These articles are reprinted from the Sony Magazines group - PATiPATi, WHAT's IN?, UB, and Gb.
This is a translation of a reprint of an interview that originally appeared in PATi-PATi STYLE, 1998 issue, after the conclusion of the Light My Fire! tour. This was reprinted for the Box Set of The 15th anniversary in formation. The translation is based on the reprinted version.
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hyde, ken, tetsu, yukihiro -
The four of them, having just completed their dazzling tour of the entire country, namely L'Arc~en~Ciel Tour '98 Light My Fire!, tell their Current Feelings in these Personal Long Interviews! And! The highly-rated plan makes a comeback! Could it be? The word-game interview's revenge! Through these 29 pages, the super forceful and mega full bodied wrap-up will be accessed from just beyond this door...
The seven-coloured rainbows that arch through his eyes, on occasion, seem to sparkle as though they were crossing the glistening horizon of hidden seas; on others, to pierce their target like ferocious, manic stormclouds. Vocal, hyde : he guides band and people into a promised land.
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"Good afternoon."With this slight greeting, hyde seated himself, his hunched back suggesting that he was collecting his light body close to himself. Before him like a paper cup filled with coffee that he had poured himself, along with his lighter and cigarettes. His personal interview carries the air of the commonplace. It has been nearly a month since the beginning of the current tour. Today, on which they have crossed the Seto Ohashi Bridge to `the next city', hyde's interview begins with the same air as always.
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All notes in {<- } format are from the interviewer/editor and were present in the original Japanese.
- How have you been lately?
hyde [You want to know how I've been... *Cough, cough cough* (he coughs)]
- Uh oh. Are you alright?
hyde [Lately... Well actually I'm a bit better now than I was... Right when the tour started I came down with a cold. ...A really long cold. These past couple of days, I finally got rid of my chill. Now, all I got left is this cough. The worst part was when I'd get into my futon and then break into a massive sweat. I went to the doctor but they couldn't help, I took medicine and it didn't do any good. It's my own body, but like.... I don't even like it anymore, but I can't do anything about it. But oh well, it hasn't hurt my throat. If nothing else, I take good care of my throat, so there haven't been any lives where I couldn't sing, and I don't think there ever will be. Lives put a lot of stress on my body, so it's important that my voice be in good condition. So yeah, as long as I've got my voice, everything else is just brute strength getting me through the fire. And mentally, it's a great high. It's just that some days, I'm all like "Oh man, am I ever in awful shape today," you know. I get so dizzy during the lives, it gets me thinking "One of these days I will definitely pass out. Passing out sounds like fun." (laughs) But I've been just fine. Afterward its like "Oh so I guess I'm not gonna pass out after all."]
- Your body was in better shape than you thought?!
hyde [Yeah, pretty much. (laughs) ... The last thing I want to do is make a bad impression on the fans. I don't want to have to tell them in an MC that I can't do my best because I caught a cold, and I don't even want them (the audience) to notice I'm sick during the live. It would just really annoy me to have them thinking "Oh, I guess he's not as cool as we thought he was". Because I've thought that myself, when I go to other people's lives. Like, if they don't think that much of the audience. They just stand around, doing the live like it was a rehearsal in a studio. So the live isn't fun or even interesting. I do not want to do that to my fans. Cause, you know, it's no fun. It's pride; lives are Pride. Because, in this business, more than any other aspect of the work, lives are when we can show off the best of ourselves, that's what I believe. To be thought badly of at that point, it's really beyond annoying to me. That's why I always give 100%, no matter what condition I happen to be in.]
- Precicely because it's the aspect you have the most self-confidence in, it forms your Pride.
hyde [Yeah. I do have lots of self-confidence that way, and well, if a live goes wrong then what else have I got? You know? I really do think that way. I have to be cool, that's the important thing.]
- During lives, are there particular moments when you think of yourself as cool?
hyde [...... (silence) ...... Sometimes, as a result. Looking at the videos or pictures (of the lives) I'll realize "Oh yeah, I did that thing." I don't think to myself "I am cool" during the actual live. It's more "Gotta work, gotta work it," or "I should still have some (energy) left in me." I feel like I should be giving it everything I've got, every live. Sometimes I just do it naturally, sometimes I have to talk myself into doing it.]
- That's incredibly honest of you.
hyde [....I guess it is.]
- For instance, I was going to ask you if you ever felt at one with the audience, but instead I want to hear more of this honesty, if you don't mind.
hyde [Ah...... Let me see........ .... ... Um, I don't know. .... It's just, you know, on the inside, I have this idea that lives need to be aggressive or else they won't be any good. ...... Well, every day when there's a live, I think about giving it all I've got. I don't think about the next live, or about the tour being two-thirds over, or anything like that. I may not know what the next day will bring, but I do know that I've got to put all of myself into what I'm doing right this moment.]
- This tour has you getting up in super-crowded sold out stadiums for each and every live. Do you ever feel that it's any different from your previous tours?
hyde [...Of course it is. It always feels a little different when it's not sold out. When the place is jam-packed, that in itself builds up a feeling of anticipation, makes me think I've got to give them all something in return. It's my Duty. It's linked to what I said before, about how I want to give it everything I've got and for everything I can possibly do.]
- I see. So then, do you feel that there is some kind of huge, invisible power underlying the sold-out lives?
hyde [....? What are you talking about?! (laughs)]
- My apologies (laughs). To put it as simply as possible, I meant to ask if you think there is some kind of unseen power lying in the fact that there are far more people who wanted to come to live than people who actually were able to do so. This isn't limited to lives; I think that this invisible power is already present everywhere. It's the power that comes with the name of L'Arc~en~Ciel, and all your activities. Do you ever feel any kind of unease with respect to this power?
hyde [......I don't feel any unease. ...And well, you know, when it comes to indirect information like that, I think it always ends up getting twisted somehow. If I were to pay attention to every single tidbit, there'd be no end to it. Personally, I think truth is in every passing moment. And then after that, the information that we give out ourselves, in magazines and stuff, that's truth too, but only that. From outside the venue, thinking about what kind of live is going on inside, well that's nothing but imagination. And because it's imagination, there can never be end to how far it extends...]
- Truth is everything, then.
hyde [Precisely, and that's also why I feel that I ought to make that true moment as perfect as possible, these days. On the other hand, lately I've been caring about all the other stuff (other than the truth) less and less. Looking back, I think that I used to care about all the trivial stuff around us a lot more.]
- How far back are you looking?
hyde [By looking back I mean... maybe a year or two ago.]
- Let's change the subject. How do you feel about travel?
hyde [Traveling... Well well.... I've been like this (i.e. sick with a cold) since the recording just before (the start of the tour) so yeah. I've hardly been able to do anything at any of the towns we stopped at. I slept right through Hiroshima. I've just been staying in my room, making them bring me okonomiyaki. That's all. Except when we're moving.]
- With your health in such a poor state, rather than moving, it would be better to say that you are being moved.
hyde [Yeah yeah yeah. Like, they're delivering me (laughs).]
- Delivery! (laughs) .... I can just about picture it, though it might somewhat pathetic. Sorry.
hyde [It is (laughs).]
- So, this traveling hasn't been much fun, or much of a chance to relax for you, has it?
hyde [Ummm.... I wouldn't say that. We all go for long stretches without going home, so it really feels like "Hey, I've gone a really long way" or "Hm I wonder where I am right now." The problem is my MCs (during the lives). Even if I've been to the place before, it's not like I was there to play. I just stay in my hotel room, the entire time, so I can't go "Last night I went out and this funny thing happened." I can't say "I caught a cold so I spent all of yesterday in my room, sleeping" either. If I said something like that, all I'd get would be their (the audience's) sympathy.]
- Indeed. If you said that, they'd reply "Are you OK?!" "Hang in there!".
hyde [If they started sympathizing with me, then it's a guarantee that they wouldn't be as excited anymore. So yeah, I don't have anything left to say. (laughs) When I get to the venue, I ask the local staff about famous things in the area, so I can at least talk about that.]
- If you were well enough to go out, it would surely be more enjoyable.
hyde [Yeah. It would definitely be different. ... I really, really haven't gotten to go out in any towns. Maybe out to a video rental store, at most.]
- You went to a video rental store? And, did you rent a video?!
hyde [Yeah. Cause you know, some days, like today, we don't do anything except travel. When that happens, we usual get to the next hotel around 3 or 4 in the evening. And then, well, I don't have anything else to do until night, personally. I just stay in my futon and sleep. I could read or something, but that just makes me tired. I'd rather get info from the TV, that's easier. That's why I spend all day watching videos.]
- That's nice. A few months ago, you mentioned that there were several videos that you wanted to watch, but you didn't have the time, so I suppose you must have found the time by now.
hyde [Yeah. I watch everything I want to see.]
- It's the All-you-can-watch video tour.
hyde [All I can watch. I spend eight hours straight watching videos.]
- Continuously?
hyde [Yeah. Four movies.] { ← Precice, for once}
- No way!? That sounds like an endurance race to me.
hyde [Before that I watched three movies in six hours.]
- Unbelievable. You wanted to watch those videos that badly?
hyde [...More like, I had absolutely nothing else to do. (laughs)]
- Were they any good?
hyde [Uh.... (He stops to think) `The Fifth Element', that was a good one. That girl, Mila, who stars in it, she's pretty cute. ....Doing that, taking all that time just to watch videos, makes me realize that when we're on tour, I actually have more time to myself than I do when we're at home. On the day of a live, there's tons of stuff to do, so of course I'm busy, but on the travel days I have a lot of free time. But the things I can do are so limited you know!? (laughs) In the end, watching videos is pretty much all I can do (laughs).]
- Do you think that, more than most people, you feel that you don't want to waste your time?
hyde [I wonder about that. I guess that since I'm in this business, that's the sort of thing that would bother me. Nowadays, you know, I just normally try to make lots of time for myself, taking things where normally don't pay much attention and trying to do them according to some kind of plan. I think that it probably gets expressed all over the place in a lot of tiny ways. Then I take all that time I've made for myself and spend it all doing whatever it is I really feel like doing that day. So, even if I just use the time to space out, I still think it's worth it. I think so because I'm doing it for myself.]
- If it was your free time right now, what would you be doing?
hyde [I want to take a walk downtown. ...And then I want to watch a movie.]
- At the cinema?
hyde [Yeaaah, or on video. Whichever.]
- And the conversation shifts back a topic ..... I guess it's not enough yet.
hyde [...............Yeah. (Nodding off)]
- I see. (laughs) Well then, what is the thing you want most right now?
hyde [.......Peace and quiet.]
- And how long would you have that peace and quiet last?
hyde [Uhmmm....? Lessee. ....Let me think. ..... A year or so... Maybe two years ....... something like that.]
- One last question, and its the one I've been asking everyone. How do you think the other three members have been, lately?
hyde [They're pretty delicate people, you know, those three. So, when it comes to lives, they're pretty random. The rest of the time, they.... They look like they're having fun, and I really wish I was healthy right now (laughs).]
Words - Itou Aki
Translated by Natalie Arnold
Boundlessly intense, endlessly relaxed, his fingertips extend limberly to spin unending rainbow-coloured timbres. The melodies released from his fingertips, from the moment they reach the listener's heart, proceed to link feeling to feeling in infinite arcing rainbows. Guitar, ken: the man who spins rainbows from his fingertips...
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On the second floor of a local interviewing company, in a warehouse-like meeting room; such is the space he selected to hold his personal interview. "Me? I'm OK for an interview anytime!!" spoke ken-chan as he stepped before my tape recorder and had a seat. Starting with a simple "How've you been?", our conversation ran off and split into various topics. The breadth of his activities and the sheer quantity of his work have accumulated, and he has encountered a true wealth of interesting episodes. There is no mistake that he is becoming accustomed to his fortune.
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All notes in {<- } format are from the interviewer/editor and were present in the original Japanese.
- How have you been, lately?
ken [Lately?! Lately, I... Lately, nothing's changed, not one bit.]
- Compared to your usual lifestyle in Tokyo, wouldn't you say this is rather different?
ken [Oh yeah, you're right. Lately, hey. If you put it to me that way, well let me see. I've had a lot of chances to shoot fireworks.]
- Oh, I see. Speaking of which, you held a big fireworks display didn't you, in a past tour, a long time ago. It was on the beach, I believe?
ken [At night, you know, I've got nothing to do. The shops in these towns close early, see.]
- Yes, yes, they say there is such a thing as country town time. Since it ends early, the nights are long. Too long.
ken [Yeah, yeah. Fireworks, too, at first I was happy just playing with cheap ones from a convenience store, but now it feels to me like that's not enough. So at Tokyu Hands (1) in Hiroshima or something, I bought some and bought some more. Spent 5000 yen on just fireworks. I bought lots -.]
- I can't even imagine how much that would be.
ken [Well, I think it's a seriously huge pile of gunpowder?! I've still got a lot left over, and come to think of it, isn't it scary to walk around carrying all that?]
- You carry the fireworks around with you?
ken [Yep. Since I bought 'em, we've already had two fireworks parties. With about five or six people.]
- And is it you, ken-chan, who goes around suggesting "Let's have some fireworks tonight!"?
ken [Yeah. Somehow or other, it's me who says it, like "Let's go do fireworks." We had a fireworks party just the other day, and it was a pretty big deal, you know. I guess maybe we used about 5000 yen worth of fireworks just that one night!? We did it up on the seawall, shooting 'em one after the other, then I saw something that looked like harbour police or something, off to the side. So I went "Oh crap! Guys, don't shoot right now!" when I saw them, and at first it was just a joke, right. In the morning, I went outside from the hotel, back to the spot we'd been shooting the fireworks, and I saw right next to it, the building said "Harbour Police," for real! (laughs) Oops.]
- I'm glad you weren't arrested... You weren't arrested, were you?!
ken [It would be pretty bad if I was.]
- Yes indeed. ...This might be just my imagination, but I think you've lost weight, ken-chan.
ken [Ah, I get that a lot. I guess I did lose some weight?]
- Yes. I think you did.
ken [When people ask me how I've been, maybe I should just tell them I've lost weight. Oh, and I saw a make-up artist that I hadn't seen in a while, so apparently my face colour changed, and so did my eyes.]
- Did they tell you, specifically, what had changed?
ken [Hmm... I'm all grown up?! (Both laugh out loud)]
- (laughs) Like you've hit puberty, all of a sudden. But how about you, personally? Was it any kind of change you could actually notice?
ken [I've grown some facial hair, that's probably it.]
- Oh, is that all it is?
ken [Yep. Oh, and I let my hair grow out, so I look dirty? (laughs) ...What else could it be... Well, my lifestyle and environment changed, so the stuff I eat's been changing too. So I guess it's possible that my facial tone would change because of that.]
- Heh. I suppose facial tone is something that changes quite suddenly, when it changes at all.
ken [Isn't it? A while back, I just happened to be looking through a bunch of polaroids that I got from some photoshoots we did. My face is totally different from how it used to be. Even in photos from a month ago, I look different. It's my face.]
- How did your face look a month ago?
ken [It was just simple, I looked so much like a little kid.]
- Other than that, has anything else changed recently? On the inside, perhaps?
ken [Hmmmmmm... Changes, things that changed... What? What?!]
- For example, in your behaviour?
ken [It's always been like this, but lately, I've gotten to really hate staying still (Both burst into laughter). You laugh, but you know what I mean, right? (laughs).]
- Yes. Lately, I've noticed you seem to be moving around constantly. You're definitely more active.
ken [You can call me active, but it's not like I plan any activities or anything. I just hate standing still. In my mind, you know, it feels like being sent back to elementary school. I'm like a little kid who loves baseball; if there's a ball and a bat, you know I'm gonna go hit it.]
- Just before this, in the next room over, isn't that what you were doing? I saw a ball and a bat.
ken [Yeah, yeah. Before a live, while everyone else is getting their makeup done, I play with those the whole time. 'Cause I haven't been wearing makeup, lately. So I just find a big enough space and start hitting it.]
- While the other three are in front of the mirror.
ken [Yes.]
- You run around with a bat.
ken [Yes. And then I go on stage, just like that (laughs). Seriously, sometimes I go on without even bothering to get changed. Sometimes, it feels like my other choice of clothes would be too dull, surprisingly often actually. When it comes to clothes, first the manager asks "What do you feel like today?" And then I answer. Like "Today I want Ikebukuro," or maybe "Kabuki-cho style" (2) or something like that. And then the manager picks out an outfit that feels like Ikebukuro.]
- Hahahahaha. (Big round of laughter) So dirty. But, it sounds like fun. What happens if the outfit that gets picked out doesn't fit your image of Ikebukuro?
ken [Well, actually, I may the one saying it, but I don't really think about it much. About whether it fits my image or not. Plus, it always ends up being Sakamoto Issei stuff, for me. By the time we get three songs into a show, I'm already down to a sleeveless top. It only matters if it's black or white. And when I play baseball, I'm sleeveless. I'm sleeveless today, too.]
- Indeed, you are just like a little kid. Like a school kid on summer vacation. But ultimately, is there any opposition to your being sleeveless like that from the beginning of the live? { <- Stupid }
ken [Well I guess I have to wonder if it isn't kind of rude. So I try to wear the outfits they pick out for me, too. It's like sex. Rather than just get naked from the start, no matter how close and familiar your partner is, isn't it better to show up in a bathrobe or two? { <- This may be rather silly also }
- Um..... ?
ken [Well? I'm right, right? Right?!]
- Yes.
ken [Right!? And of course, you are going to leave this part in, right? { <- I don't know him anymore }]
- You may rest assured that I most certainly will. By the way, how has the audience response been, during the lives themselves?
ken [There are good days and there are bad days, but the good days are seriously awesome.]
- What are the characteristics of a good day, for you, ken-chan?
ken [In a live, hey... When I can't tell up from down. It's a question of feeling, though. On the other hand, I can tell it's a bad day when I stay calm. When I can tell what I'm doing, where I am, when all that stuff is clear. Obviously, things are more interesting when I can't tell up from down. There are days when I'm just howling, for no reason. Then I wake up later. "I think I was going WOO."]
- And outside of lives?
ken [What makes a good day? Let me see... I guess it's when I get to goof off a lot.]
- Have you been able to goof off a lot lately?
ken [Hmmm.... Lately, I .... I've been thinking that I want to go fishing. Fishing, to do that, you have to be able to stay still for a really long time, right? And I suck at staying still. So, I've always been really bad at fishing, but somehow lately, I started liking it. And you know, I heard that there's a fishing pole maker called KEN. So I want to buy their stuff. When I first heard about that, I thought "That's so cheesy, having stuff with my name on it," and then someone said to me "When something has your name on it, you start to want it, you know?" and then boom, it happened. "Yeah, that's what they say, and now I want that too." (laughs) And the lures, they're all so pretty.]
- Ummm. ken-chan, going fishing. ...How ...unexpected.
ken [I think so, too. Since I can't stand to stay still, I think I'll get bored with it right away. But I also think it'd be a good thing to try, once in a while.]
- You mean, a good thing to try and hold still once in a while.
ken [Yeah. I feel that way sometimes.]
- Is there something in particular that you think of when that happens?
ken [What am I gonna do next, when I'm done? Oh but sometimes, I space out and don't think of anything at all. My eyes are open, and there are people next to me, but I don't think about anything, no thoughts. It's like... it's like I go into this totally empty world. I might have talked about this before, but when I walk, almost 100% of the time I'm spacing out. Once, a long time ago, hyde passed by, really close by, and I didn't notice him at all.]
- Hehh. I suppose that's extreme. Do you just walk around in circles, or...?
ken [Well, I'm spacing out. So maybe I do.]
- Do you feel that "extreme-ness" inside of yourself?
ken [Well, I am type AB. (3) {It had to be said}]
- Ah, indeed you are. Do you feel aware of it, as in "Ah, I'm such an AB-type"?
ken [I do. I feel like I've got two personalities. ...But normally, everybody does, don't they? For thinking about stuff, they say there are two kinds of justice, generally.]
- Inside of yourself?
ken [Yeah. And, you can agree with either one. So, to decide things, you need to add in morals. You need to add morals to the mix, then decide which is better. If you leave it, if you say "Whatever, both work," then you end up not wanting it either way. That way, you can see the two versions of yourself. ...I think everyone works that way, probably. ...I do. I think I can see my two selves much better now, more than I used to. Before, I used to get confused, all of I sudden I couldn't remember why I was doing something, but now, I can sort things out and understand, and take consciousness of all those ideas, and go "Okay, this one." Before it was just "Which? What? Whey? WHAT NOW?"]
- How did you manage to come to this understanding, I wonder. It's quite fascinating.
ken [ ...I think I just realized that if I took a step back, I could see things both ways, pretty clearly. And then, I could think about them... But anyway, I really feel like I just somehow figured out how to do it. I want my mind to be like this {As he spoke, he pointed his two index fingers upward and lined them directly before his eyes}.]
- You want to be like that.
ken [It's more fun to be just the one. I think I'm jealous... Oh, by the way, what was today's theme?!]
- It was "How have you been, lately".
ken [Oh right. So how have you been, lately?]
- You don't change at all, do you? Okay, so lastly, can you tell me how the other members have been, recently?
ken [Uhmmm, I think they've all gotten over the cold I gave them, so I'm relieved, seeing as I'm the one who made them sick.]
- But ken-chan, you had to have caught the cold from somewhere yourself, too?
ken [I didn't catch it from anyone else, I created that cold myself. That was a really bad cold. It might be myself-enza.]
- That is, influenza, your style.
ken [Yeah. If you checked under a microscope, the germs would all have my face on them, I bet (laughs).]
Words - Itou Aki
Translated by Natalie Arnold
1. Tokyu Hands is a chain of department stores that focuses on crafts and do-it-yourself goods, hence having a lot more fireworks than in your average convenience store. Go back.
2. Ikebukuro and Kabuki-cho are neighbourhoods of Tokyo. Ikebukuro is a mixed commercial and enternment district, famous for Otome Road, the number one area for entertainments aimed at women. Kabuki-cho is the famous red light district. What either of these imply for ken's fashion is not exactly clear.Go back.
3. According to Japanese blood-type-based fortune telling, AB type is supposed to indicate a bipolar personality that changes quickly and is generally quirky. Go back.
In order for the band to go on being as they are, he, with his bottomless clever gaze, soundly stacks the Present as a base from which to draw in the Future. What could be the object of his gaze, there beyond the rainbow? Bass, tetsu : The man who fixes rainbows with his sharp gaze.
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"Wow, it's been a long time since I've done an interview that wasn't for a promo."
He murmured these words just after our interview's end. The sound nearly drowned in the squeaking of the pipe chairs on the floor, yet it was unmistakably a murmur from him, from tetsu-kun. The words he pronounces can, on occasion, drive themselves like a wedge deep into the ground, long remaining within me. Why - It was precisely what I had understood myself, without being able to put it into words. "Interviews like this one are precious, aren't they!?"
- That day, I understood the words, but I am still awaiting their meaning.
---
All notes in {<- } format are from the interviewer/editor and were present in the original Japanese.
- How have you been, lately?
tetsu [Hahaha. (laughs) Is that the theme?!]
- Yes, it is.
tetsu [Lately... Lately, I've become a traveling performer, as you can see.]
- Because you're in the middle of a nationwide tour. Have you gotten accustomed to the rhythm of travel yet?
tetsu [I guess so. Well I guess I can't say that I'm not used to it... But, I just don't always know where "here" is going to be today.]
- You mean, you don't know where you are?
tetsu [Yeah. ....Seriously, where am I right now?! (laughs)]
- Shikoku. {← Actually, he still isn't sure about that.}
tetsu [(laughs) It really feels like Shikoku, I figure that part out myself. But, I mean "When did I cross the bridge today?"] (1)
- You came across from Honshu, so you're talking about the Seto Ohashi Bridge.
tetsu [You'd think so, but... (Turns to his manager) Was it pretty? The scenery.]
Manager [Yes, it was.]
tetsu [Waahhh. Man, somebody should have woken me up.]
- Hahahaha. (laughs) You're shouting.
tetsu [You know, I'm stuck in warp mode. This morning, I was in a hotel in Okayama, but then I realized I was in front of a hotel over here. ...You know what, I got into pretty good shape for the sake of this tour, so I'm really healthy lately, actually.]
- More than when you're living in Tokyo?
tetsu [Yeah. I think I'm even getting more sleep than I do in Tokyo. Well, I'm going to bed pretty late, compared to normal people. But I get lots of sleep. Yesterday I was working on my back stomach and back muscles, by doing push-ups in my hotel room.]
- You're on fire.
tetsu [I am on fire!]
- Were previous tours also like this?
tetsu [Before, I used to goof off a bit more. By goof off, I mean that I'd go out and enjoy the towns we went to. I'd go out on the town and walk around. Go shopping and stuff. Back then, I had that kind of free time. This time around I don't have anywhere near that much free time. We get to the venue on the day of the live, play the show, then head to the next place right away, so we spend the whole next day traveling. By the time we get to the next place, every single shop is already closed. Yesterday we had a show in Kurashiki, but I hardly set foot in Kurashiki city. And on top of that, we've been driving around in a car with curtains over the windows, so I don't even get to see the streets, or any kind of scenery at all.]
- Hmmm, I see. You visit these places, without seeing them..
tetsu [It's pretty sad, isn't it.]
- What do you normally do to pass the time in your hotel room, or while you're on the road?
tetsu [I sleep, you know, in the car. ...In the hotels, I watch movies.]
- The movie channels on the hotel TV, right?
tetsu [That's right. But not porn, though.]
- I didn't ask. I didn't ask (laughs).
tetsu [(laughs) But, somehow, the manager seems to have misunderstood me, thinking I must be watching porn because I watch the pay channels!]
- So, you should point out the mistake. Right here. Loudly.
tetsu [That's right. You're WRONG!]
- You're shouting.
tetsu [Why would I watch videos? I'd rather do the real thing...]
- Is that why you train your back and stomach with those push-ups?!
tetsu [That's right. (laughs) ...But, really, that's pretty much all I do, watch movies. Jurassic Park, Bad Boy, Liar Liar... Those were all interesting ones.]
- Do you watch a lot of movies, then?
tetsu [I do. They're all on video though. The last movie I saw in a cinema was probably Titanic.]
- How was that?
tetsu [Hm, it wasn't really that good.]
- Oh, is that so.
tetsu [Yeah. You know, it seems that whenever there's a movie that everyone else says is great, I end up not liking it. About a year ago, there was a movie, and a friend told me "It was so touching! You should definitely go see it," but when I saw it I thought it was awful, to the point that I got more and more upset while I was watching it. "What's supposed to be so great about it? It sucks it sucks it sucks it sucks." And then, I even got mad at the friend who recommended that movie. "What were you thinking when you told me to go see that?" Which is what I was thinking the whole time, in the cinema. Titanic was like that, too. Everyone kept saying "You should definitely go see it with someone you like," and I was all "Ehhhhh?!". There were some emotional moments here and there, but it wasn't as great as everyone was making it out to be.]
- But, I think it's great that you actually go to see these movies, even though recommended movies don't usually work out well for you.
tetsu [I do go see them. I like to stay on top of what's popular. And I have to see things for myself. That way, I'm learning about marketing.]
- Do you enjoy that sort of thing? The marketing?
tetsu [Enjoy... Obviously, whether it's making music or going on tour, it's important to know how to link it all to the way the world really works, or else everything fails. I don't want to fall behind the times, but I don't want to just chase the latest trends either. I do think marketing is important. But you know... In my case, things are a little bit different.]
- Well then, could you say, when it comes to movies for example, that it's not just a little bit different but rather that your tastes are completely different from the mainstream?
tetsu [Yes. (laughs) I'm obviously different from the average person.]
- So do you have any thoughts related to your nationwide sold out tour?
tetsu [Hmmmm.... It's beautiful.]
- Anything else?
tetsu [.....Hm? ....No.]
- I see.
tetsu [Well you know... I don't think too much about the present. It's not good to focus on what's right in front of your eyes. It's better to look about five steps ahead.]
- That's common advice in shogi and other board games, isn't it? (2)
tetsu [Yeah, yeah. Yesterday, I went to some kind of bar, and they had an othello game, so I played othello. If you don't think ahead, you always lose the game. People who can't play the game, lose the game.]
- How did your game end?
tetsu [My game? I won. I managed to capture all four corners. (laughs)]
- It sounds like you have a knack for planning ahead.
tetsu [My opponent was constantly making moves that could be reversed right away. Watching him, I was thinking "Okay so he can see that this move will get him the most pieces right now, but a few turns from now I'll just capture them all back. I wonder if he can see that." It's the same kind of thing. Right now, (the band) is a major success and we've got sold out shows all around the country, but that's exactly why we need to take extra care. We need to think about how the world will change around us. ...In war, you constantly need to be looking at least two or three steps ahead, or you'll lose. That was something Char said. (3)]
- If that's what Char says, then...
tetsu [Yeah. You know, I've always taken things at my own pace, I'm very down to earth that way, and I just want to go on doing that. I've always worked as hard as I can, and I still do. It's just that before, no one would turn around and notice what I was doing, and now they do. So when someone says "Wow, you've really worked hard and done all these cool things," I think "What took you so long to notice?"]
- You could think of it as a simple case of having different people around you.
tetsu [Ah... Yeah, I suppose that could be it.]
- Now, let's move on to a completely different topic. I'd like to ask how your private life has been, lately.
tetsu [I'm recharging.]
- What does "recharging" mean, in your case, tetsu-kun?
tetsu [It's life support... It makes me happy... Lately, people have been telling me that my expression seems a lot more friendly. Even the cameraman at a photo shoot said that to me. ...Actually, I'm a very straightforward person. You could call me childish, or clumsy. I'll just start smiling again right away.]
- Indeed. And what do you think of yourself being that way?
tetsu [I'm a bit too obvious, I think I'm a bit of a moron (laughs). But you know, I used to be bad at laughing. When I was a kid, I hardly ever laughed at all. And I was being cool, so no matter what happened or what I saw, I hardly reacted. I thought everything through and always came up with the downside of things right away. When I started doing this job, I didn't laugh much either.]
- It seems that a lot of bands appear cooler when they don't laugh or smile.
tetsu [There is that, yes. Well, you sure don't see any punk bands standing around grinning. But we aren't a punk band, so isn't it kind of disturbing? Well, it's not like we have to smile and laugh. I don't like my smile. That's why, even if they take smiling pictures, I never let them use them (in magazines), never ever. I've never liked to see my own smiling face.]
- I wonder why?
tetsu [It's because I'm not smiling in my heart.]
- Wow, such harsh words to turn against yourself.
tetsu [Hahahahaha (bursts into laughter). But these days I laugh a lot. Yes. ...I guess I could say, that I've learned how to smile. Anyway, I'm recharging in my private life, and I live by making music in this band of four.]
- Do you like to see yourself smile, now?
tetsu [I guess. ...More than I used to. ... Something like that. ...It's really just a recent thing, I've just barely gotten to be this way. Just barely gotten to think of myself this way.]
- Then, can you tell me what has made you laugh the most, lately?
tetsu [........... (long, long silent pause) .... ..... What could it be!? I have no idea.]
- Could it be that there are too many things to choose from!? (laughs)
tetsu [There have definitely been a lot of things.]
- ...................... {← Epic Fail}
tetsu [No, I really don't now.] {←Then, the interviewer appeared to want to attack him, or perhaps simply to challenge him.}
- When do you feel happiest?
tetsu [That would be when I'm shining.]
- As a last question, could you say something about how the other members have been doing?
tetsu [I have no idea (laughs).]
- I see, that's where it comes from (laughs).
tetsu [I told you, I have no idea.]
- You seem strangely happy though.
tetsu [... I have no idea about that, either. (laughs)]
- You really have nothing to say about the other three?
tetsu [Not a thing (laughs). Well, how am I supposed to know how they've been, anyway?]
Words - Ito Aki
Translated by Natalie Arnold
1. Shikoku is the smallest of the main islands of Japan, and the largest bridge connecting it to the mainland, Honshu, is the one mentionned. The next most common way to get there is by ferry, which he could expect to notice.Go back.
2. Shogi is also called Japanese chess due to its strategic similarities to the western game. It is played with marked tiles. Othello is a board game where players control either the white or black side of pieces and must strategically flip rows to gain control of the board. Go back.
3. Char Aznable of the original Gundam series, of course.Go back.
[Where could it lie, the origin of the rainbow?]
That question asked by each of us in childhood, he can answer it with rhythm. That graven rhythm, hailing the beat of the listener's heart, draws out a primitive consciousness and much else besides. Drum, yukihiro: The man that is the earth that holds up the rainbow.
---
From the rainy days of Tokyo's may, he took a flight. Its purpose was to make use of the tour's transit days to take care of this personal interview. The craft climbed ever higher, westward bound, revealing the Seto Inland Sea below within an hour's time.
The first time I met yukihiro-kun, we were heading north - toward London, to be exact - in an airplane. He had only one bag; an extremely small amount of luggage. Indeed, with nothing but the clothes on his back, he made his way to a L'Arc~en~Ciel photoshoot. Bending his knees upon the seat, he demonstrated the flexibility of his body and laughed. yukihiro-kun's luggage must be only the bare minimum needed for the trip.
---
- How have you been lately?
yukihiro [I've been on tour lately.]
- Are you used to touring, now?
yukihiro [I can't get used to it. Somehow, I can't sleep, I end up staying awake until 10 am. Last night, I managed to sleep a little, but the last two days before that, I didn't sleep at all. It sucks.]
- It really does. How about the lives?
yukihiro [I did my best, obviously. Even though I didn't sleep, it's not like I did a bad job, so there's no need to feel bad for the fans who came to the lives on those days.]
- Have you always been unable to sleep during tours?
yukihiro [It's been happening for so long that I can't remember anymore!]
- Hahahahaha! (Both laugh)
yukihiro [For me, it's not just the tours, I have a hard time sleeping any time I'm in a hotel room. I end up doing something or other, so I stay awake until 4 or 5 am. Even though I meant to sleep. I can't sleep, and I can remember looking at the clock last time and it was already around 5 am. That happens a lot.]
- Eehh. I wonder why. I suppose some people are extra-sensitive to changes in environment.
yukihiro [A different pillow... or something... gah, I don't know, I don't know myself.]
- But, I suppose you must be getting delicate.
yukihiro [Barricade!]
- ...Er? ...I don't believe it. I didn't think you were the type to mess up someone's words like that. (laughs)
yukihiro [Hahahahaha! (both laugh)]
- How about the lives, themselves?
yukihiro [Hm, yeah, the lives, I think they're going pretty well. ...I don't know if the fans are really enjoying it or not, but personally, I'm getting great feedback, really.]
- Can you say, specifically, how the lives are going?
yukihiro [...When it's over, I feel really satisfied. ... Yes. Somehow, I feel the same way every day.]
- You mean, you feel satisfied with your own performance?
yukihiro [Let me see... Well, if you want details, there are some days where it's just basic. Then just... times when I simply feel I did a great job.]
- What do you think about on those nights when you can't sleep?
yukihiro [Oh, all kinds of things. All sorts of things inside my head, trying to get to the front. I think about all those things, all at the same time, you know.]
- Oh, I see. So you don't mean that you think about all sorts of topics, one after the other, but rather that half of your mind is occupied with one thing and the rest is working on a different thought entirely?
yukihiro [Yeah yeah. Yes. That's pretty much it. And, I get frustrated because I can't sleep. ...My eyes and stuff hurt. It gets to the point that it hurts to have them open. I figure I can't sleep so I might as well read something, but I can't read anything. Because my eyes hurt (laughs). So, I put on music and stuff, but now, I've got that music stuck in my head. Ah, and then, since we're on tour, I can't go out to buy other CDs. Some good stuff has come out lately, right?!]
- I can imagine you'd want to go CD shopping.
yukihiro [Yes. Even in the middle of a tour, I've still got some free time sometimes, so I'd like to be able to go out and buy CDs.]
- These days, no matter where you go, you can find those big foreign chain stores.
yukihiro [Yes. They're everywhere. Well, some places didn't have them (laughs).]
- Ah, already.
yukihiro [Yes, already. ...I guess I want to listen to them (to his recently-bought CDs). I wanna hear some cool sounds.]
- Do you mean that you expect to be stimulated by that music?
yukihiro [Yes. That's it. ...But, there are other things like that, you know. ... Books, just after I finish reading one. ...That part (of him that craves more stimulation), it's insatiable, isn't it, even I think so sometimes.]
- Ah, is that so.
yukihiro [Yes. Before, I... how do I say... I used to be afraid that if I didn't constantly take in cool things like that, I'd end up dead inside. I really thought so. I was sure that if I didn't work on making myself a deeper person every day, I'd wind up completely empty.]
- And now, you don't feel that pressure anymore?
yukihiro [Now, I... I think I still do, in some ways. Of course, I think that now, I'm better able to make use of all the things I've taken in, compared to how I used to be. So, I can't say that I feel afraid, not the way I used to.]
- I wonder if that's related to your ability to control the quality and quantity of what you express of the things you've taken in.
yukihiro [Hmm... I rather think it's that I've gotten better at interpreting it all. For example, if I take one new thing now, before if took in one new thing, I'd get only one thing out of it... or that's how it felt, but now, it all passes through me and I can use all of it, express it in in many different ways.]
- How much of that do you think is due to the influence of L'Arc~en~Ciel in your life?
yukihiro [How much, how the band is influencing me now, even I can't answer that. But, I want to influence them, I want to do what I can for this band, in my own way.]
- That aspect of you, yukihiro-kun, can it be faithfully transmitted?
yukihiro [Hmmm.... (silence)... ... . I intend to show it, that is. Yes. ...I think it shows in the way I approach my work, with the songs. ...And, even in ways that have nothing to do with music. When I make a huge ruckus, I think that side of me is part of it, that's got to be what it is. I never used to do anything like that, before.]
- A huge ruckus??
yukihiro [No no no (laughs). Well of course, I think that before, my reaction to other people used to wait a breath. I'd be asked something, and before reacting, I'd take a breath and think about how I should react to whatever it was, I think that's what I was doing. Now, if something is funny, I just go Nyahahahahahahahaha right away. It's funny (laughs).]
- Ah, I see. More responsive, responding with laughter, indeed that's the impression I get. You must be a laughing drunk, too, aren't you?!
yukihiro [Am I?! (laughs) I think that part of me must have always been there, but I didn't let it out, nicely. Because, I thought that laughing out loud, laughing too hard, was totally uncool so I didn't do it. Because punks are cool. Or something. (both laugh)]
- What a change (laughs).
yukihiro [Hahahahaha (laughs). I don't think like that anymore, not at all. I figure that if what I do is cool, that's good enough.]
- It's easier that way, I'm sure.
yukihiro [Yes. It is. And it's boring to take a breath during lives. ...Anyway, I think this is a really great environment. A little while back, the live was over, and I saw the staff loading things onto a truck, and I was touched, emotionally, somehow. Ah, they work so hard, they're doing all this work.]
- Could you please tell me a bit more about that?
yukihiro [Yes. That time, it was after a live, and I was at the members' exit, which was the same as the delivery entrance. That's when I realized how great it is, everything the staff does for us.]
- And you felt it was great that you had so many people doing it?
yukihiro [Ah, yes yes yes. That's it. And, those people, they're all working together for the same cause. That's just, wow, it's great.]
- You mean that the staff members are all working together for you, for L'Arc. Did you feel something because you were the one at the centre of all this effort?
yukihiro [No. That's not what I felt. I felt that I was a part of all the work that was happening, though.]
- yukihiro-kun, what have you been putting the most power into, recently?
yukihiro [The lives, of course.]
- For instance, do you do anything to give yourself more energy?
yukihiro [Before the show starts, I kick chairs.]
- You kick chairs. Hahahaha. (laughs)
yukihiro [Yes. Kick. (laughs) But even that doesn't do much for me... so I kick walls (both laugh hard).]
- You kick?! (laughs)
yukihiro [Yes. I focus hard on doing it. ...But you know, I don't want to put too much power into it. Obviously, if I spend too much energy on that, I won't have enough power left for the live. To an point, I need to be tense, but I also need to relax.]
- Is that something you can find in your regular daily life?
yukihiro [No, not at all. Well, really, in my regular life, I don't think the same way at all. It's just for lives, I guess that's the only time I think.]
- One year ago, could you have imagined yourself the way you are today?
yukihiro [How could I possibly have done that?! (laughs) One year ago, I think that's just about the time that Niji was being written.]
- At that point, had it already been decided that you'd be at the recording?
yukihiro [Ummm.... I think it was. But the exact schedule hadn't been made up yet. .... But even still, how could I have imagined?!]
- How does it feel to have your entire environment change so much in one year?
yukihiro [It's a good experience. It may not be a very common experience, so I'm lucky. Ever since the recording of Niji, up until this current tour. Everything single thing that's happened has been a really great experience.]
- I'd like to close with the same question for all four members. How are things between you and the other three, lately?
yukihiro [Hmm, let's see. hyde-kun has a bit of a cold, but that makes for a different atmosphere in and of itself, and he talks about making sure all the lives are really cool. I guess there are some parts that are really hard for him, with a cold, so that's exactly why things are that much more intense. But it looks like he's starting to recover now, so I'm happy about that. ken-chan is, well he never changes the slightest bit... right. (laughs) I think he's very energetic. tetsu-kun is... Ah, tetsu-kun had a cold too, a little while ago. Because of that, in the morning, his eyes would be all puffy, and he'd say his eyes were no good. (laughs) Well, that's how the tour's been going.]
- Words by Itou Aki
Translated by Natalie Arnold
This is a translation of a reprint of an interview that originally appeared in PATi-PATi, January 1998 issue, shortly before the release of winter fall, and during the recording of HEART. This was reprinted for the Box Set of The 15th anniversary in formation. The translation is based on the reprinted version.
BEGIN INTERVIEW
On the stage, on CD, and in every conceivable type of activity, there is always L'Arc~en~Ciel, and for L'Arc~en~Ciel alone there is a groove that only one man goes on playing - he is the bassist, tetsu. Through seven key words, this personal interview opens the door within his heart.
---
Date
I haven't been dating lately... You want to know my ideal date? I'd get up early just to go on that date (laughs). So, around 10 o'clock I'd drive over to pick her up and when I got to the front of her house her mom would come out too and say "Be careful!" or something to her off. (laughs) Then we would go for a drive, all the way to an amusement park, somewhere kinda far. And then normally I'd want to go on all those scream machines, I guess. We'd have lunch at a restaurant somewhere inside the park, and stay out until the evening. Then, since we came kind of a long way we'd leave the amusement park early. On the way back we'd stop for dinner, and I'd drop her off at home. When I'm on I date I want the girl I'm with to be smiling the whole time. But, no homemade lunches... please. (laughs) You know, I've always been bad with homemade food. I really can't stand it. That's why, on a date, I'd rather go eat at a restaurant.
Car Stereo
It's wonderful! My car stereo, that is. My car can seat four people, normally, but I've got a 25cm subwoofer set up on the back seat. So, only three people can ride. (laughs) Actually, it cost more than the sound system I have at home. How much!? A bit more than the one I have at home. (laughs) So yeah, it sounds really great. That's because I was really picky about the sound quality, of course. I peeled off all the upholstering on the doors and stuff, and then I put in lead sheets wherever it was dried out, and that took about two weeks. At first I was going to keep the subwoofer in the trunk, but it just wouldn't fit. I had no choice, so I had a speaker box made and set it up on the back seat. So now when someone sees my car for the first time, they're surprised. "What's that?" "A subwoofer." (laughs) And you know, since I can turn it up so loud, it's actually better than my home system. And plus, when we're recording and I go home afterwards, I can just keep listening to the DAT tapes(1), so I can keep checking things all the way home. We're in the middle of recording right now, so I've been listening to our songs all the time. I play the DAT tapes in my car constantly.
Winter
I don't do well with cold. When it's cold, I have a hard time getting up, you know? So, these days, I just leave the heater on at home all the time. But, because that's always on, my skin is getting dried out. ... I've got problems (laughs).
Girls
I like girls who are cute, with a nice personality, and smart too. "Oh, her, she's kinda cute," (laughs) as soon as I find myself thinking that, I start to like the girl. What makes me think she's cute? The moment I notice her cute face (laughs). I've always been accused of going for the pretty ones. At least I'm consistent about it, and it's not like I can really help myself (laughs). I like Alicia Silverstone. A long time ago, I saw her in an Aerosmith video and I've liked her ever since.
Manga(2)
I hardly read any manga, I only ever watch it (as anime). The first one I got obsessed with was [Ginga Tetsudou 999](3), the movie. I didn't like the TV series much. Cause of the art style. But in the movie, doesn't Tetsurou look so cool?! I thought "I gotta see this." For TV series, my first obsession was Gundam, you know. I like a lot of SF shows, of course. I get hooked on them a lot. But you know, when I was really little, I hated anime, in my heart I was thinking "This sucks. It's for kids", and I didn't have much interest in it. And then I saw [Flanders no Inu](4), and I cried (laughs). Oh, yeah, while we're on topic, I want to mention this. I get a lot of fanletters that go "I heard that you got into Evangelion(5) recently, tetsu-san" but you know, it's not just a recent thing. I was already pretty into it when the reruns were on last February, but I guess it didn't come up in interviews until now or something!? Just because the interviews got published in the fall, that's why it's only coming up now. It's very regrettable that people think I just got into it "recently" (laughs). What's so cool about EVA?! Okay, you know there's the part where Lilith gets pierced by the Lance of Longinus, by Rei-chan, right? In the TV show, when the spear came out, she didn't start growing legs again, but in the movie she grew legs right away. What's up with that? But I like how it makes you wonder (laughs).
Tastes
My tastes are intense... I suppose... Hmmm (thinks hard). I think I've gotten a bit more mellow, compared to how I used to be. Even when it comes to food. I used to be really picky about food. There are lots of things that I can eat now, but never used to eat at all. Like peppers , onions, and fish. And stuff I still don't eat?! Liver and innards and stuff. I like yakiniku(6), but I only order sirloin and garbi. I used to have yakiniku all the time, but these days I eat more fish than meat. Maybe I'm getting old (laughs). It used to be like "What do you wanna eat?" "Yakiniku!" but now I like to have shabu-shabu as a meat dish, and I'd rather go for sushi instead.
Music
Right now, the music I want to listen to the most is the new L'Arc~en~Ciel album, the one we're still working on. At the moment, it's about halfway done. You know, every month, I buy many different artists' CDs, like at least ten, and listen to them, but even on the albums I like there's only two, three songs that I listen to. So, say I buy 10 CDs, and on each of those albums there's only two songs (that I like) or so, so I collect all those songs onto a single album with only songs I like. On this new L'Arc~en~Ciel album, it's going to be all songs I like. That's why I want to hurry up and listen to it. We're releasing a single first, but that song is already done. It's more upbeat than Niji, a light-hearted L'Arc song.
-Interviewer: Itou Aki
Translated by Natalie Arnold
1. Digital Audio Tapes, or DAT tapes for short, are similar to cassette tapes but record sound as digital, as opposed to analog, data. They are now almost obsolete, but their CD-quality sound had them used by professional recording studios and radio broadcasters for most of the 1990s.
Go back.
2. Manga are Japanese graphic novels, and they are the basis for most Japanese animation, aka anime.
Go back.
3. Called Galaxy Express 999 in English. It and Gundam are both very famous anime series, though the later has lasted much longer.
Go back.
4. In English, A Dog of Flanders. This is an anime series that is rather famous for making grown men cry, despite being a children's drama.
Go back.
5. Neon Genesis Evangelion, one of the most successful anime of the 1990s. The scene tetsu discusses would constitute spoilers if explained further.
Go back.
6. Yakiniku is a meal where the diners cook small pieces of meat over a grill, which is set into the table. Various cuts of meat are available, including innards like the liver, stomach, and guts. Garbi is meat from the belly of the animal. Shabu-shabu is a different meat dish where very thin slices are lightly boiled in soup, again at the table.
Go back.
This is a translation of a reprint of an interview that originally appeared in PATi-PATi, March 1998 issue, during the recording of HEART and a bit before its release. This was reprinted for the Box Set of The 15th anniversary in formation. The translation is based on the reprinted version.
BEGIN INTERVIEW
Despite desires to deliver, the very act of putting it into words seems to make it vanish; such is the incommunicable HEART.... That hidden HEART has now become stronger through song and is flying toward us at last. Let us hear their thoughts upon releasing this new album: HEART.
---
I believe this album to be an Answer.
Within it are contained both power born of strife and confidence born of chaos. Dazzling light can only be produced by those who have known darkness, and thus They have obtained this spark. Above all, in the image of this Tough Band of Four, the ultimate Answer can be found, perhaps also providing a hint about the future of L'Arc~en~Ciel.
hyde [Well, just like any other album, this one started out pretty vague, didn't it. Everybody wrote some songs, we all looked at them and went "Oh we need more songs like that" and made some more songs. Personally, I thought we should use a heavier song as the first track.]
ken [When I was writing (the songs), I didn't really have any specific ideas in mind, you know? I didn't write anything too flashy, instead I just played some songs and figured it would be great if they could be recorded just the way they were.]
tetsu [Umm, the power of auras...]
- What!? What do you mean by the power of auras???
tetsu [Auras are normally invisible, but they're really incredible, you know? I thought it would be good if we could put that power into the album.]
ken [Oh, you should just take a picture! At arcades, they have machines that take pictures of auras, right?]
tetsu [They do? Do they really?]
ken [I dunno if it's real or not, but it's in the picture. Some people have bigger ones, and the colours are always different. And then it says "You have great power" and stuff like that, checks you and gives you a report.]
tetsu [You had yours checked?]
ken [I did. Mine was kinda purple-ish.]
tetsu [REALLY!?]
- Er, so in other words, you wanted to put that invisible power into the album, correct?
tetsu [Yeah, that's right. ......You can't see sound, either, right. ...I wanted to put more into it, beyond the five senses. So, auras.]
- How about you, yukihiro-san? What was on your mind prior to the recording sessions?
yukihiro [I thought I should focus on power most of all, so that's what I was thinking about. I think there's already been a lot of strain. So I thought about whether I'd be able to work naturally, without straining myself.]
- And how did that go?
yukihiro [I think I did it.]
tetsu [You know, this time, the timeline for the recording was somehow greater, I think. It used to be... Like for example, I'd play a song on Monday night and then ken-chan would play it on Friday night. That kind of lag wasn't there, this time. Instead, on Sunday mornings, we'd get up early and all go run a marathon...]
All [.............]
tetsu [Oh? We didn't? (laughs) Well okay that part was a joke, but anyway, if I was playing something at 3 PM Saturday afternoon, then ken-chan and yukihiro-kun would be playing it at 3PM too.]
ken [In other words, we recorded the bass at the same time as the drums, and the guitar part got recorded too.]
- I think that on this album, the character (difference) of each song is much more explicit than it had been on your previous albums. Is that something you are also aware of?
ken [There are differences in tempo, and differences in melody, and in each song there are other things that might only be obvious to us, but there are things we didn't do this time, and I think it's because we wanted to include something fresh and new instead. But it's like, by not including those elements we're practically just copying our old stuff, so it's as if sometimes we were just talking about redoing our own songs all over again.]
- I have a question about the lyrics. I was under the impression that this album's lyrics were quite lively and passionate...
hyde [I really didn't want to do the same things as before, there were some things I wanted to break down, but I didn't really focus on any sort of passion. I just feel like my horizons have expanded... It's like, the words that I focus on, they can be used in different ways depending on how I go about it. I also think I've managed to express my ordinary self more than before.]
- You didn't meet any resistance in 'expressing your ordinary self'?
hyde [Actually I put myself completely into that mode, so it went fine. On the other hand, it was harder to write lyrics full of nuance, like I used to do.]
- Could you tell me how the album came to be called HEART?
hyde [Hmmm, well, I was told "You're going to need to name it soon" so I wondered "What should I call it?" and it just came to me. I think it was when I was about ready to decide of my lyrics were finished or not. HEART; it's a word that little kids learn so I guess everyone has their own idea about what it means, and I guess some people will think it represents the HEART of the band (laughs), which in a way it does, so I think it's a deep title. I thought of some other names, but this was the deepest one so that's what I chose.]
The album HEART opens with the track LORELEY. The first time I heard that dignified song was at a concert. Before that earth-shattering majestic music that sweeps the entire world into a single heap, I could only tremble. I was blown away by the song's intensity. Afterwards, I felt as though only shreds of myself remained in the song's Traces. With this album, they will no doubt leave a new Trace behind them. And these Traces exist in the service of no one; I believe they exist unto their purposes alone.
And in their Traces, we can surely find an Answer.
Text unnatributed.
Translated by Natalie Arnold.
This is a translation of a reprint of an interview that originally appeared in WHAT's IN? Octobet 1998 issue. It occurs during the Light my Fire! tour, on the occasion of the release of the singles snow drop and forbidden lover. This was reprinted for the Box Set of The 15th anniversary in formation. The translation is based on the reprinted version.
BEGIN INTERVIEW
As L'Arc~en~Ciel plunges headlong into the second half of their tour, Light my Fire!, two new singles arrive just in time for October. Following three simultaneous releases last July, these singles will come out within a week of one another. Including the paired coupling songs, this means a new four-song vector is about to reach us. I had the opportunity to ask them about this work as well as their current impressions.
*****
- You've just released two new singles that are completely different from each other...
tetsu [For 'snow drop', I had a bit of christmas spirit in mind. Not completely, but I at least wanted it to be the type of song that people would feel like listening to around christmas time.]
- It feels like a dashing pop song to me.
tetsu [Dashing, like when Patrasche(1) runs through the grass fields, right? I wrote it right after watching 'Flanders no Inu' (laughs).]
hyde [When he told me that, the first thing I did was watch that video.]
- Did it affect the lyrics for the song?
hyde [Well, there is a rather gentle feeling to it, like that vague aura that's always eating at my body (laughs).
- As for the title, 'snow drop' is actually the name of a flower, right?
hyde [When I heard the song, I suddenly imagined a flower blooming in the snow. Then I wondered if any flowers like that actually existed, so I checked a reference book or something, and that was the closest match I could find. It's like the lyrics grew out of that idea.]
- How did the recording go?
yukihiro [The drumming was painful. tetsu-kun requested that I "put in something with the tams" and I did, but it took a long time to decide how it should sound we recorded a lot of takes.]
ken [I managed to figure out what to do from the moment I first heard the song, so it's like I was done before I had to think.]
- The guitar is certainly colourful.
ken [It sounds that way, but I didn't put that much into it. I recorded my guitar with the drums and re-amped it, then changed it around for a few different kinds of sound.]
hyde [When I heard the off-vocal version, I thought the guitar solo sounded weird, but I guess... it's because of that thing you had in your mouth?]
ken [Yep.]
- The coupling track, 'a swell in the sun', was composed by yukihiro-san, right?
yukihiro [It's actually I song I made when I was working solo, but then I thought it could be even cooler if it was done by the band so I brought it in. It's dark and heavy (laughs).]
- Yet, I think it's very interesting for L'Arc to make a song like this one. How did you go about recording it?
yukihiro [hyde-kun reworked the lyrics and melody for me, and we recorded the basic track that I wrote starting with the words. Then we edited that, and it started to gain a basic shape before the guitar and bass were added, and then it got edited again until we got the final version.]
hyde [It was interesting; felt like we were making something, a material. Like a toy.]
ken [And the material for the song got rearranged by yukkie, which was the part that seemed like it would take the longest, so me and tetsu...]
tetsu [We snuck out to a festival together (laughs).]
ken [We had way too much fun and had way too much to drink. Man, we were so incredibly drunk. When we went back to the studio and started recording, I had a headache. But I couldn't say that, so I just went "Shouldn't we get the bass recorded first?" and so I got to take a nap while that got done and I snored and got better.]
- (laughs) Now, about the other single, 'forbidden lover', the beat of the snare like a marching drum leaves quite an impression.
tetsu [It was my first time working with that sort of rhythm pattern, so I worried about what kind of bassline to put in.]
- It is quite grand and also deep.
ken [At first, it was easier to do stuff at home. Around the point where I put a timpani into my guitar solo, it got much heavier.]
tetsu [I hadn't even imagined it would end up like this.]
ken [I didn't think so either. I think hyde's lyrics make the heaviness ease up, though.]
hyde [I thought they made it even heavier...]
- Indeed. Above and beyond the feel of the music, the lyrics are far-reaching.
hyde [The theme is how countries have fought each other throughout history, and questioning god and so on... I thought I had to use harsh lyrics, nothing else would fit that music, you know? To me, it looked like nothing else could possibly work.]
- And the coupling track for it is a remix of 'Kasou'.
yukihiro [I think it keeps the image of the original song better than the one I did for 'Shinshoku lose control'. It's heavy and awesome.]
Words : Furukawa Yuuko
Translated by Natalie Arnold
1.Patrasche is the name of the titular dog from the anime 'Flanders no Inu' ('A Dog of Flanders' in English), which is an apparent favourite of the members'.Go back.