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MUCC on Twitter: "【COMMUNE】本日は逹瑯×Plastic Tree有村竜太朗さんでViSULOG対談でした！掲載をお楽しみに！ #muccスタッフ

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Yo-1,Shindy a,d Mike & Soya (Blu-BiLLioN) during a nico live 2019

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【Part 1】「DEAL DESIGN×VISULOG×DIAURA collaboration」for DEAL DESIGN 2017 SPRING&SUMMER COLLECTION「INVISIBLE EMOTION」

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NoGoD - комментарий для ViSULOG 2019.5

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Initial’L

[mokkoriness]

Saga x Nao Interview in ViSULOG for “IDEAL”

A9, who will release their first full-length album after having changed their name from ALICE NINE, 『IDEAL』, at this perfect timing. Last year they declared a "return to the starting point" and welcomed their 12th year. We asked A9's leader in terms of music Saga(Ba) and Nao(Dr) who is attracting attention for things other than the drums, about this release, which was made after having played many live events and livehouses, as if they were a band in their first year.

I'm not quite sure why, but 『IDEAL』 has a really young feeling to it.

Saga: It certainly does feel young. Not just the music. When I looked at our new photos, we also looked young. It felt like the whole band had regained their youth.

Nao: It seems to be the result of doing live events with many other bands and getting their essence of youth (smiles).

Saga: Just as Nao said, we had been doing lots of live events, and through that we thought many times about "What exactly is A9". We also received advice from our seniors. As a result, we thought to make something that was packed with only our signature moves. And by using those moves, we made this kind of album. And incidentally, we also regained our youth in terms of visuals.

Nao: I thought this during our live events with many other bands. I thought that if you play with younger bands, you can remain young. Even after doing this for 12 years. Watching the young kids makes us able to return to when we were beginners. But we've got the skills we built up over 12 years. I think that even if we look young we aren't like what we were before. I think we made an an album at this level that is only possible now.

Since the album was made with the concept of putting in all of your special skills, which have gotten better, it's amazing that we don't feel a connection to the previous, stylish release (『LIGHT AND DARKNESS』).

Saga: Yeah. No connection at all (laughs). Making 『LIGHT AND DARKNESS』, to a certain extent, I felt like it was like the band had opened its last drawer.

You went into the kind of areas that Visual Kei bands don't go into.

Saga: Right. Same with the two-part tour we did after that. Honestly, there was this feeling that at that point we had reached the end, and we were like "We did it until the critical point". So then we wondered what to do from there, and we did the "returning to the starting point" live last year. There, it wasn't like we had reformed the band, but it did have the feeling that we made a new start.

And from there, didn't you also play live events with many different bands regardless of which generation they were from? What kind of effect did that have on the band?

Saga: We learned about the world. We used to only do solo shows and we had only ever done things in our own world, so it was sort of like the Galapagos Islands (laughs)

So when you did try and leave the island, you got a culture shock?

Saga: Right. There were so many cool bands, and we were so motivated by the younger bands to the point that we felt a sense of danger, like "Crap, this isn't the time for us to be careless". That definitely did have an influence over us. In terms of our senses.

And due to that, you were able to make such a fresh album even after 12 years.

Saga: Yeah. There are no old songs on the album at all. When we did what we were good at, it turned out like this.

Before writing the songs, did the members talk about only doing what you were good at?

Saga: Yes. The things that are remembered as the better songs at lives. For example, just like a leather jacket that you wear so often the leather becomes soft and fits to your body line, rather than our more recent songs, these songs have been played many times at lives they've become mixed with us. We, who have returned to our starting point, are powering up those songs with our own hands and making them into something new. That's why we talked about wanting to do something that is like a "best of album", in a sense, and something like "the most recent A9".

So although it's a new album, you could also say it's an album that only has the songs that will become the main songs during lives from now on.

Saga: That's right. They are all main songs. The way we will present them also comes to us naturally. There's no "What should we do about this song during the live?".

Nao: Like Mr. Tora made a headbanging song for lives. For all the songs on this album, you can imagine that people will groove along to it in a way particular to Visual Kei. And this is actually A9's first full-length album!

It actually is.

Nao: It comes just that the time where we are in a position of making a new start, so we have to show that we're not done yet and we have to triumph over our rivals.

Do you have a rival that you want to triumph over, Nao? (smiles)

Nao: Oh.... What should I do (laughs). It's those people. We have to show to music fans and people in this scene that "We're not an old band" and that we're not gonna let it end at "I used to listen to you guys". Those feelings are in this album. Yes.

I see (smiles). So I would like to ask about the songs on the album. This album opens with the instrumental song 「REAL」. Does this have any connection to the song 「3.2.1.REAL-SE」 on the 『Zekkeishoku』 album?

Saga: I don't think so. The album title 『IDEAL』 is a made up word from adding "REAL" and "IDEA" together, so I think that to Show, it was important to have the first song as 「REAL」 and the second song as 「IDEA」 lined up like that.

The guitars in the intro in the second song 「IDEA」 has a really UK Rock feel to it, but as the song goes on, more and more different expressions start to show.

Saga: This is a complex song. At first I made the song with the intention of it being a long introduction to 「MEMENTO」. I made the song wanting to make a song that would connect well with the world of 「MEMENTO」. For the song itself, I had the prototype of it ever since 『GEMINI』. But we didn't really have an album that it would fit into so I had kept it on hold for a long time. Since I thought that the time for this song was now and that it also seemed to go well with 「MEMENTO」, when I gave a shot at making this song going all out with the world view, the song turned out like this (smiles)

「GEMINI」 became a musical suite because you went all out with presenting the world view, but this time it's more compact.

Saga: This is also the kind of song that if you don't restrain yourself in exploring it you would keep going and not be able to come back.

Nao: Gyahahaha (laughs)

Saga: It was the same for 「MEMENTO」. Because you can keep on repeating the developments in the song. But we somehow came back with that.

Personally, in that muffled kind of world -- I guess we would call it the interlude -- I couldn't get enough of the refreshing feeling of the world clearing just as the melodious part comes in.

Saga: I was puzzled over what to do with that part. It would have been okay to stay muffled and lead into 「MEMENTO」, but doing that would be normal. I questioned my own brain, like "That wouldn’t be like us though" (laughs).  After exploring it a bit more, I changed the key here. This took me about a week to figure out. That's why this song gave me the most trouble.

Nao: That the songs changes key and becomes happier, I feel like that it's not just about being young, but also something we could only do because of the things we have gained over the last 12 years. This is the odour of an expert.

Saga: Odour of an expert (laughs)

Nao: I think is has the message of "We're not just about youth".

Saga: I thought that maybe the drums in this song would have been embarrassing to play.

Nao: Why?

Maybe because it's similar to pop song from a long time ago?

Saga: Yeah. But I asked Nao to play it knowing that he would surely be able to play it coolly.

Nao: Up until now I've been drumming in a Western music style, but this time the drums has lots of elements of Japanese drumming. In the past those elements weren't adopted by the band, but lately even those elements have been adopted so I'm having fun.

What are some songs that have a particularly Japanese taste in terms of the drumming?

Nao: 「Rinne to Ichiya no Monogatari」 and the hi-hats for 「ECHO」. For Western music you could go all out at playing these parts and kind of make it like the highlight, but for Japanese style drumming you add some dynamics to it, and without hesitation, you add quiet notes in the kind of places that people can't hear. It seems simple but it's not. I think I was able to play in this kind of way for those two songs.

「ECHO」 also features female vocals on top of Show's singing.

Saga: Right. It's by AISHA, and I've always liked her songs so I bought them on iTunes. Then Hiroto had invited her to his own birthday live. I was surprised, like "What the hell? You guys know each other?!"

Nao: Hahahaha (laughs)

Saga: I wanted to have female vocals in 「ECHO」 too so when I made the offer, she gladly accepted it. They did the song recording together. I was surprise since she only sang it normally but it was really good (smiles)

By having the vocal range of a female singer, Show doesn't need to strain his voice here and can sing in the middle range, so I feel like there's a grown-up mood in this song.

Saga: From the very beginning I had thought about adding two ballad-type songs on this album. One would be a passionate ballad that Show would sing his heart out too. So I asked Hiroto to make a kind of maniacal yet stylish ballad. It ended up being the opposite (smiles). Show's 「ECHO」 became the stylish one and Hiroto's 「Rinne to Ichiya no Monogatari」 became the classic ballad. It was difficult arranging Show's song too. But for the relationship between the bass and drum in 「ECHO」. I like this rhythm section the most.

Nao: That's right.

I was surprised that some spoken parts came up in the middle of 「Rinne to Ichiya no Monogatari」

Saga: When I opened the file that Hiroto sent to me, it already had "talk" written there.

Nao: I see (smiles)

Saga: This song was the last one to be made and it came just in time. I thought "What the hell is wrong with this guy, asking for a "talk" part when the band is at its wit's end?" (laughs). But I'm glad that it turned out to be a good ballad.

It's a ballad that asks for you to listen. 「Zouka no Daisho」 and 「UNDEAD PARTY」 are songs that the rhythms section really go all out for.

Saga: 「Zouka no Daisho」 is a shuffle song. Our guitarists really don't like this kind of lively song.

Nao: Rather than saying they don't like it, it's just that the tempo of lively songs is too fast (laughs)

Saga: Oh, I see (smiles). For us, we don't have any lively songs except 「Himitsu」 and 「Haikara naru Rondo」 so when I asked Hiroto to make a song like 「Haikara naru Rondo」, this song came. I had a really hard time doing arrangement for the bass.

Nao: The drumming in this song is so hard I might die. The drums and bass can work hard to make it sound lively, but since the guitars are playing in 4/4 time, we have to be careful not to play in opposition to them.

Saga: Since Nao said that he would make the song lively by using bass drum and snares and hi-hats and did his best to do that this song became like a shuffle song. On top of that I added my bass and played it as if it was a flow that and we finally got the shuffle element to it.

Who brought the song 「UNDEAD PARTY」?

Saga: This was Show's song. It's a song where we'll become party people during the live.

Nao: It makes me want to sing along to it (laughs). Let's have a drum backing track and have twin vocals. I played the drums to this imagining that kind of scene (laughs)

Saga: During one of the interludes there's a part with a backing track, so maybe Nao will do something there?!

How about you go to the front of the stage and do a performance that could rival "Sunshine Nao"?

Nao: Should I do it?

Saga: I can imagine Nao causing a commotion at the front of the stage (laughs). The performances that Nao does at the front are quite shocking and it adds a nice touch to the lives, so we'll think about it.

And Saga also has a part to appeal to the audience, doing slap bass.

Saga: For this album, I only wrote 「IDEA」 and 「MEMENTO」, so I was really able to focus on bass playing.

You only wrote those two songs?

Saga: That's right. This time I really thought about the balance of the members. That also came from us returning to our starting point, so I wanted us to make an album where there was equality in the song composers. I thought that by doing that the songs would become more varied and we could show our "A9-ness". Thanks to that, this time I was able to spend some time on bass arrangement.

And so you were able to play using more different techniques than normal.

Saga: That's right.

When you were approaching the latter stage of production and the songs still hadn't been done, did you every think "I can't wait any more. I'll make it myself"

Saga: That's something I couldn't do. This time. If we didn't get a mixture of songs that we all made, then there wouldn't be any merit in this album.

What about writing a small part that would be the last piece to complete the song?

Saga: No. It wouldn't be any different from me writing the song. This time all the members wrote an equal amount of songs. That might be the most important thing about this album. That's why I waited until the very end.

Nao: It's because we waited the latter part of the production was difficult〜. We were still in the middle of recording during that week we had in-store events for 「MEMENTO」.

Saga: It was the kind of schedule that if we didn't record 7 songs in the last week we wouldn't be able to release the album.

With the change in your environment and under the pressure of such a schedule, Show's lyrics this time are quite poisonous. The lyrics in 「Zouka no Daisho」 kind of talk about adultery, right?

Saga: Isn't that okay too? I mean it's relevant in this age (smiles)

Nao: You're right.

Saga: You will definitely see more of this. If you shake up the music industry, it'll be like "You're committing adultery too?!". There are a lot of people who are "making amends with artificial flowers"1

Huh...... (Whispers) Even A9?

Saga: We're clean. Right now (laughs)

Hahaha (laughs). So let's talk about the last song on the album, 「ONE」. Who wrote this song?

Saga: This is Tora's song. We decided that Tora's song would be the last on the album. From the very beginning.

Why is that?

Saga: With Tora's songs, they are songs you get into or songs that are cute. He has a lot of calming songs that don't think too much about the finer details and it's only Tora's songs that can do this. I wanted to end the album on a gentle note. For this album. The albums starts on cloudy and then the violent and muddy stream that is 「MEMENTO」 comes next, right? But although many things happened, I wanted the album to end with a soft feeling. I wanted to have this "Everything is okay if the end is" feeling, so I asked Tora to make a song that was like 「Shunkashuuto」, a song with this "a lot of things happened but let's do our best" feeling.

「ONE」 has this adolescent, bittersweet feeling and is cute. This is the kind of song you don't write, do you, Saga?

Saga: Even if I tried to write it I would give up halfway through. I would keep digging deeper and deeper. I can't write a song as refreshing as this. I wanted the album to end of this kind of refreshing feeling. With Tora, it's either a violent song like 「Ibara」 or a cute one like this. The songs he writes are on the two extremes like this, so it's easy to ask him to write songs.

But think about it from the writing point of view, even though Tora has lots of tattoos and looks like a mischievous kid, he must be a really nice person (smiles)

Nao: I think he's pure. Actually. He appears like he's the kind of person who lives his life not thinking about the complicated things and it always laid back. That's why he can write this kind of song. I've even been over to his place, and it was a pure lifestyle.

It's because that sparkling feeling on A9's stages comes from Tora's carefree smile.

Nao: What?! It's not me? (awkward smile)

Won't it be Nao's turn from now on? When we see your performance at the front of the stage during 「UNDEAD PARTY」 on the 「A9　2017　TOUR[IDEAL HORIZON]」

Nao: Oh right! (smiles)

I can imagine that the audience will make those shining bracelets flash at that part.

Nao: We better make a lot of those.

Saga: I think that if Nao wore "UNDEAD bracelets" on both of his arms and came out to the front screaming "Yay!", people would want them.

Nao: Whoa. It's slowly getting out of hand. But that sounds good (smiles). Let's do it. But if that part in the song is the only time I can do it then my part is short〜 (laughs)

Saga: I got it. I'll make that part longer in the live arrangement〜.

Nao: If I'm going to the front I wanna sing too〜.

Saga: Okay (smiles). I'll make a live arrangement for 「UNDEAD PARTY」 so that Nao can shine brightly.

What about the female vocals in 「ECHO」?

Nao: How about we pick one of the fans each time and be like "Today is your turn"?

Saga: I don't mind if Nao sings that part instead.

Nao: Wah. Uhh...... (tries singing it). It's weird if I sing a ballad, right? (laughs). I want to shout.

Saga: Then we need to make one for 「UNDEAD PARTY」.

Why don’t you sing your own original lyrics during the interlude?

Saga:  Like (rapping) "Yo, yo, yo, I'm Nao!" (laughs). Should we do that?!

If you're going to do that, you might as well also change into party clothes. I think if you do this, A9's lives will have a new side (smiles)

Saga: Let's do it! But that said, I think that on this tour, it will be a tour where we put all of things in it to make it a "classic A9" tour. The people who want to see A9 and come to the live venue. I think that the lives will be something that those people are looking for.

Nao: Please look forward to it. Me on the first day (laughs).

1The rough translation of 「造花の代償 "Zouka no Daisho"」

Link to original article: http://v-kei.jp/interview/?interviewId=386

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Noah.✨✨✨ #Diaura #diauranoah #jrock #visualkei #yokadiaura #マスター#愚民 #よか佳衣 #よか #佳衣 #dealdesign #visulog #diauradealdesign

[j-ack-in-the-box]

for @yuuutoriiiiii​ 😇

[beautiful-de4mity]

A9 “PLANET NINE” Interview with Visulog 2018.04.25 (Part 3)

Disclaimer: I’m translating for self-learning purpose and for fun, if you happen to read the original article and find mistakes, feel free to correct me☀  Click this link to read the original article.

A9 be like, “Let’s fight that stereotypical rock concept!” 

Q: Since we have heard the recent report from these two, I would like to hear yours too about “GIGA”.

Shou: Thank you for your hardwork. My previous meeting finished early so I came straight here.

 Q: Shou, please join the interview. Whose original song is “GIGA”?

Shou: I wanted a song with a beat-feeling resembles to "The Beautiful People" by MARILYN MANSON, so it was a song that Saga arranged based on what I wrote. At that time, I felt a Japanese-style world view, so I thought it would be nice to incorporate the good old taste that I had cherished since the early days of A9, so I named it "GIGA" after "Choju-Giga". Note: Choju-jinbutsu-giga, commonly shortened to choju-giga, is a famous set of four picture scrolls, or ‘emakimono’, belonging to Kousan-ji temple in Kyoto. (Courtesy of  Wikipedia).

Q: It’s the simplest song with a band feeling in the album.

Tora: I agree. This song was easy to read, wasn’t it?

Q: Furthermore, it’s not an exaggeration to say that it expresses the most artistic side in the album and it proceeds to “ASYLUM”. Is this song, of course, Saga’s original song?

Tora: This is a song that only Saga can write.

Shou: The demo from Saga contained the rain sound in the sampling, and to me, the place where rain falls is Batman’s Gotham City. There is a mental hospital named “Arkham Asylum” in the Gotham City and the title “ASYLUM” was inspired by it. Note: This is new for me! 😯 I know that Shou loves fantasy and stuffs but I just found out that ASYLUM was inspired by Batman. It’s kinda make sense now.

Q: What “ASYLUM” lyrics is trying to convey?

Shou: The lyrics that say, “Don’t lose” for what you should fight, right? When creating "PLANET NINE", we talked about what kind of band A9 again is according to the members, we concluded that we want to make a band that 'makes everyone happy' for both those people who have supported us so far and those who we will meet in the future. But if a small mistake is made, we might be mistaken for a rock band who is only pondering on the fans, right? It seems like "fans can follow us around as they please" attitude is the image of rock. A9 be like, “Let’s fight that stereotypical rock concept".

Q: It’s like an antithesis to the existing concept as A9.

Shou: When we made people we met happy, that's called rock, right? I'm thinking so. For example, as we have twin-guitar band concept, the sound should be like this (stereotypical). As a result, the band becomes average and boring.

Q: And the album is ended firmly with the single sing “Re:Born”.

Tora: There could be no place to put “Re:Born” except at the end. It's a pop song with a lot of developments, but it's a difficult song, but when we arranged the album, it feels like it was recorded on the album as "I want this song to be put in the last."

Shou: When I told Saga that I wanted a bright song suitable for the celebration of the 13th anniversary, a unique progressive pop song came up. It was difficult to interpret whether it was a pop song or a difficult song in the band, but when I came to the last of the album, I realized again that it was a very good song.

Q: How do you feel now that you have completed “PLANET NINE”?

Nao: I feel that in the future ahead, we're still going to be a fun band. I think we can make the songs of "PLANET NINE" our own and be even more excited about the future. 

Tora: I've been doing it for 14 years and it's no use releasing a similar album, and I'm glad I was able to make a new one again. I think it was an album that was inspiring for us as well.

Shou: With the upcoming A9 who had created "PLANET NINE", we will end the tough period of visual kei.

Q: And finally the tour will start, "STAIRWAY TO MOON”～Invitation to the Moon～, “STAIRWAY TO MARS”～Invitation to Mars～, "ALICE IN CASTLE”～Prince of the Stars and the Castle of the Moon～. Please tell us the meaning of dividing them into three blocks.

Shou: First of all, "MOON" as the entrance to the album. From there, we're raising the level into "MARS". Furthermore, the annual anniversary live is meant to have independent world view but, I would like to present "ALICE IN CASTLE" as a festival that everyone involved in A9 can enjoy.

Q: Finally, please tell us your enthusiasm for the upcoming tour.

Tora: I will do my best not to get sick. Note: If I’m not mistaken, Tora got cardiac arrest previously so he said this😥

Nao: I think the drum set will evolve as the tour progresses, so please look forward to that as well.

Shou: This is the first large-scale tour for A9 in a long time, so if you are watching this, please check the schedule on ViSULOG and come visit our lives.

Yay, that’s a wrap from “PLANET NINE” interview with Visulog! I had hard time translating this one because basically it’s difficult for me to comprehend Shou’s language style 😣 Please do correct me if you find any mistakes or misinformation in this interview translation. Have a nice day!

[vxxci]

2018/6/26 キズ GIF

from the 2018.6.26 放送 (broadcast) 『キズ 「ステロイド」 特番』 (Kizu [Steroid] Special) for ViSULOG.

you can find the preview clip on youtube on ViSULOG’s channel or on niconico, though the latter is hiding behind the paywall, it is the full broadcast.

this gif arises from my self-imposes restriction to not create anything non-steroid related. (also this is 24fps and the video itself is not hd)

[saicho1982]

【ライブレポート】ユナイト、全国ツアー「みんなのおと」ファイナルレポ

撮影を担当した、ユナイトのツアーファイナルレポートが公開されました。 【ViSULOG】 【ライヴレポ】ユナイト、全国ツアー「みんなのおと」ファイナルレポ http://v-kei.jp/news/?newsId=9419

[enchantingmoon]

【Part 2】「DEAL DESIGN×VISULOG×DIAURA collaboration」for DEAL DESIGN 2017 SPRING&SUMMER COLLECTION「INVISIBLE EMOTION」

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DIAURA - комментарий для ViSULOG от 2019.10

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ViSULOG February “MEMENTO” Interview Part 1

A9, who will release their new single 「MEMENTO」 on February 18th. From last year right up until this year, they have been appearing at more and more events with the younger bands that ViSULOG readers are familiar with, and there surely are a lot of readers who first learned of A9 through such events. 「What kind of band is A9?」 This will be a huge feature spanning 2 parts and will answer this question!

The first part of this interview will talk about the younger bands they met, and the second part will talk of the transition from "アリス九號." to "Alice Nine" to "A9", and all five members Show (vo), Hiroto (gu), Tora (gu), Saga (ba), Nao (dr) talked plenty about their new release 「MEMENTO」.

2017's A9 started off with 「A9 Tour BLACK PERIOD」. On this tour, you played with DEZERT, DIAURA and Pentagon. Also at DEZERT's event 「This Is The”FACT”」, you met with Arlequin and NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST, and have been playing continuously with the younger bands, so could you please tell us your thoughts on seeing them perform?

Show: Let's start off with the youngest among us, Hiroto (laughs) Hiroto: At “BLACK PERIOD” and last year's event in Osaka. What was that called again? Show: 「BAND SHOCK REVOLUTION～ Visual Festival 2016～」. Hiroto: By appearing at that event, we finally got to know the bands who are younger than us in age and career.

It's been like that ever since you changed your name to A9. To appear at many events.

Hiroto: That's right. And so I've seen many bands from the younger generation. As for my feelings, I felt that they had properly taken the reigns. The basics actually haven't changed since 20 years ago. Also, maybe it's the effect of YouTube and the internet, but everyone is good! I thought that because everyone is good, it's become a bit harder to express your own individuality. The bands who are on the rise and are drawing in more crowds were the ones who could project individuality and originality.

Were there any people that shocked you?

Hiroto: I think it's also a matter of taste, but I like DEZERT (laughs). The songs of course, but they were interesting. They all have different personalities. I thought that they were the most like us. Their unique characteristics and energy is completely different from us though. Also, I'm not sure if this will be considered harmful to their act (laughs), but I felt that even though Chiaki (vo) looks like that, he's actually a serious person.

Show: Guys who look bad but are actually good guys are more loved by others (laughs)

But I was surprised that A9 was the first to play at DEZERT's event. Honestly, who did you feel about that?

Show: At first I thought "Is this to annoy us? As expected, they're not holding back" (laughs). But when we asked about it it seems like they were told to make us perform first, without us even knowing it.

Hiroto: During the celebrations afterwards when we were a bit more relaxed we said to them "You guys sure weren't holding back", but they looked surprised and said "Huh? A while ago the A9 staff told us to put you up first, and although we did put you on first, we really wondered if that was okay".

Show: I was like "That's my first time hearing it" (laughs). We just didn't know about it.

I'm glad it came to light during the celebrations (laughs). How about you, Tora?

Tora: I think that the balance in the bands of late is great. I think there's no band where just one person is getting better. There's no one person who is falling behind the rest and has to catch up. All the members have their own colour so it's easily to understand.

Were there any bands that interested you?

Tora: Rather than the bands, I had no idea about the audience's "groove" (laughs). They were doing moves I had no clue about so I was interested in that. The charge to the front of the first row was also completely different.

Hiroto: Ah. Yeah, it's changed.

Tora: That was a shock.

Hiroto: Since we've not appeared at events until now, both us and our fans are being left behind when it comes to the recent way to groove at the show.

Nao: Everyone was like "What was that move?!" (laughs)

Not just the members, but A9 fans too.

Show: Yeah. At the previous tour we started doing the "wall-of-death" thinking it would be a new thing, but Pentagon, DEZERT and NokuBura were already doing it (laughs). I thought that the times were changing at an extremely fast pace.

What about Nao?

Nao: They didn't seem like juniors to me (laughs). But I also thought that the younger bands weren't as young as I thought they would be. First, their music had a really mature feeling to it.

Show: That's true!

Nao: They're all serious. I thought that since they were young they would be all over the place but during the 2-man shows at 「BLACK PERIOD」, all bands had set aside a "Nao time" (laughs).

During the live of the other band you had a mic in your hand and charged in as a vocalist and went wild, right?

Nao: Right (laughs). The only young person all over the place was me, and everyone else was a grown up.

Please tell us the band that interested you.

Nao: I secretly checked out all the equipment of the other bands. Pentagon's Minpha (ba) had crazy equipment. The bass head was put on slanted, and I felt that there was probably a reason for this. Also, everyone has good equipment, it was amazing. I felt their enthusiasm from their equipment.

What about you, Saga?

Saga: I felt that the standards had been raised. On a whole, I felt that it was different from our generation. The average quality on a whole is higher. With the make-up techniques, the performances, the songs, the singing, everything. There are so many tutorials you can find on YouTube that the average is higher. Even with bands I've never heard of, there are loads of bands that are really good. To put it another way, I thought that our generation was in a tight spot. If there were these kinds of young bands back around the time we formed, I thought that we wouldn't have this "now". I thought that because we were there in the past, there are these bands here now. The bands these days really research things like make-up and presentation. I think that our generation probably had some considerable influence on that.

I'm sure that's the case.

Saga: For example, back in our day there wasn't a band where all members were cool. But now there are plenty of bands like that. When you look at the photos, there are good-looking guys everywhere. Back then, there would be a really good-looking guy but he would be crap at playing. There were a lot of those guys who were balanced-out like that.

There were some unfortunate people (laughs)

Saga: Right? Now there any many good-looking guys are good at playing that make you think "You've got everything!". That's why I think compared to our generation, it's harder to make yourself stand out. I also thought that it's a time where it's hard to change. Since on a whole the average is higher, everything is fine from the start so there's no need for change. Since the quality is really high, it seems like the fans would go "What, they've changed" if a band were to change a little. But I think that's okay too. Personally, it's interesting to see this.

Which one of these bands are you into, Saga?

Saga: Minpha!

Show: He answered right away. I thought it was (DIAURA) yo-ka (laughs).

Weren't you super happy when you found out that you were from the same town?!

Saga: yo-ka is good too, but I'm completely taken away by Minpha.

All: (Explosive Laughter)

And Show.

Show: There really are more good bands than I had ever imagined, and I think it's a time where it's easier to get the know-how. During our generation, no matter what grooves you used or what kind of song you put out or what visuals you used, there was always this tendency to copy from each other. These days, it's overwhelmingly faster to get all this new information. So although it's easier to complete a song it's probably harder to be adventurous. Since it's all complete like this, we have a lot of things to learn from the younger generation. So we actively seek out to play with young bands or young people not even in this scene. That is basically what 「MEMENTO」 is. When I was the junior, while respecting my seniors, from the bottom of my heart I thought that seniors who couldn't learn from their juniors were lame. But from when we first started out I thought that while seniors have parts of them that are amazing, juniors also have parts about them that are amazing too. So in that way, we will progress by learning off our junior bands. I've met so many bands that made me re-confirm this stance. I thought that it was great we did many events with these bands.

Which of those bands caught your interest?

Show: They really are all good. But the ones I really want to do a live where we go all out at each other is DEZERT, the ones I actually want to be friends with is DIAURA and the ones I want to spoil is Pentagon.

Hiroto: That's such a honour student answer (laughs).

Show: But that's what I really feel. During these last few months, I've been able to come into contact with the younger bands that I'm interested in, it really is motivating and it was fun. Playing together with younger bands brings nothing but good things.

[verwelktesgedicht]

HELLO. ViSULOG Interview (English Translation)

Original Japanese Source: ViSULOG Pickup Interview Original Interview Published: March 2018 Topic: HELLO.’s formation and first songs Translation: VerwelktesGedicht (most of it in April 2018) Note: These guys are horrible. At least Ria’s answers are deep! xDDD I’m so looking forward to their activities!!!

___

These are the members of HELLO. who have their first appearance at ViSULOG. Please introduce yourselves! Ria: Everyone who just came to know about us and everyone who already knows us, please read this until the end! I’m HELLO.’s vocalist Ria! Please treat me well! Sekiguchi: I’m Sekiguchi. Please treat me well~ 373: I’m rhythm guitarist 373. Please treat me well. Momonari: I’m bassist Momonari. Waai~. Aki: I’m drummer Aki. My favorite type is a girl that’s an Aki-gya. Please treat me well.

Please tell us something about the band’s formation. Ria: The disbanding of my former band and the disbanding of drummer Aki’s former band was at the same time and to be honest, I’m thinking for a couple of years now that I want to be in a band with him. So while going out to drink with him I convinced him. After that we met Momo and 373 and in the end also invited a friend I was in a band together with long ago. Sekiguchi: Before I realized it, I was added as guitarist and my name was added in the office… 373: I’ve met the members and we went out drinking, talking about bands. And before I realized it, I was already composing songs. Momonari: When I got invited I didn’t have a job and thought it looks fun, so they let me join. Aki: After my former band had disbanded time passed by and Ria came to ask me what I want to do in the future. I think that conversation was the beginning? Before I realized it we were searching for members.

Please tell us why you picked the band name “HELLO.”. Ria: Because it’s simple. The deeper meaning is a secret. The reason why we wrote it all in capitals is that it looks strong that way. Seriously. Sekiguchi: I don’t know!! Isn’t this like a connection when you greet others at a neighborhood association? 373: Simple is best!! Momonari: In the beginning I heard it from Ria and thought “That’s it!” It would be so cool if we can get popular with this. Aki: It’s a secret.

Before becoming a member of HELLO., what did you do music-wise? Ria: In my teens I was a drummer and changed to vocal after that. I have always been active in this Visual Kei scene. I love Visual Kei! Sekiguchi: Eating, sleeping… eating, sleeping… Again and again…. 373: I played the guitar on SNS, composed songs and uploaded them. Momonari: I didn’t do anything. This is unrelated but I often cooked meals! But now, that I started being in a band, I don’t do it anymore! Aki: After my former band disbanded I was support in a rock band and also had a session live with Ria. That time was fun but also hard.

Please tell us something about HELLO.’s music and visual concept. Ria: Keeping it short, music-wise it’s “Simple is best!”. Our visual concept is: “Super flashy is best!!” Sekiguchi: Popularity, isn’t it? 373: Positive music. No matter if you listen to it or see us, it’s for you to become happy! Momonari: Something like: It’s also hard to be a human being. But look at it, it’s cute! Aki: We want to make the music and lyrics to be easy to understand. Speaking of the visuals, it seems like I’m the one who took over the role of the cute kirakira person, so look at this kirakira-me!

On May 28th you will release your first single “Kimi to kakusei.”. Which topic led to the creation of this song? Ria: We didn’t just want to make an appeal to our audience and convey the message. The topic is that first of all we are able to make an appeal to ourselves and are able to convey something to ourselves. That’s why we decided for the “kimi to” kakusei. [= awakening “with you”] Sekiguchi: There are so many difficult questions. I don’t really know at all? 373: I include the topic and my thoughts completely in the lyrics of the composed songs. Momonari: It’s the same as before. It’s hard to be a human being. The song is full of that feeling. Also a bandman isn’t a person that can do everything. Aki: The topic of HELLO.’s first song is to not do many all too complicated things.

Please tell us what part of “kimi to kakusei.” Is the one we definitely need to listen to? Ria: As thought, it’s the chorus. Sekiguchi: The synchronicity. 373: It’s the chorus. Positive lyrics and a melody that is easy to remember. I hum it often (laughs) Momonari: I like the part where the lyrics go “Sore de ha sakebimasho?”. Aki: I get angry at this awesome voice when he’s singing “hitokoso saru no dekisokonai nanjanai no?”

Please tell us what the highlights of the PV of “kimi to kakusei.” are. Ria: We decided on “completely free” being the topic of our outfits. It shows our individuality, likes and characters. You won’t get tired of it, no matter whose scenes you’re watching. So light up your room, go a few steps away from your screen and just have fun watching it! Sekiguchi: That it was shot in the city Atsugi in the Kanagawa prefecture. 373: There are differences in the character that show in our outfits. I think it’s really cute, so please watch it properly. Momonari: 373 is cute. That’s a random recommendation. Aki: It has been so long that I shot a music video, so I could shoot it with such a fresh feeling. Please watch it!

Please tell us the highlights of the coupling song “non-perfection world”. Ria: 373’s guitar solo. Sekiguchi: The part when it gets quiet after the outro. Because it makes you think: “Ah, the calm night is the best!” 373: My guitar solo…!!! Momonari: Akki and my interaction is cool! Aki: The drum solo! I definitely want you to jump around at lives during this part!

What kind of concerts will HELLO. create from here on? Ria: A giant tornado live that will drag in everything and everyone = a live that will drag the whole live house in and where you can show your emotions openly and where you can go crazy as much as you like. Sekiguchi: I want to throw out all the dark and grotesque world views. 373: I want you all to go home with a smile on your face and create this together with you. Momonari: Like a great sports festival. After it’s over you will be able to sleep well. Aki: I’d be happy if you all just have fun together. It’s important to be nice to each other! Really!

As an artist during a live, what are you thinking while standing on stage? Ria: To sing with true feelings. Sekiguchi: To put my focus on my guitar. 373: To drag in the audience. Momonari: To become a lion! Aki: To search for Aki-gya.

Please talk about your enthusiasm regarding your first live “kimi to kakusei. In SHINJUKU”! Ria: I definitely want to hold a live that only the current HELLO. can hold, so that I can hear from at least one more person the words “I’m glad I went”. I’m waiting at the live house! Sekiguchi: I’ll insert a trauma into you! 373: This is the beginning of HELLO.’s story. We’ll convey more than 100% to you! Momonari: I like Shinjuku, so I’ll give my best~! Aki: I want to make this into a day that makes you forget all the disliked things and also everything about tomorrow.

Please send a message to our ViSULOG readers that gave you some attention! Ria: HELLO. has just started. I hope we can meet many people through music during our band activity period. We hope we will meet for a long time. As an individual human being as well as as band I want to be active while always having in mind that every minute, every second we’re growing. Please treat us well!! Sekiguchi: (???) 373: Let’s create HELLO.’s story together that is about to start. Momonari: Such a band is good, isn’t it? Let’s give our best all together! Aki: I’m drummer Aki. If you’re thinking “Lately there isn’t enough music…” or “There’s no band I go to lives often for anymore…” then definitely come to see HELLO.’s lives!

In the end, please tell us your ambitions as band and individual. Ria: I’ll be active without forgetting to be thankful for these circumstances that allow me to sing. Right now that’s all. Sekiguchi: I’ll exercise in self-control without forgetting the crisis that can lead to circumstances that erase everything. Right now that’s all. 373: I want HELLO. to turn into a band that helps many people with its songs! Momonari: I won’t reduce my sleeping time! Aki: I want to become famous person so that even if I’m wearing sun glasses and a hat everyone will recognize me.