#BUT RONDO. RONDO. WHAT. WHAT ARE U PLANNING? HUH?

[caramelmochacrow]

GURHAIKGRIKGRHRGHRGHR.

WH. WHY IS RONDO'S SECOND SONG TBA??? HUH??? IS IT A NEW SONG??? HUH?? WILL THE FOUR SKIES SONGS FINALLY BE COMPLETED???HOW COME EVERYONE HAS THEIR SECOND SONG NAMED EXCEPT FOR RONDO???

[mokkoriness]

Saga  x Nao Interview for Vif

The full-length album 『IDEAL』, which reflects the latest A9, is complete! In this world that never stops, they live in the reality while imagining the ideal――

A9 will be releasing their full-length album 『IDEAL』 three years after their last album 『Supernova』. This release, which is their first full-length album after using their 10th year anniversary in 2014 as a time to go independent and going on hiatus for one year and then announcing their return in August 2015, is a work which they poured all their might into making after having faced their past songs and updating them with the feelings and skill they have now. We did a long interview with A9's rhythms team, Saga(B) and Nao(Dr) and asked them to talk about the variety of new songs on the album, using what they told us at the 『IDEAL』 world premiere commentary event on March 9th as a base.

You had held the 『IDEAL』 world premiere commentary event on March 9th, but it was a show that was unheard of, where you had revealed the incomplete songs. None of the songs had vocals in it, but were there plans to also have the vocals in the songs by that time too?

Saga: It would have been better if the songs were complete, but in terms of our schedule, it was way too last-minute. So as a result... half of the songs were like demos (laughs). Thinking about it now, it was a really rare thing. Those songs also only just arrived five minutes before the show started.

Nao: That... broadcasted live (live streaming on Nico Nico), right? (laughs).

Saga: Oh right, it's going to be there forever (laughs)

Nao: It's being saved all over the world, right? (laughs)

Saga: It was uploaded to YouTube and I saw some comments saying "This is funny" (laughs)

(laughs). There was also a talk session in the first session with the designer Toshikyuki Hirai and with the engineer Fumiaki Unehara, but Mr. Hirai is always thinking about how to make you expose some skin, Saga.

Saga: He's always apologising to me, saying "I'm sorry you can't expose your skin anymore" (laughs). He thinks about the image of each and every member in the band. He always makes something good, so lately I've been looking forward to seeing our costumes.

Are you both quite particular about the visuals?

Nao: I ask them to make my costumes that has to be easy to play the drums in, so sometimes only I have very stretchy material. I hate appearing on stage and then having to take off some clothes before playing. I think about costumes where I can play the drums in. As for make-up, honestly... I'm not really fussed about that.

Saga: I think I am. If someone didn't care about it, they would be like "Huh? Just put on my make-up", right?

Nao: Oh, I'm adamant about not wearing colour contacts. I used to wear them and it was cool in its own way, but when I though that in order to show my good points, perhaps colour contacts weren't for me, so I don't use them. Hiroto doesn't use them either. I want everyone to know I don't wear them. I'm the natural type.

Saga: That's right. I think that Nao and Hiroto want people to look at the real them. To put it another way, usually, they are guarded (laughs). It's like he is acting as Nao and at lives, wants to be set free.

Lately your left eye has been covered up, Saga (laughs).

Saga: Last year in Summer we did a live where we returned to our starting point, and I wore an eye-patch for the first time in about 10 years. Personally, it really felt like I had returned to the time when we just started out. Looking at myself wearing an eye-patch in the mirror, it kind of felt nostalgic. I felt like that fresh feeling from back then had returned, but before I knew it I kept on wearing it. I thought that I still look good in it.

It really does suit you.

Saga: It's not like I thought to keep on wearing it, but Mr. Hirai made a lot of eye-patches for me, so it's not like I can't wear them (laughs)

How many did he actually make?

Saga: Right now... There's about 6 (laughs)

So, I would like to talk about 『IDEAL』, using the things you spoke about at the world premiere commentary event as a base. It seems like there is a general theme of updating your previous songs, so should we think of each song as having corresponding song that was released in the past?

Saga: Most of the songs are like that.

Did you work on the having already decided on this concept from the very beginning?

Saga: That's right. Whenever we make an album, we each bring our own songs that we made with freedom and then we decide from there, but this time we made the album already having decided on the number of songs, the style of songs and the people who would write the songs. I wanted to have each of us write the kind of song that we were good at, so for Tora it's 「Ibara」 and 「ONE」, for Hiroto it's 「Zouka no Daisho」 and 「Rinne to Ichiya no Monogatari」, for me it's 「IDEA」 and 「MEMENTO」, and 「Adam」 was something Show and I wrote together. Show wrote the original songs for 「UNDEAD PARTY」, 「ECHO」 and 「Adam」.

You said that 「IDEA」 has a grand-scale feeling similar to that of 「GEMINI」 (From their 2011 album 『GEMINI』), so would its pairing song be 「GEMINI」?

Saga: Thinking about it now, maybe. Although in terms of length it's about one third of 「GEMINI」, and after I had finished writing the song I thought that it's similar to 「GEMINI」 in that it has lots of developments and it has my habits and my colour. When I was in the middle of writing the song I wasn't thinking about any of our past songs in particular, but I was conscious of the fact that for an album that places emphasis on the world it creates, as the album opener, it would be a song to bring listeners into that world.

I thought that the way the song develops and the structure was very Saga-like. I thought that it was amazing that despite the fact that from the intro to the verse, bridge, chorus to the outro, each section has a different taste almost as if they were all different songs, it all melded into one proper song.

Saga: All the parts are certainly different. I have a picture in my head of wanting to do something like this no matter what, and that's probably something becoming of me, or rather, my personality. By writing a song just based on that, it turned out to be this kind of song.

For 『Ginga no Oto』, Hiroto said he wanted to write a musical suite, and the lead song 「Spiegel」 was written in relay-style by the members so in a way it was a musical suite. At the time, Saga, you said that you wanted to write a genreless and incomprehensible song, so do you think this is a continuation of that?

Saga: The feelings I had when making the song was making it with a genreless feeling, so it just ends up being this kind of song. But because it's like that, there are times where I really struggle with it and things come to a stop. There are lots of times where I have the image in my head but I don't have the ability to make it happen...

In a song with this many different and varied elements in it, it would seem that if you wanted to rewrite the song during the demo stages, you'd have to start again from scratch.

Saga: That's right. That's why until I really have it all set in my head, I don't put it into sounds. When I'm lying down or when I'm taking a bath, I keep thinking "Is the song really okay like this?" and imagine the song in my head, and when I decide that "The song has to be like this", I start working on it.

I see. Nao, what do you think of this kind of song as a drummer?

Nao: I think that there are few songs in the world where the song develops in an interesting way, so it's really worthwhile to play and I learn something from it. As there are developments, I can't play the drums cleanly if I don't understand how the song flows.

Saga: The intro had a gong in it but at first people said to me "Isn't that boring?", so I arranged it to make it not sound boring but still using the gongs, and as a result, I think it made people go like "Oh!". I had a lot of trouble at that part. The drums are quite important when you are writing songs. I think that even at lives, the most important thing is the relationship between the singing and the drums.

Nao: It's difficult (laughs)

「MEMENTO」, which was released early as a single in February, has already become a live anthem, but I thought that perhaps the 〈Up to U!〉 words at the beginning would become the next trendy phrase to Nao after 「Justice!」 (laughs)

Saga + Nao: (laughs)

Nao: I thought it was a really good phrase. Wouldn't it be cool using it?

Saga: I mean, there's no one else who uses it.

Nao: Right from the start of the song there is a good phrase, and I was touched when I learnt the meaning of it.

As expected, the song really goes off as it starts off with the drums.

Saga: As of now, it's great that he doesn't drop his drumsticks at that point.

Nao: It's so I don't get blamed. I'm going to make it connect to the 〈Up to U!〉 in a clean way each time we play it.

Next is the song 「Zouka no Daisho」, which is also known as 「Hiroto Shuffle」. I heard that Saga wanted a song that would inherit the song tone of 「Haikara naru Rondo」 (from the 2005 mini-album 『ALICE IN WONDEЯLAND』), and said to Hiroto "You can make it, right?"

Saga: Hiroto also plays as a support guitarist for the singer luz, and luz has quite a lot of songs that has a shuffle tone, so thinking that it should have sunk into his body, I asked him to make this kind of song.

Nao: And then he said "The guitar isn't springing" (laughs)

Saga: I was surprised (laughs). But it came together quite well. I was waiting for this kind of song.

There is a chance to show off the bass, and Hiroto said that "Because Saga licks the bass in 「Haikara naru Rondo」, I want him to do it too during 「Zouka no Daisho」 too" (laughs)

Saga: I think that for this song, a different member on each day will throw out a flower.

Nao had said "Why is the song this fast?", but does the experience and difficulty playing it differ during recording and from the live?

Nao: As expected, during recording it's difficult to get the energy, but I did have trouble as I needed to play the drums as if they were springing in order to bring out the mood. But it will be okay during lives. It's a really hard song but it's a really cool song, so I like it.

That reminds me, you said that even though you're aiming for a cute character, when the members are expecting really difficult drum play from you, your face gets serious. This album also seems like it's difficult to play too...

Saga: He can't play it cutely.

Nao: Right... Maybe I should ask them to draw my eyebrows a bit lower (laughs)

(laughs) And is it okay to think of the song 「UNDEAD PARTY」 as paired with 「RED CARPET GOING ON」 (coupling song on the 2006 single release 『Kowloon』)?

Saga: I want it to be the case. As expected, during lives I don't want Nao to have to play the drums with a serious face all the time, but also to have a song that's like a festival (laughs). This song isn't that hard, right?

Nao: It's not that hard. So... Should we use a backing track (lauhgs)

Saga: At the part in the middle of the song, where it has this "party people" section.

Nao: We were saying that I can perhaps do something during that part. Like if it's okay for me to abandon the drums there (laughs)

Saga: Only I'm playing my instrument during that part, so we were saying wouldn't it be okay for everyone to be party people. I think I don't even have to play that part either.

Nao: I play the drums when you start playing the bass though.

Saga: Oh, he does (laughs). Then let's not do it (laughs)

I'm looking forward to seeing what it will be like at the lives (laughs)

Saga: As expected, we want to party.

Nao: Since it's this kind of song.

Saga: I want people to look forward to how it will be arranged for the live.

The harsh bass is a must-listen too.

Nao: It sure sounds harsh.

Saga: This is the first time I've properly done the slap bass.

But comparing it to 「RED CARPET GOING ON」, it has the sound of "now".

Saga: That's right. It seems like Show values the modern sound quite a lot.

In the next song, written by Show, 「ECHO」, the female singing in the chorus in particular leaves an impression.

Saga: It wasn't in the original song, but as I was arranging it I noticed that the key in the chorus gets quite high, so I thought that this couldn't be sung in Show's natural voice. So we had the idea to get a female to sing there, and when we got Hiroto's acquaintance AISHA to sing it, it turned out really great.

With this chorus, it gets even more dramatic and even more heart-wrenching. And we also must pay attention to Tora's acoustic guitar playing.

Saga + Nao: (laughs)

Nao: I'm looking forward to it (laughs).

Tora said things like "I get really nervous" and "Don't freaking watch me" (laughs)

Saga: It's okay, he'll play it with a smile (laughs). Please do watch his hands as he plays.

When do the both of you get nervous playing?

Saga: I don't really get nervous, but for example, on a tour during the previous live if I had trouble with a certain section, I feel some tension at the next show because I have to play it right then.

Nao: I haven't felt nervous for the last few years now. Back then I felt nervous trying to show myself in a good way or when I didn't have the skill and tried to push myself above the limit, but now I play naturally.

I see. 「Ibara」 is the song that made Nao lose his breath at the show the other day.

Nao: It's a fast song so if it slows down a bit, the pace can never be picked up again. This is where my face gets really serious (laughs). If I don't play it properly the whole song falls apart, so I have to be serious.

Saga said that he had asked you if they should make the tempo slower but you said it was okay (laughs).

Nao: But they did slow down the tempo from the original. The original really was so fast that I was like "What should I do?". We arranged it to bring it to a realistic tempo. Well, that only doesn't apply to the drums but to the overall song, so I'm glad that they brought it down to the point where the drums could actually be played.

Saga had said that it was rare for a Japanese engineer to be able to mix a song that uses downtuning so clearly, so A9 must trust Mr. Unehara to quite a tremendous degree.

Saga: Unehara improves with each day. Every time I go to his studio he has different equipment, he has a strong desire to improve himself, and it's really great that since we're around the same age we can be on same wavelength when we talk. He also understands what we are looking for. I think that in the Visual Kei scene it's important for each and every instrument to have a place, so I think he really understands that.

It seems like he is eating instant noodles all the time in order to get more equipment (laughs).

Nao: He's just like us. He saves money in order to buy the things he wants.

Nao makes his own rice balls and brings them to work.

Nao: That's right! I'm saving money today so I haven't had anything (laughs)

Saga: Me too (laughs)

Please eat (laughs). And the song 「Rinne to Ichiya no Monogatari」 was a song where Hiroto said "I want to make something grand".

Saga: I made the order for this song half a year ago, and it's finally here (laughs). Around last Summer we were talking about an album, and I assigned everyone the kind of song to make, and Hiroto had to write one profound song, and he finally finished it at the end of February (laughs). The temporary title was 「Rinne」, so I think something must have happened with him. It's great that the song is like a classic ballad.

During the intro of this song, I can imagine Hiroto closing his eyes and playing it as if he were in a trance.

Saga: Definitely. The demo version had a normal tempo, but for the actual song we slowed it down and played it even more slowly, so it must have this "listen to me" feeling.

It seems like for Nao, getting the right nuance for this song was quite hard.

Nao: That's right! Lately, for the drum recordings they just leave it all up to me and go "Just do it" (laughs), but Hiroto's demo had drums in it already, so I worried over how he wanted me to express the drums. I tried out many things and Hiroto didn't answer his phone so I had no idea, so I was like "Crap, all I can do is record something that I think is good". As expected, ballads are difficult. Depending on the person, they will either say it's better to play the drums a bit softer, or to just play it as is.

Saga: I think it's great that our drummer has this kind of personality.

Nao: It would be impossible to play for someone who doesn't have this kind of personality! (laughs)

Saga: I think that it would be one terrible band if someone with a personality like Tora or Hiroto were the drummer. The band wouldn't be a proper band.

Is someone else there when you record the drums, Nao?

Nao: Not one person! I'm alone (laughs). I arrange the microphones myself, play the drums and get the levels, then it's like "Okay, here I go" and "Okay, that's all". That's exactly why it's important to play the drums after talking and understanding the arrangement of the demos. You have to record the songs checking these things and grasp the right flow, so it's quite a handful.

What kind of place is A9's main studio?

Saga: Usually, we record the sounds at home. You can apparently also record at Nao Studio but he won't let us use it.

Nao: Because if I'm operating it I can't play the drums! I don't have time for that! (laughs)

Saga: Unehara complimented him, saying the sound of the drums sound better recorded there than at some other studio.

Nao: Since it's my equipment, my playing and my own studio, I can spend lots of time being particular about it, so I think it's a really good thing.

And 「Adam」 is an updated version of 「KOWLOON」.

Saga: We really did make the intro and stuff being conscious of 「KOWLOON」. As a result, it's become the lead song, but we didn't have the intention at first; when we were running out of time, we turned one of Show's demos into a song. We broke it down into different parts and remade the song, but as we were making it, it turned into a song that was really easy to get into and a A9-like song, so we were like "Maybe this song is going to be the lead song".

Just by looking at the song titles, you would think that 「IDEA」 would be the lead song.

Saga: At first we did talk about having 「IDEA」 as the lead song, but as we were making it, the world view that the song presented was too deep and we thought it didn't really have the feel of a lead song. But that said, if you were to break down this song and make it more like a lead song, it would actually end up being a song that would be all over the place. I'm glad that we decided on 「Adam」 to be the lead song.

It's certainly true that I got the impression that it was a classic song of A9, after making their comeback, or rather, a song that would be like a business card for the latest A9. But even with the drum countdown, you can't really tell if it's 「KOWLOON」 or 「Adam」

Saga + Nao: You can't (laughs).

And the song Tora made, 「ONE」, is the last song. So this was a song where he was asked to make a kind of melocore song similar to 「Shunkashuutou」 (from the mini-album 『ALICE IN WONDEЯLAND』).

Saga: The style of Tora's songs are that they are either a really pure song like this one, or a really extreme one, so in A9, only Tora can write this kind of song. I thinks it's a nice song, where I can imagine that it will be exactly how we want it to be at lives.

Previously, there was this story where after eating eel, Nao was able to play the drums crisply, so was there anything like that this time?

Nao: This time we also had to do in-store events at the same time, so I didn't have time to eat (laughs).

Was there anything that left an impression on you during this recording session?

Nao: The only thing that left an impression on me was that I was lonely (laughs).

Saga: Unlike the past where we would gather at a recording studio and do it there, this time we would bring the sounds we recorded at our own studio, so I'm sure that something must have happened (laughs).

Nao: Like you could make a drama about fighting the loneliness. I wonder how everyone else does their recording.

Saga: I don't think about anything in particular and do it in a super rough way while watching TV (laughs)

Nao: What the hell?! Are you serious? (laughs). So you record in your living room?

Saga: Yeah, while drinking coffee. Isn't that awesome? I bring my laptop with me and do it in one day. I can't do it really freely, so I can record well.

Nao: Sounds like fun (laughs).

Saga: Previously, it was a race against time to see how fast you could finish doing recording while the engineer and people from the record company were watching you in the studio, so I wasn't quite able to play in a calm way, but now I can play in a really nice way.

You can't relax like this when recording the drums.

Nao: You can't. It records all sounds so I even turn off the air-con. I did the recording free from all thoughts. It was tough.

For the both of you, you also have the 「ALTERNATIVE」 shows (a show with only Saga and Nao) which you started last year.

Nao: Oh!

Saga: We haven't done anything for that this year yet.

Hearing Nao say "Let's aim to be an unstoppable rhythms team" when the band first formed left a strong impression.

Saga: I think we're a rhythms team with very strong individuality. Both in terms of visuals and our characters (laughs)

Nao: I wonder when we can do 「ALTERNATIVE」 again.

Saga: A lot of people tell me they want to see it again.

It's not everyday there is a show with just a bassist and a drummer. I guess it starts from thinking about just what exactly you will be doing.

Saga: That's right. Strangely enough, the people who come to watch leave with very satisfied faces. Everyone says to us "It was really great! I want to see it again!", so even though I'm talking about myself, I think it's amazing.

Nao: ... We have to raise the price of the tickets (laughs).

And Saga can even sing.

Saga: It's not like it's only okay if we just play the drums and bass because there's only two of us.

Nao: I think that normally, you would only be able to think about that fact and not be able to pull it off. But it's like the two of us are trying to do everything that we can. It's fun that way too.

And what you talk about too is very enriching.

Nao: Most of it is just us chatting though (laughs)

There's lots of information that makes one go "Ohh really?". Like in the past Saga didn't take care of his bass and walked around with it in a soft case (laughs).

Saga: Or doing the tuning with pliers (laughs).

Also, in a previous interview you said that you were into cooking at home and that you wanted to try making something with fish in it about once a month. Have you been able to do it?

Saga: Ah, I haven't been doing that. There's a place that serves nice meals near my place, so in the end I just go there. With fish, the smell is... Preparation and cleaning is a handful too.

Nao also had a grand dream of growing a forest overseas and making an original drum set.

Nao: A certain famous drummer actually made drums like that. So it is actually possible. If I don't work hard it might be a difficult for me...

I guess no one has come up to you and said "Please use my land".

Nao: Not yet. It can be a forest in Japan too (laughs).

(laughs). So your tour starts on April 12th at Shinjuku ReNY and the final is on May 7th at Zepp DiverCity.

Nao:  We would like to make it a fun live that can be enjoyable and you can get into right away while still be fresh, so do come see us! Let's make good memories!

Saga: I think there are people who only just learned of us recently from when we played at live events, and even if you were a little bit interested in us and come to see us for the first time, I think it will be a tour where you can enjoy it without thinking about anything, and for the people who have always come to see us, it will be the kind of live that would make you glad you stuck with A9. With 13 years under our belt, I would like to make it a tour that welcomes in our first year since returning to our starting point, so do come and see us.

Original Article: http://vif-music.com/pickup/A9-2/