To those who get swept away by their surroundings and can’t hold themselves together
To those who can’t read/understand “change” as “progress”
It’s okay to go around in circles in the same place
Isn’t it stupid
3:19
あぁ、意味もなく嘆いてる奴らと同じになんてされたくない
Ah, I don’t want to be treated like those meaningless, grieving people
You all say together
“It’s not intense” “It’s different from how it was before” I could care less, that’s so stupid
We’re the ones that aren’t taking it anymore^
----------
^They are basically saying, we’ve had enough of your shit talking; we’ve decided that WE’RE not going to take it anymore; Like I said in my tweet, yeah you’re CANCELLED lol
*The lyrics are pretty direct, not many metaphors. Therefore, I’m understanding this song to be DIMLIM’s response to all the people that are complaining about the band’s change in their musical direction, etc. It also seems like a song for people who can relate to not being appreciated for who they truly are, being ridiculed for doing something different. I think Sho’s vocals really reflect the messages in the lyrics; I can hear the yearning, the band’s will to REALLY show what they are capable of instead of being bogged down by all the buzz surrounding their changes.
Hearing this song while consciously listening to the lyrics makes me want to support DIMLIM even more as a band; they are SO underrated, and I applaud/respect them for being experimental with their music. IMHO it’s better than being static. Who wants to drink stagnant water? I don’t like my bread stale, do you? LOL, I’m sorry for the far reaching metaphors but yeah, as long as it’s good, I appreciate variety as much as I like a band’s “older” music. Anyways, there you have it! I hope y’all enjoy the translations~
Mamireta's Shuujitsu Owari is such a relatable song, and I was surprised to find that no one had translated it to English yet. so i'm posting it now lol; idk if y'all would read/enjoy it but if you do, at least i made someone happy
*YOU CAN SHARE/LIKE, BUT PLEASE DO NOT REPOST TEXT ELSEWHERE WITHOUT PERMISSION. I HONESTLY DIDN’T HAVE TO, BUT I WORKED REALLY HARD ON THIS TRANSLATION FOR AN UNNECESSARILY LONG TIME. IF YOU WANT TO TRANSLATE THIS TO ANOTHER LANGUAGE, PLEASE CREDIT ME AS THE SOURCE OR JUST ASK ME; DESPITE THE CAPS, I DON’T BITE lol*
On August 17, 2019, DIMLIM held 『CHEDOARA』, their greatest one-man live to date, at SHIBUYA TSUTAYA O-WEST. The live was named after their album 『CHEDOARA』, which was released last August 2018; the live itself was announced later that same year in December. With 『CHEDOARA』 set as the base, the setlist was determined from the previously released 『Rijin』, as well as the *『Kidoairaku』 (Human Emotions) single that was exclusively released at the venue the day of. Through the live, the band expressed the culmination of “human emotions” they carried on their backs through their journey in the past year. The day also marked the conclusion of DIMLIM’s second chapter in the band’s history, as members Ryuuya (Gt) and Taishi (Ba) officially withdrew from the band on the same day.
And on Friday, September 20, 2019, Sho (Vo), Retsu (Gt), and Hiroshi (Dr) will hold their one-man live 『Sonzai Shoumei』 (Proof of Existence) as a newly reformed band of three. They also announced the release of a 2nd album following 『CHEDOARA』 at the end of this year in December. DIMLIM is starting to move forward, as the band plunges into the third chapter of its career.
This time, without taking any stops, DIMLIM has continuously progressed forward with their band activities. I asked them about their journey for the past year, the 『CHEDOARA』 live, the thoughts and emotions that were put into their work 『Kidoairaku』, and the new step they are taking into the band’s third chapter through various band activities.
(*Kidoairaku means “human emotions”. The 『喜怒哀楽』kanji literally translates to “joy, anger, pathos, humor”. Just keep the concept in mind because the band mentions the expression quite often)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In regards to 『CHEDOARA』, DIMLIM’s greatest one man live (to date), the other day, great job! That was very much appreciated. I was able to see the live, and I think it demonstrated how the band’s vision has been more deeply polished and refined since the announcement from last December and within the past 8 months. From the announcement up until this point now, did the band as a whole have a change of heart/mind?
Sho: Since various things have happened, such as member withdrawals, rather than a change of heart/mind, more of our circumstances have changed. As expected, we experienced some ups and downs in our mood. However, I think that we still moved on without falling apart as we took each step forward.
Hiroshi: I definitely don’t want anyone to perceive that as a minus/disadvantage.
Retsu: There was nothing but a change of heart/mind. But definitely not in a bad way. Right now, with the 3 of us, our artist picture shows us almost in our bare minimum*, but we had various thoughts before we reached that stage.
(*In comparison to before appearance wise, considering they are in the visual kei scene)
So you’re saying?
Retsu: Well, since the release of 『CHEDOARA』 up until now… this isn’t the band’s outlook from here on out, but it made me think that it was a good phase in the band’s career. In addition to that, I think our band has evolved. We had a tour, even participated in the Metal Square event, and experienced all sorts of incidents and troubles. As a result, I think it’s most fitting to say that our perspectives have broadened.
Along with your minds, I think the acoustic and lighting conditions for the August 17 live elevated the band’s status by illuminating how much the band had polished itself. Who was put in charge that day?
Retsu: The lighting was done by a person named “Mori”-san. He is close to us in age and also really close with the band. If we told him beforehand the key points, the atmosphere, and the images we had in mind, we would have a light discussion afterwards. Rather than telling him “please do this in this certain way”, we entrusted the task to him because we know that he puts a lot of thought into his work and ideas.
The sounds/acoustics were done by *白土-san (SHIBUYA CYCLONE PA). When we performed at CYCLONE, we noticed that the acoustics surpassed that of other livehouses, so we were surprised. From then on, we invited him to work on the acoustics for our tour and the like. Even for the August 17 live, we thought that it was impossible to have anyone else other than 白土-san, so we requested him to work with us. We feel like he really understands us. Other than what we know and want, he also takes other factors into account and really looks after us in terms of sound. That’s pretty much how it is in terms of our sound and lighting structure.
(*I think it’s pronounced Shirato-san, but I’m not entirely sure so I left the original kanji in. I didn’t want to butcher the person’s name lol; if anyone knows let me know!)
So that’s why the pieces exactly fit together! An awe-inspiring sensation was expressed in your performance like never before.
Retsu: We feel like we are better suited for live houses that have high ceilings. I feel like the more we perform on a larger scale, the band shines just as much. In regards to that, we don’t have any worries; we just think that we have achieved at least a little bit of what we’ve wanted to do.
Alright. For that day’s setlist, previously released 『CHEDOARA』 and 『Rijin』 were the focus of the concert, which I thought were well interwoven with that day’s limited release 『Kidoairaku』. While determining the setlist, were there any themes that you were conscious of?
Sho: When initially deciding on the setlist, I really wanted to put it in the order of the limited release 『Kidoairaku』. First would be 『Ki』、then 『Do』、then 『Ai』、then 『Raku』. I wanted to put it together in this order and then squeeze in tracks from 『CHEDOARA』. As we were discussing it, we were saying “this isn’t it; that isn’t it”.
Retsu: We decided on the setlist relatively quickly. Immediately after the release, we did a limited one-man live for those who purchased it and performed all the songs from 『CHEDOARA』. From then on we were pretty much open for a one year period, so while we were thinking about how to showcase the band for our live at Shibuya O-West, we established that list and the limited release CD as our core and created the live with 『CHEDOARA』 as the focal point.
By the way, I heard that artist and designer “Kyougu”-san was in charge of some of the new goods that day. Especially with the 『Aizou ni Tsuki...』 t-shirt, I can strongly sense the song’s and the band’s view of the world.
Sho: The release of t-shirts with two of “Kyougu”-san’s patterns was decided beforehand. The kanji for 『Aizou ni Tsuki...』 is really nice. We haven’t really used letters/characters before...I really liked the appearance of the characters, especially the appearance of the characters “Aizou”. We wanted to leave behind our inspiration as it is.
I see. So in summarizing various things, how was the reaction the day of the live? Personally, I felt like I was able to feel the pulsation of everyone’s lives up on the stage. I felt like it was a live packed with all the emotions of 『Kidoairaku』.
Retsu: The moment I came out, the moment I took one step onto the stage...
Hiroshi: I thought “We won, we got this!” *laughs*
Retsu: There was that too. Definitely, the atmosphere was completely different from that of a usual livehouse. It was something that I had never experienced before--feelings almost like “Kidoairaku”. I felt it the moment the *SE started ringing throughout the venue. Then from there we’ve had various things happen such as the member withdrawals… So the moment we entered the stage, I realized that it was different from our usual lives. While we were performing, I felt like we were able to create musical connections, even in regards to the SE. I think we were able to move forward while taking in everyone’s reactions.
(*I believe SE means intro song)
I would like to touch more on 『Kidoairaku』, the piece that elicited the reaction above. When did you start planning for this piece? Also, when did the production itself start?
Hiroshi: Isn’t it immediately after we decided that we would perform at O-West?
Retsu: I actually can’t remember at all *laughs*
Sho: Production probably started about half a year ago. Originally, there was a song that we were thinking about releasing...
Retsu: While we were thinking about all kinds of stuff, while we were doing various things during the 『CHEDOARA』 live, we settled on the title “Kidoairaku”. It was simple, so we didn’t think much of it.
As we were performing, I realized that we created a song that appropriately contextualized the emotions of joy and anger that I was feeling inside. So on the contrary, I think everything went smoothly. I wasn’t too worried.
As was the case with the 『CHEDOARA』 album, I was surprised by the seamless connections between the songs and the degree of completeness. I especially feel the beginning and the end of the pieces 『Do』、『Ai』、『Raku』. In recent years, Retsu-san has been composing more music. Are there any genres that have influenced you? I sense multiple musical elements in your compositions, without specifically restricting yourself to the so-called genre of heavy music.
Hiroshi: When I first heard the demo, I was surprised and said “What IS this!?” *laughs*
Sho: It was mysterious since the demo stage, so I thought “What the?” *laughs*
Retsu: “What the hell is this?” is a reasonable thought to have when releasing a song. I didn’t want to restrain myself to any genre. Recently, I listen to more popular music rather than extreme music. My theme is learning how to incorporate different elements and thoroughly absorb them. I think it’s fine to create things in that way in the beginning.
With the SE and the way you use sound, it’s not interesting to come up with ideas using fixed ideas or a formula. I also feel like the audience members who come to see us don’t want ordinary stuff. Moreover, whatever I have absorbed and created, I try to bring it to life with the band. As a band, we feel that just being cool is not interesting at all. In regards to our compositions, our biggest concern is how to approach and express our music.
As with previous works, I feel like you are including more avant-garde elements with every release.
Retsu: Just like Sho said, at first everyone is like “Huh?” or “What is this?”. I believe that’s more interesting. I think it’s important to have songs that are obvious like “Oh, this song has this specific kind of feeling”, but if we only have those kind of songs then it won’t be interesting. So I try to surprise the members at first. Also, the compositions can give me confidence as a composer. It’s not a conflict between the individual and the band, but I don’t think you can make good music without some stimulation. I just felt like the days of simply making cool things are over.
That’s why I am writing songs that I myself would like to be surprised by; if I can’t move or impress myself, I don’t think the people listening to our music would be moved or impressed either. I am composing music while being conscious of that.
¯\(◉‿◉)/¯ sorry for the wall of txt but it’s finally an update so...
I'm trying to be more active with my translations again. I used to focus on the GazettE mainly, but now I want to expand my coverage to other V-kei bands I like. Some of the content is too good/funny for me to ignore and not share. But that does NOT mean that I will stop posting GazettE stuff either! Lemme know if y'all would be interested!
My comeback(?) translations: I'm starting with Deviloof's Ray's instalives. Recently he's been doing them whenever I happen to have free time & at odd hours, so there are very few who tune in. That means I get to ask him a bunch of questions and he actually answers/comments!
I'm OBSESSED with Deviloof My bias initially is/was (?) Keisuke, but after interacting with Ray more, my heart shook/warmed up to him. I have some screenshots to supplement my Q&A translations, and rest assured I covered up ppl's insta out of respect/privacy reasons.
Hopefully my content is interesting! They are super talented, so I just want to spread some DVLF love. I've also considered: If you guys have questions that you want me to ask Ray on instalive, lemme know! However, I will ignore any questions/comments that are inappropriate.
I’m also trying to be active on twitter and post my stuff there too. I feel like there are a lot of V-kei fans and content on twitter that I’m missing out on so feel free to follow my twitter account @happiibaka
I translated page 1 of the recent DIMLIM interview; it's almost 6 pages long on my word doc；ﾟДﾟ)ゝ
I'll post page 1 of the interview + some of my DVLF Ray's instalive Q&A's in a couple of hours. Sorry for not posting sooner; I had urgent personal matters to prioritize T^T
Although I get sad when I find out that these new visual kei bands I’ve discovered/ enjoyed have all disbanded, I’ve pretty much become used to it bc it’s so common.
*I try to focus more on the active ones and appreciate those that have been going on for a surprisingly long time.
But when I do find ones that are still active and going...
