manjuhitorie

[manjuhitorie]

hi manju-san !!!! this might be a little silly, but i was wondering if you know where the title of selfy charm comes from? 🥹 like if its a reference of something or just words shinoda came up with. thank u in advance 😭💕

I translated a lil' column that should give you some insight into what the title is all about! I hope it helps🥹

[manjuhitorie]

Hitorie(ヒトリエ) - Shinoda Essay about Selfy charm via Uta-Net

　2024年6月5日に“ヒトリエ”が両A面シングル『オン・ザ・フロントライン / センスレス・ワンダー[ReREC]』をリリース！ 「オン・ザ・フロントライン」は、TVアニ��『無職転生Ⅱ ～異世界行ったら本気だす～』第2クールのオープニングテーマ。「センスレス・ワンダー[ReREC]」は、2014年1月22日に、ヒトリエがメジャー1stシングルとしてリリースした楽曲を、現体制のシノダがボーカルを務める3人体制で再レコーディングしたものとなっております。 On June 5th of 2024 “Hitorie” released a new double A-side single called “On the Front Line/Senseless Wonder [ReRec]”! “On the Front Line” was utilized as the opening song for season 2 of the anime “Jobless Reincarnation”. While “Senseless Wonder [ReRec]” is based off of Hitorie’s first major label single from January 22nd 2014, but re-recorded with the current 3 piece band and Shinoda on vocals.

さて、今日のうたではそんな“ヒトリエ”のシノダによる歌詞エッセイを2回に渡りお届け。第2弾は、自身が作詞を手掛けた収録曲「Selfy charm」にまつわるお話です。会ったこともないような誰かを想像しながら書いた、自撮りがモチーフのこの歌。主人公が対立している価値観とは…。今作と併せて、エッセイを受け取ってください。 Now, today’s song for this column will be the second essay about the lyrics from the vocalist himself, Shinoda of Hitorie, involving the hidden song on the single also written by him, “Selfy charm”. While writing he had been envisioning someone he’d never met, whilst employing selfies as his motif for his tune. Whatever could be thwarting the morals and principles of this imaginary girl…? Please pair this essay with the song to get the full picture.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

前回は「オン・ザ・フロントライン」についての話をさせていただきましたので、引き続きわたしが歌詞を手掛けた「Selfy charm」か「さくらのいつか」のどちらかの話をしようと思うんですが、「さくらのいつか」に関しては最早語るまでもないというか、あなたが聴いて感じたことが全てと思っていただいて結構ですので、ここはひとつ「selfy charm」について語らせていただこうかと思います。こっちはこっちでかなり僕にとって深刻なテーマを書いたつもりなので… Previously I had delved into the story behind the song “On the Front Line”, so next I thought it appropriate to delve into another song on the same album, meaning either “Selfy charm” or “Sakura no Itsuka”. However in regards to“Sakura no Itsuka” there’s actually nothing that needs to be said aloud, whatever you guys out there think and feel when you listen to it is the whole crux of it, and that’s all that matters in the end. Thus I’ve settled on “Selfy charm” to be the topic of discussion instead. I did write this song with the intention of portraying a fairly serious matter as well, so…

selfyってことで自撮りが歌詞のモチーフになってるんですけど僕は自分の顔が全然好きじゃなく、そのくせ仕事上ステージでカッコつけなければならない局面が多い為、ライブ中はハイになっていたり自分のことが見えてなかったりするので特に気にはならないんですが記録物としての自分を見た途端にコイツこんなツラの癖に自分がカッコいいつもりでやっていたのかと愕然することが多く、それだけで半日寝込んだりする時も余裕であったりするんですね。 Selfy is in the title so obviously the lyrics revolve around the idea of taking pictures of oneself, but the thing is that… I despise my own face, even despite the fact that my profession often demands me to act all cool up on stage. Mid-show once the ball gets rolling I do get into it and lose sight of myself so it doesn’t bother me in the heat of the moment, but as soon as I see myself in the recordings I am often left astonished. “Damn this mutt’s got such an ugly mug yet he’s really putting on airs huh,” I think to myself, then proceed to spend the next half a day sleeping willy-nilly.

ルッキズムが自家中毒を起こして苦しんでいるみたいな状態。てめー何年バンドマンやってんだ、良い加減慣れなさいよって話で、これから歳を取っていくたびに嫌いな部分なんてどんどん増えていくわけで、 このままでは憎悪の螺旋が自己に向けてねじ巻いていくばかりなので早々に割り切りをつけないとこっから先マジでやばそうだなと思ってますが、そんなもんなあ、つけられるんならとっくの昔につけられてたっつーのなあ。 It feels as though it’s lookism causing me to suffer autointoxication. “How many years have you been in a band now you moron get used to it already woncha”, I tell myself. The older I get the more things I find to hate about myself,and at the rate I’m going I’m about ready to become trapped in a wicked spiral of my own making. I realize that I need to cut it out as soon as possible or else I’ll be walking on a tightrope until kingdom come but…. If I was able to do that in the first place then I would’ve done it long ago, y’know.

そんな僕も自撮りをSNSに放り投げまくっていた時期とかあって、若気の至りとスマホを手にした喜びがマリアージュして発芽した過ちとでもいいますか、別に自分の顔を100%憎悪しているわけではなくて、好きなところはあるけど好きじゃない部分は抹消したい程に嫌、といった塩梅でして、これなら世に出せるかもみたいなレベルまで自分の顔を監修出来る楽しさが自撮りにはあったんですよね。ただインカメで反転させたまま撮るという行為にとても違和感を感じていて、結局鏡に映った自分の顔は普段見慣れた顔かもしれないが真実性に欠けるというか、その真実性が自分自身を苦しめている筈なんだけど、なるべく嘘を発信したくないという自分のだるい部分がそれをさせてくれなくて、そのうち色々面倒臭くなって自撮りはやらなくなったのですが…結局そういっただるい部分によってスポイルされるスピード感ってあるよな～とか思ったりします。 Nevertheless even I too had a phase when I would flood social media platforms with my selfies. The heat of my youth mixed with the joy of holding a smart phone in my hands, it was like those two ideas married together to germinate a mistake. It’s not as if I 100% cannot stand my own face, there’s things about it that I do indeed like, it’s just that the more I want to eliminate the parts I don’t like, the more and more I grow to hate those parts, it’s a vicious cycle. So back in the day I had found fun in supervising my own face and capturing a selfy that was good enough to show the world. However, the whole thing with the Instagram Camera and stuff wherein you can take photos flipped from the get-go and all just feels weird to me. Like it’s true that I am more used to the face I see in the mirror, but it just doesn’t feel as true to reality if I flip the image that way. That exact reality may be exactly what inflicts upon me great pains but, the annoying thing about me is that I’m not the kinda guy to tell lies and so for that reason I just refuse to do what’s better for me sometimes. TL;DR all this crap mixed together is what’s made me stop taking selfies. I find that said annoying part of myself does end up spoiling good things pretty fast sometimes.

何か“嘘”という言葉を曲中で用いてる時点で呪いに似��衆愚的感覚が心に刻み込まれているのかもしれないと、改めて歌詞を読み返し痛感する次第です。この歌詞の主人公である彼女が対立する価値観こそがわたしの呪いのようなそれで、美しくなりたいと願い、行動し続ける彼女達に容易に浴びせられる「嘘」だとか「汚れ」といった数多の定型句が装填されたまま回る世界のある日の刹那、タイムラインに颯爽と現れ、タブレットの液晶を滑らせる指を反射的に止めさせられた一枚のセルフィーの美しさに込められた覚悟と情念、のようなものを勝手に想像している時点で到底僕なんかが追いつけないスピード感で彼女達は生きているのかもしれない、という想像。会ったこともないような誰かを想像しながら歌詞を書くってマジで謎の行為だなと思うんですが、それでも書きたくなってしまったものはしょうがないじゃない。 The fact that I use the word “lie” so much in the song perhaps exhibits a mobocratic sensibility that’s been etched onto my heart that’s akin to a curse, or so I felt become painfully apparent after I reread over the lyrics. The girl who’s the main character of this song and her opposing values* are just like this curse of mine, she wishes she could be beautiful. She charges herself up with stock phrases such as “impurities”and“lies” that other woman so readily bask in, until one fateful moment, when as the world was going round and round something gracefully materialized on her Timeline: a selfy depicting a beauty filled with such resolve and passion that it caused the finger sliding around the liquid crystal within her display to immediately halt in its tracks. Or so I envisioned and realized that these woman are living life so fast that I could never ever dare to catch up with them. Writing lyrics while thinking about some imaginary person I’ve never met before is some really whacky stuff I think but, once an idea’s stuck in my head what else is a guy to do but get it outta their system y’know.

「さくらのいつか」に関しても、曲も歌詞も含めて果たしてこれを今書いてしまっていいのかしら、と悩んだ時もありましたが、それよりも書きたくなってしまったものはしょうがないじゃない、という気持ちが余裕で勝ったので、昨今のわたしはきっとそういうモードなのかもしれません。多分良い傾向なんだと思う。 Both this song and “Sakura no Itsuka” had me stressing for a while whether they were okay to write or not, but in the end once an idea’s stuck in my head what’s a guy to do but write it, and that inspiration won over the stress in the end. I’m just in that kinda zone these days I guess. And I think it’s probably for the better.

＜ヒトリエ・シノダ＞ Hitorie, Shinoda

[manjuhitorie]

hello manju-san! i hope i am not bothering you. i suddenly remembered that wowaka is a fan of kendrick lamar, but do you have any source on it? it was something i thought about, but i don't remember if it was from an interview or something ><

Hellooo!! It’s no bother at alll!!

I did some digging and found that he had mentioned Kendrick in both this:

https://twitter.com/SpotifyJP/statuses/938256706215149568?tw_i=938256706215149568&tw_e=permalink&tw_p=archive

And in an old Twitcast!

[manjuhitorie]

Hitorie - Oyasuminasai (おやすみなさい) - Lyrics English Translation

脱ぎ散らかされた身体に触れる A body that someone stripped themselves of and tossed aside, I touch upon it 髪を、とかす I undo, its hair レコード棚の裏で泣いている You, crying behind a shelf of records 君を、探す I search, for you いたずらはいい加減これくらいにしておこうね These pranks are going too far, so cut it out okay おやすみなさい Good night まやかしの中で躓き転ぶ　鍵を、鍵を失くす Amidst deceit I trip and fall, losing the key, the key 白いシーツに磔、モルフォ蝶。 Crucified to white sheets, a morpho butterfly. 髪を、髪をとかす I undo its hair, its hair 君のそれで肺の底が満たされて Your actions serve to make your lungs fill up, all the way to the bottom 部屋で鳴る音のすべてが寝息のようで And it’s as if every last sound in the whole room is a soft snore 憎しみを裏返した夜はもう、来ないまま A night that’ll flip our hatred upside down, will never come おやすみなさい Good night 朝日に切り刻まれた僕が I, graven into the morning sun, 風に吹かれて散り散りになってしまう Am blown away by the wind and scattered asunder 震える手でペンを握り締めて Clenching a pen in my trembling hand 君のショートボブを描こうとしていた Trying to draw your short bob 可愛く描かなきゃ怒られるから If I don’t draw you cutely you’ll be angry with me 可愛く描かなきゃ怒られるから If I don’t draw you cutely you’ll be angry with me 可愛く描けてしまうから So I end up drawing you cutely それだけでおしまい And that’s it, done おやすみなさい Good night 君が目を覚ます夕餉時を Supper time, the time when you wake up 僕はいつまで待てば良いだろう How long must I wait until then 僕はいつまでも待ってしまうだろう How long must I wait until then そのまま朽ち果ててゆくんだろう How long until I’ve rotted and crumbled away

[manjuhitorie]

Hitorie - Tsuki o Mirutabi Omoibito (月をみるたび想い人) - Lyrics English Translation

Who I Think of When I Look at the Moon 嫌になるくらい月が綺麗でさ The moon is so beautiful that I can’t stand it 頭ん中ずっとカラカラ音がしてるのさ There’s a constant rattling sound inside my head いつかがいつかなんかじゃなくて Instead of just waiting for that “someday” to come someday 明日がいいなこんなことすら叶わなくってさ I’d prefer tomorrow, yet even that’s not happening 埃まみれの部屋の隅 In a dusty corner of a room まつ毛の先を這う微睡み Drowsiness crawls along the tips of your eyelashes 夢のプールを泳ぐ君に You swim inside a pool of dreams 僕は何も言えないままでいるよ Leaving me unable to say anything to you 錆だらけのシナプスが My rusty synapses 僕の悲しいや悲しくないを Serve to muddle up 濁らせる My sad and not sad 嫌になるくらい月が綺麗でさ The moon is so beautiful that I can’t stand it 頭ん中ずっとカラカラ音がしてるのさ There’s a constant rattling sound inside my head いつかがいつかなんかじゃなくて Instead of just waiting for that “someday” to come someday 明日がいいなこんなことすら叶わなくってさ I’d prefer tomorrow, yet even that’s not happening 僕は何してた？ずっと暇してた。 What have I been doing? I’ve been bored. 今日も明日も変わらず大人のフリをして Everyday I pretend to be an adult タイムラインまた汚してた I’ve dirtied the timeline again 人様に迷惑かけるのやめなさいな Please stop causing problems for others 癖になるよな、癖になるよな It’s just so addicting, it’s just so addicting そんな下品なレリックやめとけば？ Maybe stop it with that lowly relic? 気に障るようなことは All the things that get on my nerves have been 10代から近代まで肥大化の一途を辿るさ Steadily growing bigger and bigger, from my teen years to the current years カビに塗れたニューロンの My moldy neurons 丁度よくわからない名前のとこが Can’t figure out a name and that right there 僕の悲しいや悲しくないを濁らせる濁らせる Serves to muddle and muddle my sad and not sad 嫌になるくらい月が綺麗でさ The moon is so beautiful that I can’t stand it 頭ん中ずっとカラカラ音がしてるのさ There’s a constant rattling sound inside my head いつかがいつかなんかじゃなくて Instead of just waiting for that “someday” to come someday 明日がいいなこんなことすら叶わなくってさ I’d prefer tomorrow, yet even that’s not happening 「月が綺麗だから、おいでよ」 The moon is so beautiful, so come on over” その声がずっと僕を苦しめるのさ That voice continues to hurt me いつかは Some day ずっといつかになってしまったみたいで Is always being pushed to some other day もう終わっちまったね And now it’s all over それだけがずっと僕を苦しめるのさ That alone is what continues to hurt me こんな夜には、君が居なくてさ Tonight, you’re not here こんな夜には、君が Tonight, you’re

Footnotes:

● RADIO DRAGON -NEXT- on Jan. 24 2025 When asked about Tsuki wo Miru Tabi Omou Hito SND: This song’s from about 2 years ago so, it’s been floating around for a while now. And for those past 2 whole years has Yumao been nagging me over how “This song is so goood.” Yumao: Yeah. Because it’s so gooood, yet Shinoda kept never, ever, doing anything with it… Whenever I would ask him about it he would always just tell me “I like the song too, but now’s the right time for it.” So like, I’m so happy that it’s finally being used in an album. SND: I did always want to find the perfect time for it. And finally it came too. I think I made the right decision to release it this year, for our 10th anniversary celebration and everything (laughs nervously).

● In Japanese, “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it.” is code for “I love you.”

[manjuhitorie]

Hitorie - Blue Spring Punk(ブルースプリングパンク) - Lyrics English Translation

アンプリファイアに火を灯す Setting the amplifier aflame アンプリファイアに火を灯す Setting the amplifier aflame 空を駆けるティーンエイジャー A teenager soaring the skies 喉がずっと渇いていた Throat ever dry and thirsty 言��足らずたちの箱庭 The fairy garden of those who lack words 思えば僕は恋焦がれっぱなしだ Thinking about it I’ve been head over heels this whole time さよなら、血まみれのデイジー Goodbye, my blood-covered daisy 真っ赤なノートの「」の中で、 Inside the “” in a bright red notebook, フィードバックして。 There’s audio feedback. あの娘に噛まれた喉笛、 My windpipe, bitten by that girl, 奪われた歌声 My singing voice, stolen アンプリファイアが溶けていく The amplifier is melting away アンプリファイアが溶けていく The amplifier is melting away あの娘、耳を塞いでる That girl, she’s plugging her ears あの娘、耳を塞いでる That girl, she’s plugging her ears 数百ワットで掻き鳴らす Strumming using hundreds of watts 数百ワットで掻き鳴らす Strumming using hundreds of watts 空を駆けるティーンエイジャー A teenager soaring the skies どいつもこいつもいかれていた Everyone and anyone was swept away 遂には誰も居なくなってしまったよ Until there was no one left

しまったよ What have I done

思えば僕は恋焦がれて Thinking about it I’ve been blinded by love whole time それだけで終わっちまう And that’s it, now it’s over

辿り着けないんだってことばかりさ It’s all just goals I cannot reach 取り憑かれてしまった They’ve consumed me

いつまであの頃のままで I’m still the same as I was back then 真っ赤なノートの「」の中も理解出来ずに Unable to understand what was inside the “” in the bright red notebook あの娘に噛まれた喉笛、まだ痛むの My windpipe, bitten by that girl, still aches

さよなら、血まみれのデイジー 真っ赤なノートの「」の中で、 またフィードバックして。 There’s audio feedback again. あの娘に噛まれた喉笛、傷跡、消えることなく My windpipe, bitten by that girl, and the scar that never healed それでも愛し過ぎて Nevertheless I love her too much アンプリファイアの放熱、残響に想いを馳せて I put all my emotions into the heat and reverb emitting from the amplifier あの娘にめぐり逢えはしないだろう I probably won’t have a fateful encounter with that girl 埋まる筈無い数メートルが僕の全てだったよ The few meters between us, a distance we’ll never close, is everything to me さよなら、血まみれのデイジー Goodbye, my blood-covered daisy

Footnotes:

● Title seems to be a literal translation of the kanji 青春パンク, which means young punk, like a young teenager being into punk music. ● Shinoda’s essay delving into the song (via https://www.uta-net.com/user/writer/todaysong.html?id=15199): とにかくエイトビートの速いギターロックを作るのが苦手である。苦手、というよりもエイトビートの速いギターロックこそが僕にとっての全てで、例えばリンダリンダであるとか赤いタンバリンであるとかダニー・ゴーであるとかシャロンであるとか透明少女であるとか戦場の遠距離恋愛であるとか、そういった弩級の名曲達を聴いて憧れてバンドをやるようになったので、そこに肩を並べられるくらいの名曲を書かなきゃいけないし、聴き手にそれくらいのインパクトや勇気、感動を与えなきゃいけないと特に強く思ってしまう、自分にとってとてもハードルの高い創作になってしまうのである。 Let’s get this outta the way: making eight beat measure guitar rock is not my forte. Or, rather, should I say that eight beat measure guitar rock is everything to me. For example Linda Linda or Red Tambourine or Danny Go or Sharon or Toumei Shoujo or Senjou no Enkyori Rennai, these classic songs of the dreadnought class are what I listened to while growing up, and what inspired me to join a band. So if I was going to write such a song, it was imperative that I made it at the very least impressive enough to sit beside those classics. that it had just as much impact on anyone who listened to it, and filled them with a surge of courage and emotion. Thus the creative process was an extreme challenge for me. なのでかなり勇気を振り絞って、今回のアルバムの最後を飾る「ブルースプリングパンク」を書いた。いやぁ、書けた書けた。果たして上記のような諸々をこの曲でクリア出来たかどうかはわかりませんしそこは聴き手に委ねるしかないのですが、「書けた」と自弩級ることはかなり重要だとは思いませんか皆さん、この場合。ね。 I mustered up as much courage as I could, and wrote the song to take the crown as the last track of our newest album, Blue Spring Punk. Damn, I did it, I wrote it. I don’t know if I actually cleared the challenges I had set out to do, that much is up to the listeners, but the fact that I actually “wrote” a song of the dreadnought class is what’s important here, wouldn’t you guys agree. ちなみにこの曲の原型はかなり前から、それこそアルバム『REAMP』を作ってる頃からデモが存在して、それを47都道府県弾き語りツアー「シノ鉄」の、恐らく高知公演でフル尺にして披露したわけですが、レコーディング直前で歌詞を殆ど全て書き直しました。何だかパンチに欠けたので。 An early version of this song was actually drafted quite some time ago, a whole demo existed back when we were making REAMP. It was just sitting around for a while, but then finally during my ShinoTetsu tour, at I think probably the Kouchi prefecture show, I had decided to revamp that demo into a full song and unveil it. Right before it was recorded, however, I rewrote practically all of the lyrics. They had just lacked oomph somehow.

そういう年月や工程を何度も経てそれでも残り続けた＜さよなら、血まみれのデイジー＞という歌詞、意味はさっぱりわかりませんがこれを超えるインパクトを持った言葉は終ぞ出て来ませんでしたし、このワンフレーズが曲中最も炸裂していて大好きです。果たして誰なんでしょうか血まみれのデイジー。きっとかなりピーキーな性格の女の子なんじゃないかと思います。 The only lyric that stuck, through all the years and all the revisions, was the line “My blood-covered daisy”. I have no idea what it means by the way, it’s just that ultimately I couldn’t come up with anything else that could surpass these words in terms of raw impact. So I dropped this line like a bomb throughout the song. In the end I wonder who the blood-covered daisy is. I think probably a girl with a pretty peaky personality or something like that. 改めて歌詞を読み直した時にあまりの青さに何だか照れ臭くなってしまい、自嘲の意味も込めて「ブルースプリングパンク」という曲名になりました。僕が高校生だった頃に、メロコアとは違うブルーハーツリバイバルのようなパンクブームが起こり、それらは十把一絡げに青春パンクと呼ばれたりしてたんですが、僕はあんまりそこに傾倒はしませんでした、聴いてて何だか照れ臭かったので。この曲名はその照れ臭さからやって来たものだと思われます。そもそもこの曲パンクじゃないし、青春パンクってこんなたくさん転調しないし。 When I proofread the lyrics the juvenileness and immaturity of them embarrassed me, so as a type of self-abasement I named the song “Blue Spring Punk”. When I was in high school, the melocore genre had sprung up as a sort of rival to Blue Hearts and spurred a punk boom. That movement and conglomeration was called “Seishun(young) Punk”, though that wasn’t really what my focus was on. ‘Cause I would get embarrassed when I just listened to this damn song. So this song name arose from that shame I think. Because the song itself isn’t even punk, and seishun punk doesn’t change keys as much as this either. それはそれとして、これを聴いた人の心の青い部分に引っ掻き傷のひとつでもつけられたら御の字でございます。 All that aside, if this song manages to leave even one scratch on the childish corner of the hearts of anyone who listens to it, then that would be a win for me.

＜ヒトリエ・シノダ＞ <Hitorie, Shinoda>

[manjuhitorie]

Hitorie - Tanbi-ka (耽美歌) - Lyrics English Translation

はにかんで笑う君の声で The sound of you laughing shyly 僕の鼓膜は破られた Made my ears burst どこまでも小さく生きている僕らを We, who live a trifling life no matter where we are 見下ろすようなあの飛行機雲 The plane contrails above seem to look down on us こんな耐えがたい想いで染まる What would you say to a red, red sky 赤い、赤い空模様はいかが？ That’s been stained in these unbearable emotions? 悪い遊びをしよう、ほら Let’s get up to some mischief, come on 思い描くまま、汚れた大人を掻き分けて Do as we desire, push through the filthy adults 絶望に火を灯せ、まわれまわれ Set our despair on fire, and spin and spin 焼け焦げるミラーボール The disco ball burns to a crisp 僕らの夜 Our night 屋上の君は空虚なそれを You up on the rooftop take that empty thing 翼のようにはためかせて And make it fluffer like wings あまりにも醜い規律の群れの The swarm of ugly, disciplined people どこにも行けないの知っていた Knew that we couldn’t go anywhere こんな耐え難い想いを染める Beckoned again by the sunset 夕日にまたいざなわれて That’s been stained in these unbearable emotions 悪い遊びをしよう、ほら Let’s get up to some mischief, come on 思い描くまま、ふたりの路地裏駆け抜けて Do as we desire, break out from our shared alleyway 溶かすように愛してくれ、ドロドロにさ Come love me like I’ll melt, oozy and all that 焼け落ちるミラーボール The disco ball burns and falls 僕らの夜 Our night 君の心はまるで巨大な化物みたいに美しい Your heart is as beautiful as a giant monster その姿はおぞましい程に美しい As beautiful as you are horrifying 悪い遊びをしよう、ほら Let’s get up to some mischief, come on 思い描くまま、汚れた大人を掻き分けて Do as we desire, push through the filthy adults 絶望に火を灯せ、まわれまわれ Set our despair on fire, and spin and spin 焼け焦げるミラーボール、まわれ Burn the disco ball to a crisp, and spin 悪い遊びをしよう、ほら Let’s get up to some mischief, come on 思い描くまま、ふたりの路地裏駆け抜けて Do as we desire, break out from our shared alleyway 溶かすように愛してくれ、ドロドロにさ Come love me like I’ll melt, oozy and all that 焼け落ちるミラーボール The disco ball burns and falls 僕らの夜 Our night

Footnotes:

● Relevant segment from the Skream! interview (via: https://skream.jp/interview/2025/01/hitorie.php)

－先行シングル以外の楽曲で早めにできた曲というとどの辺ですか？ Yuka Ishizumi, interviewer: Were there any songs on the album which were written early on, besides the songs on the prior single? イガラシ：1曲目の「耽美歌」は一昨年のツアー���"HITORI-ESCAPE TOUR 2023"）からもう演奏してたりはしたので。 ygarshy: We’ve been performing the first track, Tanbi-ka, since our tour, Hitori-Escape Tour 2023, two years ago. シノダ：「耽美歌」もそうなんですけど、「ジャガーノート」も最初は（FC限定）ライヴ（"HITORI-ATELIER LIVE Vol.3 〜ZANSYO-MI-MAI〜"）で発表した曲なんですよね。ライヴで新曲を下ろしていこうっていうムードが一瞬あって。そのときになるべく3人でガン！ と演奏できる曲を書こうと思ってこれができたんですけど、でもだからと言ってそこからアルバム全体のコンセプトが決まったというわけでもないっちゃないんですよ。これはこれとして、ですね。 Shinoda: Both Tanbi-ka and Juggernaut were songs we first unveiled at our fan club member only show, Hitori-Atelier Live Vol. 3 ~Zansyo-Mi-Mai~. At the time we were in the mood to reveal new songs at shows, so the three of us had worked together to write songs that would feel like BAM! when played live. With that said, it’s not not as if the over encompassing concept of the album was based on these songs. This is this, that is that. －歌詞にあるように、ミラーボールが煌めくんじゃなくて"焼け焦げる"のが象徴的で。 -The lyric about the disco ball burning rather than sparkling quite caught my interest. シノダ：この曲は、実は昔からあった曲で。それこそ3人で最初に作った『REAMP』（2021年リリースのアルバム）のときにいっぱい曲を書いてて、そこで生まれたやつを今一度再構築して肉付けした感じなんです。2020年とか、コロナ禍が始まってそういうムードのなかで書いた曲ではあるので、そのときの苛立ちみたいなものが残り香としてある感じがします。 Shinoda: This song has actually been around for a long time. For our first album written by the 3 of us, REAMP, we had written a truckload of songs. So we took one of those, re-constructed it, and added some meat to it. It was originally written in 2020 so the mood of the pandemic did affect it, and the frustration we had felt back then still remains within, like a smell you can’t shake. －アルバム序盤の「耽美歌」、「ジャガーノート」にそうした苛立ちや閉塞感が強いわけですね。 -So both Tanbi-ka, and Juggernaut comprise of intense cabin fever and frustration.

● Tanbi(耽美) means aesthetic/aestheticism, but in this context I think it would be more effective to translate it as something along the lines of “A beautiful, sentimental song”, or maybe you could even say “an aesthetically pleasing song”. When I had first read the song name “Tanbi-ka” my brain thought of the word 美化(bi-ka), as in “to make something beautiful”. So maybe it alludes to how in the lyrics they’re destroying everything, but it’s all to make everything beautiful…. However, this is only theorizing on my part and the could be totally unintentional. Though because Tanbi-ka is a made-up word, and because Shinoda chose the 歌 to be read as “ka” instead of as the kun-yomi, maybe this theory holds water?? Or maybe he chose it just because the on-yomi sounds more soft and poetic, and makes it seem more like a real word. WHO KNOWS

[manjuhitorie]

i really wanted to thank you for running this blog!!!! hitorie are my favorite band of all time but being an english speaker it's a bit hard to engage on a deeper level than just listening to the music.

Awwwww, I'm inspired...!! I'm motivated now !!! HERE COMES MORE RIE

[manjuhitorie]

love you bro, wherever you are now

love you too bro STAY STRONG STAND TALL OUT THERE

[manjuhitorie]

Hi! Thank you so much for your translations - as a long-time fan of hitorie, this blog is such a precious resource. 💙 I'd like to ask you if there's any chance you'd translate Daybreak seeker from the NOTOK ep, as it's a song I absolutely love - but no problem at all if you don't plan to! (And as a side note, what's your favorite song from Friend Chord? It's SUCH a good album!!) Have a nice day ~ 🌻

Waaaaaa!! I'm honored 😭

I did it!!! The day has broken! I love it as a song too, it's so groovy..!

(I think my favorite right now might be Shadowpray because of the new and fresh sounding slanky, smooth unce unce, BUT once I listen to the album another bazillion times this might be subject to change!? I'm excited to keep on listening wahahaha... BUT WHATS YOUR FAV tell me telll meee

[manjuhitorie]

Hitorie - daybreak seeker - Lyrics English Translation

Music: wowaka Lyrics: Shinoda 少年は路地裏で踵鳴らして A boy clacks his heels in an alleyway 静寂に火をつけるように遊んだ Playing as if setting the silence aflame 何処にだって行けそうな気がしていて Feeling as if he could go anywhere くだらないことばかりの街の一人だ Just a single man in an unremarkable city 頭の中だけが騒がしく Inside his head is where the noise is 眠れない僕たちのパーティーは Sleepless we are, as we throw a party 言葉や想いこそ通じないが We can’t converse via words or emotions but 誰だって欠伸の一つも立てやしないのさ Not one of us is letting out even a single yawn 雄弁なアイツが言葉をなくす程 The more the eloquent folk are at a loss for words 排水溝に飲み込まれてくティーンエイジ The more they get sucked into the drain, a thin edge 話せば長くなりそうだけれど Although this is probably a long story この曲だって5分足らずで終わるんだ This song will be over in less than 5 minutes 頭の中だけが騒がしく Inside of his head is where the noise is 眠れない僕たちのパーティーは Sleepless we are, as we throw a party 誰もが終わ��ないことを望んだ Everyone hoped this party would never end 誰もが終わらないことを望んでいた Everyone was hoping it would never end 彼の名前だけが、空中を泳いでいた。 His name alone, waded in the air あなたの手を引いてさ、抜け出そうとしたんだ I was trying to take your hand, and break free あなたの手を引いてさ、抜け出そうとしていたんだ。 I had been trying to take your hand, and break free. ラザニアの焼けるような匂いがして It smells like lasagna baking 空腹だったことに気付かされる That’s when we realized that our stomachs were empty あと少しだけ踊り続けよう Let us continue dancing for just a bit longer 僕の想像を超えない夜がダダ漏れになってく A night that doesn’t quite surpass my imagination, spills out into the world 空調の調子が良好とは言えないこのパーティールーム We can’t say that the air conditioning’s working well in this party room 様々な人間達の匂いが入り混じる The smells of a variety of different people all mix together その誰しもが口を揃えて And everyone here says the same thing 最高と呼ぶあの頃を僕は知らずに居る I sit here oblivious to the so-called greatest time ever いびつな形相のまま更けていく We go deeper into the night, ever in a twisted shape 夜に振り落とされまいとしている Striving not to fall out of the night 頭の中だけが騒がしく Inside his head is where the noise is 眠れない僕たちのパーティーは終わらない Sleepless we are, as our party never ends 彼の名前だけが、空中を泳いでいた。 His name alone, waded in the air あなたの手を引いてさ、抜け出そうとしたんだ I had been trying to take your hand, and break free. あなたの手を引いてさ、抜け出そうとしたんだ I had been trying to take your hand, and break free. そうやって迎える朝をずっと夢見てたんだ I had been forever dreaming for the break of day そうやって迎える朝をずっと夢見てしまっていた I had been forever foolishly dreaming for the break of day 消えない、消えない、消えない痛みが Pain that won’t go away, won’t go away, won’t go away 僕ら、僕ら、集わせてしまう Is unfortunately bringing us, us, together 消えない、消えない、消えない痛みが Pain that won’t go away, won’t go away, won’t go away 僕らを、僕らを、また踊らせる Is making us, us, dance again

少年が路地裏で鳴らした踵は The boy who had clacked his heels in an alleyway 喧騒に飲み込まれて消えてった Was sucked up in the commotion and disappeared 何処にでも行けそうな気がしていた He had felt as if he could go anywhere 何処にでも行けそうな気がしていたんだ He had once felt as if he could go anywhere

Footnotes:

● Related segment from a Natalie interview for NOTOK's release (via https://natalie.mu/music/pp/hitorie08): ──「daybreak seeker」も「HOWL」の時期に制作されていた曲ということですが、冒頭のベースがめちゃくちゃカッコいいですね。 Mori Tomoyuki, interviewer: You said that “daybreak seeker” was written during the same time period as HOWLS. The bass in the intro is incredibly impressive.

イガラシ　ありがとうございます。これは確か、スタジオで適当に弾いてたら「それで何か作りましょう」とwowakaが言い出したんですよ。で、その場で構成を考えて。オケも録り終えてたし、メロディラインもあったけど、歌詞だけがなかった。今回収録するにあたって、シノダが歌詞を書き足して歌いました。 ygarshy: Thank you. I remember this was from when I was just jamming in the studio, when wowaka heard me and said “Let’s use that to make something.” We then came up with the composition impromptu. The instrumentals were soon recorded and the melody line even devised, but the only thing missing was the lyrics. So the recording only involved Shinoda writing and singing them. シノダ　“ありもの”のメロディに歌詞を乗せるのはよくやってるんですけど、今回は相手がwowakaですからね。どうしたもんかな？と悩んだ部分もいっぱいあるし、結果的にけっこうな文字数になってしまいました。wowakaの曲に歌詞を付けるとこれくらいの文字数になっちゃうんだな、という謎の気付きもあって。前々から「すげえ文字数だな」って思ってたんですけどね。 Shinoda: I do have a lot of experience adding lyrics on top of finished melodies, but the melody I was working with time around was none other than wowaka’s. I stressed over how to handle things quite a bit, and in the end the letter count got pretty intense. Adding lyrics to wowaka’s songs is just bound to have a high letter count… that’s one enigma I came to notice. I’ve thought “damn that’s a lotta letters” when looking at his songs since way long ago, but, y’know. ──文字を詰めたくなるメロディなんでしょうね。 So something about the melodies beg to have many words infused into them. シノダ　それもあるし、展開させたくなるんですよ、話を。1番と2番で同じメロディであっても、違う言葉を置きたくなるし、そうしないとwowakaらしい曲の質量が生まれなくて。歌詞の内容としては、ヒトリエというバンドと聴いてくれる人たち、それを取り巻く環境、そういうものを俯瞰して書いてみようと。「ヒトリエってどういうバンドなんだっけ？」みたいなことを考えながら書いてると頭がこんがらがるわけですけど、それも含めてヒトリエなのかなと。うまく説明できないけど、とにかく大変でした。あと、荷が重かったです。 Shinoda: That’s also part of it, but something about them also just makes me want to expand on the universe as well. Even if the first part and second part share the exact same melody, I still want to put completely different words on that same melody. Besides, if I didn’t do that it wouldn’t have the essence of a wowaka-esque song. The lyrics themselves speak about Hitorie, our listeners, and the surrounding environment from a bird’s eye perspective. “What kind of band really is Hitorie?” was the question running through my mind while writing, and thereby was making my head spin. Yet that’s exactly what makes Hitorie so, Hitorie. I can’t explain it well, but all in all it was a tall task. Not to mention that it bore a heavy burden. ──ゆーまおさんは「daybreak seeker」の制作時、どういうアプローチをしましたか？ What approach did you take, Yumao? ゆーまお　wowakaが作ったデモに沿っていたというか、ほぼ変更点はなかったんです。シングルに入っている音源も6年前に演奏したものなので。今改めて聴き返して思うのは「尺が6��前だな」っていう（笑）。今wowakaがいたら、構成をめちゃくちゃ変更していたと思います。 Yumao: I had simply followed the demo wowaka had laid out, or should I say, we barely changed a thing. The audio used for the single is the one from 6 years ago. Listening back to it now, the length of the song feels so 6 years ago (laughs). If wowaka was still with us, he probably would’ve unearthed the entire structure of the song. イガラシ　そこはもうしょうがないよね、全部できてるんだから。 ygarshy: There was nothing we could’ve done about it now though, the song was practically already done. ゆーまお　「HOWLS」に収録される可能性もあったからね。6年を経てようやく出せました。 Yumao: It had been a contender for HOWLS after all. After 6 long years it’s finally released. イガラシ　俺らが出している音もだいぶ違うしね。 ygarshy: It sounds a lot different from what we make nowadays.

ゆーまお　そうだね。音像もかなり違うんですよ。ほかの3曲は「下（低音域）も上（高音域）も出しましょう」という感じの作りになっているんだけど、「daybreak seeker」はギュッと真ん中に寄ってるというか。 Yumao: That’s true. The stereo is pretty different as well. For the other 3 songs on the album we tried to make use of both low (bass) and high (treble) frequencies, but for daybreak seeker we leaned straight into the midrange. シノダ　サウンドの重心がちょっと高いんだよね。 Shinoda: The base instrumentals are a bit on the high side, so.

ゆーまお　その頃の流行もあったと思うし、自分たちのプレイやエンジニアさんも含めて変化しているので。そういう意味でも、記録物として貴重なのかと。 Yumao: The trends of the time did play a part, plus our playing and our engineers have changed since then as well. That’s exactly why it was so important to leave this song for the records. ──録り直さず、そのまま収録したほうがいいと。 So you decided not to re-record anything, and include it on the album as it was. イガラシ　この曲に関してはそうですね。 ygarshy: That was indeed the case for this song. シノダ　もう1つびっくりしたことがあって。ミックスの段階でエンジニアさんに「シノダくん、この曲のファイルを見たら、ギターソロが100パターンくらい入ってるんだけど」って言われたんですよ。そんなわけないでしょと思ったら、本当に入ってた。 Shinoda: There was one other surprising factor. At the mixing stage, our engineer came up to me and told me “Shinoda-kun, after opening the file, I found about 100 different versions of guitar solos…” I was like “No way that ain’t possible,” but there actually were about 100 versions. イガラシ　1000本ノックだね、ギターソロの。 ygarshy: He made thousands of cracks at it, it’s like the law of 100, but with guitar solos. シノダ　そう。「ここにギターソロを入れます。では、弾いてください」みたいな感じでいろんなパターンのソロを弾いて。曲のデータの中にその痕跡が全部残っていて、戦慄しました。 Shinoda: Yeah. I was probably told “I want a guitar solo here. So, please play one for me.” and just knocked myself out. Those remains were preserved inside the song data, and served to give me a real fright, I was so creeped out. ゆーまお　結局、100分の1に絞ったの？ Yumao: So in the end you managed to bring it down from 100 to 1? シノダ　順番に聴いて、「これはダメだな」「これだったらいいかも」みたいなことをエンジニアさんと話して。最終的に今の状態になりました。あと、シンセとかシーケンスもけっこう入ってたんですよ。中には「なんのためにこれを入れたんだ？」というものもあって。 Shinoda: The engineer and I had listened to them one by one, picking and choosing which were unfit and which would work. Thus landed on what we got now. There was also quite a bit of synthesizer and sequences in the file. There’s some stuff in there that made me go “I wonder why he had added this?” イガラシ　アイデアのラフスケッチみたいなものだろうね。 ygarshy: Maybe it had been like a rough sketch of his ideas.

[manjuhitorie]

Hitorie - Never Understand(ネバーアンダースタンド) - Lyrics English Translation

Music: Shinoda Lyrics: Shinoda

フリーズドライされた輪切りの柑橘を As if on round, freeze dried slices of oranges, 優しく食むように詩集のページをめくる You were gently nibbling, do you turn the pages on your book of poems 昨日までやるべきことだった全てが As if every last thing on yesterday’s to-do list 意味を無くすほどに罪深い指先 Has had their purpose stripped: your sinful fingertips hold that such energy 6番線のプールサイド The poolside of rail track 6 機械みたいに愛して偏執的に触り過ぎて I loved as if I was a machine, obsessively I touched too much 壊れたらちゃんと直してね If I break down make sure to fix me, alright 口先ひとつで容易くあなたを信じるから Just a bit of lip service alone is enough for me to trust in you 稚拙な嘘はつかないでね So don’t go telling any weak lies 興味の無いことばかりがわたしを苦しめている It’s always the things that disinterest me that trouble me so 取り返しのつかない先天性のそれが爪を研いでる That irredeemable, congenital thing is sharpening its claws 肯定された世界で踊ることを許された You’ve been given permission to dance in an acceptable world 試しのない人間の感情が貴様なんかにわかるものか How the hell would you understand the feelings of someone’s who’s never tried it 興味の無いことばかりがわたしを苦しめている It’s always the things that disinterest me that trouble me so 取り返しのつかない先天性のそれに牙を剥かれる That irredeemable, congenital thing is showing its fangs at me わたしだけの感情が貴様にわかるものか You lot’ll never understand the way I feel わたしだけの感情が貴様にわかるものか You lot’ll never understand the way I feel メランコリー　悲しみだけは終わらずに Melancholy, sorrow’s the only thing with no end ハートを締め付けて遊んでた弊害さ This is the adverse effect of playing around and feeling my heart wrench 6番線のプールサイド The poolside of rail track 6 色を失くしたプールサイド The poolside that’s lost its luster 機械みたいに愛して偏執的に触り過ぎて I loved as if I was a machine, obsessively I touched too much 壊れたらちゃんと直してね If I break down make sure to fix me, alright 口先ひとつで容易くあなたを信じるから Just a bit of lip service alone is enough for me to trust in you 稚拙な嘘はつかないでね So don’t go telling any weak lies おお medicine　おお medicine Ooh medicine, ooh medicine エコーでぼやけて溶けて消えた The echo effect blurred and melted something until it was gone わたしの隣に誰が居た？ Who was here right beside me? おお medicine　おお medicine Ooh medicine, ooh medicine エコーでぼやけて溶けて消えた The echo effect blurred and melted something until it was gone わたしの隣に Right beside me 興味の無いことばかりがわたしを苦しめている It’s always the things that disinterest me that trouble me so 取り返しのつかない先天性のそれが爪を研いでる That irredeemable, congenital thing is sharpening its claws 肯定された世界で踊ることを許された You’ve been given permission to dance in an acceptable world 試しのない人間の感情が貴様なんかにわかるものか You’ll never understand the way I feel 興味の無いことばかりがわたしを苦しめている It’s always the things that disinterest me that trouble me so 取り返しのつかない先天性のそれに牙を剥かれる That irredeemable, congenital thing is showing its fangs at me わたしだけの感情が貴様にわかるものか You lot’ll never understand the way I feel わたしだけの感情が貴様にわかるものか You lot’ll never understand the way I feel

Footnotes:

● When I first saw the song name I thought it said Neverland like ネバーランド. Maybe this was intentional?? ● Comment about the music video: Shun Murakami, the director behind Hitorie’s Juggernaut and On the FroFntline music videos, conjured both cuts of 3 members’ musical performance scenes and cuts of Shinoda(Vo/Gt) acting into a bold piece that depicts the lyrics’ introspective worldview in an avant garde way. ● Shinoda’s essay delving into the song for Uta-net: 平素よりお世話になっております、ヒトリエという昨年メジャーデビュー10周年を迎えたバンドのギターボーカル、シノダと申します。ヒトリエは新しいアルバム『Friend Chord』を1月22日にリリース致しました。今回はそのアルバムから一曲、「ネバーアンダースタンド」についてつらつらと語らせていただきます。 Thank you for your continued support, I’m Shinoda, the guitar/vocalist of Hitorie, a band that's been around for more than a decade now. We’ve just released our brand new album, Friend Chord, this January 22nd. I’ll be taking this opportunity to talk extensively about a track from that exact album, Never Understand. 昨年わたしは47都道府県弾き語りツアー「シノ鉄」というタフなツアーをやっていたんですが、いつからか本番前に新曲を書いてその公演で披露する、という意味わからん負荷を自分に与えるようになりました。 Last year during “Shinotetsu”, the crazy tough tour I decided to do which involved me stopping at every last forty seventh prefecture in the country, I had made the even more insane decision to write a special new song right before each and every show, and then go perform it on the spot. 恐らくsyrup16g（僕の宗教）がART-SCHOOLのイベントでいきなり新曲を四曲もやったことに感銘を受けたというか曲解したというか、ライブの初っ端に誰も知らない曲やるのカッコよくね？って思ったのかもしれません。アホなので。その所為で会場入りからサウンドチェック、リハを終えて残った時間は全部作曲にあてるということを各会場で繰り返す羽目になり全然ゆっくりする暇は無かったですし、出来ない時はやばいくらいに出来ないので半ば無理矢理泡沫みたいな曲をでっちあげていざ本番を迎えて歌ってる最中に平気で歌メロを忘れたりして、さも忘れてないですみたいな顔をしたりしてました。そんな調子だったのでファンから、「今日の新曲良かったです」と言われても「どんな曲でしたっけ？？」ってなることが多かったんですが、結果的に39曲は書いたらしいです。本当か？？？？？？？？？？ This was most likely due to me being deeply inspired by syrup16g (A.K.A. My religion), when at an one of ART-SCHOOL(https://m.youtube.com/c/ARTSCHOOLJP)’s events they randomly just unleashed 4 whole brand new songs on to everyone- or maybe I should say that it messed me up. Because it put the idea in my head that “Wouldn’t it be cool if I did a song nobody’s ever heard before right at the get-go!?” Because I’m stupid. For that reason, whilst everyone else was entering the venue and doing the sound check, and after rehearsals were over and all that, I had spent the entirety of that time writing music. I did that every time, I didn’t have a moment to relax. Plus, when no ideas would come to me, they would really just NOT come to me, so I would wind up pulling some half-forced throwaway thing out of my ass. Then once it came time for me to do it on stage I would casually just forget how the verses went smack dab in the middle of the show, and bluff as if I would never ever forget a thing. Fans would go on to tell me “I loved the new song today”, while I was always there going “How did the song even go again??” By the end of the tour I had apparently written 39 songs. But did I really?????????? 「ネバーアンダースタンド」はその混沌の中生まれた比較的ちゃんとしたほうの曲で、どうやら広島で作ったらしいです。 どこで何を書いたとか本当に覚えてないんですがエゴサしたら広島って出て来て、ファンはこういう情報をちゃんとアーカイブしてくれてるのでいつも助かっています。 広島でシノ鉄をやったのは昨年の3月2日みたいです。遥か昔の出来事過ぎて、そんな頃からこの曲はあったのか、と驚いています。 Never Understand was one of the relatively real, proper songs born amidst that chaos. Apparently I had written it in Hiroshima. I actually had no recollection as to where and when I had written it, but when I searched for it on social media, Hiroshima popped up. Our fans are really always helpful in archiving all this information. According to the records, Shinotetsu Hiroshima was on May 2nd back last year. It feels like centuries ago, I’m surprised this song has existed since so long ago. 前述したような限りなく焦燥に近いスピード感で歌詞を書いてた割には歌い出しの、 Despite being written in the circumstances I mentioned; being written so speedily I was practically on edge, the 2 lines: フリーズドライされた輪切りの柑橘を As if on round, freeze dried slices of oranges, 優しく食むように詩集のページをめくる You were gently nibbling, do you turn the pages on your book of poems この2行がとても綺麗で気に入っています。 are so pretty, they’re my favorite.

それ以降はずっと発狂してるような内容なのですが異様にスムーズに書けた記憶があり、改めて読み返すとあの特殊な状況下じゃないと出て来ない言葉だらけで、負荷が物を言わせてるなあというか、負荷に物を言わされてるなあというか。どっちなんでしょうね。 After that the rest of the lyrics just get crazy, but I remember the writing process went abnormally smoothly somehow. Reading them back I came to the realization that all these words would’ve never come to me had I not been under those unique circumstances, and that the pressure had given me a push I guess. 一番悩んだのが曲名で、サビ中に出て来る＜偏執的＞という言葉を頼りにgoogleの世界にダイブし��ところかなり早い段階で“偏執症”という言葉に辿り着き、英訳するとパラノイアになることを知り、へえ、アンタがあの有名なパラノイアだったのかいとなったわけですがそこからパラノイドアンドロイドを超えられる曲名が思い付かなかったので早々にその線は切り捨て、Bメロに出て来る＜6番線＞という言葉から○○トレインみたいな曲名が良いんじゃないかと色々考えてはみたものの結局ラグトレインを超えられることなくすっかり困り果てていたわけですが、結局この歌で一番言いたいことってラスト一行の＜わたしだけの感情が貴様にわかるものか＞に尽きるなと思い、ネバーアンダースタンドという曲名になりました。はーよかったよかった。 The biggest challenge, however, was the song name. At first I decided to lean in on the word “obsessively(偏執的)” from the chorus and dove into the world of Google. It didn’t take me long to land on stuff about “paranoia/monomania(偏執症)”, and realized that wow the Japanese word for paranoia and the illustrious English word for “paranoia” (That’s commonly used in katakana in Japanese) were one in the same thing. Then I hit a roadblock: coming up with a song name anywhere near as cool as “Paranoid Android” was an impossible feat. So I ended up dropping that lead pretty quickly. I then instead focused my attention on the words “Rail track 6” in the verses, and thought that maybe a song name like L** Train could be cool, but also couldn’t come up with anything nearly as cool as Lag Train. I was at a complete and total loss. In the end, I concluded that the point I wanted to get across the most with this song was packed in the line “You lot’ll never understand the way I feel,” and that’s how I reached the name “Never Understand”. Sigh, thank goodness for that.

＜ヒトリエ・シノダ＞ <Hitorie, Shinoda>

● When asked what kind of song Never Understand is, on the radio station FM802 EVENING TAP on Jan. 27 2025: SND: It’s a dull and gloomy song. Radio host: No, no it’s not, not at all…! Yumao: I’ve actually started to think its not dull and gloomy anymore toooo. SND: Really now? REALLY? (*sounding doubtful) Hmmm.

● On 802 Palette radio (Jan.25) Honoka Toyota, radio host: ygarshy, were there any songs that especially left a mark on you, during recording or in general? yga: Never Understand was one of the llast things we did for the album. Our tour was in its final stages, Yaon was over, and in Summer we went to China for some shows. At shows its normal to play songs that have already been released, but I felt that I wanted to something that would match more with the sights I was witnessing in the now. I wanted to make something new and fresh. Just as I was feeling that way, did Shinoda come up with this song Never Understand. I thought it was perfect, that I wanted to do it live right in that instant. Yet for some reason the song just didn’t click with Shinoda. Despite being the one who wrote it. SND: I made it and had everyone listen to it, and ygarshy loved it, he wanted to use it. But I was like “Huhh, is this junk really the one?” yga: Uh-huh. He just could not get himself to vibe with it. So I was like “Wow, this guy is so stupid.” Honoka: Hold on! Those are some sharp words (laughs). yga: “This guy just does NOT get it….” Yumao: He dumb. SND: (Laughs). I was just confused as to why found the song so amazing. Honoka: Does that mean that you finally got the song to click with you at some point? SND: Yeah, after we started working on the song together. Then we made the demo, the album jacket, and finished the whole thing. I listened to album over and thought “Is this really any good??” Honoka: Even though its such a great song?! yga: Yep… Yep…… Thinking we should spare no effort, I suggested for him to change the tempo around. He started raising it and lowering it, but every time he made minute he would look at me and ask “How’s this?” Honoka: Looking for your approval (laughs). SND: Oh yeah, I even made a super sped up version back then. yga: This might be a little, too fast.. I had said. (All Laugh) yga: This was a recent event from when we were just putting the final touches on the album as well, so it’s a pretty vivid memory. Honoka: I’m so so so glad you ended up including it in the end. It’s such a good song. yga: Truly, I couldn’t agree more. SND: ygarshy deserves all the credit for this one. Honoka: I love the intro, the second it starts playing I feel like I'm whisked into a new world. Even the mundane things I see every day get a sparkle to them when I have this song on. It's all thanks to Hito- Or wait, I should be thanking ygarshy, without you this song would have never seen the light of day (laughs). yg: It would’ve been shoved aside (laughs).

[manjuhitorie]

Hitorie - Shadowpray - Lyrics English Translation

Music: Yumao Lyrics: Yumao/Shinoda 後悔　状態　未来　想像なんてつかない Remorse, circumstance, occurrence, all that which I can’t even fathom 電線の行方 Where do the electric wires lead 情熱　才能　醜態　みんな許せない Passion, talent, misdemeanor, all that which I can’t forgive 水滴が濁す Beads of water that muddle 心臓　愛情　由来　言語化はし難い The heart, love, origins, all that which is difficult to put into words ゆりかごの跡 The vestiges of a baby cradle 能動　回転　現在　どうなったって良いじゃん Activity, orbit, the instant, I don’t care what happens 心の隙間 The gaps in my heart 触れないでまだ Don’t touch me yet 足りない、足りない、足りない、帰れない It’s not yet enough, it’s not yet enough, it’s not yet enough, I can’t go back 着飾って　孤独と嘘を溶かしても Despite embellishing it, and melting the lies and loneliness away 物語は始まらない My story isn’t beginning 最大公約数、最中　熱は冷めていく The greatest common factor, in the great moment the heat begins to die down faster 逃げないで　虚空の幼い切断と Don’t run away, the young severance of empty space and 湿度に溺れる、明日も　明日も Drowning in the humidity, day after day 今も　祈る　黒い影 Even now, I pray, the black shadow 触れないでまだ Don’t touch me yet 足りない　足りない It’s not yet enough, it’s not yet enough 触れないでまだ Don’t touch me yet 足りない　足りない　足りない、、、 It’s not yet enough, it’s not yet enough, it’s not yet enough,,, 同情　批判　葛藤　どうなったって良いんだ Empathy, criticism, conflict, I don’t care what happens また繰り返しちゃってる Here we go again 着飾った　孤独と嘘が手を繋ぐ I embellished it, the lies and the loneliness join hands 唱えたいことが有り触れる Things I want to sing of exist far and near 最大公約数、最中　熱は冷めていく The greatest common factor, in the great moment the heat begins to die down faster 今だけ　差し伸べる壁の向こう In this exact moment, I reach out to the other side of the wall 優しく誘われる明日も Even the day, after I’m gently lured in 今も　願う　願う　白い影 And even now, I wish, I wish, the white shadow 僕の影 My shadow 見失って胸が痛む夜も Even during the nights when I lose sight of my shadow and my chest aches 笑って居れる明日も　明日も I can keep on smiling, day after day 今も　想う　黒い影 Even now, I think fondly upon, the black shadow

Footnotes:

● Could the song name be paying homage to Joy Division's song "Shadowplay"? Maybe…

● Relevant segment from the Skream! interview https://skream.jp/interview/2025/01/hitorie.php:

－なるほど。そしてゆーまおさんの楽曲「Shadowpray」はどんな着想でしたか？ Yuka Ishizumi, interviewer: What was the inspiration behind Yumao's song, Shadowpray? ゆーまお：これは逆に、全くオルタナとかシューゲイザーのこと等1ミリも考えてなくて（笑）。 Yumao: This song, unlike Quadlirateral Vase, did not involve even one ounce of regard for alternative or shoegazer or anything like that(laughs). シノダ：興味ないもんね（笑）。 Shinoda: You’ve got no interest in those genres after all (laughs). ゆーまお：「Shadowpray」を作ってた頃からこの2年間ぐらい、バンド・サウンドの曲をほとんど作ってなくて。 Yumao: We wrote Shadowpray 2 years ago, and since then we haven’t written any rock band style songs. シノダ：モードが逆転したんだけど（笑）。 Shinoda: We entered into a totally different mode (laughs). ゆーまお：そうそう、逆転したんですよね。そういうモードになっちゃって、ループ素材とかシーケンスを使う曲を量産してたんです。 Yumao: That’s right, we swerved in a completely new direction. And once we got into that zone, we started mass producing songs that utilized sequencers and loop samples. シノダ：これまでの彼の曲のデモは絶対自分で叩いたドラムが入ってて、彼のドラムありきみたいなデモだったので、バンド・サウンドが多かったんですよ。（今回は）全然そうじゃない。逆にリズム・トラックだけで10トラックぐらい入ってるみたいな（笑）。 Shinoda: Up until then Yumao’s drafts have always involved him playing the drums himself, and due to his drum playing being so prominent, his songs have always sounded rock band-esque. However, this time things were different. This time around our album has around 10 tracks that are just backing tracks (laughs). ゆーまお：リズム・トラックのことだけはなんとなく分かるからそうなっちゃってるだけなんですけど、そんな感じでシノダの反応も一番良かったのでこれになりました。あとはだいたいの歌詞を書いたのが一番の変化ですかね。 Yumao: Somehow backing tracks are like my bread and butter, so it just kind of ended up that way. Not to mention that Shinoda reacts the best to them. The overall biggest change though was that I wrote most of the lyrics myself this time around. シノダ：ついにゆーまお君が歌詞を書くことになりました。好きになったんだよね。もともと好きっていうのもあるけど。 Shinoda: At long last has Yumao done a deep-dive into lyric writing. He came to really enjoy doing it. I mean, he’s always enjoyed it but… ゆーまお：そうそう。好きだったっていうのもあるけど、自分がたまたま書いてた歌詞をちゃんと作品として残してみたいと思ったのが一番強いかもしれないですね。楽曲どうこうというより、そこにチャレンジしたいっていうのはありました。 Yumao: Yep yep. The fact that I enjoy writing lyrics was one part of the formula, but the most important thing to me was my desire to turn the words I once wrote willy-nilly into something proper. The musical accompaniment wasn’t my top priority, I was more fussy with the lyrics, because that was the challenge I was most interested in taking. －たしかにゆーまおさんの楽曲はアルバムの中で、音像としてはフックになってますね。それでもダークさはある気がして。今回は曲が集まって、結果的にオルタナティヴ色が濃くなったんでしょうか。 It’s true that Yumao’s songs, in terms of pure musical imagery, tend to be “the hooks” of your albums. Yet they do also have a tinge of darkness to them. So, once you put all of the songs together into an album, I feel like the result of the whole is a heavily alternative-colored piece. シノダ：どうしても根底にある好きなものが滲み出てしまうもんで、そこの蛇口がちょっとバカになってきたみたいな感じだと思うんですけど。昔3人でやり始めた頃はとにかく迷いながら、"本当にこれでいいんだろうか？"、"正しいんだろうか？"みたいな、分かるわけないようなことに対して悩み��がら作ってたけど、だんだん"そうじゃないな"、"別にもっと好きなものを作ったっていいんじゃないの？"と。それで作っていったら単純にオルタナが好きで、それがバレてしまったみたいなことなんじゃないかなと思いますね（笑）。 Shinoda: My core interests just tend to seep out no matter what I do, and at this point I think my faucet is fucked. Back when we first started operating as a 3 man unit, I was constantly under stress when writing, worrying about things that had no answers. I was just constantly doubting myself, thinking “Are you really sure this okay?” and “Is this the right thing to do?” Slowly but surely I came to realize that there was no need to worry, and let my creative juices run free. Once I did that, I think it became pretty obvious that I just, love alternative music (laughs).

[manjuhitorie]

Hitorie - Quadrilateral Vase - Lyrics English Translation

Music: ygarshy Lyrics: Shinoda

消えない影、まぼろしのいろは Everlasting shades, the mystical rudiments 機械仕掛けのトロイメライみたいなのさ Seems like a mechanical, inhuman träumerei

哀しくないみたい、鏡映しで Seems like you’re not upset, in the mirror 泣いてるような、子供の声で Sounds like someone’s crying, like a child そしたら思うのさ、雨降り、傘無し。 That’s when it hit me, rain descent, umbrella absent. 聴かれちゃった？聴かれちゃうな Did somebody hear me? Somebody’s bound to hear me

眩しくしないで欲しい I’d like it if you didn’t make it too bright 眩しくしないで欲しい I’d like it if you didn’t make it too bright 焼き付くんだ You’re searing into my mind 焼き付くんだ You’re searing into my mind 鮮やかなあなたが You’re just so refulgent 眩しくしないで欲しい I’d like it if you didn’t make it too bright 眩しくしないで欲しい、のに I’d like it if you didn’t make it too bright, and yet 遠ざかるくらいがいい As long as there’s space between us then it’s alright with me それが、それがいい That’s, that’s alright with me

青白い肌、包み込むベロア Pale white skin, swaddled by velour これで終わりなら洗いざらい話し合おう If this is the end, then let’s open up and have a heart to heart

哀しくないんだね、似たもの同士 So you’re not upset, we’re two of a kind 泣いてるのにね、ふたりの声で And yet we’re crying, the two of us 窓の外みたい、雨降り、傘無し。 Seems the same as outside the window, rain descent, umbrella absent. 触れないな、触れないな Unreachable, unreachable

眩しくしないで欲しい I’d like it if you didn’t make it too bright 眩しくしないで欲しい I’d like it if you didn’t make it too bright 焼き付くんだ You’re searing into my mind 焼き付くんだ You’re searing into my mind 鮮やかなあなたが You’re just so refulgent 眩しくしないで欲しい I’d like it if you didn’t make it too bright 眩しくしないで欲しいから I’d like it if you didn’t make it too bright, so just

消えてなくなればいい、僕が。 As long as I don’t end up fading into the light then it’s alright with me それでいい That’s alright with me

Footnotes:

● Quadrilateral Vase translated means 四角花瓶(Shikaku Kabin) in Japanese, a pun on the term 視覚過敏(Shikaku Kabin), which means sensitive to light. This pun was made apparent during the talk panel of the Osaka screening (of their big concert in Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall, “HITORI-ESCAPE 2024 10-NEN-SAI~Hibiya Chouzetsu Yaon~” on Jan. 13 2025) when SND hinted at it. ygarshy, the composer, was very chill about it, only commenting along the lines of “Wow, my song received its name based on a pun.”

● Relevant segment from the Skream! interview https://skream.jp/interview/2025/01/hitorie.php:

3曲目の「Quadrilateral Vase」はどうでしたか？ Yuka Ishizumi, interviewer: How about the third track “Quadrilateral Vase”?

シノダ：これはイガラシ君の曲ですね。 Shinoda: This is ygarshy-kun’s song.

－この楽曲もオルタナティヴな印象が。 This song, like Tanbi-ka and Juggernaut, sounds like alternative style.

イガラシ：これは制作が進んできた頃にシノダが"シューゲがやりたい"、"シューゲがいい気がする"みたいなこと言ってたから（笑）。で、この曲も作ったのはちょっと前だったんですけど、"じゃあこれはどうですか"と。 ygarshy: While I was writing the song, Shinoda mentioned that he wants to try out shoegaze, and that shoegaze would be a good fit, so… (laughs). This song was actually written quite a while ago but, I had then enhanced it to please Shinoda.

シノダ："今シューゲがキテるぞ"ってね。 Shinoda: I was like “Shoegaze is so in right now.”

ゆーまお：シノダの中でキテただけ。 Yumao: But it was only “in” amidst Shinoda’s world.

シノダ：（笑） Shinoda: (Laughs).

－でも世の中的にもそうかもしれないですよ？ Though isn’t it fairly “in” worldwide as well?

シノダ：いや、僕、今空前のシューゲイザー・ブームが日本に到来してると思い込んでるんです。なんか多いような気がするんですけど、でも僕のTwitter（現X）のアルゴリズムがそうなっちゃってるだけなんじゃないかって（笑）。そういうバンド��映像ばっかりおすすめに出てくるから、AIに見透かされてるのかな。 Shinoda: Well like, I’m convinced that a shoegaze boom unlike any before is hitting Japan right now. I feel like it’s popping up all over, though that actually may just be the work of my Twitter algorithm (laughs). My “For You” page is flooded with shoegaze style band videos, it’s like the AI sees right through me.

－（笑）シューゲイザー的なサウンドに何を求めるかっていうところがあると思うんですけど、シノダさんはどうなんですか。 (Laughs). Shoegaze music requires specific things in order for it to be classified as such, but what does shoegaze mean to you Shinoda?

シノダ：シューゲイザーについてですか？ Shinoda: Are you asking me about shoegazers?

ゆーまお：やったじゃん、そんなこと喋れる機会ないでしょ（笑）。 Yumao: I’m so happy for you, you never get the chance to talk about this (laughs).

シノダ：ここで語るのか（笑）。なんでしょうね？ もともとは暴力的なオルタナティヴの派生だと思うので、THE JESUS AND MARY CHAINから始まった違った角度のパンク・サウンドのアティチュードからいろいろ変化を経てMY BLOODY VALENTINEに行き着いたような感じだから、マイブ���（MY BLOODY VALENTINE）そのものをやっても仕方ないというか。そこの1歩手前にある刺々しさとか陰鬱さみたいな、そういうマインドですかね（笑）。 Shinoda: Here of all places (laughs). I wonder. I think it originally derived from the more aggressive subgenre of alternative. So like it started with The Jesus and Mary Chain, then people started taking different angles and attitudes on punk music, undergoing change until we got to My Bloody Valentine. So maybe it’s only natural for me to emulate MyBlo a bit. In my mind I lean towards that sharp, gloomy style I guess, but I stay just an inch away from leaning too far in (laugh).

－Kevin Shields（MY BLOODY VALENTINE／Gt/Vo）並みの音の壁を作って、20分延々と演奏するわけにもいかないですもんね。 You can’t be creating a wall with music and perform for 20 minutes incessantly like Kevin Shields (Vocal/Guitar of My Bloody Valentine) after all.

シノダ：そうなんですよね。あれはKevinさんしかやろうとしないことなんで（笑）。だからあれがいいというか。 Shinoda: Exactly. That’s something only Kevin-san can do (laughs). That’s why I’ll hold on that.

－シノダさんにとってシューゲイザー・サウンドの魅力は一種の暴力性なんですか？ To you, is one of the appeals of the shoegaze genre the aspect of aggressiveness?

シノダ：だと思いますね。人間としてのチクッとした部分を表現したら、きれいなものとして出力されたみたいな。 Shinoda: I think so. It’s like, they’re expressing that part of us as humans that’s daggerlike and feisty, yet it comes out as something wonderful.

[manjuhitorie]

Interview with Shinoda(Hitorie) - Ongaku to Hito July 2024 Issue - English Translation

Pain, Never to Go Away

Interview by Usami Yasuyo

2024 has brought Hitorie’s 10th year anniversary with it, along with the 5 year milestone of their current regime. The pillar of the band, wowaka, passed away in 2019, leaving the grieving trio to reform the band. Their newest single, “On the Front Line/Senseless Wonder[ReRec]”, features a modern iteration of a song previously written by wowaka, on top of one song written by each member, Yumao (drums), ygarshy (bass) and Shinoda (vocals/guitar) respectively. They are by no means going against the current structure of their band, they are rather stalwart souls in regards to ensuring that nobody forgets Hitorie’s origins. That they want to remain as four forever more—That’s the exact kind of emotions poured into their new numbers. I sat down with Shinoda to talk about his current perspective come Hitorie’s milestones, thus did he reveal details about his past trauma and his low self-esteem. Afflicted with a pain that fails to ever go away, they press on. What is it like to be in his shoes?

So, Hitorie is now 10 years old… how does that feel, what’s your verdict on the matter?

Shinoda: If it’s been 10 years since our studio debut then that marks year 5 of Hitorie’s metamorphosis. Did leader really leave us 5 years ago? Then that means… have I really been singing for 5 whole years? My mind is swirling. Along the way there was also was a 2-3 year period wherein we couldn’t operate as good old rockers due to the pandemic either so, to be honest it doesn’t feel as if 10 years have passed at all. It all just feels so complicated, and strange.

Do you mean that in regards to becoming the frontman as well?

Yeah. Since about a year ago we’ve been graciously given a fair amount of opportunities to perform in festivals and joint concerts. Thanks to them I’ve been able to watch a bunch of shows and analyse a variety of different frontmen, and you could say that slowly but surely the realization finally hit me: that “Hey, I also stand right up there too.” Up until that point I could never really get the reality that I stand center stage through my head.

You seem so ready to be the focus of attention though, I sense no hesitation in your shows and music.

Of course I’m prepared to do what needs to be done, but on the flip side for a long time I had this itch in the back of my mind that maybe I was somehow only convincing myself and pretending that I was the frontman all along. Like just telling myself “Yeah, you’re the totally the frontman, sure buddy.” I was trying to galvanize myself in a way too though, offering myself words of encouragement. Words strong enough to make me believe “Yeah, I can keep this up.” Nowadays we’re putting on heaps and heaps of shows, but the more we do it the more my weaknesses, or rather my shortcomings, become evident. Of course I’m also improving more and more with every show as well but, there’s still so much more I could be doing better.

When do you specifically feel your weaknesses and shortcomings become evident?

It all boils down to my skill level as a singer, plain and simple. The problem is that I feel I’m still a weak vocalist. I’m constantly comparing myself to people who are way cooler than me as well. Such as Maki-kun from Vanillas (Maki Tatsuya from go! go! vanillas), I just think he’s so cool whenever I see him, and I can’t help but worry how I pale in comparison.

I think there’s no reason to compare yourselves, you and Maki as counterparts both possess things each other don’t.

Hmm, I’m not so sure about that. Or maybe it’s just the way I am. My self-worth is inherently in the pits. As soon as someone or something cool catches my attention, I can’t help but immediately start comparing them to myself. A short while ago I saw the band “Mo’Some Tonebender” in Arabaki, and they were of exceptional nature, their coolness was off the charts. It made me cast doubts on myself like “I wonder if I’ll able to put on an act of their caliber when I’m that age too.” Or when it comes to the younger crowd, such as Akiyama Kiiro, when I saw his concert I thought “Wow he’s incredible, I don’t think I was nearly so capable back when I was that age.” My brain always makes it all about me and jumps straight to the negative. Yet nevertheless at the same time I do also sometimes catch myself wondering “Is there even anyone else fit to be Hitorie’s frontman?” For, it’s partly because I’m the type who suffers from anxiety that I’m able to make music. So, provided that I’m in a band, it’s practically a given for me to live hand in hand with anxieties.

On the same note as anxieties, you once before said that you feel you don’t have a clear-cut, singular core essence to yourself. Is this still the case?

Hmm, I think I’ve since changed a little bit. Last year we made an album titled “PHARMACY”, and for the promo tour we fashioned merchandise. Among them I had designed this cat plush, all just for kicks, yet somehow it took off. It started selling like hotcakes. This strange incident made something click for me (laughs). The plush has since been dubbed “Pharmacy Cat” as well. So after I heard that it was flying off the shelves, I had a revelation: now I know that I’m at the very least someone capable of selling cat plushies.

It raised your self esteem (laughs). I’m in awe that it wasn’t a song or a concert that was the catalyst, but rather a plush doll.

Yeah (laughs). Whenever I see that plush, it patches up the deficits in my heart. For I used to have nothing that stood out as “me” before.

I never got that impression though. When I read the lyrics of your song “On the Front Line”, specifically the lyrics “Get even stronger, I heard a voice say/Stuck in a world with no concept of right or wrong/My one and only heart/I give it whole to the things I want to protect”, they remind me of the exact way you, Shinoda, seem to throw yourself into the fray for the people you care about.

Excuse me, me?

Yes. That could be the reason why you were plagued with such stress 5 years ago, and why you had felt so pressured to take up the mantle to save the band. The song may have been written to be the opening song for the anime “Mushoku Tensei” but the lyrics really do feel like Shinoda manifest.

Those specific lines you mentioned, those had just popped out onto my paper thoughtlessly, earnestly, and with 0 stress involved. Maybe I actually am the kind of guy you mentioned, but, deep down part of me still feels like me being the frontman of Hitorie is just imprudent. I’ll forever be weighed down by the question of whether or not it’s okay for someone like me to receive as much charity as I do.

What exactly are you referring to by “charity”?

Being allowed to exist amongst the big names of the music industry, or sometimes being adored by my juniors, and things like that. “Should this really be happening to someone like me?” I often think. The more it keeps happening and happening, the more I want to meet their expectations; the more I’m flooded with the feeling I need to give something back. So maybe if you unravel it all far enough, the fact that I care too much for people might be at the root of it all.

What do you believe is the reason your self-value is so low?

Back in my 20s, before I joined Hitorie, I was doing music in Nagoya…

You were the vocalist for an indie band, correct?

Yes. In the end it all molded me into who I am today but, back then my music wasn’t received very well, and I felt I wasn’t loved nor needed by anyone.

I can tell you’re not the type to stay optimistic and bide your time in hopes that someone will fancy your songs one day.

Hmm. Back then I was not. I’m not a very wise person, and I wasn’t especially in a situation wherein I could take a step back and view things from a bigger perspective, I was kind of driven into a corner. So nowadays when people tell me that they’re fans of my old songs, such as Akiyama Kiiro, it makes me feel like “Wow, so everything does come back around and does serve a purpose, there was meaning to it after all.” It’s just the time investment required to finally get to this step is a lengthy one, that’s for sure.

The results aren’t immediate.

Exactly, exactly.

So after working with Hitorie, your self-esteem issues began to ease up?

Yeah, they totally did. Previously when Hitorie was a quad piece I stood on the stage as the lead guitarist, but prior to that I was composing all my songs and lyrics by myself on top of singing them all by myself in Nagoya. I was on the verge of my breaking point, at that point I couldn’t stand music that laid myself bare anymore. Until, upon joining this crazy band named “Hitorie” and becoming their guitarist, a large margin of my anxieties eased up. I was finally able to break away from 100 capacity venues, and somehow along the way turned into a rocker allowed on to bigger stages.

You have since returned to making songs that lay yourself bare, and singing them yourself as well. How does that make you feel?

Part of me thinks as if this is my karma, at the end of the day I can’t escape it. However, to be honest, my desire to sing and write songs never fully diminished even back when Hitorie was still complete, and deep down I had always hoped I would be able to do so. The only problem is the shape and form in which my desire came to a reality.

It truly does seem to be something you just can’t run away from.

Is this that thing people call fate? It circles around in the most twisted of ways. Life really is heavier than I ever could’ve imagined, when I think about.

You wrote a song for your newest single as well, and I would like to hear about your insights on it but, first before that there’s one point of interest I would like to touch upon. There’s 4 songs on the single, each written by all 4 members of Hitorie, including wowaka. Was this on purpose?

Yes. We came up with this idea in the early stages. We didn’t want to release just any old single, we wanted to take the medium called the CD and turn it into something with more oomph, more flair. Thus came the discussion of how to achieve this feat, and what you see today is the solution we conjured up. If we’re going to bring something into this world, then it needs to have a good reason and purpose. Which tied into how it’d be a problem if people forgot everything the four of us did together.

I see. The song you composed is named “Sakura no Itsuka”, and the lyrics speak candidly on your feelings about wowaka.

After we decided on our vision for the CD, the only one who didn’t have a song ready was me. I do have a stash of WIP songs which I could’ve pulled from but I instead opted to create a track from scratch. One which would represent the “resolution” part of the dramatic structure, with each of the 4 tracks respectively representing the beginning, development, climax, and resolution. For I thought it would be an effective means to strengthen the CD’s power and purpose, as I mentioned before, and to give it good justification for existing amongst our discography. I’ve written quite a few songs that tackle my feelings over losing wowaka now, that delve into means for us to cope and move on. Starting with curved edge…

That would be the first song Hitorie released as a trio.

Yes. But, unlike that single, this one has a 4 songs each written by all 4 of us so… I’m not sure the right way to articulate this but like, I felt that I couldn’t let the closing track on such a structured single just be run of the mill. I contemplated long and hard as to what exactly would be appropriate. After all that though, in the end I don’t think the song I wrote would appeal much to a special somebody (laughs).

Hahaha. What caused you to assume that?

I dunno, just a sixth sense (laughs). I just have a hunch that he wouldn’t care for the song very much. That he wouldn’t especially want to be written about nor seen in this light. For at the end of the day it’s nothing but an unelaborate ballad, to put it bluntly.

The lyrics are straightforward as well. “Yet again, a song you would probably hate/Keeps polluting the city/And yet a song you would probably love is something that we just can’t write/Something we could never write” gets to the heart of the matter, and from but a glance it’s obvious that the “you” in the lyrics must be referring to wowaka.

If he himself could hear the lyrics, I could just imagine him saying “Shinoda what happened to your alternative rock soul?” or “This isn’t like you at all?” (Laughs). “But, I can explain, everything’s been translated into the J-rock band format!” I would say back. I even refrained from overdubbing the guitar as much as possible too (laughs)! Yet the fact of the matter is that I up and used the man named wowaka as my muse. I’m worried, burdened by the fact that I’m practically expending his existence- and his absence both.

I wonder if anyone out there feels the same way though. From a third person perspective, as someone who has watched you become a wonderful frontman over the past 5 years and listened to the music you’ve created along the journey, I find it difficult to believe you’re “expending” his name, or to see it in that such cynical light.

I think there definitely are indeed people out there who think that way. To each his own, different strokes for different folks y’know. So l understand if people come to resent me over the song, so be it, I totally get it, it’s bound to happen. Yet nevertheless my wish to bring this song into the world and have it be heard no matter what won over all my concerns. What’s most important to me is for people to never forget that Hitorie was once the four of us.

[manjuhitorie]

<3

<3

[manjuhitorie]

Hitorie 2024 Lisani Interview for the On The Front Line/SENSE-LESS WONDER [ReREC] Release

INTERVIEW & TEXT BY 森 朋之(Mori Tomoyuki)

――デビュー10周年を記念したシングルの表題曲「オン・ザ・フロントライン」は、TVアニメ『無職転生Ⅱ ～異世界行ったら本気だす～』 第2クールOPテーマ。まずは『無職転生Ⅱ』の好きなキャラクターについて教えてもらえますか？ The A side song for your single “On the Front Line”, is featured as the opening song for the second season of the anime “Mushoku Tensei”. Could you tell me about which characters you like from the show?

シノダ　ナナホシさんです。キャラデザから境遇から性格から何から何まで僕はナナホシさんが好きです。少しでも彼女に良いことがあればいいなと思っています。 Shinoda: Nanahoshi-san for me. I like her all the way down from her character design up to her lore and personality, every last little detail. I want at least something, any nice thing to happen to her.

イガラシ　ロキシー・ミグルディアが好きです。突出した才能を備えているがゆえの不器用さと、驕らずに自分を変えていく部分に感銘を受けました。 ygarshy: I like Roxy Migurdia. The way that her outstanding talent is exactly what makes her so clumsy, and the fact that she doesn’t let it get to her head and instead attempts to change herself, it all left an impression on me.

ゆーまお　ザノバ・シーローンが好きです。人形に対しての情熱と愛が彼を狂わせてイカれてしまった人間なのかと思いきや、忠誠心からか身内にはとても思いやりのある優しいギャップがとても良いです。ジュリとの今後の関係値がどう深まっていくのか気になります。 Yumao: I like Zanoba Shirone. It may have seemed as if his love and passion for his puppets drew him mad and pushed him off the edge but, the fact that it originally came from a place of kindness and love, he was just too loyal for his own good, is so interesting to me. I’m so curious to see how his relationship with Julie plays out in the future.

――なるほど。「オン・ザ・フロントライン」はエッジの効いたサウンドと美しいメロディが共存した楽曲。制作時の方向性、こだわった部分は？ I see. “On the Front Line” is a song wherein which violent instrumentals coexist with a gorgeous melody. Was there any specific part you were fussy with, in terms of direction, when writing the song?

シノダ　この時はエレキギターのカッコよさを伝える使命感に駆られていた為、1サビ後の間奏のフレーズが爆発力ある音で録れたことに非常に満足しています。 Shinoda: I felt it was almost my duty to show the world just how cool electric guitar can be, and that’s exactly what drove me to make the guitar solo after the first chorus so explosive. I’m incredibly satisfied with how the recording turned out.

イガラシ　ベースに関しては、伸びやかな歌のメロディーを引き立てることとリズムの力強さを損なわないことの両立をイメージしました。 ygarshy: In regards to the bass, I focused on emboldening the melody of the calm vocals, but in a way that wouldn’t impede on the strength of the rhythm. I had to find a way to balance both.

ゆーまお　破壊的で攻撃的なサウンドを埋め込みたくて、ギターの注文は結構こだわっていました。途中に組み込まれている変拍子も、自分が影響を受けたオルタナティブロックバンドの破壊的で推進力を感じるビートを取り入れました。 Yumao: I wanted the music to be chock full of destructive and aggressive energy, so I was meticulous in following whatever the guitar needed. The change in rhythm in the middle of the song was inspired by the alternative rock bands I like, as I fashioned the beat to have that same propulsive, explosive force that they tend to have.

――〈失っちゃいけない想いだけをなぞった/そして僕は行くのだろう〉という歌詞が印象的でした。この歌詞を書いていたときに、シノダさんが意識していたのはどんなことですか？ The lyrics “I traced only my feelings worth fighting for/And so do I forge on” especially left an impression on me. What was going through your head when you wrote them?

シノダ　生きていく上で大切なものを失うということは、往々にして起こり得ることなのだと感じることがここ数年多くて。そういったことも受け止め続ける覚悟を決めながら生きていかなければいけないんだよな、みたいなことを考えながら書いていたように思います。 Shinoda: Over the past few years I’ve had to face the reality that in life you will lose the things that you love, it’s commonplace. So I was thinking about how we need to be ready to cope with that so long as keep going on living.

――そして「センスレス・ワンダー[ReRec]」は、メジャー１ｓｔシングル「センスレス・ワンダー」を新たにレコーディングした音源。現在のみなさんにとって、「センスレス・ワンダー」とはどんな曲でしょうか？ For Senseless Wonder [ReRec], you recorded the song from your first major single anew. What does Senseless Wonder as a song mean to you now, after all this time?

シノダ　我ながらカッコいいギターリフを考えたな、と10年前の自分を褒めてあげたい曲です。 Shinoda: “Damn you really came up with a cool guitar riff” is what I would tell myself from10 years ago.

イガラシ　自分たちをここまで連れてきてくれた曲です。 ygarshy: This song has served to bring us to where we are today.

ゆーまお　青さの現れ、と思っています。とてつもなく早いBPMと情報量が詰め込まれている音数、歌詞、どれもあの時の年齢、思考でしか出てこない曲だなと思います。 Yumao: I feel it was really the flower of our youth. The unbelievably high BPM, the information overload, all somehow stuffed within the measure and the lyrics, everything. It’s the kind of thing that was only possible at that age, and mindset we were in back then.

――「センスレス・ワンダー」を初めて3人で演奏したときのことを教えてもらえますか？　また、今回レコーディングにするにあたって大事にしていたことは？ Could you tell me about the first time you performed Senseless Wonder as a trio? Or what was essential to you when recording the new version?

シノダ　最初はどうしても音が足りないので、それでもとにかくこれでやっていくしかないなと、きっとやっていくうちにカッコよくなっていく筈だと当時は思っていました。そうやって再構築してやって来た「センスレス・ワンダー」をなるべくそのまま録音したい、という気持ちで今回の録音に挑みました。 Shinoda: We were lacking manpower and just notes and noise in general initially, but we had no choice except to keep on pushing and find a solution as to how to make it cool as we went.

イガラシ　イントロでwowakaが弾いていたカッティングをベースで演奏する必要があって、ギター特有のストロークのパターンを高速で演奏することに注力しました。 ygarshy: I needed to recreate the clip of wowaka’s guitar playing but on bass, so it was a challenge play the guitar’s unique stroke patterns at the high speed needed.

ゆーまお　とにかく音が足りない。イントロのリズムギターを誰が弾くのかとか、サウンドの厚みが減ったのではないかとか、減ってたって良いじゃないかとか、色々話していました。 Yumao: We were just flat out lacking notes. The question of who would play the rhythm guitar part in the intro, the fact that the music lost so many layers, the fact that maybe it was fine even though it wasn’t as rich as it was before…. We discussed a lot.

――「Selfy charm」は煌びやかさな音像とバンドサウンドが融合。このアレンジに至った経緯を教えてもらえますか？ “Selfy charm” combines hard J-rock with glittery musical imagery.

シノダ　ギターに関しては基本的にイガラシ君の意のままにアレンジした、といった感じです。とにかくメチャメチャ綺麗な音で録れたので満足しています。 Shinoda: For the guitar, I primarily abided by whatever ygarshy-kun asked me to do. So I’m so happy with how crisp and clean the music came out.

イガラシ　2年前、Summer flight tourで全国をまわっていた時期にデモを制作しました。夏の夜の浮遊感、熱を攪拌しながら夜道を彷徨う様なイメージで音を重ねた記憶があります。 ygarshy: I had written the draft for the song back during our nationwide Summer Flight Tour two years ago. I remember I had in mind that floaty, airy atmosphere of summer nights; drifting along sunless streets whilst the heat whisked around, that kind of thing.

――歌詞のテーマは美醜だとか。見た目に対する意識はますます強まっている印象もありますが、このテーマを選んだ理由は？ The theme of the song is appearances, the pretty and the ugly. I get the sense that you’re beginning to worry about the way you look more and more, but, what exactly was the reason you settled on this theme?

シノダ　僕が重度のSNS依存症なので、基本的にずっと画面をスクロールさせているんですけど、ふとした瞬間にタイムラインに発生する綺麗な女性の写真にスクロールを反射的に止めさせられることがあって。その“止めさせられ”が最早強制力の域に達してるんじゃないかと思うことが多く、この女性はどれだけの苦悩やコンプレックスを抱え、それらと戦い続け、努力を重ね、いかにして人のスクロールを止める強制力を得るに至ったのかみたいなことを勝手に想像したときがありました。生半可な努力では無いはずなので。その勝手な想像が何か曲にハマりそうだったので、歌詞にしてみました。 Shinoda: I’m a heavy social media addict, you can practically always find me scrolling on my screen. So sometimes when photos of beautiful women suddenly show up on my timeline, they reflexively make me halt my scrolling. I often end up feeling like that “makes me halt” part practically reaches the level of forceful compulsion with how powerful it is. These women must be burdened with their own anxieties, things they hate about themselves, struggles they’re constantly battling. All those efforts are what won them their extramundane power to force us to stop our scrolling. Or so, I find myself imagining. There’s no way they put half-assed effort into what they do after all. That wild imagination of mine was went into the song.

――そして「さくらのいつか」はwowakaさんを思って書かれた曲だとか。このテーマで曲を作ろうと決めた理由、そこに込めた思いを教えてもらえますか？ Then, you said that “Sakura no Itsuka” was written about wowaka. What made you decide to write about this subject?

シノダ　このテーマで曲を作ろうとしたわけではなく、この曲は〆切のギリッギリに出来た曲なんですけど、ちょうど桜が咲いていた時期だった所為か、ごくごく自然にこの曲が書けてしまい。書けてしまったということはこれも何かの巡り合わせなのだろう、ということで収録するに至った次第です。 Shinoda: I actually didn’t consciously decide to do so. I finished the song in the nick of time before the deadline too. The cherry blossoms just so happened to be in season at the time, and that’s why this song kind of naturally came to me. It was a crazy twist of fate, even more so that it ended up on the album.

――今回のシングル4曲はすべてライブで披露されています。ライブでの手ごたえはどうでしたか？ All 4 songs from the single are now being performed live at concerts. What has the response been like?

シノダ　「さくらのいつか」に関しては、初めて演奏した時に会場全体を悲しみの坩堝にぶち込んでしまったような感触があり、この曲この先演奏するのやめた方がいいのかな、と一瞬悩むほどでした。 Shinoda: I felt like the entire crowd was flung into one big melting pot of sorrow the first time we performed “Sakura no Itsuka”, and for a moment back there I was worried that maybe we shouldn’t ever perform this song again.

イガラシ　初めて演奏したときから「Selfy charm」で盛り上がってくれて嬉しく思っています。あまりこのテンポの楽曲を作曲したことがなかったので、ひとつ今後への経験になりました。 ygarshy: The crowd has been enchanted by “Selfy charm” ever since the first time we unveiled it live. I’ve never really written a song with this tempo before so it’s been a good learning experience for me.

ゆーまお　「Selfy Charm」を演奏してる時、みんなが楽しそうにノリノリで聞いているのでとても嬉しいです。 Yumao: Whenever we do “Selfy charm” live, everyone bops along so cheerfully that it makes even me happy.

――ヒトリエは今年デビュー10周年。いろいろな出来事がありましたが、今現在のヒトリエをどう捉えていますか？ Hitorie: Hitorie hit their debut’s 10th year anniversary just this year. I can see you’ve been through many ups and downs along the way but, how do you feel about the current day Hitorie you’ve grown into?

シノダ　よくやってるな、と思います。 Shinoda: We’re really trucking right along, I think.

イガラシ　演奏の手応えは増してきています。継続と発展を目指します。 ygarshy: People are appreciating our performances more and more. So my goal is to first preserve then develop this state further.

ゆーまお　10周年にしてようやく、ヒトリエって結構強いバンドかもしれないって思ってきてます。 Yumao: After 10 years I’ve finally come to the realization that Hitorie actually is a pretty powerful force to be reckoned with.

――wowakaさんを失ってしまった後もバンドを継続できたこと、今も素晴らしい音楽をやり続けられていることの理由は何だと思いますか？ After losing wowaka-san you chose to still keep the band alive, and continue to write wonderful music, the same as before. What was the reasoning behind this decision?

シノダ　wowakaの作ったバンドだからだと思います。 Shinoda: Because Hitorie was made by wowaka.

イガラシ　現在進行形でかっこい��バンドの名曲として彼の音楽を聞き続けてもらえるように活動したいと思い続けています。 ygarshy: My motivation to continue on working is because I want the world to keep on listening to his music, be it via the hit tracks from a spunky band in the present progressive tense.

ゆーまお　彼の時は止まってしまいましたが、これから先も恥じないメンバーである事を証明するための意地ですね。 Yumao: Time may have stopped for him but, we’re adamant about proving that we are his bandmates, and we want to make him proud.

――9月15日には「HITORI-ESCAPE 2024 10-NEN-SAI～日比谷超絶野音～」を開催。今年の夏以降の活動ビジョンについて教えてください。 On September 15th you plan to throw HITORI-ESCAPE 10-NEN-SAI at Hibiya Outdoor Stage. Could you tell me about what your vision for the band will be post summer?

シノダ　きっと楽しい未来が待ってると思います。 Shinoda: All I know is that some kind of exciting future is probably waiting for us.

イガラシ　野音は節目の大きなライブですが、そのあともいい音楽と演奏を届けられるように止まらず活動していきます。 ygarshy: The Hibiya Non show is a major turning point, seeing as of how big of a show it is, but, once it’s over we still need to keep making good music and putting on good shows, no slowing down.

ゆーまお　日比谷野音が終わっても、まだまだ今年やる事が残っています。楽しみにしていてください。 Yumao: We sill have lots of things in store this year, even after Hibiya Non, so please keep your eyes peeled.