hyde INTERVIEW
Q: You wrote the lyrics and composed “X X X” – what sort of image did you want to create?
hyde: Originally I thought of the melody of the first 2 phrases of the song and saved it on my iPhone. I think it was the end of last year, we were about to have a happyoukai (note: the regular sessions the boys have where they bring songs they have composed and discuss which one to make their new single etc) so I guess I was in the frame of mind to compose, so I just came up with the tune. And when the time came to make the demo, I started thinking about what to do with the melody. Usually I would have gone straight to adding the guitar, but this time I programmed the melody on a keyboard and added the chords with a synthesiser from the beginning.
Q: You’ve used this sort of method before?
hyde: Almost never. This time I was trying to think more abstractly – for a not so ‘rock’ sound – for example, I thought, “what if Destiny’s child was made more “rock””? How would that be mixed? If I had started with the guitar as usual it wouldn’t be different to any of our previous songs. But on the other hand I wanted to add riffs and elements of rock somewhere in the track. In a way it’s like an antithesis of rock as we know it… recently I often think that pop and R&B tracks are more heavy rock than what’s classified as rock nowadays, and therefore I wanted to mix them up and create something which is both rock and pop at the same time. I wanted to see the extent to what L’Arc~en~ciel can do as a band, and how I could produce this. There are many sides to L’Arc, the lively side, a more feminine side, a mature side. I wanted to aim for retaining all these tastes of L’Arc and at the same time express what rock means to me.
Q: And that became the new single.
hyde: Yes. The staff were all going for another song, but the members all wanted to pick this as the next single. I thought it should be too (laughter/l), but I was happy to hear that the members chose it – I was like ”Ah, as I expected, you all have good judgement!”.
Q: The recording went smoothly?
hyde: for everyone apart from me it was speedy. I had put so much effort into perfecting the demo that it was hard to better it. Usually, the addition of lyrics can really change the feel of a track. So I tried hard to achieve my ideal track without changing the feel of the song… so I sang it many times. It was all very difficult and I put a lot of thought into it, like how to keep the lyrics catchy whilst thinking about the sound of the words. At one point, after the recording I thought “No, there’s not enough harmony!” so we re-recorded it, just for that (l). I kept on comparing it to the demo, which made recording the vocals all the more difficult – but that wasn’t the end of it.
Q: Really? What happened?
hyde: Whilst I was mixing the track in a different studio I asked to record the chorus again (l). I was sort of satisfied with the mixing at one point… but because at that point it was so late at night, I didn’t want to make my final decision just yet. Then later I came back to it and decided that I wasn’t that satisfied after all, so I kept on thinking “what can I do to make it better” whilst on the other hand trying to convince myself it was fine. But then it turned out that we had to re-master it because of a separate problem, so I was like “I’m sorry, but since we’re at it, could we re-do the mixing again aswell???” (l).
Q: Isn’t re-doing the mix down quite a rare thing to do?
hyde: yeah, and we re-did it really carefully aswell! It was really tough. I kept on wondering “How should I do this?” but ken-chan discussed stuff a lot with me, and yukki- advised me on things like “you shouldn’t take out the beats on this bit” etc. I didn’t think the track would benefit from a “live” sound, so that was what I tried to avoid the most. Te-cchan gave me ideas throughout, and indeed te-cchan was the one that said that he like the song first. So it’s a track that was created by a lot of discussion from the whole of L’Arc.
Q: The title was going to be “X X X” from the beginning?
hyde: Roughly. I’d already thought about using the word “kiss” at the demo stage. Although I thought “wait, we do have an album called kiss”… but I liked the rhythm of the name too, so I called it that.
Q: you like the word “kiss” don’t you.
hyde: I just like kissing (l).
Q: this may be reading a little too far into it, but you also had the logo “X X” on the jacket of TWENITY. This single is going to be in the next album after “KISS”, so we thought you’d called it “X X X” as a next step from your 20th anniversary?
hyde: I did think of that too. It signifies our start towards our 30th anniversary too. It Seems a bit far-fetched but that was what we were thinking of. But personally, it wasn’t really about the future, but more about how to make the ‘current L’Arc~en~ciel’ as attractive as possible. Our singles tend to be the more happy tracks, so I wanted to pose a challenge with a different angle. Even if it hadn’t been chosen as a single but instead as an album track, I wanted it to show the strengths of the ‘current L’Arc~en~ciel’ and I was looking for something that would fill in what was missing from our next album. I don’t necessarily think every fan of L’Arc wants a happy speedy tune, and I know that many fans like our darker sounds, so that was what I wanted to express.
Q: About the coupling, ‘I’m so happy –L’Acoustic version-‘. For your first attempt of the acoustic arrange you chose this song – was it because it means a lot to you personally?
hyde: that may be true. The line ‘I love you’ was a little embarrassing back then, but I think it totally matched the song. But it’s difficult to choose it to play in our lives because it has to compete with many other popular songs – especially since it’s only a coupling. Because of this we thought we should make a different version of it so that it would be easier to play.
Q: And you changed some of the original lyrics?
hyde: I wanted to sing it with a slightly different melody. With plenty of fakes. But when a song already had decided lyrics and it’s been sung many times, it becomes harder to create new melody lines or improvise with. So I decided to get rid of the lyrics completely and start with singing it with ‘lalala’s. Once I had the melody line by singing it freely, I brought the lyrics back, but there were certain bits that just didn’t fit. So I thought I’d change it, with a more current interpretation. Back then there were things I couldn’t express just because didn’t have the skills to, or because I was shy about it. So many years on, I wanted to see what would happen if I tried to express it as my current self. I think it also makes clearer the parts which were unclear to me back then.
Q: The 2 tracks included in this new single directly express what the creators intended. Isn’t it rare that you have tracks where it so openly expresses your musical intents?
hyde: I think it’s also because I produced it myself as well as composing and writing it. I really wanted to make a ‘good’single… including the coupling, where I didn’t want to do something we’re used to, but something which has a strong foundation and has had time put into it. I didn’t purposefully think about it that way, but it sort of came about like that. Well, maybe once in 20 years something like this may happen (l).
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ken INTERVIEW
Q: What were your impressions when you first heard the demo of ‘X X X’?
ken: The moment I first heard it I genuinely thought ‘Ah, this is a good song!’.
Q: I think it’s a song that’s different from your public image of doing speedy tunes.
ken: at the point of the demo, the chorus work sounded very effective, so I thought ‘wow, you’ve done something interesting here!’. I liked it from the beginning, especially as the melody is melancholic, which is something I like. I think what’s important about a song is if you feel an element of surprise (Note: this can be translated as ‘if it makes your heart skip a beat’), although this surprise can be in different ways. People react in different ways to music, so I think it’s natural for individuals to feel something different emotionally from a song. When I heard the demo for this song my heart skipped a beat. I was looking forward to its completion as soon as I’d heard it.
Q: Your guitar solo at the end is very effective.
ken: yeah. Hyde had already put in a guitar solo himself at the demo stage. I really liked it, so I thought ‘we can use this as it is!’
Q: Haha. What happened at the actual recording?
ken: hyde’s take was so good that I didn’t think I could give anything better, so I suggested that we use hyde’s version as it is. But then hyde said ‘well play it anyway’, so I tried. Then it was used (l).
Q: Well obviously it was used!
ken: No but because hyde’s version was so good, I really didn’t want it to go to waste. It was a sort of howling sound, I really wish everyone could hear it! So I decided to leave the phrase as it is, and I played my version of the ‘howling’ because I didn’t want to lose hyde’s effect. In the end it’s like we both somehow managed to howl, just as different breeds of dog!
Q: You also played the acoustic guitar, which I think increases the beauty of the track.
ken: I think the heavy electric guitar signifies a modern day sound, but the acoustic guitar doesn’t restrict the sound to a certain age. So I think one can appreciate this difference. We considered adding the acoustic guitar to other parts of the track, but this is how it ended up. It’s an enjoyable process to think of these things.
Q: That’s the sort of process that makes it fun to be a band right?
ken: yeah. And it’s only during the process everyone speaks so freely and truthfully. It may be a flattering ‘that’s really good’ or a rather direct ‘Nah that wouldn’t work’.
Q: You’ve done this for all your previous tracks?
ken: I don’t know… it depends on the track and it depends on the phase we were going through. But generally speaking it starts off with a demo, and the members all discuss it and decide how to go about it. I think this song went well especially since we recorded it after our “20th L’Anniversary Live”, when I strongly felt ‘we really are playing!’ and “It feels good to play as L’Arc~en~ciel”.
Q: When we interviewed you after that live you said ‘We managed to last 20 years because we love L’Arc~en~ciel’. Do you think the recording was so enjoyable because you re-realised this fact?
ken: yes. The memorable and big event made us more truthful and honest to ourselves. So the recording went very smoothly.
Q: What do you think of ‘X X X’ now that it’s finished?
ken: we’re playing this song a lot at the moment coz we’re rehearsing for the “20th L’Anniversary TOUR”. The contrast between the melancholy and hard parts of the song really emphasises the fact that we’re playing live, so again, I think the song really makes my heart race.
Q: So this single really shows a new side of L’Arc~en~ciel, including both the track and the jacket?
ken: yes. And this time we’ve included a ‘L’Acoustic’ version of an older track.
Q: what do you think including an acoustic arranged song as a coupling?
ken: I think it’s show’s a completely different world from “X X X”. It was an opportunity to show the ‘carefully created’ side of us as well as the more ‘honest, simple’ side. I hope you can feel a new side of L’Arc..
Q: It was interesting that the “I'm so happy -L'Acoustic version-“ was very different from the original track.
ken: When I heard the way hyde sung this version, I realised that this may have been the way he wanted to express the song. I think the original track had a more playful image. It was refreshing to see that he had wanted to convey his message in this way.
Q: By the time this interview is released, the tour will have started. What sort of tour do you think it will be?
ken: Because the “20th L’Anniversary LIVE” went so well, I’m very excited. With all that rain at the Ajinomoto stadium we didn’t know how it was going to turn out, but I think we, together with everyone that came, created a good atmosphere. This time it’s a tour that will go on til the end of the year, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out.
Q: Lives are full of surprises?
ken: I felt that especially at the “20th L’Anniversary LIVE”. We really felt that everyone who came enjoyed it a lot, so it made us really feel that a live is something we create together. It felt like after 20 years, we were enjoying it together even more.
Q: We’d also like to ask you about how you spent your summer. Was there anything else you wanted to do apart from playing the guitar?
ken: apart from the guitar!? Erm... going to the seaside? I wanted to go to the seaside this year. It was because I used to go to the seaside a lot, but then thinking back, what did I actually do there?? Like, how many hours did I spend swimming??? I was thinking about these things and then I really wanted to go. Not that I actually managed to go (l).
Q: So you didn’t actually go to the seaside (l).
ken: indeed... erm...wait, I’ll try and think of something. Ah! I did grow some morning glories (Note: the flowers! Not the other thing lol). I made an eco-curtain (Note: growing plants outside the window to create a shade so that the room doesn’t get too hot. Is this just a Japanese thing??). I planted some cucumbers, aubergines, morning glories and tomatoes.
Q: Did you do read gardening books and stuff?
ken: no, I followed my instincts! So my intention was to grow a curtain, but aubergines don’t climb, so they don’t form curtains, the morning glories didn’t bloom, the cucumbers didn’t grow (l). But when I was tweeting the situation on Twitter, some fans told me that their morning glories had bloomed in the autumn, so my morning glories still have potential! I hope they bloom!
Glory leszűrte a lényeget:
1. Lesz új album!
2. Hiába mondták a cégnél, hogy ne ez legyen a következő single, ha Hyde és a többiek valamit a fejükbe vesznek...
3. Ken uborkája nem nőtt meg!
Hehe, Hajnalka, mi?...abban van potenciál, hát igen...Ken tudja a tutit!
na, megint lehet gyártani a különböző fanfictionokat, kikerült az új promóciós anyaga a kislemeznek...
"Scandal" Laruku módra Tényleg ez kell egy Laruku kislemez eladásának növeléséhez?
(milyen kár, hogy nincs három szeme a smileynak, mehetne a kampányba)
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De a fődalt várom majd jobb minőségben, az bejövős! 
( Pedig a b-side-os cuccaikat mennyire szerettem.)
