sigelx
04-10-2008, 05:27 AM
miyavi special interview (http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/interview/080319_03.html)
Oricon: For this album, did you think to give it a really Japanese flavor as implied in the title?
miyavi: I thought a lot about what is important to me as a Japanese person. Like the values that come naturally to Japanese people. The first song "JPNPRIDE," uses a wataiko (Japanese drum), a shamisen and geta (Japanese wooden shoes) tapping sounds. I wanted a sound that only we could do.
Oricon: But there is still quite a broad range of sounds here.
miyavi: In anything, I think that balance is important. Of course "Japanese Rock" was the big theme here but, as I'm enjoying the music, I like to keep myself challenged with new things. And because of that, I find myself with a wide range of sound I guess.
Oricon: You were thinking that way when you were making the songs?
miyavi: Only the feeling that, I want to make music that only I can make. I like rock, hip-hop, hard rock, funk and blues but I didn't want to make something that fits easily into one of those categories. As an artist, I wanted something that I could be proud to call me own original work. So to be able to do that, you need to kind of venture off the beaten path.
Oricon: There are also some lyrics here that criticize modern Japan.
miyavi: There is some criticism but, nothing negative. The premise is one of unshakable hope, which is very positive. I also don't think "NO WHERE GOD" is negative. What the song is saying is "Before believing in me or even in god, first in foremost, believe in yourself."
In "BOOM-HAH-BOOM-HAH-HAH" it seems that the mood is more important than the message.
miyavi: This is my first erotic entry. haha. But there's a message here too. How do we enjoy ourselves? Of course there's a feeling of achievement when we overcome pain to have fun but, don't we have to hurt sometimes in order to have some fun in the first place?
Oricon: It seems the last two songs really focus on making the song and melody easy for the ears to adjust to.
miyavi: "tsurezure hibi naredo" is a song about summer in Japan. For some reason I thought of Japanese green tea commercials and at first it was going to be called "爽○美茶" (play on the name of a famous Japanese tea) haha. The last two songs are dessert. In terms of a course meal, for this album, I only made what I wanted to eat. No appetizers. Just chicken, beef, pork... and fish, fish, fish, fish. Then I thought that something sweet like a pair of almond jellies would be nice. haha. But really, this was the only way to order the songs on the album. The variety gap between the first and last songs of the albums is something you very rarely get in the same meal.
Are you keeping yourself to the Japanese conscience for the world tour starting in May?
miyavi: I'm going to perform with a kimono and tie my hair up in a chonmage (topknot). A part of me doesn't want to do it but, if I'm going for "Japanese Rock" might as well go all out. The tour will go through the US, Europe, Asia and then in August, when I get back to Japan, I'll have my triumphal return tour so, please wait a bit and look forward to it!
Oricon: For this album, did you think to give it a really Japanese flavor as implied in the title?
miyavi: I thought a lot about what is important to me as a Japanese person. Like the values that come naturally to Japanese people. The first song "JPNPRIDE," uses a wataiko (Japanese drum), a shamisen and geta (Japanese wooden shoes) tapping sounds. I wanted a sound that only we could do.
Oricon: But there is still quite a broad range of sounds here.
miyavi: In anything, I think that balance is important. Of course "Japanese Rock" was the big theme here but, as I'm enjoying the music, I like to keep myself challenged with new things. And because of that, I find myself with a wide range of sound I guess.
Oricon: You were thinking that way when you were making the songs?
miyavi: Only the feeling that, I want to make music that only I can make. I like rock, hip-hop, hard rock, funk and blues but I didn't want to make something that fits easily into one of those categories. As an artist, I wanted something that I could be proud to call me own original work. So to be able to do that, you need to kind of venture off the beaten path.
Oricon: There are also some lyrics here that criticize modern Japan.
miyavi: There is some criticism but, nothing negative. The premise is one of unshakable hope, which is very positive. I also don't think "NO WHERE GOD" is negative. What the song is saying is "Before believing in me or even in god, first in foremost, believe in yourself."
In "BOOM-HAH-BOOM-HAH-HAH" it seems that the mood is more important than the message.
miyavi: This is my first erotic entry. haha. But there's a message here too. How do we enjoy ourselves? Of course there's a feeling of achievement when we overcome pain to have fun but, don't we have to hurt sometimes in order to have some fun in the first place?
Oricon: It seems the last two songs really focus on making the song and melody easy for the ears to adjust to.
miyavi: "tsurezure hibi naredo" is a song about summer in Japan. For some reason I thought of Japanese green tea commercials and at first it was going to be called "爽○美茶" (play on the name of a famous Japanese tea) haha. The last two songs are dessert. In terms of a course meal, for this album, I only made what I wanted to eat. No appetizers. Just chicken, beef, pork... and fish, fish, fish, fish. Then I thought that something sweet like a pair of almond jellies would be nice. haha. But really, this was the only way to order the songs on the album. The variety gap between the first and last songs of the albums is something you very rarely get in the same meal.
Are you keeping yourself to the Japanese conscience for the world tour starting in May?
miyavi: I'm going to perform with a kimono and tie my hair up in a chonmage (topknot). A part of me doesn't want to do it but, if I'm going for "Japanese Rock" might as well go all out. The tour will go through the US, Europe, Asia and then in August, when I get back to Japan, I'll have my triumphal return tour so, please wait a bit and look forward to it!