Translated from Pakila Music, 2008.06.25
Original Text: Tomonori Nakazawa.
Absorbed in his work as keyboardist of Janne Da Arc, kiyo finally released his first solo album, "ARTISAN OF PLEASURE", on June 25th. At the same time, he also released a DVD + CD set "Gosadou: The Complete Edition", under the name of Dr. Doyle Yodonogawa.
There are many outlooks on the world that kiyo has planned to show. Let's take a peek at them right away. Since the beginning, he created this album to be "the soundtrack to a fictional game".
You've finally released your long-awaited first album, "ARTISAN OF PLEASURE". Along with this, it is in part the soundtrack for a mobile game of the same name, isn't it?
kiyo: In the beginning, I wrote it as a soundtrack for a fictional game. As I was writing the songs, I was reminded of a bunch of things, and said to myself, "This is the song when the boss character appears", or "Let's try to make this one like the song that would play when you're just starting your quest". As I was working on the music, the discussion came up for me to actually create a game at the same time. As a result of that, an actual game was made to go along with it.
So that's how it went.
Of course, "ARTISAN OF PLEASURE" is also the soundtrack for the game "ARTISAN OF PLEASURE" as well. Since we decided to create the game when the music's direction was already clear, the process actually went in the opposite direction of the usual order, sequentially. With that sequence of events in place, it developed into the release we're doing now.
The song adorning the beginning, "Symphony of ARTISAN", is certainly appropriate for a game opening, and is a song with a orchestral sound with a real heroic flair. After that, there are songs that sound as if something's going to happen, songs that show recalling that premonition; songs that are full of rage and violence, songs that show real tranquility. One can really see the progression that one would make in a game, with the various scenes in the music coming out one after the other. When I listened to the album, I thought, "It's really a work that is packed full of songs that call forth various scenes instantly."
I too was imagining various scenes while I was writing the songs. I wrote all different types of music, thinking that I really wanted to show an adventurous spirit with the album. For example, I would suppose that it's in the style of the old "Dragon Quest" songs, where the orchestra is at the center of the composition. Also, for the game, I made various scenes in which different views would be expressed. Before that, I had already put in songs that were highlighting the guitar part, songs that were just played with piano, things like that...so maybe it's just that it naturally expanded into what it is now. On the other hand, I feel as if I was able to use those disconnected sections to allow people to imagine all of these scenes, but I had to show the story element in the end as well.
I really felt the story element listening to the album.
Looking back on the flow of the songs now, I have become able to think that putting the songs where I did was surely the proper way to go. Furthermore, by putting in reprises like "reprise of tears" as it relates to "tears", gives birth to the idea of the pieces as creating a story that is connected together. Since I had settled upon this being "the soundtrack for a fictional game", of course I thought of the reprises as something important to include as well. Putting these songs in also allowed me to work with other components, as well.
After all, by thinking of the order of the songs as well as the arrangement, it allows you to stir up curiosity in the listener as well, right?
When working with something that has such an instantly perceivable emphasis, it's frightening to think about the possibility of it being something someone could "get tired of" when listening, right? For example, if everything was all orchestral, it would be easy to think, "Oh, this is a little on the serious side..." so it was a real challenge to have songs that were of a similar style that still worked when all the melodies were lined up after one another. First of all, I made it a priority to make sure that they were songs I wouldn't get tired of when listening to them.
I wanted to try being able to just lightly say, "Oh, yes, this album was something I made myself at home!" (Laughs)
When keyboardists go to make solo albums, there are a lot of them that fall into the trap of making their albums a sort of rabid progressive rock, though. In your case, kiyo, although you have a strong basis compositionally in progressive/hard rock, I think part of your charm is your being able to, as you've said, make a soundtrack for a fictional game because you've wanted to, and being able to take the stance that it too can be enjoyed even as popular music.
Certainly, when a keyboardist thinks of doing a solo album, they run right away to progressive rock. Of course, depending on the song, those elements are still there in my work as well. In spite of this, I think that the proper way to look at my work is as something that just opens with that concept of being a "fictional game soundtrack". After all, if you do that, then I had to be dedicated to the idea of "capturing the general public".
To make the word "ARTISAN" appropriate with this work, it falls to you to give the public the impression of your having used this work to have a good handle on the balance of your work, as well as investigating deeply into the manic parts of your own musicianship, after all.
There is an embarrassing part in saying just the title itself, though. I thought it would be a good title, in that it shows my intent in that "This is how obsessed I am about this," kind of way.
In this work, not only does it function as a keyboardist's solo album, but it also has several driving points—if I were to make a quick judgment, I would say that it has a band sound.
You think so, huh? As would be expected of me, I'm releasing this while still feeling like "We're all performing this together". So, some of the songs have an "orchestra" feel, while others that I put horns in have a "big band" feel, and by that it becomes that the only songs I've placed on this album are those songs that were created out of being close to other people. The only song that stands out as different from that is the piano piece "reprise of tears". But, even in that song, the sound of two pianos was divided between two sound channels, so even though I am playing it by myself, the image is that two people are actually doing a four-handed performance...and that's how I made it to sound.
During the actual recording, did you actually invite a bunch of different artists to work with you??
On the album, only two tracks emphasize the singing over the instrumentals; those being "tears", sung by yasu, and "eternal heart ~The Flower of Dreams~" sung by Okika. Of course, in addition to calling in vocalists, as a matter of the very minimum of courtesies, I also called in other people to play guitar as well as bass for me. As for the other songs, I did perform all of them myself.
You mean, in those other songs you showed us, you were the one playing that really quick guitar, kiyo-san??
I was playing, yes. Even saying that, though, I was taking the recorded pieces of my playing and joining them together with a PC program, as well. So, the other sounds that went into the songs were just the guitar and bass that I had edited with my PC. With the other instruments as well, I think it really came out sounding like you're listening to a live performance, though. I went about creating it completely on PC for this reason.
What! That's a shocking statement. I thought that kind of presence was typical for a live performance.
That's because the software we have these days is really great (Laughs).
Certainly, there's difficult parts about making music that way, but if I really have to boast about it, I'd say that as long as I have the proper program, they can write songs that anyone would be able to play.
Even if you put it that way, it's surely because of your knowledge of the program. More than that, you have a real sense of musical style, and that's why you can do what you do, don't you think?
Eh...in terms of expression, that's the victory or defeat of the individual. But, I thought it would be neat just to be able to say "I made this all by myself at my house~!" (Laughs) Of course, since it's a solo album, thanks to my thinking that I wanted to do as much of this myself as possible, there were a lot of times where I was just sitting there at my computer screen constructing sections with clicks of the mouse. (Laughs)
Hearing those words, don't you think more people will think, "Let's try doing that too"?!
Now, there are a lot of people already using DTM, right?
I also made it for those people, so they can say, "Music like this isn't about being a professional with access to equipment, I can write this kind of stuff too!" Eh...but since the software itself is quite expensive, it does fall under the pretext of "If you really want to have a suitable program for this", though.
The basis of the mobile game is "food". Please try making all those dishes, too, until I'm satisfied.
There's a game for mobiles and PC that you are releasing together with the album under the same "ARTISAN OF PLEASURE" title, however. What kind of subject matter is in the game?!
Basically, since I just created a simple mobile game, I'm a bit worried that people expect a lot more out of it. Simply put, it deals with "food".
"Food"...?
In this game, the character is an apprentice with a chef first. The chef he is apprenticing under teaches him many different cooking techniques, and the player comes across various kinds of ingredients and recipes, learns them, and then goes up against the final boss. During this process, there are various scenes of "meeting the chef and finding desserts to eat along the way". That is, it's a very simple game. Though the game is also jam-packed with the music that I wrote before.
I can't even imagine how you would put together the songs on your album with a game about food, so I'm really curious to see how it all goes together.
Eh...there were some songs I was forced to create because of the game, though, too. (Laughs) Of course, since I was writing music that was more serious in nature, I suddenly thought that for a game, something more on the pop side of things would be better...so a real gap between the two came out. So, I created the game with the same level of seriousness as I wrote my music in the first place. Naturally, I thought that I really wanted to make something that synchronized with the player and really moved them in some way, so that's what I did.
When you finish the game, "tears" as sung by yasu-kun starts to play, and you've also put it up for download as well.
Of course, I thought that there had to be something to aim for when finishing the game.
"tears", once again, really sounds like a Janne Da Arc song, doesn't it?!
That song was actually one that I originally wrote for Janne Da Arc. It ended up being a composition that we put on hold, considering that at the time we were releasing a lot of songs that sounded similar to it. But, it was a song that I liked personally very much, and so I was always thinking somewhere that I would like to be able to use it somewhere...so it was just good timing that I happened to come across it again for my solo album. As a result, I was thinking to myself, "If I put this on my solo album, everyone will complain about it" (Laughs).
So, is that why you asked yasu to be your vocalist for the song, because you originally intended it as a Janne Da Arc song??
That's right. I had originally written it knowing that yasu was going to be singing it, so I thought, "If yasu would sing this for me, then it would be my ideal song," so I asked him to sing it for me. As for what it's about, well...I guess you could say it's finally getting rid of something past its expiration date that you've been avoiding eating because you're on a diet? Or, maybe it's the conflict between that and saying, "Maybe I should eat this while it's still good, and it'll be delicious".
For "tears", you were also in charge of writing the lyrics. It became a song that resounds with the feeling of loneliness that comes with remembering someone who you have lost.
Everyone who listens to this song just perceives it as a parting song, though. Actually, the overlying theme isn't about that at all.
What?! It's not a song about lost love?!
The art on the album jacket is also related to this, but it's actually "A Farewell to Shortcake".
Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?! A farewell to SHORTCAKE?!?!?!?!
For example, ♪ The faraway ringing of the bells♪ is the expiration date; that is, the tolling of midnight on a large clock. The ♪ white skin♪ refers to "cream". In other words, this song is the story of someone who has a shortcake that is about to expire right before their eyes...and they're on a diet, so they're asking themselves if they should just throw it away on the exact moment it expires so that they can keep with their diet. Or, should they eat it while it's still delicious? It illustrates that conflict. Of course, if I didn't explain that, no one would have any idea, though, would they?
I had no idea.
People wouldn't really know, because even the ones that caught on would just do so because they'd think, "You don't use words like "I loved you" or "kissing" in your songs, do you?" After all, I'm the type of person who tries to express myself without using words like those.
I'm thinking that just by talking to you. As for the game, you're pursuing knowledge of cooking so you can present the boss with some really delicious food, right? Those people who spend a really long time learning, and then finally present their cooking after such hardship...
Even though I always make too much, depending on what it is, it'll go past the expiration date even in my fridge, if too much time passes (Laughs). But in the game, there are ranks depending on how quickly you finish the game. In this, too, there's the hidden theme of 'expiration dates'. Like...even if you go to the boss and finally make your dish, your fish could've gone bad....things like that.
That sort of theme is really amazing!!
When I wrote the lyrics to the song, I meant for them to be ironic; more than reading from the bottom of society, it was more that they showed a rebellious side...but then in the process of doing the game and the song, they turned into something much more nonchalant.
Surely, that was something that came out of recording it. If you compare the first seven songs and the last seven, I think there are a lot of things that you're able to see.
For the album, you also recorded one more song, "eternal heart ~The Flower of Dreams~". Is there a deeper meaning hidden in that one, too??
When I was writing the song, I was thinking of "the feeling of liking someone, but being unable to see them". In my case, I was imagining the actress Yuki Matsushita, and then got to thinking, "Surely, even if I were born again, I'd never be able to meet her..." so, surrounded by those feelings of insecurity, I wrote it as if the person was just a little bit dangerous. Somehow, it ended up sounding just a bit like a stalker's song or something.
Could it be that this was your first time working with a female vocalist as well?
It was, yes. The woman singing for me, Okika-san, is in her early 20s, though. Originally, I was introduced to her by my director. When I heard her voice, it was so good...and I was really deeply moved by it. I haven't fallen in love with a voice like that since Junko Yagami's, probably. (Laughs.)
Isn't it best to have a woman's voice singing this song, one that embraces such sorrow while being enveloped in classical Japanese language?
I was really surprised at how calming her voice is, considering that she's so young. She has a voice that does harmonies very well, and I could really hear that feeling of "pursuing the thoughts of one you love" through her voice. This time, it was a really good thing that I found her to fill in this position.
This "ARTISAN OF PLEASURE" is actually separated into two different blocks, could you say? I remember thinking as I was listening that there was a clear A section and B section.
Of course, since I did do the record with concern for how it would flow together. The curtain is opened on the story with the fanfare of the first track, "Symphony of ARTISAN", and then the A section ends with a song carrying much sorrow, "eternal heart". "Road to the master", once again, presents that fanfare-like sound that starts the story all over again from the eighth track. So, the ninth track is the reprise version of "tears". The last song on the album also became "eternal heart ~The Flower of Dreams~" from the song appearing previously. If you listen to the first seven tracks and the last seven, and compare them, I think you'll be able to see a lot of things in it.
Maybe this is the result of kiyo's malfunction as an artist?!?!
This time, you've released your CD+DVD "Gosadou: The Complete Edition" as Dr. Doyle Yodonogawa at the same time as your album release. In that work, you've played things up considerably, showing us an unexpected side of yourself. Do you really cover that wide of a variety of subjects?!
In that, I'm doing "an honest inspection of trivial things". In a sense, I'm taking a page out of "Tamori Club" in making things that don't mean anything at all into something extremely serious. I remembered how funny that show was, and thought that if I could do that, then I could have a lot of fun with it.
But, what in the world is "kiyo's Search for the Public Restroom ~The Call of Nature and Society" about?! It's just really been on my mind is all...
That's an idea that came along as I was doing other things...though it does seem like there are tons of interesting toilets all around the world. It's not really about that, though, it's more "Let's inspect those bathrooms that you can find anywhere", in this case. I offer my vast knowledge on public bathrooms that I often go to, in parks and such, like "How's this one? Or that one?"
I also thought, "Huh?! What's this?" when I came across the title "Assault! The Next Door Neighbor's T-Shirts ~The T-Shirts You Can't Throw Out Are My Favorites!~"
When I was recording this, one of my aims was to force myself to do things I'm not very good at. This section is about seeing me go to various people's homes, asking them for the old T-shirts that are just sleeping in their drawers. I guess you could say that I'm the type of person who just entirely gives up on something when they have to go calling at someone else's home for it. I think it takes a lot of courage to just step into someone's daily life like that. Eh...but it was a lot of fun to be able to see the kinds of things about the facets of someone's life that had been hidden away by the T-shirts that people own, too.
The section "Chatting Places ~kiyo's self-styled debate with young people about the world's problems~"...is this something you're bad at, too?
Absolutely! (Laughs) Actually, I love seeing what happens to a person in the middle of a really intense debate when their point is being argued so desperately, and their point is inevitably rebutted. Thinking, "Oh, it might be interesting if I can challenge myself to experience that on my own", I got together the young people's Anti-Kiyo League and had a debate with them. Though...I suppose it's more of "young people take my treasured opinions and completely condemn them" rather than a "debate", really (Laughs).
What is "Armor Science ~Always Fighting~" about?
I put on armor; or rather, Western-styled plate armor, and walked across the multiple intersection in Shibuya. I go to an udon place, and eat noodles there. I also ask the people who see me not to ask my reasons for doing what I'm doing. After all, there's significance in making usually mundane activities very serious undertakings. (Laughs.)
And then, what about
The Drunken Millionaire At His Limit ~The Staff's Serious Debt-Management Meeting~?!
That was me going out at night in Shinbashi with an iPod Nano. At first, I thought I'd challenge myself to see if I could make my companions trade it for something of equal value, seeing as it was made for this in advance. I ended up trading it for something worth about 3000 yen. (Laughs) Even though everyone I spoke to was horribly drunk, they were surprisingly lucid. Eh...but while we were recording, there was quite the episode where this drunk guy kissed me...and though the end of it isn't on film, he turned out to be someone I went to high school with, who was some years below me. (Laughs.) As for what I ended up with in the end, please watch the film and find out for yourselves.
Possibly, is the "The Natural Hustler kiyo ~An Eternal Rival?! The Final Showdown!~" section the best one to see?
Oh, that is the highlight, for sure. Though, as it says, it is a showdown between myself and Janne Da Arc guitarist you. Even though we call it a billiards showdown, it's not really a matter of who wins and loses, but the victory or defeat as it takes place playing billiards lying on the ground, in a very public place with people walking around everywhere. Since it is...heavily rigged in my favor, it might be a good idea for fans of you-san not to watch this one (Laughs) Coincidentally, the narration is done once again by that person (Laughs).
For that work, you also recorded a CD containing 3 songs.
After all, my main occupation is a musician. I put those three songs in, thinking, "It doesn't work if I don't at least try to protect that one part of myself". Coincidentally, I asked Onkou-san to do the sound effects for me. As for the BGM on the DVD, regarding its stance as "music", well...I wrote it all myself. It's very lacking in a genre musically, but that's still fun for me to do anyway.
Surely, isn't this a work documenting your own malfunction?
I do such stupid things on there, and considering that my main occupation is as a musician, I do call it a "malfunction". (Laughs.) But, maybe I can say that if you watch it, you'll be able to see various sides of me you never have before? I think it has really broken down the wall surrounding my image as a musician, but in a good way.
Are you working on solo work now as well?
If I can, I'd like to try composing a complete game soundtrack again. If I do go that way, it will surely have to be at the same time as my work with Janne Da Arc. Someone, please, give me work writing game music! (Laughs.)