiful world overview too.
A: I, if a person doesn’t read the lyrics, as usual [XD], even if you don’t read the lyrics properly, I’d say the song goes according to the image [of a love song]. Even though Ruki also said that it had nothing to do with a love song, he somehow seems to have sensed it [the image].
I see. This time, during the meeting where you chose songs, which songs did you expect to be chosen?
A: This time, because of the single tendency that we’ve followed until now, I was thinking whether we’d choose songs with a wholly dark [image]. There were such too, but I also thought that making a dark album would be unpleasant. Well, I also thought that having a concept album like this would be a good thing. Even so, when my own mode [of work] from that time wasn’t like that, I thought about trying to make songs with an upper kind of feeling, and the one I made was A MOTH UNDER THE SKIN.
I see. It’s rhythmic.
A: Yeah, yeah. It’s a song made with that kind of sense. It’s really made in my own favourite way. Things like the world overview, I was relieved when it was compatible with Ruki’s view and I entrusted it [to Ruki], I obediently revealed the song I wanted to make without any wicked thoughts, and we dealt with it straightaway. I’m really grateful for Ruki’s skills. It deserves esteem. Ah, that’s too much praise (laugh).
Ruki (who happens to pass by close): It’s ok, praise me once in a while (laugh).
A: No~, wait. Isn’t praising too much bad? It has to be moderate (laugh).
Ahaha. But, this time, an album in about 2 years, the work [recording] period lasted for just under a month?
A: Yes. But it was probably a long way. It’s always like that with us because of that pace feeling. I wonder if it’s always been an unchanging sensation for me. Still, it lasted 2 weeks during the previous album [recording].
Amazing.
A: Yeah, it was amazing (laugh).
Didn’t you join in an arrangement and director people?
A: Well, there was only one occasion [when they joined the guys]. Well, we wanted to do it as 5 people only. It’s not that we had to do it as 5 people. If it’s solo different people join in with making [of the album, song, etc], but other than the band we don’t need arrangement and director people.
The Interviewer
U - Uruha :)
() - explanations in the text
[] - my comments & explanaitons
About the direction of this meeting, since sound is going to be at the centre of this talk, about personal things, I think we’ll hear about it somewhere beneath the talk about the mental side of recording work.
U: The mental side. Hmm. About the playing side, I always try to take a degree of leading to face it [playing] , but with the emotional part, the whole of different things is reflected, I got the feeling we were able to do it in this one album and I wondered if we skilfully packed it in. This time, there was also the issue of having an album in quite a while, particularly more than usual, I think it was packed with the things it reflected.
After the previous album, you went touring, it seems like a reason for the album this time. Of course, absorbing into such lives with the work now, did you have a feeling of it steadily spilling out of you [coming out; actually she used the word ‘vomit’ but I couldn’t find a different meaning of it anywhere…][simply – did they start to feel like going touring with the new material]?
U: Hmm. Well, about doing the live, I had that kind of feeling coming. In the middle of receiving stimuli from different things, it was natural that there was “If we’re going to make another album, let’s make an album like that” kind of sensation. It’s like that every time, but this time after 2 years’ gap, the things that came out in the previously done album, and the things we wanted to do in it were still different. That’s why, “I want to quickly show the me now!” kind of sensation I think became strong.
After the 2 years’ interval, even if the fundamental likes/tastes remained unchanged, for sure different stimuli were digested in you and now you are at the point where you want to release the accumulated things.
U: That’s right. Because until this 3rd album people have been listening [to us/the old stuff], I’d say we felt like starting to gather [material for the album]. “I want to listen to the new things fast!” kind of sense. It’s not that we negated the older sound [that they had done in the previous albums], “It’s like that now” kind of sense we quickly wanted to take shape. Well, it took some time to collect it (laugh), for me. Now that it’s completed, we got the sensation of quickly wanting to go and have a tour (laugh).
It’s going to be a live with growth.
U: Right. Well, as long as the band’s been doing lives, lives have always been at the centre [of our interest]. To be frank, we can’t only concentrate on one album that we make in one year. It’s not only the album, if we hadn’t released 3 singles, we’d require considerable time [for recording/ gathering ideas, etc.]. It’s because you mustn’t make music with the same pace all the time. This time, it’s been a while, actually we have digested the previous albums properly during lives and we had a feedback feeling inside of us. We faced that “The next album, let’s do it like that” kind of boiling desire and I think it was a good state. Both from the playing and the emotional point of view.
I see. What was the strongest consciousness in you that you mentioned?
U: During making the album this time, the strongest consciousness, how to say it, I can’t really explain it with words [oh no! Uruha’s going to be creative with words now… be warned], but I wanted to make a phrase that would have a three-dimensional feeling. All the while, while having a live, there were moments where I thought some parts seemed flat, all the time while having a live, I was thinking of wanting to make things more three-dimensional during the next album. With my own playing, I thought about completely changing the impression of a live’s phrase and I adopted it/took it in. With things done like that, I thought if the live didn’t get really enjoyable. “Oo, today’s touch was the best!” kind of sense it was (laugh). I thought I wanted this kind of sense of a correct interpretation of vagueness.
I see. Did you make the best use of it now?
U: Yeah. Well, I wanted to do it properly during the recording, but the taste of what comes out during a live is different, and I wondered if it was possible to produce this feeling. But, the time we had to spare till the live was about a month. In the meantime too, different things were put in [to the schedule]other that this work [recording], so it wasn’t like we could only concentrate on recording. Even if it was after 2 years, the time spent on the sound [working/recording] took about a month (laugh). There was pressure, somehow, one way or another we didn’t have much time to spare, it was difficult. About my way of making songs, it took a lot of time. Even after nicely getting into making [songs], since I wasn’t deeply moved by them, I threw them all away. I started redoing them from the beginning once more. That’s why it took so much time.
Almost until the last moment, you concentrated and made decisions. Kind of complete obsession, this, right. By the way, the whole composing was done by the whole band, but which did Uruha do?
U: 13STAIRS[-]1 and DIM SCENE.
Famous music. Personally those are my two favourite songs. In 13STAIRS[-]1, the guitars’ sound and the composition are the best [go Uruha! XD] and I like them, it’s got the feeling of decorating the second half of the album. It’s the kind of song whose presence is felt by itself. DIM SCENE, the sound shakes the emotions like that at one time too…and deeply moves another time, this one song. Such sadness…Especially in the intro.
[they can flatter with such delicacy…]
U: Yeah. The intro corresponds to sadness. This song, when I was making it at the beginning, at that time there was the feeling of the greatest sadness of my phrase, but just before the recording. I thought about dropping this feeling even lower, but I changed it at the last moment.
Clean guitar is the saddest, right.
U: I got obsessed at that point. Not having the time, but I was absolutely not thinking of giving up. I was worried till the end, I was considering changing things and when I got to the point where I felt it [the complete sadness], I was really happy.
The Interviewer
R - Ruki :)
() - explanations in the text
[] - my comments & explanaitons
Every time you arrive to [where] the jacket and the inner sleeve [are made], the artwork is carefully supervised by Ruki only, this time too were you there for the jacket photo session?
R: I was. This time I went to Yamanashi. At first, on the arranged day with cold rain, it eventually happened [started raining] in the morning, and it was pointless to have a photo session on that day, so 3 days later we went to prepare the place [for the photo session] once again, but that time it got too sunny, and made DIM’s image in the weather exactly opposite to “the darkness”, it was a bit worrying (laugh). While such accidents happen too, ‘I was thinking whether we could realise the image without mixing the composition [with the weather].
The image of something locked up inside a square semi-transparent object?
R: Isolation/solitude. The square thing is an ice box. The thing inside the box is a human. It’s a little blurred, right. The irregular movement sense. It presents the kind of isolated world. The person is anybody, it shows we live in a confined space. First, the whole ice box was said to be in the city and we were wondering where to photograph it, but in the end after thinking it over most of this darkness and isolation/solitude feeling came out [from this place].
The cold [->emotion] jacket is very important I think, because it’s a thing that lets you imagine what the contents are.
R: I see, I see. When I was choosing it [the jacket], I was also thinking about it. But a feeling like this is absolutely unpleasant. I wanted to convey the image till the end.
I’d say it stirs the imagination. The aura of the explanation [of what the contents are] is also unpleasant.
R: Yeah. With such a feeling this time too I was thinking whether to show the album’s contents by artwork or not.
I see. By the way, this time the working [recording] period was extremely short.
R: That’s right. It’s been about 2 years since an album release, I thought there seemed to be quite a margin when we didn’t work. But in reality it was about a month. It was a suitable title. It was quite a difficult voyage. If there had been a time surplus, we would’ve been happier.
I see. The things that were coming out from you in the album, were they things that had accumulated in you?
R: Well, for me those weren’t such things. More than accumulated, there was the feeling of having it repainted. I didn’t really store anything. Every time it happens, since I’m the type who thinks about repainting things, also in the singles, there’s the feeling of repainting that comes out. Personally, I don’t really have this feeling that “since it’s an album, I’m spitting it out”, there’s the consciousness of doing it naturally/spontaneously.
[He refers to representing the image of an album as repainting, and I think he means that he represents things in different colours. He’ll mention something about colours later so it will all make sense :)]
Well, surely, there’s probably no “since it’s an album, I’m spitting it out” kind of sensation with the GazettE. However, in the kind of crunching metal LEECH single, the band had something like magnificently done manliness/pureness.
[I’m not entirely sure with this now. I have some doubts about what I arrived at in this reply:]
R: The single has the strangely not becoming merry feeling. Speaking of the single, in the old CASSIS times, the band was very impressed with the image of resistance in that song. In an interview from that time I said it a lot. Of course, that song, it’s not that we are negating it, if we genuinely thought it “a good song” and that’s why we put in into the single, but our own songs are not unpleasant, it’s unpleasant when bands impress with only that kind of image. Now, when we tried to make a song like CASSIS, we made GUREN. Well, I can’t really explain it well with words, what we had done it GUREN, I hope we digested it.
I understand. Even when Ruki is choosing the photos, it’s said that the feel of the material is important, but this ‘sensible’ sense is connected to the GazettE’s course of action I think. With this time’s album, did you have the image of it in you since recording?
R: Yes. I was thinking I wanted to make an album with “this darkness” image. As for the order of things, there was the title, there was the image and the feeling which songs to choose. But I didn’t say it to the others [in the band]. Also, during the song choosing meeting we listened to the songs. But the result was that everyone chose songs with the dark feeling (laugh). As the choosing point, this time we didn’t want to put in too experimental songs. We really wanted to go for new things.
Such songs were also at the song choosing meeting?
R: There were, there were. Those were really good songs. Confident songs. If this had been the previous album’s way of making songs, I think we’d definitely leave them. But this time, since rather than an album rich in variation, we did an album with a coherent main thread. And we chose songs for it. Every time we make an album, the thing I think about first is “I wonder what colour album to make” and it was like that this time too. This time it wasn’t black, but dark feeling. When you think “What’s that?”, “this dark feeling” would come to my mind. Since GUREN times the word DIM SCENE I had. Since I wanted to represent such feeling in reality, when I was writing lyrics this time, first, I drew a picture of what scenery lyrics I wanted, I added colour and started writing lyrics. For the limited edition, I only added pictures with landscapes, but it wasn’t like famous suicide places or accident scenery, but it was a corner of a room or a beach, a scenery anywhere, photos that are thought-provoking. Those photos with that theme, our music and the word [->DIM] I united, and if people who’ll listen to the album will get at the world overview included in it, I will think it good.
The Interviewer
R - Reita :)
() - explanations in the text
[] - my comments & explanaitons
Sorry, Reita's was kinda tough to translate...may sound weird at times...
Did you prepare everything before starting work on the new album? From the mental and the equipment point of view?
R: I did. Not really from the mental point of view, but about the equipment, since it’s been a while since the last album, in order to do the things I wanted without stress, I thought I wanted to arrange the equipment beforehand. I bought 3 bass guitars. Jazz bass [I think that was JB by Fender that he mentioned here], PB [precision bass by Fender] and a Humbucker. I hadn’t had a jazz bass before. Still, I love the jazz bass one. This time, I didn’t use it all the time, but I bought a Humbucker which was right for it. It’s got an amazing power. And I was really happy when I thought I did the width [of the sound?] that I wanted to do. About this time’s recording, the 4 songs in April, I divided them twice in May. Sometime in April, I bought 2 guitars, but the feeling I got from trying to play the 4 songs, was that I thought I needed one more guitar. It had the appeal of more personal depth. After the stage of finishing 4 songs, I went to buy one more [guitar].
You made an additional purchase of the Humbucker?
R: Yeah, yeah. By the way, the ones where I used the Humbucker were OGRE, A MOTH UNDER THE SKIN, 13STAIRS[-]1, and DIM SCENE, those 4 songs.
O~, I see. Those four songs!
R: Yeah (laugh). I would’ve been very happy if I could’ve played without the feeling of great stress. But as expected, it was the opposite.
This time, did you try to make some songs?
R: Yeah, but they were rejected (laugh). It’s not that we didn’t bring out the concept from the beginning, even though we were pleased with the songs we got, but from the flow point of view when the songs made by everyone and the intimacy weren’t good, we couldn’t accept them. We stayed indoors for quite a while (laugh).
I see. More or less when was DIM’s world overview accepted?
R: When the time came when it was decided that we’d do songs like that, Ruki wanted to make this album’s concept into ‘dim’, so after a talk about it everyone accepted it. And during the meeting when we were choosing songs, we temporarily lined up the songs we chose, and when we tried to apply them to the word ‘dim’ that Ruki had brought, there was one song that didn’t connect with this world overview, and after everyone unanimously agreed that it was ok, we decided to put it in.
From looking at the whole picture, you rather turned into the direction where it [songs] would fit [the concept].
R: Yeah. Still, it was totally different. If we didn’t stick to the stem [direction] of this one [album] that we had decided upon, the way the sense is held [in the album] would be changed.
Wouldn’t it. Still, there was also a very difficult position for the bass. In regard to the recording, and the rhythm party [bass + drums ??], because next in the recording there’s the drums, there’s also the rhythm of the musical instruments, since there is also the stringed instruments party [Uha & Aoi], to combine both sides well, I’d say it depends on the bass .
R: Really, it was a difficult situation, it’s an isolated/lonely position, the bass (laugh).
It’s position is to join (laugh).
R: Surely (laugh). It’s difficult having to be between musical interval and the rhythm. Even this kind of case where I try to join with the drums sound only, but when I think about the moment when the guitars are added to it, honestly bass’s methods are limited and power of imagination is needed.
The sense kind of feeling becomes quite necessary.
R: Exactly. There were a lot of difficult places this time too.
Which was the most troublesome song?
R: It was NAKIGAHARA from the bass’s point of view. I felt the image strongly, but really to make it happen so that the phrase would actually have this image, it was really difficult and took a lot of time.
Since the image has to be raised easily, it wasn’t easy to play was it?
R: It wasn’t. It was irritating. To make the image clear, it was troublesome making it happen. Really. Not to make the image too strong, when I tried to play it in reality, ah, I unexpectedly got it! Such situations happened often. More often unexpectedly, the more I tried to play it rather than worry, I easily did it.
How about SHIROKIYUUTSU?
R: Well SHIROKIYUUTSU, the drums were jumping a few times, when it didn’t jump, since there were some regular things, there were worries about how to match the bass to make it good. At the beginning, I got the original composition, and for this base, when I concentrated on every single part of my bass’s phrase for them [bases for the songs], I still balanced it, but SHIROKIYUUTSU, from the beginning the phrases me and Kai-kun thought about for this song didn’t match, then Kai-kun matched it with mine. When he did it like that, the whole image got a completely changed direction, so Kai-kun’s source phrase was restored and I chose to match mine to Kai-kun’s shape.
I understand. It’s been a while since album-making, do you always have the feeling of metamorphosis?
[I’m not entirely sure about this translation now…]
R: Since we’ve done over 70 lives with the previous albums, so I think we were able to rest it in peace [he uses the word ‘die in peace’ here…]. We had this feeling to some extent, it continued, long, we had special thoughts about not being able to make an album that we would love. Because 3 days after release the tour began. And, because we’re not going to carry this album’s tour for a very long time, even if you listen to it once, even if you come to only one live, the album’s world overview even though we wanted everyone to take it firmly because there were a lot of troubles [while doing it], I want everyone to feel it firmly.
== The Interviewer
K - Kai :)
() - explanations in the text
[] - my comments & explanaitons
== According to some rumours, you always challenge yourself when you enter individual rehearsals for recording.
K - Of course. Eh? But, I'd say it's natural. Isn't it something that is done by everyone (laugh)?
== Is it? I heard it's customary for you to accustom your body some 30 minutes before performing.
K - No, no, I'm not that skilled (laugh).
== Such modesty again. It's because I didn't play with any considerable skill in this album! About the Gazette, you probably didn't advance greatly in this album, but you made a greatly thought-over album, right.The drums especially, since you must build the foundation of the picture [of the song] since the beginning of the recording.
K - Certainly. But we all thought greatly about it, from the recording of the drums, when we worked out the drums and bass preferential phrase we were saved. Really, at the stage when we added the finished guitars, when there was the flexibility of the hitting it was perfect, this time too of course, it's like that every time. Other than the drums, while thinking about the bass's way [of playing/sounding] we had to do it and I think it was tough. When it became the basis with the drums, while we were thinking about the added guitars we had to do the live. I think the bass was really tough this time because this was an album with an especially strong image. It's like that with the drums every time, but as far as the sound is concerned, after that we added it to a sample, but even if there wasn't any shifting [of the sound], since the sensation changed completely, even when we finished recording it we managed to do it positively. As expected, this time too we pursued the goal till the end, and finally when we listened to the version with the guitars and the vocal put in, we tried to deal with the added parts without compromising. Speaking of the desired [things], after recording for the second time, we could pursue more. When we were at the stage when we added everything, we looked at it again and we recorded it again, etc. Surely, since the deadline was closing in on us, it became a major obsession, but it didn't rise all the time (laugh). But it looked like that more or less, it was
an obsession until the deadline this time too.
== Even during a live, do you think it'll change?
K - Of course, I think it will change during that time. But, the consciousness of the recording is different and you have the feeling of change in a live. Even things like arrangement will probably be changed during a live, the flow of the live one song after another, the album's flow of songs one after another, the impressions of the songs done one after another during recording is really different I'd say. As for the album, the flow after the first song links it best, but during a live, songs other than from this album are also included and we have to think about it, we think about the flow of the live itself and the setlist,
I think olny this becomes extremely changed. For me, there is a greatly different way of receiving the original sound and the live. Not restricting it only to the drums, of course, since the roar of the sound also depends on the venue of the live, there are also differences connected to it. It's really difficult, because while there is the same original sound, and there's the same presentation of the drums and the same tuning, we can't represent the album's world overview in a devoted/exact way.
== True. This time, because there were 2 full empty years [-> no album within that time], after the release you also decided to carry out a tour, but was it a picture that you could see? [-> was the tour something that they could imagine/see what it would be like]
K - Well, to be honest, when the album was only just finished, I still didn't see it. Back then we barely saw the album in regard to a live. During the time of the previous album STACKED RUBBISH, I'd say we had a certain feeling until the deadline, there was also the imagination of the extent of what we could do, but this time even if we advenced this amazingly, it doesn't mean that we did something greatly risky, but the imagination of the live wasn't still there. Practically, if we hadn't
got into a live rehearsal, I think we certainyl wouldn't see it, still at the stage now we can't help but to have some imaginaiton about it.
== I see. Still, this album is the album without a feeling of great stress. Amazing, you guys managed to produce the music you aimed at in a very good way yourselves.
K - Hmm. The things we did didn't change, but certainly it seems the width of the things we did we expanded. Even during lives, if we can do the things with our own tolerance level, I think it will be good.
== Right. But this time there was also a considereable advancement in the drumming set. Also, I thought even during the appointed day of the individual recording, you didn't fail in the rehearsal.
K - Ah, could this be the indivudual rehearsal you mentioned at the beginning, the talk about the story from the recording appointed day?
== Yeah, what else did you think? (laugh)
K - No, no. I thought about the preparation time for the individual recording rehearsal (laugh). It's the ordinary personal practice (laugh). I thought it was short those 2 hours (laugh). Aa~, yes, yes. We went back to the great talk (laugh). Before the appointed day of the 2-hour recording, I got accustomed to putting my body into a particular rehearsal style, I've been doing it since the previous recording. Time is necessary to get my body used to it. As for me, rather than the beginning of hitting the drums, after more than 1 hour of hitting, the best time for hitting the drums is the last hour when I begin to feel a litte tired. This time too, to make it like what I mentioned, since there are quite a lot of hard phrases, time is needed for myself to add self-confidence into the playing.
== As usual, so stoic.
K - Also, I can't make finishing touches for the things I can't comprehend myself. But I think I didn't probably complete the supreme masterpiece this time.
A - Aoi :)
() - explanations in the text
[] - my comments & explanaitons
Aoi seemed to be in a quite defiant mood...
Since it’s been about 2 years since working on the previous album, it’s been a while since making an album, so was there any special sense/consciousness you felt?
A: Aa, yes, yes. I see, roger that. Is this in a personal interview sense? If personal, what am I being asked? Eh? A, it’s already been asked (laugh)?
Certainly, it’s the system where questions are asked (laugh).
A: A, I understand, I thought it was an introduction. You must say it. Like, we’ve started already. What was it again (laugh)?
[XD – admit it Aoi – you haven’t really been listening properly to this person talking, have you…]
Eh? One more time!?
A: Ahahahaha! Yes, yes. I’ll listen properly (laugh). [XD] It’s been a while kind of feeling, right? If that was said [asked], then you didn’t say it clearly. Since the previous work till the stage now, since we were releasing singles, the recording didn’t really have that it’s been a while feeling, there was constantly the working on the singles and working on the album, I didn’t really get that kind of sensation [of it’s been a while].
I understand. This time, the “DIM” word that was used seemed to have been inside Ruki before the album, but were you informed about it?
A: At the stage of composing, we still hadn’t known this word. Not saying anything about this image, we had the sense of composing freely/as we wanted all the while.
Music filled with metal melodies, was it Uruha, Aoi’s composition? Or was it contrary to our beliefs [was it someone else]?
A: Ahahaha. It was different.
Like SHIROKI YUUTSU. From the ones made now, it was the most singeable [they use one kanji for it which means: accompanied the singing in which the singing is emphasised over the instrumental part…and that was ONE kanji…] one. Songs where the violent is coming and going contrary to the ones which attack hard, ah, was it like that? Kind of.
A: Yeah, yeah. Well, how to say it, I’d say it’s the kind of song where the beautiful things hidden under the surface exude completely. Yeah. You can’t really help it there. (Managers sitting close smile bitterly; Aoi: smile). Oi! You there! What’s so funny!
Team Manager - Saito & Sakai: Noting, nothing, we thought like that too, really (bitter smile).
A: Did you now~. I got it.
Sai-chan (Saito), you said that personally SHIROKI YUUTSU was your favourite from the album.
A: It’s good, ne~ Sai–chan (with satisfaction). I wonder about Sakai-kin.
Sakai-kin … kin … (the person himself [-> Aoi] said it with the meaning of ‘KUN’).
A: Aa~a, we’re going away [from the topic]. We haven’t finished with this job (the interview). Aa~a.
Sorry, sorry. Aoi-sensei [XD this person actually said it]. Let’s continue with the discussion (laugh).
A: It can’t be helped. The talk about SHIROKI YUUTSU? So SHIROKI YUUTSU, I had the kind of ‘What is love?’ question.
Really?
A: Ahahaha. Really (laugh). When I made my own love song, “What it is I wonder” I thought. It doesn’t mean that I fell in love (laugh). I didn’t make a song which would make you feel that way, well maybe once. Everybody brought a lot of songs for the album, and it’s always fun to try different ways of recording. In my story [he used the word ‘story’] SHIROKI YUUTSU was a love song.
It’s got a beautiful arpeggio, there’s Ruki’s whisper-like vocal, it’s got a very beautiful world overview too.
A: I, if a person doesn’t read the lyrics, as usual [XD], even if you don’t read the lyrics properly, I’d say the song goes according to the image [of a love song]. Even though Ruki also said that it had nothing to do with a love song, he somehow seems to have sensed it [the image].
I see. This time, during the meeting where you chose songs, which songs did you expect to be chosen?
A: This time, because of the single tendency that we’ve followed until now, I was thinking whether we’d choose songs with a wholly dark [image]. There were such too, but I also thought that making a dark album would be unpleasant. Well, I also thought that having a concept album like this would be a good thing. Even so, when my own mode [of work] from that time wasn’t like that, I thought about trying to make songs with an upper kind of feeling, and the one I made was A MOTH UNDER THE SKIN.
I see. It’s rhythmic.
A: Yeah, yeah. It’s a song made with that kind of sense. It’s really made in my own favourite way. Things like the world overview, I was relieved when it was compatible with Ruki’s view and I entrusted it [to Ruki], I obediently revealed the song I wanted to make without any wicked thoughts, and we dealt with it straightaway. I’m really grateful for Ruki’s skills. It deserves esteem. Ah, that’s too much praise (laugh).
Ruki (who happens to pass by close): It’s ok, praise me once in a while (laugh).
A: No~, wait. Isn’t praising too much bad? It has to be moderate (laugh).
Ahaha. But, this time, an album in about 2 years, the work [recording] period lasted for just under a month?
A: Yes. But it was probably a long way. It’s always like that with us because of that pace feeling. I wonder if it’s always been an unchanging sensation for me. Still, it lasted 2 weeks during the previous album [recording].
Amazing.
A: Yeah, it was amazing (laugh).
Didn’t you join in an arrangement and director people?
A: Well, there was only one occasion [when they joined the guys]. Well, we wanted to do it as 5 people only. It’s not that we had to do it as 5 people. If it’s solo different people join in with making [of the album, song, etc], but other than the band we don’t need arrangement and director people.
The Interviewer
U - Uruha :)
() - explanations in the text
[] - my comments & explanaitons
About the direction of this meeting, since sound is going to be at the centre of this talk, about personal things, I think we’ll hear about it somewhere beneath the talk about the mental side of recording work.
U: The mental side. Hmm. About the playing side, I always try to take a degree of leading to face it [playing] , but with the emotional part, the whole of different things is reflected, I got the feeling we were able to do it in this one album and I wondered if we skilfully packed it in. This time, there was also the issue of having an album in quite a while, particularly more than usual, I think it was packed with the things it reflected.
After the previous album, you went touring, it seems like a reason for the album this time. Of course, absorbing into such lives with the work now, did you have a feeling of it steadily spilling out of you [coming out; actually she used the word ‘vomit’ but I couldn’t find a different meaning of it anywhere…][simply – did they start to feel like going touring with the new material]?
U: Hmm. Well, about doing the live, I had that kind of feeling coming. In the middle of receiving stimuli from different things, it was natural that there was “If we’re going to make another album, let’s make an album like that” kind of sensation. It’s like that every time, but this time after 2 years’ gap, the things that came out in the previously done album, and the things we wanted to do in it were still different. That’s why, “I want to quickly show the me now!” kind of sensation I think became strong.
After the 2 years’ interval, even if the fundamental likes/tastes remained unchanged, for sure different stimuli were digested in you and now you are at the point where you want to release the accumulated things.
U: That’s right. Because until this 3rd album people have been listening [to us/the old stuff], I’d say we felt like starting to gather [material for the album]. “I want to listen to the new things fast!” kind of sense. It’s not that we negated the older sound [that they had done in the previous albums], “It’s like that now” kind of sense we quickly wanted to take shape. Well, it took some time to collect it (laugh), for me. Now that it’s completed, we got the sensation of quickly wanting to go and have a tour (laugh).
It’s going to be a live with growth.
U: Right. Well, as long as the band’s been doing lives, lives have always been at the centre [of our interest]. To be frank, we can’t only concentrate on one album that we make in one year. It’s not only the album, if we hadn’t released 3 singles, we’d require considerable time [for recording/ gathering ideas, etc.]. It’s because you mustn’t make music with the same pace all the time. This time, it’s been a while, actually we have digested the previous albums properly during lives and we had a feedback feeling inside of us. We faced that “The next album, let’s do it like that” kind of boiling desire and I think it was a good state. Both from the playing and the emotional point of view.
I see. What was the strongest consciousness in you that you mentioned?
U: During making the album this time, the strongest consciousness, how to say it, I can’t really explain it with words [oh no! Uruha’s going to be creative with words now… be warned], but I wanted to make a phrase that would have a three-dimensional feeling. All the while, while having a live, there were moments where I thought some parts seemed flat, all the time while having a live, I was thinking of wanting to make things more three-dimensional during the next album. With my own playing, I thought about completely changing the impression of a live’s phrase and I adopted it/took it in. With things done like that, I thought if the live didn’t get really enjoyable. “Oo, today’s touch was the best!” kind of sense it was (laugh). I thought I wanted this kind of sense of a correct interpretation of vagueness.
I see. Did you make the best use of it now?
U: Yeah. Well, I wanted to do it properly during the recording, but the taste of what comes out during a live is different, and I wondered if it was possible to produce this feeling. But, the time we had to spare till the live was about a month. In the meantime too, different things were put in [to the schedule]other that this work [recording], so it wasn’t like we could only concentrate on recording. Even if it was after 2 years, the time spent on the sound [working/recording] took about a month (laugh). There was pressure, somehow, one way or another we didn’t have much time to spare, it was difficult. About my way of making songs, it took a lot of time. Even after nicely getting into making [songs], since I wasn’t deeply moved by them, I threw them all away. I started redoing them from the beginning once more. That’s why it took so much time.
Almost until the last moment, you concentrated and made decisions. Kind of complete obsession, this, right. By the way, the whole composing was done by the whole band, but which did Uruha do?
U: 13STAIRS[-]1 and DIM SCENE.
Famous music. Personally those are my two favourite songs. In 13STAIRS[-]1, the guitars’ sound and the composition are the best [go Uruha! XD] and I like them, it’s got the feeling of decorating the second half of the album. It’s the kind of song whose presence is felt by itself. DIM SCENE, the sound shakes the emotions like that at one time too…and deeply moves another time, this one song. Such sadness…Especially in the intro.
[they can flatter with such delicacy…]
U: Yeah. The intro corresponds to sadness. This song, when I was making it at the beginning, at that time there was the feeling of the greatest sadness of my phrase, but just before the recording. I thought about dropping this feeling even lower, but I changed it at the last moment.
Clean guitar is the saddest, right.
U: I got obsessed at that point. Not having the time, but I was absolutely not thinking of giving up. I was worried till the end, I was considering changing things and when I got to the point where I felt it [the complete sadness], I was really happy.
The Interviewer
R - Ruki :)
() - explanations in the text
[] - my comments & explanaitons
Every time you arrive to [where] the jacket and the inner sleeve [are made], the artwork is carefully supervised by Ruki only, this time too were you there for the jacket photo session?
R: I was. This time I went to Yamanashi. At first, on the arranged day with cold rain, it eventually happened [started raining] in the morning, and it was pointless to have a photo session on that day, so 3 days later we went to prepare the place [for the photo session] once again, but that time it got too sunny, and made DIM’s image in the weather exactly opposite to “the darkness”, it was a bit worrying (laugh). While such accidents happen too, ‘I was thinking whether we could realise the image without mixing the composition [with the weather].
The image of something locked up inside a square semi-transparent object?
R: Isolation/solitude. The square thing is an ice box. The thing inside the box is a human. It’s a little blurred, right. The irregular movement sense. It presents the kind of isolated world. The person is anybody, it shows we live in a confined space. First, the whole ice box was said to be in the city and we were wondering where to photograph it, but in the end after thinking it over most of this darkness and isolation/solitude feeling came out [from this place].
The cold [->emotion] jacket is very important I think, because it’s a thing that lets you imagine what the contents are.
R: I see, I see. When I was choosing it [the jacket], I was also thinking about it. But a feeling like this is absolutely unpleasant. I wanted to convey the image till the end.
I’d say it stirs the imagination. The aura of the explanation [of what the contents are] is also unpleasant.
R: Yeah. With such a feeling this time too I was thinking whether to show the album’s contents by artwork or not.
I see. By the way, this time the working [recording] period was extremely short.
R: That’s right. It’s been about 2 years since an album release, I thought there seemed to be quite a margin when we didn’t work. But in reality it was about a month. It was a suitable title. It was quite a difficult voyage. If there had been a time surplus, we would’ve been happier.
I see. The things that were coming out from you in the album, were they things that had accumulated in you?
R: Well, for me those weren’t such things. More than accumulated, there was the feeling of having it repainted. I didn’t really store anything. Every time it happens, since I’m the type who thinks about repainting things, also in the singles, there’s the feeling of repainting that comes out. Personally, I don’t really have this feeling that “since it’s an album, I’m spitting it out”, there’s the consciousness of doing it naturally/spontaneously.
[He refers to representing the image of an album as repainting, and I think he means that he represents things in different colours. He’ll mention something about colours later so it will all make sense :)]
Well, surely, there’s probably no “since it’s an album, I’m spitting it out” kind of sensation with the GazettE. However, in the kind of crunching metal LEECH single, the band had something like magnificently done manliness/pureness.
[I’m not entirely sure with this now. I have some doubts about what I arrived at in this reply:]
R: The single has the strangely not becoming merry feeling. Speaking of the single, in the old CASSIS times, the band was very impressed with the image of resistance in that song. In an interview from that time I said it a lot. Of course, that song, it’s not that we are negating it, if we genuinely thought it “a good song” and that’s why we put in into the single, but our own songs are not unpleasant, it’s unpleasant when bands impress with only that kind of image. Now, when we tried to make a song like CASSIS, we made GUREN. Well, I can’t really explain it well with words, what we had done it GUREN, I hope we digested it.
I understand. Even when Ruki is choosing the photos, it’s said that the feel of the material is important, but this ‘sensible’ sense is connected to the GazettE’s course of action I think. With this time’s album, did you have the image of it in you since recording?
R: Yes. I was thinking I wanted to make an album with “this darkness” image. As for the order of things, there was the title, there was the image and the feeling which songs to choose. But I didn’t say it to the others [in the band]. Also, during the song choosing meeting we listened to the songs. But the result was that everyone chose songs with the dark feeling (laugh). As the choosing point, this time we didn’t want to put in too experimental songs. We really wanted to go for new things.
Such songs were also at the song choosing meeting?
R: There were, there were. Those were really good songs. Confident songs. If this had been the previous album’s way of making songs, I think we’d definitely leave them. But this time, since rather than an album rich in variation, we did an album with a coherent main thread. And we chose songs for it. Every time we make an album, the thing I think about first is “I wonder what colour album to make” and it was like that this time too. This time it wasn’t black, but dark feeling. When you think “What’s that?”, “this dark feeling” would come to my mind. Since GUREN times the word DIM SCENE I had. Since I wanted to represent such feeling in reality, when I was writing lyrics this time, first, I drew a picture of what scenery lyrics I wanted, I added colour and started writing lyrics. For the limited edition, I only added pictures with landscapes, but it wasn’t like famous suicide places or accident scenery, but it was a corner of a room or a beach, a scenery anywhere, photos that are thought-provoking. Those photos with that theme, our music and the word [->DIM] I united, and if people who’ll listen to the album will get at the world overview included in it, I will think it good.
The Interviewer
R - Reita :)
() - explanations in the text
[] - my comments & explanaitons
Sorry, Reita's was kinda tough to translate...may sound weird at times...
Did you prepare everything before starting work on the new album? From the mental and the equipment point of view?
R: I did. Not really from the mental point of view, but about the equipment, since it’s been a while since the last album, in order to do the things I wanted without stress, I thought I wanted to arrange the equipment beforehand. I bought 3 bass guitars. Jazz bass [I think that was JB by Fender that he mentioned here], PB [precision bass by Fender] and a Humbucker. I hadn’t had a jazz bass before. Still, I love the jazz bass one. This time, I didn’t use it all the time, but I bought a Humbucker which was right for it. It’s got an amazing power. And I was really happy when I thought I did the width [of the sound?] that I wanted to do. About this time’s recording, the 4 songs in April, I divided them twice in May. Sometime in April, I bought 2 guitars, but the feeling I got from trying to play the 4 songs, was that I thought I needed one more guitar. It had the appeal of more personal depth. After the stage of finishing 4 songs, I went to buy one more [guitar].
You made an additional purchase of the Humbucker?
R: Yeah, yeah. By the way, the ones where I used the Humbucker were OGRE, A MOTH UNDER THE SKIN, 13STAIRS[-]1, and DIM SCENE, those 4 songs.
O~, I see. Those four songs!
R: Yeah (laugh). I would’ve been very happy if I could’ve played without the feeling of great stress. But as expected, it was the opposite.
This time, did you try to make some songs?
R: Yeah, but they were rejected (laugh). It’s not that we didn’t bring out the concept from the beginning, even though we were pleased with the songs we got, but from the flow point of view when the songs made by everyone and the intimacy weren’t good, we couldn’t accept them. We stayed indoors for quite a while (laugh).
I see. More or less when was DIM’s world overview accepted?
R: When the time came when it was decided that we’d do songs like that, Ruki wanted to make this album’s concept into ‘dim’, so after a talk about it everyone accepted it. And during the meeting when we were choosing songs, we temporarily lined up the songs we chose, and when we tried to apply them to the word ‘dim’ that Ruki had brought, there was one song that didn’t connect with this world overview, and after everyone unanimously agreed that it was ok, we decided to put it in.
From looking at the whole picture, you rather turned into the direction where it [songs] would fit [the concept].
R: Yeah. Still, it was totally different. If we didn’t stick to the stem [direction] of this one [album] that we had decided upon, the way the sense is held [in the album] would be changed.
Wouldn’t it. Still, there was also a very difficult position for the bass. In regard to the recording, and the rhythm party [bass + drums ??], because next in the recording there’s the drums, there’s also the rhythm of the musical instruments, since there is also the stringed instruments party [Uha & Aoi], to combine both sides well, I’d say it depends on the bass .
R: Really, it was a difficult situation, it’s an isolated/lonely position, the bass (laugh).
It’s position is to join (laugh).
R: Surely (laugh). It’s difficult having to be between musical interval and the rhythm. Even this kind of case where I try to join with the drums sound only, but when I think about the moment when the guitars are added to it, honestly bass’s methods are limited and power of imagination is needed.
The sense kind of feeling becomes quite necessary.
R: Exactly. There were a lot of difficult places this time too.
Which was the most troublesome song?
R: It was NAKIGAHARA from the bass’s point of view. I felt the image strongly, but really to make it happen so that the phrase would actually have this image, it was really difficult and took a lot of time.
Since the image has to be raised easily, it wasn’t easy to play was it?
R: It wasn’t. It was irritating. To make the image clear, it was troublesome making it happen. Really. Not to make the image too strong, when I tried to play it in reality, ah, I unexpectedly got it! Such situations happened often. More often unexpectedly, the more I tried to play it rather than worry, I easily did it.
How about SHIROKIYUUTSU?
R: Well SHIROKIYUUTSU, the drums were jumping a few times, when it didn’t jump, since there were some regular things, there were worries about how to match the bass to make it good. At the beginning, I got the original composition, and for this base, when I concentrated on every single part of my bass’s phrase for them [bases for the songs], I still balanced it, but SHIROKIYUUTSU, from the beginning the phrases me and Kai-kun thought about for this song didn’t match, then Kai-kun matched it with mine. When he did it like that, the whole image got a completely changed direction, so Kai-kun’s source phrase was restored and I chose to match mine to Kai-kun’s shape.
I understand. It’s been a while since album-making, do you always have the feeling of metamorphosis?
[I’m not entirely sure about this translation now…]
R: Since we’ve done over 70 lives with the previous albums, so I think we were able to rest it in peace [he uses the word ‘die in peace’ here…]. We had this feeling to some extent, it continued, long, we had special thoughts about not being able to make an album that we would love. Because 3 days after release the tour began. And, because we’re not going to carry this album’s tour for a very long time, even if you listen to it once, even if you come to only one live, the album’s world overview even though we wanted everyone to take it firmly because there were a lot of troubles [while doing it], I want everyone to feel it firmly.
== The Interviewer
K - Kai :)
() - explanations in the text
[] - my comments & explanaitons
== According to some rumours, you always challenge yourself when you enter individual rehearsals for recording.
K - Of course. Eh? But, I'd say it's natural. Isn't it something that is done by everyone (laugh)?
== Is it? I heard it's customary for you to accustom your body some 30 minutes before performing.
K - No, no, I'm not that skilled (laugh).
== Such modesty again. It's because I didn't play with any considerable skill in this album! About the Gazette, you probably didn't advance greatly in this album, but you made a greatly thought-over album, right.The drums especially, since you must build the foundation of the picture [of the song] since the beginning of the recording.
K - Certainly. But we all thought greatly about it, from the recording of the drums, when we worked out the drums and bass preferential phrase we were saved. Really, at the stage when we added the finished guitars, when there was the flexibility of the hitting it was perfect, this time too of course, it's like that every time. Other than the drums, while thinking about the bass's way [of playing/sounding] we had to do it and I think it was tough. When it became the basis with the drums, while we were thinking about the added guitars we had to do the live. I think the bass was really tough this time because this was an album with an especially strong image. It's like that with the drums every time, but as far as the sound is concerned, after that we added it to a sample, but even if there wasn't any shifting [of the sound], since the sensation changed completely, even when we finished recording it we managed to do it positively. As expected, this time too we pursued the goal till the end, and finally when we listened to the version with the guitars and the vocal put in, we tried to deal with the added parts without compromising. Speaking of the desired [things], after recording for the second time, we could pursue more. When we were at the stage when we added everything, we looked at it again and we recorded it again, etc. Surely, since the deadline was closing in on us, it became a major obsession, but it didn't rise all the time (laugh). But it looked like that more or less, it was
an obsession until the deadline this time too.
== Even during a live, do you think it'll change?
K - Of course, I think it will change during that time. But, the consciousness of the recording is different and you have the feeling of change in a live. Even things like arrangement will probably be changed during a live, the flow of the live one song after another, the album's flow of songs one after another, the impressions of the songs done one after another during recording is really different I'd say. As for the album, the flow after the first song links it best, but during a live, songs other than from this album are also included and we have to think about it, we think about the flow of the live itself and the setlist,
I think olny this becomes extremely changed. For me, there is a greatly different way of receiving the original sound and the live. Not restricting it only to the drums, of course, since the roar of the sound also depends on the venue of the live, there are also differences connected to it. It's really difficult, because while there is the same original sound, and there's the same presentation of the drums and the same tuning, we can't represent the album's world overview in a devoted/exact way.
== True. This time, because there were 2 full empty years [-> no album within that time], after the release you also decided to carry out a tour, but was it a picture that you could see? [-> was the tour something that they could imagine/see what it would be like]
K - Well, to be honest, when the album was only just finished, I still didn't see it. Back then we barely saw the album in regard to a live. During the time of the previous album STACKED RUBBISH, I'd say we had a certain feeling until the deadline, there was also the imagination of the extent of what we could do, but this time even if we advenced this amazingly, it doesn't mean that we did something greatly risky, but the imagination of the live wasn't still there. Practically, if we hadn't
got into a live rehearsal, I think we certainyl wouldn't see it, still at the stage now we can't help but to have some imaginaiton about it.
== I see. Still, this album is the album without a feeling of great stress. Amazing, you guys managed to produce the music you aimed at in a very good way yourselves.
K - Hmm. The things we did didn't change, but certainly it seems the width of the things we did we expanded. Even during lives, if we can do the things with our own tolerance level, I think it will be good.
== Right. But this time there was also a considereable advancement in the drumming set. Also, I thought even during the appointed day of the individual recording, you didn't fail in the rehearsal.
K - Ah, could this be the indivudual rehearsal you mentioned at the beginning, the talk about the story from the recording appointed day?
== Yeah, what else did you think? (laugh)
K - No, no. I thought about the preparation time for the individual recording rehearsal (laugh). It's the ordinary personal practice (laugh). I thought it was short those 2 hours (laugh). Aa~, yes, yes. We went back to the great talk (laugh). Before the appointed day of the 2-hour recording, I got accustomed to putting my body into a particular rehearsal style, I've been doing it since the previous recording. Time is necessary to get my body used to it. As for me, rather than the beginning of hitting the drums, after more than 1 hour of hitting, the best time for hitting the drums is the last hour when I begin to feel a litte tired. This time too, to make it like what I mentioned, since there are quite a lot of hard phrases, time is needed for myself to add self-confidence into the playing.
== As usual, so stoic.
K - Also, I can't make finishing touches for the things I can't comprehend myself. But I think I didn't probably complete the supreme masterpiece this time.
Zdroj:https://guren-void.livejournal.com/4892.html
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