INTERVIEW FROM SHOXX #79
Sept. 1999
please send thanks and fanmail to Tyran Grillo for the translation.
and, learn about Tyran's own music (as Murasaki) at his official site
Monochrome no Kokoro
An unrequited love that has descended into the west will paint the present mood
Beginning July 18th, after their long-awaited debut, LAREINE will begin their summer tour. They will start at SHOCK WAVE, this time making their first outdoor stage appearance, and will do a 2-days live event at Nagano Sun Plaza for their tour finale. With such summer activities, their is certainly a lot to talk about. In their 2nd single, "Billet ~osanakinatsu no binsen~", if you do not experience the romanticism of late summer's dusk, then surely you will not completely experience this lustful season, will you?
INTERVIEW... AZUSAKO MATSUSHITA
---- After so much anticipation, how do you feel about beginning your summer tour?
KAMIJO: Our debut creations came simply from an understanding that we had to sing about our own things. This is a response/reaction that we have always returned to, and it is a wonderfully pleasant basis to have. I think that, from this point on, LAREINE will not be able to cultivate, so strongly, the plains in which flowers of our songs will bloom. I believe that if everyone wishes to meet us, then that gives us an incentive to meet them. In actuality, we cannot, because we have to balance our tour with sectional meetings and recording schedules, among other things. It has definitely become a problem. However, even if we never slept from feverishly writing music every day, we would still want to give a nation-wide tour with unconditional devotion. In any case, we have always talked about traveling around the country.
MACHI: As I expected, until now, we have been able to balance our activities effectively, but even though we have been tied back with such restrictions, I don't feel that it has separated us from our roots/origins. I just don't want to enter into a defensive position in the future.
KAMIJO: Before our debut, I said that when we began our tour, we would have to look at ourselves objectively, but in the present circumstances, I have found it impossible to do so. I want to say things in my music that are too profound for anyone to express, and those are words that cannot be found. LAREINE is rapidly becoming deep, and I feel that we could become trapped within ourselves if we are not careful.
---- Have the live houses been hot this season?
MAYU: There is a certain virtue in live houses, don't you think? So for me, the temperature is not a big concern. When doing a musical performance in such close proximity to our fans, the tension is bound to rise, but we always end up just having a wonderful and enjoyable experience, and in the end, that is more important.
EMIRU: The interaction between the audience and the sounds we make is always sensed simultaneously, in real time, by the body. A live house enables us to experience that directly. Good feelings and emotions condense in that space. It is truly something wonderful and unique.
---- After leaving a tour hall and completing your tour finale, LAREINE will not exist in the concert space, only fleeting echoes and memories. But when you are involved in a tour, you say that the ties with your fans are strengthened?
KAMIJO: Definitely. We have agreed that, during this summer, we will simply experience things more absolutely. We don't plan on actually doing anything differently, but our consciousness will be heightened by summer's atmosphere. We didn't used to value such seasonal feelings. In order to describe LAREINE's "summer of passion," I think that one must experience one of our live house performances. The ramifications of the "Express Train of the Wind" (our tour's title) are rather fleeting, so I don't think that they can make a person stronger than the notes themselves.
---- What are the concepts behind your summer tour?
KAMIJO: Well, first of all, the fans who come to see us are an integral part to our entire thematic output, but those whom we do not see and meet are also important, and I think that as this "Express Train of the Wind" passes them, a new theme is born. As this train passes through the songs in "fiancailles" we are lured into the wind, but where are we taken to from there? I think that this mysteriousness is quite exhilirating. Within an unknown field there is a place that is very windy. I think that in such a place, we can gather together within a fresh sentiment.
---- Each of you seem to have your own personal themes. Could you please explain them in more detail?
KAMIJO: I like to think about and try various things. I am a wanderer who embarks on journeys to search for things that are also searching themselves. EMIRU likes to try many things privately, is't that right? (Smiles)
EMIRU: Until recently, I used to be an elf. But now, I have been reincarnated, and now live as a single human being. Not too long ago, in my previous existence, I developed an interest in the ways of magic. (Smiles) On tour, I have come to respect the laws and regulations involved in observing the ascetic's duties in magic training. Thus, my fans will see an even greater magic right in front of their eyes. I still don't know what kind of magic I possess. However, I feel something mysterious flowing within me, so I cannot just settle down and ignore it. I am searching myself for new things to try, so when I cannot find these things, my heart flutters furiously. (Smiles)
MAYU: Let's go on a journey! Across the nation... (Is MAYU a bit emotionally unstable? / Smiles)
MACHI: This time, it will be a journey of searching for myself. Because it is okay to make mistakes, I will choose to give heed to nothing and to gallop on bravely. In this period of time, I will, together with MAYU, try to dispatch a short story on TV, but that will also be my own personal journey of searching. (Smiles) Even if I challenge many and fail, I think there will still be time to mend the path I that have taken, so I can try anything. On this tour, I think that I will be able to try on many masks, so to speak, to develop a new reputation. The response should indeed be entertaining, don't you think?
---- When you perform at SHOCK WAVE, it will be your first outdoor performance, correct?
KAMIJO: Yes, LAREINE will be live under the vast blue sky for the first time. We have sung in many different situations and atmospheres, and we have been told that outside can be the most difficult, but I can't think of any reason for this. We are enriched completely only by the emotions of the experience. It is the most enjoyable part of what we do, so location is not all that significant. I don't think that the personal indications of LAREINE's summer have yet surfaced. Let's convey the passion of summer! (Smiles)
MACHI: When I was a senior-high-school student, I played the drums on an outside stage only once, but I vividly remember experiencing a great feeling of openness. I had a dream that while looking at the sky, I would play live. It was pure enjoyment, but I can't just look at the sky the whole time, can I? (Smiles) There is something romantic about an imminent twilight enveloping young people in their informal clothing, don't you think? The sounds that I produced that night echoed everywhere, and it felt strange to realize that. It was enchanting.
MAYU: The artists that I liked when I was younger performed outdoor concerts during their summer tours all the time, and I went to these shows often.
---- So will summer events become a permanent thing? Even in Chubu?! (Smiles)
(Everyone bursts out laughing)
KAMIJO: If I had had just 5 more seconds, I would have said that! (Laughs)
---- (Laughs) So in the "outdoors of aspiration," what kind of MAYU will you present?
MAYU: ...an open-hearted kind. (Smiles)
KAMIJO: Not more than MACHI! (Smiles bitterly)
EMIRU: I also performed outdoors when I was younger, but I did it twice. Therefore, of all the members, I am the most experienced in that area. I insist that everyone follow my example. (Smiles)
---- Ooo! Should we post a warning outside?
EMIRU: Of course, but first you must read the wind currents! (Smiles) After that, a warning for sunburn!! (Laughs)
MACHI: That is very important! This time, we should do a photo shoot in the sand dunes...seriously!
---- Really...I would like to see your manager after the end of that session!! (Smiles / Their manager would probably become competely black)
---- What kind of composition is your 2nd single, "Billet"?
KAMIJO: Very often, I feel myself becoming completely non-existent as I gaze upon my dreams. When I awake, I forget everything, just like most people. But sometimes, there is still a mood or impression lingering over me. These are the kinds of things that LAREINE tries to represent. "Memories of a previous existence are gone...only the feelings are conceived." This is our most prevalent idea. Truthfully, I have had very little time to watch and experience my dreams, though I did have a very vivid one about pursuing a young girl at a train station. I chased her into her home, where we climbed a flight of stairs. After that, everything dissolved. When coming out of this dream, I thought that, of the many people of this world, she was the only one I hadn't met, but when I awoke, the only thing that stayed with me in reality was the feeling of being deserted. That was on August 25th. At around that time of year, when summer is ending, the season becomes flooded with sentimentality, thus giving me a personal link to desertion. I tried to put all of these ideas into this song. "Billet" means "love letter" in French, but in the sense of this song, it refers to a very special kind of love letter: one that is sent to someone for the first time. (Smiles) If we use our CDs as stationery to write a letter with, then that becomes our reply.
---- What will the 2-days live event at Sun Plaza be like?
KAMIJO: The first day will be "Her Place of Sojourn ~Enchanted by the sea~", then the second day will be "His Place of Sojourn ~Terminal station of the wind~". The sea and the desert are two completely different things, but both seem infinitely vast, and have the same sense of space and detail. Within that relationship, I wanted to experience the enjoyment of singing for the sea and the desert in "fiancailles". And in that space, I wondered, what could I see between the waves? What could I see within the mirage of the desert? I would like to think of "Billet" and "fiancailles" as being intertwined. For these 2 days, we will ponder, together with our fans, the destination of the wind. For the first day, the most important thing will be that all of you are there, and for the second, it will be important for us to be there. I think, that way, we can have a good time, because the two days will be halves of an even more significant whole. I think everyone's paths will eventually cross ours during our show. For LAREINE, summer is the season of wildness and inhibition. So, this summer, we will be up to the challenge. This is the summer of the passion of LAREINE. There is heat and passion, so please do not ignore your inner desires.