『SYM-BOLIC XXX』 Official Interview English translation
Original: https://valshe.jp/interview-sg12 - —Interviewer questions VALSHE’s answers
Interview text under the cut! Translation notes on the bottom as well
– 「SYM-BOLIC XXX」 is a work that pursues “VALSHE in the past and the future” in various aspects. Is it something that was created without considering the artistry and musicality of VALSHE?
For 「SYM-BOLIC XXX」, I worked on it from the start till the end. This time it’s the 100th song, so when I looked back from the 1st to the 99th song, I pursued the “VALSHE-ness” from my perspective and an objective point of view. The starting point of this was thinking about what to do on the musical side.
– Is this the production done after YAKUMO last year?
I started thinking concretely after YAKUMO was over. However, when I finished the album 「WONDERFUL CURVE」 that was released in 2017, I decided “I want to release the 100th song for the first shot in 2019!” So based on that, last year I worked under the assumption that I would be releasing the 99th song after including the live performance.
– The 100th song and next year will be the 10th anniversary of your debut, so was your awareness strong for that aspect?
Yes, after all, it’s the 10th year. I was strongly aware of the 10th anniversary.
– VALSHE has said that she will be pursuing “VALSHE-ness” as an objective, but during live performances, there’s a sense of feeling that the distance from the fans has slowly become shorter and shorter. I feel like the image of VALSHE fans wanted is also created, does this work have a certain answer to that?
The Catchphrase of 「SYM-BOLIC XXX」 is “There Is Not Always One Symbol” Just as the word says, I felt that the image of “VALSHE’s music” is different from people who support me and people who are close to me. To put this in a very easy-to-understand way, some have the image of “VALSHE is a person who does a lot of rock music” And people who have been long supporters and has listened to other songs than the title song, they’ll think “No, VALSHE is a person that does fantasy music” and it was split into two, I used to feel that way, and when I listened to the 99th song again, I realize it was true. However, neither of them was the correct answer, each person has created a different image of VALSHE, and I thought it wouldn’t be fun to hit the centre of the so-called digital music here. I wonder if I needed to do that for the 100th song, and in that case, I thought it would be okay to use an existing song that everyone knows, such as 「Butterfly Core」 In the end, rather than summarizing what I did so far, I wanted to create a song that hypes up the expectations for the 101st song.
– Was this song made earlier?
For the first time, we held a competition for the title song only to those who are familiar; it was Shun Sato, VALSHE, and doriko, who has provided many songs and works for VALSHE so far. Last year, we set up a meeting titled “Which song reminds you of VALSHE the most” The director also joined in to hold a listening session, in the end, we picked Shun Sato’s demo.
– Did you bring in a few songs?
One song per person.
– Did all 3 people have a very different worldview of the song? Or was it close?
Everyone understood VALSHE’s vocals and wrote the songs, including myself, so there wasn’t a single song that would be too different. However, I thought to myself, what kind of impression do you want to have on the recipient for the 100th song? And which is the closest one to what I wished? I decided to drop my song because it wasn’t the right time for it.*
– What was the most decisive factor in choosing Mr Sato’s song in the end?
There were 2 big songs, and 1 out of the 3 was by far the brightest one. The other 2 songs had a very solemn image, such as past works 「DISPLAY」 and 「RAGE IDENTITY」, it had a profound sound. The intention here was to make the sound more focused on anniversaries. On the other hand, Shun-san’s demo with 99 songs sung so far, was made in a feeling that “Val can sing this next time” and that was the background of it. And I wonder if I wanted the recipients to get excited about the anniversary that I mentioned earlier, or if I want the 100th song to be taken seriously. At the time, I simply wanted the 100th song to have a festive feel and to be pleasing. With that, I wanted to make a song that I could sing at any time (live etc), and that was the biggest deciding factor that I fixated my vision on for this song.
– Did you write the lyrics while projecting VALSHE (yourself)?
As for the lyrics and as it was the 100th song, I had to review all of the past lyrics up till the 99th song many times, and I didn’t want to be nervous, but I wanted to write the lyrics for this since it was the 100th song. After all, what does VALSHE want to send to the listener as a singer? I thought about that a lot… During such a production period, there was a time when I didn’t want to make it in such an environment without the fear of misunderstandings.
– How long was the production period?
When I started making 「SYM-BOLIC XXX」, when I was starting to write the lyrics, I had thoughts of not wanting to create it under this environment, if that didn’t change and I had no power to change myself, I was even thinking of not wanting to issue 「SYM-BOLIC XXX」 and was heartbroken. I couldn't write the lyrics, so I spent some time wondering what was wrong. But mentally, I still want to write them, of course. After all, I had to release the 100th song at the right time.
– How did you get to completion in that situation?
Looking back on the lyrics up to the 99th song, I could see that the root of what I was cherishing is the rebellious spirit. Among the past works, many lyrics described the history that I’ve followed and the feelings of each time, but when I read up those that are for debut or for an important time, the viewpoint is strong. It felt like I was singing “I do not want to give up” in any situation. When I realized I could finish this without breaking here, I felt like I can convey what I wanted to convey to the listeners the most, so I didn’t give up on production. As a result, the environment around me changed the moment I completed it. I don’t know if tomorrow will be bright, nothing will change even if I sleep for a day, and the fact that the future is bright if I let go is different from what I wanted to convey. But I don’t want to say “Yes. It’s dark, there’s nothing good about it” I wanted to push the backs of people who listened to me because it will change if you keep on doing it even when you’re having a hard time. For myself, one reason I can do my best is that there are people waiting for me, so I can convey this feeling in a bright, festive sound. I thought to myself, will this be as meaningful and valuable as the 100th song?
– I could feel something like VALSHE’s own “belief” and “resolution” is like a message to the present age, were you aware of that?
Fundamentally, I only believe in what I see with my own eyes or hear with my ears. After all, I believe there’s nothing that can be swept away in the end. It’s easy to live every day hoping that someone other than yourself can change, but has it changed? I think that people and the environment will not change unless I change. I believe that everything is decided by one’s heart, and not by the words of others, but it is not a message that I want people other than myself to do so, I think these can be shown in the lyrics.
– In the lyrics “I’m dying of vain because of self-sacrifice” this phrase is impressive. Is there a clause VALSHE can think of?
There is. I mentioned earlier that it was a little boiled down, but as long as I’m working with various people helping each other, I do not say that this is a compromise, but I can’t make things by myself, I can’t do it and while I don’t want that, I think there are days when I take a step back or give up. At one point, I wondered “Huh? How much can I forgive myself for this timing,” and said “No, at the time of my debut, I had a strong will and never gave up” If I said that when I was younger, I would’ve forgiven myself, but in the meantime, I became the person I hated like I was neither black nor white, I felt sick and it was really painful. I don’t know if the word “forgive” is appropriate, but if it was a big mistake for me to sweep it away for no reason, I thought to myself “Then what was the point of giving up? Nobody got it!” Everyone dies as a result of killing their hearts so they don’t ruin it unnecessary, and sometimes I think it doesn’t make sense, so I showed this in the lyrics.
– What does the phrase “262 doesn’t shake even when a big change occurs” mean?
There’s this “Working Ant Theory” that I believe in personally. Whether the overall denominator is 100 or 10000, there’s a rule that 20% of the ants are hard workers, 60% of the ants work normally, and the remaining 20% of the ants skip work. I think humans are the same, so no matter the big changes that happen, the rule never changes, it’s the same wherever they were thrown. What I’m singing here is that I have no choice but to change myself, just like the chorus, it doesn’t mean I’m giving up.
– What kind of notation is demonstrated in the title?
The theme for this round is “Symbol” which is also the keyword as well, and the word “SYMBOL” (In English) came into my mind, and I wanted to crown it as its theme. And the catch of “There Is Always Not One Symbol”, the words “XXX” means it may be different depending on the person, and I do not want to clarify it, so I used this notation.
– Mr Sato made a demo with the thought of “Val will sing this next time”, How was it?
When I listened to the bass and the guitar recording before I did the vocals, I laughed thinking “I can’t produce this live, right? When can I play this live?” It was an orchestra of great sounds sewn in between, so at that point, I was very much on board (laughs). So when I was recording myself, I was feeling as if I was recording something for a festival, it was a lot of fun because it was an environment I can fully concentrate on its production 100%
– Did the vocal recording finish smoothly without many takes?
The number of takes per recording is the same for all songs, it’s never more than 4 takes each, it hasn’t changed much since my debut. In rare cases, Mr Sato may say “Let’s record one bonus track!” if I didn’t want to finish by crunching. But in normal cases, it’s 4 takes each time.
– Is the reason due to you don’t want to lose the freshness of the song?
That, and also I believe a studio is a place to play, I start recording after pre-production in advance. I think there are some types of people who do trial and error while recording, but it’s a different worry for me, I’m not the type of vocalist who can sing differently often, so I won’t record more than 4.
– Is this visual, such as the hairstyle, colour, costume and overall image, the most VALSHE-like for you and your fans?
This time, the visual seems to be a collection of themes, it’s more of “This is VALSHE” than just music-making. When I think to myself “What is VALSHE?” I thought of blonde. However, looking back at the past, surprisingly there are very few blondes, including the first single where I had red hair, and realized it wasn’t very blonde, the staff for some reason seems to agree as well. Of course, there are many different tastes, such as I like black hair and red hair, but “blonde” seems to be more consistent. As for the colour, I think it’s the most beautiful when it’s in contrast with blonde, and the album cover and music video are decked with the rock and fantasy elements of VALSHE.
– The fans seem to be also happy with the illustrations. In addition, there is an abundance of bonus cards, some being illustrated versions, that differ depending on the store this time.
Yes, I’m enjoying the bonuses myself too, and I’m happy because it’s one of the things I’ve been hoping to make it real someday.
– I had the impression that the music video expresses the theme of the song in an easy-to-understand manner, is the project made by VALSHE (yourself)?
Yes. I’ve been with the same director for a long time, so only a few words are exchanged, as it’s similar to the previous work. But for this time, I was able to see its completion at the time of the shooting, so I was particularly satisfied. There are a lot of visual parts, but I enjoyed working on it as it shows a crisp contrast when it became more than I imagined, we worked hard even on the scenes of the sheep and goats, I hope you enjoy it.
– The 2nd song「Prey」is composed by doriko, and lyrics are written by VALSHE
First, as the overall theme of this album is the 100th song and the anniversary year, I did not want to have the ‘nostalgic’ factor, after the 1st~99th recorded songs. When I listened to the 100th~103rd songs, I want to create the feeling of “This is the 100th song, but VALSHE still has the desire to do new things,” Second, regarding 「Prey」, when we were making the album 「WONDERFUL CURVE」, we were hoping to incorporate the western genre, but during that stage, we realize it wasn’t the right time, so we decided to wait for the right moment and warmed up to it at the time being. Then in 2018, we created a piece that featured Japanese-style music for the 10th year, and now I thought “Finally! This is the place,” I asked doriko to create something that has never been done with VALSHE music before, I told him I wanted something that feels like American hip-hop, and he did it.
– What inspired the song and the lyrics? They are all kind of tied together, actually, I was thinking about how I had to stop being vague. It’s not because I was vague in the past, but I wanted to convey what I want to say and write more clearly. I wrote the lyrics in hopes that these aspects are expressed clearly in each song. The lyrics for these 3 songs that I’ve written are the result of me facing the fact that this is the kind of person I am, and these are the kind of messages that I want to send out.
– The sounds of the songs are cool, and the use of falsetto and natural voice was exquisite and pleasant to listen to. How did you feel when you sang?
It’s worth noting there’s no bass in the instrumental, this is just a consequence, but 2 of the 4 songs have no bass. The choruses are filled with choruses being layered together, and it also incorporates western-style chorus work, which is refreshing. In that sense, the vocal work is something that I have never done before, and it was fresh to go through a recording process in a way that I wouldn't normally do, I was honestly happy to be able to take on such a challenge for the 100th song.
– 「Witch Trials ~Imaginary Nonfiction~」(「魔女裁判〜imaginary nonfiction〜」) seems to have a gothic fantasy or dark fantasy-like worldview
When I decided to create the music for this song, I divided VALSHE into two separate images; rock and fantasy, and I wanted to include the fantasy elements for one of the songs.
– The lyrics are fantastical and narrative in nature, but it also has a strong sense of irony towards the world
To put it simply, the lyrics are a condemnation of the principle of neutrality. The song is tied to many places, but it’s also a song about believing only what you see with your own eyes or hear with your ears. In situations where irrelevant people are saying something from the safety of being the opposite end, I feel that it’s more vicious than directly being the bad person. If it had been VALSHE in the past, I would’ve said “People have different positions, environments, things that they protect, so there are many ways of thinking and seeing things,” But I think I was really vague about it, and I decided to stop. I thought it was not good to give the listeners a vague idea of what’s good for me and what’s bad for them. Why should I care about the perspective of others who wanted to condemn me? So I wrote this song. Many people are bothered by such things, so please listen to this song and be refreshed, I sent this song out for my listeners.
– How was the recording process?
This was a lot of fun. I liked the sound of the celesta and the toy piano, and the lyrics have an essence, but they are written in a fantastical, fairytale-like funny way, so the vocals are in line with that worldview, which was really enjoyable. I was most excited to record it.
– 「Hunger」(「空腹」) is your first collaborative work with labelmate Takuto. How did you come about to produce it?
Back in 2017 when we released 「MONTAGE」, we had a Radiojack* program at one of our release events, and I was asked to be a guest on the radio. Only then I was aware that one of my labelmates was an artist named Takuto. When 「MONTAGE」 was released, he also released his music at the same time, and we exchanged CDs with each other. That was the first time I listened to his album, and I sense a similarity between the both of them, even though I had not pursued the album to its deepest level. I liked listening to it, thinking the thoughts I could see from the album to be softly close. So when I had my release again in 2018, I had another similar opportunity for another Radiojack program. At the time, the staff happened to catch Takuto buying VALSHE CDs like the rest of the public and entering the event raffle. Then we suddenly thought, let’s invite him as a guest! And that’s how it all started. Even though he was here on a private visit, he was asked to make an unexpected guest appearance. At that time, the staff and I discussed how interesting it would be if we could collaborate on something, and we thought if it’s Takuto and VALSHE, they could do something really interesting, and I was happy with the result.
– Did the music incorporate poetry from the very start?
When the discussion first started, I asked Takuto to compose the song and he said that “I want to make VALSHE do something like poetry” After various questions and answers about what kind of song to make, 「Hunger」 was completed without any designation from there. The completed form is the same as the first draft demo that came with the song lyrics.
– You said that you asked for the composition of the music, but when the demo came with the lyrics, what was your first impression when you heard it?
I was surprised. I wasn’t sure if it would suit me, but it was really cool. The reason why I didn’t ask for lyrics is that when I looked back at my past works, no one has written the lyrics except for myself or a person who has a mature relationship with me, it became my own personal rule. That’s why I asked only to compose, but after I discussed with Takuto over LINE and heard his story and the core and roots of our activities, I changed my mind. Maybe it’s okay to leave it to Takuto, so at that stage, I said to him “I’ll leave it up to you to write the lyrics”, and when we both submitted our works, I immediately called him and asked “What does this mean? What do you mean by this? As for here, Val doesn’t think this way when only the lyrics are taken, but what’s Takuto’s intention?” We worked out the details and after we were 120% satisfied, we decided to go with the song and lyrics as they are.
– It’s a long phone call, isn’t it?
Yes. But I don’t think this has happened in the past, but I haven’t talked a lot about songs; for example, what kind of song do I want to make, what kind of lyrics am I looking for, in normal production, the flow starts from there, but I didn’t do this with Takuto at all, instead, I said “I really dislike it when I am like this. I feel this way about people like this.” For example, as a result of accumulating things like the conflict of subjectivity, 「Hunger」 was created. When I first heard the demo, I couldn’t imagine what would happen if I sang it, as poetry isn’t my musicality, so it felt like it didn’t match at first. To be honest, I was afraid of the lyrics, because it contained everything that I was thinking about when I was making 「SYM-BOLIC XXX」, things that I wanted to say but couldn't, things that I felt I had to say now, but I wanted to get them out… When I asked myself if I could’ve written this in the future, I thought, "No, I don't think I could.” I felt like I had a ghostwriter.
– How did you feel when you actually sang it?
The lyrics were really stylish, they cut through the heart of the underlying emotions. I think the imbalance may make it objectively cooler, but my personal feeling is that every time I sing or listen to it, I feel like crying.
– I look forward to the listener’s reactions
Same as well. I'm looking forward to the reactions of the listeners when it comes to poetry, and I think this song is kind of peculiar, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it will be received.
– What did Takuto think about the final product?
He didn’t give me any feedback, but when I pre-produced the song, he said matter-of-factly, that poetry is good (laughs). Takuto also participated in the chorus, he was really enthusiastic about the song, he said, “if the chorus was added this way, it might make people think a certain way” I had a lot of fun working on it.
– Well, your live tour will start in July. Will you be touring with an acoustic formation this time?
Yes. There are 2 reasons. One is that I wanted to go to various places in a small group while looking ahead to the 10th anniversary. Up until now, we have mainly performed in the Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka areas, as well as Kyushu, Hokkaido, and Sendai, but we really wanted to visit people in other areas as much as possible, so we decided to hold the largest number of shows in VALSHE's history. After all, now that we are approaching our 10th year, I wanted to meet as many people as possible who have been supporting us regularly. Besides, no two gigs are ever the same on the same day, in the same place, and at the same time. The scenery you see there is different from one to another, so I wanted to see something new, and that was one of the main reasons why I wanted to hold this event in 12 cities.
The second reason is that I felt it was necessary to communicate my own words and feelings at a closer distance, as I was facing my feelings this time. The more I focus on entertainment in my live performances and fan club events, the more often I have to decide what I will do from the beginning to the end of the event. Especially at last year's YAKUMO live concert, there was not a single MC during the main part of the show, and in that kind of situation, I pursued the music, pursued the songs, and transmitted them as words. I wanted to convey what I felt and what I wanted to say in each of the 12 cities I toured. All of the songs in this album have changed in terms of both sound and lyrics, so when I wanted to go on tour with that changed feeling, I thought that an acoustic concert would be the best way to do it.
– This time the schedule is divided into three stage types, correct?
Yes, 「TheTA」, 「mu」, and raid stage 「EpsiLOn」. Among the 3 types, 「TheTA」 and 「mu」 will be organized differently! As I said, just by changing one instrument, the impression of the song or even the story can be completely different. That is what makes it so interesting, and because it is acoustic, I want people to enjoy it more. The dates and locations for 「EpsiLOn」 have not yet been announced, but it will be an acoustic concert, and it will also be a 12-city road tour, so when we focus on conveying what VALSHE felt at the time as songs and words, it will be a raid stage, so I hope people will enjoy it. I am planning to make a move that has never been done before, not knowing what will come unexpectedly or when or where the announcement will be made, so I hope you will wait with excitement.
*The song she dropped as a contender for the 100th song is UNIFY! Which ultimately became the title song for her 10th-anniversary best-of album, as mentioned in the UNIFY interview *Radiojack is a Japanese radio program VALSHE is often invited on during her album releases!
Also thank you @minaramen for helping me out with bits of the translation !!