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Our next artist is the guitarist, ken. ken has once again put a lot of himself into the creation of ‘AWAKE’.
– Let’s start by talking about the new single that you wrote, Jojoushi. It’s become quite the popular song, ken-san!
[Hahahahahaha! Thank you very much.]
– What are your real thoughts about it?
[My real thoughts (laughs) Hm….. I composed some of it with the guitar, but I also did some parts from the keyboard. When I was working with the keyboard, I had to make sure I was only using chords I could actually play, but I put everything I had into it. Using this method, I was very careful with the melody that would turn into the song. When I compose by singing and playing guitar, I end up forgetting the tune (laughs). There’s no way to see a song objectively while composing it, so then with just guitar and singing, it’s easy to end up with something ugly. But working with the keyboard, I was able to gain an extra level of detachment and put more effort into it. That’s how that song was born (laughs).]
– Now, I’d like to move on to talking about the album. What are your feelings about it?
[Well, we went to LA to record the strings for ‘Jojoushi’. While we were there, I caught a cold and spent the next two weeks in bed. I don’t remember much else around that time (laughs). What else to say….. Practically speaking, it was spread over such a long period, but we kept the same feeling throughout the album. That’s not just my own feelings, I’m sure it’s the same for the others, too. It really was a long, drawn-out recording. But the mixing days went zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom, and finished really fast. Now, it feels like we’re in the end credits of a movie, right where they suddenly cut in with Jackie Chan’s mistakes and bloopers (laughs). I feel like fast-forwarding (laughs). That’s really how it feels. Oh, and now that we’ve decided the set order, I listened to the album for the first time and went “Wha?! Even though there’s lots of variation, it doesn’t feel scattered. The whole thing is great to listen to.”]
– That certainly applies to your own songs, ken-san. You have a beautiful, touching ballad, as well as a full-out pop song. And then there’s the song that makes you want to do stupid, noisy things all night, ‘EXISTENCE’ (laughs).
[Right (laughs). Right now, I can’t tell if it’s a good thing or not, but ‘EXISTENCE’ and ‘Jojoushi’ both represent aspects of my current self. They both feel like things I’ve never expressed before. Sometimes though I find myself thinking “Where did this come from?” (laughs). But I mean, I have a good feeling about both songs. But, the’re a lot more aspects of myself that change all the time (laughs). I think I just have a short attention span. Well, I think that goes for everyone, it’s human nature to look for something new to play with. So, I need to restrain myself a little. A little restraint doesn’t hurt, just like keeping away from another round of drinks. Yeah, whenever I started thinking that people suck while working on this album, some evil spirit from heaven would come down and keep me in line (laughs).]
– In a previous interview, I heard you say “The current L’Arc might be an anachronism, but doesn’t the current era actually want this kind of analog way of doing things?” Of course, we stuck to only talking about music here, but maybe we can afford to bring up something a little different. I think that the present-day world is caught up chasing illusions, so your work is a message to call them back to reality.
[This album kind of feels like a letter. …… So, I’m going to want replies (laughs).]
Translated by Natalie Arnold
– Let’s start by talking about the new single that you wrote, Jojoushi. It’s become quite the popular song, ken-san!
[Hahahahahaha! Thank you very much.]
– What are your real thoughts about it?
[My real thoughts (laughs) Hm….. I composed some of it with the guitar, but I also did some parts from the keyboard. When I was working with the keyboard, I had to make sure I was only using chords I could actually play, but I put everything I had into it. Using this method, I was very careful with the melody that would turn into the song. When I compose by singing and playing guitar, I end up forgetting the tune (laughs). There’s no way to see a song objectively while composing it, so then with just guitar and singing, it’s easy to end up with something ugly. But working with the keyboard, I was able to gain an extra level of detachment and put more effort into it. That’s how that song was born (laughs).]
– Now, I’d like to move on to talking about the album. What are your feelings about it?
[Well, we went to LA to record the strings for ‘Jojoushi’. While we were there, I caught a cold and spent the next two weeks in bed. I don’t remember much else around that time (laughs). What else to say….. Practically speaking, it was spread over such a long period, but we kept the same feeling throughout the album. That’s not just my own feelings, I’m sure it’s the same for the others, too. It really was a long, drawn-out recording. But the mixing days went zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom, and finished really fast. Now, it feels like we’re in the end credits of a movie, right where they suddenly cut in with Jackie Chan’s mistakes and bloopers (laughs). I feel like fast-forwarding (laughs). That’s really how it feels. Oh, and now that we’ve decided the set order, I listened to the album for the first time and went “Wha?! Even though there’s lots of variation, it doesn’t feel scattered. The whole thing is great to listen to.”]
– That certainly applies to your own songs, ken-san. You have a beautiful, touching ballad, as well as a full-out pop song. And then there’s the song that makes you want to do stupid, noisy things all night, ‘EXISTENCE’ (laughs).
[Right (laughs). Right now, I can’t tell if it’s a good thing or not, but ‘EXISTENCE’ and ‘Jojoushi’ both represent aspects of my current self. They both feel like things I’ve never expressed before. Sometimes though I find myself thinking “Where did this come from?” (laughs). But I mean, I have a good feeling about both songs. But, the’re a lot more aspects of myself that change all the time (laughs). I think I just have a short attention span. Well, I think that goes for everyone, it’s human nature to look for something new to play with. So, I need to restrain myself a little. A little restraint doesn’t hurt, just like keeping away from another round of drinks. Yeah, whenever I started thinking that people suck while working on this album, some evil spirit from heaven would come down and keep me in line (laughs).]
– In a previous interview, I heard you say “The current L’Arc might be an anachronism, but doesn’t the current era actually want this kind of analog way of doing things?” Of course, we stuck to only talking about music here, but maybe we can afford to bring up something a little different. I think that the present-day world is caught up chasing illusions, so your work is a message to call them back to reality.
[This album kind of feels like a letter. …… So, I’m going to want replies (laughs).]
Translated by Natalie Arnold
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