Translation: KAT-TUN Live Document Photobook "Break the Records"
I have free time, again *bunny dance* So here you go, translation of KAT-TUN's interviews from the brilliant new photobook *clap clap clap*
I will do all 6 of them I swear, but for now, please enjoy yourself with Kame chan first:
「It is simply a process, as I have no choice but to surpass my old self.」
Even though I was allowed to be part of such an amazing record, I enjoyed it in quite a simple manner. To be honest, I didn’t fully register the moment when we were in the sparkling middle of that vortex. I even got kind of surprised when the time came for us to ride the next wave. Because I was unexpectedly able to immerse myself in the joy of such situation, I don’t have much lingering memories about that time. Next year, when it is time to return to the Dome, the me who loves competition will only remember this year’s performance as an experience to learn from, and a rival to surpass. That’s because I always think that surpassing myself is a must.
Because of my fickle nature, I usually hate following a set routine. For example, even when I have perfectly completed my choreography, I wouldn’t want to stick to those dance steps all the time. If I’m not constantly challenging something, I would soon get tired of myself. There were times when no room was left for creation, and so I became seriously unmotivated. Sometimes I would do things like changing the lyrics in the middle of a live performance; those moments are also brought about by my instantaneous inspirations. I feel as if I’m in a kind of constant fight: no matter how brilliant my original idea is, each time I carry out that idea I would feel compelled to give it a different form. I never get bored doing things that way; that’s why I can always continue to try changing my performances. For me, it’s simply a process. After the final day at the Dome I did try to reflect on things. Certainly, at that place, at that time, there were a lot of things that I managed to accomplish, but I still want to take a step further. I know that it’s better to avoid any possible regret by calculating things carefully before doing, but that’s just not the way I am. The live performance is the place where I can show the audience the true Kamenashi Kazuya, with all the experience I have gathered from my work thus far. At that moment, I just want to move according to my instinct and rely totally on the power of my strokes of inspiration.
With such a stance in life, I feel like I am a baseball batter in the middle of his match. Freely deciding which way to throw the ball I have in my mind is really fun. I will watch what the other members are doing and try to go in a different direction from them. It’s great to be able to do what we want, each of us choosing his own way of presentation. In our group we hardly ever have the kind of “let’s all do this” feeling, but in a good meaning, because we are performing our role while displaying our individuality. Maybe that is also the reason why the fans choose us. I think that we can exist as a group is thanks to everyone’s acknowledgment. Standing on the stage, if each of us, and everyone else too, can think “I’m glad to be with KAT-TUN”, then that’s already good enough for me.
「Music surely can transcend words.
There are things which can only be expressed through music.」
Standing on the Dome’s stage this time, as expected, there are a lot of wonders which I came to realize. Among the audience of 55,000 fans who came to see us, each of their faces was unique. That many people, all gathered in this space called Tokyo Dome for our sakes - more than just realization, all throughout the concert I kept thinking about how amazing it was. As a human being, previously I never thought I would get to go through such an experience. I mean, normally with about 10 people in front of you, you wouldn’t pay much attention to them, would you? In our case here, we became aware of all the audience’s existence, thanks to the music which filled the space we all shared at that time.
I think there are a lot of things people want to express beyond their words; for instance, about the beats of the music that they like. I have shared my time and my space with people who come to listen to my favorite beats. Of course the lyrics of songs are quite important too, but, for example, when I listen to Spanish songs, I still can feel “Ah, I like this song”, right? That’s why I believe that music can transcend words, and that there are things which can only be expressed through music.
Because of that, no matter what, I want to get better at singing. To talk about the extreme case, it’s okay to do a live concert where I would just stand behind a black curtain and sing without showing my face throughout the performance. I would usually be happy to dance away at parties or at clubs while hanging around with my friends, as soon as my favorite music starts to play. Originally, I used to consider the live performances the same as those kinds of carefree places. That’s why, for me, the ideal scene is where I can stir up the atmosphere and raise everyone’s spirit just by singing.
Therefore, I always want to bring the music I love to the live concerts. Afterward, when it’s time to review everything, I would want to look back and confirm the level, as well as the improvement, of my performance. With that kind of feeling, the collaboration I did this time for my solo was quite an exciting thing. With an artist of a totally different reference, I managed to get my idea across, and from that, a whole new answer emerged. The new presentation at the end was the result of this process, and it surely wasn’t something I could have done by myself. Thinking about it in such a way, aren’t I doing collaborations with KAT-TUN all the time? There is no set pattern to follow either, just us putting forth all the ideas we have. The result at the end is that we are able to perform in a blaze none of us could conjure up alone.
「At the concerts, what I want to think about the most is how to impress my fans.」
To be frank, 8 consecutive days is pretty amazing, isn’t it? That’s why, after it was over, thinking back on this achievement, I seriously felt like crying, even though I didn’t cry at all (laugh). There’s the remaining 2 days, followed by the national tour, so it didn’t quite feel like the end. When I am really absorbed into things, I would feel like I have become part of the flow of time. Actually, even though I kept standing on the stage as if nothing happened, from the 3rd day’s performance onward, my feet started to hurt. That’s because, once, with an adrenaline rush, I ran around half of the Dome in one song, as if I was trying to measure the place’s distance (laugh). Normally I already can’t stand not moving around, and this time, there’s a part in me which seriously loved excitement; in between the songs, Akanishi kun and the other members kept cheering me on with their “Taguchi is running~”.
What’s more, every year more and more kids are coming to our concerts. No matter if these kids are in the arena or the stands, I always want to get as close to them as possible. Children always see things in an extremely pure way, don’t they? Therefore, I want to become an existence which has a good influence on them. This time, when I first went near the front row of the stands, I suddenly wanted to take a look at the seating on the other side, and thus got a vivid feeling of the audience’s cheering, whose power and unity both went far beyond my expectation. When I started my career, I never had enough composure to think about such things, but through each live concert, I gradually acquired many different viewpoints. Surely the quality of my performance has also improved, but I think my emotional growth is more impressive. That’s because my motivation is very strongly related to my ability to perceive things in a wholesome view.
Of course, being together with the other members is always fun. We surely want the audience to enjoy that fun atmosphere too, but firstly, at the live performances, what I want to think about the most is how to surprise and impress my fans. Therefore, I always try to look for new ways to entertain them. During the MC too, when someone is making a comment, I would try to act out the best silly role possible. Actually it’s quite pointless to be good at that kind of thing, but, it’s the live, you know (laugh). After all, I really want to show everyone the image KAT-TUN has as a group. Maybe when I act way too cheery and become a real pain, I should try to be a little more somber (laugh)? If I ever get some feedback saying I should change my role in order to improve myself, I can try to raise the power of the whole group too, right? After all, the 6 of us are together, it’s no one’s solo. With that thought in mind, I think I would be able to present our fans with even more vigor.
3 left, yay! Half done already :D :D :D
By the way, is there anyone who would be interested in a translation for "Kamenashi Kazuya san's 10 provisions about love" on the new Saita issue October? *snicker* Maybe, just maybe, I will do that first before getting down to the remaining 3 photobook interviews (for an obvious reason: it's way shorter)?
I will do all 6 of them I swear, but for now, please enjoy yourself with Kame chan first:
「It is simply a process, as I have no choice but to surpass my old self.」
Even though I was allowed to be part of such an amazing record, I enjoyed it in quite a simple manner. To be honest, I didn’t fully register the moment when we were in the sparkling middle of that vortex. I even got kind of surprised when the time came for us to ride the next wave. Because I was unexpectedly able to immerse myself in the joy of such situation, I don’t have much lingering memories about that time. Next year, when it is time to return to the Dome, the me who loves competition will only remember this year’s performance as an experience to learn from, and a rival to surpass. That’s because I always think that surpassing myself is a must.
Because of my fickle nature, I usually hate following a set routine. For example, even when I have perfectly completed my choreography, I wouldn’t want to stick to those dance steps all the time. If I’m not constantly challenging something, I would soon get tired of myself. There were times when no room was left for creation, and so I became seriously unmotivated. Sometimes I would do things like changing the lyrics in the middle of a live performance; those moments are also brought about by my instantaneous inspirations. I feel as if I’m in a kind of constant fight: no matter how brilliant my original idea is, each time I carry out that idea I would feel compelled to give it a different form. I never get bored doing things that way; that’s why I can always continue to try changing my performances. For me, it’s simply a process. After the final day at the Dome I did try to reflect on things. Certainly, at that place, at that time, there were a lot of things that I managed to accomplish, but I still want to take a step further. I know that it’s better to avoid any possible regret by calculating things carefully before doing, but that’s just not the way I am. The live performance is the place where I can show the audience the true Kamenashi Kazuya, with all the experience I have gathered from my work thus far. At that moment, I just want to move according to my instinct and rely totally on the power of my strokes of inspiration.
With such a stance in life, I feel like I am a baseball batter in the middle of his match. Freely deciding which way to throw the ball I have in my mind is really fun. I will watch what the other members are doing and try to go in a different direction from them. It’s great to be able to do what we want, each of us choosing his own way of presentation. In our group we hardly ever have the kind of “let’s all do this” feeling, but in a good meaning, because we are performing our role while displaying our individuality. Maybe that is also the reason why the fans choose us. I think that we can exist as a group is thanks to everyone’s acknowledgment. Standing on the stage, if each of us, and everyone else too, can think “I’m glad to be with KAT-TUN”, then that’s already good enough for me.
「Music surely can transcend words.
There are things which can only be expressed through music.」
Standing on the Dome’s stage this time, as expected, there are a lot of wonders which I came to realize. Among the audience of 55,000 fans who came to see us, each of their faces was unique. That many people, all gathered in this space called Tokyo Dome for our sakes - more than just realization, all throughout the concert I kept thinking about how amazing it was. As a human being, previously I never thought I would get to go through such an experience. I mean, normally with about 10 people in front of you, you wouldn’t pay much attention to them, would you? In our case here, we became aware of all the audience’s existence, thanks to the music which filled the space we all shared at that time.
I think there are a lot of things people want to express beyond their words; for instance, about the beats of the music that they like. I have shared my time and my space with people who come to listen to my favorite beats. Of course the lyrics of songs are quite important too, but, for example, when I listen to Spanish songs, I still can feel “Ah, I like this song”, right? That’s why I believe that music can transcend words, and that there are things which can only be expressed through music.
Because of that, no matter what, I want to get better at singing. To talk about the extreme case, it’s okay to do a live concert where I would just stand behind a black curtain and sing without showing my face throughout the performance. I would usually be happy to dance away at parties or at clubs while hanging around with my friends, as soon as my favorite music starts to play. Originally, I used to consider the live performances the same as those kinds of carefree places. That’s why, for me, the ideal scene is where I can stir up the atmosphere and raise everyone’s spirit just by singing.
Therefore, I always want to bring the music I love to the live concerts. Afterward, when it’s time to review everything, I would want to look back and confirm the level, as well as the improvement, of my performance. With that kind of feeling, the collaboration I did this time for my solo was quite an exciting thing. With an artist of a totally different reference, I managed to get my idea across, and from that, a whole new answer emerged. The new presentation at the end was the result of this process, and it surely wasn’t something I could have done by myself. Thinking about it in such a way, aren’t I doing collaborations with KAT-TUN all the time? There is no set pattern to follow either, just us putting forth all the ideas we have. The result at the end is that we are able to perform in a blaze none of us could conjure up alone.
「At the concerts, what I want to think about the most is how to impress my fans.」
To be frank, 8 consecutive days is pretty amazing, isn’t it? That’s why, after it was over, thinking back on this achievement, I seriously felt like crying, even though I didn’t cry at all (laugh). There’s the remaining 2 days, followed by the national tour, so it didn’t quite feel like the end. When I am really absorbed into things, I would feel like I have become part of the flow of time. Actually, even though I kept standing on the stage as if nothing happened, from the 3rd day’s performance onward, my feet started to hurt. That’s because, once, with an adrenaline rush, I ran around half of the Dome in one song, as if I was trying to measure the place’s distance (laugh). Normally I already can’t stand not moving around, and this time, there’s a part in me which seriously loved excitement; in between the songs, Akanishi kun and the other members kept cheering me on with their “Taguchi is running~”.
What’s more, every year more and more kids are coming to our concerts. No matter if these kids are in the arena or the stands, I always want to get as close to them as possible. Children always see things in an extremely pure way, don’t they? Therefore, I want to become an existence which has a good influence on them. This time, when I first went near the front row of the stands, I suddenly wanted to take a look at the seating on the other side, and thus got a vivid feeling of the audience’s cheering, whose power and unity both went far beyond my expectation. When I started my career, I never had enough composure to think about such things, but through each live concert, I gradually acquired many different viewpoints. Surely the quality of my performance has also improved, but I think my emotional growth is more impressive. That’s because my motivation is very strongly related to my ability to perceive things in a wholesome view.
Of course, being together with the other members is always fun. We surely want the audience to enjoy that fun atmosphere too, but firstly, at the live performances, what I want to think about the most is how to surprise and impress my fans. Therefore, I always try to look for new ways to entertain them. During the MC too, when someone is making a comment, I would try to act out the best silly role possible. Actually it’s quite pointless to be good at that kind of thing, but, it’s the live, you know (laugh). After all, I really want to show everyone the image KAT-TUN has as a group. Maybe when I act way too cheery and become a real pain, I should try to be a little more somber (laugh)? If I ever get some feedback saying I should change my role in order to improve myself, I can try to raise the power of the whole group too, right? After all, the 6 of us are together, it’s no one’s solo. With that thought in mind, I think I would be able to present our fans with even more vigor.
3 left, yay! Half done already :D :D :D
By the way, is there anyone who would be interested in a translation for "Kamenashi Kazuya san's 10 provisions about love" on the new Saita issue October? *snicker* Maybe, just maybe, I will do that first before getting down to the remaining 3 photobook interviews (for an obvious reason: it's way shorter)?