L’Arc~en~Ciel has become such a household name that the oddly foreign word no longer bothers the ear. Though I feel it is far past due, on this occasion of their first appearance here in PATi-PATi, I wish to get to know them as more than a band; as individuals. First, hyde and sakura…
—–
Seated directly across from his handsome features, I find that, unlike what I had imagined, his presence fills the room with an amiable air. In that peaceful atmosphere, he was able to do that which should be unthinkable in a first interview (though perhaps only unthinkable to me) and rested comfortably in agreeable silences.
hyde [Recently? Let me see… I’ve been picking out furniture. Because I moved.]
It seems that he had spent half a year searching and searching for the perfect articles. [I have deep desires (laughs) which is why it took so long.] Such was his explanation, which also impacts his band activities.
hyde [There is a certain perfection that I seek out. It applies to everything. To my work with the band, and to my personal life. This year, I think I’d like to focus on my own life. I think that the more I do for myself, the more I can do for the band.]
It seems that he was extremely concerned with the overall image of L’Arc~en~Ciel, until he saw the video of last year’s live at Budoukan (1).
hyde [I saw the video over and over while it was being edited, and kept thinking “This isn’t even the kind of vocalist I wanted to be,” over and over again. It’s strengthened my desire to express my true self, and to do it soon. That’s why, this year, I think I want to put more work into myself.]
Speaking of areas where he is confident:
hyde [I’ve become confident because… because I’m happy, I guess? I’m incredibly happy right now. When I write lyrics, I can feel it. I’m sure it affects my personal life too, and I think it will be clear through the lyrics I write from now on.]
As for the concerns of ordinary life, he says “It all feels like a game (laughs).” He is so happy that it makes him laugh. Heh, I wish he could share that with me.
hyde [Things I want to do? It can be anything? Let’s see… I want to go for a drive. I just bought a new car. I have time off once in a while, but I can’t really take off because I’m supposed to be writing new songs, you know? Since I have things I’m supposed to be doing, I feel like I’m doing something wrong if I run off to go play. So, I end up staying home. Then, when I tell myself “Time to write a song,” I end up arranging my new furniture in my head (laughs).]
Just for driving, he had five MDs(2) filled with his favourite songs, so all that he has left to do is to actually drive the car. However, his songwriting progressed during the tour, and then, he naturally had those songs left over for recording.
hyde [A little while back, I bought a new guitar. I gave it a name. I called it Batman. (laughs) Since I have to write songs, I thought I’d take it on tour with me. Oh, but I showed it to a friend and he was kind of shocked (laughs).]
With these words, my talk with this happy man was concluded.
*****
Halfway through the interview, he unflinchingly pulled to his lips the one-litre bottle that had been in front of him and emptied it in a flash, although it had been one-third full of Pocari Sweat (3). Manly (or perhaps simply chaotic), natural (or perhaps extremely random) and brusque in his actions, I still could not help but feel that he was not allowing me to see his true self.
sakura [Tours? They’re such a pain. I like travelling, and I love playing lives, but I think tours are a pain. We have to be at this place at that time on this date, and I really hate having things decided for me like that. I figure I must be a natural free spirit. I hate being in a group. I’ve always been like that. I’d rather play by myself.]
And yet, he has come far with this band. I said as much, and he replied:
sakura [That’s because I like them.] As if it were perfectly obvious. Yet the talk continued…
sakura [Humans are stuck thinking two-dimensionally. Like they can only walk. Multiply this times that. The natural world isn’t like that. It’s three-dimensional.]
sakura [In India, they have three gods.]
sakura [Hydrogen is the first element, you know.]
sakura [It was humans who decided that there were 365 days in a year. A long time ago, like in Egypt, they had a monthly system that matched the flooding of the Nile river.
sakura [I think that harmony, for humans, has to come from overcoming the five desires and five senses… Oh hey, don’t I sound like a priest or something? (laughs)]
sakura [Japanese is 95% expression.]
And on it went. In any case, it seems that his mind moves swiftly. And then, it came to this:
sakura [Sometimes I start thinking about a lot of things, and it’s as if the answers are already inside me, and even if I got the answers out, they have nothing to do with the fact that I’m alive, right now.]
He turns a cold eye to the fact of his own existence.
sakura [Cold? Well… I’ve been told I am, by women. But, I’ve also been told that I’m nicer than I look. Hm, that one probably happens more often? (laughs)]
It seems that his personality has another side.
sakura [I used to worry about all this tension I had bottled up inside me, you know, like for example on the day of a live, I’d make sure I was in the best possible condition to go on stage, but these days it doesn’t matter to me any more. Even if I’m feeling bad, that can be fun in it’s own way, too. “Ah, I feel terrible, I’m in bad shape, but this is fun.” (laughs) It’s great, and I guess this sounds like I’m just saying whatever comes to mind, but I feel really positive lately, you know.]
This ability to laugh and move forward even when feeling down is a mark of the original free spirit, positive thinking. I saw the ease of his far-ranging conversation.
We discuss his return to Tokyo after spending a long time away: the season had changed.
ken [But you know, I went around the whoooole country in my my leather jacket. No matter how hot it got. And I’m wearing it today too, see? (laughs).]
During the tour, he received fireworks from a fan. Having wanted so badly to set them off, he spares no effort in recounting the episode, his expression like that of a child describing his summer vacation voyage. That emotion effortlessly draws everyone around, myself included, into Joy.
ken [The live was over. We travelled at night, in our bus, so when we got to the hotel it must have been about 1 AM, I guess. The hotel was exactly directly in front of the beach, so I went over to a pier or something nearby, and I had about 50 rockets, WhizzzzzzBANG! Kept launching them like that. And then, I could see somebody in the hotel window and it looked like they were waving to me so I figured it meant “Yay, this is fun,” so I went “Allright!” and got even more enthusiastic, and then later on I got complaints from the front desk. We were on tour! Doing stuff like that lets me forget how busy I am and get my mind off things. Because I’m really that busy (laughs).]
It is as though he was born with a switch inside him that can turn negatives into positives. That switch makes itself known, through his music and all of his life’s work, without his even noticing it.
ken [But you know, it wasn’t even like that before. Exclusive? It gets to be like that sometimes, it does. Even in music, there have been times where I just couldn’t not use distortion on my guitar. And then, it got to the point where I was to listen to a whole bunch of CDs, and right now I just need to listen to the ones I like and absorb them completely.]
ken [Interviews? I really like them. Because, you know, there’s no other place where I can have someone listen to me talk and go on and on and babble about whatever I want, like this (laughs).]
ken [I get bored easily, you know. But not with the band, I’m sticking with that… It’s not like I’m making myself stick with it or anything, really, it’s just that it’s so much fun, and it stays fun. I guess it’s like, since we’re going to do this, we might as well have fun doing it.]
When it comes to guitar, he takes back his self-proclaimed easily-bored status.
ken [I have no idea why I haven’t gotten bored with it, it doesn’t seem to me like I’m any good at it. I don’t listen to other people (laughs). But when I do listen to others, they say some really great things. I know how good that feels, so maybe that’s why I can’t stop.]
Some people can naturally “feel good” and promote that Joy in a a gripping, pleasant atmosphere. That is my first impression.
*****
L’Arc~en~Ciel took off on a two-week journey for the sake of their nationwide tour. In mid April, they began their travels in the north, coming down south in a reversal of the cherry-blossom front (1). It is said that all their travel was done by bus, at night.
This interview was held on the 14th day of the journey, on the day they returned home from Shikoku. The first conversation concerned their travels. (Of course, I was the one to bring it up) He spoke on the subject of long trips, which he does not enjoy.
tetsu [I’m not comfortable being away from my home for weeks at a time. Because then I can’t see the people I want to see any time I want to see them. I like the actual lives, though.]
Is it not difficult to pass the time, particularly during these long journeys? Naturally, I had to ask him such questions.
tetsu [No, not at all. I have so many things to do until the live starts.]
It is said that such is always the case, even as the number of lives increases.
What a serious person. That is my first impression.
It may also be a side effect of the strong impression he makes by carefully choosing his words and speaking them at his leisure.
tetsu [What I’m into, lately? Buying CDs. That’s always been the case, though. Lately, I’ve been listening to globe and DREAMS COME TRUE (2) a lot, backstage. globe release about five singles per album, don’t they? There’s no doubt that those are fun songs, right? (laughs).]
He seems very careful, and though he is quiet, he seems like a good person. That is my second impression.
Charmed by his kindness, I ask him a sillier question: Do you sing along?
tetsu [I sing the whole songs, actually. KEIKO’s part. My falsetto is high (laughs).]
10 PM. His first Tokyo night in a long time. Once this chat is finished, he will have work to attend to.
tetsu [Tough? ….It really…. isn’t. Because, this is what I need to do to have people listen to our songs. That’s why I don’t mind doing interviews like this, either, yeah.]
The end of the end. I tried asking him this question: -If you had a day off, what would you do?
tetsu [Play with my friends.]
-And if you had a week off?
tetsu [Play with a lot of friends.]
-If you had a month?
tetsu […..I’d play with even more friends.]
-Are you the type to constantly stay in touch?
tetsu [Well, no, not exactly. I get told “You never ever call!” Even though I want to treasure all my friends.]
The interview is over. He is holding two weeks of fan letters (It seems that he reads them all in his spare time). He heads to the recording studio to work on TD.
The next day, the new song was finished.
Zdroj:http://www.larcompendium.com/site/?p=216
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