Translated from Pakila Music, 2007.10.17
Original Text: Tomonori Nakazawa.
you is currently in the middle of activities as Janne Da Arc's guitarist. His second album in what has become a trilogy, "LIFE ~the second movement~" goes on sale on October 24. At the core of these works is you's own heart, which he seeks out to create the "LIFE" trilogy.
First of all, we'd like to hear some of your impressions, looking back on your first album in this trilogy of your solo works, "LIFE ~the first movement~".
While "LIFE" is the theme that carries through all three albums in the trilogy, I created the first one "LIFE~the first movement~" as an album that only contained those songs that were really easy to listen to. Using an electric guitar to express this feeling of "The feeling of life that everyone carries with them", I painted the picture of my own personal point of view.
That was how you expressed the daily lives of people, by taking various snapshots of single scenes and expressing them in the nine songs on the album.
Above all, "LIFE" was comprised of my thought of using the songs to cut away the "scenes that we pass by so often in our daily lives". It was true in the previous work, and of course it will remain so for the next work as well. Even if people say that it's a guitarist's solo album, it's not played in that manic sort of way at all. It's more of a work that just melts into the background of the hearts of a lot of different kinds of people.
The second work in the LIFE series, "LIFE ~the second movement~" is a work completely colored by the sound of acoustic guitar.
The basis of this album shares the same theme as the last one, but as far as the overall image is concerned, this work leans more toward "My individual, personal life". Of course, there's no electric guitar in this work at all, and the whole album was composed entirely with acoustic guitar. It's a composition that I created as "an expression, with pure guitar, of the impressions and sensations I carry of my own life."
One of the songs on this album, "memory"...does it have the same melody as the last part of your song "retrospect"...?!
That's right, I put them together. It's so that when you listen to the three albums in the series together, if you listen carefully you can hear the connection between all of them. So, at the beginning of the second album, I put that in so that when you listen, you "remember" the first album, and that's where it flows into "memory". If I were to say it plainly, while "memory" is one of the songs, it serves as a sort of interlude between this and the previous album, before the second album takes over what the first one began. The curtain actually opens on "LIFE ~the second movement~" from the second song, "oneself".
So, saying that, that means that the last song from "LIFE ~the second movement~", "far", will also...
I do plan to put part of it in the first track of "LIFE ~the third movement~", yes. (Laughs.)
The song that plays a very substantial role in "LIFE ~the second movement~", "oneself", is a very passionate tune with a Spanish tone to it.
In a substantial way, that song is the main song of "LIFE ~the second movement~". From the first moments when I was bringing this album together, I planned to make acoustic guitar the focus, but I added in actual drums and bass to make a very conspicuous tune.
Be that as it may, you like the feeling of a smooth album, and musical compositions that feature a strong rhythm section, don't you?
Since this work is taking over from the previous one, there's also that same feeling in it that it's really easy to listen to. In any case, it's a piece where the melody is very important.
On the first half of the album, there's nothing but bright sounding songs, one right after the other. In the middle of the album, there's a huge shift as we move into the sixth track, "fact&truth ~zeroII~". Is it possible that this song...?
It's a song that is something of a sequel to the song "ZERO", that appeared on Janne Da Arc's third album "GAIA". Though there was no rhythm section in "ZERO", but I put in a timpani-like rhythm section into this piece quite prominently to bring that idea to a strong finish.
In the seventh track, "existence of the soul", you have an amazing solo section.
In that song, though it has a considerable Spanish atmosphere, I used classical guitar. That kind of classic Spanish feel was something that I absolutely wanted to include when I decided to do a fully acoustic album. Even though I will use the same kind of negotiation between guitars during performance, I think that actually putting in so many different kinds of instruments makes it a song with a lot of interest.
Personally, my favorite was the fusion-like sound of track 9, "balance".
That song to me was the expression of that sort of Keziah Jones-like pop image. For that song, I used both session artists and some synthesizer. The moment I put the keyboard in, I gained some real confidence that with that addition, the piece should become very interesting. As you've said already, I agree that this piece does have a fusion-like feel.
In the eighth track, "native beauty", you've added a good bit of spice into the performance by adding in the traditional Okinawan sanshin to the piece.
In "native beauty", I absolutely wanted to include the sound of the sanshin. My manager actually went to a music store in Okinawa, and got one just for me. The addition of the sanshin in performance is something that I just did for my own personal benefit. Actually, I had the impression that doing this particular piece was a journey for me personally, in the same way that putting together these albums are, especially in including such a native instrument. For that reason, if there's an instrument I need to use to properly express the feeling in my work, I of course want to use them, even if it means having to take on a real challenge in learning something new.
On the limited edition press, there's a DVD included. Contained there is a video of the third song, "a life trip". When you were thinking of which song would be the lead one of this album, did you immediately think, "This is it"?!
When I was thinking, "What should I do about this, making a song off this album the first one people hear..." my true feelings on choosing this one were because it is easy to recall as an acoustic piece. It's also the one I chose to do the PV with.
The PV shooting was really difficult, was it not?
In August, the Kantou region was hit by a typhoon, right? Right after the typhoon passed over us, that's when I did the PV shooting. We had done the outdoor parts of the shooting previously, though. At that time, the wind was blowing so strongly that if I held on to my guitar the way I usually do, it felt like it would just fly away. (Laughs.) Even though it's a calm song, if you look at my hair and stuff like that, you might not get that feeling at all. (Laughs.) But, since there are a lot of scenes we shot in the studio, those parts will give some kind of peace of mind, though...
Do you want people who are real guitar freaks to listen to this album?!
Of course, I want other guitarists to listen to this album. Honestly, to me, this album didn't give me that sort of impression at all. More importantly, I really want this to be a work that reaches a great number of people, from all sorts of places.
This material has a lot of aspects that sound very much like background music. Even though I was glad to hear it, I don't think you really expected it to go that way.
On the contrary, I'm happy to hear it. This was true of my previous work as well, but while listening to my work on the subject of "LIFE", it's wonderful if it gives you a pleasant feeling somehow. If people really find satisfaction in something like that, I can't really say any more than that really.
Your first work was based in electric guitar, your second in acoustic guitar. Is it possible that you could be singing on your third album?!
I'm sorry to say this, but I won't be singing. The next one will of course be an instrumental album as well. Though I'm still deciding what to do with it, I'm thinking that right now it would be nice to bring in a lot of "progressive" sound for a sort of "musical selection album". When it gets to that point, I might bring in someone other than myself to sing, if a song calls for it. As for how far I'm planning to go, I might write about ten songs or so for the next album. Honestly, it's still so vague in my own mind that I'm still quite a while from being able to do any kind of concrete work, but please do accept it for the time being as just an idea I'm working with.
Beginning in November, you'll be going on a nationwide tour of major cities for cafe lives as part of a tour you're calling "LIFE ~the second movement~ UNPLUGGED".
Since this album is an acoustic album, I want people to be very close to me as I play so that they can really enjoy the music, so I decided to do the tour in a cafe live sort of style. I've already put together a tentative set list, but since it's just going to be me and my acoustic guitar on stage, depending on the day and the reaction I get from the audience, the set list is by no means concrete, and I feel like I really have the freedom in these shows to break away from that as I choose. Of course, since it's an environment where my audience will be able to watch me while enjoying a meal and drinks, like the album, I'd also like the music during the live shows to be able to just fade into the background...and then, if the place itself feels so much more comfortable while people are sitting there listening, I'll be very happy with that.
Really, it sounds like you've really put yourself into this album fully.
I think it's the best thing in the world if I can show people that those kinds of shows are ones where you can have a really great time, too.
So, finally, please give our readers a message once again regarding "LIFE ~the second movement~".
This applies to my first album as well, of course, but if you can, through these three albums, enjoy my "LIFE"...also, I would be so happy if those who listen to this work, as they go on with their lives, find some comfort and enjoyment in the scenes that I've presented within it. Somehow, if my work can let you feel at ease while you're listening, that would be the best, I think.