Translated from original text by Hiroshi Mitsutani, originally appearing in M-Gazette vol. 24, May 1999.
"Desperate" and "R-TYPE [Hitomi no Iro]" are new songs, but when you appeared at ON AIR EAST during the MC, you told us "The next two songs are mine and kiyo's." (Laughs.)
That doesn't mean that those songs just belong to kiyo and I or anything, though. (Laughs.) Actually, we had said, "When we go to recording, let's use at least two new songs." When we were recording "Resist", we had written some songs that we decided that we would use on "CHAOS MODE". So, as things happened and the recording progressed, the songs just naturally became kiyo's and mine.
When did you write the other four songs?
If you don't include arrangement, and just when the originals were written, "Psycho Dance" was written in the summer of my third year in high school, "...song" was done around the same time as "Resistance" and "Stare". Then, "Labyrinth" was written in the winter of my third year of high school, and finally "Strange Voice" was in the fall of the same year. (Laughs.)
Did the recording this time go smoothly?
This time, they made a point of talking about the lyrics...it wasn't about the overall content, or the phrasing, it was something like, "You can't use words like this."
Ah, of course...there are some words that are prohibited for broadcast and such.
Yeah. In terms of subject matter, it's not all that dangerous, but if they actually look at the vocabulary you're using, then it gets a little more shady.
Are you the type of person to write lyrics right away?
I am. When I was rehearsing with everyone, I was thinking about the melody line to "Desperate", and had the feeling that I would write the lyrics the next day. I'm not the type to really have a lot of problems with thinking too deeply while I write.
You also made a promotion video for "R-TYPE [Hitomi no Iro]". Was it the most suited for it, among the songs you've done?
That's right. We had been saying for some time, "Let's do a promotion video". Making a video out of one of the songs we had done to this point just didn't sit well, and so I decided that I would write a new song. So, with that song, while I was writing it, what was most on my mind was a song that would fit the image of a PV. The image of a powerful, spirited song. So, simply enough, the song has a very fast tempo. (Laughs.)
When you're writing a song, can you get an idea of what it will be ahead of time?
For me, everything happens at the same time. I just wrote it from the first note, from the drum intro, the one that goes 'daran daran'. (Laughs.) It's not that I feel that I'm writing something that already has an ending, or anything like that. I'm thinking about the lyrics at the same time, generally, and figuring out which words suit what I'm writing and everything.
So, we really don't have any other option than to say that Janne Da Arc's music just naturally progresses from the A-Melody to the B-Melody and finally to the ending, then. Changing the subject to your lyrics, what does the "R" in "R-TYPE" stand for?
A long time ago, there was a shooting game called "R-TYPE". Do you know it? [1]
I do, I do! There was that one, wasn't there!
I really, really liked that game, and played it a lot. (Laughs.) I always thought that sort of reverberation served it well.
So, since you's whammy bar kind of sounded like laser beams, that's the image you worked with?
That's right, that's right. (Laughs.)
But, what's "The Eye's Color"?
Ah, having to take that question hurts! (Laughs.) Can I really explain why I used a subtitle...? (Laughs.) As far as subject matter goes, it has to do with the relationship between men and women. They have those things, right, that tell you, "This kind of woman isn't a good match for you," right? If, for example, a goody-two-shoes is the "A-Type", the type of person the likes of whom you've never even met before becomes the "R-Type".
Ah, so the kind of woman in those lyrics isn't a good match for you then, is she, yasu?
That might be the case...(Laughs.)
You told us that you wrote "Psycho Dance" in the summer of your third year of high school; was the subject matter in the lyrics also there at that time?
About the same time, yes. The B-part was entirely in English. I hated using only a little bit of English in lines, I found it to be confusing.
Composing those kinds of songs is a common pattern for Janne Da Arc as a specialty, isn't it?
That's right...since Janne Da Arc's start was with those songs~ (Laughs.)
Really...you also have the song "Fantasia" that is like that as well, don't you.
I think that's really my vice, writing songs like that. But, related to that, I have a tendency to, just in arranging, default to a pattern based in fours.
The summer of your third year of high school, when it came to deciding what you were going to do, was a very important time for you, wasn't it?
Yes, it was. I thought for sure that I'd keep going with school and enter a university. ...but, that plan fell totally flat. (Laughs.) As I was out of work, waiting to get into a university, I thought for sure that I would take the entrance exams. However, over the course of a year, I decided that studying any more would just be absolutely impossible (Laughs), and thought that I should just totally devote myself to messing around. (Laughs.)
We've heard that initially, you weren't planning on releasing "...song".
We thought that we would try and use it for a basis to our overall sound, but we didn't think it would really get anyone involved. At shows, too, they didn't let us play any more than two songs when we got up there. The people at the live house told us, "That's a really stupid song to choose for a live song." (Laughs.)
Doing that, without even thinking you threw a "Love song..." in there. (Laughs.)
That's right, as if to say, "how honest..." (Laughs.) While thinking, "Oh, how embarrassing..." I wrote it down. (Laughs.)
The song was written by kiyo, but it's set in a really high key to start with, isn't it?
That's true...it's quite difficult at times. Right now, my throat's a little sore, so I can't use my falsetto, and it's a little bit uncertain as to if I'll actually be able to pull it off or not (Laughs).
You wrote "Labyrinth" in the winter of your third year of high school, but what has changed about it since then?
Actually, it's almost exactly the same, even the lyrics haven't changed. When ka-yu became a member of the band, we hadn't played it on stage in a long time, but he revived it for me. (Laughs.) The other members hate it, but ka-yu said, "I like it, I like it!" so we started doing it again.
Writing about such erotic subjects, in your third year of high school...
(Bitter Laugh) Simply put, that was the time that I really started to think about sex a lot. I just did it when I really wanted to fuck someone so badly I couldn't stand it.
This is true of other lyrics as well, but some of the phrases you use are really old expressions.
When I'm looking for the words to put in my lyrics, I have to think about how they suit the sound of the song, and how everything comes together. At places where the pitch goes up, I look for words that suit that, that also have the vowels to support that movement. So, I get the feeling that I have no idea what I'm writing about. (Laughs.)
What has changed about "Strange Voice" since you wrote it in the fall of your third year of high school?
The basis of it hasn't changed at all, but the composition has changed completely. The composition moves much more deliberately now.
The lyrics of that song have a bit of an 'occult' feeling. You can really tell that you wrote those as a junior in high school. (Laughs.)
You can, can't you? (Laughs.) I wrote them at the peak of my youth. I thought that I might change the lyrics, too, but at the same time, I was reminded that how I was back then was a good thing. If we could bring forward who we are now with the arrangement, that would be wonderful.
The things that the high-school student yasu specialized in and those that the yasu of today specializes in has changed, right? When you think about the songs that you wrote back then, what do you think about them?
Aaaah, now that you mention it, I have changed! Though I sing those songs the same way I always have (Laughs). I've really come to a good place with all of this. (Laughs.)
Back then, what did you write your songs on?
Just like now, on a keyboard. Though now I have days where I strum away on it on my guitar at the same time. (Laughs.)
On the whole, how would you like us to listen to this album("CHAOS MODE")?
When we do things live it's the same way, but I think that the way everything flows together is very important, so I tried to be really meticulous about what order the songs came in. I tried to make it so that the CD can go on loop, and when the sixth song is over, it still feels good to go back to the first song all over again...so please try to listen to it like that.
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[1] The game was released on PC in 1987, and had a variety of sequels. You can play it online through this site.