VOL.139 “夢・花火”Yuri Nakamurainterview

●○○ From music freak magazine Vol.139

●I understand that “Yume・Hanabi” had been in production almost up to its planned release last year, but that you decided to work on it again. What led to that decision?
YURI NAKAMURA (hereafter Nakamura): As we worked on it, we felt that it was not bad as it was, but there was nothing inside us that really clicked. Rather than release it in that state, we had a feeling that we could make something better if we worked on it one more time, so we paused the process and refined it. That is how it reached its present form.
●Has the finished version changed much from the earlier one?
Nakamura: The foundation itself has not changed, but I think the impression when you listen to it has become more rock-oriented, with a good kind of roughness and weight. It was already a rock and uptempo song in the beginning, but it was more polished, if anything. There was nothing wrong with that, but when releasing it as a single, I thought it would be better to bring the good kind of wildness and rock feeling to the front, so we changed it.
●Did you have any particular image in mind when you first wrote the song?
Nakamura: When I wrote it, I was not thinking about whether it was rock or anything like that. Once lyrics had been added, the arrangement was finished, and I put on the vocals, I thought it might be better with a little more weight. We replaced the drums to create a stronger sense of groove and continued working from there. As we developed it, the song's good points became clearer, and we realized that bringing out its rough side would be the coolest approach.
●Is it fun to watch a song change shape?
Nakamura: It is incredibly fun. I cannot stop creating because of this… In that sense, I think this work is packed with the real joy of making music. It may be difficult for listeners to sense, but for the people making it, watching a song change is a great pleasure, and one reason we cannot give it up.
●When you spend that much time building a song, you must become especially attached to it.
Nakamura: When you work on it that thoroughly, you have it with you for a long time, so when the release is finally decided, the feeling of “At last we can release it!” is particularly strong (laughs).
●What did you think when you read AZUKI's lyrics?
Nakamura: When I first read them, I felt a great sense of nostalgia. They had an atmosphere that brought old memories of my own back to me. There was a little sadness, but I also felt something strong, and I hope those aspects come through.
●Is there a part of the lyrics you particularly like?
Nakamura: Rather than a particular favorite, the English part was difficult to sing.
●It feels a little like a spell, doesn't it?
Nakamura: I imagined it as something attached separately from the main song. This was one of the songs I wrote when I was listening to a lot of Italian canzone. There were canzone songs with that kind of style, so I thought I would try incorporating it. At first, AZUKI wanted to fit a sutra into that section… (laughs). That might have frightened listeners (laughs), so I asked her to use English instead. The energy drops sharply in that part and becomes almost spoken, so it was difficult to sing. It needed to be stronger than a whisper but not as strong as singing, so I was careful with that balance.
●“His Voyage” feels fresh and bright in contrast to “Yume・Hanabi.” Did you write it with the season in mind?
Nakamura: Since it was going to be released in summer, I thought a relaxed mid-tempo ballad might be hard to listen to in the middle of summer, so I chose an upbeat song that made me think of summer. It was actually the last song we recorded. Once we had “Yume・Hanabi” and decided that we also wanted to include “Ring Ring a ding,” we thought the third song should be something summery with a sense of speed, and recorded this one.
●There are also words in the lyrics that evoke the season.
Nakamura: We all shared the desire to include a sense of season from the moment we were making the song. The arrangement naturally became light and brisk, with a sense of speed, and the lyrics came together with content that somehow suggested summer as well.
●Though the lyrics are seasonal, they also touch on deep parts of people's thoughts and hearts.
Nakamura: I really like these lyrics. We always have goals, dreams, and hopes, but sometimes they can suddenly seem meaningless or feel heavy. At the same time, there is a sad human nature in the fact that we cannot live without having a purpose… There is a side of me that honestly wants to live earnestly toward something, and another side that wonders whether those things are necessary and wants to throw them all away. The lyrics let me feel that very human quality, and I could strongly relate to them. I want to support people who work hard because I think what they do is admirable, but I also wonder what remains after working that hard. The lyrics made me think about things at that depth. If the sound had also been heavy, singing it would have made the song feel dark (laughs), but because I sing it lightly over a lively rhythm, I think it is easy to listen to.
●In that sense, this song is different from GARNET CROW's previous work. You must be looking forward to hearing listeners' reactions.
Nakamura: Yes, I am. It is quite an unusual song, with a lot of English lyrics. I could get into it by following the groove, so it was fun to sing, too. It feels like surfing. I cannot actually surf, but I sang as if I were riding a wave… (laughs).
●“Ring Ring a ding” also has a sparkling quality and feels like a cute song.
Nakamura: Since “Yume・Hanabi” is in a minor key, I wanted to include a major-key song for contrast, so I chose this one. It is fresh and seems connected to the world of “Crystal Gauge”; it has that sparkling, cute feeling.
●What did you think when you read AZUKI's lyrics?
Nakamura: They feel full of love. It is as if they forget everything ugly and are filled with gentle love and sparkling feelings. I love the fantastical world. It feels otherworldly.
●Did you have that image at the sound-making stage as well?
Nakamura: I think I wrote it around the time I was watching films such as “The NeverEnding Story” (laughs). I love fantastical worlds. I love stories set in imaginary worlds away from reality, and perhaps everyone understood that side of this song, because both the lyrics and arrangement ended up feeling like an other-dimensional space.
●Even though the lyrics are about another world, the feelings of the people in it are carefully portrayed. Is there a lyric you particularly like?
Nakamura: The line “No matter what we lose, with only the feeling that we love it so much.” I think that one line expresses everything. If you have the feeling that you love something, you can work hard at anything. It applies to work, romance, and everything else, and I think it is important that we can move forward depending on our own feelings. In “His Voyage,” I am thinking, “Who cares about all that!” but then I look at the lyrics of “Ring Ring a ding” and end up concluding that it really is important after all… (laughs).
●These three songs have become three different types of songs.
Nakamura: Since they are all different, I think everyone who listens will find at least one favorite. “Ring Ring a ding” is probably the most straightforward song. I would be happy if people heard it and thought, “I should be more honest too.”
●Do you have an image of what direction GARNET CROW's sound is heading in now?
Nakamura: The direction has not especially changed from before, and our feelings have not changed either. Our approach is to build a song around the song itself. Some songs should be built by creating a world around them, while others work better when momentum is the priority, so we discuss it with each song. We begin by asking what the song wants to become, rather than trying to unify the world of every song.
●Are you currently working toward the next release?
Nakamura: Yes. We would like to release an original album this year. It is fun to build it while consulting with each song, but it is also fun to figure out how to bring everything together once enough songs have accumulated. I do not know yet what it will become, but I hope the material comes together well for our fifth original album.
●By the time this single is released, summer will have arrived. How do you spend your summers?
Nakamura: I do not go outside… (laughs). Apparently last summer was hot, but I was in the studio recording the whole time, so I hardly went outside and usually went home after the sun had set. I entered autumn without feeling much of summer. I suspect this year may be the same (laughs), but I like fireworks festivals, so I intend to go. Every year, when fireworks season arrives, I decide which festival to attend (laughs). I want to take a fireworks holiday again this year and go watch one. Fireworks festivals are what I look forward to in summer!

New Single “Yume・Hanabi” 7.5 Release
【First Press Edition】
GIZA studio　GZCA-4072　¥1,260 (tax in)

1. Yume・Hanabi
2. His Voyage
3. Ring Ring a ding
4. Rai Rai Ya〜mother earth〜
5. Rai Rai Ya〜mysterious remix〜
6. Rai Rai Ya〜Orchestra Ver〜
7. Yume・Hanabi (instrumental)

※First Press Edition only: special sleeve case
※First Press Edition includes a “MÄR” anime-design sticker

“Yume・Hanabi”【Regular Edition】
GIZA studio　GZCA-4073　¥1,260 (tax in)

1. Yume・Hanabi
2. His Voyage
3. Ring Ring a ding
4. rai rai ya〜eternal blessing〜
5. Rai Rai Ya〜mysterious remix〜
6. Yume・Hanabi (instrumental)

※Regular Edition has a “MÄR” anime-design back cover

■OFFICIAL WEBSITE　garnetcrow.com