Of course we asked them about their new work *メモリーズ*, which Yuri Nakamura (vo, songwriting) herself declares to be "a masterpiece" and "an album that brings out all the musicality GARNET CROW has right now." We also had them talk about the influence of the earthquake disaster, the expressions they were able to reach by removing taboos, the reason they do not use Twitter, live performances where the success rate for romance keeps rising, and more.
Why GARNET CROW Do Not Use Twitter
-- While doing various research for this interview, it suddenly occurred to me: GARNET CROW does not use Twitter or anything like that?
Hitoshi Okamoto:We do not.
Yuri Nakamura:So no matter what we say, nothing catches fire (laughs).
Hitoshi Okamoto:We do not have anywhere that can catch fire.
Yuri Nakamura:Just the staff blog, maybe?
-- Even that had stopped being updated for a while from around September, hadn't it?
Yuri Nakamura:When things get hectic, it stops.
-- In interviews like this, you talk about many things, but you do not use tools like Twitter to send out opinions more than necessary. Is that because you have some kind of thought or principle? Or are you simply not good with it?
Hitoshi Okamoto:In my case, I am very lazy about things like that. Also, there is no need to go out of my way to reveal my own weak points (laughs).
Yuri Nakamura:I have no interest in it at all. I do not understand what is good about it, or something like that. And it is simply a bother. I would hate worrying, "Ah, I did not upload anything today." It feels like life would become bound by it.
Hitoshi Okamoto:Also, I do not want people at the company monitoring me. It would be like, "Huh? Okamoto went out drinking! What about work?" And I do not want people thinking, "His life is unexpectedly boring!"
Yuri Nakamura:That is why we do not do it. I also think that precisely because we do not do it, some people can keep a good image of us (laughs). For things like jackets, the photos are always taken beautifully, and many staff members are involved there. They choose the best one from nearly a thousand photos. If, after all that, we uploaded a photo of ourselves making noise at an izakaya on a drunken impulse, everything we had built up until now would be ruined. I would feel bad about that!
-- I understand (laughs). Now then, today is our first interview in about a year, since the timing of the album *parallel universe* release in December 2010. What kind of period has this been for GARNET CROW?
Yuri Nakamura:A lot of things happened in the first half of this year, so I thought about many things there. Things like, "Is it really all right to release something immediately after the disaster?" and "If we are going to release something, what kind of songs would be best for people to hear?" What we created amid that was "Smiley Nation," and we put into it the feeling of "bringing everyone together with smiles." So our awareness was different last year and this year. I looked back on the path I myself had walked, let my thoughts go there, and also realized again certain feelings I wanted to cherish. That is why this album *メモリーズ* is also a work that could only have been made this year. I wanted it to feel free of stress, and to let people smile from the heart even a little. With that feeling, the album ended up consisting only of songs made this year.
-- Before you arrived at that idea, what state of mind were you in immediately after the earthquake disaster?
Yuri Nakamura:For a while, I could not put my hands to anything. Production had stopped, and songwriting had stopped. Shocking images were flowing from the television, but I did not know what I should do, and I was bewildered, wondering, "What on earth should I do?" After the release was decided, we began to move, but until then I was stunned. Some of our staff members had actually been affected by the disaster, so for a while, we could not move.
-- How did you rebuild your feelings from there?
Yuri Nakamura:By having the release decided and starting to move as usual. When that happens, the people around you can also feel at ease and start moving, and the cycle of life returns. I tried to think of it as the gears beginning to turn again, and that was how we resumed production.
Hitoshi Okamoto:At the time, there was an atmosphere like, "When something truly terrible happens, we do not need music." But at the very least, the fans need it. Thinking about that, if we could do it, we should restart as soon as possible, and the fans who were affected must absolutely be waiting, so it is better to deliver songs to them.
-- When you listened to the finished "Smiley Nation," born in that way, what did you feel?
Yuri Nakamura:It was not that "Smile" had been there as a keyword from the beginning, but when the song was completed, I thought, "This is Smile." Just hearing it made me feel very positive, or rather, my expression naturally softened. So I thought, with this, it will be all right. Also, for the PV, we invited people from all over the country to send in photos of the "Smile" of someone important to them and incorporated those. Because of that kind of attempt too, it left a very strong impression on me. I wanted to deliver smiles to as many people as possible. More than wanting to deliver a song, that feeling was stronger.
-- I felt that your voice on "Smiley Nation" rang a little more warmly than usual. What kind of tension did you actually bring to the vocal recording?
Yuri Nakamura:I sang it happily. Even while singing, especially in the chorus, I would naturally smile. I felt that much "Smile" power, so it was like I sang while picturing everyone smiling. I hoped that people listening to this song could forget various things just for that time and feel refreshed.
Remove Taboos. Do Things That Would Have Been Impossible Before.
-- Have you already sung it in front of people?
Yuri Nakamura:Not with a full band yet, but we have performed it several times in an acoustic version. Since the chorus is the title, everyone sings that part for us.
Hitoshi Okamoto:I was surprised. Everyone is good.
Yuri Nakamura:So I have hardly sung the opening of the chorus myself (laughs). I really felt that it is a song that creates a sense of unity. They sang it even the first time we performed it. So I thought, "Everyone was waiting for this too."
-- "Smiley Nation" can be called an evolved form of "Over Drive," which became a new frontier for GARNET CROW, right?
Yuri Nakamura:Yes. We have not made that many bright, uptempo songs with a breakthrough sense of exhilaration, so I think it is a little different from our original character. But with "Over Drive," we learned that this kind of GARNET CROW could also be accepted, so I began to think that maybe it would be all right to make more and more songs of this type. That flow was also there, and I think that is why "Smiley Nation" could be made. Now it is becoming one element of our character. I think people can feel that when they listen to the album *メモリーズ* too.
-- Did the completion of "Smiley Nation" also help you not lose sight of GARNET CROW's direction or way of being afterward?
Yuri Nakamura:This song was the first song we released after the disaster, and it was also our first single of this year. Because so many things overlapped, "Smiley Nation" became an important key player. It was a song that reached release through a completely different process from before, and the production process was also different from last year and the year before. The things we were conscious of, the feelings we put in, and the state of our hearts were all different. So it was not that the song "Smiley Nation" itself alone was important; rather, various things overlapped and made it an important song that symbolizes this year.
-- Earlier, you said that you "looked back on the path you yourself had walked." Could you talk about that part more specifically?
Yuri Nakamura:A feeling grew in me that I wanted to look back a little and feel nostalgic. In that, I came to think, "Let's remove taboos from myself." I decided not to think, "This is not like GARNET CROW, so let's not do it," or "This kind of taste is different," just because I was pursuing GARNET CROW-likeness too much. If something interested me, like "This sound is interesting" or "This taste seems interesting," I decided to bring it into GARNET CROW more and more. That applies to melody lines, sounds, tones, and ways of singing. I became very open. That is why we could make a digital rock song like "Misty Mystery." If there are things with that kind of taste flowing now in K-pop and so on, and I think, "That is interesting. That is cool," then I want to take it in honestly.
-- I see.
Yuri Nakamura:Then, after we released "Misty Mystery" as a single, the response was good, so I thought, then let's pursue something even more digital. The song we made that way was "ロンリーナイト." It became a dance number that makes your room turn into a club floor when you listen to it. And until now, our vocals had been left natural without any effects at all, but for this song, we treated the voice as "one instrumental, one instrument." I told the engineer, "It is all right to put effects on it," and had them play with it, so the vocal has Auto-Tune on it too. That was unthinkable for GARNET CROW up to now, but if we think something is interesting, we will greedily challenge it first without making taboos. Being able to think that way is a big thing.
-- After listening to Mr. Okamoto's solo project SUPER LIGHT *Now Printing...*, when I listen to "ロンリーナイト," I unexpectedly feel that it may also be drawing from the flow of that album.
Hitoshi Okamoto:Eh! Is that so?
Yuri Nakamura:Were you influenced a little?
Hitoshi Okamoto:Seriously?
Yuri Nakamura:There may have been an influence without us realizing it. Ahaha!
-- I would like to ask a slightly larger question. What do the two of you think the role of music is?
Yuri Nakamura:It is a table of contents for memories. When you listen to music, memories from different turning points in life come up, don't they? Remembering when you were job hunting, or remembering a heartbreak and looking back, thinking, "That time was really painful." It would be wonderful if GARNET CROW's music were playing as the theme songs for those kinds of memories. So I think music is something people's hearts need. Of course, music does not fill your stomach, and if you ask whether people listen to music in a life-or-death situation, I cannot say for sure. But if it exists, I think it definitely makes things much richer.
Hitoshi Okamoto:I think it differs for each person receiving it, but at the very least, it gives depth to that person's life. I think that is what music is. The more someone depends on music, the more powerful they will become through music. If it is music by an artist with a strong message, it will probably cheer them up even more. That is how I feel.
-- What impressions or feelings did you yourselves have about the finished form of GARNET CROW's latest album, *メモリーズ*?
Hitoshi Okamoto:It is ordinary to say this, but I think it has a lot to listen to, because it is rich in variety.
Yuri Nakamura:I think each song has a strong personality. It feels like it covers every genre that we can express right now. There is uptempo, positive band sound; there are rock ballads with the same sadness, transience, and melancholy as before; there are songs that bring in a GS-like guitar atmosphere, like "一緒に暮らそう"; there are dance tunes; there are ballads like "Blue Regret" that incorporate a shuffle rhythm; and there are clean, decisive songs like "英雄" that compete simply through their material. I think it is an album that brings out all the musicality GARNET CROW has right now.
If Our Songs Could Accompany Everyone's Lives
-- Was that something you had aimed for beforehand in making this album?
Yuri Nakamura:No, when we noticed it, it had turned out this way. So it really surprised me. With each song, I had thoughts like, "Oh, this lyric is amazing," or "This arrangement is amazing, but how should I sing it?" But more than anything, the power when they were lined up and listened to was incredible. The strong individuality of each song became clear when they were placed side by side. Each one showed its assertion clearly. The good points of each song, which I had not noticed during production, felt like they stood out because it became an album.
-- Whether looking at it as an album, by song, by phrase, or by sound, the outlines stand out more, and the drama has increased.
Yuri Nakamura:Each of them asserts itself, doesn't it? The guitar comes forward so much it might eat the vocal (laughs). The lyrics are also very colloquial; even though they sing about something grand, they suddenly say things like "the vacant house next door," which is interesting. In the sound too, we make something that for a moment could be mistaken for K-pop. It is like you can see the "how's that!" faces of each of the four members (laughs). That struggle against one another is intense.
-- Mr. Okamoto's guitar is roaring in all kinds of places too.
Hitoshi Okamoto:When the mix came up, I thought, "The guitar is relatively loud"...
Yuri Nakamura:It is quite loud! But you were playing like it felt good, and the sound was good, so it was like, "Well, let's leave it as is."
Hitoshi Okamoto:(laughs)
Yuri Nakamura:Normally, that is where you would say, "Please lower it a little more." Lowering it there is the general theory, but if we only ever did that, the charm of a new song would not be born. It is like, "It might eat the vocal, but that is allowed too, right?" If the good part stands out, our awareness is to choose that.
-- As a result, the melody, lyrics, voice, and the way the sounds ring are all catchy. I think it is an album packed with many points of craft, while each one rings clearly and powerfully to the listener.
Yuri Nakamura:It is easy to understand. I think it became an album people can react to clearly, like "Ah, the guitar is ringing," or "The strings came in."
-- Each album has its own good points, so it may not be possible to say categorically that *メモリーズ* is the greatest, but this work must be one you are quite confident in.
Yuri Nakamura:Yes. Every time, the latest work is...
-- A masterpiece?
Yuri Nakamura:It is!
All:(laughs)
Yuri Nakamura:Until the next album comes out, *メモリーズ* will continue to be our masterpiece.
-- Mr. Okamoto, you are laughing.
Yuri Nakamura:Why are you laughing!?
Hitoshi Okamoto:No, no, it is absolutely true. I got tired of the previous album!
-- That is a problematic statement in its own way!
Hitoshi Okamoto:Is it (laughs)?
-- By the way, why did you decide to title this work *メモリーズ*?
Yuri Nakamura:It flashed into my mind when the song "メモリーズ" was completed. That song gave me an impression that was somehow retro and sentimental. So I also put in the feeling of, "Everyone's precious memories and the things you have built up are one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable, so please treasure them." I hope everyone will value the proof of how each of them has lived, and use it as nourishment to keep living tomorrow, the day after, and onward. Then, if our songs can walk alongside everyone's lives, that would be the best. That is why I made it *メモリーズ*.
-- GARNET CROW does not use Twitter or blogs, so I think you are a band whose members' humanity is hard to see. But the album feels human, or rather, vivid.
Yuri Nakamura:Though we may not look it, we are fairly... (laughs). In fact, we have many faces, so I want people to sense that. We do not smile in photos, but at live performances we laugh a lot and talk a lot. The stage director often tells us, "There is no time. Wrap it up, wrap it up." That is the kind of band we are.
-- Speaking of live performances, on New Year's Eve you have "GARNET CROW Special Countdown Live 2011-2012" coming up at Dojima River Forum in Osaka. What kind of live do you think it will be?
Yuri Nakamura:This countdown live is the first live performance this year with a full band lineup. So it is both the first and the last. The live performance since last year's countdown live is another countdown live. We only go out and do a live when the venue fees are special year-end rates.
Hitoshi Okamoto:The cost performance is bad!
All:(laughs)
Yuri Nakamura:It will be our first live in 365 days, so I want to concentrate this year's overall summing-up into the countdown live. I want it to be full of content and fun. Like a party.
-- In the previous interview, you said couples are easily born at GARNET CROW live performances.
Yuri Nakamura:That is still true! Please print it again! At the event the other day too, a fan introduced me to his girlfriend, and a couple who always come to our shows announced their engagement. It is really fun. Conversely, I have not heard any stories about people breaking up!
Hitoshi Okamoto:They probably would not report that, would they (laughs)?
Yuri Nakamura:No, the success rate is pretty high. I think that instead of carelessly going to a matchmaking agency, it might be better to come to a GARNET CROW live. For single people, this is your last chance of the year! In 2011, you come alone. But once 2012 begins, you go home happily as two people. Please write that!
-- Understood (laughs).
Interviewer:Tetsuo Hiraga