燦~san~
Commentary on all songs.
"Murakumo"
The way this begins is truly theatrical and feels Kagrra-like.
Isshi: It's a genuine entrance, isn't it? Originally, it was put in because Akki had said that he wanted to put in a narration.
Akiya: This was one thing I wanted to do for a really long time. I wanted to make a song with Isshi as a narrator, like this. So, that flow finally took form.
Isshi: In the beginning I was thinking 'What will I narrate?' but I tried writing something here for the 5 of us. However, the part that was a challenge was not putting in the printed words (in the booklet). I'm using words that are extremely unintelligible, so it might be difficult to understand while listening, but please listen well.
"Genei no Katachi~San mix~"
Akiya: It's basically the same as the single. We adjusted a little to convert it to balance with the sound of the other songs on the album.
Isshi: We aren't betraying the hopes of the people who waited to buy the album. (laughs)
"Ibitsu"
First of all, judging from the rhythm, this one is a musical composition with a distinct feeling.
Izumi: I did an interesting thing with this song, it's a two-person drum kit! Though the left and right are partially different to play, I think it's a peculiar feature that we didn't really use up until now. But it was difficult to do. (wry smile)
Nao: And more about that, when we put the phrase in the right place, my bass felt like it was putting on airs. (laughs)
Compared with the showiness of the rhythm unit, how did the guitar unit attack?
Shin: Rather, our method was to reduce the overlap of guitars. There are drums to the left and right, and with the bass going wild behind there was no place for them to go. (wry smile) Though we put in just the basic backing guitar, afterward we added in an acoustic guitar.
Akiya: For me, this isn't doing too much. The phrase became the theme, and when entangled with the rhythm the chords we put in come to life.
Isshi: About the lyrics, the theme Akki gave me was "Twins."
Perhaps that is tied to the idea of the twin drums?
Akiya: Well, first of all the twin drums were there at the outset, and eventually we made the connection to 'Twins'.
Isshi: Incidentally, it isn't limited to this song now, but while a certain theme can be a prerequisite, I write each one with the awareness of "Around when did I write like this?" For this song, it was around 4 years ago.
On the contrary, though it's the same theme are you saying that as the "current" Isshi-kun you don't write like this?
Isshi: Mhm, I think so. I think you'll understand well when you read it. For example, in challenging such things as the expression in writing, it's about the kanji that I use, you know?
Yes, now that you mention it.
Isshi: So, in regards to this song being story-like, from the point of 'Twins', it develops that those twins try to kill each other.
In the end there's "Two fates ripped at the seams will be tied together again" so is the result that their quarrel came to peace?
Isshi: It isn't that, is it? Since it's a love/hate drama, I think love and hatred are two sides of the same coin. It's there that the two fates get tangled up.
"Oni wo Awaremu Uta"
Akiya: The original title of this song was actually "Gohatto"*(1). I imagined it after I was watching the TV in the middle of the night and they were talking about a movie with the theme "Strictly Forbidden."
How has the world of lyrics spread out from there, Isshi?
Isshi： When I think about things I said in the past, isn't it the case that Strictly Forbidden = a law, which is a thing arbitrarily made by humans who have power? But even the humans who have that kind of authority have pitiful things about them, don't they? I tried writing about that.
It's something that's not limited to this song, but the way Kagrra, uses chords this time is different than it's been up to now. In this song that's particularly striking, but was it something you did intentionally?
Akiya: Ah, that's intentional. Well, actually that's how I thought of it when I heard that style.
Shin: When we tried it for real, it was difficult to use chords like this. In the intro I used things like crunch and it felt nicely distorted. In the hook it's clean and we added in a little distortion, but it was a pretty difficult song to put a phrase in too.
And was this song tough for the rhythm unit too?
Izumi: How should I say it, this was fresh and nothing else until now has felt like it, you know?
Nao: First of all it was 'What should I do with the sound?' but first of all we made it a mixture (of the highest and lowest sounds) and started from that point. Afterward, we played around with a little improv-ish guitar solo.
Incidentally, what are the details of the title becoming "Oni wo Awaremu Uta" from "Gohatto"?
Isshi: I looked at humans who have political power after they gain control with political power, and thought about that. They become something so pitiful that goes beyond anger, don't they? It's a title that freely revealed that.
The Rolling Stones have a famous song, "Sympathy for the Devil" but it's not related to that?
Isshi: Ah, we know about such a song. Or should I say, that was something we based it on and played around a little bit.
"Satsuki"
This one is a very beautiful musical composition that featured acoustic guitar.
Shin: This was a song that everyone composed.
Akiya: The atmosphere changes back and forth therein, but the result is a sound that feels translucent after we put in the acoustic guitar. That's how it ended up.
Shin: It's surely lovely, but I think it's a sound that doesn't end at just lovely.
Nao: With regards to arranging the rhythm, ahh, it's not just about this song but I noticed that it felt like I was bringing them together. Even just matching them in particular, lately I get a really good feeling from doing that. Wanting to see a certain something. When I think 'I want to do it like this', it's something like the telepathy characteristic of people from Hokkaido. (laughs)
Limited just to the people of Hokkaido?! (laughs)
Izumi: Ahh, but it's a sense that doesn't need words. I feel that it surely increases annually you know? Ahh, for one thing I don't have time to talk about it too much, but I might be able to do those kinds of things diligently now.
Some time ago, Isshi, you said about this album that you were writing the lyrics with a sense of each era of yourself. In this song, what self is projected in the subject matter?
Isshi: This is the "present time" actually. Or should I say, every year I have feelings like this around the time of each rainy season*(2) but I wonder if that's a feeling where my intuition appears.
"Boufura"
This one has a very heavy impression, doesn't it?
Akiya: It surely does, but although it's heavy the vocals aren't like "GYAAH" so we wanted to do something that has our kind of atmosphere, you know? I think this kind of falsetto is done only by Kagrra, so with that kind of thinking the "gyaa" made us strain with all our might.
It's a display in which you made the best use of the special characteristic of a 7-string guitar.
Akiya: Yeah, I use the 7string for the lowest sounds.
Shin: However, it went rather smoothly for me. It was me who composed this itself, but unexpectedly with the two of us the low points were warped in one go, and the sound became crumpled. Listening to it brings out the thickness, it was good to do it like this. I think we were able to make it different from that of foreign artists.
Even the tight feeling of the drums is nice and sharp, isn't it?
Izumi: I was going for powerful.
And the bass, it sounds like you freely made use of the characteristic 5-string?
Nao: I did it with a gloomy feeling, to blend with the guitar. While it feels low, the volume is pretty loud. And it was painful to play. (laughs)
If it's the case of excessive volume, it can vibrate in your lungs and suffocate you. (wry smile)
Nao: The distortion is not what we usually do, so at the same time it really was a bit much. (laughs) But, there was a thrill and it was fun.
Isshi: The lyrics were the most difficult for this song. Shin said, "I want painful lyrics" and with that came great hardship.
The result is the pain that you've described here, Isshi...
Isshi: It's about people who think "I can't go on like this." Ahh, but if I put it simply, it's people with a drug addiction.
Scary lyrics, aren't they? For this one.
Isshi: It's a bad feeling isn't it? Writing it myself, and re-reading it, I felt a little bit nauseous. Using the kanji for "boufura"*(3) themselves feels unpleasant. It's no good at all. It's so bad that you can't escape no matter how much rain falls.
"Omou~San mix~"
Isshi: Ahhh~ I can remember 'it was like that' before last year's rainy season. (wry smile)
"Meguru"
The echo of the koto in this one is beautiful, it's a song overflowing with emotions isn't it?
Shin: From the level of the demo, this image was done pretty much perfectly.
Akiya: We used the koto sound itself before now, and it's been nice.
Izumi: However, for me, this one was pretty difficult. Not just drumming, but the difficulty was comfortably drumming. This was a song where I gained experience.
Nao: I think the bass in this song seems like me somehow.
In the middle, there's a scene kind of like a solo performance isn't there?
Nao: Ah, but that was a story of 'ahh the flow is like that', but it's my characteristic.
With regards to the singing, you used a falsetto abundantly didn't you?
Isshi: Yes. Actually, it's unnatural to say but it was difficult. (laughs)
Shin: Well, in my head I subconsciously expected it would be possible. (laughs)
Isshi: It was like I had to sing to live up to that. As for the lyrics, I'm depicting the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth with a theme of memories.
"Izanai no Jukai"
It's a title that isn't very peaceful, isn't it?
Isshi: These are lyrics I sang with that condition as it is. The original title was 'Komorebi', such that when people go into a forest it would feel like looking up at the sunlight filtering through the trees, but it only feels "Noisy" I think. Young people die easily lately, don't they? Things like mass suicides. I feel that I added it in and expressed it in my own way.
"Himitsu"
This one seems like Nao-kun's new independently-composed work.
Nao: Thanks to these guys, it could be included in the album. (laughs) In the beginning I thought "Can we have something like this? Can we do this as Kagrra,?" While the band members helped me quite a bit, I finally composed my work.
Indeed, it's much like a work composed by a bassist. The bouncing rhythm is a comfortable finish.
Izumi: We did this together in the studio, and it was awfully interesting.
Nao: I wanted to try smelling like an old man. (laughs) So, I wanted to put in the guitar like that. Since I don't play it myself, we threw it out.
Shin: In the beginning, I first thought "Do I play like this?!" and at the same time "How do we make this hold true to Kagrra's sound?"
The tricky and eccentric guitar solo was really good.
Akiya: I did that while imagining Talking Heads*(4) a little bit.
Uwaa, the "method" isn't it! (laughs)
Akiya: Hahaha (laughs)
These lyrics are unusually bewitching... or should I say, the lyrics are unbridled eroticism?
Isshi: When Naoran asked me "What's the theme?" I told him "secret." But, when you listen carefully it doesn't seem to have a deep meaning.
Nao: That's right. Somehow or other, it seems somewhat secret? (laughs)
Isshi: So, it should be foolish if we expand on that more here. But I finally settled on 'The world of "The Tale of Genji"'. It's intimate talk, incidentally. A certain meaning, I've created a literary piece in which I'm devoted to foolishness. (laughs)
"Sarasouju no Komoriuta~San mix~"
Isshi: This one is also approximately the same as the single.
"Arishi hi no Bishou"
Isshi: As for the lyrics, the theme of this one is errors of the past.
But the sound, this is the one song on the album that brings a live scene to mind.
Izumi: Certainly, that's the case. The flow of lives was always the same for this, which means we might have a great duty to bring this song to lives hereafter, I think. Ahh, but I don't know that we didn't try that. But I think it's good that it turned into such a song.
The way this begins is truly theatrical and feels Kagrra-like.
Isshi: It's a genuine entrance, isn't it? Originally, it was put in because Akki had said that he wanted to put in a narration.
Akiya: This was one thing I wanted to do for a really long time. I wanted to make a song with Isshi as a narrator, like this. So, that flow finally took form.
Isshi: In the beginning I was thinking 'What will I narrate?' but I tried writing something here for the 5 of us. However, the part that was a challenge was not putting in the printed words (in the booklet). I'm using words that are extremely unintelligible, so it might be difficult to understand while listening, but please listen well.
"Genei no Katachi~San mix~"
Akiya: It's basically the same as the single. We adjusted a little to convert it to balance with the sound of the other songs on the album.
Isshi: We aren't betraying the hopes of the people who waited to buy the album. (laughs)
"Ibitsu"
First of all, judging from the rhythm, this one is a musical composition with a distinct feeling.
Izumi: I did an interesting thing with this song, it's a two-person drum kit! Though the left and right are partially different to play, I think it's a peculiar feature that we didn't really use up until now. But it was difficult to do. (wry smile)
Nao: And more about that, when we put the phrase in the right place, my bass felt like it was putting on airs. (laughs)
Compared with the showiness of the rhythm unit, how did the guitar unit attack?
Shin: Rather, our method was to reduce the overlap of guitars. There are drums to the left and right, and with the bass going wild behind there was no place for them to go. (wry smile) Though we put in just the basic backing guitar, afterward we added in an acoustic guitar.
Akiya: For me, this isn't doing too much. The phrase became the theme, and when entangled with the rhythm the chords we put in come to life.
Isshi: About the lyrics, the theme Akki gave me was "Twins."
Perhaps that is tied to the idea of the twin drums?
Akiya: Well, first of all the twin drums were there at the outset, and eventually we made the connection to 'Twins'.
Isshi: Incidentally, it isn't limited to this song now, but while a certain theme can be a prerequisite, I write each one with the awareness of "Around when did I write like this?" For this song, it was around 4 years ago.
On the contrary, though it's the same theme are you saying that as the "current" Isshi-kun you don't write like this?
Isshi: Mhm, I think so. I think you'll understand well when you read it. For example, in challenging such things as the expression in writing, it's about the kanji that I use, you know?
Yes, now that you mention it.
Isshi: So, in regards to this song being story-like, from the point of 'Twins', it develops that those twins try to kill each other.
In the end there's "Two fates ripped at the seams will be tied together again" so is the result that their quarrel came to peace?
Isshi: It isn't that, is it? Since it's a love/hate drama, I think love and hatred are two sides of the same coin. It's there that the two fates get tangled up.
"Oni wo Awaremu Uta"
Akiya: The original title of this song was actually "Gohatto"*(1). I imagined it after I was watching the TV in the middle of the night and they were talking about a movie with the theme "Strictly Forbidden."
How has the world of lyrics spread out from there, Isshi?
Isshi： When I think about things I said in the past, isn't it the case that Strictly Forbidden = a law, which is a thing arbitrarily made by humans who have power? But even the humans who have that kind of authority have pitiful things about them, don't they? I tried writing about that.
It's something that's not limited to this song, but the way Kagrra, uses chords this time is different than it's been up to now. In this song that's particularly striking, but was it something you did intentionally?
Akiya: Ah, that's intentional. Well, actually that's how I thought of it when I heard that style.
Shin: When we tried it for real, it was difficult to use chords like this. In the intro I used things like crunch and it felt nicely distorted. In the hook it's clean and we added in a little distortion, but it was a pretty difficult song to put a phrase in too.
And was this song tough for the rhythm unit too?
Izumi: How should I say it, this was fresh and nothing else until now has felt like it, you know?
Nao: First of all it was 'What should I do with the sound?' but first of all we made it a mixture (of the highest and lowest sounds) and started from that point. Afterward, we played around with a little improv-ish guitar solo.
Incidentally, what are the details of the title becoming "Oni wo Awaremu Uta" from "Gohatto"?
Isshi: I looked at humans who have political power after they gain control with political power, and thought about that. They become something so pitiful that goes beyond anger, don't they? It's a title that freely revealed that.
The Rolling Stones have a famous song, "Sympathy for the Devil" but it's not related to that?
Isshi: Ah, we know about such a song. Or should I say, that was something we based it on and played around a little bit.
"Satsuki"
This one is a very beautiful musical composition that featured acoustic guitar.
Shin: This was a song that everyone composed.
Akiya: The atmosphere changes back and forth therein, but the result is a sound that feels translucent after we put in the acoustic guitar. That's how it ended up.
Shin: It's surely lovely, but I think it's a sound that doesn't end at just lovely.
Nao: With regards to arranging the rhythm, ahh, it's not just about this song but I noticed that it felt like I was bringing them together. Even just matching them in particular, lately I get a really good feeling from doing that. Wanting to see a certain something. When I think 'I want to do it like this', it's something like the telepathy characteristic of people from Hokkaido. (laughs)
Limited just to the people of Hokkaido?! (laughs)
Izumi: Ahh, but it's a sense that doesn't need words. I feel that it surely increases annually you know? Ahh, for one thing I don't have time to talk about it too much, but I might be able to do those kinds of things diligently now.
Some time ago, Isshi, you said about this album that you were writing the lyrics with a sense of each era of yourself. In this song, what self is projected in the subject matter?
Isshi: This is the "present time" actually. Or should I say, every year I have feelings like this around the time of each rainy season*(2) but I wonder if that's a feeling where my intuition appears.
"Boufura"
This one has a very heavy impression, doesn't it?
Akiya: It surely does, but although it's heavy the vocals aren't like "GYAAH" so we wanted to do something that has our kind of atmosphere, you know? I think this kind of falsetto is done only by Kagrra, so with that kind of thinking the "gyaa" made us strain with all our might.
It's a display in which you made the best use of the special characteristic of a 7-string guitar.
Akiya: Yeah, I use the 7string for the lowest sounds.
Shin: However, it went rather smoothly for me. It was me who composed this itself, but unexpectedly with the two of us the low points were warped in one go, and the sound became crumpled. Listening to it brings out the thickness, it was good to do it like this. I think we were able to make it different from that of foreign artists.
Even the tight feeling of the drums is nice and sharp, isn't it?
Izumi: I was going for powerful.
And the bass, it sounds like you freely made use of the characteristic 5-string?
Nao: I did it with a gloomy feeling, to blend with the guitar. While it feels low, the volume is pretty loud. And it was painful to play. (laughs)
If it's the case of excessive volume, it can vibrate in your lungs and suffocate you. (wry smile)
Nao: The distortion is not what we usually do, so at the same time it really was a bit much. (laughs) But, there was a thrill and it was fun.
Isshi: The lyrics were the most difficult for this song. Shin said, "I want painful lyrics" and with that came great hardship.
The result is the pain that you've described here, Isshi...
Isshi: It's about people who think "I can't go on like this." Ahh, but if I put it simply, it's people with a drug addiction.
Scary lyrics, aren't they? For this one.
Isshi: It's a bad feeling isn't it? Writing it myself, and re-reading it, I felt a little bit nauseous. Using the kanji for "boufura"*(3) themselves feels unpleasant. It's no good at all. It's so bad that you can't escape no matter how much rain falls.
"Omou~San mix~"
Isshi: Ahhh~ I can remember 'it was like that' before last year's rainy season. (wry smile)
"Meguru"
The echo of the koto in this one is beautiful, it's a song overflowing with emotions isn't it?
Shin: From the level of the demo, this image was done pretty much perfectly.
Akiya: We used the koto sound itself before now, and it's been nice.
Izumi: However, for me, this one was pretty difficult. Not just drumming, but the difficulty was comfortably drumming. This was a song where I gained experience.
Nao: I think the bass in this song seems like me somehow.
In the middle, there's a scene kind of like a solo performance isn't there?
Nao: Ah, but that was a story of 'ahh the flow is like that', but it's my characteristic.
With regards to the singing, you used a falsetto abundantly didn't you?
Isshi: Yes. Actually, it's unnatural to say but it was difficult. (laughs)
Shin: Well, in my head I subconsciously expected it would be possible. (laughs)
Isshi: It was like I had to sing to live up to that. As for the lyrics, I'm depicting the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth with a theme of memories.
"Izanai no Jukai"
It's a title that isn't very peaceful, isn't it?
Isshi: These are lyrics I sang with that condition as it is. The original title was 'Komorebi', such that when people go into a forest it would feel like looking up at the sunlight filtering through the trees, but it only feels "Noisy" I think. Young people die easily lately, don't they? Things like mass suicides. I feel that I added it in and expressed it in my own way.
"Himitsu"
This one seems like Nao-kun's new independently-composed work.
Nao: Thanks to these guys, it could be included in the album. (laughs) In the beginning I thought "Can we have something like this? Can we do this as Kagrra,?" While the band members helped me quite a bit, I finally composed my work.
Indeed, it's much like a work composed by a bassist. The bouncing rhythm is a comfortable finish.
Izumi: We did this together in the studio, and it was awfully interesting.
Nao: I wanted to try smelling like an old man. (laughs) So, I wanted to put in the guitar like that. Since I don't play it myself, we threw it out.
Shin: In the beginning, I first thought "Do I play like this?!" and at the same time "How do we make this hold true to Kagrra's sound?"
The tricky and eccentric guitar solo was really good.
Akiya: I did that while imagining Talking Heads*(4) a little bit.
Uwaa, the "method" isn't it! (laughs)
Akiya: Hahaha (laughs)
These lyrics are unusually bewitching... or should I say, the lyrics are unbridled eroticism?
Isshi: When Naoran asked me "What's the theme?" I told him "secret." But, when you listen carefully it doesn't seem to have a deep meaning.
Nao: That's right. Somehow or other, it seems somewhat secret? (laughs)
Isshi: So, it should be foolish if we expand on that more here. But I finally settled on 'The world of "The Tale of Genji"'. It's intimate talk, incidentally. A certain meaning, I've created a literary piece in which I'm devoted to foolishness. (laughs)
"Sarasouju no Komoriuta~San mix~"
Isshi: This one is also approximately the same as the single.
"Arishi hi no Bishou"
Isshi: As for the lyrics, the theme of this one is errors of the past.
But the sound, this is the one song on the album that brings a live scene to mind.
Izumi: Certainly, that's the case. The flow of lives was always the same for this, which means we might have a great duty to bring this song to lives hereafter, I think. Ahh, but I don't know that we didn't try that. But I think it's good that it turned into such a song.
Notes:
1 - "Gohatto" = 御法度 (Strictly Forbidden)
2 - There was a note here that the interview was collected on a certain day in June (2005). Since this is nearly a decade later I decided to just put the note at the end because the timing isn't so relevant.
3 - "Boufura" = 孑孒, they both pretty obscure kanji that refer to mosquito larvae/maggots.
4 - Talking Heads were an American rock band.
1 - "Gohatto" = 御法度 (Strictly Forbidden)
2 - There was a note here that the interview was collected on a certain day in June (2005). Since this is nearly a decade later I decided to just put the note at the end because the timing isn't so relevant.
3 - "Boufura" = 孑孒, they both pretty obscure kanji that refer to mosquito larvae/maggots.
4 - Talking Heads were an American rock band.