The first half of 2007 has passed, and GARNET CROW's musical activities are becoming more and more active. In February they released their first double A-side single, "風とRAINBOW／この手を伸ばせば"; on June 27 they released the live DVD *GARNET CROW LIVESCOPE OF THE TWILIGHT VALLEY*. Then on July 4 came the new single "涙のイエスタデー." This song is GARNET CROW's hundredth song overall. It is a sad love song sung over a refreshing sound conscious of summer. The release also includes colorful songs worth hearing: "Go For It," which reflects GARNET CROW's solemn world, and "一番素敵だった日," where the careful arrangement is a listening point. Through the number of songs they have produced over seven years since debut, this work makes you feel again that GARNET CROW's musical world has been firmly built. We asked composer and vocalist Yuri Nakamura for detailed stories about this work. (INTERVIEWED BY EMI MORI)
-- With this song, GARNET CROW has reached its hundredth song overall. Had you known that from before?
Yuri Nakamura:Previously, there was a time when we talked about it, like, "By the way, about how many songs are we at now...?" At that time it was around the early 80s, and we were like, "Hmm." After that, when we asked again a little later, it was "You are at the 96th song now." So after releasing "風とRAINBOW / この手を伸ばせば," the talk became, "The next single will be your hundredth song!" and everyone got a little excited, like, "What! Seriously?" (laughs). So it was by chance that the hundredth song became a single; we did not adjust it. I think that was really good. If the hundredth song had been a coupling track, that would have been a little sad.
-- After you found out the next song would be the hundredth, did you choose the song with that in mind?
Yuri Nakamura:No. As for this song, the prototype demo was made at the start of the year, and it was a ballad. At that time, it was decided that it would be used as an anime opening, and since it was an opening, we were also asked to make it uptempo. We changed the tempo and redid dozens of takes. There were more than ten different versions each of the arrangement, lyrics, and vocal, and it finally became this form. At that point, it had also been decided that the release would be around summer, and we knew it would be the hundredth song. The song has a very pop feeling, and a pop, catchy summer tune, a number you could dance to in summer, runs counter to our image of being dark and shadowy. It is not like us, but I think the twistedness of releasing that as our hundredth work is very GARNET CROW-like (laughs).
-- How much did it change from the first demo?
Yuri Nakamura:The chords did not change, but we changed the tempo, and the melody changed a little through the lyrics and arrangement changing. We also added the final part... So each take has dozens of patterns. Through that process, something that fit perfectly was completed.
-- So the color of the song changed too.
Yuri Nakamura:At first it had an ordinary beat. The moment it became a four-on-the-floor rhythm, I felt it changed into a happy, danceable summer number. That is where the world of this song expanded.
-- When you originally made this song, did you have any image in mind?
Yuri Nakamura:This song overlapped in timing with when I was making "風とRAINBOW," and maybe because I started making it in winter, it was a warm and grand ballad. From there, the tempo gradually went up... As we did that, I thought, "This can work too," so we worked on revising the chorus melody a little and adding a D melody. When it was finished, I thought this version was better. Also, up to now we had not often sought this much catchiness for a single, so I thought people might hear a new style of ours with this song. Moreover, since we could release this song as the hundredth song in our seventh anniversary year, I think it was good that it became a song people would pay attention to. That may also connect to the "showing" aspect we cared about in last year's live performances. Ballads and dark songs are GARNET CROW-like and good, but I think this song let us put forward the fact that we can show this kind of GARNET CROW too. Since the release timing is summer, I want people to feel summer through this song.
-- The sound feels refreshing, but the lyrics are a little sad.
Yuri Nakamura:Yes. I think the expression "sentimental" suits it.
-- You said the content of the lyrics also changed...
Yuri Nakamura:There were many types, completely different ones, but in the end they settled into this form.
-- Had there ever been a song that changed that much before?
Yuri Nakamura:It is not that there had been none at all, but there had not been one in the last year or two. It changed more and more toward summer. It is summer, pop, and bright, but also a little sentimental.
-- The title "涙のイエスタデー" is impressive too.
Yuri Nakamura:It is Beatles-like and good, right (laughs)? When you say "Yesterday," you think of the Beatles, so the jacket also has a design conscious of analog records. I would like people to pay attention to that. The CD disc itself also looks like a record, and the surface even has grooves. Since it looks like a record, please do not turn it over to play it... (laughs).
-- It is made so people can enjoy the visual side too.
Yuri Nakamura:This time, I thought that kind of thing was also fine. This year is our seventh-anniversary year, and on top of that it is the hundredth song, so with a celebratory feeling, I thought it would be nice to have a jacket full of playfulness.
-- Was the phrase "涙のイエスタデー" there from the beginning?
Yuri Nakamura:It was not there at first. It was a phrase that came out while the lyrics were changing in various ways. In that sense too, there are things to listen for, and there are things to see in the jacket, so I think it is a work people can really enjoy. If people have Japanese-edition Beatles records, they might compare them and think, "They made it this similar..."
-- By the way, what is the music video like?
Yuri Nakamura:The music video is full of playfulness too. That said, it is not that we are just playing around as we like; it has the feeling of heightening the celebratory mood. The staff all enjoyed making the work too, and it became a work packed with playfulness containing everyone's feeling of celebration.
-- When one song has this much content, I imagine you were particular about selecting the songs to put together as one single.
Yuri Nakamura:We hesitated a little over the selection. But the second song, "Go For It," was decided fairly early. We chose it because, while giving a sense of early GARNET CROW, it is a dark and heavy song that feels like our music. When thinking about what to do for the third song, "涙のイエスタデー" had a hot summer feeling, so I thought something a little refreshing and summer-like would be good, and chose "一番素敵だった日." Once it was decided that this song would be the third track, Furui changed the arrangement of the intro and outro to make it fit in that position. The outro fades out and connects back to the first track, "涙のイエスタデー." "一番素敵だった日" is a precious song that became this arrangement precisely because it was placed in this position.
-- Albums sometimes have arrangements like that for included tracks, but with a single, it is rare.
Yuri Nakamura:For us too, it feels less like making a single and more like making a mini-album. In the sense of valuing the connections between songs, we refined it thoroughly and arrived at this form. By the way, I hear the third song is Furui's favorite. I like the second song too, though (laughs).
-- Why do you like it?
Yuri Nakamura:I have always liked dark songs, and I suppose I was drawn to something dark and strong... The chorus is strong too, and I also like the glossy feeling and resonance of the A melody, so I would be happy if people listen to that.
-- The lyrics of "Go For It" also convey a strong feeling. What did you think when you read them?
Yuri Nakamura:The words were very strong, and they sounded like a cheering song for myself. Actually, right after this year began, I hurt my throat a little and had a period when I could not sing the way I wanted, and that had become stressful for me. Even when I sang then, there were parts I could not be satisfied with, and times when recording did not go well. When I was feeling a little down, the lyric "まだ 立ち上がれるでしょう" felt as though it was rousing me. Other parts too, like "敵は我が身の内," linked very strongly with the fact that the conflict of not being able to produce my voice was a battle with myself. I sang it while hearing it like my own cheering song.
-- There is a message like, "Open the way by your own power."
Yuri Nakamura:Yes. Parts like "その命の限り 下ろせHummer" also overlapped with the situation I was in, and I felt as if I were being told, "You can still go on," which encouraged me.
-- Did the recording proceed smoothly?
Yuri Nakamura:I was able to sing it without any particular parts catching, and conversely, the fact that I could sing it through became confidence. In that sense I have strong feelings for it, so I think it became a song I like.
-- Did the third song, "一番素敵だった日," already exist from before?
Yuri Nakamura:This existed by July last year. From there, the arrangement was changed a little. Then, because it was being included this time as the third track, the intro and outro were further changed, so it is a song that changed in three stages.
-- What did you think when you heard the changed arrangement?
Yuri Nakamura:I thought, "It's cool." The phrase in the intro left an impression, and the way it sparkles like the surface of water felt summer-like. I thought it expressed a different kind of summer feeling from "涙のイエスタデー," and that the three songs for a summer release had come together.
-- Regarding the lyrics, did you expect them to have this kind of content?
Yuri Nakamura:I did not. What AZUKI said was that when hope and destruction overlap, it feels like adrenaline bursts out...
-- The fact that you cannot tell whether the protagonist in the lyrics is positive or thinking "I have had enough" is exactly that, isn't it? Did you think about that while singing?
Yuri Nakamura:I did not think about it at all, and I was surprised when I heard it from AZUKI afterward. I thought, it was fairly heavy... (laughs). When singing it over the sound, it does not feel that heavy. Later, when I heard that and read only the lyrics, I thought they were heavy. In that sense, perhaps the brightness of the song's tone and the weight of the lyrics were balanced.
-- I think you have had songs before where people can enjoy the balance between the song and the lyrics, but among those, this belongs to the category where the gap is intense.
Yuri Nakamura:I think the gap is quite large. But it is also a song you can listen to smoothly without thinking about anything. Yet if you try to read the lyrics deeply, you can keep reading deeper and deeper... This too is a song you can enjoy by listening and enjoy by reading the lyrics. For people who like GARNET CROW's worldview, the lyrics of the third song may be irresistible (laughs).
-- I would like to ask one question related to the title. Among all the days you have spent so far, what kind of day was your "most wonderful day"?
Yuri Nakamura:There are many. The day I first stood onstage at a live performance, days I went on trips, and recently, the day when I baked bread deliciously... (laughs). Among those, the one I thought was amazing was definitely the live performance. It is not something you can experience in daily life, and that atmosphere is something you cannot understand unless you stand onstage, so I think it is amazing. Also, when we performed outdoors, singing as the sun set and it became dark, I thought it was amazing. In daily studio work, I can fall into a feeling where I do not know what month it is, so when I am in an extraordinary space like a live performance, it often leaves a strong impression.
-- Do you think those days you can call wonderful will increase from now on too?
Yuri Nakamura:I want to increase them. The ideal is that every day is wonderful, every day is an anniversary.
-- This single became an anniversary-like work where various coincidences overlapped. Does it feel like that enjoyment will still continue?
Yuri Nakamura:I want to do many things throughout this year. In June and July we also have fan-club events, and we will be doing new things there too, so I hope people look forward to them. Regarding the songs as well, very good songs have been coming together recently, and inside ourselves there is a feeling that we are riding a wave. With the tailwind of the celebratory mood of the seventh anniversary, I want us to run through this year.