Music-Ups interview translation and clip~
There's an interview about the new single, 「野に咲く花のように」 , at the Music-Ups site. There's also a short video clip~
He looks exactly the same as he looked in the live in Seoul message. XD;
~~~~
Please do not copy, take, redistribute, retranslate or repost this translation without my permission. Thank you!
A new single created from a promise between men.
Q: You didn’t have many public[1] musical activities in 2006, but what did you do during that one year?
A: Because I tried to stay out of the media as much as possible, it may have seemed like I wasn’t doing anything, but I was continuing to work in the studio on an album. So a lot of songs have been completed. Well, for me I think last year was a year of training and reevaluating myself.
Q: When did you make this single, 「野に咲く花のように」?
A: This song was first publicly performed at the graduation ceremony at Maiko High School in Kobe[2], but it was completed two days before that. However, this song was actually born four years before that.
Q: Do you mean that the motif came to mind four years ago?
A: No, I had a dream that I was singing the song at some kind of ceremony.
Q: I see, the outline[2] of the song had already been created at that time.
A: Yeah. So as soon as I woke up, I recorded it into the IC recorder and had it saved this whole time. That was the musical piece I used, and the song was completed two days before the graduation.
Q: What was the actual reason you were moved to rush to the Maiko High School graduation ceremony in the first place?
A: It was a promise between men. It’s that simple. I just kept that promise[3].
Q: The version you performed at the graduation with just acoustic guitar and vocals is the main version (on the CD), isn’t it. And yet you recorded a total of five versions. That is quite a lot.
A: The main version was recorded with just the sound production used during the performance at the graduation. Then I tried singing it while playing piano and while playing the guitar, and they all sounded good, so I easily put all the versions on the CD.
Q: Does this youthful and sorrowful, yet warm, song also strike your heart?
A: It does. It’s a song that lets you remember the past and gives you a nostalgic feeling. In life there are all kinds of departures that are often accompanied by separation, right? But what I feel from this song is the courage to overcome the sadness that comes from separation, and to move forward by looking forward to new encounters and believing in your own potential. For me, I think it makes me remember the time I (first) came to Tokyo.
Merely dreaming a dream has no meaning
Q: Can I ask you what you remember about “school”?
A: It’s like, even if I remember, I can’t tell people about it!? Because my life as a student was really full of ups and downs (laughs).
Q: Then, for the time being I’ll ask you about “graduation ceremony” (laughs).
A: It was a feeling of great pleasure (laughs). My student life is not really something I can tell people about. It was such a confused mess[4] (bitter laugh).
Q: But maybe the theme of this song, “A dream is something to be realized, not to be dreamt,” is something you learned in your youth.
A: That’s true. In any case, I think that the ability to dream is equally present in everyone. It’s just that there’s no meaning in simply dreaming a dream, the meaning is discovered when you begin to realize that dream. And, whether that dream will be realized or not depends on your own consciousness and actions; I want everyone to take that to heart.
Q: Also, you are editing together video clips of school life sent in to you to make the music video?
A: Right. I didn’t want to make something complicated; I thought it’d be nice to make something where people can look at the clips and be reminded of their own alma mater. It was a project that arose from that simple concept. It was impossible to include all the submissions in the video, but we’re editing it in a way that a little bit of everyone’s feelings can be reflected in it.
Q: How does the finished form look?
A: It has a really bright, sparkling feel to it. Like feelings reflected off the water’s surface. That’s probably the image it has for me.
Q: Well then, this work is the beginning for GacktJob in 2007, but what is at the heart of your thoughts right now?
A: World domination!!
Q: Okay, okay (laughs). Before that, we know you’re very busy with the filming of the NHK Taiga drama 「風林火山」, but we’re hoping for a new album.
A: It’s fine to anticipate that now. The filming of 「風林火山」 is actually taking up more than half my schedule, but recording the new album and preparations for a new project are moving forward at the same time. Needless to say, there are a lot of new plans in the works. Really, look forward to it.
Notes:
[1] 表立った: public; formal; open; official.
[2] 輪郭: outline; contours.
[3] Gackt had been corresponding with a student in the environmental disaster prevention program at Maiko High School. The student had emailed Gackt asking for advice on how to keep the program running despite a lack of students. Gackt sent encouraging emails to the student, and the program eventually succeeded in getting enough students. The student asked Gackt to come to his graduation ceremony, and Gackt agreed to come if he continued to work hard, and if he could get permission from the school. The student gained the school’s permission, and Gackt fulfilled his promise on February 28, 2006, making a surprise appearance at the graduation ceremony.
[4] 無茶苦茶: confused; jumbled; mixed up; unreasonable.
He looks exactly the same as he looked in the live in Seoul message. XD;
~~~~
Please do not copy, take, redistribute, retranslate or repost this translation without my permission. Thank you!
A new single created from a promise between men.
Q: You didn’t have many public[1] musical activities in 2006, but what did you do during that one year?
A: Because I tried to stay out of the media as much as possible, it may have seemed like I wasn’t doing anything, but I was continuing to work in the studio on an album. So a lot of songs have been completed. Well, for me I think last year was a year of training and reevaluating myself.
Q: When did you make this single, 「野に咲く花のように」?
A: This song was first publicly performed at the graduation ceremony at Maiko High School in Kobe[2], but it was completed two days before that. However, this song was actually born four years before that.
Q: Do you mean that the motif came to mind four years ago?
A: No, I had a dream that I was singing the song at some kind of ceremony.
Q: I see, the outline[2] of the song had already been created at that time.
A: Yeah. So as soon as I woke up, I recorded it into the IC recorder and had it saved this whole time. That was the musical piece I used, and the song was completed two days before the graduation.
Q: What was the actual reason you were moved to rush to the Maiko High School graduation ceremony in the first place?
A: It was a promise between men. It’s that simple. I just kept that promise[3].
Q: The version you performed at the graduation with just acoustic guitar and vocals is the main version (on the CD), isn’t it. And yet you recorded a total of five versions. That is quite a lot.
A: The main version was recorded with just the sound production used during the performance at the graduation. Then I tried singing it while playing piano and while playing the guitar, and they all sounded good, so I easily put all the versions on the CD.
Q: Does this youthful and sorrowful, yet warm, song also strike your heart?
A: It does. It’s a song that lets you remember the past and gives you a nostalgic feeling. In life there are all kinds of departures that are often accompanied by separation, right? But what I feel from this song is the courage to overcome the sadness that comes from separation, and to move forward by looking forward to new encounters and believing in your own potential. For me, I think it makes me remember the time I (first) came to Tokyo.
Merely dreaming a dream has no meaning
Q: Can I ask you what you remember about “school”?
A: It’s like, even if I remember, I can’t tell people about it!? Because my life as a student was really full of ups and downs (laughs).
Q: Then, for the time being I’ll ask you about “graduation ceremony” (laughs).
A: It was a feeling of great pleasure (laughs). My student life is not really something I can tell people about. It was such a confused mess[4] (bitter laugh).
Q: But maybe the theme of this song, “A dream is something to be realized, not to be dreamt,” is something you learned in your youth.
A: That’s true. In any case, I think that the ability to dream is equally present in everyone. It’s just that there’s no meaning in simply dreaming a dream, the meaning is discovered when you begin to realize that dream. And, whether that dream will be realized or not depends on your own consciousness and actions; I want everyone to take that to heart.
Q: Also, you are editing together video clips of school life sent in to you to make the music video?
A: Right. I didn’t want to make something complicated; I thought it’d be nice to make something where people can look at the clips and be reminded of their own alma mater. It was a project that arose from that simple concept. It was impossible to include all the submissions in the video, but we’re editing it in a way that a little bit of everyone’s feelings can be reflected in it.
Q: How does the finished form look?
A: It has a really bright, sparkling feel to it. Like feelings reflected off the water’s surface. That’s probably the image it has for me.
Q: Well then, this work is the beginning for GacktJob in 2007, but what is at the heart of your thoughts right now?
A: World domination!!
Q: Okay, okay (laughs). Before that, we know you’re very busy with the filming of the NHK Taiga drama 「風林火山」, but we’re hoping for a new album.
A: It’s fine to anticipate that now. The filming of 「風林火山」 is actually taking up more than half my schedule, but recording the new album and preparations for a new project are moving forward at the same time. Needless to say, there are a lot of new plans in the works. Really, look forward to it.
Notes:
[1] 表立った: public; formal; open; official.
[2] 輪郭: outline; contours.
[3] Gackt had been corresponding with a student in the environmental disaster prevention program at Maiko High School. The student had emailed Gackt asking for advice on how to keep the program running despite a lack of students. Gackt sent encouraging emails to the student, and the program eventually succeeded in getting enough students. The student asked Gackt to come to his graduation ceremony, and Gackt agreed to come if he continued to work hard, and if he could get permission from the school. The student gained the school’s permission, and Gackt fulfilled his promise on February 28, 2006, making a surprise appearance at the graduation ceremony.
[4] 無茶苦茶: confused; jumbled; mixed up; unreasonable.