Translated from Pakila Music, 2007.07.18
As far as the members of Janne Da Arc are concerned, you-san lead the way in pursuing solo work, but had you decided to go in this direction, with this sense of timing, long before now?
No, I didn't do this because I had decided to ahead of time. I didn't really feel a strong desire to do solo work myself, but it wasn't that someone told me "do it", either. I've been in the same band with the same people for ten years, and since we were all classmates, too, our close relationship to one another goes back a long time. Simply enough, our reasons for going solo for a time are only because we felt that it was healthy to do so, to refresh our sound as a band.
Healthy? Are you saying that making music with the other members is still a novel thing for you?
Also, if you do the same thing for a long time, it gets to the point where there's not much motivation to keep going. In a lot of ways, if you're in a band, it just turns out that things end up being done this way or that way. If you can do it in a way that really captures its potential well, then maybe that's just called the gift of experience (Laughs), but coming to mutual understandings with your band members also gets a lot easier, and recording feels like it doesn't take any time at all. But, the bad part of that is, there's no excitement or motivation in that. Rather than continuing in a situation like that, I think it's much healthier to be active as a solo musical artist for a while. Just that alone, though, is really difficult (Laughs).
Why did you choose the name "Acid Black Cherry"?
It has to do with the overlying theme of my solo project, that being "eroticism". I thought that with such a theme, I could personally bring out my own, natural self in the best way possible. Of course, I plan to expand on this with both visual and melodic aspects. So, I chose words that would bring forth this kind of erotic atmosphere to use as my proper name for this project. Eh...also since the acronym is "ABC", too. (Laughs.)
Is there any reason, during this solo project, that you've used so many members?
Well, it looks like a band formation...but the project itself really can't be called a "band" in truth because of that.
Your debut single, "SPELL MAGIC", releases in July. Has there been anything that you have found that you can't do in Janne Da Arc, or some new challenges?
Since I wrote these kinds of songs when I was in Janne Da Arc as well, I don't really see it as much of a change from something "Janne-like". So, from here on, I don't think that my songs are going to be so new or different from my previous ones that you'll say "This wasn't a Janne Da Arc song". Personally, I haven't changed innately much at all, I'm very direct. So, people who like Janne Da Arc will probably think, "Man, if he's going to be like this, he should just do these songs in Janne Da Arc!", maybe. (Laughs.) But, it's different than saying that I would have written these songs even if I would have kept on going in Janne Da Arc as we are now. Deciding to go solo, to have a theme, giving myself the name Acid Black Cherry...it was a song that first came to me after I did all that. When I write songs in the band, I also write thinking about all the other band members as well. I don't want to break what we have, after all.
When you wrote this song, had you already decided who the support members in your solo project were going to be?
No, I hadn't, but I wrote it with a sense of what standard I wanted it to be, and with a hypothesis based on that.
In the song lyrics, you have the word "ABC" repeating, as this song surely serves as a substitute for your business card, so to speak; but what was your reason for selecting this song to go on your debut single?
Well, before I even started writing the song, the idea for a video came into my head. When I was thinking about what kind of song would suit the image of the video I had in my mind, the first thing that came to me was something a little bit on the hard side, so that was a big reason for doing this song.
This time, it seems that you wrote the song around an idea for a video that you had a positive reaction to, however, what kind of details are present in the video itself?
Well, there's a kind of nerdy looking indies band, and they go for an audition with avex, completely overwhelm the judging panel, and win their debut contract. When I was thinking about what kind of song would really overwhelm the judges, the song that came out of those thoughts was this one.
It could be made into a movie or TV Drama or something, right?
That's right. The whole Akihabara, nerdy scene is a good one, I think (Laughs). And then, to think that someone who wears clothes like those can change so drastically (Laughs). It would really turn into something wonderful.
After all, yasu-san, you were able to dress quite fashionably in those nerdy clothes, right?
I did! (Laughs.) It's amazing, since I just went impossibly over the top with the look. The band appears in the video as well, of course, and everyone, they have my gratitude for appearing in it without making fun of me. The video revolves around those members who appeared with me on tour in July, but I really just have no excuse for any of it (Laughs). I say that, but I've just chosen people who have done work on a major label before, right? We had a hard time taking photos, but I remember crying because everyone did it for me without a single complaint.
The CD+DVD version of the single and the limited edition have two different jackets. Can you tell us about the CD jacket?
It has nothing to do with the music video (Laughs). That jacket was a draft given to me by my designer, but until now I haven't personally appeared at all on my own CD jackets.
So it was your first time?
That's right. But, since I've taken artist photos together with people before, it wasn't a great hardship or anything, though.
Your second track for the single is a cover of the famous song by LOOK, "Shinin' On Kimi ga Kanashii". What were your reasons for choosing this song?
In the first place, I was a big fan of LOOK when I was in high school, so I sang it at karaoke all the time. I thought that since it was such a great tune, I really wanted to introduce it to a new audience. Also, the gap between this song and the title track is very interesting to me.
What about your decision to do secret lives throughout May?
Since it was completely secret, it was a surprise even for those people who like Janne Da Arc. However, our last tour date somehow made it around the Internet, so a lot of people came to see us at that show, though.
Why did you do secret lives?
Being in Janne Da Arc for ten years, there weren't very many chances for me to reaffirm what it's really like to be out there in the music scene. When we took a pause in our activities, I had a lot of time to think about things, and when I thought about what the most fun time was for me in my musical career, the time that came to mind was when I was still on the indies. Still, when I'd appear in the live houses, I'd get really fired up about it, and it was so much fun. For this reason, I thought I wanted to return to feeling what I did back then. Now, Janne Da Arc can do shows in the really big venues, and the people who come to see us can listen to our albums, and if you give them the mic, they can sing along, too, right? But, in an environment like that, the feeling of hunger from them is gone, isn't it? In the old days, I could be as brazen as I wanted to be, and no one would feel like they lost anything. I thought...that I wanted to do things as if I was a new face in music again. Every time we had a
show in the old days, I was singing our songs in front of people who didn't know them at all, but now, I'm doing shows in those circumstances again, and tested myself, seeing if I could still charm those kind of people. So, even if it was just for the reaffirmation of that, I decided to do the secret lives.
How do you feel personally about doing shows?
I feel that whether you're singing in front of ten thousand people or in front of just one person, you should feel just as excited, feel the same tension. Until now, there wasn't a single time that I cut any corners, but I think that maybe I grew a little dependent on the kindness of those people who came to see us who I knew would give me that positive affirmation of myself no matter what. This time, we had shows where no one really showed up at all, but even so, if I couldn't give my show the same amount of energy regardless, there was no point to carrying on like before, either, so I just kept singing. If I couldn't sing, I realized that even my own words, the ones that said to give it my best no matter what, like I was new to the game, would become a lie just on that alone. To see the end, to go and just do it, was such a good thing.
During the summer, you're also planning free live shows.
My reason for that was that I wanted to create an environment where people who don't know who Janne Da Arc are would be able to hear me, despite the fact that I don't have very many songs yet.
You also have plans to appear at Summer Festival and Summer Sonic.
It's been so long since I've been to Summer Festival. Since there are so many musicians who will also be there who I like, I'm really looking forward to it. Until now, I've been able to sing in front of people who had no awareness of Janne Da Arc, and I'm looking forward to seeing the reaction of those people who have never seen Janne Da Arc before.
What is your selling point as someone new, as Acid Black Cherry?
I want to create a sound that can't be brought out in Janne Da Arc. I want to bring a wide range of dynamic musical compositions that won't lose out to Western music.
From now on, how will you develop your work?
I think I'm going to work quickly to release an album. Though I plan to release an album sometime next year. Then, after I release an album, I think that I'd like to go on a one-man tour.
Please leave a message for the readers of Pakila.
In regard to the sound that I'm getting involved in now, I feel that it really suits me well. Of course, I really want everyone to give it a listen!