Magazine translation: 摩天楼オペラ
Band: 摩天楼オペラ (Matenrou Opera)
Magazine: Cure Vol.65
Date: 2008.12.21
New symphony created by feel of existence
interview: 平井綾子 (Hirai Ayako) // translation: karmik.livejournal.com
"LAST SCENE" is Matenrou Opera's fourth single. The idea behind this time's work is "doing the things you want to do". However, because the production has also been made according to that statement, the result shows up new sides of the band without losing their own sound and makes you feel their presence. Looking back at the year 2008, which was also the year when Cure and Matenrou Opera met for the first time, we want you to feel the emotions they have put into "LAST SCENE".
I looked back at the past year for Matenrou Opera, and thought for the first time that you've gone through a really tight schedule.
Sono: Yes. However, that's why it was fulfilling. We tried a lot of things for the first time, and also worked a lot as a band.
Was there something that left an impression on you?
Sono: "Mezamashi Live '08 in Boukenou Final". It was captivating because it was like a festival to us. It was shown on TV too, and we heard a lot more of it afterwards than we thought we would. People came to see us from afar, which we were glad for, so it was fun.
You: This year, we were constantly doing band activities. Because we went abroad, and were able to periodically do concerts in our homeplaces, our lives broadened considerably.
Anzi: As for things that left an impression, I too think it was probably touring. Also, this year our media exposure increased as well, and seeing yourself often on the bookstore's shelves is a curious feeling. (laugh)
Ayame: It made me glad too that we appeared on the media more often and thus attracted attention from more people.
Yuu: As for me, it was after all the European Tour, I think. This year, I was in touch with truly many kinds of people. That's why I think this year was a year of encounters. It was a valuable year, because I got so many personal experiences which I wouldn't have gotten if I had lived normally.
Sono: We were also able to feel changes as a band, too. From around halfway through the year, we started seeing the audience really get into our songs at livehouses.
Yuu: That started from around our sponsorship event at Shibuya O-WEST in May, didn't it? Feeling the change, that is.
Sono: Yeah. Because the more we had lives, the more we could see our audience growing.
Yuu: I think we're growing as a band too. However, even if we didn't actually realize it very well back then, we can realize many things when we look back at them now.
I felt like the change could be heard in your single "LAST SCENE" released the other day too. Something like you could see a new aspect [of the band]. One of the reasons was Sono-san's voice.
Sono: When Anzi-kun brought heavy melodies to us [for the single], I thought about many things inside my head and got hooked on a rock-ish feeling. Something like, even though there's distortion, I'm still singing properly. Adding some rap and the like to that, the vocals this time became a challence.
Your vocals were strong and had a lot of presence.
Sono: I actually have sung like this for a long time, but haven't been doing it lately. However, because it was a singing style I've used in the past, I didn't have much troubles with it.
Yuu: I was there at the vocal recordings, and it really seemed like he didn't have much troubles. Even though he hadn't done it with Matenrou Opera before, he wasn't doing it choppily.
The melodies also have a great impact from the beginning. The first song "Last Game" is Ayame-san and Anzi-san's collaboration. It's your first, isn't it?
Anzi: Yes. It was like, Ayame brought the song first and then I added a lot of things to it.
Ayame: I thought it would be nice if it would turn out something like a theme song to an anime. Like the kind of compositions where the refrain is melodic and comes right after the intro.
Anzi: Even though it's a song that Ayame originally made, it was a straightforward song. I wondered if we could make it fit to Matenrou Opera's consept a bit more and added heavy elements to it.
You: It sounds like Matenrou Opera, but isn't it a bit poppier than our other songs? We could express it differently, and I personally like the refrain's melody.
Yuu: It's a song you wouldn't have thought we'd do, isn't it?
This time, your work's theme is "things that make you think about last scene", but what are the "last"-elements in "Last Game"?
Sono: I wrote the lyrics resolutely from a man's point of view. Even though it's a song about someone who considers love a game, in the end he becomes serious, and that's the "last"-element.
So even though you say "last", it doesn't mean the end, right? The next song is "Datura". By the way, what does "Datura" mean?
Sono: It's a poisonous plant. Although this is about drugs, the "last" in Datura is dying happily while tripping. It's delusional, or well, there's parts in the lyrics that don't have a meaning, but I wrote them according to the feeling and sound of the song.
Yuu: I played the way I wanted in "Datura"! The lyrics were hard rock lyrics, so I drummed to my hearts content in my own way.
You: As an extra, I too played the way I wanted! Until the beginning of the last refrain, I kept especially hard rock style in my mind. Anzi-kun plays a guitar solo in the last refrain, and I thought "couldn't the bass line be something like this too?", and tried to play it that way with all my heart.
Anzi: The main guitar riff was originally made by Sono-kun, so basically I played in a way as to not ruin it. I, too, played it quite freely in a way I wanted to.
How about Ayame-san...?
Ayame: Yes! I very much played it the way I wanted to!
So everyone played it the way they wanted, right. (laugh)
Ayame: Out of the three songs, I used the most sounds in this song, and an ethnic sound. I used sounds that bring atmosphere to the straightforwardness, Japanese style gagaku sounds, and effects. I even mixed some strings in it, so I really played it the way I wanted.
Sono: Somehow, if everyone plays the way they want to, it turns into Matenrou Opera's shape. Lately that's become natural.
On the contrary, has there been an occasion when the one who composed the song has been very shrewd about the song's image?
Sono: Yes. In the beginning you think it's very important to convey the image inside your head carefully. Even describing every single note in detail. However, lately, when someone's brought a song, we've understood his intention naturally, and completed the rest of it.
I see. Frankly, I thought everyone just plays whatever they want. (laugh) However, like that, everyone's sound emphasizes the good base and you can sense Matenrou Opera's presence in it. Also, it was easy to understand that "Tenjou e no kakehashi wo" was the element that represented the very last "last".
Sono: The story is about a man and a woman who are childhood friends, and the woman is the main character. Even though the man likes the woman, the woman still feels like childhood friends and doesn't have feelings of romantic love yet. Then the man dies in an accident. After that she finally realizes she likes him, and her love for him starts after he dies. The woman who realizes her feelings after he's gone then follows after him.
Yuu: This song is a song which we all composed together with the same direction. "Being able to predict the outcome naturally", or like, getting off when the others want you to get off. The guitar solo that suddenly comes through there is again brilliant!
Anzi: (laugh). I played it thinking it would be good if it was like a grand theme song for a movie.
You: I, too, sensed the climax of the song and thought I'll play it with a grand feeling.
Keyboards sound good in this kind of songs. What do you think?
Ayame: Although the tone quality stays the same, the strings change a little with each part of the song. That's my fixation. Doesn't the woman find an answer in the end? The sentence "Please wait just a little while, until it's my time" at the end made me think there's light in the end.
Sono: Yeah. Because she found a road for herself which she could follow.
Your work became something that represents many things this time too.
Sono: I think we were able to bring something new in addition to what's been Matenrou Opera's undeviating direction and core so far. The single became a front-facing piece of work that will certainly have a good effect on our band's broadening in the future.
I think it became a symphonic workpiece exactly fitting for this season. Well then, the winter has come completely, but do you like winter?
Sono: I was born in winter, so I do like winter.
Yuu: I like being able to do winter sports. Also, food is delicious in winter! I like eating while walking the streets in a clear weather. However! I don't like cold.
You: Winter's a season when you become sentimental, isn't it~. I think I look pretty cool when I'm immersed in such a mood.
Everyone: ...
Everyone became a bit quiet though, huh?
You: They're coldhearted~. (laugh) Well, if I have to say either way, I like winter.
Ayame: If I have to say, I don't like it much. Because my fingers become cold when I play the piano.
Anzi: The weather's clear and sceneries are beautiful, but I hate cold…….
One way or another, it's the current season, but is there anything special that's happened to you in this season?
You: Matenrou Opera's Year-end party of course! It's always held at my place, and I earnestly cook food for everyone. We'll definitely do it this year too.
Ayame: We spent last year's New Year at the stage last year.
Sono: Yeah. I crossed to the New Year while headbanging with champagne in one hand…….
Everyone: (laugh)
Well then, I'm looking forward to your activities next year too!
Sono: This year was the year when Matenrou Opera's music came into existence, so I want to make next year a year when both our songs and our activities will broaden.
Ayame: This year we were able to create many songs, so next year I want to make a lot of new songs and do a oneman!
Yuu: I think "LAST SCENE" will be easier to understand than our releases so far. I like songs and themes that are easy to understand, so from now on too, I want to firmly create music that makes you think "this is Matenrou Opera" immediately when you listen to it.
Anzi: This year was my first challenge in the visual kei scene, so I think next year will be the real start. I want the musicians in this scene to learn my name, at least.
You: I hope we can do many fun things with everyone around us next year too.
Notes:
・This was my first time translating an entire magazine interview, so if you spot any mistakes, do point them out to me.
・Magazine translations are an enormous amount of work because you can't just copy/paste the words you don't know into a dictionary, and this was the longest text I've ever translated, so please show some appreciation for my hours of work and don't steal the translation. If you want to post this elsewhere, just link to this entry, it's public anyway.
・Of course, comments are very welcome and appreciated. :D
Magazine: Cure Vol.65
Date: 2008.12.21
New symphony created by feel of existence
interview: 平井綾子 (Hirai Ayako) // translation: karmik.livejournal.com
"LAST SCENE" is Matenrou Opera's fourth single. The idea behind this time's work is "doing the things you want to do". However, because the production has also been made according to that statement, the result shows up new sides of the band without losing their own sound and makes you feel their presence. Looking back at the year 2008, which was also the year when Cure and Matenrou Opera met for the first time, we want you to feel the emotions they have put into "LAST SCENE".
I looked back at the past year for Matenrou Opera, and thought for the first time that you've gone through a really tight schedule.
Sono: Yes. However, that's why it was fulfilling. We tried a lot of things for the first time, and also worked a lot as a band.
Was there something that left an impression on you?
Sono: "Mezamashi Live '08 in Boukenou Final". It was captivating because it was like a festival to us. It was shown on TV too, and we heard a lot more of it afterwards than we thought we would. People came to see us from afar, which we were glad for, so it was fun.
You: This year, we were constantly doing band activities. Because we went abroad, and were able to periodically do concerts in our homeplaces, our lives broadened considerably.
Anzi: As for things that left an impression, I too think it was probably touring. Also, this year our media exposure increased as well, and seeing yourself often on the bookstore's shelves is a curious feeling. (laugh)
Ayame: It made me glad too that we appeared on the media more often and thus attracted attention from more people.
Yuu: As for me, it was after all the European Tour, I think. This year, I was in touch with truly many kinds of people. That's why I think this year was a year of encounters. It was a valuable year, because I got so many personal experiences which I wouldn't have gotten if I had lived normally.
Sono: We were also able to feel changes as a band, too. From around halfway through the year, we started seeing the audience really get into our songs at livehouses.
Yuu: That started from around our sponsorship event at Shibuya O-WEST in May, didn't it? Feeling the change, that is.
Sono: Yeah. Because the more we had lives, the more we could see our audience growing.
Yuu: I think we're growing as a band too. However, even if we didn't actually realize it very well back then, we can realize many things when we look back at them now.
I felt like the change could be heard in your single "LAST SCENE" released the other day too. Something like you could see a new aspect [of the band]. One of the reasons was Sono-san's voice.
Sono: When Anzi-kun brought heavy melodies to us [for the single], I thought about many things inside my head and got hooked on a rock-ish feeling. Something like, even though there's distortion, I'm still singing properly. Adding some rap and the like to that, the vocals this time became a challence.
Your vocals were strong and had a lot of presence.
Sono: I actually have sung like this for a long time, but haven't been doing it lately. However, because it was a singing style I've used in the past, I didn't have much troubles with it.
Yuu: I was there at the vocal recordings, and it really seemed like he didn't have much troubles. Even though he hadn't done it with Matenrou Opera before, he wasn't doing it choppily.
The melodies also have a great impact from the beginning. The first song "Last Game" is Ayame-san and Anzi-san's collaboration. It's your first, isn't it?
Anzi: Yes. It was like, Ayame brought the song first and then I added a lot of things to it.
Ayame: I thought it would be nice if it would turn out something like a theme song to an anime. Like the kind of compositions where the refrain is melodic and comes right after the intro.
Anzi: Even though it's a song that Ayame originally made, it was a straightforward song. I wondered if we could make it fit to Matenrou Opera's consept a bit more and added heavy elements to it.
You: It sounds like Matenrou Opera, but isn't it a bit poppier than our other songs? We could express it differently, and I personally like the refrain's melody.
Yuu: It's a song you wouldn't have thought we'd do, isn't it?
This time, your work's theme is "things that make you think about last scene", but what are the "last"-elements in "Last Game"?
Sono: I wrote the lyrics resolutely from a man's point of view. Even though it's a song about someone who considers love a game, in the end he becomes serious, and that's the "last"-element.
So even though you say "last", it doesn't mean the end, right? The next song is "Datura". By the way, what does "Datura" mean?
Sono: It's a poisonous plant. Although this is about drugs, the "last" in Datura is dying happily while tripping. It's delusional, or well, there's parts in the lyrics that don't have a meaning, but I wrote them according to the feeling and sound of the song.
Yuu: I played the way I wanted in "Datura"! The lyrics were hard rock lyrics, so I drummed to my hearts content in my own way.
You: As an extra, I too played the way I wanted! Until the beginning of the last refrain, I kept especially hard rock style in my mind. Anzi-kun plays a guitar solo in the last refrain, and I thought "couldn't the bass line be something like this too?", and tried to play it that way with all my heart.
Anzi: The main guitar riff was originally made by Sono-kun, so basically I played in a way as to not ruin it. I, too, played it quite freely in a way I wanted to.
How about Ayame-san...?
Ayame: Yes! I very much played it the way I wanted to!
So everyone played it the way they wanted, right. (laugh)
Ayame: Out of the three songs, I used the most sounds in this song, and an ethnic sound. I used sounds that bring atmosphere to the straightforwardness, Japanese style gagaku sounds, and effects. I even mixed some strings in it, so I really played it the way I wanted.
Sono: Somehow, if everyone plays the way they want to, it turns into Matenrou Opera's shape. Lately that's become natural.
On the contrary, has there been an occasion when the one who composed the song has been very shrewd about the song's image?
Sono: Yes. In the beginning you think it's very important to convey the image inside your head carefully. Even describing every single note in detail. However, lately, when someone's brought a song, we've understood his intention naturally, and completed the rest of it.
I see. Frankly, I thought everyone just plays whatever they want. (laugh) However, like that, everyone's sound emphasizes the good base and you can sense Matenrou Opera's presence in it. Also, it was easy to understand that "Tenjou e no kakehashi wo" was the element that represented the very last "last".
Sono: The story is about a man and a woman who are childhood friends, and the woman is the main character. Even though the man likes the woman, the woman still feels like childhood friends and doesn't have feelings of romantic love yet. Then the man dies in an accident. After that she finally realizes she likes him, and her love for him starts after he dies. The woman who realizes her feelings after he's gone then follows after him.
Yuu: This song is a song which we all composed together with the same direction. "Being able to predict the outcome naturally", or like, getting off when the others want you to get off. The guitar solo that suddenly comes through there is again brilliant!
Anzi: (laugh). I played it thinking it would be good if it was like a grand theme song for a movie.
You: I, too, sensed the climax of the song and thought I'll play it with a grand feeling.
Keyboards sound good in this kind of songs. What do you think?
Ayame: Although the tone quality stays the same, the strings change a little with each part of the song. That's my fixation. Doesn't the woman find an answer in the end? The sentence "Please wait just a little while, until it's my time" at the end made me think there's light in the end.
Sono: Yeah. Because she found a road for herself which she could follow.
Your work became something that represents many things this time too.
Sono: I think we were able to bring something new in addition to what's been Matenrou Opera's undeviating direction and core so far. The single became a front-facing piece of work that will certainly have a good effect on our band's broadening in the future.
I think it became a symphonic workpiece exactly fitting for this season. Well then, the winter has come completely, but do you like winter?
Sono: I was born in winter, so I do like winter.
Yuu: I like being able to do winter sports. Also, food is delicious in winter! I like eating while walking the streets in a clear weather. However! I don't like cold.
You: Winter's a season when you become sentimental, isn't it~. I think I look pretty cool when I'm immersed in such a mood.
Everyone: ...
Everyone became a bit quiet though, huh?
You: They're coldhearted~. (laugh) Well, if I have to say either way, I like winter.
Ayame: If I have to say, I don't like it much. Because my fingers become cold when I play the piano.
Anzi: The weather's clear and sceneries are beautiful, but I hate cold…….
One way or another, it's the current season, but is there anything special that's happened to you in this season?
You: Matenrou Opera's Year-end party of course! It's always held at my place, and I earnestly cook food for everyone. We'll definitely do it this year too.
Ayame: We spent last year's New Year at the stage last year.
Sono: Yeah. I crossed to the New Year while headbanging with champagne in one hand…….
Everyone: (laugh)
Well then, I'm looking forward to your activities next year too!
Sono: This year was the year when Matenrou Opera's music came into existence, so I want to make next year a year when both our songs and our activities will broaden.
Ayame: This year we were able to create many songs, so next year I want to make a lot of new songs and do a oneman!
Yuu: I think "LAST SCENE" will be easier to understand than our releases so far. I like songs and themes that are easy to understand, so from now on too, I want to firmly create music that makes you think "this is Matenrou Opera" immediately when you listen to it.
Anzi: This year was my first challenge in the visual kei scene, so I think next year will be the real start. I want the musicians in this scene to learn my name, at least.
You: I hope we can do many fun things with everyone around us next year too.
Notes:
・This was my first time translating an entire magazine interview, so if you spot any mistakes, do point them out to me.
・Magazine translations are an enormous amount of work because you can't just copy/paste the words you don't know into a dictionary, and this was the longest text I've ever translated, so please show some appreciation for my hours of work and don't steal the translation. If you want to post this elsewhere, just link to this entry, it's public anyway.
・Of course, comments are very welcome and appreciated. :D