Wednesday 12 May 2010

Arena 37 - June 2010 - Uruha Interview



TOUR10 NAMELESS LIBERTY SIX BULLETS 01 START!!
Introducing Uruha, the 4th player to the GazettE’s personal gameplan.
With “Easy to Convey” as the theme, it turned out to be a photography session at an airport in the outskirts of Kantou. The interview traces Uruha’s thoughts about the Final of the  Fan-Club tour in March, the changes in his attitudes about making songs and the “present” of the man that is “Uruha”.





Text : Takeshi Sachiko
Photo : Miyawaki Susumu (PROGRESS-M)
Hair & Make-up : Machida Yoriko
Styling & Costume design : Hiruma Masato
Location : Honda Airways (049-299-1111 / Homepage : http://www.honda-air.com/)





URUHA
from. the GazettE



The light that is the previous state.


----The photography today was done at an airport, so was it you who chose the venue?
“It wasn’t exactly the airport to begin with, but I wanted to have a picture that was simple and easy to understand and communicate, and I only had the idea of abandonment in mind. By simple, I didn’t mean the ‘studio photography with white background curtains’ kind of simple. Letting go of that sort of an image, the idea of ‘How about an airport?’ came up. It fit perfectly with my image. The costume was finalised only after the shoot at the airport was decided upon, because I wanted a ‘hard’ image. Although I conveyed only that image to the stylists, the ideal picture I had figured in my mind took form. We took off at 9 in the morning, and it was really rushed, but by evening, since we wanted to shoot in a rather un-Japanese airspace, it was quite some fun shooting in an atmosphere like in some foreign country. I did have the build-up in mind. Fanning from below, and experiencing an ambience different from normal airport activities was quite enjoyable. Those were the sort feelings I gathered from all the personal sessions I did in the past. Trying to present the image of emerging out of a cucoon, or breaking out of a shell, through photographs, ended up being rather messy affairs. I thought that was something I could express quite well in my own way, and there were also places where I felt that the true meaning did come forth. So this time round, it was something easy to fathom. Actually, it’s really difficult to express something to another person through ways other than words, isn’t it?”

----That’s true, because there is nothing but our senses to express something to another person through means other than words, right?
“Yes. Even with respect to music, since it’s not lyrics, it’s meaningless to attach any meaning to it. I personally think it’s meaningless to be explaining how “this sound expresses such and such meaning.””

----Does this also apply to normal song-making?
“It does apply. Isn’t music something that one just gets, one way or the other, because it’s all about the senses, really. For that reason, I’ve recently been thinking quite a lot about how I want to make something that expresses even without any explanations. What I sense when I’m making songs is something like the feeling of having a foreigner before me and trying  to express things through gestures. Though it’s the same even with the band, for my personal projects too, whatever I’m feeling strongly at that time, at that moment, does remain behind in the pages of the magazines. I think its not about forcibly retaining our essence, but about not blurring it either. I think that is because all the influences and the environments that I have been under uptil now have been naturally turning into something of my own. In the past, we were concious about not having any blurs or vagueness, but I think there were also times when we did that. We tried not to flatter ourselves. In those days, it was more about not considering anything except ourselves, rather than the thought of what one wanted to express individually. “What we want to show” was more important than “What I want to express”. But this time, or rather, recently, we’ve also come to consider things like what an outsider would feel when they see us, or how we would like to be seen by them. I feel the same about making songs recently. Rather than it being fine as long as I’m good, I’ve come to think over things like ‘What sort of songs are loved by the people?’. In the past, I made songs that I wanted to make, or songs that I loved, but these days, I’ve begun to feel like making songs that will be loved by everybody. I think it’s hardly anything if I do what I enjoy doing, and frankly, I think I’d rather have people enjoy watching me having fun. It’s not that I don’t want to make songs that people acknowledge, or songs that are thought of as good, but making such songs is difficult, you know. That’s because it’s easier to make songs that one likes, you see. These days, I’ve come to take up things which I find difficult as challenges. I’m not trying to flatter myself here. It’s more of a concious effort at being able to make songs which people will love while still preserving something of my own. I mean, at present, I do what I want to do, but more than that, I think this is how I expect things to be a little into the future. I think the photographs this time represent my thoughts as they are at present. When I myself look at the photographs from the past, even though I don’t read the interviews, just by looking at the photographs, I quickly comprehend “At this time I made this song thinking this at the time”. Though I feel I’m that easy to fathom, the way this is conveyed to the people keeps changing time and again, I suppose. There are so many ways to think about this even now. Looking back at the pictures, it’s interesting to see how natural the change was even though we were just being very honest all the time with what we put forth (laughs). It’s like looking at an album of one’s growing years (laughs). It’s like nostalgia, you know (laughs). Since the emotions I felt in those times remain in the photographs, it’s not that I think about shooting in the same situations as I did back then, but it’s just that, I don’t think it would turn out to be the same thing even if we shoot in a similar situation now. I guess my present self would come forth, after all. The ideal thing would be to have that conveyed to anybody who looks at the magazine, isn’t it?”

----This was all related to “songs that are loved by people”, was it not? There is a difference between being easy to understand, and being liked and praised by people. It’s difficult, isn’t it?
“That’s so true.”

----You played your old songs during the Fan Club Tour, didn’t you? Is the feeling of playing old songs at Lives the same as taking another look at old photographs?
“When we play old songs, we, in the present, don’t reject or deprecate those songs which we made ourselves in the past. Rather, we stay confident, and play those songs with a happy feeling while attempting to reach out to the essence of those songs with our present style of expression in mind. We feel like playing those songs if they are still loved, I think. That said, and this is something I felt during the Fan Club Tour, isn’t playing old songs rather exciting? It really brings the venue to a boil. Of course that makes us happy too, but I think the real thing is when utterly delighted and moved voices say “I’m happy because I heard it after a long time!” That definitely makes us happy too. Since it was a Fan Club Live, we wanted to prepare a premium set-list of exclusive songs at the time, and wanted to make everybody feel “the joy of hearing them after a long time”. I’m not sure whether everybody noticed or not, but even Ruki’s MCs were a bit different because those were Fan Club Lives. It felt almost as if it was an art form. We don’t do things like talking a lot or doing stuff other than the Live just because it’s a Fan Club Live, because the Live itself is a particularly special thing to be  presented with, you know.”

----That’s right. How do you go about choosing the old songs?
“We research what songs the fans like to hear, and with that as a basis, the 5 of us decide upon them. We go about discussing things like ‘I want to play this’ or ‘How about this one?’. There are practical problems like someone with a different tuning, rendering a particular line-up impossible or something, so it’s quite difficult. Basically, the 5 of us discuss things and without the exception of even 1 person, unanimously decide upon playing songs which all of us feel like playing. I think that mindset is extremely important.”

----That gives a rather pleasant feeling, the nature of the relationship between the GazettE. The way the members probably come across to each other comes forth quite clearly.
“I used to talk quite selfishly in the past (laughs) but I’ve grown up considerably now, and don’t speak all those unreasonable things anymore (laughs).”

----While playing old songs, is the joy you feel somewhat similar to the joy one feels when, say on a date, one’s throat feels dry, and someone casually buys us just the drink one always drinks, and one feels “Ah, were they aware I like this? Really!”
“Eh? I mean……aren’t we talking about the Fan Club, right now? Sort of? (laughs)”

----Eh? What I mean is, don’t you have those sort of feelings when, on request by the fans, you suddenly play some song which you too like, from among the old songs?
“Ah aah (slight comprehension). Well………right now, stuff about the Fan Club…… (laughs)”

----That analogy was quite easy to understand (laughs).
“Ahahahaha. I do understand the nuance, this way or that (laughs). But I think it’ll be good if we can keep on making songs like the ones which we play regularly and which still make people feel “I’m happy to hear this song”, rather than the old ones which make them go “Squee” simply because we played them after a long while.”

----I understand that very well. This is about songs which genuinely have a power in them, isn’t it?
“Right. Even this is related to the “songs loved by everyone”. In my case, my thoughts at any particular moment always have some connection with song-making. That’s because I normally think of nothing else but making songs.”

----According to your present self, is there any song which resonates to that sort of feeling?
“‘Guren’ is one such song. While playing ‘Guren’ at Lives, I get a sensation no other song gives me. If you ask me why, it’s just that it feels like it seizes my chest with such absolute force. It sort of draws me in, and gets conveyed, it’s a sensation that makes my body tremble all over. Though it’s easier for ballads to draw one in like that, ‘Chizuru’ gives me the same sensations. That’s why, right now, I want to make songs which, despite being lively, render one immobile, and leave one with that swelling sensation.”

----A swelling sensation? That’s a nice expression, isn’t it? But when I watch the GazettE Lives, there are moments when I forget to breath!
“But I feel it’ll be nicer if that feeling totally spreads all over, instead of coming in sprinkles. There is no way but to create such a song to have that happen. That is the challenge I’ve set myself at the moment.”

----We’ll wait for it eagerly. But it seems you’ll get quite busy in the second half of the year, right? Starting with the performance at Budoukan on July 22nd and 23rd, it’s a country-wide Long Tour after quite a while, with 37 venues and 39 performances.
“Isn’t it? So what all songs shall we play? Say, one performance has approximately 22 songs, hm? 858 songs !? I’ll just be playing those many songs in a 2 month period, right? (laughs)”

----It’s even more if you think of 1 year, isn’t it?
“I don’t even want to think about it (laughs).”

----Talking of which, long back, when I was in University, I used to spend 2 hours in commuting one way to the University. The round trip took 4 hours. I was left speechless when told by a senior how that meant I was spending 4 months in an year , riding a train, though I suppose you do play the guitar everyday?
“Yes. I don’t think there’s a day when I don’t.”

---That means, if one calculates, it would come to around 10 months of you playing the guitar continuosly, in an year, (laughs).
“Woho. It’s not nice thinking of it that way, though being in a train for 4 months sounds even worse (laughs). In such a case, I guess it’s better to find something one can do in the train during commuting! One ought not to waste time (laughs). I’ll deal with the Lives one at a time, give them my full energy, and uptil the end of this year, when the Tour ends, I guess I’ll simply work at my present challenge, draw everybody in, and aim at making songs which will be thought of as good by everybody.”




Ducky's Notes : 
1. Uruha ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥!!!!! He talks and talks and talks, doesn't he~
2. Sorry about any mis-translations....this is Uruha, the dear guy talks in circles..and i kept getting lost~ although those pictures were to blame too;P Aren't they really pretty!!:D Anyway, do point out any errors if you spot them:D
3. All thanks to [rawkstarr23] and [gazette_daily] @LJ for the scans:)

31 comments:

  1. Ooooh!!! Thank you so much for doing this! (despite it being very long)

    ~I think it’s hardly anything if I do what I enjoy doing, and frankly, I think I’d rather have people enjoy watching me having fun~
    ---I'll enjoy watching him even if he's doing nothing.... :)---

    ~It’s more of a concious effort at being able to make songs which people will love while still preserving something of my own~
    ---I do love his Dim Scene!!!---

    His picture is gorgeous! though i don't understand much what he's talking about...lalala~

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  2. Haha XDD I'd enjoy watching him too :D
    (*though that makes me feel slightly stalkerish*) :P

    He makes rags look gooood:D

    Oh, i hope the lack of comprehension was not because the translation itself didn't make sense to you! More often than not, Uruha's explanations take at least a second reading to really sink in:D But he does have a point, even though its wrapped in some obscure logic XDD

    Thank you so much for your lovely comment :)

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  3. Wow, thank you soo much!
    I loved his new photoshoot! There was such significant change in his style from a couple years back til' now.

    People always tell me that even though Reita talks the most, Uruha is the hardest to translate. [unless Aoi is speaking in dialect]
    lol, kudos to you!

    Thank you~~!

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  4. Omg! Thank you for tranlasting this!
    Love the interview. Talking, talking, talking. Omg, he talked so much <33

    And the pics... Yeah, gorgeous ♥

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  5. Thank you so much for doing this! And YES he does talk and talk and talk and this is such a lovely interview. :D

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  6. OMG
    he talked a LOT
    I think I've never read anything with him talking so much
    O__O
    It was pretty hard to understand him with the 3rd question... but I did! after a few tries,

    =P
    thanks for the translation it must have been hard to do it and you did it so fast!
    thank you *O*!

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  7. Uruha is a genius D:

    Thanks again! ^^

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  8. Thanks SO SO much for this translation

    My my...Uruha talks ALOT and to think that in group interviews he's the one who talks less and is the most random at times *____*

    BUUUT in solo interviews, he so down to earth and VERY VERY talkative...HE'S SUCH A SWEETHEART!!!!

    I love this man to pieces ♥

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  10. thank you so much for the translation!

    Ehehehe Uruha does talk so much nowadays XDD
    photo shoot on an airport runway? BRILLIANT

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  11. Oh ♥ Uruha, talk all you want, I'm mesmerized. This man is freakin' brilliant, he blew me away. And the fact that he sometimes shifts between being dorky and pure genius is really really adorbs! And those pictures! Gawd, I was unfing all over the place.

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  12. Thank you so much! A really interesting interview :D Uruha seems to think about things so much. And even though he seems to have a hard time explaining things sometimes it still feels so "yeah I understand completely" But just while reading. Now I'm back to not knowing or understanding very much. Haha, I don't hink this makes much sense :p
    Awh, I'm glad to hear about Guren and Chizuru, I can really feel what he's talking about in them. ^^
    Well, we just love Uruha don't we? He's so adorable

    Plus, the pictures. GOD he's gorgeous *-*

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  13. This is amazing! You can rarely see Uruha talk so freely, most of the time, he doesn't really speak about the inner workings of his mind.
    This man... the more I read about him, the more I appreciate him; he's the epitome of a "big brother" figure. ^w^
    Thanks a lot for your work!

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  14. Thanks so much for translating this!

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  15. ohh god, finally have time to read this.

    Ahh, well... I'm impressed, he talked SO much in here *laughs* once he gets inspired, nothing will stop him until all the points are clear, apparently.

    I swear, there were times I really had to stop reading to really understand what he was saying, but that only makes my fascination for his complex mind way bigger.

    Thanks a lot for translating, I love this interview so much, Uruha is pure genius <3

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  16. @1337-lurker:
    Hehe..Uruha, like i said, talks in circles, and is also a very polite speaker, so it does get tricky at times, but i somehow find Aoi more difficult to translate, because he's so random, and of course, the Kansai dialect:)
    And you're right..his style has seen the most obvious evolution over the years, besides Ruki, but he has even managed to transform his image, going from innocently alluring to sensuously seductive~
    Thanks for your comment!

    @mitsune-selene:
    It's fun to have someone usually quiet and shy rambling on, isn't it :D
    Helps that he's absolutely gorgeous!
    Thanks for commenting!!

    @beautifiers:
    Lovely and insightful interview indeed!
    Thanks for commenting:)

    @waby-13:
    Oh i know~ He just went on and on with his answer to the third question..i was wondering how glad the interviewer girl would've been, she barely had to do anything!! (except staring at Uruha rambling away, hehe)
    Thanks for commenting!

    @Ruby:
    The dorkiest, cutest genius one would ever hear about, right? :DD
    Thanks for commenting :)

    @venus-doom74:
    I guess he just gives over the reigns to the smooth talkers during group interviews..but tries to do his own thing during the solo ones~ His earnestness is adorable:D
    Thanks for commenting!

    @kurobara92:
    I agree....it's so simple, yet so..expressive..of abandonment, like he said~ Brilliant, indeed!!
    Thanks for commenting:)

    @sliceofneon:
    I know right!! And he probably doesn't even realise he does those shifts..from dorkiness to brilliance in mere moments:))
    And his pictures^^ *unfs with you* XD
    Thanks for commenting!

    @manabou:
    Oh i know what you mean, don't worry:) I keep going 'what?' even in the middle of translation, haha:D But he does have rather intelligent things to say, even if his logic seems a little obscure at times :)
    And the camera loves him. Yes!!
    Thanks for commenting:D

    @agewa:
    I know, it was so nice having him really come out with his views about Lives and songs and other stuff:) And if i remember correctly, the band members did say that Uruha is a gentle and big-brotherly (and even mature and elderly, actually) figure, to all of them. That shows at times, despite his dorkiness, doesn't it? And we all love him the more for it :DD
    On a completely unrelated note: You are one of my favourite authors!! And i've lost count of the number of times i've read your 'agewa~butterfly~' and i love it to bits ♥ And i adore your other fics too! Any plans of writing more?? *is hopeful*
    Thanks for leaving a comment:)

    @xyrobei:
    You're most welcome!
    Thanks for commenting:)

    @cerisenoir-lk:
    I know, his earnestness and eagerness to explain his point, even though he's not the most fluent with words, is adorable:) And what he says is always so deep and thought-provoking (or day-dream provoking, either way:P) it just makes him even more lovable:D
    Complex genius, i agree!!
    Thanks for commenting:)

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  17. omg, for the first time I get what he's trying to say *I think* xD

    Thanks for translating!

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  18. thanks so much for translating this!!! i wanted to know what Uruducky said!!!!!

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  19. thankyou so much for the translations!!~

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  20. Thank you so much for this translation! <3
    It's really interesting!
    Uruha sure does like to talk. ^-^ But the more he talks in an interview the happier he makes meh~ :D

    Wow,you must be really good at Japanese,since you understand him and can translate that stuff. For me Uruha's Japanese is the hardest to understand. XD I can't even really read his blog,coz hejust uses so many words and kanji I don't know yet... >.< And the way he talks is also so confusing. XD Even when I'm reading the English translations of his interviews I have to read some parts several times and still I don't get what he's talking about.^^ (maybe i'm just stupid tho)
    Well,my point was,that you'll be my idol now~ ^.^

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  21. omg, Uruha is SO lovely! *cries* ~ He really likes to talk XDD

    Thank u so much for translate this interview! ~ Do you mind if I translate it to portuguese and put in my blog? *I'll give u the credits, don't worry* XD ~

    thaanks!

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  22. @nandedattebayo:
    HahaXD He does try his best to explain his thoughts :D
    Thanks for commenting:D

    @Ichume:
    You're most welcome!
    Thanks for leaving a comment:)

    @Anonymous:
    Most welcome, Anon!
    Thanks for commenting:)

    @Maripon:
    I'm actually not that good, to tell you the truth. But i like using my limited knowledge to read what they say:D If you knew how much i rely on a dictionary, you won't consider me your idol anymore, haha XD
    Uruha does have his unique way of talking. But its sort of pleasant to read what he says, isn't it?
    Thanks a lot for your comment, dear :D

    @mitsuki:
    By all means, go ahead and translate :D
    And he's pretty in those pictures, no doubt at all:D
    Thanks for leaving a comment:)

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  23. Uruha is a shy boy and we can see it through his interview on mags,vids even radio programs!He's delicate in any ways <3

    and I would like to translate it to my own language if you don't mind :D

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  24. '[...] which make them go "Squee"'.

    I LOVE THAT! I laughed so hard when I read this part. XD

    Thanks for the translation! *hits follow*

    <3 <3 <3 Uruha

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  25. @kurobara92:
    Yeah, he is shy. At least more shy than any of his band mates:) But that makes him seem cuter still ♥
    Of course you may translate! Why would i mind? Which language, btw? *is curious*
    Thanks for replying here:)

    @Amantis:
    HAHA XD I know!! I felt like pinching his cheeks pink when i read that part :D
    You're most welcome~ Hope you also enjoy the other random stuff lying around here :)
    Thank you for replying!
    ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Uruha~~

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  26. Haha.The best part about him is that,he isn't shy to show off his thighs XDD
    It'll be Bahasa Melayu or Malay Language :D

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  27. Ooooooh Bahasa Melayu!! I don't know anybody else who translates to that language!! This is cool :D

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  28. You know Bahasa Melayu? Really? I'll try to do my best to transltae them although I am sometimes quite busy with life :3

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  29. Haha:D I don't 'know' Bahasa Melayu, but i do know it's a language:) How would i not?

    You know, the word 'Bahasa' is probably from the Hindi word 'Bhasha', which means 'language' :D

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  30. Ahhhh..you do know lots of language eh?

    WOAH!That's true.Amazing.

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  31. sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet !!! thank you!!! I wanted to know what the interview was about (since I have the scans XD)domo arigato!!!

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