VOL.159 “LOCKS”成员interview(second half)

●○○From music freak magazine Vol.159

and when they checked carefully, it turned out to be a song we had not used yet… If we had not noticed the incorrect number, it might never have seen the light of day (laughs).

●“Namida no Yesterday” is included in an album version.

Nakamura: This is the version we performed at last year’s Ninna-ji live show. We had so much fun with it, and it stayed with us as a good memory, so we decided to include this version. Since it was also a song performed toward the end of the Ninna-ji show, we thought beginning with the chorus would make it more exciting… Originally, it was based on the TV-size version that aired on “Detective Conan.” If “Saigo no Ritou,” the first track, serves as the album’s introduction, I hope listeners will feel things accelerate with the following “Namida no Yesterday.”

●Did the album’s track order come together smoothly?

Nakamura: We had decided from the beginning that “Saigo no Ritou” would be first and “Love is a Bird” would be last, so I think the album’s outer framework was fixed at that point. After that, we tried various arrangements for the songs in between, but we did not have any major doubts. For example, we had decided that “Futari” and “Mr. Holiday” should form a pair, and that “doubt” and “Kaze to RAINBOW” should form a pair. We determined the flow by switching around blocks like those.

●I hear that everyone liked “Mou Ichido Waratte” from the demo stage.

Okamoto: When I heard the completed arrangement, I thought it had a soft, familiar atmosphere that slipped easily into the ear. I also thought the guitar was very simple and good.

Furui: Basically, I tend to listen with the chorus as the main focus, but the introduction leading up to it is also very important… In this song, it sounds as if things are simply flowing along, but I remember arranging it with that sense of comfort in mind.

●What was Nakamura’s impression when you heard the arrangement?

Nakamura: It felt so bittersweet that I thought, “This is it!!”

●“Kono Te wo Nobaseba” is included as an album version with added chorus.

Nakamura: I thought that adding depth to the chorus might increase the warmth of the song, and when we tried it, that version was better, so we used it. With the single, we wanted the words to come through clearly, so there was a sense of taking on the song with just the lead vocal. But within the album, that quality weakened and it seemed a shame that the song’s appeal was not coming through as well, so we added chorus from the intro and gave it a little more weight. Once the track order had mostly taken shape, we also made it thicker with the connections to the songs before and after it in mind. It is not exactly flashy, but I thought it would be more comfortable to hear a breath with some substance… The phrases are the same, but the feeling changes depending on whether there is chorus or not, so it might be interesting to compare it with the single.

●“doubt” has a completely different style from the songs before it.

Nakamura: When the arrangement was complete and I was recording the vocal, I thought, “I have to sing without losing to the guitar.” The guitar gets very involved in this song… (laughs). I think people can enjoy the guitar-versus-vocal aspect too.

●When recording the guitar for this song, Okamoto, did you consciously play it forcefully?

Okamoto: I played it thinking, “I’m going to really attack this in the studio” (laughs). Of course, I experimented while listening to the guide vocal too.

●It is a passionate song.

Nakamura: In a way, this song feels very GARNET CROW-like, and I think it also carries on the flow from the previous album. We made it express the feeling of holding smoldering desires and frustrations inside and then letting them explode.

●“Futari” conveys a sense of fun throughout.

Nakamura: We wrote this song when the lineup of album tracks was almost settled. It was the last song we recorded, but it was fun to make, and in the end we played around a lot with effects. This song changed dramatically through the lyrics and arrangement. Each of us put our own techniques into it, so I hope you listen for that too. I do not think GARNET CROW has had a song with this kind of live feel before, so I hope people can feel a new GARNET CROW through it.

Furui: When I first heard this song, I thought the structure was very interesting and wanted to take an interesting approach. Since it was also the last song we recorded for the album, I made it thinking that we might as well do something bold rather than something similar to the other songs. I did worry whether it was okay to go that far, but when AZUKI told me, “This arrangement saved the song,” I was truly relieved. In that sense, it may be a song where the members were able to have a jam session together.

●Okamoto, was there anything you were able to do boldly precisely because it was this song?

Okamoto: The “da-da, dada” part at the beginning was actually difficult, and I struggled with how to produce a sound with an old-fashioned tone. The timing of the pauses was difficult too. Making it sound foolish without making it sound bad was very hard, and I had a tough time with it. But people who listen to GARNET CROW’s songs properly understand what we are aiming for, which makes me happy.

●It seems like it would be even more fun to perform this song live.

Okamoto: Yes. The lyrics are very substantial too…

Nakamura: The arrangement changes rapidly and keeps developing within one song, so I think it will not get boring to listen to.

●“Mr. Holiday” puts its bouncing feel right out front.

Nakamura: We made this because we specifically wanted a song with a bouncing feel, and carried it through with a light shuffle groove. The selling point is Oka-mocchi’s chorus—or rather, the twin vocals by Oka-mocchi and me (laughs).

Okamoto: Thank you!! (laughs)

Nakamura: We turned up the volume of Oka-mocchi’s chorus during the mix, so it is practically a twin vocal (laughs). I think the whole song conveys an incredibly fun and warmhearted feeling. We had not originally planned to add Oka-mocchi’s chorus, but after recording my vocal, I thought I wanted a warmhearted chorus, and when I thought of someone warmhearted, there was one person who came to mind… (laughs). There are not many songs this cute and warmhearted, so people whose strongest impression is the previous album, 『THE TWILIGHT VALLEY』, might be surprised when they hear it. It feels springlike and light, and the seasonal atmosphere fits perfectly, so I think it works well.

●“The first cry” is a somewhat shadowy song. When was it written?

Nakamura: It is one of the more recently written songs on the album. It is the kind of song we like, so it naturally came together. Mr. Katsuta from DIMENSION played saxophone on it, so I hope you will listen for that too.

●Was the decision to add saxophone made during the arrangement process?

Furui: When I was considering what instrument to use for the solo, I heard a saxophone phrase in one of the things I was listening to for reference. I thought I would try adding it, and while I was working on it, it fit before I knew it (laughs). Once I had a temporary phrase, I thought that if we were going to include it, I wanted a live instrument, so I asked Mr. Katsuta.

●There are not many GARNET CROW songs where another instrument is featured in a solo, are there?

Furui: That is true. I thought it sounded interesting, so I tried it. I think it gave the song a slightly more mature feel.

●“Love is a Bird” closes the album. Was it also written during the album’s production?

Nakamura: Yes. It was written around the same time as “Sekai wa mawaru to iu keredo.” I wanted to close with a choir-like song, so I included it. It feels like a hymn to humanity, with a choir singing a different phrase behind the chorus melody.

●Many songs on this album seem to begin with guitar, so I felt this song had a distinct presence because its intro is built around a synthesizer.

Furui: Since the opening vocal had that kind of melody, when I thought about how to develop it, I started with a vague image: keep the A section restrained, as if it were coming to a stop; gradually build from the B section; and then make the chorus hit hard. From there I set various themes for myself. I also considered themes through the approaches to the instruments and rhythm, and in that flow, I thought that an intro like that would lead into the world of the opening vocal phrase, so I gave it one.

●The previous album had a unified approach to its jacket, and the jacket artwork for this album is elaborate as well.

Nakamura: We made it by linking the total image of something “pure and evergreen,” the fact that it would be released in spring, the plants and animals that had been sleeping through winter beginning to move again, and our own desire to create music with a renewed feeling. We wanted GARNET CROW’s version of evergreen to be a mixture of a clean, refreshing side and a poisonous, slightly twisted world. That is why the jacket artwork shows a bird spreading its wings alongside somewhat eerie frogs and lizards.

●It has an otherworldly feeling too.

Nakamura: Various animals appear in the inner artwork as well. There are birds and bats, as well as imaginary creatures, creating a very other-dimensional world. The animals depicted on the first-press A and B editions are different, and there is also a gimmick where the two pictures connect, so that is something to look forward to after you buy them… I hope you will enjoy GARNET CROW’s evergreen world through both your ears and your eyes.

●Finally, please say a few words about this album for the readers of this magazine.

Furui: I think it has turned out to be an easy work to listen to both for those who have supported GARNET CROW until now and for those who began listening to GARNET CROW because of this album. I hope we can communicate through music.

Okamoto: Some time has passed since the previous album, but I think this is an item that will let people get to know the GARNET CROW of today.

Nakamura: On the previous album, we expressed our dark and deep world, but this time the songs are lined up with a completely different, life-filled sound, while also being packed with the bittersweetness that exists within us. I hope you will listen to GARNET CROW’s evergreen sound on this album. I would be happy if you thought, “Has GARNET CROW added another drawer to its musical cabinet?” The keyword is “LOCK ON to your heart!” (laughs)

New Album 『LOCKS』 08.3.12 Release
GIZA studio

1. Saigo no Ritou　2. Namida no Yesterday (album ver.)
3. Sekai wa mawaru to iu keredo　4. Mou Ichido Waratte
5. Kono Te wo Nobaseba (album ver.)　6. doubt
7. Kaze to RAINBOW　8. Futari　9. Mr. Holiday
10. The first cry　11. Love is a Bird

All Songs　Lyrics: AZUKI Nana　Music: Yuri Nakamura　Arrangement: Hirohito Furui

■OFFICIAL WEBSITE　www.garnetcrow.com

First-press edition A【CD＋DVD】(Ninna-ji Live DVD ver.)
GZCA-5124　￥3,500 (tax in)

First-press edition B【CD＋DVD】(Video Clip ver.)
GZCA-5125　￥3,500 (tax in)

Regular edition【CD】GZCA-5126　￥3,059 (tax in)