Translated from original text by Hiroshi Mitsutani, originally appearing in M-Gazette vol. 24, May 1999.
As a drummer, how was playing "Desperate"?
The time between when I was given the song and when it was taken to recording was really short. In that way, arranging it was really tough. Also, we didn't actually have a concrete arrangement (Laughs), so there was a lot of potential for it to be changed in comparison to how we did it live.
And "R-TYPE [Hitomi no Iro]"?
When I heard it on the demo tape initially and was trying to make it work, it didn't even cross my mind to ask if I could bring the tempo down. (Laughs) I just dropped it from 200 BPM to 195 BPM. With an eight-beat song I didn't think it was really possible to hear that much of a difference, but for my part, it really was a bit more distanced from the other songs that we had done, in the way that I was filling in the gaps in the sixteenths with the high-hat.
How did you do it live?
During the show, I couldn't hear my cues very well, so I really didn't know what the proper tempo or anything was, but I think I still hammered it out okay (Laughs). Even though I ended up not thinking at all about the eight-beat plan and turned it into "It's okay if I just do four beats, right?" (Laughs.)
So, in those ways, it seems as if it was very hard to get accustomed to.
That's right. I was used to it by the time we entered the recording phase, however, after we started, it just felt like we were in the middle of bringing together all the little grains, so to speak.
We've been told that "Psycho Dance" is a song that comes from the very beginning of Janne Da Arc.
Yes, though we didn't start actually performing it live until after I became an official member, but at the same time, one of my friends attended a show and said that he knew the song. I had played with them as a support member before any number of times, and even at live shows, I had played it any number of times as well.
"...song" appears to be, tempo-wise, leaning the most toward a medium pace.
When we were compiling the songs for this album, "CHAOS MODE", I was the one that said, "Let's put "...song" on here, too!" It was just me, all by myself...(Laughs.)
Tempo-wise, you like to play those kinds of songs most of all, don't you?
That's true, there's a feeling to those kinds of songs that I really like. But, I do regret that with songs with that kind of medium tempo, it makes it so that I can't use my full potential, either.
Those times when you're writing the score and the notes don't work out at all are really difficult, aren't they?
Yes, they really are. To say it plainly, now that we are where we are, I have some regrets. (Laughs.) We haven't done that song live much at all. We haven't played it more than two or three times. So, even if we do play it, we always feel like we want to try new songs. When we do the song live from now on, I think that the arrangement will change as well.
In that song, there are parts of it that are a little more pronounced, but it seems as if it would be difficult to decide how to place the beats.
That's true. As I said afterward, it was very important to understand how one rhythm is born from another.
And "Labyrinth"?
Generally, we recorded with the same arrangement as we used to play it live. If you listen to all the things we were able to add in, the sound itself sounds a little bit buried in everything else, but it expands back out again once we hit the bridge, though (Laughs). But, without bringing the sound itself out very plainly, I'm a little worried about if it really does sound less crowded later on...(Laughs.)
Since songs like those are very much like Janne Da Arc itself, you must be accustomed to those by now, right? Is there something that you pay particular attention to, when you're playing the beat so heavily?
Depending on the overall atmosphere of the song, I change my hits on the snare drum accordingly. That's about the extent of it. I do think that it might be a good idea to change the tuning on some of them as well, but I don't really have the time to take it that far. What is different from song to song is the pitch of the snare.
"Strange Voice" is also a song that you've had for a long time, isn't it?
But, the arrangement has changed drastically. So, just like a new song, until the day we actually recorded it, the arrangement wasn't quite put together, and I kept falling into the same old way we always played it (Laughs). It was so hard to remember what the new arrangement was (Laughs). Even though I knew how it went in my head, my body refused to play it.
Generally, were you able to finish the recording smoothly?
"Resist" and this album went by rather smoothly, yes. As far as actual takes went, we didn't have very many at all. If I compare it to when we were doing "Dearly", I've really gotten used to how exactly we go about doing our recording. We also gave one another advice, as people who have recorded three albums before.
Was there something that really bothered you about the takes themselves?
No, I was actually quite relaxed by that time. So, there wasn't really anything that felt scattered or anything like that, either. "Dearly" was the recording session where we felt the happiest, though (Laughs). It was as if all of us were just going to fly away (Laughs).
Did you change your drum set this time around?
I've been in the middle of thinking of changing over to another set, since our tour in April. But, I have money problems (Laughs). They're really quite expensive (Laughs).
Drums cost money, don't they...(Laughs)
Just tuning them up, with drums and casings, costs about 40,000 to 50,000 yen. It's like, "Whaaaat, what the hell?!" But, I do want to get the ones I have tuned up!
And lastly, something about your latest work.
I would be very happy if those who listened to the entire album felt as if we have grown as a band, even if it's just a little bit.