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Urgent Interview - Matthew Bellamy - Muse [BUZZ (May 2001)]

MUSE

TEXT BY KOJI NAKAMOTO PHOTOGRAPHS BY MASAKAZU YOSHIBA

From the beautiful construction of “Showbiz” to the destructive impulse of “Plug In Baby”, and the long-awaited new album!? We flew to the final recording site for an urgent interview!!

“Consciousness creates matter and elements, evolving them to the highest order. Millions of years ago, a star exploded as a supernova, and the current solar system was created. That's why the molecules in our bodies and everything in the solar system are all connected and have one consciousness.”

What on earth are you talking about, Matthew!? He is convinced that the hard recording work didn't drive him insane, but that this is the theme of his new album, so pay attention to the next stage of MUSE in this latest interview and report!

Text = Koji Nakamoto Photography = Masakazu Yoshiba Interpretation = Erika Yamashita Translation = Akane Suzuki

The perfection of the first album “Showbiz”, which was a form of excessive dramatics with one foot in “aesthetic” and the other in the beauty of a neatly structured sound, was unleashed in the overwhelming dynamism of their live shows. The overwhelming dynamism of their live shows, in which they unleashed this structure and slammed it down violently and solidly - this difference that was revealed at their first Japan tour in March last year at Shibuya On Air West, is what makes MUSE the most eagerly awaited new generation of UK guitar rock. Creation and destruction, as it were. The easy description of the band as “Radiohead followers” from their first show is no longer used by those who have actually experienced their live shows. However, it is their second album that will of course test their true worth. The exhilarating punk approach of the preceding single, “Plug In Baby”, clears that hurdle with ease. This is what MUSE is all about! With expectations even higher, the album is almost ready for release at the end of May. The end of May, well, we publish every other month, so I'd like to do something for the April 18th issue…… I was muttering to myself when a woman from the record company said, ‘The sound won't arrive in Japan until early April, but if you come to the local studio, they'd be happy to let you listen to a rough recording’. I'll go! So I quickly organised a three-day, one-night trip to the UK to cover MUSE. Yes, due to my personal schedule, it turned out to be a hell of an itinerary as follows.

March 23rd. I left Japan after a full night of work. 12 hours later, I arrived at London Heathrow Airport. It was 3pm local time that day. After waiting for two hours for photographer Yoshiba-san, who arrived on a different flight, we headed to Cornwall, where MUSE's studio is located. It was a four-hour drive from the airport, and as we were waiting for the car prepared by the local staff, an Indian man with a turban on his head said, “Me, me!” Hmmm, suspicious. He looked like a working-class man from the sultanate, which made me strangely uneasy. My fears are confirmed. We drove at such a high speed that I thought, “Are we going to die in an accident?”, and then we got lost, and after five or six hours there was no sign that we had arrived at all. From time to time, my manager would call me on his mobile and say, “There's no way it's going to take this long. So, what should we do about the interview?”. Yes, the original plan was for the listening and interview to start around midnight, but we've already kept Matthew waiting for two hours. We were gradually getting closer to our destination, but the road was getting narrower and darker, and although I had heard it was by a lake in the mountains, the studio was in the middle of nowhere. When passing an oncoming car on the bay road, the rear wheel slipped and almost fell on the sea debris, and yet Sultan said “Don't worry, don't worry,” and I couldn't help but feel like wanting to abolish my non-violence principles. It was midnight when we finally arrived at the hotel near the studio. In other words, after staying up all night, it was a 12-hour flight, a 2-hour wait, a 7-hour deadly road, and Matthew was left waiting for 3 hours. I thought I couldn't do the interview today, but then the manager offered, “You have to fly early tomorrow, otherwise your business in Japan will be affected, right? Let's do it now.” What a nice guy. “We usually cross the lake from here to the studio by boat, but it's low tide now, so let's walk around the lakeside to make a detour. It shouldn't take more than half an hour.” Outside, it's raining. The four of us are walking on the railway line in the seriously pitch black mountainous area, shining our torches. Just as I was thinking, “Are we like in Stand By Me, looking for a dead body?” I slipped and said, “Hey, hey, hey, be careful, man. If you step off, you'll end up in the lake. You can't even get help in the dark.” Ah, THE BODY. When we finally arrived at the studio, it was after 1am. Matthew is away, just in the middle of mixing. The other members of the band, the staff, and Matthew's girlfriend are all relaxing in the reception living room, watching TV and playing billiards. Anyway, everyone is cheerful and friendly, and there is no tense mood at all. We were allowed to listen to the music while Matthew was finishing up. In the end, at this point we only get to hear five songs - ‘Citizen Erased’, ‘New Born’, ‘Screenager’, ‘Space Dementia’ and ‘Forth & Multiply’. However, the content was completely contrary to my expectations. I thought it would be a live dynamism explosion along the lines of Plug In Baby! But rather, it was an extremely experimental approach that took the construction of the first album even further. There is heavy rock, electro, polyrhythms, operatic flavours, and church music, and three out of the five songs were over six minutes long. Although it seems to contradict what I said at the beginning of the article, my honest impression was, “Is this the MUSE version of ‘OK Computer’?” The song titles are also somewhat meaningful. How should I position this? I was wondering about that when Matthew appeared and said “Yes”. He was also very friendly and smiling. He didn't show any sign of fatigue at all, even after working so late at night, and he dashed around nimbly every time he had to move a little. “Well, shall we get started now?” I'm sorry for making you wait for five hours, Matthew.

●Are you in the middle of the final mixing now? 「Mm-hm.」

●Then tonight's the big night. 「Well, I think it's probably going to be on Monday. Even though it's finished, we're still in the mastering stage, and at most we've only just decided on the song order, so we won't really be free to say ‘We did it!’ and release it until the artwork and everything else is finished and I can actually hold it in my hands and look at it.」

●You seem to be doing well though. It's 2am and you seem totally fine. You don't seem worn out from recording. I wonder if you're feeling great. 「Yes (laughs), it's fun every day. Physically I'm pretty tired, but the hardest part is the recording. It's exhausting when you're playing for hours on end, and I also have to record vocals. Now that's done, I can just think about mixing.」

●The ideas for presenting a new side of MUSE were already in place. 「Most of the songs were written before we went into the studio, but when we actually started, it was just a case of making more and more changes. It wasn't until we started mixing that we finally had a full picture of what the album was going to be like. So it's true that half of the songs were prepared in advance, but the other half was done while we were working in the studio. 」

●In the beginning, you said that you wanted to change the producer for each song on the recording of this album. 「Yeah, we decided to take at least two different approaches. We talked about having three producers, but in the end we settled on two. One who would bring MUSE to the forefront as a live band, and one who was good at experimenting. So the songs that David Bottrill did had a live feel to them, and the other half, John Leckie, brought out aspects of MUSE that we hadn't done before. I guess David's is the same heavy rock―as he's always been. But the one produced by John Leckie is really a lot more varied, from acoustic, soft songs to electronic stuff. Well, to sum it up (laughs), I guess we have two faces: a live band and a studio-focused experimental band.」

●When I first heard that David Bottrill had been chosen, I thought, ‘Wow’. He's in Tool, isn't he? Are you interested in or sympathetic to American heavy rock? It might have something to do with the fact that you toured with some of the biggest names in the US right after your debut. 「Oh, that's not it. The reason I chose David Bottrill is…… to me, his sound sounds very British. We're very far removed from the UK rock of the last decade, especially the Britpop scene. A lot of people think that's what UK rock is, but I'm influenced by bands from much earlier, like David Bowie, The Police, and Queen (laughs). British rock was originally a very broad genre.」

●Last year you said in an interview that you “sympathise with Slipknot,” but was that just a joke? 「Uh, when was that? Oh, yeah. Last year, it felt like we were excited for a moment, but that was it (laughs). Dominic bought the Slipknot album while we were on tour, and he put it in front of the stage, and we all thought it was hilarious. But we were only listening to it half-jokingly (laughs).」

●Actually, when I interviewed Slipknot, I told them that a British band called MUSE had praised them, and they were very surprised and asked, “Why would a British band praise us?” And when I told them that MUSE was a very sensitive band, they said, “So they found our sensitive side? If so, I'm honoured.” 「(laughs)」

●You said earlier that your roots are more in the 70s than in the 90s British movement, but MUSE's music is excessively dramatic, which is rare nowadays, isn't it? 「Yes. I've listened to all kinds of music, regardless of which country it's from. Actually, the reason I said that is because so-called Britpop took a very inward-looking, arrogant, almost dangerous, perspective of the British national character. On the other hand, the sound of American music has recently become very typical American music. Basically, after Nirvana ended, the UK press started to push the idea that ‘British bands are going to rule the world’. I think that was one of the worst periods in the history of British music. It was all arrogant and self-centered, and as a result, British bands ended up with a bad image from a global perspective. Especially in America, so-called Britpop bands are perceived as being very stupid, and the problem is that when bands like MUSE play shows in the US, the first people to come are the ones expecting Britpop. So it's not that I particularly like the 70s, but starting with The Beatles, The Police, Radiohead…… In short, I sympathise with people who are doing music because they want to make good music. I think the Britpop bands were very aggressive in that sense, promoting their lifestyle and saying that UK music is the best in the world…… I don't want to do that, I just sympathise with people who make music that isn't for that purpose.」

●So you appreciate Radiohead? 「Yeah, I like them a lot. I've had their music since their early days, around ‘Pablo Honey’. I wasn't as into ‘OK Computer’ and ‘Kid A’ as I used to, but I still think they're a great band.」

●When MUSE debuted, you were often seen as followers of Radiohead, but some criticised you for being too pessimistic towards Radiohead. On the other hand, MUSE, in terms of message, you said that you would rather convey hope. 「Yes, that's right. MUSE's music has a deep desire to resonate with people. Life is both very hard and fun, and we want to convey the beauty in humanity. I don't think we have a negative view of humanity. But in the case of Radiohead…… Hmmm, I don't know, maybe they criticise themselves when they get on stage, or feel embarrassed about what they're doing. But you see, I'm totally fine with jumping around on stage and dressing weird (laughs). I don't mind looking like an idiot on stage (laughs).」

●So, we've just listened to five songs from your new album. 「Yes, this one (‘Forth & Multiply’), the title might change. Maybe it'll be ‘Paradise’. Well, ‘New Born’ is the only one that David Bottrill did that's rather experimental and different. It's similar to ‘Plug In Baby’ or ‘Darkshines’. All together, I think t'll be a 50-minute album with 10 songs. Oh, there's one more song for Japan, so it's 11 (laughs). Actually, we recorded 16 songs.」

●I'm not good at English at all, so I couldn't understand the specific lyrics, but I thought there would be a strong message just from the title. ‘Citizen Erased’ is a typical example of this, and if ‘Forth & Multiply’ really changes into ‘Paradise’, it would have a very symbolic meaning. 「Hehehehe.」

●Is there a storyline or theme to the album as a whole? 「I recently read two books, which may have inspired the song titles. One of the books is…… Um, it's a geometry book, and it's about trying to understand the universe from a different dimension. It's a book about deepening our understanding of the fourth dimensional world and the concept of time. I've always been interested in the concept of time. A long time ago I saw “2001: A Space Odyssey”…… You know this film, the one with the white pyramid tower (※monolith) that appears and disappears. So, my interpretation is that this tower is an object that exists in the fourth dimension, and it appears and disappears in front of us humans…… Ah, that's hard to explain (laughs). It would be better if I explained it…… right? As expected (laughs).」

●(laughs) Please. 「Well, let's say you have a sheet of paper, this is a two-dimensional world. If you draw a picture of a person on it, that person is living in a two-dimensional world. And if you suddenly project a three-dimensional object to this two-dimensional person, it will only look like a line that is getting bigger and smaller to this person. Right? So I thought, the tower in the film is really a four-dimensional object, but when it is brought into our three-dimensional world, we can only see it momentarily. If you think about it in this way, you can surely understand celestial bodies. When I was very young, I used to do a kind of meditation once a month or once a year, where I would concentrate my thoughts and go into a very deep place momentarily. And every time I went into that, I would come face to face with myself in a different place at a different time. So I was able to have a momentary experience of my experiences in different places. So I tried to find similarities between what's happening to me now and what's happening to me in different times. By ignoring the time axis, I tried to find a symmetry between life and the origin of the universe. I also looked for symmetries between nuclei and electrons, and similarities between stars and planets. In short, I wanted to understand what was going on in the world. And there's a theme that I've been thinking about for a long time, which is the meaning of life, and my interpretation of it changes all the time. But at the moment, it's about consciousness creating matter and elements and evolving them to the highest order. In other words, in the beginning there was only one big surface consisting only of energy and elements, which is the Big Bang, and then the small scattered things gradually became atomic nuclei, and then electrons started to revolve around them, and then they became atoms. I think that each of these things had a consciousness, and because of that consciousness, they sought out other substances and elements and tried to combine them. Then the various substances combined to form different molecules, which each consciously tried to combine again and sublimated at a higher level, eventually becoming stars. I think this is the reason why we humans have consciousness. We are made up of a collection of different molecules and elements, which affect and collide with each other in a chaotic way. We are searching for a kind of higher order. It's because we want to be free of the burden of consciousness. So, millions of years ago, a star went supernova and exploded, forming the solar system as we know it today. So all the molecules in our bodies and everything in the solar system used to be connected, they used to be one thing. And it had a proper consciousness. That's kind of what the theme is about.」*

●…….And that's something that you've been reading about lately? 「That's what I said at the beginning, but the rest is about what I've been thinking about lately. To put it very roughly, I'm trying to figure out why I exist here.」

●So that became the theme of the album? 「Yes, and that's what's always on my mind.」

●In an interview around the time of "Showbiz", you said that you were most interested in the coexistence of technology and the soul or religious things in your message and expression, but that you yourself don't really know which is correct. How have your values in that regard changed since then? 「Yeah, maybe they're clearer now than they were before. What I've come to realise recently is that most religions have developed from different civilisations, and the problem is that they all believe in different things, and that's why there used to be wars all the time. One religion comes from one community, and another religion comes from another community, and the two chaotically try to influence each other and become one. In reality, one tries to swallow the other and dominate it. And when that happens, I think the future lies in technology and science. So I've been feeling lately that the answer might be technology.」

●Hmmm. 「However, I think it will be bad if humanity does not evolve with a kind of belief, or faith, or some positive way of thinking. Otherwise, there is a danger that a new entity, such as a new technology or a new computer, will be created, and when we realise it, it will surpass humans and destroy us all. Humanity has developed in a way that is suited only to this planet. So we need to evolve the human species by incorporating mutant genes and so on (laughs)—after all, humans have become able to evolve themselves with their own hands. In a few thousand years, we might invent something like a biological suit that will allow us to live on other planets (laughs). But the first step we have to do before that is…… It's already happening among younger people, but our generation has a global perspective. Fifty years ago, people would have only thought about their own country, but nowadays we have to think on a global scale, don't we? If we think in that way, maybe we can find solutions to environmental problems. Because we know that if we continue in the current state for hundreds of years, the Earth will become an uninhabitable place. Of course, I think it is possible to trust the future to science, but I don't think it should be something that eradicates anything. If human beings completely lose their spirituality and soul and just focus only on science and just invent some new technology again, I think it will drive us to our own extinction without us realising it…… Ah, but isn't that the same thing I said earlier (laughs)?」

●I think MUSE's sound up to now has basically been about how aggressive they could make it with a three-piece guitar sound. This time around, other elements such as electro and polyrhythms have been introduced, and while it contains technological and avant-garde elements, I think it also has a kind of holy sound to it, like church music. 「Yes, that's right. What I wanted to do with this album was just to combine the emotional, human, acoustic things with very old instruments and the latest high-tech. For example, ‘Screenager’ is acoustic all the way through, but then all of a sudden in the chorus it gets modern and there's a synthesiser arpeggio. I wanted to show the contrast between the technological and the spiritual, where you can hear the breath of humanity, in one short song.」

●"Screenager" has a novel percussion sound, but there was a statement in NME that the sound was made using human bones. Is that the song? 「Aahaha. That's a different song, a different song. Well, it's not human bones, but it is animal bones. From a femur or something. It's a Voodoo instrument or something.」

●If it's not human, what kind of bone is it? 「I think it's a cow, isn't it?」

●Did you use it not just for the sound, but also in the hope that it would give off a magical atmosphere that is unique to Voodoo? 「Yes (laughs). Well, I think it was used more as a contrast with technology. It probably won't be on the album, but it's a song I did as an improvisation. It's more than a song…… It's just a bunch of weird sounds, sort of thing (laughs). The singer is Lord Buckley, who used to be a preacher, but he's passed away. So I wrote three songs called “Collaboration with the Dead”. One of them is me singing along to a Chopin piano piece (laughs). Oh, none of these were for the album, I did them simply because I thought they were fun. Experimental, but nothing serious.」**

●But was it that “collaboration with the dead”? 「It was a “collaboration” (laughs). Working with a dead person, something comes out of me…… But I don't think this will ever be released (laughs).」

●Once you've finished this work, you're going on a UK tour straight away, do you plan to play a lot of the new songs? 「Yes. I think about half of the set will be new songs.」

●Will you be performing the songs live in a very different way from the album? 「I don't know yet. I've done ‘New Born’ and ‘Plug In Baby’ with David Bottrill pretty much exactly as on the record. But the one I did with John I haven't played on stage yet, so I don't know how it'll turn out. But hopefully it'll work.」

●So, I've listened to almost half of the 10 songs, but I wonder how my impression will change if I listen to the whole album. Will it feel more experimental, or…? 「I guess so…… Sorry, show me the tracklist again…… For example, if you compare ‘Citizen Erased’ and ‘Screenager’, one is a metallic, magnificent epic and the other is a short, sharp acoustic song, so they have very different grooves, don't they? In that sense, it's not so different from the impression I have now. In short, they are all very different from each other. There are two songs that are very electronic. But they're not purely electronic, they're more like Daft Punk + Jeff Buckley, or Daft Punk + Rage Against the Machine, or whatever, they're like a fusion of two very different sounds with very strong personalities. And I tried to combine two opposing elements together in all the songs, not just this one. ‘Space Dementia’ and ‘Citizen Erased’ are the most dramatic and flashy songs.」

●I'm looking forward to hearing them in full. So, while we were talking like this, it was already past 3am, how late are you working on it? 「I think I'm going to do a bit more. Today…… I think it'll be around 4:30, maybe even longer (laughs).」

●Well, we have a lot of filming tomorrow, so please look after us. 「Yeah. You're going on a boat, right? You guys should go back by boat too. The tide is coming in.」

●Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to do this so late at night. 「Oh, no, it's fine, no problem at all.」

After that, it was a comfortable boat ride back. I went back to the hotel, had a bath, took a two-hour nap and immediately returned back to Heathrow. It was just me. I told the lady in charge and Yoshiba-san, "Well, please take care of the filming," and went back to Sultan's hell. In the end, the return journey took 5 hours, followed by a lovely 12-hour flight ♡ Ah, I'm dying. So, how did the album turn out? The sound has finally arrived! For details, see page 214.

Muse Origin of Symmetry AVCM 65071 (AVEX) 6/6 RELEASE

The only neo-UK guitar that can go toe-to-toe with US Loud Finally, all the songs have arrived! First, I defecated on the opening song “New Born”. The classical beautiful melody gradually becomes more and more impressive, and from the second chorus onwards, the atmosphere changes completely. It's a crazy guitar eccentric show that ignores the normal song development. No one can stop Matthew. The chaos just gets more and more exciting. I'm sure I listened to “New Born” in a studio in Cornwall, but I don't know this song. I just wrote down the song titles on the MD disc that was handed to me, so maybe I was tricked by some subtle trick? There's no song called “Paradise” either. Well, the final mix changed the impression completely. If you remember MUSE's manliness from the preceding single “Plug In Baby”, bear in mind how well-balanced and good a pop tune it is on the album. It's hard for no reason, flamboyant for no reason, dramatic for no reason - yes, everything is just excessive. For example, who can resist laughing and crying at the operatic flamenco heavy rock of Track 7, “Micro Cuts”? There is a lot of experimentation in this album. But it is far from the normal human sense of balance. A torrent of unhinged ideas and passions far removed from ‘construction’ and ‘perfection’. Sorry for the comparison with “OK Computer”. Radiohead couldn't do something this stupid.

There was one thing I forgot to ask during the undercover studio interview. From this special feature, the most important question in a sense is, ‘How do you feel about MUSE being positioned as “punk”?’ The answer is obvious. Yes, this is what I think of as “punk”. It makes me laugh, it makes me happy. MUSE really laughed at the stuffiness and niceties of UK rock. It was wonderful. (Koji Nakamoto)

Dramaturgy like no other since Queen (seriously) Ever since I saw Matthew on stage playing his Floyd Rose-equipped Eddie Van Halen model at On Air West on their first visit to Japan, I've assumed and professed to myself that the key to this band's stage presence was how they could explode with their ‘metal self,’ but no-one ever shared my opinion. The intro of the first song made me want to shout ‘See, I knew it!’. But as the song progressed, I couldn't help but feel my eyes and ears start to glaze over. It wasn't just my metal soul that was exploding. In the previous album, punk, 70s rock, classical, Spanish, and opera were all somehow contained within the vessel of ‘guitar rock,’ but in this album, each element explodes one by one, shattering the vessel to pieces. The result is an excessively dramatic sound. Why does it have to be dramatic? Because otherwise it would be boring. Not music, but life. I don't want to live like I'm dead. By Misato Watanabe. Writing this makes me feel nostalgic and cold, but the fact is, it's only in moments like that that you realise that you're alive, or that you're being kept alive, but you can't help but feel that you're right here, right now. The intensity of the sound is also incredible. Or rather, it feels like the intensity is not dependent on ‘loud’ but enhanced by ‘dramatic’. It was MUSE who made hard rock that could compete with America, in a way that only the UK, or even Europe, could do. For what purpose? To bring back to the sound the ‘intensity’ that UK guitar rock has lost. Anyway, can you think of it? A sound like this. No, even if you could come up with it, would you do it? Or rather, could you do it? I don't think so, only MUSE can do it. (Shinji Hyogo)

Translator’s Note: Just the description of the journey alone that the journalist and photographer had to take to reach Sawmills Studios in Cornwall, where Muse was doing mixing then, is equal parts hilarious and uninspiring in the effort taken to get a listen to the rough recording of Origin of Symmetry, conduct an interview, and take photos of them LMAO. Still, it’s the ♡ at the end that made this so memorable to translate and read.

Thanks to that one Musecord member who helped me in discovering that ‘Megalomania’ previous alternative titles were ‘Go Forth & Multiply’ and ‘Paradise’!

*Yeah, translating this answer alone reminds me once again just how much of a conspiracy theorist Matt used to be. And I can’t blame the journalist for presumably looking at Matt as though he’d gone beyond just being an eccentric British.

**I translated this part and I couldn’t help but think that the description of this song sounded awfully familiar to what eventually became the three-piece suite that is “Exogenesis Symphony” in 2009. I’ve checked on MuseWiki, but no one knew of this. So is this possibly the earliest mention of “Exogenesis Symphony”? And its earliest title was called “Collaboration with the Dead”???

Please do support me via my ko-fi! ☕

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thevoidacoustic · 12 days ago

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thevoidacoustic · 12 days ago

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📸 oobhmexico

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thevoidacoustic · 12 days ago

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GUYSSSS!!!!!!!

AND A PREVIEW!!!! THEY SAID HERE BITCHES. ENJOY YOUR DAMN FEAST!!!!!

youtube

#NEW SONG PREVIEW???

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thevoidacoustic · 12 days ago

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so. not only did they debut the new song tonight, just as i thought, but they also played map of the problematique and brought back united states of eurasia for the first time since 2016. they played a different version of isolated system. matt wore a new outfit.

unravelling sounds like an absolute banger, the loud kind, at first. then you find the lyrics deciphered by the fans and oooooh boy. it IS loud, but it’s also sad 🫠 if there’s an acoustic version of it somewhere or if they ever decide to play it acoustic for some reason it might actually become one of their saddest songs 🥲

#wtf you mean they debuted a new song at a show #w h a t

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thevoidacoustic · 14 days ago

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have more, have more!! 😽😽

can yall tell that i really love matt bellamy

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thevoidacoustic · 14 days ago

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Muse interview - Matt Bellamy - Part 2 [CROSSBEAT (June 2001)]

“I made this album with the desire to bring order to the chaos of the world.”

Muse's new album “Origin of Symmetry” is finally revealed in its entirety. The second installment of our Manchester coverage is a long interview that delves into Matthew Bellamy's inner universe!

Interview: Akiko Mima / Assistance: Yuko Kubota

Muse's new album “Origin of Symmetry” (on sale in Japan on June 6th) is on a grand scale of “taiga drama class”. This is the catharsis of rock, and I'm getting more and more into their world. There are many reasons for the pleasure, but the first thing that impresses me is the dramaturgical technique in the music. Starting with “New Born”, which suddenly changes from a classical and elegant sequence, the guitar cuts in and swings to the limits of passion, the masterpiece “Hyper Music” with its progressive development that engulfs the listener, and the familiar “Plug In Baby”, the heat and passion amplify without knowing where to stop. On the other hand, they also show their breadth of generosity, with songs like “Feeling Good,” which skillfully digests blues in a modern style, and “Micro Cuts,” which features an astonishing falsetto. You can see that the diversity of their sound that sprouted in their first album is now fully blossoming in each song. Yes, even though they are an exceptionally stable band, the reason you can still feel a thrill of excitement from them…… is because of the “drama” that goes back and forth between the extremes of strength and weakness, stillness and movement, light and darkness. Needless to say, this is a feat that can only be achieved when the musicians' solid technique and sense of performance are firmly combined. Muse are too unique to be lumped together under the term “UK rock”.

This month, as part of the second installment of our highly recommended Muse project, we asked Matthew Bellamy about the process of how this unorthodox band came to be. The British media highlights his eccentric character, but when I met him at a live venue in Manchester, he was happily scattering gold confetti out of his pockets everywhere. He himself seems to enjoy the reputation. A great potential, I assure you.

Today I'd like to look back once more at Muse's past. Your father was the guitarist for the Tornados, who had a UK Top 10 hit. What musical legacy do you think you inherited from your father? 「My father never wrote a song down. He learnt all his music by ear and played it by ear. He used to play with me all kinds of stuff from when I was little. I don't remember what it was like, but he would just make me tell him what I thought of it. Even if I didn't understand it correctly, my father didn't care. It was my interpretation. I guess that's what you mean by legacy.」

Because of this influence, you wanted to become a musician from a young age, but you must have known the harshness of the music industry from watching your father. Why did you still decide to pursue a career in music? 「I've been playing music ever since I can remember, and I think it was because my father was in a band that I was able to accept musical activities as something natural. It was a natural progression for me to want to be a musician. However, I didn't have a clear idea of what genre I wanted to play. Even when I started playing the piano and the guitar, I would get into flamenco and classical guitar.」

On the other hand, your mother was into things like spirit mediumship, wasn't she? 「Yes. Not as a business, just at home. She got into it when I was about 12 or 13 years old. One time I happened to be having trouble falling asleep, so I went downstairs and was surprised to see my parents doing spooky things (laughs).」

Perhaps in part because of this relationship, you no longer have a fear of “death”. 「Yes. I don't like the pain of dying, but I didn't feel any particular fear. I mean, the body is just a collection of things that have evolved on this tiny little planet. I'm trying to conceptualise it on a bigger level so that this small collection doesn't feel so important.」

Hmmm. I think it's fair to say that your way of thinking is quite different from that of most kids your age, so have you ever felt alienated by it? 「I definitely felt alienated as a kid. But as I got older, I met more and more people who thought in the same way.」

Do you think that feeling of alienation as a kid is what gives you the power to write songs? 「Yeah. Especially on some of the more negative songs. But I've also started to meet people who can relate to me, and there are quite a few young people among them. When I think about it, I feel like the whole world is going to change a lot, even though it might be another 50 years away.」

You've been doing that and talking about spiritual things without hesitation. Maybe that's why the British media seems to be trying to present you as an eccentric character, but doesn't that bother you? 「Basically, I try not to pay too much attention to it, because the media always changes what they say. One week I'm written off as a crazy, alcoholic nerd, the next week I'm a boring, silent intellectual (laughs). That's how it is, so I can't be bothered with every single thing.」

So that means you don't believe in the paranormal or anything like that, but in human potential. 「Basically, I think the paranormal is a figment of the human imagination to keep us from getting lonely. Spirituality is a collective consciousness that helps us to move in a positive direction, if you like. In any case, I'm not that hung up on the “spiritual” or “death”. It's just something I was aware of as a child.」

I see. So what was your vision when you formed Muse in 1993? Did you have any clear goals? 「I was 15 or 16 years old. Dominic and I started when we were 14. The only goals we had were to make noise and get girls, right? (laughs). Of course, as we grew up, our visions became more clear.」

There was a six-year gap between then and the release of your first CD in 1999. What were you doing? 「Well…… Hmm, first of all, my parents divorced when I was 15, and that's when I got interested in the kind of music I'm into now. Before that, I was more into classical stuff. I didn't really take lessons. Around the time my father left home, I became more sensitive to music. From when I was 15 to when we started releasing CDs when I was around 20, I was listening to intense avant-garde music, like Sonic Youth. I did a lot of live shows. I played for friends and at college. We played in front of about 10 people at pubs in our hometown in Devon. We just did it for fun. It didn't make us any money, and I went to college. But school wasn't interesting and I dropped out halfway through. Most of my friends went off to university and we drifted apart. It was a bit of a difficult time. But for some reason, I had a strong desire to continue with the band. There were a few years when I ran out of money, so I did all sorts of part-time jobs.」

Painting, was it? 「Yes. I was painting the walls of houses. It was fun and easy (laughs). Then, when I was 19, someone offered us free use of their studio, so we recorded a demo there, saved up some money, and released our first EP. That's how we got signed.」

You cite a lot of American guitar rock influences, such as Nirvana and Rage Against The Machine, but at your age, there was a Britpop boom at an impressionable time, wasn't there? 「Strangely enough, I've never been interested in Britpop. But I liked older British bands like The Police and Queen. And Cream and Led Zeppelin. The first British bands I got into were Wedding Present, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, and Senseless Things. But for some reason, I just couldn't get into Oasis.」

Do you feel like you don't belong in the British rock scene? When you look around, are there any bands you feel a connection with? 「No, not really. We feel quite isolated. We're definitely a British band, but we don't really feel that we have much in common musically with other bands. I don't think there are that many British bands that are into heavy rock to begin with. And I can't think of any bands that sound British without sounding like Limp Bizkit.」

You released your first album, Showbiz, and the results were great, weren't they? 「It only lasted a couple of weeks (laughs).」

Oh no, that's not true. Looking back on that first album, how do you feel about it now? 「Of course I was surprised. I didn't think it would sell worldwide. It was our first album, and I felt that if we got a good fanbase in the UK, that would be enough. Well, it was only “good”, it wasn't like “big hits”, but my friend Travis, for example, went on to sell a million copies in one go. I'm afraid that I'm going to get worried about whether I'm going to be good enough before I start trying to get better at it.」

So you feel like you've got it just right? 「Yes. We've had a lot of people listen to our music, and we've been able to expand overseas. But it hasn't sold so well that I'm worried. I feel like I still have the potential to grow as a musician. Because, you know, if you sell too much, you might get buried in money and change people. It's going to be like living in a hotel for a year (laughs).」

Hehehe. And then you toured with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters, how did that go? How did you feel about the big country of America? 「It was great. We did about 14 shows, mainly in the middle of the country, where most British bands don't go, and the audience was great. But the music industry over there seems to be difficult. It's quite closed, or they only accept a certain type of music at a time. Nowadays, the radio is full of stuff like Limp Bizkit. Of course, I'd like to do more work in America, but it's such a big country, I don't know where to start. I think it's going to work out, but it's going to take a lot of time.」

“The body is just a collection of things that have evolved on this tiny little planet, and I try to conceptualise it on a bigger level so that it feels unimportant.”

There's a rumour these days that you're getting total rejection from equipment rental shops in Europe. Because you destroy all your equipment. 「Yeah, that's true (chuckles).」

What do you feel when that happens? Do you lose control of your emotions? 「Well, that's what it is. At least it's not planned (laughs). It's not that I break it every time, but sometimes my emotions get the better of me. It's more like I go beyond what I can play. I don't mean to be destructive. I broke it the other day, but it was more like I wanted to bring the sound to a physical dimension, or something silly like that (laughs). Anyway, I failed in Germany. The rental shop that turned me down was the same one. I thought the amp was mine. It's true (laughs). So I messed it up. I'm banned from rental shops for life after that happened in Germany and a few other countries around.」

Hahaha. For example, were you inspired by the behaviour of classic rock bands, like “sex, drugs and rock‘n’roll”? 「Not really. But I think there are things that are allowed in rock‘n’roll that are not allowed in other professions.」

Indeed. You once said that when you write a song, you are ‘just giving form to a spiritual voice through the medium of yourself’, but what does it feel like when you hear that voice? 「Oh, I think I said that, as a possibility. Now I see it a bit differently, I feel like it's about building ideas from all the elements in the world. For me, music is a way of bringing all those elements together and giving them meaning. So bits and pieces of music are constantly coming into me. When I sit down at the piano or the guitar to write a song, one of those ideas comes out little by little. It just keeps bubbling up according to the mood I'm in at the time.」

Hmmm. So what inspired the songs on this album? 「Umm, um, let's see (laughs). First of all, there are some songs that are kind of dedicated to God. I'm trying to find answers to a lot of questions. Overall, I wrote them with the desire to bring order to the chaos of the world. Then, it also includes the theme that it's wonderful that humanity is going beyond the Earth's sphere, but at the same time, we may lose a lot of things. There are songs about the breakup of a long relationship, and some that I imagine my family's thoughts from time to time. It's only recently that I've come to understand my family better. I've come to see them as people rather than as parents, and I've started to feel like I have the same thoughts as my parents when they were young.」

When did you start exploring your inner self in this way? 「Since I was quite young. We live in a so-called three-dimensional space, so it's difficult to talk about the concept of time, but anyway, ever since I can remember, I used to think deeply, not meditate, but I used to think a lot. The frequency of my thinking was once a week, or sometimes months apart, but each time I tried to be aware of the connection with the time I was thinking about. Then I could grasp the whole picture of time. It's in these moments that I get inspiration for music. I think it's because I have a sense of being connected to all the past, but also being able to see into the future.」

Yes, yes. I heard that you used cow bones as musical instruments this time, does this have any spiritual meaning? It doesn't seem to produce a particularly good sound…… 「Ah, it's not that, I'm more into psychologic acoustics. What I mean is that, for example, if you listen to a sample sound of a church organ and then listen to the sound of a real organ. They sound exactly the same, but if you ask them, they will always be able to tell you which is the real thing. In other words, you feel that the real one sounds better. I like to have the psychological sense of being able to distinguish the right sound. Nowadays all bands are going for technology, but I want to make music that is 90% made of real instruments. Especially sounds like church organs and percussion should be real. I want the listener to feel the real sound in their heart. It takes a lot of work to make a good sound with real instruments, but I think it's worth the challenge.」

Yes. Humans have the ability to sense the real thing. 「Yes, we do. And it's a very chaotic sense. Computers, on the other hand, are precise, but they have the ability to degrade things to an inhuman level. They lack an understanding of the history of humanity. We sometimes use the computer to actually see the sound waves, the waves are completely different between the real thing and the sample. The real ones are quite irregular in shape, but the samples are extremely regular.」

I see. By the way, what does the album title “Origin of Symmetry” mean? 「It's related to the artwork. There are about 15 artists involved, each doing a different form of artwork. Some are flat paintings, some are three-dimensional sculptures. But they are all given a common theme. That's “bringing order to chaos”. In other words, finding symmetry in chaos. The songs are the same, and although the styles are diverse, the basic idea is the same. The title also ties in with my idea of “consciousness”. For me, “consciousness” is something that evolves all elements. When objects are broken into incredibly fine particles in the Big Bang, they eventually make up the nucleus. When the nucleus becomes conscious, it becomes an atom. The atoms pass violently back and forth between each other and eventually build up the elements. This process repeats itself and eventually evolves into planets and stars. If you trace the origin of the countless stars floating in the night sky, you will find that it was a single star that exploded a long time ago. When you think about it, you realise that in the very beginning all the planets and stars were united under one consciousness. That's why human beings clash so violently with each other, that is, they fall into a state of chaos.」

You always say you want to encourage listeners to face themselves through music, but do you still think music should be an important, life-altering experience, rather than just entertainment? 「I think it should be. For me, it's not the quality of the individual listener that's important, it's their willingness to try to understand. So even if there are only four people listening, I'd be happy if they all perceive something deeper than just entertainment.」

Yes. So, you've progressed rather steadily so far, but what does ‘success’ look like for Muse? 「Well, I don't really have an end goal. I feel like the end goal is the same as ‘completion’ for me, but I feel like once I'm done, I'm closed off to new ideas. I want to be more open. I want to keep learning and absorbing new things. So the end is when I die. Then at least I can say, “I did everything I could.” But ‘success’ gives me confidence and a meaning to life.」

Translator’s Note: Part 2 of the interview is now done. If you’re wondering, yes, I have translated this before, but that was an edited version that was shorter and just done in order to fit into the small booklet.

Please do support me via my ko-fi! ☕

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thevoidacoustic · 25 days ago

Text

Muse interview - Matthew Bellamy [ROCKIN'ON (February 2002)]

Muse, completely burned out!!

“Sometimes on stage I can hear the original sound, or rather the echoes of the spirit. It's like a baby just crying.”

They're on! They're on! We caught up with Muse in Osaka on the last day of their tour, when they had just finished letting out the energy of their very existence!!

Interview: Yamazaki Yoichiro / Interpreter: Takami Nobuyuki / Photography: Ogawa Hideto

However, following on from last year, UK rock in 2001 was still a year of stagnation, with no clear indication of whether it was the 90s, 80s, 70s, or 60s. Even though it was 2001, the beats hadn't improved in power or evolved in the last decade. This is bad, as it is. Radiohead's challenge, Gorillaz's change of mindset, Raging Speedhorn (laughs), and the conclusion that dance acts were breathing the beats of the times. Not good.

But there was one more band that played the intensity of 2001. Muse. And with just three members. And with genuine rock. They ran all over the stage and made a ‘beautiful bombastic sound’ with all their might. So great. While early fans were confused and asked if they were really metal, in the end, it was that solid, high-tension performance that opened the floodgates to UK rock. The kick and bass that hit you directly in the abdomen also seeped into your empty stomach.

This Japan tour was the ultimate Muse. The tension was so intense, that you would think that the three of them couldn't do it anymore. The meter was in the red zone for every song. Matthew's fingers on the guitar and piano moved like a precision machine with a built-in computer, but his mind was probably blank. A precise, elegant beast, rampaging with bare instincts. That's the image of Muse today. They continue to create rock music while devouring ecstasy. These guys are unstoppable, I thought.

Matthew, whom I met for the interview, was an interesting man. He is a man who conveys his intellect and the information he knows to the people he meets at high speed and then leaves. He was a new and interesting creature who seemed to think of himself as a free downloadable software.

“After the tour we went to a club and DJed together. I played AC/DC, Sex Pistols, and the Clash.”

●Yesterday's show was amazing! 「(laughs).」

●The last part of the show, when you jumped into the drum set, dived into the audience and threw all the instruments into the air, it was really amazing. 「It was the last show of the tour and the last show of the year for us. We also showed our appreciation to the crew in a different way. It saves us from having to put our instruments away after the show (laughs).」

●(laughs). 「The crew all came up on stage too. And then me and Dom jumped into the audience and we really thought we were going to die (laughs).」

●I heard that was the first time you dived into the audience. 「Yeah. Probably won't happen again (laughs). Everyone was trying to grab me wherever they could. And, you know, it hurts a bit when they grab you down there (and rub your dick) (laughs). I thought I'd better moderate my dives into the audience (laughs).」

●And then the after-party after the show went like that? 「We had more fun than ever before (laughs). First we went to eat shabu-shabu, but we were all dressed funny, and we got really drunk there…… Then we went to a club and everyone DJ'd, and well, a lot happened, but I don't think I can tell you about it here (laughs).」

●What did you play? 「AC/DC, Sex Pistols, and The Clash.」

●Wow, that's a lot of music. 「It was a metal club. A place called “Rock Rock”.」

●Oh, a friend of mine used to work there (laughs). I'm sure you had a lot of fun on this tour, but was there anything that really impressed you this time, not just in Japan but also as an artist? 「We played in very big venues this time. In Lyon, France, a year ago there were only about 600 people in the audience, but this time there were 7,000. In London, there were about 3,000 people, but this time there were 12,000. So the audience suddenly got bigger, but standing in front of that many people, it felt like something different was happening. So when I say that this tour left an impression on me, I mean that kind of feeling, that kind of sensation. Also, this time we set up a screen on stage and started playing behind it…… At first you could just hear the music, and it would flash in places and you could see our silhouettes, and I was always excited by the reaction of the audience when they saw our silhouettes in the light. I think the memory of standing behind the screen like that, just before going out in front of the audience, will stay with me forever. I don't think I'll ever forget the tension, the feeling of waiting behind the screen for two or three minutes, just waiting, and the feeling of the emotions building up.」

●So it starts with you sensing something from the audience? 「Yes. What I feel from the audience is different every night. I've been touring for years, I've done hundreds of gigs, but…… It's totally different to be in front of a crowd that's that hyped up, like we were in Europe this time.」

●After seeing the show yesterday, I thought that the music had become really heavy, aggressive and had a stronger attack compared to when you first came to Japan. Is this what you expected from the start, that it would change so much and become so strong? 「When I started this band seven years ago, I was only about 16, and the sound was really hard and heavy back then. And I think songs like “Muscle Museum,” “Showbiz,” and “Uno” sound much heavier live than on the album. And people say that too. So when we made the second album, we decided to be more true to ourselves live. I think that's why our heavier, more aggressive side came out more openly this time. But we really just wanted to show ourselves as we are, and that's why it's a more rock sound. And then we add classical music and flamenco, which you don't hear much of anywhere else, to see where we are at the moment. ……It's always been in me to deliver something as aggressive and emotional as that, but then something happened when I was about 20, and I became a bit shy, a bit inward-looking. And I think in the last few years I've gained the confidence to open up again. The confidence to reveal more of my innermost self. But there are things that surprise me…… It's like the more shows I play, the more fun I have, and the more I get into how good it feels to get it all out of me and push myself as far as I can go.」

●What caused you to become introverted? 「There's a lot of things…… For example, when I was 14, my parents got divorced, and right after that I became a very extroverted person. My friends became very important to me. But when I was about 17, some of them went to university, and they started going down different paths. At that time, I didn't really know what I wanted to do in the future, and I was so absorbed in music that I was out of touch with success and values like that. But there were people who kept telling me things like, “You're doing it wrong,” or, “You should go to college,” and so on. I knew that as long as I was writing songs and playing music, I was happy…… There were a lot of people who told me that doing music wasn't a bad thing, but it would only be a negative thing. Because of that, I stopped talking to people about music for a while, and I didn't listen to the opinions of the people around me. I think it's only in the last two or three years that I've gradually started to look outwards again.」

●You mean you've started to pursue your own happiness more openly? 「Yes.」

●Did you ever feel that you exposed yourself so much, but the audience accepted it all, and that gave you more and more confidence? 「Yes. I think that's so true. I'm more open because everyone responded properly, and I'm not ashamed to be that way.」

“To be in other people's mindset is to be content to put yourself in the networks and support that society offers you. It's not that there's anything wrong with that, it's simply that I've strayed from that direction.”

●I was watching yesterday and I was just thinking, for example, between Rage Against the Machine and Nirvana, I think Muse is more like Nirvana than Rage. Or, if there's Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, I think it's closer to Jimi Hendrix. Do you know what it means? 「Yeah, I think I get it. Expressing emotion…… I mean, I was trying to express something that can't be expressed in words. What Rage was trying to convey was political, it's more clear and definite. I think Nirvana's was more about emotion in general, or something that was inside you, and I think it included a kind of catharsis. Jimi Hendrix is probably close to that. It comes in very naturally and easily…… What he actually wanted to say might not have been something that could be expressed in words, but because it's so powerful, it definitely gets through to you. It might not be clear…… but it's more like a feeling, an atmosphere. I don't really know Led Zeppelin that well.」

●Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page's approach was logical, and Jimi Hendrix's was— 「Ah, I see. It's like being objective or subjective. You can either step back and think about it, or you can fully immerse yourself in it…… Musically, I think we're a mix of both. When we recorded the album, we were more Led Zeppelin-like, stepping back and looking at it and trying not to get too focused on any one thing, but when we're playing live, the best moments are when we don't think about anything and just let it happen. I'm not even conscious of what I'm playing, everything just happens naturally. In those moments, it's as if my voice and the sound of the guitar are one.」

●You've explained a lot of things in various interviews. From lyrics to album concepts, music theory and so on, you've explained so many things, and I've read them, but in the end, when I saw you live, all I felt was your energy that was completely incomprehensible, without any reason, without any basis. In that sense, in the end, what I felt from the music of Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana was just human energy without any reason, so I thought it was very similar, very close. 「Music is a means of communication for me. When I feel like I want to express something, but I can't express it well…… It's that kind of frustration, that kind of wall you feel between you and other people, that's why I want to make music, I want people to know what I'm feeling. I think that something is hidden deep inside of me. Something that never comes to the surface in everyday life. It comes out when I love someone or when I have strong faith, but otherwise it's something that I just can't express.」

“I get into a panic. When it gets past a certain point, something is born from that. It becomes a form of expression.”

●For example, at yesterday's show, I felt like you were sending a tremendous amount of energy straight towards me. On the other hand, why do you need to think about complex things, analyse things objectively, and do other intellectual work? How is that necessary for your music? 「I don't really think about it objectively when I play live, but I do like to talk about it afterwards. Or thinking about it in these situations. Because then I can understand why I did what I did, and it might be worth pursuing beyond just a live performance. That's why I like to look at things objectively, and I think you can say that about everything in life as well. Sometimes I look around objectively and reassess whether I'm happy with the situation I'm in or what I'm doing.」

●Can you explain a bit more about the interaction between thinking things through logically like this and squeezing out your energy like you do at a show? Do they kind of help each other? 「Yeah. I think so. I think I'm happiest when I'm being subjective. On the other hand, when I'm being objective, I panic and get worried. I'm a really anxious person, so at times like that, all these unanswered questions come up one after another. But when I'm being subjective, or when I'm doing something without being conscious of it, it's the opposite, I feel like I'm a very strong person, I feel calm and relaxed, and I feel like I've found the meaning of life. So when I say I'm being objective, I try not to stay in that state for too long. I get panicked, because I'm thinking about everything, from what's going on in my personal life to song ideas, my family, really everything. I'm like, should I do this, is this right, is this what I should do? But if I keep thinking like that, it just keeps piling up, and after a certain point, everything becomes subjective, and then something is born from that. Something is born in the form of expression. And when I get to that point, I feel very happy. I have created something out of chaos.」

●Do you think your generation has something to do with your tendency to go back and forth between extremes like that? 「I don't know. It's difficult to say. The things I try to grasp objectively about are most often my life, myself, and the world. It's like I'm looking at the Earth from afar. Maybe it's because I don't have a specific faith or religion. After all, I think all faiths and religions are just trying to interpret the evolution of the Earth in their own way. That's why Europe has its European interpretation and the Middle East has its Middle Eastern interpretation. If I were to find a faith or religion that interests me, I think it would be one that can be thought of as encompassing all the countries and cultures on the planet. I think the only thing worth believing in are the parts that all religions have in common. Maybe this is a generational thing. Since we were born, we've grown up watching TV, so we're well aware that there are all kinds of people in the world. On the other hand, maybe that's why it's hard to find something like a sacred faith that we can trust 100%. So…… I think I'm usually objective, but I don't think this is unique to me. Especially the new generation…… Nowadays, the generation that has a very objective view of society is gradually coming to understand the power structures of the world, and at the same time they are beginning to see what it means to be an individual. Individuals may be completely powerless within a large organisation, but on the other hand, when you think about things like causality, chaos theory, and the butterfly effect (a small force that has a massive impact in the long run, like the flap of a butterfly somewhere causing a big storm somewhere else), a single individual can completely change an organisation. In other words, you can look at it from two extremes: you're completely powerless within a large social structure, and you have the potential to change everything. Maybe that's why I think about things objectively.」

●I see. 「Also, when I think of myself as an individual, I'm just a collection of things…… I don't really feel that this body, this head belongs to me. I feel like there is no such thing as myself. The ideas I have are all things I've absorbed from my parents, friends, TV, books, and various other media. But 10 years ago, it was different. 10 years ago, a person's personality and individuality might have been based on the influences of their parents, friends, and a few other people they knew, but now everyone is influenced by everything and anything in the world. Even just by watching TV. So I think that nowadays an individual is formed by a wider range of factors than ever before.」

●So how do you see yourself in that situation? 「When it comes to the question of what made me who I am today, it becomes very vague because I've been so influenced by the media. The media is really powerful, so it is absolutely impossible to avoid being influenced by it or to control the amount of influence you receive. So you end up infecting yourself with other people's information…… No, I think I'm completely overwhelmed, and it's getting harder and harder to think for myself.」

●Nowadays, young people have a lot of information, which should allow them to be very objective, but at the same time, there are people who rush in one direction. For example, they get angry very easily, or when you look at American heavy rock fans, they become extremely religious. What is this contradiction? I think it's a generation that has access to a lot of information, so they can look at things objectively, but on the other hand they are biased towards one way of looking at things. Why do you think that is? 「It's because they have a strong desire to be unique and different from everyone else. If you are in a country surrounded by people who have seen the same things and had similar experiences as you, who have all gone to similar schools, had similar experiences, watched the same TV programmes, even watched the same football matches, then you can't see the difference between yourself and other people in that situation. So everyone wants something that will show they're different from everyone else. And the more extreme an idea or trend is, or the more unusual it is, the better it is because that makes them feel like they're different from others.」

●What about yourself? Do you go back and forth between times when you feel like you want to run to a certain set of values, which is very cultish, and times when you become very objective and wonder where you should go? 「Since I started the band, I feel like I've drifted in a very different direction to where I was originally headed. The band has helped me absorb a lot of things and take the corners off. So…… But I think that's why I'm so invested in the band. Because I can have experiences that are different from others.」

●What direction were you originally heading for? 「When I was at school, for example, everyone brought different ways of thinking to the table, so you could get caught up in someone else's way of thinking without even knowing it. To get caught up in someone else's way of thinking in that way means, in essence, that you become obedient to society and the culture around you, you put yourself in the networks and support that society provides, and you're satisfied with that. I think that's the direction I was originally heading for. …… It's not that there's anything wrong with that, it's simply that I've strayed from that direction.」

●I see. 「I don't know how it is in Japan, but in the UK it's pretty simple. Schools don't just teach you a certain subject, they also imprint social morals and invisible rules. For example, you have to build a relationship with one person that lasts a lifetime, have children, get a good job, buy a house…… These values have been passed down from generation to generation, but I've completely fallen away from that. I had a girlfriend a while ago who I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with, but I broke up with her and everything else about me has changed.」

“Sometimes I get really attracted to drugs and stuff. I try to calm down and relax…… But sometimes it's hard to just try to relax.”

●Then let's get back to music. Usually when musicians get into a state of excitement, their performances tend to be lousy, but in your case, the more excited you get, the more perfect the ensemble of the three of you becomes, and I thought you were a crazy type of band (laughs). 「Ahaha. But what do you mean by crazy?」

●The more excited you are, the better the music becomes, then that means that the musician is looking for more and more excitement, and that's crazy, isn't it (laughs). 「(laughs) Ah, but maybe you're right. Sometimes I feel like I can hear the original sound, or like the echoes of the spirit that makes us human. I feel that and other things like that so strongly that it's like all my functions stop, you know? Or…… It's hard to explain…… It's as if I'm going back to normal, like I'm regressing to being a baby. Like a baby just crying. In fact, sometimes I don't know where I am or what I'm doing at all…… But I'm fine. It's not that crazy (laughs).」

●No, it's not that crazy. You have a sense of euphoria about yourself, and you also create something really good out of it, so it's the perfect drug, if you like to say so. 「Yes.」

●Do you ever get scared? 「Sometimes, yes. Sometimes it's hard to go back to a normal life when you get used to this feeling. That's why I'm sometimes really attracted to drugs and things like that. Especially when I'm not touring. I sleep better when I'm on tour…… So I usually try to avoid it, or rather, I try to be calm and relaxed…… But sometimes it's hard to just try to relax.」

●Your music is like a fire that keeps burning. Do you ever imagine that one day the flame will turn small and blue, and you will sit alone at the piano and sing quietly? 「Yes. I wouldn't deny that possibility. Maybe I'll make another album in the same vein as before, but on a slightly bigger scale, and then bang, it'll explode, and after that I might go acoustic. Or maybe I'll just sit back and write mellow songs (laughs). No, I don't know, but I'm open to anything.」

●Last question. I want to know the meaning of “Bliss”. 「Yeah. Um…… (thinks deeply)」

●You're singing about something so perfect, and about “you”, but what does that “you” mean? 「Um…… I think the “you” is aimed at the audience. At least that's how I feel when I'm singing on stage. This song in particular makes me feel like I'm singing directly to the audience, and I feel like I have to open my eyes and look at them. In terms of content, it's a song about being moved by someone who has a purity and innocence that I don't have…… Or maybe it's more like a state of envy. When I was only 15 or 16 years old, watching other bands from the audience and humming their songs, I had a more innocent and pure view of the world than I do now. The “you” in that song is the younger me that might be in the audience at my shows now, and that's who I'm talking to.」

●Were you— 「Did you think I was singing to my girlfriend?」

●(laughs) No. I thought you were singing more about the music inside you. 「Yeah…… I wrote that song when I became aware that there were people out there who liked our music. Before that, I was more pessimistic, thinking that not many people would like our music. Then we wrote that song when we started to think that maybe there were people out there who understood what we were trying to do and liked it. In that sense, you could say that song is about the love of music, the love that everyone has for music.」

Translator’s Note: I honestly am amused at how the journalist wrote their lamentation that basically declared that UK rock in 2000-2001 sucked. But then to immediately say that Muse saved UK rock with their second album does feel overly dramatic. Unless I actually went to check what albums were released between 2000 and 2001, it’s hard for me to believe that the stagnation of UK rock was that bad back then.

Also, describing Matt as an "interesting creature who seemed to think of himself as a free downloadable software" LMAO

Whatever happens on stage with Matt being in such a state of ecstasy sure is… something. 👀

Finally, more lore about “Bliss” being uncovered is nice.

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