Die and Toshiya member talk at SENDAI GIGS 13th March 2021 Bits I
Notes from user tciddahtebasile at twitter.
- Question:Please add a push camera! (multi-angle)
Die: At this live ( Meguro Rock-May-Kan )even Shinya’s camera couldn’t move, so having multi-angle option/push camera is a bit out of reach. He got very angry.
Fujieda: Shinya? (laughs)
Die: Yes, there wasn’t drum stand either so it was like “This live screening is cancelledーーー！！！
Fujieda: When he gets mad, he starts speaking in Kansai-ben (laughs)
Die: He doesn´t like Kansai-ben, like he usually tries to not talk in it. He is the only one from Osaka, though. Do you think Kansai-dialect is the same everywhere in Kansai? It depends on the localization.
Fujieda: I’m from Tokyo, so I don’t know the differences…
Die: Kaoru’s and Kyo’s are a bit different. Kyoto-ben is really beautiful. Hyogo-ben is the most vulgar one.
Die: Did you start using Kansai-ben because of us?
Fujieda: As I’m using polite language here, it’s ok but when I was in a band as they were from Kansai, I really started using it! You didn’t, right Toshiya?
Toshiya: It’s stubbornness/pride.
Fujieda: Even if you are stubborn, you are trying not to use it….
Die and Toshiya member talk at SENDAI GIGS 13th March 2021 Bits II
Notes from user memomomemo3886 at twitter.
-About meeting the members for the first time
Die:* Thinking hard* The first one I met was Kaoru. He was in another band. We both were playing in different bands. He was good at that time. Like, at some point he was setting up the equipment and he was doing it well. The next one….would be Shinya? He was at another band but I didn’t know about his existence at that time.
Fujieda: You didn’t know?
Die: I didn’t. The drums. If you play in another band, everyone will get along with you….Kyo….was it at a toilet?
[part 1/4] DIR EN GREY WOWOW Interview & Document (2020)
“Of course, I have to face the other four members. I'm carrying their lives and my life is being carried by them as well. I did it with that determination.” — Kaoru
Notes before reading:
The whole interview is divided into 8 topics, and the translation is divided into 4 parts. This is the first part, which includes the previous 2 topics. The details of all topics and time markers are 👉 here.
I have added Chinese subtitles for this video in 2021. The whole interview was very meaningful, and I hope that with the English translation, more people can understand what they're talking about.
The five members were interviewed separately and then edited into a video, so the words spoken by each of them are not necessarily coherent.
Repost and share are welcome.🙌 I translated it all by my ears, so please feel free to correct me if you spot any mistake or any confusing parts.☺️
--- --- ---
01. Band Formation ~ Debut
►The Formation of DIR EN GREY
Shinya: All four of us were in the same band except for Toshiya on bass. Then the band broke up and we had to find a new member again.
Kyo: Each of us all wanted to be in a band. So after discussion, we decided to get rid of one person and get the four of us together.
(*Note: After La:Sadie's disbanded, the four of them decided to form a new band in addition to KISAKI.)
Die: We were friends with Toshiya at that time, so we thought about finding all the members and forming a band with him.
Toshiya: At that time, their band was gaining momentum. I would like to play with the four of them if it's possible and I happened to be invited. That's what happened.
►Origin of the Band Name
Kaoru: At that time, there was a band that communicated with us very closely. The band had a song called DIR EN GREY*, and that's where our band got its name. I always thought it was a good name, so I suggested it as the name of our band.
(*Note: It refers to a song called "Dir en Gray" by the band "LAREINE" (with Kamijo as vocalist), which was formed in 1994.)
Kyo: There were two alternative names at that time, the other one was proposed by me, but the final vote was 3:2 so I lost. (laughs) After I lost, the band name became DIR EN GREY.
(*Note: Another name is "如月" (きさらぎ, kisaragi ) → Dir en grey turns 25 today! )
►Looking Back at the time of Debut
Shinya: The three debut singles were produced by YOSHIKI-san. He also played the piano for our song after debut, I had no regrets at that time even if I died, that's how I felt.
Kaoru: At that time, we had only recorded once or twice in a decent studio, and we had also recorded in places like homes. YOSHIKI-san took us straight to a professional recording studio and said, "Let's make the debut single!" without giving us time to think.
. . .
02. Expression
►Awareness in the Creative Process
Die: After all, the band has been around for more than 20 years, therefore, we have to create something more exciting. It's not that I have to do anything, but I try to experiment with all kinds of things. So there are times when we can't be categorized as anything but DIR EN GREY.
Shinya: While it is changing over time, now I just want to make songs that I feel good about.
Toshiya: Every recording has to add the sound that you think is good, and you must like the songs you create, or you must love them.
Kaoru: The overall sense of balance and the feeling that the listener will have, and of course there are many other things. I would listen to the song several times to feel it, and repeat it over and over again. I can remember it by listening to it over and over again. After listening to it a few times, I will pay attention to interesting pieces, new discoveries, and so on, while I'm composing.
Kyo: Most people have a fixed style after 20 years, like "This is the way this person is," but I'm not like that. Of course it's cool to stick to your own unique style, although I can do that and feel like I can keep myself.
Kyo: I don't like to make people think that "This is how I am in the end" or something like that, it's not my style. I want to show the changes in each moment directly. When I can't express the music naturally, I may stop, and when I can't create freely, I will stop.
►Things want to Convey through Music
Toshiya: What I/we want to convey is simply "pain (痛み)". Living is a hard thing, and being able to create that power of anger, I think that's our music.
Kyo: I am very bad at expressing beautiful things, or is that not for me? It's... it's irritating. Maybe it's because I often feel that there is nothing good in the world, and I don't like things that look like fabrications.
Shinya: Those are supposed to be in the lyrics, and I don't particularly want to express the pain with the drums.
🤣🤣
Kaoru: I think that varies from person to person, and there is no right answer. For me, I also have a part of myself that I want to convey, so maybe I'm thinking about that while I'm creating. If I were to say that we all share the same idea, it would be that we can express what we think without hiding it.
Die: Being able to feel pain means you are alive, and hope is born from that. The first thing I/we want to convey is "to be alive".
(*Screen caption: Feeling pain = Being alive)
►The Motivation for Expression
Kyo: If there is something that I want to convey which will be the motivation, I am not. I'm just living.
Toshiya: It should be the anger and sadness in life, just the two. If I can express both, I feel I can be saved.
Shinya: There will be people who come to see the LIVE, and those fans are my motivation.
Kaoru: I think it's because I don't want to admit defeat. I don't want to admit defeat, it should be more like I don't like to admit defeat. I am a weak person, I will want to run away when things happen, and will want to give up when I can't do it. But on this point I still do not want to give in to defeat, I want to do it well.
Kaoru: Of course, I have to face the other four members. I'm carrying their lives and my life is being carried by them as well. I did it with that determination.
(*Oh, leader sama😳)
Die: I think it's LIVE. LIVE is the most direct place to convey ideas and resonate with people. I am moving forward with LIVE as my goal.
“He didn’t like to stand out. However, his legs made him look fast so he would get chosen for the class competition relay. But as he didn’t want to draw any attention, he would purposely take a longer time running in P.E. class.“
“It felt like ‘Let’s go as far as we can go’. Maybe this was the biggest chance we would ever get. That was the kind of things I talked with the members. At that moment, we prepared ourselves for the worst.”
“He didn’t like to stand out. However, his legs made him look fast so he would get chosen for the class competition relay. But as he didn’t want to draw any attention, he would purposely take a longer time running in P.E. class. “
“I don’t think music can save the world; everything will remain the same. I can’t answer properly when I’m asked why I think like this, but I can’t help it, because that’s how I think.”
Q: What have you heard about the time you were born?
Kaoru: I was told I was mistaken for a girl a lot. When I was born, my father was a man of certain age for having children so it seems I was really loved. My father was a common company employee. Even if we weren’t particularly wealthy, when I look to the pictures of those times, every time we were wearing different clothes in them.
Q: What about the name ‘Kaoru’?
Kaoru: I had a relative whose name was ‘Kaoru" who was a scholar. It seems like my parents wanted me to be as smart as this person and graduate from an first-class university and become an elite person. It didn’t turn out like that at all (laughs)
Q:It is an unusual name for boys, right?
Kaoru: Thats why I hated elementary school. I was told a lot “that’s a girls name～”. At that time there was a CM for green tea that said “Kaori chan”, they would sing that CM song at me saying “Kaoru chan♪”.
