VOL.151 “涙のイエスタデー”Yuri Nakamurainterview(second half)

Because we have rarely pursued this much catchiness before, I thought this song would let people hear a new GARNET CROW style. It was also our 100th song in our seventh anniversary year, so I am glad it became a track that would attract attention. Perhaps it is connected to the emphasis we placed on “putting on a show” at last year's live performances. Ballads and dark songs are good in a way that feels like GARNET CROW, but I think this song also makes clear that we can show people this side of GARNET CROW. Since it is being released in summer, I hope people will feel summer through it.

●The sound is refreshing, but the lyrics are a little poignant.

Nakamura: Yes. I think “sentimental” is the right word for them.

●I understand the content of the lyrics also changed.

Nakamura: There were many different versions, and they were all quite different, but in the end they settled into this form.

●You had not made many songs that changed so much before, had you?

Nakamura: It is not that there had never been one, but we had not done it in the past year or two. It gradually became more suited to summer. It is a summer song that is pop and bright, but also a little sentimental.

●The title “Tears of Yesterday” is striking too.

Nakamura: It sounds a little like the Beatles, doesn't it? (laughs) When you say “Yesterday,” you think of the Beatles, so we also designed the jacket with an analog record in mind. I hope people pay attention to that. Even the CD itself is made to look like a record, complete with grooves on the surface. It looks like a record, so please do not turn it over and try to play the other side… (laughs).

●So there are details to enjoy visually as well.

Nakamura: We thought that would be fun this time. Since this is our seventh-anniversary year and our 100th song, we wanted to put a celebratory feeling into it, and thought a jacket full of that kind of playfulness would be appropriate.

●Did the words “Tears of Yesterday” exist from the beginning?

Nakamura: No, they appeared as the lyrics went through various changes. In that sense, the work is enjoyable both for what you hear and what you see on the jacket. People who own Japanese Beatles records might enjoy comparing them and thinking, “They really made this look that similar…”

●What is the PV like?

Nakamura: The PV is full of playfulness too. That does not mean we were simply fooling around; we wanted to raise the celebratory mood. The staff also had fun making it, so it became a work packed with everyone's feelings of celebration.

●With so much packed into one song, I imagine you took care over choosing the songs for one single.

Nakamura: We hesitated a little over the selection. But “Go For It,” the second song, was decided fairly quickly. We chose it as a dark, heavy song that still carries the scent of early GARNET CROW and feels true to our music. When we were deciding on the third song, “Tears of Yesterday” had a hot-summer feeling, so we wanted something a little fresher and more summery, and chose “Ichiban Suteki Datta Hi.” Once we decided to place it third, Furui changed the intro and outro arrangement to make it fit that position. The outro fades out and connects to the first song, “Tears of Yesterday.” “Ichiban Suteki Datta Hi” became this special song because it was placed in this position and given this arrangement.

●You sometimes use arrangements like that on album tracks, but it is unusual for a single, isn't it?

Nakamura: We feel less like we are making a single and more like we are making a mini-album, so we carefully worked out this form in order to value the connections between the songs. Incidentally, I hear Furui's favorite is the third song. I like the second one too, though (laughs).

●Why do you like it?

Nakamura: I have always liked dark songs, so I was drawn to its darkness and strength. The chorus is strong, and I also like the glossy feeling and resonance of the A section. I would be happy if people listened for those details.

●The lyrics of “Go For It” also convey a powerful feeling. What did you think when you read them?

Nakamura: The words were very strong, and they sounded like a song cheering me on. At the very beginning of this year, I hurt my throat a little and went through a period when I could not sing as I wanted. It became a source of stress. There were times when I was dissatisfied even after singing, and when recording did not progress smoothly. When I was feeling a little down, the lyric “You can still get back up, can't you?” seemed to encourage me. The line “The enemy is within myself” also connected strongly with me: my struggle to produce my voice was a fight with myself. I sang it as if it were my own cheering song.

●There is a message along the lines of “Cut your own path with your own strength.”

Nakamura: Yes. The line “Lower your Hummer for all the life you have” also overlapped with my situation and encouraged me as if it were telling me, “You can still go on.”

●Did recording proceed smoothly?

Nakamura: I was able to sing it without getting stuck anywhere, and finishing the vocal actually gave me confidence. I think it became one of my favorite songs because I feel so strongly about it.

●Had “Ichiban Suteki Datta Hi,” the third song, existed for a while?

Nakamura: It existed by July of last year. We gradually changed the arrangement from there, and when we decided to include it as the third track this time, we changed the intro and outro again. It changed in three stages.

●What did you think when you heard the changed arrangement?

Nakamura: I thought it was cool. The intro phrase stayed with me, and its sparkle like sunlight on the water felt summery. It expressed a different kind of summer from “Tears of Yesterday,” so I felt that we had found three songs suitable for a summer release.

●Did you expect the lyrics to turn out the way they did?

Nakamura: No, I did not. AZUKI said that when hope and destruction overlap, it feels as if a huge amount of adrenaline is being released…

●So that is why you cannot tell whether the protagonist is moving forward or has decided that it no longer matters. Did you think about that while singing?

Nakamura: Not at all. AZUKI told me afterward, and I was surprised. I realized it was fairly heavy… (laughs). When you sing it over the sound, it does not feel that heavy. Once I heard that explanation and read only the lyrics later, I thought they were heavy. In that sense, perhaps the brightness of the music and the weight of the lyrics balance each other.

●You have had songs that invite listeners to enjoy the balance between music and lyrics, but this is one of the more extreme gaps, isn't it?

Nakamura: The gap is quite large. At the same time, it is a song you can listen to lightly without thinking too much. But if you try to read deeply into the lyrics, you can keep going deeper and deeper. It is a song you can enjoy by listening and also by reading the lyrics. The third song's lyrics may be irresistible to people who love GARNET CROW's world (laughs).

●In connection with the title, may I ask what the “best day” has been among the days you have lived so far?

Nakamura: There have been many. The day I first stood onstage at a live show, days I went traveling, and more recently, a day when I baked delicious bread… (laughs). Among them, live shows are still the most incredible. They are things you cannot experience in everyday life, and the atmosphere is something you can only understand by standing onstage. I think it is amazing. I also felt that way when we performed outdoors, singing as the sun went down and darkness fell. Daily studio work can make you feel as though you do not even know what month it is, so live shows and other unusual spaces often leave the strongest impressions.

●Do you think you will have more days that feel wonderful from now on?

Nakamura: I would like there to be more. Ideally, every day would be wonderful and every day would be an anniversary.

●This single became an anniversary-like work in which many coincidences came together. Will that enjoyment continue?

Nakamura: We want to do many things through the end of the year. There are fan-club events in June and July, and we will try new things there too, so please look forward to them. As for the music, many very good songs have been taking shape one after another, and we feel as though we are catching a wave. With the tailwind of the seventh-anniversary celebrations, we want to race ahead this year.

●○○From music freak magazine Vol.151

“Tears of Yesterday” 2007.7.4 Release
GIZA studio　GZCA-4096　¥1,260 (tax in)

1. Tears of Yesterday
2. Go For It
3. Ichiban Suteki Datta Hi
4. Tears of Yesterday (Instrumental)

※“Tears of Yesterday”
Opening theme for the anime “Detective Conan,” broadcast nationwide on the Yomiuri TV/Nippon TV network every Monday at 7:30 p.m.

★Includes an original anime-design postcard with newly drawn artwork!!

■OFFICIAL WEBSITE　www.garnetcrow.com

★GARNET CROW's 100th song overall commemorative event!
DVD + Single joint-entry campaign★

Including songs from the single and albums, GARNET CROW has finally reached its 100th song overall with the new single “Tears of Yesterday,” counting everything released since its indie days! To celebrate, attach the entry ticket included with the live DVD “GARNET CROW LIVESCOPE OF THE TWILIGHT VALLEY” to the postcard enclosed with the July 4 single “Tears of Yesterday” and enter for a chance to win an original 100-song commemorative T-shirt supervised by the members. One hundred winners will be selected by lottery!

LIVE DVD “GARNET CROW LIVESCOPE OF THE TWILIGHT VALLEY”　NOW ON SALE
【First Press Edition】B-VISION　ONBD-7078　¥3,990 (tax in)
Includes a live audio CD: several best takes selected by the members from the 2006 live recordings
【Regular Edition】B-VISION　ONBD-7079　¥3,990 (tax in)