October 2005 UV vol.119 translation
The doors/gates are opening right about now. =^^=
I hope those watching the concert will have a blast! But for those of us left behind, a little something to occupy your mind. ^^ We can't be letting them have all the fun now, aye??
...Poor consolation, I know. >.>;;
Anyways, this the last of the DIABOLOS-related articles, it's from UV vol.119 and again, pretty long. :D They talk about the album and story more this time~ And thank you for all the help, crescent_yume and Saori. ^^
I hope you'll enjoy the translation. And Merry Christmas to everyone!! *hugs*
1. Please DO NOT take my translations and use them for whatever reason, without my permission.
2. Please DO NOT publish my translations elsewhere without my permission. Please kindly link back if you want, but DO NOT copy and paste them.
3. Please kindly spare a few minutes and COMMENT if you read it. What are your thoughts of it?
[number] = more explanation of the sentence below
xxx = more detailed explanations
[xxx] = what I felt a certain part of the sentence meant
(xxx) = other meanings of the word or literal translations or missing word/words not specifically mentioned. For e.g. The fans screamed when (Gackt and his band members) entered the stadium! Read it like you will a normal sentence.
=xxx= = real brackets used in the interview
Yes! Gackt’s superb masterpiece is finally born!
The interview ended without us being able to hear all the songs (in the album); but a few days later, on the very same day as the deadline of this article, on the early morning of September 10, “DIABOLOS” was completed. While moaning, “More time!” my heart was pounding as I listened to it.
Gackt’s works have always been excellent, but “DIABOLOS” is of a different level altogether! The end product is terrific, slashing the ultimate limits of the universe! [1] The readers who normally read my column might find such rare excitement laughable, but (the album) left an irrepressibly deep impression on me.
[1] The extent of how awesome it is. That it is something you’ve never seen or felt before, something like crossing boundaries. As crescent_yume puts is, out of this world kind of awesome.
Let’s write this calmly. Gackt has always compiled all the tune, lyrics, and singing into a CD package you call the artwork. It awakens the listener’s imagination and presents the world view through the story. Readers who have come across Gackt’s works would have known that, but this “DIABOLOS” surpasses that balance pre-eminently.
I’m not emphasizing on “the high quality” by the word “surpassing” -that is a matter of course in Gackt’s works- but that the excellence of this work is overwhelmingly easy to understand.
The main difference between this album and the previous ones is that you can see the whole story clearly by following the lyrics when you listen to it from the first song. As well, this interview is very easy to understand because he personally talks about the background of the story. There is a directness you’ve never seen before and the story dives straight into your heart if you listen to the album after reading this. Of course, since this is Gackt’s works, there are complicated plots behind it, but at least that’s unrelated to what seems difficult on the surface. So it’s not incomprehensible when I shouted without thinking, “I could see (the story),” and that I can get so immersed in it.
The word “DIABOLOS”, which carries the meaning of devil, symbolizes the sins of humans and the ephemerality of destiny, accompanied by sadness as well as hope [1]. At times breath-taking, at times wildly crazy, the album spins delicately a rich world view, giving life to the music composition. Perfect.
[1] The word he used actually meant facing forward or positively. But I feel that in the actual act of ‘facing forward’ lies hope on the future, and that’s why I used that word. Of course, other alternatives could be courage in moving on, determination, etc.
On the composition side, the ‘pattern’ that has been developed till now is honed and full of Gackt-ness. [1] With the new ‘groove’ you hear in “Farewell” and “Dispar” added to it, the diversity of music has now been increased. In any case, I would just like to listen to this album for a while. That’s my utmost desire.
[1] I’m aware that I just created a word. >.>;; Full of something that seems like what Gackt might do, full of Gackt style.
I: I was looking forward to the completion of “DIABOLOS”, but the interview is going to be held without being able to hear much of the songs in the album, except for those that were released as singles. (laughs)
G: Makes you wonder what the time was spent on, doesn’t it? (laughs) We are doing a lot of other works at the same time as well. The number one factor being…… it’s probably because “DIABOLOS” and the album after that are being recorded at the same time. What we are presenting in “DIABOLOS” and the next album is the same, they are together; so we recorded three, four songs meant for the next album first. And because we did that first, the whole (production) is held back.
I: This is the first time I heard that “DIABOLOS” and the next album are together.
G: With the “MOON” story that I’m writing as the key, the previous works that I’ve been doing were all from Chapter four: “下弦の月” (Kagen no Tsuki) and “上弦の月” (Jougen no Tsuki) tours, as well as the movie, “MOON CHILD”. And this time it starts right at the interval between Chapter two and Chapter three. But since the story is too long, we decided to cover the second and third chapters in both “DIABOLOS” and the next album.
I: I’ve read all the lyrics of the songs for “DIABOLOS”, and the feeling of battle is very strong, similar to what was presented in the fourth chapter.
G: That’s because the story as a whole takes on the history of war in all four chapters. Maybe Chapter 4 feels different because there was a heavy Asia theme included in it. As for the second and third chapters…… Why do people fight? Why were vampires born? The end of Chapter two comes to that part, and the third chapter starts with how they (live) “as vampires”. That’s the storyline.
I: I would like to clarify something. You’ve said before that the darkside inhabitants were born in the year 700, and in Japan, that would be……
G: Heian period. From the year 700 till around 1,200 is the first chapter of the story. The second chapter is from 1,300 to 1,600, and from that till the current time is the third chapter. The fourth chapter is from the current time to the near future. The story is scattered all over, really. (laughs)
I: No, but there are many parts which is still is a mystery. And the story moved from the Heian period to the European (setting), as you can tell from the PV [1] for “届カナイ愛ト知ッテイタノニ～”? (Todokanai Ai to Shitteitanoni)
[1] Promotional Video. There is usually one for every single that is released.
G: That’s right. The main character of the story changes rapidly. Those who played the leading role at first (gradually became) the supporting role and some of those parts are dragged along eventually. The main characters for the first chapter are the darkside inhabitants, while the second chapter revolves around the people who were created based on that.
I: Are the main characters in the first and second chapters related by blood?
G: Because they were created based on the darkside inhabitants, I guess you can say that they are related. Of course, the darkside inhabitants were created from the same tribe though. We are also presenting the origin of the vampires through this story at the same time.
I: I see. Vampire was a major key word in the fourth chapter, right? Even in the movie, there was the vampire, Kei, portrayed. Is vampire a key word in “DIABOLOS” too?
G: It is, but I didn’t actually use the word ‘vampire’ in the lyrics, not even once.
I: In this story, were the vampires created by the darkside inhabitants?
G: They are against darkside inhabitants. The darkside inhabitants were scattered all over Europe, and were fighting for the different countries…… at that time they exist in the shadow of history and were battling fellow darkside inhabitants for a long period of time. Eventually they tried to create something that will surpass the darkside inhabitants, but those (turned out to be) defects. But these defects, who were called the 13 “shitos” (使徒 shito: apostle; disciple), started to awaken during a particular period of time. But they were not perfect even after they have awakened, their body was incomplete. Though they have the ability to surpass darkside inhabitants, they are burdened with the illness of not being able to appear under the sun.
I: Oh! The story is coming together.
G: But at the end of the day, what I want is not for people to understand the story but the importance of what this story is trying to say.
I: Yeah, because there is always a message behind the story in Gackt-san’s works.
G: The darkside inhabitants too, were really a group who lived while being pursued. Scattered all over Europe, in the end they were made use of by people. That is just like the great country and the small country that we have, like a miniature version of the world. Just as they plan to create an even stronger being, those turn out to be imperfect. But of course, even those who were created for battling purposes have feelings as well. What we see through this story is the folly of men, of the history of human’s sins, etc., and we are able to feel acutely that it keeps repeating, right? And because of that, we become able to clarify this thing called human and it becomes easier to look at them. However, if you look at it too directly, if the presentation of “what is human?’ becomes too confusing, no one will be able to accept something that is forced on them. [1] But through the means of a story, you can look at human objectively for the first time. That’s the method of presenting that I’m taking. If you attack everyone, they (would only go,) “There is no such thing!” But (showing it) through something else allows them to see how they live while carrying the burden of sin. I think it can raise the question as to the reason why we exist.
[1] If he talks about the topic openly and directly, it forces people to look at themselves, and people don't like to be forced in such a way. It makes them uneasy and they'll start rejecting or denying it. But by looking at something other than their own selves, people can identify themselves in them (in this case, with the vampires) and begin to see that there is something very wrong. It's more effective this way and I must say, what a brilliant thing to do.
I: Before this interview, we could only read the lyrics of all the songs, right? What I felt towards the end was something like, “the importance of living despite the fate one carries”, so perhaps the listeners will have that feeling as well. Listening to this talk has only increased the depth of that feeling.
G: Because you have not heard all the songs this time, you came to the interview with only the lyrics for reference, right? Even though there were only lyrics and CD cover (that can be used for the interview), I’m happy that a lot of people gave much thought to those.
I: Speaking of lyrics, I wonder if most of the parts can be replaced and developed into something related to man-woman love relationship.
G: There are parts which can be replaced, but there are also males, fellow companions, something like the relationship of a master and disciple, and close friends, etc. Not that all of them are between men and women, but you can also look at it that way. And for me, the songs I sing that are limited to women only…… that’s a secret. (laughs)
I: Because I’ve only looked at the PV for the “届カナイ愛” (Todokanai Ai), so I was wondering if the focus (lit. core) of “DIABOLOS” is in man-woman relationship. The girl portrayed carries the fate of a vampire, right?
G: No, the two of them are vampires. That’s why at the end, they burnt and passed away. What we showed in the “届カナイ愛” PV is one part of it. In short, that is the story of two out of the thirteen shitos, so it’s not about the whole members.
I: That PV was taken from the story as the preview of “DIABOLOS”?
G: Yes. The story of the people who carries such ephemeral destiny is the whole concept this time. The thought that they must go through themselves is that even though their destiny might be a cursed one, carrying that fate makes them able to see their existence for the first time and to feel that they are living. All those are the thoughts of the characters. That there are some things that they have to go through. So I think you can hear the heaviness of “届カナイ愛” (Todokanai Ai) in this album.
I: You played the role of an immigrant in “MOON CHILD”, and many of your other works had the (theme of) unavoidable destiny included in it as well. It feels like that kind of story is being radicalized this time.
G: That’s right. But, how to put it, I don’t want it to be thought strangely as something resembling a science fiction and of course, I don’t want it to turn into something “you don’t understand if you don’t know the concept” either. Because I made the songs in such a way that you can listen to them separately. Listening to the songs one by one makes you think and feel something, and if on top of that there are still those who thinks, “Maybe there is something more to it,” they can read even further. I make albums and lives in such a way that you can enjoy it on its own. But “I wonder how exactly all these came to be?” For those who think even further, “there is still a little more” to the answer you seek. And that’s my story.
I: Yes, take Gundam for example, there are people who were interested in the cool plastic models at first, but started pursuing more (eventually).
G: Exactly, how you first got into it doesn’t matter.
I: The album should have been released by the time this magazine is published and I think a lot of people would have listened to the album (by then). But now the only song I’ve heard which has not been released is “Future”. It’s a slow song, isn’t it? You have more ‘hard’ songs usually, so are most of the rest intense [1] songs as well?
[1] ikeike is something you would normally shout when you are cheering or urging someone on. Like, “Go! Go!” The most suitable word would probably be energetic
G: I think it becomes heavy. Though the songs have quite a loud and heavy feel, I think the feelings of sadness and fleetingness have also doubled.
I: If you look at it objectively, though “Ash”, “Noesis”, etc., are very ‘rock’, it is true that there is something elegant about Gackt-san’s music.
G: I’m happy that you say that. If it’s simply intense, it would only be thought of as noisy, so I feel there is no meaning in doing that. And that’s not the point, you can see both sides clearly precisely because there is intensity in the calmness; ephemerality in that intensity; and pain and beauty that accompanies the ephemerality. Aren’t there scenes where you see an extremely intense performance in slow motion? Though they are actually playing in front of our very eyes, somehow you see them (moving) slowly. I think that is the balance.
I: Indeed, when I heard “Noesis”, I felt an unusual mixture of beauty and intensity. I thought, “Gackt indeed, this is great.”
G: It’s not interesting to move steadily from major to a narrow and slow feel, and towards a direction that is not intense. If we can increase the variety of intense music in the major world, I think we will be able to differentiate Indies and major more easily. There are a lot of interesting folks in the Indies, so I would like to create a field where we focus (lit. increase, go up) on the major and create something interesting. [1] I think that’s what we are good at. That’s what I plan to do, the reason why I want to make it more intense and crazier. [2]
[1] Indies music is kind of rough because they don't have the backup that a major could have. But now, Indies are getting popular, so majors are making their music rougher, like Indies. Major has high quality, and the difference is obvious because Indies’ isn’t of high quality. Thanks for the explanations of Britney.
[2] 無茶苦茶 【むちゃくちゃ】 (adj-na,n) (uk) confused; jumbled; mixed up; unreasonable
I: I think the arrangement of “Noesis” is already very crazy.
G: Yes. The next few singles are really crazy. After recording it, I thought, “How am I going to do this on TV and in lives?” The composition…… The time is fixed for TV, right? So I was wondering how to go about doing it.
I: “Noesis” was difficult as well, right?
G: It’s difficult, it cannot be done, it’s not possible if they cut the time. (laughs) It feels like it’s impossible to express your music freely through TV media, doesn’t it? The music that we’ve completed was created after thinking through various compositions, yet it had to be cut to around three minutes or so. Of course, it’s not an entirely bad thing, but because of that, if we don’t make simple music composition, if we have a complicated music composition, we won’t be able to present the music. So we have to look at the venues as well.
I: But “Noesis” is a difficult word. The impression of the song stands out though, because the rest of the titles are easy to understand.
G: It was necessary because it includes the setting. There is the word “Noesis” in psychology terminology, something like the subjectivity and objectivity of psychology. [1]
[1] Noesis is defined as the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning. It is a phenomenological term referring to an act of consciousness. All definitions taken from various online sites.
I: Comparatively, “Storm” and “Road” are straightforward and simple, and can really make one feel that it is rock.
G: (laughs) When you listen to “Storm”, it makes you go, “Ah, this is it!” and for “Road”, “Ah, this is it for “Road”!” Don’t you think it’s easy to understand? But I think “Storm” goes against your expectations. Or rather, it fulfils your anticipation, but betrays your expectation. If you look at the stage, I think you’ll go, “Wow!” (laughs) Hirose-san, you should sing “Storm” in karaoke. And while dancing. (laughs)
I: Looking forward to that! And what does “Farewell” sound like?
G: It’s a very heavy song. Quite different from anything I’ve ever done before, a song with a heavy rhythm.
I: The lyrics are like that of a love song’s though……
G: Moving forward. Your (stand) towards the things you’ve lost. It shows your determination despite being denied (what you’ve lost).
I: I’ve not heard the song yet, so it still carries the image of a love song……
G: I believe after you’ve heard the tune as well, you’ll understand that and think “so it’s supposed to be like this”. Indeed, it is very much like a love song if you only look at the lyrics, but the theme included is probably similar to the theme of “OASIS” and “dears”.
I: Is “Dispar” an intense song?
G: It’s quite intense with a fast beat. I think the end product is “ikeike” and a song that you can dance to.
I: I wondered if “届カナイ愛” (Todokanai Ai) was created during the “Love Letter” time. Based on the image of the melody though.
G: It was made earlier than that. It was rewritten many times over but we didn’t really compile it. We redid it again for this album and remade the music composition of the song. So the lyrics took more than one year and a half to complete. We really correct it over and over again.
I: But I’m glad that I discovered something new after not interviewing you for so long. For example, through this talk today I could see the story of how Kei and Luka from “MOON CHILD” came to be.
G: Yes, because in the movie, the story starts suddenly with the two of them.
I: I could catch a glimpse of the story before that.
G: This time, the story will probably be turned into video at a slightly later (phase). Perhaps…… I think it will be great if we can gather everything by 2007. I wonder to what extent a movie or game, etc. can be completed.
I: That reminds me, when I was listening to the singles, I felt that the story is quite similar to (the story in) “Rebirth” concert. That is also the story of the fate that soldiers carry, isn’t it?
G: Aah…… We looked at the way we created it again. I think the “Rebirth” concert was done very well. Those watching can get into (the story) and understand it easily. I felt that it went great in terms of challenging the way we merged the video, the music, and the stage. Just that we incurred huge expenses. (laughs) The numbers are shockingly red.
I: Let’s talk about the live. The “DIABOLOS ~哀婉の詩~” tour will start at around the time this magazine is published. It’s been a while, are the band members the same as from the previous concert?
G: There is no change in band members.
I: The dancers will follow the tour as well, right? It’ll be of a great scale again.
G: Really? Great…… isn’t it? (bitter laugh)
I: The tour will focus on “DIABOLOS” naturally, but I wonder if there is going to be any other songs as well.
G: First, there are a couple of songs chosen from “Crescent”. The focus is indeed on what you call the songs under the concert, but because I want it to stand (on its own) as a show, as entertainment…… I definitely do not want it to be self-pleasure. So we also discussed with the members and of course, even the songs that are not under the concept will be performed as well. We do not want to forget such a factor too.
I: Speaking of that, there were many songs from “Crescent” which were not performed in the concert, right? [1]
[1] In “上弦の月” (Jougen no Tsuki) concert, he performed songs from both “MOON” and “Crescent” albums. Of the 12 songs in “Crescent”, he only performed 5: “君が待っているから” (Kimi ga Matteiru kara), “月の詩” (Tsuki no Uta), “君が追いかけた夢” (Kimi ga Oikaketa Yume), “Birdcage”, and “オレンジの太陽” (Orenji no Taiyou).
G: I didn’t do most of them. And, we’ll be performing the songs for the next album too.
I: Whoo! We’ll also get to hear the songs that have not been released yet.
G: Most of them were cancelled though. (lit. stopped) (bitter laugh) During the planning, the number of songs to be performed came up to twenty-one. So while we were decreasing the numbers, “let’s take out the songs which they have not heard yet.” Though it was decided so, I think we’ll still include one or two songs.
I: From what you’ve said, it seems like it’s going to be one spectacular show.
G: Of course. We concentrated heavily on the world view, so it’s quite interesting.
I: There are thirteen shitos, as we have discussed just now, so will the stage be interwoven with many complicated side stories?
G: That’s right. But because it’s impossible to present the whole long story and all thirteen of them, we decided to just pick up the main points. So there are five people presented this time and one more; I’m included in the five but I also take on other roles. In short, we’ll be showing you six out of the thirteen on this stage.
I: U~n, that’s detailed!
G: I believe you’ll definitely find it interesting even if you don’t know the details. I think even those who come to watch without knowing that the concert is based on some story will still be able to understand it. I made it so that people can view it that way. Maybe somehow they’ll understand from the beginning.
I: (Understand) the world of “DIABOLOS”?
G: Yes. The strongest point of the title of this album is in how we face the darkness, the evil that lurks in our hearts. The darkness in our heart.
I: Not physical darkness, but mentally?
G: Exactly. The darkness that exists inside us psychologically. That is why you see me taking off the mask in the CD cover. It’s not about me anguishing over which one is the real me, but being able to come face to face with our own real self for the first time, of us discovering the reason and significance of our existence. So, it’s more breathtaking and more intense. The artwork of this album is really beautiful, isn’t it? Everyone worked really hard. I think they’ll understand the story even better once they’ve seen the CD booklet and the tour pamphlet.
I: And last we’ll talk about the Tokyo Dome live. There are special position (lit. place, situation, position, location) even inside the tour, right?
G: We are looking at it as the final of the national tour, and it’s of a different scale too. Because it’s of a greater scale, we also want to “present it to everyone as a Christmas present”.
I: Won’t you plan something special for the last day, just like all the other previous concerts? There will be something quite special included this time, right?
G: U~n, that’s what you can look forward to watching. (laughs)
I: (laughs) Well, I’m all excited for the tour now!
G: If my body doesn’t hold (lit. carry), I’ll stop; but if it does, I’ll continue with the tour next year as well. From here, it’s “I’ll show you how to do a live in Tokyo dome!” “This is (how you do) a request for live.” (laughs)
Translated by: Sweiled
Off to bed now, I'll comment again later. @____@
I hope those watching the concert will have a blast! But for those of us left behind, a little something to occupy your mind. ^^ We can't be letting them have all the fun now, aye??
...Poor consolation, I know. >.>;;
Anyways, this the last of the DIABOLOS-related articles, it's from UV vol.119 and again, pretty long. :D They talk about the album and story more this time~ And thank you for all the help, crescent_yume and Saori. ^^
I hope you'll enjoy the translation. And Merry Christmas to everyone!! *hugs*
1. Please DO NOT take my translations and use them for whatever reason, without my permission.
2. Please DO NOT publish my translations elsewhere without my permission. Please kindly link back if you want, but DO NOT copy and paste them.
3. Please kindly spare a few minutes and COMMENT if you read it. What are your thoughts of it?
[number] = more explanation of the sentence below
xxx = more detailed explanations
[xxx] = what I felt a certain part of the sentence meant
(xxx) = other meanings of the word or literal translations or missing word/words not specifically mentioned. For e.g. The fans screamed when (Gackt and his band members) entered the stadium! Read it like you will a normal sentence.
=xxx= = real brackets used in the interview
Yes! Gackt’s superb masterpiece is finally born!
The interview ended without us being able to hear all the songs (in the album); but a few days later, on the very same day as the deadline of this article, on the early morning of September 10, “DIABOLOS” was completed. While moaning, “More time!” my heart was pounding as I listened to it.
Gackt’s works have always been excellent, but “DIABOLOS” is of a different level altogether! The end product is terrific, slashing the ultimate limits of the universe! [1] The readers who normally read my column might find such rare excitement laughable, but (the album) left an irrepressibly deep impression on me.
[1] The extent of how awesome it is. That it is something you’ve never seen or felt before, something like crossing boundaries. As crescent_yume puts is, out of this world kind of awesome.
Let’s write this calmly. Gackt has always compiled all the tune, lyrics, and singing into a CD package you call the artwork. It awakens the listener’s imagination and presents the world view through the story. Readers who have come across Gackt’s works would have known that, but this “DIABOLOS” surpasses that balance pre-eminently.
I’m not emphasizing on “the high quality” by the word “surpassing” -that is a matter of course in Gackt’s works- but that the excellence of this work is overwhelmingly easy to understand.
The main difference between this album and the previous ones is that you can see the whole story clearly by following the lyrics when you listen to it from the first song. As well, this interview is very easy to understand because he personally talks about the background of the story. There is a directness you’ve never seen before and the story dives straight into your heart if you listen to the album after reading this. Of course, since this is Gackt’s works, there are complicated plots behind it, but at least that’s unrelated to what seems difficult on the surface. So it’s not incomprehensible when I shouted without thinking, “I could see (the story),” and that I can get so immersed in it.
The word “DIABOLOS”, which carries the meaning of devil, symbolizes the sins of humans and the ephemerality of destiny, accompanied by sadness as well as hope [1]. At times breath-taking, at times wildly crazy, the album spins delicately a rich world view, giving life to the music composition. Perfect.
[1] The word he used actually meant facing forward or positively. But I feel that in the actual act of ‘facing forward’ lies hope on the future, and that’s why I used that word. Of course, other alternatives could be courage in moving on, determination, etc.
On the composition side, the ‘pattern’ that has been developed till now is honed and full of Gackt-ness. [1] With the new ‘groove’ you hear in “Farewell” and “Dispar” added to it, the diversity of music has now been increased. In any case, I would just like to listen to this album for a while. That’s my utmost desire.
[1] I’m aware that I just created a word. >.>;; Full of something that seems like what Gackt might do, full of Gackt style.
I: I was looking forward to the completion of “DIABOLOS”, but the interview is going to be held without being able to hear much of the songs in the album, except for those that were released as singles. (laughs)
G: Makes you wonder what the time was spent on, doesn’t it? (laughs) We are doing a lot of other works at the same time as well. The number one factor being…… it’s probably because “DIABOLOS” and the album after that are being recorded at the same time. What we are presenting in “DIABOLOS” and the next album is the same, they are together; so we recorded three, four songs meant for the next album first. And because we did that first, the whole (production) is held back.
I: This is the first time I heard that “DIABOLOS” and the next album are together.
G: With the “MOON” story that I’m writing as the key, the previous works that I’ve been doing were all from Chapter four: “下弦の月” (Kagen no Tsuki) and “上弦の月” (Jougen no Tsuki) tours, as well as the movie, “MOON CHILD”. And this time it starts right at the interval between Chapter two and Chapter three. But since the story is too long, we decided to cover the second and third chapters in both “DIABOLOS” and the next album.
I: I’ve read all the lyrics of the songs for “DIABOLOS”, and the feeling of battle is very strong, similar to what was presented in the fourth chapter.
G: That’s because the story as a whole takes on the history of war in all four chapters. Maybe Chapter 4 feels different because there was a heavy Asia theme included in it. As for the second and third chapters…… Why do people fight? Why were vampires born? The end of Chapter two comes to that part, and the third chapter starts with how they (live) “as vampires”. That’s the storyline.
I: I would like to clarify something. You’ve said before that the darkside inhabitants were born in the year 700, and in Japan, that would be……
G: Heian period. From the year 700 till around 1,200 is the first chapter of the story. The second chapter is from 1,300 to 1,600, and from that till the current time is the third chapter. The fourth chapter is from the current time to the near future. The story is scattered all over, really. (laughs)
I: No, but there are many parts which is still is a mystery. And the story moved from the Heian period to the European (setting), as you can tell from the PV [1] for “届カナイ愛ト知ッテイタノニ～”? (Todokanai Ai to Shitteitanoni)
[1] Promotional Video. There is usually one for every single that is released.
G: That’s right. The main character of the story changes rapidly. Those who played the leading role at first (gradually became) the supporting role and some of those parts are dragged along eventually. The main characters for the first chapter are the darkside inhabitants, while the second chapter revolves around the people who were created based on that.
I: Are the main characters in the first and second chapters related by blood?
G: Because they were created based on the darkside inhabitants, I guess you can say that they are related. Of course, the darkside inhabitants were created from the same tribe though. We are also presenting the origin of the vampires through this story at the same time.
I: I see. Vampire was a major key word in the fourth chapter, right? Even in the movie, there was the vampire, Kei, portrayed. Is vampire a key word in “DIABOLOS” too?
G: It is, but I didn’t actually use the word ‘vampire’ in the lyrics, not even once.
I: In this story, were the vampires created by the darkside inhabitants?
G: They are against darkside inhabitants. The darkside inhabitants were scattered all over Europe, and were fighting for the different countries…… at that time they exist in the shadow of history and were battling fellow darkside inhabitants for a long period of time. Eventually they tried to create something that will surpass the darkside inhabitants, but those (turned out to be) defects. But these defects, who were called the 13 “shitos” (使徒 shito: apostle; disciple), started to awaken during a particular period of time. But they were not perfect even after they have awakened, their body was incomplete. Though they have the ability to surpass darkside inhabitants, they are burdened with the illness of not being able to appear under the sun.
I: Oh! The story is coming together.
G: But at the end of the day, what I want is not for people to understand the story but the importance of what this story is trying to say.
I: Yeah, because there is always a message behind the story in Gackt-san’s works.
G: The darkside inhabitants too, were really a group who lived while being pursued. Scattered all over Europe, in the end they were made use of by people. That is just like the great country and the small country that we have, like a miniature version of the world. Just as they plan to create an even stronger being, those turn out to be imperfect. But of course, even those who were created for battling purposes have feelings as well. What we see through this story is the folly of men, of the history of human’s sins, etc., and we are able to feel acutely that it keeps repeating, right? And because of that, we become able to clarify this thing called human and it becomes easier to look at them. However, if you look at it too directly, if the presentation of “what is human?’ becomes too confusing, no one will be able to accept something that is forced on them. [1] But through the means of a story, you can look at human objectively for the first time. That’s the method of presenting that I’m taking. If you attack everyone, they (would only go,) “There is no such thing!” But (showing it) through something else allows them to see how they live while carrying the burden of sin. I think it can raise the question as to the reason why we exist.
[1] If he talks about the topic openly and directly, it forces people to look at themselves, and people don't like to be forced in such a way. It makes them uneasy and they'll start rejecting or denying it. But by looking at something other than their own selves, people can identify themselves in them (in this case, with the vampires) and begin to see that there is something very wrong. It's more effective this way and I must say, what a brilliant thing to do.
I: Before this interview, we could only read the lyrics of all the songs, right? What I felt towards the end was something like, “the importance of living despite the fate one carries”, so perhaps the listeners will have that feeling as well. Listening to this talk has only increased the depth of that feeling.
G: Because you have not heard all the songs this time, you came to the interview with only the lyrics for reference, right? Even though there were only lyrics and CD cover (that can be used for the interview), I’m happy that a lot of people gave much thought to those.
I: Speaking of lyrics, I wonder if most of the parts can be replaced and developed into something related to man-woman love relationship.
G: There are parts which can be replaced, but there are also males, fellow companions, something like the relationship of a master and disciple, and close friends, etc. Not that all of them are between men and women, but you can also look at it that way. And for me, the songs I sing that are limited to women only…… that’s a secret. (laughs)
I: Because I’ve only looked at the PV for the “届カナイ愛” (Todokanai Ai), so I was wondering if the focus (lit. core) of “DIABOLOS” is in man-woman relationship. The girl portrayed carries the fate of a vampire, right?
G: No, the two of them are vampires. That’s why at the end, they burnt and passed away. What we showed in the “届カナイ愛” PV is one part of it. In short, that is the story of two out of the thirteen shitos, so it’s not about the whole members.
I: That PV was taken from the story as the preview of “DIABOLOS”?
G: Yes. The story of the people who carries such ephemeral destiny is the whole concept this time. The thought that they must go through themselves is that even though their destiny might be a cursed one, carrying that fate makes them able to see their existence for the first time and to feel that they are living. All those are the thoughts of the characters. That there are some things that they have to go through. So I think you can hear the heaviness of “届カナイ愛” (Todokanai Ai) in this album.
I: You played the role of an immigrant in “MOON CHILD”, and many of your other works had the (theme of) unavoidable destiny included in it as well. It feels like that kind of story is being radicalized this time.
G: That’s right. But, how to put it, I don’t want it to be thought strangely as something resembling a science fiction and of course, I don’t want it to turn into something “you don’t understand if you don’t know the concept” either. Because I made the songs in such a way that you can listen to them separately. Listening to the songs one by one makes you think and feel something, and if on top of that there are still those who thinks, “Maybe there is something more to it,” they can read even further. I make albums and lives in such a way that you can enjoy it on its own. But “I wonder how exactly all these came to be?” For those who think even further, “there is still a little more” to the answer you seek. And that’s my story.
I: Yes, take Gundam for example, there are people who were interested in the cool plastic models at first, but started pursuing more (eventually).
G: Exactly, how you first got into it doesn’t matter.
I: The album should have been released by the time this magazine is published and I think a lot of people would have listened to the album (by then). But now the only song I’ve heard which has not been released is “Future”. It’s a slow song, isn’t it? You have more ‘hard’ songs usually, so are most of the rest intense [1] songs as well?
[1] ikeike is something you would normally shout when you are cheering or urging someone on. Like, “Go! Go!” The most suitable word would probably be energetic
G: I think it becomes heavy. Though the songs have quite a loud and heavy feel, I think the feelings of sadness and fleetingness have also doubled.
I: If you look at it objectively, though “Ash”, “Noesis”, etc., are very ‘rock’, it is true that there is something elegant about Gackt-san’s music.
G: I’m happy that you say that. If it’s simply intense, it would only be thought of as noisy, so I feel there is no meaning in doing that. And that’s not the point, you can see both sides clearly precisely because there is intensity in the calmness; ephemerality in that intensity; and pain and beauty that accompanies the ephemerality. Aren’t there scenes where you see an extremely intense performance in slow motion? Though they are actually playing in front of our very eyes, somehow you see them (moving) slowly. I think that is the balance.
I: Indeed, when I heard “Noesis”, I felt an unusual mixture of beauty and intensity. I thought, “Gackt indeed, this is great.”
G: It’s not interesting to move steadily from major to a narrow and slow feel, and towards a direction that is not intense. If we can increase the variety of intense music in the major world, I think we will be able to differentiate Indies and major more easily. There are a lot of interesting folks in the Indies, so I would like to create a field where we focus (lit. increase, go up) on the major and create something interesting. [1] I think that’s what we are good at. That’s what I plan to do, the reason why I want to make it more intense and crazier. [2]
[1] Indies music is kind of rough because they don't have the backup that a major could have. But now, Indies are getting popular, so majors are making their music rougher, like Indies. Major has high quality, and the difference is obvious because Indies’ isn’t of high quality. Thanks for the explanations of Britney.
[2] 無茶苦茶 【むちゃくちゃ】 (adj-na,n) (uk) confused; jumbled; mixed up; unreasonable
I: I think the arrangement of “Noesis” is already very crazy.
G: Yes. The next few singles are really crazy. After recording it, I thought, “How am I going to do this on TV and in lives?” The composition…… The time is fixed for TV, right? So I was wondering how to go about doing it.
I: “Noesis” was difficult as well, right?
G: It’s difficult, it cannot be done, it’s not possible if they cut the time. (laughs) It feels like it’s impossible to express your music freely through TV media, doesn’t it? The music that we’ve completed was created after thinking through various compositions, yet it had to be cut to around three minutes or so. Of course, it’s not an entirely bad thing, but because of that, if we don’t make simple music composition, if we have a complicated music composition, we won’t be able to present the music. So we have to look at the venues as well.
I: But “Noesis” is a difficult word. The impression of the song stands out though, because the rest of the titles are easy to understand.
G: It was necessary because it includes the setting. There is the word “Noesis” in psychology terminology, something like the subjectivity and objectivity of psychology. [1]
[1] Noesis is defined as the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning. It is a phenomenological term referring to an act of consciousness. All definitions taken from various online sites.
I: Comparatively, “Storm” and “Road” are straightforward and simple, and can really make one feel that it is rock.
G: (laughs) When you listen to “Storm”, it makes you go, “Ah, this is it!” and for “Road”, “Ah, this is it for “Road”!” Don’t you think it’s easy to understand? But I think “Storm” goes against your expectations. Or rather, it fulfils your anticipation, but betrays your expectation. If you look at the stage, I think you’ll go, “Wow!” (laughs) Hirose-san, you should sing “Storm” in karaoke. And while dancing. (laughs)
I: Looking forward to that! And what does “Farewell” sound like?
G: It’s a very heavy song. Quite different from anything I’ve ever done before, a song with a heavy rhythm.
I: The lyrics are like that of a love song’s though……
G: Moving forward. Your (stand) towards the things you’ve lost. It shows your determination despite being denied (what you’ve lost).
I: I’ve not heard the song yet, so it still carries the image of a love song……
G: I believe after you’ve heard the tune as well, you’ll understand that and think “so it’s supposed to be like this”. Indeed, it is very much like a love song if you only look at the lyrics, but the theme included is probably similar to the theme of “OASIS” and “dears”.
I: Is “Dispar” an intense song?
G: It’s quite intense with a fast beat. I think the end product is “ikeike” and a song that you can dance to.
I: I wondered if “届カナイ愛” (Todokanai Ai) was created during the “Love Letter” time. Based on the image of the melody though.
G: It was made earlier than that. It was rewritten many times over but we didn’t really compile it. We redid it again for this album and remade the music composition of the song. So the lyrics took more than one year and a half to complete. We really correct it over and over again.
I: But I’m glad that I discovered something new after not interviewing you for so long. For example, through this talk today I could see the story of how Kei and Luka from “MOON CHILD” came to be.
G: Yes, because in the movie, the story starts suddenly with the two of them.
I: I could catch a glimpse of the story before that.
G: This time, the story will probably be turned into video at a slightly later (phase). Perhaps…… I think it will be great if we can gather everything by 2007. I wonder to what extent a movie or game, etc. can be completed.
I: That reminds me, when I was listening to the singles, I felt that the story is quite similar to (the story in) “Rebirth” concert. That is also the story of the fate that soldiers carry, isn’t it?
G: Aah…… We looked at the way we created it again. I think the “Rebirth” concert was done very well. Those watching can get into (the story) and understand it easily. I felt that it went great in terms of challenging the way we merged the video, the music, and the stage. Just that we incurred huge expenses. (laughs) The numbers are shockingly red.
I: Let’s talk about the live. The “DIABOLOS ~哀婉の詩~” tour will start at around the time this magazine is published. It’s been a while, are the band members the same as from the previous concert?
G: There is no change in band members.
I: The dancers will follow the tour as well, right? It’ll be of a great scale again.
G: Really? Great…… isn’t it? (bitter laugh)
I: The tour will focus on “DIABOLOS” naturally, but I wonder if there is going to be any other songs as well.
G: First, there are a couple of songs chosen from “Crescent”. The focus is indeed on what you call the songs under the concert, but because I want it to stand (on its own) as a show, as entertainment…… I definitely do not want it to be self-pleasure. So we also discussed with the members and of course, even the songs that are not under the concept will be performed as well. We do not want to forget such a factor too.
I: Speaking of that, there were many songs from “Crescent” which were not performed in the concert, right? [1]
[1] In “上弦の月” (Jougen no Tsuki) concert, he performed songs from both “MOON” and “Crescent” albums. Of the 12 songs in “Crescent”, he only performed 5: “君が待っているから” (Kimi ga Matteiru kara), “月の詩” (Tsuki no Uta), “君が追いかけた夢” (Kimi ga Oikaketa Yume), “Birdcage”, and “オレンジの太陽” (Orenji no Taiyou).
G: I didn’t do most of them. And, we’ll be performing the songs for the next album too.
I: Whoo! We’ll also get to hear the songs that have not been released yet.
G: Most of them were cancelled though. (lit. stopped) (bitter laugh) During the planning, the number of songs to be performed came up to twenty-one. So while we were decreasing the numbers, “let’s take out the songs which they have not heard yet.” Though it was decided so, I think we’ll still include one or two songs.
I: From what you’ve said, it seems like it’s going to be one spectacular show.
G: Of course. We concentrated heavily on the world view, so it’s quite interesting.
I: There are thirteen shitos, as we have discussed just now, so will the stage be interwoven with many complicated side stories?
G: That’s right. But because it’s impossible to present the whole long story and all thirteen of them, we decided to just pick up the main points. So there are five people presented this time and one more; I’m included in the five but I also take on other roles. In short, we’ll be showing you six out of the thirteen on this stage.
I: U~n, that’s detailed!
G: I believe you’ll definitely find it interesting even if you don’t know the details. I think even those who come to watch without knowing that the concert is based on some story will still be able to understand it. I made it so that people can view it that way. Maybe somehow they’ll understand from the beginning.
I: (Understand) the world of “DIABOLOS”?
G: Yes. The strongest point of the title of this album is in how we face the darkness, the evil that lurks in our hearts. The darkness in our heart.
I: Not physical darkness, but mentally?
G: Exactly. The darkness that exists inside us psychologically. That is why you see me taking off the mask in the CD cover. It’s not about me anguishing over which one is the real me, but being able to come face to face with our own real self for the first time, of us discovering the reason and significance of our existence. So, it’s more breathtaking and more intense. The artwork of this album is really beautiful, isn’t it? Everyone worked really hard. I think they’ll understand the story even better once they’ve seen the CD booklet and the tour pamphlet.
I: And last we’ll talk about the Tokyo Dome live. There are special position (lit. place, situation, position, location) even inside the tour, right?
G: We are looking at it as the final of the national tour, and it’s of a different scale too. Because it’s of a greater scale, we also want to “present it to everyone as a Christmas present”.
I: Won’t you plan something special for the last day, just like all the other previous concerts? There will be something quite special included this time, right?
G: U~n, that’s what you can look forward to watching. (laughs)
I: (laughs) Well, I’m all excited for the tour now!
G: If my body doesn’t hold (lit. carry), I’ll stop; but if it does, I’ll continue with the tour next year as well. From here, it’s “I’ll show you how to do a live in Tokyo dome!” “This is (how you do) a request for live.” (laughs)
Translated by: Sweiled
Off to bed now, I'll comment again later. @____@