-- You also performed "忘れ咲き" when you appeared at THURSDAY LIVE on August 5.
Yuri Nakamura:Yes, it was already finished around that time. The song itself had existed as a demo tape since about a year earlier, and from there we changed the melody and structure a little and completed it.
-- It is a GARNET CROW-like medium ballad. Did you decide to release it at this time because it is a ballad?
Yuri Nakamura:In our case, of course, we are always recording songs as they come up, and this song was one of them. Since it is a ballad, we thought it would be good for people to listen to it carefully. While comparing it with other songs, we decided that a ballad might be good for early autumn.
-- What was the recording like this time?
Yuri Nakamura:We did make corrections to the song several times, but the recording itself went relatively smoothly.
-- GARNET CROW's stance of recording while stocking many songs never changes.
Yuri Nakamura:It is the way of producing that gives us the most room, I suppose. We record so that we can choose from various kinds of songs. I do want us to do things that way as much as possible, but after recording, there are still songs that do not really click, and there are many aspects you cannot know unless you try them. Ideally, and as a goal, when we can choose, I hope we can release the thing that clicks most for us from among them.
-- Especially since the start of this year, you have been performing new songs live very early, and I get the feeling that you are selecting the songs you release in a very luxurious way.
Yuri Nakamura:A song really does feel different live compared with on a recording. This time, we performed it live in a live house and were able to see the reaction, and the audience listened closely, so I felt that was good (laughs).
-- It is a song fans had been waiting for too. Now, about the title "忘れ咲き": what is it?
AZUKI Nana: I was listening to the song absentmindedly, and that was the first word that came to mind, so I used it as it was.
-- The flow of single titles has gone "君という光," "僕らだけの未来," "君を飾る花を咲かそう," and now "忘れ咲き," so I wondered if you had named it while thinking of some unified flow.
AZUKI Nana: No, I was not conscious of that at all. Conversely, when I lined them up afterward, I thought, "Ah, if they ask me about this, how should I answer?" (laughs). On the contrary, if I had been concerned about it, I probably would not have used it, so I really was not conscious of it.
-- This time too, the worldview of the lyrics really strikes at a subtle place. A phrase like "愛だとか恋だなんて 変わりゆくものじゃなく" is good. With the previous work, "君を飾る花を咲かそう," there was an interesting episode between the two of you. Was there anything this time?
Yuri Nakamura:It was not like the previous work, where our feelings linked, but after these lyrics were completed, I do feel that the world of the song expanded. Compared with the stage where I made the demo, when the lyrics and arrangement came up, a very nostalgic landscape and a gentle feeling appeared... The world expanded greatly there.
AZUKI Nana: When I heard the melody, that kind of phrase came out.
-- Ms. Nakamura's androgynous voice fits perfectly.
Yuri Nakamura:There are many parts where I sing at a kind of airiness that is not too high, or at just the right pleasant position of wavering. I think that may have brought out a calmer feeling, a gentle feeling, or a feeling that you could become gentle.
-- When you sing a song like this, is the recording also calm?
Yuri Nakamura:When I am singing, I do not have that awareness inside myself, but in the end, when it is finished and I listen, it has turned out that way. This time, I did not sing it in too much. I wanted to value the first impression, the image when you hear it suddenly, so I tried to sing in a way that would bring out the first image I heard and that fresh feeling.
-- Perhaps it sounds that way because GARNET CROW itself has entered a fulfilling period. While keeping your own pace, that rhythm of life may also be coming out.
Yuri Nakamura:Yes. Recording also becomes easier when a certain rhythm develops, and conversely, it becomes easier to take risks. Ideas come up relatively easily inside me, like, "Ah, let's try a song like this next time," or "This time, let's make it this kind of thing," and I can make works with peace of mind. Whatever song we are doing, once we get into the pace, even if the schedule is packed, mentally it is easier, so I feel the next creative desire comes out quickly.
-- Then has that creative desire already started welling up?
Yuri Nakamura:There are things like, let's try this kind of song next, or since we made this kind of thing this time, let's try this next time.
-- In that sense, the coupling song "Flower" for "忘れ咲き" has a somewhat different, serious content from the title track, and I also thought "祭りのじかん" was unusual as a song with a Japanese-style title.
Yuri Nakamura:The lyrics of "祭りのじかん" surprised me!
AZUKI Nana: Seriously!
Yuri Nakamura:Like, "So it came that way" (laughs). As for this song, I did not have a very concrete image, so it felt fresh.
AZUKI Nana: I think I had trouble writing the lyrics at first.
Yuri Nakamura:"祭りのじかん" existed at first as one demo song, and I was full of curiosity about what kind of thing it would become. Then something of a type I do not have came out, so I was very surprised in a good way. It felt like GARNET CROW's drawers had increased.
AZUKI Nana: The arrangement was also very unexpected.
Yuri Nakamura:Everything went in an unexpected direction, or rather, senses that neither of us had came out, and there was another new discovery there, so this recording was very fun.
AZUKI Nana: It felt like, you really brought it together. At first, I thought it was all scattered (laughs).
-- What is good about GARNET CROW is that when you look at the whole single, there is the royal road and also a slight betrayal. The balance is there too.
Yuri Nakamura:This time, many different songs were made, and only songs that clicked remained fairly smoothly, so from the beginning I had the feeling that something good could be made.
-- At the same time as this single, guitarist Okamoto will release a solo mini-album.
AZUKI Nana: He is working hard. I wondered when he had made it (laughs).
Yuri Nakamura:I could tell that he was making it in parallel with Garnet and that it seemed difficult (laughs). Yes, well, without saying anything deliberately, I thought, do your best.
-- Speaking of GARNET CROW, I hear that alongside the single, production of the new album is already progressing smoothly.
-- What kind of album does it look likely to become?
Yuri Nakamura:Hmm, how should I put it... We have to think about the track order and number of songs, but it feels like songs are lined up where, once you hear the intro, you get drawn in and end up listening to the whole thing.
-- What about the content of AZUKI's lyrics?
AZUKI Nana: I feel that they very much feel like GARNET songs... Well, if Yurippe sings them, they all become GARNET CROW (laughs).
Yuri Nakamura:That is true, but how should I say it... This time the pressure points are really strong. There are many songs that make me feel that way, and there are quite a few minor-key songs too... It feels like, please cry.
AZUKI Nana: It seems like it will be a work where, when you listen to the songs, you want to read the lyrics, and when you look at the lyrics, you start wanting to hear the songs.
-- Now, this year is also nearing its end. What kind of year was it for the two of you?
Yuri Nakamura:The second half went really fast, didn't it?
AZUKI Nana: August, September, and October were very fast.
Yuri Nakamura:It felt like they passed in an instant, without time to think, and suddenly it was, what!? October?
AZUKI Nana: I wondered, what was I doing? (laughs). But during that time, I was thinking, Yurippe, when did you manage to make that many songs? You were singing very constantly.
Yuri Nakamura:I was singing the whole time.
-- Songs come out well even without deadlines.
Yuri Nakamura:I wonder why. When making songs, sometimes I concentrate and make them, sometimes they come out naturally, and sometimes I make them thinking, I want to make this kind of thing. Hmm, it is mysterious.
-- What about you, AZUKI?
AZUKI Nana: Hmm, various things, I guess. For me, I think I need deadlines... Without them, I probably would not do it (laughs).
-- Then what kind of activities will GARNET CROW continue from here?
Yuri Nakamura:Once the album is complete, I would like to do live performances next. And I think the best thing would be if we can continue at this pace.
-- Finally, please give a message to listeners.
Yuri Nakamura:First, I would like people to listen carefully to this "忘れ咲き." There is a sense that nothing can begin unless people listen to it, so first I would be happy if many people listen to the work and feel various things.
AZUKI Nana: Same here. Please listen slowly.