Es VOL.12 new album“parallel universe”成员interview(second half)

●○○From music freak Es Vol.12

Overall, I think it has turned out to be a well-balanced album.
●Would it be fair to say that “Over Drive” is the axis of this album?
Nakamura: Yes. If “Over Drive” had not come together, the other songs might not have been born, and I might not have wanted to write them. It was an extremely difficult birth, but in the end I think this song became a turning point.
●How do the male members interpret their answer of 4 for “GARNET CROW-ness”?
Furui: Some people may feel that it is characteristic of us, while others may feel that it is a little different from what we have done before. But I think we have managed to show GARNET's color by embracing that difference too. I think this became an album that both the fans who have listened to GARNET's songs all along and those who came to like our music through “Over Drive” will enjoy.
Okamoto: I think it is extremely reasonable. If we are being modest, it is a 4; if we are being more conceited, it is a 5 (laughs). We have worked with the same members for ten years, so I think “GARNET CROW-ness” comes through in any song we make. But the fact that we deliberately lower it to 4 is itself another example of GARNET CROW-ness.
Nakamura: (Laughs.) We cannot give ourselves a 5! We are being just a little modest.
Okamoto: Exactly. We are actually confident that the album is full of GARNET CROW-ness, but deliberately lowering the score by one is very “GARNET CROW,” too (laughs).
●I see! Next is “New attempts,” which received a 3.
Nakamura: Half the songs follow the direction of “Over Drive,” while the other half are songs in our familiar style, such as our dramatic “Sora ni Hanabi,” the weighty rock ballad “The Crack-up,” and the slightly mid-tempo, poignant “strangers.” I gave it a 3 because I thought it was almost exactly half and half.
●Speaking of new attempts, you had your first experience with a symphonic concert in the summer, and “Sora ni Hanabi” is included here in an orchestral version. What should listeners pay attention to?
Okamoto: The cymbals have tremendous impact, so please listen for them. It is an incredibly dramatic piece. I happened to be listening while writing something, and the cymbals made my hand stop. I thought they were truly a wonderful instrument!
Nakamura: All the strings and wind instruments were recorded live, so the sound has much more pressure and breadth, making the song even more dramatic. I think it is the kind of song that moves me to tears every time I hear it. And since everything was played and blown by real people, you can feel their warmth, breathing, and the way they breathe life into the music. There is tremendous warmth in the idea of matching your breathing to create one thing together. I think that warmth was added to our original song, making it even more romantic.
●Next, “Listenability” received a 4. What do you think, Furui?
Furui: At first I wondered, “I wonder how this will turn out?” But day by day, I naturally began to feel, “This might be good.” I am really looking forward to hearing what the people who listen to it think, although I find myself worrying about unnecessary things such as, “I hope they do not think the quality has declined from the last album” (laughs). Still, I have a feeling people will enjoy it.
●“The pain of creation” received a 3.
Nakamura: “Over Drive”!
Okamoto: Just that alone makes it a 3 (laughs). Was it really that difficult?
Nakamura: I went through an extremely difficult birth, so the memory has stayed with me and makes me feel that I struggled quite a bit.
●Was that because you could not come up with a melody you were satisfied with?
Nakamura: There were many reasons. It did not fit the image perfectly, and I kept rewriting it, thinking, “Just a little more, just a little more.” I shut myself away and pulled an all-nighter for the first time in a while (laughs). That memory still lingers, so I gave it a 3 to say that I struggled about halfway. Also, although it is a little different from the usual meaning of “the pain of creation,” “Sora ni Hanabi” involved the difficulty of performing with a live orchestra at the symphonic concert, as well as the pressure and nerves of taking on something for the first time. I experienced a kind of pain in that sense, too. The album came together after those experiences, so it can be described as “the pain of creation” in that respect as well.
●Conversely, are there any songs that came together smoothly, without any pain of creation?
Nakamura: “strangers” and “Mayoi no Mori” were easy to sing because the worlds of the songs were already firmly established. The worlds of the music and lyrics matched perfectly. They had a phantom-like image, somewhere between a hazy reality and a dream... All I had to do was sing on top of that kind of illusory image, so it was very easy.
●When it comes to the lyrics written by AZUKI, do you and AZUKI deepen your understanding of their content together before you record the vocals?
Nakamura: No, we do not. That is why the most enjoyable part for me is looking at the lyrics once they arrive and fitting them to the melody while listening to the backing track. The melodic line sounds different when it consists only of notes and when it carries the resonance of words. That difference is very interesting, and it is also one of the rewarding parts of the work.
●So you decide the rhythmic division of the lyrics, Nakamura?
Nakamura: AZUKI does send me something saying, “This is the rhythmic division,” but she also says, “If there is another way that fits more naturally, it is fine to change it.” So the final decision is left to me.
●Did you feel any “pain of creation,” Furui?
Furui: There was not much that I struggled with, but even after an arrangement was finished, I did not simply accept it as done. I listened in different rooms, in the car, and in all kinds of places, making an overall effort to enrich the content, so to speak. It is not exactly “the pain of creation,” but because we spent so much time on it, we really took more time and care than usual to make this album.
●Is there a song that left a particular impression on you during the recording, Okamoto?
Okamoto: We only finished it recently, so that may be influencing me, but “strangers.” I think its presence stands out precisely because it is on this album, and it plays a very good role. It feels very fresh, and I also enjoyed playing it.
●“Sense of season” received a 2.
Nakamura: That is right; we did not consciously create the songs with a sense of season. We do not work by accumulating songs according to the season of a release and then making an album, so when someone asks whether there is a sense of season, I end up feeling, “Not really” (laughs).
●This album does seem to evoke a wide range of seasons.
Nakamura: Yes, I think it has a lot of variety in that respect (laughs).
Furui: Maybe because we made it over the course of this year (laughs).
Nakamura: Exactly. I think you should listen to it as GARNET CROW's original album of 2010! It happens to be released in winter, but it is GARNET's record of 2010...
Okamoto: A record of our activities!
Nakamura: (Laughs.) Right, exactly. It might be better to listen to it that way.
●Next is “Live suitability,” which received a 4.
Nakamura: There are songs we created while imagining that they would be fun to perform live, or thinking that we wanted to try them onstage. We will also begin rehearsing for the year-end concerts around the middle of November, so we are gradually shifting into live mode. We have been talking among ourselves about what we would do with the songs live, too. In that sense, I feel the album is full of songs that make us want to perform them live soon.
●Which song are you especially eager to perform live?
Nakamura: “Aozora Kanata”!
Furui: “strangers” for me!
Okamoto: “Sora ni Hanabi”! We performed it with an orchestra in the summer, but I am still not done with it. I want to do it more!
●You chose “Aozora Kanata.” It opens this album and makes a tremendous impact right away. I felt it symbolized the album. Was it created from the outset with the idea that it would be the opening track?
Nakamura: No! I wrote it in the flow that followed “Over Drive,” and we decided on the running order after all the songs were finished. I got an image of it as the entrance to a dream, or the entrance to paradise, where『parallel universe』begins, so I decided to make it the first track.
●It seems like a song that would also shine in a live setting.
Nakamura: I hope people will be able to feel a new GARNET CROW through it live, too.
●Now for the final category: “The future,” which received a 4.
Nakamura: In the end,『parallel universe』is another new GARNET world, and I feel we were able to show it to people. That made me think this album also carries the keyword “the future,” so I gave it a 4.
●Did you come up with the title, Nakamura?
Nakamura: Yes, I did.
●The materials say that the meaning of『parallel universe』is “another paradise.”
Nakamura: Yes. The jacket design makes it easier to understand: the first-press limited edition represents the real world, and beyond the door you can see the colorful world depicted on the regular edition. Conversely, the regular edition shows the world after entering that colorful realm, with the barren real world visible beyond the door.［The real world and the world of dreams］Both are our worlds, but if we regard the poignant, fragile, melancholy songs we have always made, such as “As the Dew,” “Sora ni Hanabi,” “The Crack-up,” and “strangers,” as［reality］, then the bright songs like “Over Drive” and “Aozora Kanata” belong to the colorful paradise world of the other realm,『parallel universe』. Both are our worlds, but we chose the title『parallel universe』to invite people to see another side of GARNET CROW: our newly presented, vivid musical world.
●Was the jacket idea yours as well, Nakamura?
Nakamura: Yes. When I was thinking about how to express it, I started with an image like Doraemon's Anywhere Door (laughs), wanting to portray a world overflowing with dreams and hope. At first, it was an idea only for the first-press limited edition, but then we thought we should try making the reverse side as well. We created the real world as seen from inside the colorful world, and both turned out well, so we decided to present both as part of the concept.
●One thing that left an impression when I listened to this album was the power in your singing voice, Nakamura. It sounded as if you were singing with a very large voice. Were you conscious of that while recording?
Furui: Other interviews have said that, too. That your singing has become more powerful.
Nakamura: Oh, really?
Furui: Maybe your sheer volume has simply increased.
●I also felt tremendous power during the symphonic live show and was overwhelmed by the presence of your voice.
Nakamura: During the symphonic show, I thought I would be overwhelmed by the orchestra if I did not work hard, so I pushed myself tremendously.
Furui: Maybe it is because you have done street performances!
Nakamura: (Laughs.) Perhaps that trained me!
Furui: It may be because you have learned to sing out unamplified. You had not done that before. Seriously, that may have something to do with it.
Nakamura: Maybe I have gained courage (laughs).
Furui: That may be part of it, too.
Nakamura: We have had many more live performances lately, so perhaps that has helped me develop in that direction a little.
●So it is unconscious?
Nakamura: It is unconscious. But I do try not to use a live-performance vocal technique when recording. If I record immediately after a live show, the engineer tells me right away, “You are using your live voice.” That is not suitable for recording, so I sing more carefully to bring out the delicate details. I wonder if my overall capacity has increased.
Furui: Your engine displacement?
Okamoto: Not engine displacement—lung capacity (laughs).
Furui: Oh, right, not engine displacement (laughs).
Nakamura: Maybe I gained enough horsepower to go from a kei car to a large vehicle (laughs).
●I feel that your presence as a singer has grown even stronger recently, Nakamura. There is a real sense of power.
Furui: The engineer said that, too.
Nakamura: Has my attitude gotten bigger, too?
Furui: Your attitude is bigger, and your engine displacement has increased!
Nakamura: That's no good (laughs). Nobody will want to deal with me anymore (laughs).
●Finally, please give us one precise highlight of this album, one from each of you.
Okamoto: I tend to force myself to summarize, so I will choose one specific point! The synthesizer solo in “Aozora Kanata”!
Furui: (Laughs.) You picked a dangerous one. Come to think of it, “Aozora Kanata” does have a synthesizer solo!
Okamoto: If we print that, everyone will surely be curious and want to listen to it (laughs).
Nakamura: Oh, then I will go in that direction too! The guitar solo in “The Crack-up.” It has a poignant, soaring “kyuiiin” sound, so please pay special attention to the guitar solo.
Furui: I want to see how HITOSHI OKAMOTO will play the guitar solo in “strangers” live, and how he will bring that mysterious world to life!
Okamoto: Me? Please cut that comment from the article!
●You have the year-end concerts coming up, so please tell us your aspirations, one by one.
Furui: I want everyone to enjoy themselves, enjoy myself too, and create a space where that can happen. That is all there is to it.
Okamoto: The countdown on December 31 is the finale, so it is very important, but before that comes the first day. If we lose this opening match, we will be in serious trouble, so I want to treat it as important and make a solid start.
Nakamura: The first day is at home in Osaka, so I am counting on it being all right. The tenth-anniversary year is still going on, so in the December concerts I want to give back the power we have received from everyone and create a “paradise” at the venue where we can give everyone our own energy!
Okamoto: Wow, that was a great finish! Perfect!
Nakamura: (Laughs.) So please come and see GARNET Paradise. I think it will be a very colorful live show. Please come join us!!!

■『parallel universe』
＜TRACKLIST＞
01. Aozora Kanata
02. As the Dew 〜album version〜
03. Over Drive
04. tell me something
05. Mayoi no Mori
06. Sora ni Hanabi 〜orchestra session〜
07. Nagisa to Secret Days
08. The Crack-up
09. strangers
10. Kyou to Ashita to
bonus track・regular edition only
Over Drive 〜theater version〜

First-press limited edition［CD＋DVD］
GZCA-5230／¥3,500 (tax included)
Includes a DVD featuring three videos from［GARNET CROW Symphonic Concert 2010 〜All Lovers〜］held on August 26!

Regular edition［CD］
GZCA-5231／¥3,059 (tax included)
Includes “Over Drive 〜theater version〜” as a bonus track!

■ LIVE INFORMATION

［GARNET CROW Livescope 2010⁺ 〜welcome to the parallel universe！〜］
◇December 12 (Sun.) Osaka／Grand Cube Osaka Main Hall
　　　　　　　　(Osaka International Convention Center)
　　　　　　　　OPEN 17:00／START 18:00
◇December 24 (Fri.) Aichi／Nagoya City Public Hall, Main Hall
　　　　　　　　OPEN 18:30／START 19:00
◇December 26 (Sun.) Tokyo／Tokyo International Forum Hall A
　　　　　　　　OPEN 17:00／START 18:00
　Ticket price: ¥6,000 (tax included／reserved seating)

［GARNET CROW Special Countdown Live 2010-2011］
◇December 31 (Fri.) Osaka／Dojima River Forum
　　　　　　　　OPEN 21:45 / START 22:30
　　　　　　　　Ticket price: ¥8,000 (tax included／standing room only)

For detailed contact information and other details:
→OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.garnetcrow.com