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vol.181 interview with The GazettE
translated by: Noriko 'Non-Non' Takeuchi
Since you released your album 『STACKED RUBBISH』, the
GazettE did tours both in
Japan and
overseas in 2007, bringing [STACKED RUBBISH［Pulse
Wriggling To Black 02］promotion to and end. You still have [03] for
next spring, but how do you feel now?
Uruha: Let me see…well, if『STACKED RUBBISH』, was like “Good
morning!”, then I felt like [02] was “It was a hard day.”.
Reita: “It was a hard day.”that sounds as though you
are finished! (laugh)
Uruha: No, no, we are still continuing.(laugh)
In last month’s issue, I reported the last local live of
[02] which was in
Nagoya.
You gave me the impression that you were successful in you European tour. I
felt that you are tougher than before, as a live band.
Uruha: Ah, yeah we really grew from that I think.
Reita: Growth….. well it didn’t matter so much
anymore about what song we played where and in what order etc. We didn’t worry
about the flow so much as we were able to play each song steadily.
Kai: I think that is because our songs themselves
developed and our band’s sound has became firmer. I felt that each member really
challenged themselves in this tour. So in that way the European tour was good
for us.
I see.
Kai: If we didn’t do that, and we did from [01] to
[02] directly, it might be a little bit different.
Then after you did [1.5], which part did you concentrate
on most?
Kai:….. For us it was like we were challenging things
from the bottom of the ladder. I think that we were able to train ourselves from
there. But when we came back here and started [02], we had a gap in our
awareness between our production staff and us.
What do you mean?
Kai: Well, I think that we grew a lot so when we came
back we felt a kind of distance with our staff. We had grown but they had not
grown with us. We tried to work with it, but honestly speaking, we couldn’t get
things just perfect. Although close.
So next you’ll do [03] in spring, so I hope you can work
that continuously.
Kai: Yes, because it’s a long tour. There are several
things which we were able to do this year, and we want to do more next year.
Aoi, today, you seem to have dark expression on your
face while listening to other members talking. What are your thoughts on the [02]
tour?
Aoi: Basically, I thought the same as other members have
already said. In the 1st live of the [02] tour which was our first
live after coming back from overseas, we felt like it was good to be able to do
lives using our own instruments and materials, but as we did 2nd and
3rd lives, honestly speaking, I felt like I couldn’t do my 100%
until the final live.
What was the reason for that?
Aoi: Uhn, I don’t know really. Why? It wasn’t that I
didn’t enjoy it. ButI didn’t do everything what I wanted to do.
I saw the live and it did not seem like that.
Aoi: Yeah, well, if you could tell that in the live
then that would really be the end of things. (smile)
Ruki: Well, I understand what Aoi wants to
say. We never do bad lives and we do our best as much as we can every time, but
we still had a strange slackness about us somehow. You know, I think that it
was just something inside us.
You mean the coordination with staff didn’t work well,
yes?
Ruki: Maybe so. But I think it’s useless to say such
things in an interview. Fans don’t want to know about that.
Aoi: If our lives were just about our performances on
stage then I don’t think that we would be talking about these things. But we are
seeking more than that.
Ruki: I know some people think that as long as a band’s
members are fine that everything is fine. But we really want to one, including
staff, and of course our audience and us; working hard together to become one.
We can’t be satisfied unless we achieve that, so I think that’s why we feel the
way we do.
As you experienced a long tour, I think your
understanding of the importance of team work grew.
Ruki: In our European tour, we didn’t have enough
staff at all. However we were able to do what we wanted to do. Then after we
came back here, we had enough staff but were unable to do what we wanted.
You are very hard on yourselves.
Aoi: No, I don’t think so. We don’t really have high
expectations either. And going to
Europe has not changed
that, but I think awareness about us went down without notice. We ourselves have
never changed our thoughts about lives and tours until now.
Ruki: Honestly speaking, I don’t like to say these things
in an interview because I feel like I’m complaining.(smile) But the members of
the GazettE is not only us. If we lack someone in our staff or our fans, we
can’t do the live of the GazettE to our full capacity. When everyone comes,
we can give our 100% to our live concerts, and even give more. I really want to
make that clear in [03] somehow. So next time, brace yourselves!
Uruha: Yeah, it’ll be great!
Ruki: What we seek is the plane higher than perfect.
I though again that we have to be a band that gives 120% in lives whenever and whatever
the situation may be.
By the way, the GazettE will release [Guren] in
2008 before [03], so I’ll ask you about this. I heard you are in the middle of
production.
Ruki: Yes. We could make the title song, but we’re
still working on another 2 songs.
This time, I listened to the title song [Guren]. What was
your stance in making this single?
Ruki: Well, we made this with the same awareness as
usual. I shaped what I wanted to do and did it, like normal.
Aoi: We didn’t think like『STACKED RUBBISH』was like that,
so we should do it like this. Our core is always what we want to listen to at the
time, which never changes until now. We do have a vision, but we don’t think
that much about our singles that much.
Ruki: However, this single flows from the album a
little bit. But we put new things in it too.
Who made the original song of [Guren]?
Uruha: Ruki did.
Aoi: He is the main composer we are proud of him!(laugh)
Ruki: What is that supposed to mean? (laugh)
Other than [Guren], 2 songs [Kyomunoowari,
Hakozumenomokushi] and [Kugutsue] are in this single. Who made these songs?
Ruki: [Kugutsue] was made by Aoi, and [Kyomunoowari~]
was made by Uruha.
So when did you make them? You have been so busy doing
tours until now, how did you find the time?
Ruki: In spare moments during our tours. We decided to
bring 1 or 2 songs per person, and then we put 3 songs that were among them
into a single.
About [Guren], how did you produce it during the tour?
Ruki: During the tour, I thought of the main melodies
and the intro rather suddenly. After I went back home, I remembered it and compiled
it into one song.
Did you imagine something when you made it?
Ruki: I had an idea of what kind of song I would make
from the beginning. I already had the word of ‘Guren’, and I produced the
content along with it.
What did you imagine from the word of ‘Guren’?
Ruki: Well, I had an image of something red. Red of a
siren, red of blood, something like that. But I thought it was not good to make
the title as ‘siren’(smile), so I used the word of ‘Guren’ to express the color
of human blood or flesh and so on. About the content of the lyrics, I wrote
what I think now, and I wrote about the reverse world of [BURIAL APPLICANT]（in『STACKED〜』）, which is a story that connects together quite well.
When you made [BURIAL~], were you interested in looking
even deeper into that world?
Ruki: At that time, I didn’t think so really. But
after I wrote [BURIAL~], I made a story close to that world again. Well, this kind
of story often happens in the real world. For example, girls get pregnant
without wanting to give birth, or there is no room in hospital even when she
wants to give birth and she is sent from one hospital to another.
Certainly, there are many such sad cases recently.
Ruki: So I feel the danger of life, or the preciousness
of life these days, and I wrote about it here.
Is the word of ‘Yurikago(=cradle)’ in the lyrics of [Guren]
a symbol of the story?
Ruki: If I give you all the details, I’m afraid that
it will give too much away, but there are such things in the background.
So, I’ll ask you about the details in the interview of
the extra number『SHOCK WAVE』which is soon to be released. So, about the song itself, and the
tones of the sounds, what did you make important in this song?
Aoi: Because the kind of content, it seems to be heavy
and dark in a way, but we didn’t want to have a damp feeling about it.
Ruki: We didn’t want it to be like a closed room, but
we needed a grand feeling.
So, when the band matured Ruki’s original song, you
went through various processes.
Aoi: With guitar sounds, I tried various sounds
asking Ruki “What sounds do you prefer?”.
Ruki: Yes. As we talked, we came up with good ideas.
My impression when I listen to the sounds is quite profound.
It’s not just thick, but you scattered the acoustic guitar sounds in various
parts, and made a deep and delicate mood which you can really feel.
Aoi: Yes. Reita’s bass and input drum sounds
are really good.
Arara? Is that made by a drum machine???
Kai: Oh, no! I actually played the drums. (smile)
Aoi: Well, I was just joking.(laugh) But this time,
the sound was very good, more than usual I think.
Ruki: They spent quite a long time, talking a lot
whether it was good or bad.(laugh)
Reita: This is our first time that we could record
only 1 song a day even though we worked until
3
am in
midnight. And it
wasn’t because we took time to play, but we took time to choose the sounds. It
was hard.
Aoi: It was awful. They grabbed each other by their
collars, and said things like “You should say OK about this!”, “No, this
shouldn’t be like that!”.(laugh)
Um…so how was it really?(laugh)
Reita: This time, I recorded the bass part in
different way from my usual way. I used a system, in which the woofer and tweeter
are separated, and recorded them separately by microphone and then mixed them
together. It was hard to get a good balance. But I did it quite well because I
worked hard. I think the end result is quite good.
Aoi: I really feel that bass sounds are very profound.
Ruki: Yes, they are deep. I thought there are various
ways to try to research our favorite sounds.
Reita: So I learnt one more thing in this recording.
By the way, Kai, how did you record?
Kai: I discovered a new thing too. For example, if I
hit drums in different parts, I was surprised how much different sound I could
make. Usually to hit the center of the drum is thought to be a better sound,
but this time, to hit the edges of drums was more fitting to the song.
Ruki: It’s also different that we listen to each
instrument’s sounds and then listen to the whole sound when we play together.
Kai: So, this time, I tried to record the drum sounds
again when bass sounds were recorded. It was also my first time.
So, how were the two guitarists?
Aoi: Guitar sounds also changed several times. The
part of the acoustic guitar in the complete song was what I played at first, a 12
stringed electric guitar. With the tempo, we changed it depending on our sound
variously during recording. We managed to get a real gloss to the song, not
only heaviness and darkness.
Uruha: We sought for good sounds. That may be
natural, but we aimed for the best sound we could get to match to this song. This
time I really think that we got close to what we aimed for.
Aoi: Our biggest work is that we were able to get a
level of sound that the composer was happy with.
Ruki: This time I said various things about our
music. It should be clear but not to clear. A little difficult to understand,
but I think that we achieved it in the end.
As a result, [Guren] is a really good song.
Ruki: Basically, it’s a melodious song. But not pop.
If there are some people who listen to this song and say “This is pop.”, they
don’t understand pop.
I see.(laugh)
Ruki: About the lyrics, I think there are some people
who will make the mistake and think it is about a kind of love story, but if
they understand the song, and listen to the song, they will understand that
this is not so.
Kai: I think this song will really stay with us. It’s
a good song.
About the coupling songs [Kyomunoowari, Hakozumenomokushi]
and [Kugutsue], you are completing them now, but will they be like?
Uruha: About [Kyomunoowari, Hakozumenomokushi], I
have an image of a basement. A basement, but like a very broad space.
Ruki: As for rhythm, it’s a kind of shuffle tune, and
has a dark mood, which is not like what we did before. I think this song is
rather a difficult type of song.
Reita: This song makes us feel the good old times,
and is familiar to us.
Ruki: Ah, like an underground feeling? Yeah, maybe.
Aoi: Yeah, [Kugutsue] also makes us feel the old days.
It is very mid 90’s.
Ruki: I understand. The mood is just like that.
Aoi: It’s strange. I tried to make the song more
fashionable, but when I completed it, it was really ‘old!’.(laugh)
Ruki: But that’s a very good point about it.(laugh)
Aoi: Yes. In Visual kei, the main melodies should be
like this! Absolutely like this!. And when we play it, we feel very comfortable.(laugh)
Ruki: Maybe so. Fans who have listened to our songs
for a long time, will understand what we mean when they hear the music. The
present the GazettE plays it as our present sound, which was interesting
for me. You know, this song is of old taste, but really cool.(laugh)
Reita: But people who don’t know us from way back may
feel a freshness about it.
Aoi: That is to say, we are the last Visual kei which
the Heisei period generated. So please don’t call us ‘Neo Visualizm”.(laugh)
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