Neo Genesis - Volume 45 - Aoi's Personal Interview

----With what in mind did you approach the song-making of “SHIVER”?

“It was dependent a bit more upon my taste in rock, in the beginning, but I saw how a feeling of nostalgia also might be good. It was Ruki who made the original composition, but he said it would be good to have lines which were like short-cuts to this so-called genre of ours, so I went, ‘I see’. We haven’t done such songs with such a direct feel recently, so there was the thing about turning that over a bit (laughs)”

----Could you elucidate upon this sense of a “directness” in the songs, the way you feel it, in some detail?

“It’s melodious, with a sense of sprinting away, and a sense of unification…… . It’s not so much about having someone be affected by our little piece of art, as it is about utilizing this unification of the band, and on being heard, to make an impact. Firstly, on listening to it in a flash, it’s good to grasp the melody and the spirit, and from there onwards, different people would fathom it in their own various ways.”

----I see. Melody and that post-sprint feeling is, without a doubt, a forceful weapon to create the first impression. The individuality of each member is also expressed better than talking about it all the way, ever could.

“That is right. Actually, Ruki wanted to make something which would be extremely easy to comprehend. Laying importance on that, we just placed the melodies where there were ones, and in places where they weren’t any, we just made the solo stand out…… . As the core of the song, it’s sort of good to have it continuing steadily until the very end. As I listened to it again and again, I began to comprehend how the particular phrases were to be played.”

----Well, talking of the phrases…… . If you could elucidate upon your guitar play in “SHIVER”, in simple words.

“How do I put it…… . For example, kids who have just started out in bands, when they copy songs, they want to do something about the gaps so that they don’t seem too big, isn’t it? When I started out with the guitar, I too used to really hate songs which had gaps in them. If there was a 4 minute phrase, you know, I didn’t much like a 2 minute one (Explanatory Note : The smaller the number, the longer the sound). Though this also applies to the melodies, I didn’t like such rock songs where the sound got stretched in the phrases, so I didn’t feel like attempting them.”

----True, the guitar play of “SHIVER” has a brisk feel to it, isn’t it?

“That’s right. Though it is elementary to not let that direct feeling of the song be destroyed, there is also the thing about me not wanting to be bound to a direct sort of guitar play just because it is a direct song. A direct route is something that has definitely been used before by someone or the other, you know.”

----Along with having those direct elements, it would be meaningless unless there are also things included which only the GazettE can pull off. Did you have discussions with Uruha for the guitar play while making the music?

“That’s right. I did a lot of things with Uruha. Arranging any number of amps, setting up all the mics, and on and on…… . We entered the studio at noon, and by the time we’d think, ‘Well, let’s record', it’d already be time for dinner.”

----(laughs) There are people who are able to finish off the recording too, in that much time.

“That is because they have the guts for it, you know. What do I say…… . Even kids who don’t understand the guitar, or ones who don’t know much about the intricacies of music, would still know for sure what sound makes them feel “This is cool!”. They don’t know the details too well, but they can intuitively feel the aggression, or the melodiousness, getting conveyed, isn’t it? That’s why, right from the initial stages of creating music and recording, I firmly stick to my own style, you see.”

----Right. As in, what code is this, how certain equipment is used…... Despite not knowing those things, they can still intuitively sense the music itself, isn’t it?

“Right. So I think we obsessed a lot over the sound of this song too. There were even times when we tested the amps and other such stuff, but ultimately ended up not using them at all (laughs). Sort of like, ‘Didn’t I use this for the solo?’”

----This will end up turning into technical talk but…… . What sort of an amp was this, by the way?

“It’s Marshall. An old Marshall, actually…… . We thought of first listening to the original coordinates ourselves. Even though right now, we have good high-end instruments like Divided (DIVIDED BY THIRTEEN), we still thought of checking the original tune on that one. It was really good, you know! The sound was quite rock-like.”

----Marshall is well-established among veterans, but Divided is a popular maker among the young musicians. It’s like following the history of guitar (laughs).

“(laughs) That’s right. Well, I used Uruha’s Divided in the end. One could say, it’s just like the latest technology added to the structure of the old Marshall? Again, I think Marshall is wonderful. Even an instrument from 30 years back is still in absolute working condition. Uruha’s amp has a clearer feel than this one, but if one wants a rustic feel, I think even Marshall is good, you know. Testing and checking in this way, we intend to pick out what best represents us.”

----Compared to “SHIVER”, “Naraku” and “HESITATING MEANS DEATH” have a more modern feel to them, don’t they? In the heaviness, in the loudness.

“Aa-h. But the amp used for making them are actually the same.”

----E-h! There’ll be listeners who’ll be astonished to know that these songs came out of the same equipment, won’t there?

“But the essence is quite different, isn’t it? The tuning of the neck (guitar) was totally different, and then there were also things which were rather varied. The tuning of the guitar goes lower from “HESITATING~” to “Naraku”. It gets steadily heavier and louder, and the sensation is essentially different from “SHIVER”.”

----Simply put, it’s not necessarily better to change the equipment in order to produce different sounds, is it?

“Right. Although it is natural for the sound to change if the equipment is simply changed, but that is not so, you know. There is the method of usage, the scheme…… . For one, take picking, where I think one can’t tell whether it’s an up-stroke or a down-stroke just from the difference in the sound. Normally, for a listener. But we still do work carefully at those minute details, you see. Where to introduce a sound, what would be a better way to bring it out well, would it be alright to strengthen the attack or would it be better to take more snapshots, that sort of thing…… . Searching for all this takes the maximum time, and all of this has to be precisely organized, so I think this time the recording was rather quick, don’t you think so?”

----Having given this interview, you’ll have the readers imagining “In what way would this sound have been played?”…… . How about also spreading word on how to enjoy the music, through this interview? (laughs)

“If you can have fun it’ll be nice, you know. Even while working at chiseling the sound (taking snapshots for playing the guitar), it wasn’t as much “juku juku juku!”, than it was “zun zun zun!”, you know. As in, “juku juku juku!” doesn’t suit here…… . I got quite a wrist-ache at the recording this time, because I was all fired up. Why on earth did I think conveying the difference between “juku!” and “zun!” a little bit here would be a good thing? (laughs).”






Ducky's Notes:
1. Dork Aoi being a dork. What's new? :D But it really is nice to know a little more about how some of my/our favourite songs must've come along :D
2. Here's looking forward to the new songs!