The following interviews were published in the July 2005 issue of CD Data, scans of which are available all over the internet. The issue coincides with the release of AWAKE. Also included are special liner notes for the album written by each member. This translation has never been posted anywhere else!
Lies and fabrications no longer resonate for me.
- hyde-san, you were very active this time around.
[Well, I don't think anyone needed to tell me anything. I just worked (laughs).]
- Although the songs are all varied musically, they all seem to send the same message. The same theme permeates them all.
[It might have been because my thoughts all revolved around the same main idea. I consistently stuck to the same spiritual theme.]
- Ah, you mentioned this when 'Killing Me' came out. The way modern society appears peaceful, but in reality that isn't the case if you take a closer look at people's situations. These are the thoughts currently preoccupying you the most, hyde-san.
[That's definitely one of the feelings I'm sending out with this production. After examining myself deeply, that's all I could come up with. No other themes I could think of had the same sort of reality to them, so they seemed boring. Even if I'd written about them, they didn't move me at all, so it felt like I was writing lies. To me, using words that don't resonate with me are a kind of fabrication. I wanted to make something that would resonate the way the music did. Of course, if I'd had any other ideas that resonated that way, I would have written about them. But this time, nothing else had the right impact.]
- Nothing else resonated.
[After all, my criteria is whether or not it resonates with me. I could think about what people will think, or what kind of lyrics would make people happy, but there are so many people who all listen in their own way, so I can only imagine their reactions. I'm not confident enough about how that would turn out. If it fails to resonate with me even by a tiny bit, I don't think I can expect it to draw people in.]
- Then the themes that resonate with you are influenced by recent incidents, and the world's situation, correct?
[It isn't really about the current era. It's more accurate to say it's about the world up until now. Some things never change. I'm resigned to believing that some things will never change, yet I wanted to include hope in the lyrics I wrote.]
- It's about things that people keep repeating throughout history, then.
[Right. It's incredibly scary that we haven't learned anything from history.]
- But, you don't want to give up hope.
[Well, part of giving up is aiming for a different goal, instead. I know I'm going to die someday, but rather than having lived without changing anything, I want to die knowing that I've done something to improve the situation. This way, I still have a dream, don't I? It's like the difference between not winning the lottery, and having a chance to win the lottery (laughs). In the end, even if we're all together, we can each choose whether or not to buy into the dream.]
- That's right. Life is much harder without hope. We can probably all understand each other on some level. And yet, it's human nature to repeat the same things over again. The theme extends to all humans, right?
[That's the kind of creature humanity is. I don't think that can change, it might even be genetically programmed. I think humanity is the worst species on Earth.]
- Yet we are all part of that species. We can't live any other way.
[That's the sort of thing I wanted people to awaken to when 'AWAKE' was made.]
- When I listened to the album, I thought about the meaning of the title, and I was told it meant 'awaken'. To stop turning your eyes away, stop pretending not to see, and take notice of what's really going on in the world.
[It would be meaningless if it didn't reach out to people. If you don't awaken, it ends up being just another nightmare. If that's fine with you, that's okay, I guess. As for myself, I've realized that even in these circumstances, people can love each other, and that love is universal. I might be blinding myself to the whole picture, but I still think it's true. I don't want to see the evil in the world get in the way of that love. I honestly don't think a person can be truly evil. Even in wartime, people fight because they have something to protect. But I want people to realise there are other methods. After all, even schoolchildren can understand that killing isn't the only way to solve things.]
- It would be especially fitting if you were feeling a crisis looming recently, wouldn't it? In such a case, the words found on this album would hit even harder. hyde-san, if that was the only message you wanted to send, did it make writing the lyrics easier?
[When I can empathize with the line, it's easy to understand, so in that sense it's also easy to write. But overall, I approached the production from many angles, so it wasn't just about saying one thing. Also, there were other elements I wanted to incorporate, but in the end this is what ended up becoming the main point. That's why everything ended up sounding alike, but that's what moved me, so it can't be helped (snicker).]
- Then this product became the expression of your own feelings on this matter. But, wasn't it tiring to pour so much of yourself into it?
[No, I get a great feeling of achievement when I find the right words to express my emotions. It worked well, this time. And so, listening to it should draw you in. In our previous work, I focused on having the lyrics emphasize the melody, but this time I worked more on the lyrics themselves. The music is great, but I think the lyrics will especially catch the ear on this album.]
- Yes, I think so too.
[In the past, I might have thought it was too much trouble and kept away from this sort of lyric. I used to hate this sort of thing. But now I think that little bit of extra effort is worth it, since it helps the lyrics get noticed. My personal experience might be influencing that. Until now, I just tossed out any lyrics I could, without thinking, but now I'm willing to write lyrics that are a bit more trouble to come up with. It's not that this sort of theme never occurred to me before, but rather that it didn't mean as much to me as it does now.]
- This is how you are, now. What you once would have thought to be a bother doesn't seem so anymore.
[Right. I realized I have my own "truth" inside, and that I don't have to be embarrassed about expressing it. I don't think I was strong enough to do that, before. So now, I shine that much more. I'm more firm in my beliefs now, so I can express myself in my lyrics and get closer to the core of what I really mean than I had done before.]
- It's because your beliefs have grown stronger.
[Right. If I were writing words of love without meaning them, I'd probably be very embarrassed. But if they're sincerely meant, it's not embarrassing. That's how it works.]
- You write what's in your heart, and then sing it. This time, the songs will be much more persuasive.
[And I had practiced the day before(laughs). In the past the day of recording was the first time I tried out a song. So, I made a lot of stupid mistakes. But this time, I practiced before recording day, so I could try out all sorts of things. It gave me better results.]
- Doing that must have changed how you felt about the recording process?
[No, it didn't. It's always fun (laughs). No one gets mad much, and they kind of praise me a lot (laughs). And so, I feel good, we get a synergy going, and I can sing it right. So, it might be an obvious thing to say, but practicing really helps. It's about time I realized that, considering it's the tenth album (laughs).]
- Why did you decide to try practicing ahead of time for this album?
[Willpower, maybe? I wanted to sing my songs right. I have to sing anyway, right? I thought that if I'm going to sing, I may as well do it right. I think I was too soft on myself before. Songs are my passion. I decided to put passion into them, finally (laughs). But I might not just be a question of passion. My technique, and the quality of my voice, I use those to express that passion. I think that's necessary for our music.]
- However, this time, I think you put a much stronger emphasis on your message. Wanting to express it became a fairly major element in your singing. Without paying due attention to that, I think this product looses a lot of its listening worth. No, this album is already a masterpiece. It's L'Arc, so of course it's going to be cool, but that's not all. Listening to it gives you a lot to think about.
[Yeah. I think it's a pretty good album. Lately, I've listened to other people's music, but nothing else is as striking as this. It's not that I decided to sing about something deeper, I think it would have been OK to sing about lighter subjects, too. But the way I am now, lighter things seem boring. I just think this album comes from the heart.]
- Yes. It really is quite moving. Also, the tour associated with this album is starting in August. Can we expect to see the world view of 'AWAKE' come to life this way?
[Probably. Thematically, it has a heavy atmosphere, doesn't it? It's not just coming from the lyrics (laughs). I think I'd like these lives to be cooler than our previous ones. I think it would be nice to focus less on entertainment and more on the message.]
- You're also touring in Asia, concluding at Tokyo Dome. Will the content of that tour be different?
[Basically, I'd like to do something a little different. The Asia tour will probably have more entertainment. It'll be more of a party (laughs).]
Translated by Natalie Arnold.
When I'm holding my guitar, it's like my mind goes all white.
- ken-san, on the album 'AWAKE' I thought you came across as a 'thoughtful person'.
[Have you always thought that?]
- We are talking about your musical approach, right?
[Yeah.]
- How did you consciously approach the music this time?
[I played with everything I've got.]
- With all your might?
[It's not that I put my all into "making it sound even fiercer" or that I went all out because "this part is supposed to sound sadder!" or because "this part is supposed to be more fun!" but anyway, I put everything I had into it.]
- You weren't pouring your all into giving shape to that particular song, but rather into putting the same soul into the entire product, right?
[Yeah. After all, I have to do something to make it stand out a little, give it a novel twist... It might sound weird to say I have to, but that's how I write music and play my guitar, you know?]
- You could say that rock is about asking yourself "How can I make something new with this?" right?
[Yeah. But, it's not really a question of working out my brain cells. My creative process doesn't involve that much brain stretching. When I put my all into it, I mean finding things like "That's the way!" or "I just had it!" and then maybe just taking care to figure those out. At first, I have butterflies in my stomach when I start playing, but it gradually fades.]
- There's an example that's easy to relate to (laughs).
[So I don't yell at myself "What's up with this?! I'm about to start playing, already!" as I start to play, but I just say "This is it." I'm just saying obvious stuff (laughs).]
- You could make a joke about how "Food and music don't mix" at this point (laughs).
[But really, once I'm holding my guitar and say "Ok, let's go!", it's like it goes all white inside my mind.]
- It becomes a challenge to see how far you can meld with the song, or something like that?
[Yeah. When it gets to be the tune that asks to be played, rather than me requesting it, I've really merged with it. Sounds delicious, doesn't it?]
- You're making it sound like food again (laughs).
[I have to keep an out and make sure the good bits don't run away as quick as they came out.]
- If you're pessimistic about that, you'll be paying for it at the recording.
[Yeah. That's why, for example, if we're playing a darker type of song, I'd let myself fall into that sort of feeling. But this time though, when the moment came I said "Ok! Let's put everything into this one!" and so "Boom!" it worked.]
- You were in an idle state.
[Yeah. What I mean is, I think there are a lot of people who are listening to us for the first time, and I want them to want to come to lives, and enjoy it, right? So I gave my all so I could do that. If those people tell me "No, no, you should get all wrapped up in the emotion of it!" I'll say "Sorry, my mistake!" (laughs)]
- There's always going to be someone saying "I wanted to hear ken's angry guitar playing!" or something.
[Yeah. But I can say I put my all into making what we did end up with.]
- I think that perhaps the appropriate name for your approach to this recording was "ken-san unmasked".
[Yeah. You could say that.]
- When a guest comes to your home, you say "Oh, I'm glad you're here! I have good food!" and put your all into cooking something especially delicious for them. But in this case, the guests aren't just fans, your music is also being made for hyde, tetsu, and yukihiro.
[Yeah, that's true, that's how it is for the music. That's how I think about it, anyway. It's not a strange way to play around, is it?]
- For example, rather than being like a stubborn ramen shop owner and saying "This is how our ramen tastes, so eat it!" or "I'm not making something special for you!" and just making what you feel like having, it's better to ask the guests what they want and work on making something that fits their request.
[Yeah. "I'm making me happy!" or something.]
- Isn't that sort of person horrible?
[Aren't they? Makes you sick (laughs).]
- Ye, yeah (laughs). But why are you putting all of yourself into it, now?
[When we came back together to make 'SMILE' and toured it, of course all the members spent a long time together, and so I thought I should give more of myself while things were still fresh.]
- You weren't before?
[It's more like it crept up on me (laughs).]
- Ahahahaha (laughs).
[While it's fresh... like for example, when you're trying to start up a band you think "Ok, let's go find a drummer!" and put your all into it from that point on, right? But I had just said "It's such a pain, trying to find members."]
- Ahahahaha (laughs).
[I even said "We don't have to all be in the same place. It's more fun to just write the songs I play by myself!" or something like that. I was playing randomly "Yay! That was fun!" and just goofing off like an amateur. I performed carelessly, but even though it was lots of fun, it wasn't exactly good playing. That came later.]
- It's taken a long time for you to come so far (laughs).
[It did take a while (laughs). "Ah, so this is the way guitar is meant to be played!". Realizing that wasn't so much me going "Hey, this is pretty good!" but rather just naturally coming to like this way better.]
- What was that like?
["Am I always going to be doing this?" (laughs)]
- Please, keep playing! This latest piece of work is so very, very, good. 'AWAKE' I mean.
[I guess so. But well, I think my feelings change gradually. Like a mischievous spirit (laughs).]
For the tour, I want to show off the true colours of each and every song.
- Naturally, your feelings are going to change once the tour starts. We've only been talking about your thoughts on the recording studio work so far.
[Right.]
- What kind of tour do you think it will be?
[When it comes to lives, well, the word "live" makes me think of putting songs into sets of two or three and then saying "Time to show off!" and playing them that way. Even so, I want to perform while showing off the true colours of each and every song.]
- I thought the 'SMILE tour' had the feel of an omnibus movie that showcased each song individually. Was that what you were trying to do?
[Yeah. The feel of that one was jumping in with both hands and going "This is rock!" "What else could it be?!" (laughs). Well, it goes back to what I said about "I gotta put everything I've got into it" right?]
- You keep saying you want to showcase each song one at a time, but I think you have to keep in mind the overall performance, too.
[Yeah. Without that root, it'll only turn on people who get easily excited, but what can you do about that? (laughs)]
- It's not like a classical concert. You're doing a rock show and so it'll feel that way.
[Right. The audience participates, right? They keep us excited. But that's kind of strange, isn't it?]
- What is?
[I send out my feelings through sound. Now, I can tell what I was thinking, wondering "Will they hear it that way?" and if they do "I'm thrilled."]
- What I felt the most was that "He really completely loves L'Arc". You do love L'Arc, don't you?
[This is embarrassing! (said brightly)]
- Please say it! Say you love L'Arc.
[What kind of interview is this?! "Declare your love!" This is the first time I've been asked to do that (laughs).]
Translated by Natalie Arnold.
Our manager gave us "Five songs each" for a quota!
- You've created a wonderful product. It was truly moving. 'SMILE' honestly pales in comparison.
[But 'SMILE' has a good reputation. I've had people tell me it's the best album yet.]
- Of course, all listeners have their own opinions. But aren't you happy about that?
[I'm not so much happy as surprised. But some people do feel that way. It goes to show that there are all sorts of people in the world. It's like that with clothes, too, right? There are people who buy clothes that I look at and think "Who would buy something this weird?" (laughs)]
- Is 'AWAKE' your response to them?
[I wouldn't call it a response. Our manager said "Five songs each" was our quota this time. So, except for yukkie, we submitted five songs each. I actually had about seven, so in all we had nearly twenty songs, right? At the time, I thought they were all good songs.]
- Wasn't it hard to choose from so many?
[No, it wasn't a problem having so many songs. We had a lot of really great songs, and that was when we realized that.]
- Was the tour for the previous album, 'SMILE', a major factor in writing them?
[Hmm, well, with some analysis, you might find a lot of the songs were influenced by that tour. But I don't think that was all.]
I think we got the band engine warmed up.
- In the past, there was a time when the band accelerated furiously, correct? It had a tangible force, but I wonder if you wanted to step away from it. How far could you let it take you? I wondered.
[Wanted... I think all we needed to do was get the engine warmed up again. 'SMILE' felt like a warm-up, and now that the engine's ready, we can get up to speed again. I thought so even back when we were making 'SMILE', that we wouldn't be back up to full speed until the next album. It all worked out the way I'd hypothesized.]
- Now, you mentioned that you had submitted seven songs, and actually 'Jiyuu e no Shoutai' was made back in the days of 'SMILE' so you only had one new song made. Why weren't more of your songs chosen?
[Just because they weren't chosen doesn't mean they're dead.]
- That sounds rather suspicious.
[I'm unwilling to say more. We already have twelve great songs on the album, so... (laughs). That makes over 120 already, soon we'll break 150. Maybe they'll get used on another album.]
- It wasn't the right time for them?
[That could be it, too.]
- Are you thinking of the next single?
[That, too.]
These songs are like a digest of the past year.
- What is your position with regard to songwriting? Have there been any changes compared to what you did before, or have some elements stayed the same?
[Over the past year, I think I've finally perfected my methods. I took a good look at what exactly I was doing, and I've matured, too.]
- When you were working on 'AWAKE', was there anything you thought you would finally get a chance to express?
[No, there wasn't.]
- You were just glad to get it done?
[No, when the recording was finished, I wasn't thinking "Hurray! We're done!"... it just slipped away from me.]
- I realise that recording isn't a simple task, but was there anything particularly troublesome? Something that got on your nerves, trouble with the location, or perhaps a restriction on how many days you could spend in the studio?
[I don't think there was anything like that. I did a lot of net surfing in the studio, actually (laughs).]
- You had that luxury, but you were still thorough with your work.
[Were we? Well, it took a long time to finish.]
- How long did it take, really?
[About half a year. We started around September.]
- Recording became a part of your daily life?
[Actually, I've kind of forgotten about the recording period. I guess it must have been.]
- So, what do you remember about the recording, now?
[Is there anything? I can't remember anything but the view from the studio. I can remember which studios we went to.]
- Right (laughs). Were you being particular about anything in terms of the sound of your bass playing during the recording?
[Nothing in particular. I've always taken it one step at a time, letting the sound vary from song to song. There's no advantage in carving out one sound and using it for each of the twelve songs. That's why I change the sound between songs, changing which bass I use too. With the bass as the root, the sound of the other instruments changes, too.]
- This time around, which songs were especially fun to play? And which ones were tricky to play?
[Fun ones... On 'Ophelia' and 'AS ONE' we used pre-programmed takes.]
- Eh?
[The main line of 'Ophelia', I kept getting the distortion wrong.]
- It doesn't sound that way intentionally?
[It got distorted. I meant to make the amp sound distorted, but I ended up distorting the line (the direct output from the bass). Normally, I record straight from the line, but the sound kept getting distorted! Distorted by the amp, distorted by the line. But that's how the end result turned out. If we hadn't done that (made use of a pre-programmed take) it wouldn't have sounded the same. Still, even though we had the pre-programmed version, I still played it two or three times. Just to see if I could record it right, I played it once or twice between other songs. But still, I've only played the full song three times, at most.]
I think listening to music is a question of love or hate.
- Ahh~. Hearing about that might change the way people respond to the song. But, changing the subject, I get the impression there was a lot of meaning placed in this album. Was it meant to be included? Or did you try not to do that?
[I think it might be a little bit of both.]
- It just happened?
[Yeah (laughs).]
- Did you consult each other?
[Nope.]
- What's your secret for keeping yourself going? I think self-confidence must be necessary, or else you wouldn't get very far.
[I do have confidence. I don't let other people's opinions affect me much. I don't think the people giving me their opinions know better than I do (laughs) at least not musically. Would you claim to be in a position to tell a pro athlete how to play their sport? It's the same thing, isn't it? I don't really listen, so it doesn't influence me, and I don't get affected.]
- Then, you can get inspiration on your own? For example, by watching movies or listening to music, or by going somewhere.
[...Not really. I never go anywhere (laughs).]
- You should! Or don't you have the time?
[No, it's just that I'm the stay at home type (laughs).]
- I remember you mentioned once that you don't travel.
[It's such a pain (laughs).]
- You said you do net surfing? But not real surfing.
[I don't surf.]
- So what have you taken up for stimulation?
[Nothing at all.]
- Don't you get bored?
[I'm a boring kind of guy.]
- That can't be true, can it?
[Even at home, I just space out. ...I'm really not that interesting.]
- ...That's enough (laughs). As I'd imagined, you're at the age where men are past the phase of constantly obsessing with sex? Though, this album sounds so young it's hard to think of you that way.
[Well, I guess that might be true.]
- Is there anything in particular you'd like your listeners to keep in mind, or to pay special attention to?
[I think listening to music is a matter of love or hate. If you like it, you like it, and if you don't, then you don't. I think we're confident that we've put out a good product.]
Translated by Natalie Arnold
hyde-kun tried really hard this time.
- Once again, a product gifted with the romanticism and drive typical of L'Arc~en~Ciel has reached us. We are presently with the creator of the opening number which drives the album, hoping to discover how he feels about his current situation within the band.
- Last year, L'Arc released an album after some delay, following it up with a tour. Do you have any particular thoughts regarding this new L'Arc?
[No, nothing special, really (laughs). It just felt like meeting up with old friends again, after a long time apart. "It's been a while!"]
- Then, going from that album to this new one was no different from going from the first to the second, or the second to the third?
[That's right.]
- How has the production progressed?
[The same as always. We make new tunes, then do some pre-programming or something.]
- What did you think when you first heard the newly submitted songs?
[Last time, for 'SMILE', hyde-kun had been really busy, so I noticed he was trying extra hard this time (laughs).]
- How was the timing for the creation of this album's overall image?
[I don't really understand that, myself. I don't think about it. Now that it's finished, I still don't understand it. When people ask me what the feel of the album is like, I feel like giving them a CD and saying "Go listen to it." (laughs).]
- You aren't interested in figuring out it's 'Big Picture'?
[Right. I think it's probably better to take the songs one by one. There's no way this is a concept album or anything. Everyone tells me this is an especially varied album, for L'Arc (laughs), so I figure we must've done a good job with it's overall balance. And we didn't even have to work on achieving that balance.]
Instead of thinking of the album's big picture, I'd rather just simply call it cool.
- Is the reason you aren't conscious of the album's big picture because you're so close to it, as one of the creators?
[Nah, we've never started by thinking about what kind of album we want to make or anything like that. We just go ahead and make something that'll be cool.]
- Of course, the music you make always is, yukihiro-san.
[Is it really? When people say things like that to me, I never know what to answer.]
- Then, let me ask about lyrics. yukihiro-san, in the song you wrote, 'New World', what is the meaning of the first line "Koko ni Aru Tashika na REALITY"? (Note : Meaning : "What is here is a certain reality")
[It's about what I, personally, perceive as good. I have my own feelings, my own way of thinking, and that's what makes my own reality. I think each person has their own version of that.]
- Could it also refer to how each of the four members had their own "certain reality" regarding their feelings on this latest album?
[I guess, maybe (laughs).]
- What are your own feelings about it, yukihiro-san?
[I wasn't thinking that hard when I was writing the lyrics (laughs), but since you're asking the question, I think there's one (reality) for any kind of situation. For example, when your reality gets wobbly, or when you fall prey to nervousness, that's what's real during that time. Reality isn't absolute, so I think it's ok not to connect to it especially strongly. Like right now, my reality is that I'm here trying to think of answers to your questions (laughs), well, that's actually true.]
- Yet, for instance in 'New World', before that 'truth', the main sensation is the band's overwhelming positive energy.
[Well, as long as we're talking about these lyrics, I'd like to say more about the 'truth', as we're discussing. Anyway, I think that you shouldn't worry too much about what the true reality is, as long as you're going ahead feeling good. It doesn't matter what's real, what's a dream, or what's fiction; it feels better not to worry about it.]
- This new album does feel like it calls out to those who live in that sort of world, with dreams and fictions.
[For sure, there are moments where I feel L'Arc's sound call out that way. It happens during lives, and also in recordings when we let ourselves go wild. At times like that, I think I feel it more than the others do (laughs), and send out my own feelings.]
Things left "unsaid" help keep up a good nervous tension in the band.
- How is the situation within the band itself? I would think that if all members aren't sharing the same circumstances, you won't be able to make music together.
[That's true. We definitely each have out our own roles, and if I'm feeling a certain way, everyone will also start feeling that way (laughs) as soon as we start talking. But, we don't talk about that sort of thing much.]
- Is L'Arc the type of band where after a really good session, you make sure to tell each other you thought it was good, or the type to just smirk at each other when you don't get anything done, or maybe a mix of both types?
[We do both, but the latter happens more often (laughs).]
- Has it always been that way since you joined the band, yukihiro-san?
[Yeah.]
- You're a shy group of people, aren't you (laughs)?
[Maybe we are...(laughs).]
- You don't feel awkward?
[It's just, some things don't get said. And I think there are some things to be careful about. If I'm in a good mood, but someone else isn't, I won't try to cheer them up, for instance (laughs).]
- Would that delicate balance be a factor in L'Arc being the way it is?
[That's right. I think that sort of feeling helps keep up a good nervous tension within the band.]
- What about the album title?
[As usual, hyde-kun thought of it. Once the sound is done with, I don't care about the rest... Of course, the title of an album should be the strongest word the lyric writer can find to express the album, and with L'Arc, that would be hyde-kun, so he thought that was the most suitable word for describing the contents of this album.]
- But the word 'AWAKE' is in the song 'New World' isn't it?
[Oh, yeah, it is (laughs).]
- Of course, this summer's tour will focus on songs from 'AWAKE'?
[That's right.]
- Including 'Killing Me'?
[That's ok, isn't it? (laughs)]
I'll work hard to make the lives intense.
-(laughs) Have you started practicing again, now that the tour is coming?
[This time, the recording took a long time, and so listening to the songs we recorded first makes me notice how much I've forgotten about them. This time, we didn't cram it all in as much, but that let us put out better quality work.]
- This time, you have shows in Korea and China, too. How was your overseas show last year, in America?
[I was incredibly nervous. I hadn't been that nervous in a long time. But, once the show started, I was fine.]
- How about Korea and China?
[I'm nervous, I guess. But I think it's a different kind of nervousness than at the American show.]
- By the way, for many bands on tour, the day of a live doesn't go well. How does L'Arc usually do on lives?
[We're good, aren't we? I, personally, have bad days too, of course, and sometimes the other three don't seem like themselves. I probably do that too, though. I think last year's tour went great, though.]
- Well, please try to make this year's tour even better.
[Yes, I'll work hard.]
Translated by Natalie Arnold.
yukihiro
1) New World : It has the right feel for an opening track. When I was making the music, I'd already decided to submit it. But it wasn't such a good a pop song until hyde-kun wrote the chorus and transformed it. I think that's why it turned out the way it did (laughs).
2) LOST HEAVEN : Ever since I first heard it, it's been easy to grasp the image of this song. To me, it's a Recchi(Red Hot Chilli Peppers) rhythm. There aren't many Japanese people funky enough to like Recchi though, at least that's what I've seen.
3) Jojoushi : I've been thinking this song might be the best for showcasing L'Arc's true colours. As far as the drumming goes, I thought something like ground beats would work best. It's sort of like groove music.
4) TRUST : The finished version is just as impressive as the initial listen was.
5) Killing Me : I was having trouble doing three linked sets of two claps, so I started suggesting "How would this be instead?" (laughs) Can we change it a little? It didn't change though (laughs).
6) AS ONE : I think hyde-kun probably already said this, but this sounds like a Slipknot song (laughs). This kind of song will be a hit with the younger drummers.
7) My Dear : This is a masterpiece. ken-chan's arrangements particularly shine, don't they? I thought it was going to be a hard rock song at first, but as it got closer to completion it became lighter, and I think it's an incredibly emotional piece.
8) EXISTENCE : My first impression? I wanted to play it again (laughs)
9) Jiyuu e no Shoutai : This song was made back when we were working on SMILE.
10) Ophelia : It's such a hyde-kun-like song.
11) Hoshizora : This is one of hyde-kun's songs too... hyde-kun only had one song on SMILE, so maybe he thought more pressure was on him this time. He brought out a lot of songs this time around. And because of my bugging him (laughs), there's one more. The drums for this one had me a little worried about what I was going to do, at first. The way I break up the song didn't work structurally, because of how this song swells up and builds. The finished product was salvaged by Okano (Hajime)-san's advice.
12) Twinkle Twinkle : I think this song was the only one fit to be the closing track. At first I thought it was going to be a hard rock song, and I was a little worried, but this is L'Arc so of course I had no reason to be (laughs). As for the drumming, ken-chan told me to give it the feel of a Sumapan (Smashing Pumpkins) song.
tetsu
1) New World : The bass line for this song was pretty tough. It keeps me busy. I want something like this for my solo. I wanna cover it. I don't think I'll be forgetting the pattern, for once (laughs).
2) LOST HEAVEN : In this one too, I'm constantly moving. Melodically, it has a bluesy touch to it, but it doesn't drag down the listener.
3) Jojoushi : This is a finger song. I'm not especially good at doing that, but I don't think there's any other way to make it sound right.
4) TRUST : You know how the intro to this song has guitar going kakokako? That's from the demo I played on guitar. Did I even have it tuned properly? I'm still not sure about that (laughs). ken-chan said "This is just fine!"
5) Killing Me : It was hard to get the bass to sound melodious for this up-tempo song. This is what forms the root of the song. I had a hard time getting it to sound melodious for this song, but it still ended up sounding pretty good. I found myself stopping to ask "Does this sound right?" a lot, but I don't remember it being that troublesome, really.
6) AS ONE : My job as bassist wasn't any trouble at all since we decided to pre-program this song. Oh yeah, I thought the lyrics to this song were all English, but then I checked the booklet and went "Oh! It is Japanese!" (laughs). I was surprised.
7) My Dear : It's a good song.
8) EXISTENCE : The guitar intro to this song is magnificent. It's so amazing, I doubt I could reproduce it.
9) Jiyuu e no Shoutai : This actually came from the rehearsals for Shibuya Seven days 2003. I was in the studio with yukkie, and we were supposed to be rehearsing all our old songs, but I felt like writing a new song and so I started jamming on a guitar. That's how this song originally started. yukkie might not remember, though (laughs). To describe it simply, I'd say it's a fast, free-flowing tune.
10) Ophelia : The bass on this one is awesomely cool. I think it's the best bass line on the album. Every two or three times I play it right, I mess up the next performance, but keep going until the end, anyway (laughs). As long as we were using pre-programmed takes, I wasn't correcting the parts I kept messing up on, was I? That changed the sound, and the studio changed it too. So, it's a good thing. Even I can't replay the same thing twice. I don't understand how I pulled it off the first time (laughs)! That atmosphere doesn't come back.
11) Hoshizora : I don't have much to say about this type of song... It wasn't especially tricky to play. Doesn't it kind of feel like L'Arc's old style? And this is '05.
12) twinkle, twinkle : This is a finger song too. Slapping with the fingers. This song is very ken-chan-like... I like it, and I want him to write more songs like this.
ken
1) New World : yukkie said to me "ken-chan, do the chords!" It progressed with yukkie deciding what sounded best, and turned into a really bright song. "Wow! yukkie made a happy song!?" (laughs) But I was happy about it.
2) LOST HEAVEN : A good jamming song for our usual three-piece (guitar, bass, drums).
3) Jojoushi : I've been wanting to hear hyde's voice in this register. I think this is how his voice sounds prettiest, but if I didn't write a song for it, I wouldn't get to hear him sing that way, so I wrote it.
4) TRUST : I've been thinking about the hidden theme in the backing vocals of this song. I thought they were cool when I first heard the song, and now I really like this song.
5) Killing Me : I always feel like going "Yay!" while playing this song, but I hold it in and just keep playing. That's the kind of song it is.
6) AS ONE : When this song was submitted, I wondered "Did you make me a good hard song, hyde?!" and then hyde said "I wrote this because, during the tour, ken-chan said he wanted a hard song to play!" so I'm pretty embarrassed now (laughs).
7) My Dear : This is the tearjerker. For the second half of this song, I worked out the arrangements so that the atmosphere would gradually change, like doing a morphing (for example, an image manipulation where head shots of two people are merged into a new person using computer technology). Still, I don't think that changed the song's outlook.
8) EXISTENCE : This is great for bon-odori too (ken made a comment to this effect in the February 2005 issue's interview concerning the release of Killing Me). I hope I remember to use it by then (laughs). I thought it would be nice to have a song you can run around irresponsibly with, so I wrote this.
9) Jiyuu e no Shoutai : I haven't played this kind of guitar lately, so at least one of my strings goes "pyuu!" at the intro. It's like a fresh start.
10) Ophelia : When hyde was all wrapped up in writing this one, he was focusing on the piano to write the chords. I was glad he wasn't explaining them on guitar, cause that meant I was free to mess around irresponsibly on my acoustic (laughs).
11) Hoshizora : This is a splendid song, is it not? All sorts of different things went into it, so there's a lot of feeling, especially in the chorus. I wanted the guitar solo in the second half to fade out, but it took too long. The key changes are complicated too. At least, they seem that way now (laughs).
12) twinkle, twinkle : Back during the Baltimore show, and during the SMILE tour, I was thinking I'd like to try a song with this kind of tempo, so I wrote it. It's a good song for bon-odori, even kids and old people can use this one.
hyde
1) New World : After being rearranged by yukkie many times, this is the song that finally came out (laughs). But when it was finally done, I thought it was an incredibly catchy song.
2) LOST HEAVEN : It's going to be a movie ending theme (for the movie Fullmetal Alchemist : Shamballa wo iku mono) so I thought I should check it out before I wrote the lyrics. But actually, as I was watching the DVDs, I found myself bonding with it so much that I cried out loud (laughs). I didn't want to simply transfer that anime's world into words, I wanted to let it influence me.
3) Jojoushi : It's a good song, so I wanted to write good lyrics for it. It takes luck to be able to do that, and I think I had just the right amount of luck this time.
4) TRUST : When I wrote these lyrics, I wanted to convey a feeling that even though the world itself doesn't change, life can change and renew itself all over again.
5) Killing Me : I started writing part of this song on a tree trunk. I'm not sure why (laughs). It just started with singing "Killing Me" (laughs). But for the album version I thought different lyrics would suit the feel of the song better (laughs).
6) AS ONE : We all like hardcore, but L'Arc~en~Ciel doesn't have many songs like that. So I thought I'd go all out for this one. Still, the chorus turned out pretty catchy. I think it means I did a good job with the song.
7) My Dear : I wrote this three years ago, and I brought it out again because I didn't think I was going to make my quota (laughs). But with the band's arrangements, it got changed quite a bit. ken-chan in particular did good work with the structure and arrangements. I don't think I have that kind of creativity.
8) EXISTENCE : The moment I heard this song, I got angry, cause it's got a dirty image. I thought about something to write angry lyrics about, so decided to make lyrics about not being able to sleep.
9) Jiyuu e no Shoutai : I took rhyming into consideration when writing this one, so I think I paid a lot of attention to it (laughs).
10) Ophelia : This was another song that filled up my quota (laughs). I wanted to insert a name into the song, and even though it's common, I pulled it out of Hamlet. (Ophelia is one of the principal characters in Shakespeare's play 'Hamlet', she is the tragic love of the main character, Hamlet) Hammering it out during our sessions was the greatest.
11) Hoshizora : I used "explosive" words to make straightforward lyrics, and so I think this song penetrates the soul. I chose fairly strong words.
12) twinkle, twinkle : My job is easy, I just write lyrics for other people (laughs). But this one is incredibly hard to sing. But rather than hate the song, I see it as a fresh challenge.
Translated by Natalie Arnold