SEX BLOOD ROCK N' ROLL interview
*EDIT*
On Barks English site there’s an official translation of this interview, with more interesting info about the album. Although I believe I haven’t made really big mistakes here, it’s obviously better to read a flawless professional work. Be sure to check K.A.Z’s interview, too ^^
No, I’m not really supposed to do it now. But when I happened to read this interview on OKMusic, I found like 70% of answers to my doubts about VAMPS' new album. So here is HYDE's part. K.A.Z's will follow next week.
Unfortunately I had to give up about Paris live, but I’m still going to Barcelona and I look forward to it ^^V
The greatest opportunity to approach the Western market
VAMPS are going to release their 5 year-career- spanning “best-of” album “SEX BLOOD ROCK N' ROLL”, which is also meant to be their debut album in the world! This super powerful album isn’t just a compilation of their most popular songs. They’ve partially re-recorded the instrumental parts, re-recorded the vocals for each track changing all the lyrics into English, and re-done the mixing.
Read how HYDE (vocals and guitar) and K.A.Z (guitar) feel about it.
HYDE INTERVIEW
it feels really like it’s our first album. It will be difficult to top it, I think.
__Since when have you been thinking of making something like “SEX BLOOD ROCK N' ROLL”, your “best of” compilation and, at the same time, your debut album for the worldwide market?
HYDE I have been thinking of making it since before, but I didn’t know which time was the best to release it, you know. I feel this time has come now. To be honest, it would have been better to release the “best of” in Japan a bit later. We’ve released only 2 albums up to now! (laughs). That’s why at first I wanted to add some of the songs I made under the name of HYDE. I mean the songs we usually play at lives, like “MIDNIGHT CELEBRATION”. But in this way I had too many songs to pick out, and I couldn’t make my choice. VAMPS’ songs are enough, I thought. I can always pick up HYDE’s songs in the future.
__Have you re-mixed all the songs and partially re-recorded the instrumental parts, and well, the same goes for the vocals, because you wanted to give a sense of uniformity to the album adapting the songs to the current VAMPS’ sound?
HYDE It’s because I wanted to do my best even more. It’s not that the previous mix was bad, but I believe I can do more now. When I was re-recording all the vocals, I really wanted my voice to match perfectly the music. I may be wrong, but I feel that if I had re-done only the vocals, my voice would have lost touch with the music. If I hadn’t the songs done over till the mix, it would have been lousy.
__Did you plan to re-record all the vocals from the outset?
HYDE Yes. I wanted to reach perfection. So I translated lyrics into English, and I fixed the texts that were already in English.
__“LOVE ADDICT” has really changed.
HYDE Yes. The word timing is different. It seems that in this way it sounds more pleasant to native speakers’ ears. Well, I rewrote the lyrics for “REDRUM”, too. I thought it would be better for me to sing “REDRUM” in a way easier to understand now. When I wrote it, I searched for words imagining a head in a whirl. But if I were to write it now, I’d go for a text a bit easier to understand. So I dropped the idea of the whirl and I made it a song with a clearer flow of words.
__That’s going to be an album where you are at your best, thanks to the skills you achieved throughout your 5 year-long career.
HYDE You’re right. In this way it’s seems really to be the first album. It will be difficult to top it, I think. Usually amateur bands’ first album is made up of songs chosen among the ones they have been performing at lives until then, isn’t it? That’s really a cunning version (laughs). Our “best of” is probably similar to a first album made in this way. I made my first album before, and since it’s going to be another first album, it’s extremely cunning, isn’t it? (laughs). I won’t be able to make a third “first album”.
__How do you think this album will be considered in the West?
HYDE What can I say? Well, from my point of view I’d say I really bought a dream. If you think of it, fighting for success is quite difficult in USA, isn’t it? Well, it’s the same for other countries, too. With the release of this album we will considerably increase our offensive ability, if we compare it with our previous strategy. Will it be successful or not? To determine it is impossible, it’s like a lottery. Regardless of results, I wanted to leave something I can be satisfied of, as I did everything I could.
__Do you believe there’s a way, don’t you?
HYDE Because it’s basically an invitation card to lives for listeners all over the world, I mean to the upcoming world tour. Up to now I’ve almost never made a cd with the idea of selling it on-site. But this time I will do this properly overseas.
__ So next is your real and concrete step towards the world: on 28th September the Europe tour will start
HYDE It’s my first tour in partnership with LIVENATION, so I want to check their ability. I think it’s my greatest chance to approach the Western market. I want to make the best use of this opportunity, I want to do everything I can. As for now we have an European tour, but it’s possible that lives in other countries will be added.
_Do you feel as if you are finally starting things you want to do?
HYDE As if I’ve started things I have to do. To speak frankly, I toured Japan, I made some new songs, so I think it would be good to work at a slower pace. But I could do it after, don’t you think? I think it’s not the right time to miss the opportunity to do the things I’m going to do. I have to do them.
__Something is stirring you up to this point, isn’t it?
HYDE I’ve made music as work up to now, and I feel I’m reaching my latest peak. I am going to do something like hoisting a flag as a proof that “I’ve come this far”.
__ Surely your highest place so far
HYDE It seems the same to me, too. So I think, now is the only right time.
__Would you like to see the view from that point?
HYDE It’s probably so. But I also want the proof I’ve made it. I want something really catchy that can prove that “HYDE has come till here”
__It’s a proof for yourself, isn’t it? As if you want to find it out for yourself rather than making people around you think like that about yourself?
HYDE Yes, I feel like that now. Probably when I started to make music, I yearned for becoming a rockstar, but now rather than that I want a proof for myself. If I get it, I will be able to put it behind me, as I could think: “I did what I wanted to do”
__So that you will be able to do further things more freely, won’t you?
HYDE Yes. But on the other hand it’s possible that I won’t be hung up with worldwide market. That is that.
__In a way, your final holdout is beginning now
HYDE OK I will hold out (laughs) Watch me to make sure I will
On Barks English site there’s an official translation of this interview, with more interesting info about the album. Although I believe I haven’t made really big mistakes here, it’s obviously better to read a flawless professional work. Be sure to check K.A.Z’s interview, too ^^
No, I’m not really supposed to do it now. But when I happened to read this interview on OKMusic, I found like 70% of answers to my doubts about VAMPS' new album. So here is HYDE's part. K.A.Z's will follow next week.
Unfortunately I had to give up about Paris live, but I’m still going to Barcelona and I look forward to it ^^V
The greatest opportunity to approach the Western market
VAMPS are going to release their 5 year-career- spanning “best-of” album “SEX BLOOD ROCK N' ROLL”, which is also meant to be their debut album in the world! This super powerful album isn’t just a compilation of their most popular songs. They’ve partially re-recorded the instrumental parts, re-recorded the vocals for each track changing all the lyrics into English, and re-done the mixing.
Read how HYDE (vocals and guitar) and K.A.Z (guitar) feel about it.
HYDE INTERVIEW
it feels really like it’s our first album. It will be difficult to top it, I think.
__Since when have you been thinking of making something like “SEX BLOOD ROCK N' ROLL”, your “best of” compilation and, at the same time, your debut album for the worldwide market?
HYDE I have been thinking of making it since before, but I didn’t know which time was the best to release it, you know. I feel this time has come now. To be honest, it would have been better to release the “best of” in Japan a bit later. We’ve released only 2 albums up to now! (laughs). That’s why at first I wanted to add some of the songs I made under the name of HYDE. I mean the songs we usually play at lives, like “MIDNIGHT CELEBRATION”. But in this way I had too many songs to pick out, and I couldn’t make my choice. VAMPS’ songs are enough, I thought. I can always pick up HYDE’s songs in the future.
__Have you re-mixed all the songs and partially re-recorded the instrumental parts, and well, the same goes for the vocals, because you wanted to give a sense of uniformity to the album adapting the songs to the current VAMPS’ sound?
HYDE It’s because I wanted to do my best even more. It’s not that the previous mix was bad, but I believe I can do more now. When I was re-recording all the vocals, I really wanted my voice to match perfectly the music. I may be wrong, but I feel that if I had re-done only the vocals, my voice would have lost touch with the music. If I hadn’t the songs done over till the mix, it would have been lousy.
__Did you plan to re-record all the vocals from the outset?
HYDE Yes. I wanted to reach perfection. So I translated lyrics into English, and I fixed the texts that were already in English.
__“LOVE ADDICT” has really changed.
HYDE Yes. The word timing is different. It seems that in this way it sounds more pleasant to native speakers’ ears. Well, I rewrote the lyrics for “REDRUM”, too. I thought it would be better for me to sing “REDRUM” in a way easier to understand now. When I wrote it, I searched for words imagining a head in a whirl. But if I were to write it now, I’d go for a text a bit easier to understand. So I dropped the idea of the whirl and I made it a song with a clearer flow of words.
__That’s going to be an album where you are at your best, thanks to the skills you achieved throughout your 5 year-long career.
HYDE You’re right. In this way it’s seems really to be the first album. It will be difficult to top it, I think. Usually amateur bands’ first album is made up of songs chosen among the ones they have been performing at lives until then, isn’t it? That’s really a cunning version (laughs). Our “best of” is probably similar to a first album made in this way. I made my first album before, and since it’s going to be another first album, it’s extremely cunning, isn’t it? (laughs). I won’t be able to make a third “first album”.
__How do you think this album will be considered in the West?
HYDE What can I say? Well, from my point of view I’d say I really bought a dream. If you think of it, fighting for success is quite difficult in USA, isn’t it? Well, it’s the same for other countries, too. With the release of this album we will considerably increase our offensive ability, if we compare it with our previous strategy. Will it be successful or not? To determine it is impossible, it’s like a lottery. Regardless of results, I wanted to leave something I can be satisfied of, as I did everything I could.
__Do you believe there’s a way, don’t you?
HYDE Because it’s basically an invitation card to lives for listeners all over the world, I mean to the upcoming world tour. Up to now I’ve almost never made a cd with the idea of selling it on-site. But this time I will do this properly overseas.
__ So next is your real and concrete step towards the world: on 28th September the Europe tour will start
HYDE It’s my first tour in partnership with LIVENATION, so I want to check their ability. I think it’s my greatest chance to approach the Western market. I want to make the best use of this opportunity, I want to do everything I can. As for now we have an European tour, but it’s possible that lives in other countries will be added.
_Do you feel as if you are finally starting things you want to do?
HYDE As if I’ve started things I have to do. To speak frankly, I toured Japan, I made some new songs, so I think it would be good to work at a slower pace. But I could do it after, don’t you think? I think it’s not the right time to miss the opportunity to do the things I’m going to do. I have to do them.
__Something is stirring you up to this point, isn’t it?
HYDE I’ve made music as work up to now, and I feel I’m reaching my latest peak. I am going to do something like hoisting a flag as a proof that “I’ve come this far”.
__ Surely your highest place so far
HYDE It seems the same to me, too. So I think, now is the only right time.
__Would you like to see the view from that point?
HYDE It’s probably so. But I also want the proof I’ve made it. I want something really catchy that can prove that “HYDE has come till here”
__It’s a proof for yourself, isn’t it? As if you want to find it out for yourself rather than making people around you think like that about yourself?
HYDE Yes, I feel like that now. Probably when I started to make music, I yearned for becoming a rockstar, but now rather than that I want a proof for myself. If I get it, I will be able to put it behind me, as I could think: “I did what I wanted to do”
__So that you will be able to do further things more freely, won’t you?
HYDE Yes. But on the other hand it’s possible that I won’t be hung up with worldwide market. That is that.
__In a way, your final holdout is beginning now
HYDE OK I will hold out (laughs) Watch me to make sure I will