Translation: Massive Vol.2 (Ruki Personal) Part 2
Here's the Part 2 translation of Massive Vol.2 June Edition.
----You can't take my soul away from me.
Scan Credit goes to rawkstarr23 @ gazette_daily
All Part 2 translation Credit goes to outori ( Please do thank her. )
Preview: Just, even if you restraint yourself too much about anything and everything, the world won’t go round, and I think it’s weird when one gets too pessimistic, and things start to complicate in the chaining of “negative”. ...
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I: Interviewer R: Ruki [ ( explanation ) ]
I: It’s like, the fans are a mirror that reflects the band.
R: I felt that greatly, ne. Actually, you could see everyone’s reactions really well from there. Simply that made me happy, and I think that it’s also great to have gotten used to the feeling of firing words [ at the audience ] like I said them there. Just, the performance at Tokyo Dome itself certainly was a great happening, but I guess besides going to have a band from here on, it doesn’t mean that anything will change.
I: I see. That the fanclub-limited live, that was put together to proof that the other day, had to be closed at the openings as a consequence of effects the earthquake disaster had, was deplorable.
R: It ended with the first two public performances. As a consequence, it’s been decided that we will reshuffle [ as in, playing cards ]in May and have a re-start, and there’s the plan of showing the band’s two-faced nature at the 2 DAYS performance.
I: So, is it something like ‘Black and White’?
R: I guess it’s like downer and upper. The members personally have no experience with it, either, so it was a lot of fun. Nonetheless, as it was just two public performances, it’s like before you grasped anything, it temporarily ended. Actually though, there was fun about the remarkable difference with the Dome. Trying to make a setlist for one live, there are various problems about balance that arise, and we’ll have to create a story as well, so the stream we probed into is going to become difficult to pursue. It’s a feeling of the dissatisfaction thereupon having been reduced. The fans were extremely perplexed, though (laughs)
I: By the way… what feeling was it, when the earthquake disaster occurred?
R: Honestly, in the beginning it didn’t feel real. I also couldn’t recognize that it indeed was such a big incident. The bodily sensation of the earthquake’s scale was huge, but at that point of time, I didn’t know anything about a tsunami, and as time went by, I started to understand that it was something serious… I couldn’t get into contact, and on for example twitter, huge uproars had started. I felt like “I guess the live will be suspended, huh”. It wasn’t a matter of imprudence or the such, I thought that there must be a lot of people who won’t be able to come to the spectacle. Just, what deepened my anxiety was, rather than the immediately following earthquakes, but when a little time had gone by, and the problems with the nuclear power plant came to light, because it seemed like a man-made calamity would happen. About the earthquake disaster itself, it was so dreadful, it wasn’t real. Of course I understand that you should think about how the victims feel, but… I think that it’s impossible to have the same feelings like the people at the actual place. There are parts you just can’t imagine. Moreover, therefore it’s impossible to recklessly go like “Do your best”, and I guess it’s not okay to say that it’ll do when you’ve done charity.
I: Within that, words like “The power of music” came to often be seen and heard.
R: Yeah. Just, of course I believe in that power, too, but… I thought “That’s not where it begins, is it?”. And it wasn’t like everyone was in a circumstance of being able to listen to music. Listening to music, I think first of all I myself do it more than to a certain extent, when I feel well. I think about things with myself as reference. For example, if I happened to have lost my house and family all at once, it’s hard to think that I’d promptly start to want to listen to music then. Things that are streaming [ the ‘streaming’ is a little awkward in English. Think if music as a river if that helps it any ] as you please are going to be entering your ears, I guess, but music streaming in such a situation itself, is hard to imagine. That’s why that is difficult. I do believe in the power of music, but my frank feelings were “How’s that gonna be?”
I: I understand that well. I think that in the end, no matter how much you think about it, the conclusion is “it’s difficult”.
R: Yeah. Even if you choose one single word, it’s like that. For example, saying “I guess everyone is having a hard time, but let’s do our best with whatever it is that we can do”, is probably a correct way of thinking, but you don’t know whether the people who heard those words feel the same about them as those who fired them off. Just, even if you restraint yourself too much about anything and everything, the world won’t go round, and I think it’s weird when one gets too pessimistic, and things start to complicate in the chaining of “negative”. Actually I think you have no choice but do the things you must do. Else, either way, we largely felt the formidableness of nature, or how should I say, after we experienced these things lately, we also came to understand Japan’s present condition. We are bound to have gotten used to harmony, but maybe the truth is, that it wasn’t totally harmonious, I also felt like that.
I: In any case, everything is from here on, right. With here we returned to talking about fundamental music, in May he release of your new single is in waiting. Haven’t you already finished this recording quite some time ago?
R: We were already done with it in February or so. I think we were like “what do we want to do after Dome”, so it became the released work. When Dome was over, what I felt was “After all, I really like heavy stuff!” (laughs). Actually, I guess it’s a feeling of having faced there [ playing at the Dome ].
I: The title song “VORTEX” definitely is heavy, but in a sense, it’s really easy to understand, or rather, I think it’s straightforward. If I dared to say it, maybe it’s like it’s not running away from maniac-ness.
R: Aah, yeah. I think, basically I think it’s especially when the melodies meet, after all. But that’s totally japanese, right (laughs). It’s because I want to get closer to western music, or rather, because of the wish “I want to become a gaijin [ (a foreigner ] !” (laughs). We’ve released experimental songs before, too, but… in the end after all, I guess, because of the melody being steady, I want to try and link it with a live. That’s also where, as a standard, fans judge whether it’s good or bad, I guess, and no matter how new the song is, it’s inevitable that with the evaluation “new!”, it will seem to end there. Just with the impact of its newness, it’s unsatisfactory. As it’s not the impact the song itself has.
I: The meaning of the title is eddy, helix, chaos, etc. And, while it in actuality is a tune that seems to break through, the lyrics are quite offensive, right. Is that okay for a title song? There ought to be adult considerations or the such, too, though. (laughs)
R: Hahaha! But there shouldn’t be that many people who understand the lyrics’ awfulness right on the spot, though. What’s usually asked is things like “What kind of content is there?”, like surprised. (laughs)
I: But especially with the parts with English lyrics, there certainly is that feeling of whirling feelings being compressed, though.
R: Yeah. That is like that. It’s nicely aggressive, and you also clearly get the object of the attack. If I dared to put it into indirect words… those are the guys who treat us and our fans with contempt.
I: Well then, I got myself into trouble. I’m a little uneasy about whether or not I should have it printed what I’ll concretely ask from there on.
R: Hahaha! Somehow in the end, wherever and with whomever we are going to link with, it seems that we always have the same kind of problems, things like that happen. It’s strange, but even when we became able to play even at Dome, those who didn’t know [ hem as a band, possibly ], really didn’t know. I feel like during the flow of this very short time, we’ve come to see the thing that is least good about the major scene nowadays. Because of that, those lyrics happened.
I: Certainly, the way the music industry is these days, for a band who thinks about how to display “the merits of under-ground” at Tokyo Dome, that’s not exactly desirable, right. (laughs)
R: That’s because it’s this world, right. It’s not a competition in music anymore, it becomes a competition in the art of selling. For example, even if you distribute ringtones, it’s like that. It’s not so bad if it’s band who suits it, but isn’t that a little different when it’s us? I’m sure our fans understand that, too.
I: Are you saying that, the closer you are frankly going to get to the royal-road-like methodology of being a major now, you’re less an obedient band, and when it’s about the fans, the more they end up getting manipulated by it, it’s less simple?
R: That’s right. You could say that. If I dared to say, I think it’s also an issue with the media of magazines and the such. In the case of magazines that cover various artists, there are a lot of clear reasons for why they’re dealing with us, but then again, you’re made feel doubtful a lot by the medium that ought to be the core. I think that the fans realize that unexpectedly, too. The truth is, the fans are smart. I’m pretty sure there also are feelings like “That’s not what we want to know right now”.
to be continued...
Part 1
Part 3