At the timing of their tenth anniversary, GARNET CROW opened up new ground. They boldly took on their first movie theme song (*Detective Conan: The Lost Ship in the Sky*) and, after a tight production period that will likely be talked about later, completed a masterpiece called "Over Drive." This work, where the broadest, clearest sky in their history spreads out, is filled with enough power to make listeners who had been looking elsewhere turn around, and it should give GARNET CROW's future activities even greater breadth. Representing the band, Yuri Nakamura (vo, songwriting) and Hitoshi Okamoto (guitar) spoke about the new song.
If Any Part Is Missing, It Is No Good. With Four People, We Become Complete.
-- GARNET CROW has reached its tenth anniversary since debut. What feelings or emotions do you yourselves have about having continued for ten years?
Yuri Nakamura:It passed in an instant, so unless people around us said it, we ourselves would hardly have noticed, "Oh, it is our tenth anniversary." When the plan for the best album *THE BEST History of GARNET CROW at the crest...* came up, I finally felt, "We have already reached that kind of milestone year."
Hitoshi Okamoto:I had imagined ten years would be much longer, but it was short. It felt like ten years where there is still so much we have not done enough of.
-- I have heard that GARNET CROW was formed by four people who happened to be going in and out of the same studio. Around the time of formation and debut, what kind of band were you aiming to become?
Yuri Nakamura:We did not have the room to think about that, and it felt like we rushed headlong into making recordings. We were tackling the tasks and things we had to do right in front of us. So it felt like we were always looking down at our feet, rather than looking ahead. From the second year after our debut, we began performing live, and from there the cycle of our lives changed, but until then we were production-centered. So I did not really understand how to pace my singing either, and I was using a huge amount of energy. I was not using it efficiently.
-- In GARNET CROW, the members in charge of composition, lyrics, arrangement, and so on have been consistent, haven't they? During these ten years, did you never think of changing that form?
Yuri Nakamura:We did not. I feel that may be one factor that allowed us to continue for ten years. When the roles are clearly divided, the relationships do not become strangely lax. Each person is a professional in their own area, so we leave it completely to them, or rather, the trust relationship is solid. That is why the quality of the music we release as GARNET CROW has been maintained, and I feel listeners have evaluated that.
-- I think all four members are quite individualistic. When you divide roles and work, are there no clashes along the lines of "this is different from the worldview I imagined"?
Yuri Nakamura:There are not. The atmosphere of a demo I make often changes completely, but I think that is what makes it interesting. The other three draw out a world I could not bring out by myself. I think there are limits to what I can do alone, but when the four of us build it together, the song changes more and more, or becomes an even better song. The other members see sides of the song that I had not seen, so they properly draw out the delicious parts. Because the song changes that way, it is stimulating and interesting. There is an incredible excitement about things like, "What kind of lyrics will ride on it this time?" or "What kind of sound will it become?"
Hitoshi Okamoto:It feels like that trust has continued all along. We do not interfere excessively. Also, it is a complete division of labor, but if an NG comes out somewhere, it spins around again. I think that system may be good too.
Yuri Nakamura:The other members make up for what I lack. Each member has their own quirks (laughs), so there are things we are good at and things we are not good at. But because there are other members who are good at the things someone is bad at, it works. So if any part is missing, it is no good. With four people, we become complete. That is how it feels.
-- Personally, I have the impression that this is a band whose pace and direction really do not collapse. Over these ten years, were there no moments of crisis, or to go further, moments when you felt a danger of breaking up?
Yuri Nakamura:There were no deeply serious crises. Of course, during live rehearsals and so on, we say or are told opinions like, "This would be better," but we take that as one part of the production process, so it does not really become a situation where we think, "This is bad."
-- Also, when you released the best album for the fifth anniversary, you said, "Now that the foundation has finally been made, I think the next stage is to cultivate it. The ground has finally been prepared, and now we are going to work hard to cultivate and cultivate it, heading toward the stage where we can sow seeds." Do you feel pride that you have done that properly?
Yuri Nakamura:I do think it was fulfilling.
Hitoshi Okamoto:Comparing the first five years with the five years after that, these last five years were certainly faster.
Yuri Nakamura:That means many things were packed tightly into them. We began doing live performances actively, were able to appear in media, and were given many chances to interact with fans. That became a good change of mood, and because of that, the passage of time felt very fast. Last year and this year in particular feel very fast.
But This Time Was the Hardest in the Last Few Years (laughs).
-- Having spent those dense five years, where do you now feel the reason lies for continuing to send your music into the world?
Yuri Nakamura:I want to create the GARNET sound. This is the final goal, but I want to establish music called "GARNET CROW" as a genre. Like how when you say the Beatles, you think Liverpool sound. I want to create a situation where even if it is not a GARNET CROW song, people say, "This is GARNET sound." That is a dream that has never changed.
-- I think one GARNET CROW policy is, "We want to keep making songs that will become standards for the people who listen to them." What first made you aim for that?
Yuri Nakamura:Because I wanted people to listen for a long time, not because of trends. In the old days, I aimed for songs that would sit at the top of the CD changer; people would listen to other CDs too, but in the end they would think, "After all, this one." A CD that stays in there all the time. In terms of an iPod, I always make songs hoping they will become songs whose play counts are always near the top. I do not want them to be disposable. I want them to be treasured, and to stay alongside that person's memories.
-- Then I would like to start asking about the single "Over Drive," released at the timing of your tenth anniversary. What impressions or thoughts do you have about how it turned out?
Hitoshi Okamoto:This was our first movie theme song (*Detective Conan: The Lost Ship in the Sky*), so there were many things to learn. Attaching a song to a film is difficult. After all, there is the intention of the professional group on the film side, and ideally, I think we should really make it together with them. I think the ideal would be to make it within the film team, with people from each section saying things like, "That part doesn't match the picture. What is the sound team doing?" That is how dense the exchange needs to be for a movie theme song.
Yuri Nakamura:That is why this time was difficult. In making the theme song for the *Detective Conan* film, we received many very specific keywords, such as "blue sky," "refreshing wind," "a sense of floating," "not damp," and "an uptempo song." Because we were making the song based on those requests, it took quite a lot of time. We exchanged ideas about five times, and it finally passed with the fifth song. Each time I made a song, they listened and requested, "Please make it a little more like this," then I rewrote it, submitted it, and repeated that five times. I nearly gave up, but in the end I was glad it passed. It was that much of a head-on contest. It was not as if "anything bright is fine"; their passion and seriousness in wanting us to carefully make something linked to the film's story came through very strongly, and we too made the song with the feeling of straightening our backs.
-- Have you ever had such a head-on battle with a tie-up before?
Yuri Nakamura:Up to now, we have had many tie-up offers, and there are many songs we have newly written for them, but this time the requests were the most specific and detailed, so I was a little surprised. In any case, they kept saying "refreshing," but GARNET CROW has a strong image of slightly heavy, melancholy songs, and that is what we are good at. This time, they asked for the exact opposite. I had to write the worldview of a wide, clear sky. Because of that, I feel something I had not had before was drawn out from inside me. There was birth pain, but by participating this time, it felt as though GARNET CROW also gained a new repertoire, or a new genre. I think it was good that as the first single of our tenth anniversary, we could show that GARNET CROW can also do a bright and refreshing song like this.
-- It is significant that this was established without destroying the GARNET sound you mentioned earlier.
Yuri Nakamura:I am really glad. But this time was the hardest in the last few years (laughs). On top of that, it overlapped with live performances, so it was not really a situation where I could settle down and make it. I stayed up all night for the first time in a while. Still, the members encouraged me, and somehow I got through it. There was a period of waiting to find out whether this song would pass, and it was very frightening. It felt like an exam student waiting for results (laughs). I could not calm down at all! I imagined all kinds of things: "If it is no good, maybe the reply will come the same day," or "If it is taking time, maybe each section is considering it." I thought, "If I wait this long and it is rejected, I won't recover!" So when the okay came, I did a fist pump. I did not have the energy left to make noise, so it was quietly hot (laughs). That is why it became an unforgettable song for me too. I think it became like a summer Koshien, something we can all look back on later and say, "That time was hard!"
-- As a result, "Over Drive" became a song where the broadest, clearest sky in your history spreads out. I felt this scale may be something the four of you can express because you are who you are now. What do you think?
Yuri Nakamura:Since we have spent ten years together, I think the trust relationship cultivated during that time is reflected in it. There was also a request for a "grand feeling," so I think through synergy it became a broad picture. The sound we consciously made broad, and the breadth that these four people now can put out, both give that impression. So it feels very good to sing. It gives you energy and makes you want to go outside. Rather than listening indoors, the song suits being heard under a real blue sky, while feeling the sun and wind. That is rare for a GARNET CROW song.
-- I think that breadth may simply connect to a broader audience too. "Over Drive" has external factors such as being a movie theme song, and I have a feeling it may become a song loved by more people than ever.
Yuri Nakamura:I hope so. The *Detective Conan* staff were also conscious of that, and requested, "Because this will be a film that small children come to see too, please sing so that the words are easy to hear." So even with English pronunciation, in "Silent Kiss," normally you would not really pronounce the "t," but this time I properly sang "silent." It is like katakana English.
I Think Not Being Swayed Too Much Is the Most Correct Thing
-- I think this song will surely shine wonderfully live too. I can imagine everyone becoming one while all kinds of feelings well up.
Yuri Nakamura:We have already performed it live, and it certainly feels good.
Hitoshi Okamoto:However, when we perform a new song before its release, the image people get from hearing it at that live becomes everything, so we have to plant a good impression. That is why we pursue that strictly.
Yuri Nakamura:After all, we want people to go home thinking, "That was a good song," and then look forward to it until the release. If we fail there...
Hitoshi Okamoto:I would hate for people to think, "The new song was kind of subtle" (laughs).
-- Also, I am curious what impression it will make when actually heard in a theater.
Yuri Nakamura:That is why I want to go see it in a theater too. I want to confirm what it sounds like in 5.1ch surround. Moreover, the version that plays in the theater has no intro and starts from a cappella. I really want to experience in the theater what it feels like when the main story ends and only my voice starts flowing. I think the impression will change depending on where you listen from, so I want to go several times. Also, if anyone tries to stand up after the main story ends, I will stop them and say, "Wait, it isn't over yet..." I plan to block the exit (laughs).
-- By the way, what is the music video for "Over Drive" like?
Yuri Nakamura:It is very refreshing. The four of us feel fresh, and somehow look strangely innocent. We look like refreshing people whose innocence from our debut days has returned (laughs).
-- I would also like to touch on "la-la-la それから1・2・3." What impressions or thoughts do you have about how this song turned out?
Yuri Nakamura:This has the image of Hall & Oates' "Private Eyes." That song was playing in a commercial, and I thought, "I want to make a song like this too." I wanted to make a groove song where power drums resound pleasantly. As a result, I think it became a song that gives you a lot of energy. This one also feels better to listen to outside than inside the house.
-- I also love the phrase "雨にも負けた 風にも負けた 今日も生きている." I thought it said something good. It is not "unbeaten by rain, unbeaten by wind"; it is living on even after losing to rain and losing to wind, which is even hotter.
Hitoshi Okamoto:You can relate to it. I think for people who need a "do your best" song, this tone may actually be the best. For people who are really down, perhaps the best thing is for them to get up with about this tone.
Yuri Nakamura:It is not a cheering song that says "Do your best!" one hundred percent. It says losing is fine too. You just have to win in the end.
-- If this also rings emotionally live, it might make people cry.
Yuri Nakamura:We have not done this one yet, so I want to try it in future live performances. It has a rhythm and groove that seem likely to shine live, so I am interested in how it will resonate.
-- Then I would like to ask about the future. After this tenth anniversary, what kind of band do you want GARNET CROW to become?
Yuri Nakamura:I think it would be good if we can continue making music and doing live performances at our own pace. I am not bracing myself like, "From now on, this is what we will become!" I feel that I am really enjoying the current situation. I want us to continue with the two pillars of production and live performance. That is all.
-- Once you become a tenth-anniversary career band, I think in the scene you end up in a middle-management-like position, chasing and being chased.
All:(laughs)
Yuri Nakamura:Like from above and below (laughs)?
-- Does it feel like you do not worry too much about those around you?
Hitoshi Okamoto:I think it is probably fine not to worry anymore. Now we are in a transition period where the form of music is changing, so I think not being swayed too much is the most correct thing. In the end, will music disappear? It will not, and other musicians also have to keep making music. So I think it would be good if we can have a good stance toward music without being too swayed by movements in the world.
-- Finally, please give a message to our readers!
Hitoshi Okamoto:Fortunately, the first single of our tenth anniversary was chosen as the movie theme song for *Detective Conan*, something we had long wished for and had been indebted to for a long time. So I hope people will definitely listen to that song. And I would also like them to pay attention to GARNET CROW after this release.
Yuri Nakamura:This song can be released right at the start of summer, so I would like people to listen to it while going out, whether on a picnic or anywhere else. It truly suits blue skies, white clouds, and the scent of a refreshing wind, so I hope people take it along when going outside and listen.
Interviewer:Tetsuo Hiraga