2014.02 Ongaku to hito translation - Kyo interview
Kyo interview
- How was 2013 for you?
Ah, I don’t really remember, to be honest. Many things happened though… I was hospitalized, there were many problems… I don’t really look back at the past.
- I know that but still?
I don’t really like to think about the current me when looking back at the past. At that time I had my own thoughts. So my honest answer to this kind of question will be that I don’t remember. Well… I wasn't doing my absolute best then (laugh).
- However, it was the last year when you started your new activities.
That’s true. I wanted to continue those things, not only as a part of DIR EN GREY. Of course we will do lives, we will also record new music, but it couldn't become one thing. That’s why… I don’t feel like 2013 was a special year. Only, it seems like I had absolutely no time during that year. And it seems like it will continue hereafter as well. I have an impression like that.
- So [you are saying] you can do things you wanted to do.
Well, yeah. But the things I want to do myself are increasing without stopping, so it’s getting hard being chased by them.
- From the time when you re-started your activities after the break, you were saying all the time that you don’ have time.
That’s right. But now I have even less time than at that time. More and more things I want to do keep nagging me. The current me is always thinking about what I want to do. More and more, the ideas of things to do are welling up, I’m always looking for it like “How about that? How about this?”. Then, when I have an idea I’m writing it down.
- Why do you think you became like that? Where did this increasing degree of desire that you hadn't have before came from?
You mean that the stopper inside of me came off? When it happened I became like that.
- What kind of stopper?
Till now I was always tied up by DIR EN GREY. Within this [band] I created ‘myself’ and I was expressing that ‘me’. To the point when I thought I cannot think about other things. No, I didn't even think about that. This me was obviously continuing DIR EN GREY, but the stopper has just came off with a pop, finally.
- Was it during the break from band activities?
Now I don’t remember anymore. Then, the stopper had came off and I wasn't by myself anymore… Do you get it? So it wasn't like I was inside DIR EN GREY, it was a feeling that DIR EN GREY was one being inside of me. In other words, my point of view was reversed.
- So DIR EN GREY wasn't your all, it became a part of you.
From then on it was like “I want to do that! I want to do this!”, whatever I would see, I would be always thinking about something. Now I’m everyday wondering how to find time to do those things. I might be destroying my physical condition thanks to that.
- So you mean that you are getting trapped by the things you want to do?
But it cannot be helped, right. It is something that I personally want to do.
- So you feel that you have to sacrifice something for the things you want to do?
Yes. I don’t have so much time, so by all means I have to sacrifice something. Not only my physical condition, I also don’t have so much time to meet with friends. Before, I was meeting with them quite often, now I don’t even have time for that. You meet with people mostly in the evenings, right? But for the sake of the things I want to do, I wake up early and I go to sleep early. Even like at 11, 10 or 9 pm. So now I cannot meet with anyone.
- Isn't it too early? (laugh)
But, I always keep waking up after 2 or 3 hours of sleep. I try to go back to sleep, but I can’t. I tried many things, but nothing worked, so at 6 or 7 am I’m going to sleep again.
- It must be quite hard.
When you can’t sleep but you keep trying to get back to sleep is quite tiring, right? So I get up and do work, so I can put more attention to detail (lit. My eyes get very vivid). I’m recently worried about that.
- Did you have problems with sleeping before?
No. My sleeping pattern was messed up, but I wasn't like I couldn't sleep. Now it is half a year that it suddenly started, that I cannot sleep. There are too many things I’m anxious about, things I want to do, they are always stuck in my head.
- I think that it might be the reason.
Probably, now I give shape/life to things I want to do, however I think I became anxious as I feel like there’s a time limit for that. I don’t have any basis for that, but for the time being I decided on a 3 year time limit, and I will process in that direction.
- Why are you creating a time limit/deadline?
If one doesn't set deadlines for oneself, won’t you become lazy? We don’t have unlimited time. So I decided to move on upon deciding on the ending, but I don’t know if I will be able to do everything I want during this time. What if I can do it, if I cram all those things I want to do, won’t it influence DIR EN GREYs activity? So I try to keep the balance, but can I do it on time? It think about that all the time.
- Because of that you cannot sleep. Listening to you now, I start to think that DIR EN GREY was your everything. That’s why your reaction now is so strong.
It might be like that. Now it is also like that, DIR EN GREY is extremely important to me. So I plan to do my own things at the same time without changing anything [about DIR EN GREY activities]. I will divide the energy I used for DIR EN GREY and use it for other things - I’m not really like that (laugh). That’s why I don’t have time.
- Don’t you think that your new actions will cause some disturbances to the band?
You think? If I was in the position of other band members I wouldn't feel disturbed. Even if any other member started something totally different to DIR EN GREY, I would only react as “oh, I see”. Even if they opened an izakaya (bar) or something (laugh).
- I don’t really want to imagine something like an izakaya (laugh), but the band has an image they are protecting, if there was a question “why?” coming from here, it wouldn't feel strange, right?
Really? I think it’s totally fine. No matter what I do, I think it’s fine. So if there would be a member who is thinking about doing some other things/activities, I think it would be much easier now, that I already paved a way.
- That’s also true.
Still, no matter if it’s good or bad, if you start doing something new recently, there are many people who will comment or criticize it. I just think there’s nothing we can do to change that.
- I think it’s normal that fans can be quite anxious. Because DIR EN GREY was a band with no such (solo) activities from its members.
I don’t get the meaning of that anxiety. … But, they are anxious, no?
- I think they are.
Fans do have their own image of band members, right? So if we break from that image, they might feel anxious. But if we put too much attention to that, we wouldn't be able to do anything.
- Everyone is like that.
It’s not limited to fans. There was a time when I thought like that about [people from] my surroundings. …Aren't Japanese people really strict about that? Wouldn't it be better to be more lax about that?
- There’s that part where people are afraid that band will change. Also, in common opinion, if some custom or rule is continuing for a long time, people will have problems with supporting the sudden change, right?
But, did I really change? I don’t think anything changed.
- You didn't change, right?
If there was some influence on DIR EN GREY because my stopper came off and those many things that I want to do, even if people thought “he changed” or “ I don’t like it” - there’s no other way. But I don’t think that Kyo from DIR EN GREY changed at all. Of course if we look at me from private perspective, if someone tells me that I changed, I cannot deny it. But me from DIR EN GREY has not changed at all.
- I see. However, in the latest single I can feel that the band has changed a lot compared to before. I’m wondering if the fact that you started your solo activities is not the one of the main triggers for that change. What do you think about your new song?
I don’t really know. It became like that naturally. I don’t think about why it became like that, we just naturally created this song. Didn't it just happen by chance? (the change)
- Looking objectively, SUSTAIN THE UNTRUTH is what kind of song?
I can’t really look at it objectively, but… But I think it’s very DIR EN GREY-ish.
- Right. Also, as for DIR EN GREY it’s a type of song that is relatively easy to understand.
We've made it easy to understand. Probably one by one, we made it like that thinking this way.
- So you made it easy to understand intentionally?
I wonder. Did it become like that while we worked on the song? So it has a mood like that? (laugh) Only… I think we had a sense of “let’s go that direction” from the start.
- So you are saying that you started working on the new song upon deciding the course of action for it.
Yeah, I think so. It’s not like till now we worked on ‘first come first served’ basis, but we had a pattern to at the end match the parts done earlier by members (separately), like we had never such thing as decided “course of action”.
- You mean the way you (the band) create your songs?
Yes. I can’t play any instrument well, so I don’t really know how that works, but this time before the recording the five of us matched the sound properly together. We were a band that had never done it before. Because of that at the lives it would be difficult in the end, we would have moments when we would be changing rhythm or a phrase. This even I understand, (this time)were we able to avoid it? When working on matching the actual sound we had a talk like “this way is better, right?”.
- With everyone?
Yup. But I was only listening (to that talk) and I was surprised like “huh (so that’s how’s it done)” (laugh). But, we will stop including things that cannot be played during actual live performance. We had a feeling like that. That’s why also the way we overlap (like layers) the sounds will be different to how we used to do it. This is connected to [the change in our sound], right?
- Yes. That’s why I think it’s simple. I think that releasing a song like that means that the air around the band changed for better.
I think that bands atmosphere stayed the same. What is different is the fact that everyone is free. There are members who are doing things other than band activities.
- There’s nothing wrong, right?
Right. I think it’s because we are more free now. I said that before, but now there’s a feeling that it’s ok to do something outside of the band.
- So are you saying that it’s this song that brought this change?
I don’t know. Only… If there’s a person that do something for the first time that no one else did, for sure he will hear many things, but if someone doesn't do anything, nothing will change, right?
- But it’s not like you started your solo activities to change the band.
There’s nothing that I wanted to change… It was simply my problem, as a problem of a single human being. This, I also said it before, but I cannot stand being suppressed. I would try to escape or break out. For example, no matter how important something is, if it constrains me too much I would start to hate it. That’s why.
- So you are saying that you set yourself free.
Yes. So, DIR EN GREY still continues even now, right? So when it became like “it’s impossible after all” or at the performance at Shibuya when my throat was useless, I definitely didn't want to stop. I said “I cannot sing like that” and we had to suspend our activities.
- Right.
It was during the last tour in America that I wondered “if I can do this many things”. But, now I’m in a place that I can freely do things, so it means that I can. Moreover, I think I also try to take on more burdens. I don’t want people to simply think that “this guy is cutting corners”, you know (laugh).
- If I could say my own opinion, when I heard about your solo activities for the first time, I was bewildered. But in the end, I think it helped to open a new window and let a new, fresh air in.
Right? I don’t know for sure, I might have created some kind of trigger for it.. But it’s everyones personal freedom.
- So the 5 of you are tied to DIR EN GREY? In a way that you actually don’t know about it, that it’s an obvious part of your life now. What do you think?
Of course band is very important to me even now, but before being in a band we are all single human beings. It’s not about which answer is wrong and which is correct, I think it would be good if each of us thought more about their own life and way of living.
- So you mean the 5 of you became too engrossed in the band?
Right… You know, before… when KILLSWITCH ENGAGE came to Japan (note: a band that performed in 2005 at Japanese edition of “Taste of Chaos” - American festival which gathered new metal bands. At that time DIR EN GREY was a top batter), the main composer - guitarist called Adam - was not present. Seems like he was not able to come to Japan due to sickness or injury. That time I was really surprised.
- Why?
One member was missing, but they still performed live? Furthermore, he was a main composer. In the past I was really shocked. Later on, [I found out that] bands abroad are quite free. Chino from Deftones (note: Chino Moreno, vocalist) has 3 different bands.
- He’s doing solo and few side projects at the same time, right?
Yeah, it’s like “this too? And that too?!”. However, I personally think that the impression of sound doesn't really change much (laugh). We might think that fans could start asking themselves “is there any sense in the side projects (if it sounds the same)?”, but he must have personal reasons for that.
- So you are saying that being at the same situation (as him), you understand that.
Yeah. He is honestly doing what he wishes to do, probably.
- So you are at he same position.
I think so. Whatever you want to do outside the band, be it music or drawings, it is different for everyone, but from that time I had this feeling that it would be good if we could become even more free.. There’s the way we exist, the way we live.
- Right. You said it before, but this is not limited to you, other members are also tied down to the being called the band.
But same as us, I think fans also became tied down to this being called DIR EN GREY (band). Of course that’s not a bad thing, I’m rather very grateful for that. But I had enough of being tied down. Mixing new things, things I haven’t seen yet, I want to cause a chemical reaction.
- I get it. I think in the end this desire delivered this kind of single.
I can’t really tell. Having that (this desire), has it became a structure of the song or became a finishing touch, [I don’t know]. We still haven’t performed it live, so I’m not sure how it will turn out. I don’t really talk about that with other members, so I don’t know.
- By the way, by the time this number of magazine will go on sale it will be already announced, so let’s talk about the new band you are starting.
Ah, that’s a totally different band (laugh).
- No, please tell us something about it (laugh).
But this interview is about DIR EN GREY, so I don’t really want to.
- But it is clear that in 2014 you will be working on those two bands at the same time, so how are you going to divide this work inside your head?
But I don’t really view it as two separate things. I don’t really set a line like “this is DIR EN GREY, this is not DIR EN GREY”. It’s like both are places for me to be able to express myself.
- So you want to be free with this?
Yes.
- So how is it for now?
Everything is happening very fast. Work, decisions, everything happens really fast.
- It’s about the solo project, right?
You say a solo project, but it is a band.
- Do you feel like you've learnt something new (about being in a band)?
Like having a feeling “ah, so it’s like that!”? I work with different people, so I felt “it’s like this”.
- Very obvious expression (laugh).
I even felt some sense of nostalgia. I've been part of DIR EN GREY for a very long time now. But before, I was in few other bands. I was reminded those times. “If people in the band are different, things are done in different way”.
- So there’s something new and something nostalgic.
That’s right.
- And there’s also the fact that you are a part of DIR EN GREY for a long time.
Of course. And it obviously will continue from now on as well. But I haven’t had a chance to sing with a totally different band before… Ah, actually once I was asked as a guest to perform song abroad (kyotaku: is it about performing with Apocalyptica or I.M.sin that wasn't released so far?), but I had similar thoughts that time. “Oh, so it’s like that”. It wasn't the form of the band; I just did some backing singing with cello.
- If we think about that, won’t it be like that if you did it very often?
Yeah.
- Last year I often heard from you that you would like to be more free or you didn't want to be tied down, but the truth is till now it didn't come across so clearly.
Is that so?
- Not in the sense that you need to be held together tightly, but I thought that band should solidify the bond (between the members), especially during the pause in your activities. After listening to new single and your words today, I thought it’s not like that.
I don’t mind whichever way you think. I’m freely doing things. Of course, the fact that DIR EN GREY is very important to me didn't change; I will do it the same way as before.
- Right. Speaking of which, what is necessary for you to do it the same way as before?
Huh. What could I compare it too? … For example, if a small hole appears at the bottom of the cup, water will start to leak. That cup represents the capacity of the band, and water in the cup represents things I want to do, things stuck inside of me. Till now, the size of the cup matched the amount of water in it.
- So before, that water didn't overflow from the cup.
That’s right. If I was inside the cup called DIR EN GREY, even if I had things that I wanted to do, I felt there was water flowing out from the bottom of the cup (through the hole). In other words, the size of the cup and the amount of water was the same. But recently, there’s more water than it used to be before. It felt like it’s going to spill. That’s why I wanted to transfer the amount of water that was going to spill over to a different cup. I just wanted to explain it. If I kept ignoring that…
- Water would have spilled from the cup.
It would have kept pouring out of the cup, I think someday the relationship between the cup and water would change.
- I see. So, when we did coverage for your last mini album, the 5 of you were speaking with one voice, but generally speaking aren't you a band with a bit tiresome/terrible relationship?
Are we?
- Even so, you continue the band, it seemed like everyone had declared an intention like that (to continue), so in the end it became hard to continue as it was before.
For me it was like that. I love being in a band. I want to be in a band. Well, I cannot play any instrument, so simply saying, I’m not good on my own, but even if I could play an instrument, I prefer to be in a band.
- When you were young, being in a band was a first thing that you really got into (went crazy about).
That’s true. It is like that already from the past, without a change. That’s why… I was a part of DIR EN GREY till now all the way; I think other members feel the same.
- Yes.
If it’s like that, if you have to endure something, aren't you going to get sick of it, so you don’t want to do it anymore? Of course, it’s not like you can do everything freely just because it’s a band, but if someone says that he wants to do something, others have to endure it.
- This is what band is about.
I understand that, so I think this band can continue and I treasure it a lot and I want to continue [DIR EN GREY]. It’s simply like that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Progress: 5/5
I will be posting all parts of Kyo interview in the same post for my own convenience.
I might mark it somehow to show where a new part starts, generally I will go page by page.
Interview with Kyo is done.
If you have any comments (especially if some parts are not clear), please don't hesitate to contact me here or at tumblr. I really appreciate all your comments till now, they made me want to work hard after coming back from work ^ ^
I will try to work on the interviews with other members soon.
new: notes in round brackets "(note: ...)" are original from the article ;)
new: underlined parts are something I edited ;)
- How was 2013 for you?
Ah, I don’t really remember, to be honest. Many things happened though… I was hospitalized, there were many problems… I don’t really look back at the past.
- I know that but still?
I don’t really like to think about the current me when looking back at the past. At that time I had my own thoughts. So my honest answer to this kind of question will be that I don’t remember. Well… I wasn't doing my absolute best then (laugh).
- However, it was the last year when you started your new activities.
That’s true. I wanted to continue those things, not only as a part of DIR EN GREY. Of course we will do lives, we will also record new music, but it couldn't become one thing. That’s why… I don’t feel like 2013 was a special year. Only, it seems like I had absolutely no time during that year. And it seems like it will continue hereafter as well. I have an impression like that.
- So [you are saying] you can do things you wanted to do.
Well, yeah. But the things I want to do myself are increasing without stopping, so it’s getting hard being chased by them.
- From the time when you re-started your activities after the break, you were saying all the time that you don’ have time.
That’s right. But now I have even less time than at that time. More and more things I want to do keep nagging me. The current me is always thinking about what I want to do. More and more, the ideas of things to do are welling up, I’m always looking for it like “How about that? How about this?”. Then, when I have an idea I’m writing it down.
- Why do you think you became like that? Where did this increasing degree of desire that you hadn't have before came from?
You mean that the stopper inside of me came off? When it happened I became like that.
- What kind of stopper?
Till now I was always tied up by DIR EN GREY. Within this [band] I created ‘myself’ and I was expressing that ‘me’. To the point when I thought I cannot think about other things. No, I didn't even think about that. This me was obviously continuing DIR EN GREY, but the stopper has just came off with a pop, finally.
- Was it during the break from band activities?
Now I don’t remember anymore. Then, the stopper had came off and I wasn't by myself anymore… Do you get it? So it wasn't like I was inside DIR EN GREY, it was a feeling that DIR EN GREY was one being inside of me. In other words, my point of view was reversed.
- So DIR EN GREY wasn't your all, it became a part of you.
From then on it was like “I want to do that! I want to do this!”, whatever I would see, I would be always thinking about something. Now I’m everyday wondering how to find time to do those things. I might be destroying my physical condition thanks to that.
- So you mean that you are getting trapped by the things you want to do?
But it cannot be helped, right. It is something that I personally want to do.
- So you feel that you have to sacrifice something for the things you want to do?
Yes. I don’t have so much time, so by all means I have to sacrifice something. Not only my physical condition, I also don’t have so much time to meet with friends. Before, I was meeting with them quite often, now I don’t even have time for that. You meet with people mostly in the evenings, right? But for the sake of the things I want to do, I wake up early and I go to sleep early. Even like at 11, 10 or 9 pm. So now I cannot meet with anyone.
- Isn't it too early? (laugh)
But, I always keep waking up after 2 or 3 hours of sleep. I try to go back to sleep, but I can’t. I tried many things, but nothing worked, so at 6 or 7 am I’m going to sleep again.
- It must be quite hard.
When you can’t sleep but you keep trying to get back to sleep is quite tiring, right? So I get up and do work, so I can put more attention to detail (lit. My eyes get very vivid). I’m recently worried about that.
- Did you have problems with sleeping before?
No. My sleeping pattern was messed up, but I wasn't like I couldn't sleep. Now it is half a year that it suddenly started, that I cannot sleep. There are too many things I’m anxious about, things I want to do, they are always stuck in my head.
- I think that it might be the reason.
Probably, now I give shape/life to things I want to do, however I think I became anxious as I feel like there’s a time limit for that. I don’t have any basis for that, but for the time being I decided on a 3 year time limit, and I will process in that direction.
- Why are you creating a time limit/deadline?
If one doesn't set deadlines for oneself, won’t you become lazy? We don’t have unlimited time. So I decided to move on upon deciding on the ending, but I don’t know if I will be able to do everything I want during this time. What if I can do it, if I cram all those things I want to do, won’t it influence DIR EN GREYs activity? So I try to keep the balance, but can I do it on time? It think about that all the time.
- Because of that you cannot sleep. Listening to you now, I start to think that DIR EN GREY was your everything. That’s why your reaction now is so strong.
It might be like that. Now it is also like that, DIR EN GREY is extremely important to me. So I plan to do my own things at the same time without changing anything [about DIR EN GREY activities]. I will divide the energy I used for DIR EN GREY and use it for other things - I’m not really like that (laugh). That’s why I don’t have time.
- Don’t you think that your new actions will cause some disturbances to the band?
You think? If I was in the position of other band members I wouldn't feel disturbed. Even if any other member started something totally different to DIR EN GREY, I would only react as “oh, I see”. Even if they opened an izakaya (bar) or something (laugh).
- I don’t really want to imagine something like an izakaya (laugh), but the band has an image they are protecting, if there was a question “why?” coming from here, it wouldn't feel strange, right?
Really? I think it’s totally fine. No matter what I do, I think it’s fine. So if there would be a member who is thinking about doing some other things/activities, I think it would be much easier now, that I already paved a way.
- That’s also true.
Still, no matter if it’s good or bad, if you start doing something new recently, there are many people who will comment or criticize it. I just think there’s nothing we can do to change that.
- I think it’s normal that fans can be quite anxious. Because DIR EN GREY was a band with no such (solo) activities from its members.
I don’t get the meaning of that anxiety. … But, they are anxious, no?
- I think they are.
Fans do have their own image of band members, right? So if we break from that image, they might feel anxious. But if we put too much attention to that, we wouldn't be able to do anything.
- Everyone is like that.
It’s not limited to fans. There was a time when I thought like that about [people from] my surroundings. …Aren't Japanese people really strict about that? Wouldn't it be better to be more lax about that?
- There’s that part where people are afraid that band will change. Also, in common opinion, if some custom or rule is continuing for a long time, people will have problems with supporting the sudden change, right?
But, did I really change? I don’t think anything changed.
- You didn't change, right?
If there was some influence on DIR EN GREY because my stopper came off and those many things that I want to do, even if people thought “he changed” or “ I don’t like it” - there’s no other way. But I don’t think that Kyo from DIR EN GREY changed at all. Of course if we look at me from private perspective, if someone tells me that I changed, I cannot deny it. But me from DIR EN GREY has not changed at all.
- I see. However, in the latest single I can feel that the band has changed a lot compared to before. I’m wondering if the fact that you started your solo activities is not the one of the main triggers for that change. What do you think about your new song?
I don’t really know. It became like that naturally. I don’t think about why it became like that, we just naturally created this song. Didn't it just happen by chance? (the change)
- Looking objectively, SUSTAIN THE UNTRUTH is what kind of song?
I can’t really look at it objectively, but… But I think it’s very DIR EN GREY-ish.
- Right. Also, as for DIR EN GREY it’s a type of song that is relatively easy to understand.
We've made it easy to understand. Probably one by one, we made it like that thinking this way.
- So you made it easy to understand intentionally?
I wonder. Did it become like that while we worked on the song? So it has a mood like that? (laugh) Only… I think we had a sense of “let’s go that direction” from the start.
- So you are saying that you started working on the new song upon deciding the course of action for it.
Yeah, I think so. It’s not like till now we worked on ‘first come first served’ basis, but we had a pattern to at the end match the parts done earlier by members (separately), like we had never such thing as decided “course of action”.
- You mean the way you (the band) create your songs?
Yes. I can’t play any instrument well, so I don’t really know how that works, but this time before the recording the five of us matched the sound properly together. We were a band that had never done it before. Because of that at the lives it would be difficult in the end, we would have moments when we would be changing rhythm or a phrase. This even I understand, (this time)were we able to avoid it? When working on matching the actual sound we had a talk like “this way is better, right?”.
- With everyone?
Yup. But I was only listening (to that talk) and I was surprised like “huh (so that’s how’s it done)” (laugh). But, we will stop including things that cannot be played during actual live performance. We had a feeling like that. That’s why also the way we overlap (like layers) the sounds will be different to how we used to do it. This is connected to [the change in our sound], right?
- Yes. That’s why I think it’s simple. I think that releasing a song like that means that the air around the band changed for better.
I think that bands atmosphere stayed the same. What is different is the fact that everyone is free. There are members who are doing things other than band activities.
- There’s nothing wrong, right?
Right. I think it’s because we are more free now. I said that before, but now there’s a feeling that it’s ok to do something outside of the band.
- So are you saying that it’s this song that brought this change?
I don’t know. Only… If there’s a person that do something for the first time that no one else did, for sure he will hear many things, but if someone doesn't do anything, nothing will change, right?
- But it’s not like you started your solo activities to change the band.
There’s nothing that I wanted to change… It was simply my problem, as a problem of a single human being. This, I also said it before, but I cannot stand being suppressed. I would try to escape or break out. For example, no matter how important something is, if it constrains me too much I would start to hate it. That’s why.
- So you are saying that you set yourself free.
Yes. So, DIR EN GREY still continues even now, right? So when it became like “it’s impossible after all” or at the performance at Shibuya when my throat was useless, I definitely didn't want to stop. I said “I cannot sing like that” and we had to suspend our activities.
- Right.
It was during the last tour in America that I wondered “if I can do this many things”. But, now I’m in a place that I can freely do things, so it means that I can. Moreover, I think I also try to take on more burdens. I don’t want people to simply think that “this guy is cutting corners”, you know (laugh).
- If I could say my own opinion, when I heard about your solo activities for the first time, I was bewildered. But in the end, I think it helped to open a new window and let a new, fresh air in.
Right? I don’t know for sure, I might have created some kind of trigger for it.. But it’s everyones personal freedom.
- So the 5 of you are tied to DIR EN GREY? In a way that you actually don’t know about it, that it’s an obvious part of your life now. What do you think?
Of course band is very important to me even now, but before being in a band we are all single human beings. It’s not about which answer is wrong and which is correct, I think it would be good if each of us thought more about their own life and way of living.
- So you mean the 5 of you became too engrossed in the band?
Right… You know, before… when KILLSWITCH ENGAGE came to Japan (note: a band that performed in 2005 at Japanese edition of “Taste of Chaos” - American festival which gathered new metal bands. At that time DIR EN GREY was a top batter), the main composer - guitarist called Adam - was not present. Seems like he was not able to come to Japan due to sickness or injury. That time I was really surprised.
- Why?
One member was missing, but they still performed live? Furthermore, he was a main composer. In the past I was really shocked. Later on, [I found out that] bands abroad are quite free. Chino from Deftones (note: Chino Moreno, vocalist) has 3 different bands.
- He’s doing solo and few side projects at the same time, right?
Yeah, it’s like “this too? And that too?!”. However, I personally think that the impression of sound doesn't really change much (laugh). We might think that fans could start asking themselves “is there any sense in the side projects (if it sounds the same)?”, but he must have personal reasons for that.
- So you are saying that being at the same situation (as him), you understand that.
Yeah. He is honestly doing what he wishes to do, probably.
- So you are at he same position.
I think so. Whatever you want to do outside the band, be it music or drawings, it is different for everyone, but from that time I had this feeling that it would be good if we could become even more free.. There’s the way we exist, the way we live.
- Right. You said it before, but this is not limited to you, other members are also tied down to the being called the band.
But same as us, I think fans also became tied down to this being called DIR EN GREY (band). Of course that’s not a bad thing, I’m rather very grateful for that. But I had enough of being tied down. Mixing new things, things I haven’t seen yet, I want to cause a chemical reaction.
- I get it. I think in the end this desire delivered this kind of single.
I can’t really tell. Having that (this desire), has it became a structure of the song or became a finishing touch, [I don’t know]. We still haven’t performed it live, so I’m not sure how it will turn out. I don’t really talk about that with other members, so I don’t know.
- By the way, by the time this number of magazine will go on sale it will be already announced, so let’s talk about the new band you are starting.
Ah, that’s a totally different band (laugh).
- No, please tell us something about it (laugh).
But this interview is about DIR EN GREY, so I don’t really want to.
- But it is clear that in 2014 you will be working on those two bands at the same time, so how are you going to divide this work inside your head?
But I don’t really view it as two separate things. I don’t really set a line like “this is DIR EN GREY, this is not DIR EN GREY”. It’s like both are places for me to be able to express myself.
- So you want to be free with this?
Yes.
- So how is it for now?
Everything is happening very fast. Work, decisions, everything happens really fast.
- It’s about the solo project, right?
You say a solo project, but it is a band.
- Do you feel like you've learnt something new (about being in a band)?
Like having a feeling “ah, so it’s like that!”? I work with different people, so I felt “it’s like this”.
- Very obvious expression (laugh).
I even felt some sense of nostalgia. I've been part of DIR EN GREY for a very long time now. But before, I was in few other bands. I was reminded those times. “If people in the band are different, things are done in different way”.
- So there’s something new and something nostalgic.
That’s right.
- And there’s also the fact that you are a part of DIR EN GREY for a long time.
Of course. And it obviously will continue from now on as well. But I haven’t had a chance to sing with a totally different band before… Ah, actually once I was asked as a guest to perform song abroad (kyotaku: is it about performing with Apocalyptica or I.M.sin that wasn't released so far?), but I had similar thoughts that time. “Oh, so it’s like that”. It wasn't the form of the band; I just did some backing singing with cello.
- If we think about that, won’t it be like that if you did it very often?
Yeah.
- Last year I often heard from you that you would like to be more free or you didn't want to be tied down, but the truth is till now it didn't come across so clearly.
Is that so?
- Not in the sense that you need to be held together tightly, but I thought that band should solidify the bond (between the members), especially during the pause in your activities. After listening to new single and your words today, I thought it’s not like that.
I don’t mind whichever way you think. I’m freely doing things. Of course, the fact that DIR EN GREY is very important to me didn't change; I will do it the same way as before.
- Right. Speaking of which, what is necessary for you to do it the same way as before?
Huh. What could I compare it too? … For example, if a small hole appears at the bottom of the cup, water will start to leak. That cup represents the capacity of the band, and water in the cup represents things I want to do, things stuck inside of me. Till now, the size of the cup matched the amount of water in it.
- So before, that water didn't overflow from the cup.
That’s right. If I was inside the cup called DIR EN GREY, even if I had things that I wanted to do, I felt there was water flowing out from the bottom of the cup (through the hole). In other words, the size of the cup and the amount of water was the same. But recently, there’s more water than it used to be before. It felt like it’s going to spill. That’s why I wanted to transfer the amount of water that was going to spill over to a different cup. I just wanted to explain it. If I kept ignoring that…
- Water would have spilled from the cup.
It would have kept pouring out of the cup, I think someday the relationship between the cup and water would change.
- I see. So, when we did coverage for your last mini album, the 5 of you were speaking with one voice, but generally speaking aren't you a band with a bit tiresome/terrible relationship?
Are we?
- Even so, you continue the band, it seemed like everyone had declared an intention like that (to continue), so in the end it became hard to continue as it was before.
For me it was like that. I love being in a band. I want to be in a band. Well, I cannot play any instrument, so simply saying, I’m not good on my own, but even if I could play an instrument, I prefer to be in a band.
- When you were young, being in a band was a first thing that you really got into (went crazy about).
That’s true. It is like that already from the past, without a change. That’s why… I was a part of DIR EN GREY till now all the way; I think other members feel the same.
- Yes.
If it’s like that, if you have to endure something, aren't you going to get sick of it, so you don’t want to do it anymore? Of course, it’s not like you can do everything freely just because it’s a band, but if someone says that he wants to do something, others have to endure it.
- This is what band is about.
I understand that, so I think this band can continue and I treasure it a lot and I want to continue [DIR EN GREY]. It’s simply like that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Progress: 5/5
I will be posting all parts of Kyo interview in the same post for my own convenience.
I might mark it somehow to show where a new part starts, generally I will go page by page.
Interview with Kyo is done.
If you have any comments (especially if some parts are not clear), please don't hesitate to contact me here or at tumblr. I really appreciate all your comments till now, they made me want to work hard after coming back from work ^ ^
I will try to work on the interviews with other members soon.
new: notes in round brackets "(note: ...)" are original from the article ;)
new: underlined parts are something I edited ;)