Translated from original text by Hiroshi Mitsutani, originally appearing in M-Gazette vol. 24, May 1999.
"Desperate" is your composition, kiyo.
I wrote it around the end of summer last year. I wanted to write a song to cheer myself up (Laughs), using sounds and music that were easy for a listener to understand from the intro. I felt as if, inside of myself, I was experimenting with something new.
Do you have any special order to how you do things, sequentially, during recording?
Instrument-wise, I'm always last, before the song comes together.
Has it gotten to the point where the arrangement is always perfectly decided before recording begins?
Usually, that's true, but there are times when the other members try to put things together with the advice of the others, or there are things that I'll be thinking about and change accordingly. If that happens, then the version we record will be drastically different than the original.
Comparing what you've done up until now, you don't use nearly the same amount of sound effects as you used to.
That's right. The sound of the keyboard has become more important compositionally, and often takes the melody line. There are a lot of tone qualities on the keyboard that I haven't had a chance to use yet. So, wondering what it would sound like if I were to try and use those qualities, I tried composing "Desperate".
Generally, what kind of sound was it that you were trying to use?
It was the metallic sound that occurs after the break in "Desperate"'s intro.
How was "R-TYPE [Hitomi no Iro]" for you?
I took special care not to kill the feeling of urgency in the song. In that song, I ended up going through about three different tone colors. During the guitar solo, I had something that sounded like a violin pizzicato, but ended up going with my usual modulation. But, in the beginning, it had a much darker feel, but since there's so much speed present in it, I thought it might be better to use a more noticeable sound.
The way that the keyboard part is put together in "Psycho Dance" as well as just the general relationships that go on in your music is Janne Da Arc's real specialty, isn't it?
Yes. That has become fundamental for us. The chorus, for example, hangs on the piano part (Laughs). We tried having it play along with the guitar part in the A-melody, but what we ended up doing with it is one of my personal favorite sections.
Has the arrangement changed at all since you were in high school?
It has changed quite a bit. Since we were looking at recording it, after all. Actually, right before we cleaned it up, the phrase in the refrain was entirely different. As expected, it would have been just fine if I would have played it the same way that I always have, but I ended up trying something else out with it instead.
What are your thoughts in regard to the "mellow" feel of "...song"?
I wanted to give it the strength to really flow well, so I tried playing it on the organ first. It was a song that I'd actually done around the time of "More Deep", but until now it'd just been sleeping. But, I was so grateful when shuji said, "Let's do this song during our shows too." I had wanted to do it for a long time, but being me, I was never able to say anything about it until now (Laughs).
Which leaves more of an impression on you, the faster songs, or the slower ones?
It depends on what kind of tone I'm using, too, but when I'm on stage I really feel good about playing the faster pieces, though I like a bunch of things about both.
The pattern present in your approach to "Labyrinth" also leaves an impression typical of Janne Da Arc.
That's the song that I'm the worst at (Laughs). The shifts between the parts are really difficult for me. When we do it live, that one is really nerve-wracking. (Laughs.)
There are a lot of parts where the keyboard is really prominent in that song, after all.
That's right. That alone, as well as the decision as to which sounds to use at which part makes it really difficult. The part where I'm using the brass, I thought I'd just be using it to sample it, but there was an immediate change in feel, and so I decided on straight synth.
Deciding what to use really is hard, isn't it? And since that the sound is often the one that sticks out the most, I'm sure that there are times when you're forced to think, "Oh, this one is the same one we used in that song before."
Right now, I'm looking into what kinds of sounds are better; those ones that you feel that you hear all the time, and are just in the background, or those that you suddenly want to dance along with. They're the songs with the kind of sounds that you hear even walking around town, or all the songs you hear people singing when you go out to do karaoke, after all. (Laughs.)
(Laughs.) And so, on the other side of things, you have a sound in some places that is quite prominent, despite the fact that they seem to be insignificant. In "Strange Voice", the arpeggios in the introduction seem to be really difficult.
Ah, that phrase has a great success rate at our live shows. (Laughs.) When I was in high school, I had just returned home from class when yasu stopped by my house and said, "Here, let's write the intro for this song." I was having trouble, because I had been working on it forever and still wasn't able to do anything, but before I knew it yasu had fallen fast asleep. After that, it just came to me, and I was able to do it. For me, if I'm not alone, I can't write anything at all.
When you're doing arpeggios like that, I'd suppose that there are places in it where you lose your place, right?
That's right. After you work so hard to get it exactly right, that's where it gets difficult.
Out of all the songs, which one is the one you listen to the most?
I listen to all the songs a lot, but I really like "R-TYPE [Hitomi no Iro]".
Are there some devices you'd like to try and use after this point?
As expected, I'd really like to try and use some vintage instruments. Though the instrument I've been using now can make a sound like an organ, because it is a modern instrument after all, I'd like to try using a real one and get the real sound of an organ out of it. There are a lot of things that I really have to keep working on and I'm striving to improve, so I'm associating with a bunch of people. Maybe if I do that, I can get my hands on a really expensive vintage instrument or something...(Laughs.)