BEGIN INTERVIEW
As the century draws to a close, L’Arc~en~Ciel once again take up their activities after having lit the world on fire. Their second single of the year is a very gentle song that lends colour to the heart. This July, they will simultaneously release two long-awaited albums that will include their numerous hit songs from the past year, as well as these two newest ones. Still running strong this year; no one can stop L’Arc~en~Ciel!
—
Following up on HEAVEN’S DRIVE, L’Arc~en~Ciel will soon release a new single, Pieces, on June 2. In a reversal of its predecessor’s hardness, this song is a solemn ballad that incorporates an elaborate string section. In a quiet, gentle sensation of fullness, this lovely song tints the heart ever more as it is heard. Representing the members, tetsu, this song’s composer, had a few words to share.
– Another hit song for you.
tetsu [Is it really? Personally, I really love anata, the last song on HEART. So, I was thinking I’d write a song that would be even better than anata. That was my starting point.]
– Did you have a specific image in mind? For snow drop, you mentioned “Patrasche running through the fields” (1).
tetsu [Let me see… It was kind of irritating. Like, that feeling that you can’t resist gravity, it’s sad and it’s maddening, and you can’t do anything about it.]
– You had no problems writing the song?
tetsu [I got the A-melody and B-melody finished rather quickly. It was just the chorus that took some time. I couldn’t come up with a melody that fit in well with the rest of it.]
– When it came to the lyrics, did you have any instructions for hyde-san, such as a specific image?
tetsu [Yeah. It would take too long to explain, but the shortest way to put it would be ‘Consideration’. How can I say this… I think that there are a lot of people in the world who do bad things without having the slightest intention of being evil. For example, thinking they can get away without working very hard, but in the end somebody ends up getting seriously hurt because of it. I think that sort of thing happens a lot, so the idea is “Let’s be more considerate.” I had that in mind when writing the song, and I said the same sort of thing to him.]
– Ah, indeed, the end result has quite a caring feeling to it. Also, thanks to the string backing, it sounds very solemn.
tetsu [The strings, yeah, I knew I wanted them to be there right from the beginning. Partly because to write a song that’s even better than anata, there have to be strings (laughs). The strings are incredible this time! Two or three times as many people as for anata.]
– I see! The sound is all the richer for it. Now, about the albums that are being released in July, how are they turning out?
tetsu [They’re very broad, with all kinds of songs mixed together. There wasn’t any particular concept behind them. With L’Arc, the songs usually come first. The music comes first, and the lyrics are made to fit the music, so in the end, even if there does seem to be an overall theme, it’ll only be something we came up with after the fact. So, when we’re composing songs, we can just focus on coming up with something good, something we enjoy, music that we want to hear and make for ourselves.]
– Once the albums are released, you’ll immediately embark on a nationwide tour, but this time all the shows will be outdoors.
tetsu [That’s right. This has been going on for a while, actually, I’ve always wanted to have a live that couldn’t be sold out. So that no one who wants to come will be left out. That’s why we booked the largest space available at each city we’re visiting.]
– Since it will be the middle of summer, it sounds like it will be physically exhausting. Have you been training at all?
tetsu [Training, well… I have been going to the gym and working out, at least.]
– The title is 1999 GRAND CROSS TOUR, which makes me think of it as an End of Century sort of idea. What about you?
tetsu [No, it’s not a question of making you think that, it is definitely connected to the idea. The End of the Century idea. It’s not that we seriously believe it’s the end of the world or anything like that, we’re just using the concept.]
– These days, one hears of young people committing crimes that would have been unimaginable in the past. It truly feels like it’s the end, doesn’t it?
tetsu [No, I really don’t think so. I think the same thing happens in every generation. It’s just that now, we have more media to cover it all, so that as soon as something happens, everyone knows about it but no one would have heard about that thing in the past. I think it’s been happening over and over again in people’s lives. And I think other eras have been a lot worse. I heard that in a text written thousands of years ago, there were complaints about “young people these days” (2) I think it’s the same in every generation. I don’t think the present is special.]
– I see. So, to go back to what you said earlier, you are using the concept?
tetsu [Yeah. Even Marilyn Manson (3) has that hermaphroditic character, and I think it’s really interesting to look at the way he’s made himself into the king of terror with apocalyptic images. If Marylin Manson hadn’t done it first, then we would be doing it (laughs).]
– Have you already begun planning for specific performances on the tour?
tetsu [No, we haven’t really thought about it yet. First, we need to finish recording the albums. Then, we need to make the video for Pieces.]
– What kind of video will it be?
tetsu [Oh yeah. I want it to be kind of like a movie. I think it might end up being kind of awesome.]
As the century draws to a close, L’Arc~en~Ciel once again take up their activities after having lit the world on fire. Their second single of the year is a very gentle song that lends colour to the heart. This July, they will simultaneously release two long-awaited albums that will include their numerous hit songs from the past year, as well as these two newest ones. Still running strong this year; no one can stop L’Arc~en~Ciel!
—
Following up on HEAVEN’S DRIVE, L’Arc~en~Ciel will soon release a new single, Pieces, on June 2. In a reversal of its predecessor’s hardness, this song is a solemn ballad that incorporates an elaborate string section. In a quiet, gentle sensation of fullness, this lovely song tints the heart ever more as it is heard. Representing the members, tetsu, this song’s composer, had a few words to share.
– Another hit song for you.
tetsu [Is it really? Personally, I really love anata, the last song on HEART. So, I was thinking I’d write a song that would be even better than anata. That was my starting point.]
– Did you have a specific image in mind? For snow drop, you mentioned “Patrasche running through the fields” (1).
tetsu [Let me see… It was kind of irritating. Like, that feeling that you can’t resist gravity, it’s sad and it’s maddening, and you can’t do anything about it.]
– You had no problems writing the song?
tetsu [I got the A-melody and B-melody finished rather quickly. It was just the chorus that took some time. I couldn’t come up with a melody that fit in well with the rest of it.]
– When it came to the lyrics, did you have any instructions for hyde-san, such as a specific image?
tetsu [Yeah. It would take too long to explain, but the shortest way to put it would be ‘Consideration’. How can I say this… I think that there are a lot of people in the world who do bad things without having the slightest intention of being evil. For example, thinking they can get away without working very hard, but in the end somebody ends up getting seriously hurt because of it. I think that sort of thing happens a lot, so the idea is “Let’s be more considerate.” I had that in mind when writing the song, and I said the same sort of thing to him.]
– Ah, indeed, the end result has quite a caring feeling to it. Also, thanks to the string backing, it sounds very solemn.
tetsu [The strings, yeah, I knew I wanted them to be there right from the beginning. Partly because to write a song that’s even better than anata, there have to be strings (laughs). The strings are incredible this time! Two or three times as many people as for anata.]
– I see! The sound is all the richer for it. Now, about the albums that are being released in July, how are they turning out?
tetsu [They’re very broad, with all kinds of songs mixed together. There wasn’t any particular concept behind them. With L’Arc, the songs usually come first. The music comes first, and the lyrics are made to fit the music, so in the end, even if there does seem to be an overall theme, it’ll only be something we came up with after the fact. So, when we’re composing songs, we can just focus on coming up with something good, something we enjoy, music that we want to hear and make for ourselves.]
– Once the albums are released, you’ll immediately embark on a nationwide tour, but this time all the shows will be outdoors.
tetsu [That’s right. This has been going on for a while, actually, I’ve always wanted to have a live that couldn’t be sold out. So that no one who wants to come will be left out. That’s why we booked the largest space available at each city we’re visiting.]
– Since it will be the middle of summer, it sounds like it will be physically exhausting. Have you been training at all?
tetsu [Training, well… I have been going to the gym and working out, at least.]
– The title is 1999 GRAND CROSS TOUR, which makes me think of it as an End of Century sort of idea. What about you?
tetsu [No, it’s not a question of making you think that, it is definitely connected to the idea. The End of the Century idea. It’s not that we seriously believe it’s the end of the world or anything like that, we’re just using the concept.]
– These days, one hears of young people committing crimes that would have been unimaginable in the past. It truly feels like it’s the end, doesn’t it?
tetsu [No, I really don’t think so. I think the same thing happens in every generation. It’s just that now, we have more media to cover it all, so that as soon as something happens, everyone knows about it but no one would have heard about that thing in the past. I think it’s been happening over and over again in people’s lives. And I think other eras have been a lot worse. I heard that in a text written thousands of years ago, there were complaints about “young people these days” (2) I think it’s the same in every generation. I don’t think the present is special.]
– I see. So, to go back to what you said earlier, you are using the concept?
tetsu [Yeah. Even Marilyn Manson (3) has that hermaphroditic character, and I think it’s really interesting to look at the way he’s made himself into the king of terror with apocalyptic images. If Marylin Manson hadn’t done it first, then we would be doing it (laughs).]
– Have you already begun planning for specific performances on the tour?
tetsu [No, we haven’t really thought about it yet. First, we need to finish recording the albums. Then, we need to make the video for Pieces.]
– What kind of video will it be?
tetsu [Oh yeah. I want it to be kind of like a movie. I think it might end up being kind of awesome.]
Zdroj:http://www.larcompendium.com/site/?p=222
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