inn-joy - Interview with Die (Dir en grey) - English
source: www.inn-joy.de
After the formerly planned Interview with Dir en grey in Saarbruecken had to be cancelled due to a lack of time by the band, guitarist Die answered our questions by email.
ij: What are your first memories regarding music?
Die: When I was 10, on Saturdays I have school till noon, and everytime I get home my father will play Japanese traditional songs with female vocals. He would play it so loud I could barely hear the TV. But after a while I found myself liking those songs. That is definitely my first memory of music.
ij: Your musical style has changed more with every new longplayer. Were these changes a concious decision or did they just happen?
Die: In some ways I can say it is a natrural change but we always have it in mind that every new song we make should not sound like the one before, making sure that it is something totally different. And perhaps because of that strong will, the changes are felt more vividly.
ij: Did you, in the flow of your musically change, assert an alteration of your audience or do you experience your concerts nowadays the same way as a few years ago?
Die: For every single and album that we release, they are always different, so I believe that the fans too have big expectations for us and that probably grows for every new release.
ij: What do you think about fans writing yaoi-stories about you or drawing yaoi-pictures of you? (Slash-stories/-pictures)
Die: I think it’s the fans freedom to be able to imagine what they please but I can say that we simply have no interest in that whatsoever.
ij: In the past you performed in very extravagantly costumes, nowadays you wear casual style. Do you nevertheless reflect about what you want to wear during your shows or do you just wear anything? Do you still think much about your styling or did it become unimportant to you?
Die: It’s actually the same as before. We always wear whatever we want to on stage. It may have changed to be less flashy or gaudy than before but yeah we only wear what we want to.
ij: Your not in Germany for the first time. Is there anything you looked forward to?
Die: We have been in Germany many times now, and yeah we like it here though we don’t really have time for sight-seeing. It’s a very beatiful country with so many historical buildings. I remember going near the Dome Cathedral in Koln and was awed by its enormisity.
ij: Recently you performed for the third time at the festivals 'Rock am Ring' and 'Rock im Park'. You also performed at big festivals in other countries. Do you like performing at festivals or do you prefer an audience that came just for you?
Die: At our own (headline) shows, we are able to really present the real Dir en grey on stage, and people will also be able to really see and understand us best compared to at festivals as the set time is always shorter. But performing at both scenarios is great for us.
ij: Are there other musicians, that you would like to work with?
Die: We have toured with many bands before and it has been a great honour for us, we have also gained a lot of new experience on the road with them. If there is a chance again in the future we would definitely be open to touring with other musicians too.
ij: Do you attach importance to certain brands regarding your instruments/microphons or are you open to new, if the quality suits? Was your technical equipment at any time sponsored by a certain brand? If it was, by which?
Die: I personally use ESP guitars and have been endorsed by them for a long time now. They also have made a few models just for me and I have received an enormous amount of support from them.
We would like to thank Die for taking the time to answer our questions.
For all those, who aren't satisfied with just the interview, there is also our GALLERY with pictures from the gig in Saarbruecken.
Questions: S. Stahl
Pictures: C. Stahl
After the formerly planned Interview with Dir en grey in Saarbruecken had to be cancelled due to a lack of time by the band, guitarist Die answered our questions by email.
ij: What are your first memories regarding music?
Die: When I was 10, on Saturdays I have school till noon, and everytime I get home my father will play Japanese traditional songs with female vocals. He would play it so loud I could barely hear the TV. But after a while I found myself liking those songs. That is definitely my first memory of music.
ij: Your musical style has changed more with every new longplayer. Were these changes a concious decision or did they just happen?
Die: In some ways I can say it is a natrural change but we always have it in mind that every new song we make should not sound like the one before, making sure that it is something totally different. And perhaps because of that strong will, the changes are felt more vividly.
ij: Did you, in the flow of your musically change, assert an alteration of your audience or do you experience your concerts nowadays the same way as a few years ago?
Die: For every single and album that we release, they are always different, so I believe that the fans too have big expectations for us and that probably grows for every new release.
ij: What do you think about fans writing yaoi-stories about you or drawing yaoi-pictures of you? (Slash-stories/-pictures)
Die: I think it’s the fans freedom to be able to imagine what they please but I can say that we simply have no interest in that whatsoever.
ij: In the past you performed in very extravagantly costumes, nowadays you wear casual style. Do you nevertheless reflect about what you want to wear during your shows or do you just wear anything? Do you still think much about your styling or did it become unimportant to you?
Die: It’s actually the same as before. We always wear whatever we want to on stage. It may have changed to be less flashy or gaudy than before but yeah we only wear what we want to.
ij: Your not in Germany for the first time. Is there anything you looked forward to?
Die: We have been in Germany many times now, and yeah we like it here though we don’t really have time for sight-seeing. It’s a very beatiful country with so many historical buildings. I remember going near the Dome Cathedral in Koln and was awed by its enormisity.
ij: Recently you performed for the third time at the festivals 'Rock am Ring' and 'Rock im Park'. You also performed at big festivals in other countries. Do you like performing at festivals or do you prefer an audience that came just for you?
Die: At our own (headline) shows, we are able to really present the real Dir en grey on stage, and people will also be able to really see and understand us best compared to at festivals as the set time is always shorter. But performing at both scenarios is great for us.
ij: Are there other musicians, that you would like to work with?
Die: We have toured with many bands before and it has been a great honour for us, we have also gained a lot of new experience on the road with them. If there is a chance again in the future we would definitely be open to touring with other musicians too.
ij: Do you attach importance to certain brands regarding your instruments/microphons or are you open to new, if the quality suits? Was your technical equipment at any time sponsored by a certain brand? If it was, by which?
Die: I personally use ESP guitars and have been endorsed by them for a long time now. They also have made a few models just for me and I have received an enormous amount of support from them.
We would like to thank Die for taking the time to answer our questions.
For all those, who aren't satisfied with just the interview, there is also our GALLERY with pictures from the gig in Saarbruecken.
Questions: S. Stahl
Pictures: C. Stahl