Es VOL.24 new album“メモリーズ”Yuri Nakamura、Hitoshi Okamotointerview(1)

●○ From music freak Es Vol.24

GARNET CROW
New Album *Memories* NOW ON SALE

GARNET CROW released *Memories*, their ninth album overall, on December 7, approximately one year after their previous album *parallel universe*. The album contains all 11 tracks, including “Smiley Nation,” released as their first single of 2011 □, and “Misty Mystery,” the opening theme for the anime [Detective Conan], broadcast nationwide on Yomiuri TV/Nippon TV on Saturdays at 6:00 p.m. Each song is □ rich and full of presence, making the album highly satisfying to hear. We spoke with vocalist Yuri Nakamura and guitarist Hitoshi Okamoto about this work, which combines the appeal GARNET CROW has cultivated so far with new appeal that suggests what lies ahead □.
(INTERVIEWED BY YUKARI MATSUB□)

●What are your frank thoughts now that it is finished?
Hitoshi Okamoto (hereafter Okamoto): It has not been long since I heard the mastered final version, so there are things I cannot judge calmly yet. Compared with the previous album, it may be more for connoisseurs… I do not know whether “dense” is the right word, but I think some especially strong songs stand out. So if someone listens once and thinks, “Hmm?” I hope they will listen carefully one more time and gradually feel the appeal, discovering new things along the way. I think it is an album that can be enjoyed in that way.
Yuri Nakamura (hereafter Nakamura): We worked on it right up against the deadline. The last song we recorded was “Hero,” and I really wanted to include it on the album, so just before the deadline allowed for production, we made it from the demo to completion in about a week. That is why I now have a very strong feeling that I have given everything I had. I am in a state of pleasant exhaustion, as if I have nothing left or my drawers are empty, while emotionally I feel completely fulfilled.

●Why did you want to include “Hero” so badly this time?
Nakamura: As we selected the tracks, I began to want people to hear one song directly expressing my own unadorned sense and tastes. Recently, I had tended to challenge myself with many songs amid the desire to try “this kind of song and that kind of song.” Once the album tracks had come together to a certain degree, I thought I would like to deliberately include one song with a flavor I had originally liked. It is by no means a flashy song, but it is a simple, gentle song that gradually sinks into the heart, so I would really like people to listen to it carefully.

●Your recent singles have also presented brighter styles and digital sounds, with a flavor very different from GARNET CROW’s traditional image. This album feels like an even greater challenge.
Nakamura: Yes. For example, with the latest single “Misty Mystery,” we tried digital rock by blending GARNET CROW and digital sound effectively. This time, we developed that further with the digital-rock disco-like tune “Lonely Night” on track nine, while “Let’s Live Together” on track ten has GS-style guitar. We have added new things as spices while keeping our own identity, and the songs themselves have a new □ lineup. Of course, we have also included songs that will make you think, “This is GARNET CROW!”
●By the way, is Okamoto singing the chorus on “Hero”?
Nakamura: Yes. I asked Okamocchi to do all of the chorus for this song □.

●On December 31, 2011, MINIQLO’s third single “Green Flash” (catalog no. MINIQLO-5963 / price ￥1,500) will be sold exclusively at live venues, and SUPER LIGHT’s first DVD *Bootleg* (catalog no. SL-0001 / price ￥4,200) will be sold exclusively at live venues and to fan club members □.