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Friday, June 20, 2008
Title: 『SHOXX vol.179』  vol.179 alice nine Interview (p.32-43) ↓p32 Shou/Vol 1. Date of birth July 5th 2. Blood type Blood type O 3. Birthplace The northern land 4. Height, Weight 177cm/59kg 5. Shoe size 27cm 6. Ring size About size 13 ring 7. Habit, Favorite phrases I’m sleepy 8. Favorite color Blue 9. Brand of cigarette The “No, thank you.” Brand (i like that :D. it means that he doesnt smoke.) 10. Favorite fashion brand From And A to roen 11. Favorite perfume BVLGARI black 12. Model of your cellular phone & ring tone Au, BGM of FF 13. Favorite food Potato 14. Food you hate Cucumber 15. Presents that made you happy Cheep games rather than expensive things 16. Presents that you gave that made people happy Something I gave Nao (i wonder what it is :D) 17. Things you look for in a woman You (gosh, how sweet. lol.) 18. Things that turn you off (women) Me (NEVER, Shou-kun :D) 19. Favorite fashion of girls To wear too much clothing 20. Ideal date course I just want to date. (he may meant by anywhere would be fine as long as he is on a date.) 21. What makes your heart flutter? When she is stepped on by someone. 22. A name that you want to name your child Ichi(=one), Ni(=two), San(=three) in the order from eldest to youngest. (=_=. i think Shou-kun is joking? his children would be laughed at D:.) 23. Your treasure? People who are around me. 24. A worry I can’t help drinking Café au lait first in the morning. 25. A time when you feel happy Lives! 26. Person who you want to see now the most Cloud Strife (LOL. it's a character from finale fantasy.) 27. If you could make 3 wishes, what would they be? 1. That I would never get dizzy no matter how much I head bang. (LOL, so he does :DD) 2. That I would never catch a cold. 3. Give me 99 wishes not only 3 wishes! 28. Favorite time 25 o’clock 29. Favorite entertainer Mr. Nishikawa 30. Entertainer who is said to look like you A person of FF (cloud?) 31. A musician friend RUKA, Ryouhei, Akki- 32. What you care about recently Muscle training 33. How do you spend your days off? I keep an eye on Hiroto. (LOL. why?) 34. What type of room do you live in now? My carpet is red. (red carpet going on (>_<)~~) 35. Favorite artist LUNA SEA 36. Artists who you were influenced by LUNA SEA 37. What have you bought recently? Boots 38. A project that you want to do in SHOXX in future? Serial interviews 39. How you relieve stress I harass Saga. (great way. love you Shou-kun.) 40. If you didn’t become a musician you would have…. I don’t want to eat cucumbers. 41. If you could go back to your past, when would you go back to? What time? It’s so close….7 o’clock. 42. Why? Because the morning menu is still available in McDonalds. (LOL. reminds me of Nao-san.) 43. What would you do the day before the world ended? Sleeping 44. Your ideal person A person who can die for someone 45. Please tell us other member’s secrets… When Saga is tired, he acts like a fool. (When they finished their first full album “Zekkeishoku”, Saga took a guitar and started to sing "Heeeeey, We finished, the aaaaaaaaalbum.") 46. Your motto To believe 47. Something to say to yourself now…. Relax more. 48. Something that you would say to yourself 10 years from now. Are you still alive? 49. Something that you want to tell each member. Hiroto—You can be a chancy man, so go ahead!! Tora—You seem really good with your hands but you’re actually a klutz. But I like you anyway. (LOL.) Saga—The difference between genius and insanity is a very fine line. Which are you? (LAUGHS) Nao—Nao, who is most grown up but the most childish, you are dazzling. Take care of us, leader! 50. Your goal in future I want to tell people that these members are just the best. ↓p35 Hiroto/Gt 1. Date of birth May 4th 2. Blood type Blood type O 3. Birthplace Tokyo 4. Height, Weight 167cm/53kg 5. Shoe size 25.5cm〜26cm 6. Ring size Size 9-17 ring 7. Habit, Favorite phrases Clicking or snapping my fingers, “Well, that’s it.” 8. Favorite color Black 9. Brand of cigarette Lucky Strike Menthol Cigarettes 10. Favorite fashion brand Velvet Lounge/Apple Inc. 11. Favorite perfume Nothing 12. Model of your cellular phone & ring tone MEDEA SKIN, pipipipi- 13. Favorite food White rice 14. Food you hate Perilla 15. Presents that made you happy i Pod 16. Presents that you gave that made people happy My family was very glad when I gave them a trip. 17. Things you look for in a woman S 18. Things that turn you off (women) M 19. Favorite fashion of girls I don’t have one.. 20. Ideal date course A park in my neighborhood—Yeah, Let’s go to see.—fireworks—a park in my neighborhood 21. What makes your heart flutter? When a girl stumbles and she is embarrassed. 22. A name that you want to name your child Arusu 23. Your treasure? People around alice nine. 24. A worry I don’t do lives these days. 25. A time when you feel happy When I eat white rice. (lol, they're all influenced by Nao-san??) 26. Person who you want to see now the most Akira Funato 27. If you could make 3 wishes, what would they be? 1. After 10 years, we will be a more simulative band. 2. I want to go to Kyoto for a week. 3. I want to repair my broken pendant head. 28. Favorite time About 2 hours in lives. 29. Favorite entertainer Masanobu Andou 30. Entertainer who is said to look like you Mister Donut 31. A musician friend My brother, Aki 32. What you care about recently Biohazard 33. How do you spend your days off? I go to an electric shop, and then go to Kyoto. 34. What type of room do you live in now? All of my furniture is black, and I there are a few indoor plants. (ARHHHGG, i want a room like this too~) 35. Favorite artist Telefon Tel Aviv 36. Artists who you were influenced by INORAN 37. What have you bought recently? New Illustrator 38. A project that you want to do in SHOXX in future? To appear on the cover one by one!! I’ll do my best! 39. How you relieve stress I look up at the sky. (sometimes, he would call/text Shou-kun that "i'm at the mountains..(looking at the night sky)" around 4am - 6am :D.) 40. If you didn’t become a musician you would have…. Who are you? 41. If you could go back to your past, when would you go back to? In the past there were both good and bad things, which make the present. 42. Why? Ah, I said it above. 43. What would you do the day before the world ended? I want to do rock with members. 44. Your ideal person A man who is naturally considerate. 45. Please tell us other member’s secrets… Please tell me if someone knows anything. 46. Your motto There is nothing that can’t be done if you give it a try. 47. Something to say to yourself now…. Relax! 48. Something that you would say to yourself 10 years from now. How many gigabytes does your i Pod have now? 49. Something that you want to tell each member. Shou—Your singing in the album was so cool!!!!! Tora—Your guitar playing in the album was so cool!!!!! Don’t worry about cockroaches. (O_o. i HATE them too.) Saga—Your bass playing in the album was so cool!!!!! Nao—Your drum playing in the album was so cool!!!!! 50. Your goal in future I’ll train both my body and my mind, and will do more original guitar playing. And I’ll make the band even cooler! ↓p37 Tora/Gt 1. Date of birth September 17th 2. Blood type Blood type O 3. Birthplace Kanagawa prefecture 4. Height, Weight 182cm/66kg 5. Shoe size 28cm 6. Ring size ？ 7. Habit, Favorite phrases “It’s tiresome.” 8. Favorite color Black 9. Brand of cigarette Marlboro Light Menthol Cigarettes 10. Favorite fashion brand ？ 11. Favorite perfume BVLGARI 12. Model of your cellular phone & ring tone DoCoMo, nothing 13. Favorite food Curry 14. Food you hate Ginkgo nut 15. Presents that made you happy Cigarettes (... TORA!!) 16. Presents that you gave that made people happy It’s a mystery. 17. Things you look for in a woman A girl who keeps up with me. 18. Things that turn you off (women) A girl who doesn’t keep up with me. 19. Favorite fashion of girls Anything 20. Ideal date course Disneyland, isn’t it? (:DDD.) 21. What makes your heart flutter? When she is good at English. (*LAUGHS) 22. A name that you want to name your child Tora 23. Your treasure? Time 24. A worry Losing my treasure. 25. A time when you feel happy When I’m eating. 26. Person who you want to see now the most Cat 27. If you could make 3 wishes, what would they be? I don’t think wishes can’t be true. 28. Favorite time All the time. 29. Favorite entertainer Kendou Kobayashi 30. Entertainer who is said to look like you ？ 31. A musician friend It’s a secret. 32. What you care about recently NOVA 33. How do you spend your days off? I don’t have days off work. 34. What type of room do you live in now? Gothic style (woowwwwwwwww) 35. Favorite artist alice nine. 36. Artists who you were influenced by KOЯN 37. What have you bought recently? Chair 38. A project that you want to do in SHOXX in future? I want to draw a picture once in a while. (but, he's bad at drawing, right ==? at least... look at the drawing of his room...) 39. How you relieve stress Taking a bath. 40. If you didn’t become a musician you would have…. Become a Stunt man. 41. If you could go back to your past, when would you go back to? Be born again.. 42. Why? I don’t have a reason. 43. What would you do the day before the world ended? I live as normal. 44. Your ideal person A strong man with gentle nature. 45. Please tell us other member’s secrets… It’s a secret. 46. Your motto No pain, no gain. 47. Something to say to yourself now…. Work hard 48. Something that you would say to yourself 10 years from now. Are you alive? 49. Something that you want to tell each member. Live all. 50. Your goal in future To be a cooler guitarist. ↓p38 Saga/Ba 1. Date of birth July 24th 2. Blood type Blood type AB 3. Birthplace JAPAN 4. Height, Weight 175cm/55kg 5. Shoe size 27cm 6. Ring size ？ 7. Habit, Favorite phrases “Bukkomu” 8. Favorite color Gold 9. Brand of cigarette PIANISSIMO Peche Menthol One 10. Favorite fashion brand LAP/MUSICIAN 11. Favorite perfume Nothing 12. Model of your cellular phone & ring tone DoCoMo, it’s a secret 13. Favorite food Everything 14. Food you hate Nothing 15. Presents that made you happy Feelings. 16. Presents that you gave that made people happy I forgot. 17. Things you look for in a woman Gentle girls 18. Things that turn you off (women) Cold girls 19. Favorite fashion of girls SM 20. Ideal date course It’s a secret. 21. What makes your heart flutter? When a girl sings well. 22. A name that you want to name your child GUNDAM (=_=) 23. Your treasure? The band and fans 24. A worry I want to sleep without caring about time. 25. A time when you feel happy Lives 26. Person who you want to see now the most Riku Onodera 27. If you could make 3 wishes, what would they be? 1. To bring back to life the father of Upa-chan. 2. Eternal life 3. To revive Nameck Seijin who was killed by Freezer.( in a Japanese anime) 28. Favorite time AM4:00 29. Favorite entertainer Yoshii Lovinson 30. Entertainer who is said to look like you ？ 31. A musician friend Actually…. 32. What you care about recently Nothing 33. How do you spend your days off? Sleeping or drinking Sake 34. What type of room do you live in now? My parents’ house 35. Favorite artist UNDERWORLD/Smashing Pampkins/Guns N'Roses 36. Artists who you were influenced by LUNA SEA 37. What have you bought recently? Knit 38. A project that you want to do in SHOXX in future? alice Fes 39. How you relieve stress I break something. (O_O...) 40. If you didn’t become a musician you would have…. A teacher 41. If you could go back to your past, when would you go back to? I would go back to around the second grade of junior high school. 42. Why? All of my classmates were just fools, it was fun. 43. What would you do the day before the world ended? I’d cry. (LOL) 44. Your ideal person Rukawa-kun (Kaede Rukawa of [SLAMDUNK]) . 45. Please tell us other member’s secrets… They are all perverted. (HAHAHAHA). 46. Your motto Nothing 47. Something to say to yourself now…. You can do more. 48. Something that you would say to yourself 10 years from now. Don’t forget your original intention. 49. Something that you want to tell each member. Will the day when we call each other by our names only, ever come?(laugh) 50. Your goal in future I just want to do lives. ↓p41 Nao/Dr 1. Date of birth July 31st 2. Blood type Blood type A. 3. Birthplace The northern land 4. Height, Weight 170cm/54kg 5. Shoe size 26.5cm 6. Ring size Size 16, 19, 21 ring 7. Habit, Favorite phrases I’m hungry-(´┏_┓｀) 8. Favorite color Black, white, gold, silver, pink 9. Brand of cigarette I don’t smoke. 10. Favorite fashion brand LORD CAMELOT 11. Favorite perfume BVLGARI BLACK 12. Model of your cellular phone & ring tone au, I always have my phone on manner mode.(laugh) 13. Favorite food Breaded fried shrimp, crab 14. Food you hate Vinegared food 15. Presents that made you happy (ﾉ´┏_┓｀)八(´┏_┓｀)ﾉEverything- (LOL, loved that icon :D) 16. Presents that you gave that made people happy Wall _┓｀).｡oO（Banao・・・） 17. Things you look for in a woman A girl who is working hard for something. 18. Things that turn you off (women) Wall _┓｀).｡oO（・・・・・・・・・） 19. Favorite fashion of girls Fu…..Furifu!! No, anything is OK☆ as long as it matches her image. 20. Ideal date course always Akihabara (●´┏_┓｀)ツ)) Let’s go! (LOL. date in Akibara) 21. What makes your heart flutter? (● >＿<●)ノ))) (HAHA. Nao, you're cute (>_<)) 22. A name that you want to name your child Gurakorosuke 23. Your treasure? Memories that I have gained up until now. 24. A worry I want to lose 3 more kilograms!! (｀┏_┓´) 25. A time when you feel happy Hoe-! (●´┏_┓｀●) 26. Person who you want to see now the most A teacher when I was a student. 27. If you could make 3 wishes, what would they be? 1. Make a day be 48 hours!! 2. Change my body so that I never get fat even when I eat a lot!! (lol, be Saga then.) 3. Repair my PS3!! 28. Favorite time When I hit the drums. 29. Favorite entertainer Wall _┓｀*).+∴.∵+ 30. Entertainer who is said to look like you Wall _┓｀).｡oO(I know that you are thinking Oden-kun, aren’t you?) 31. A musician friend Wall _┓｀).｡oO(I have only few friends….) 32. What you care about recently Am I corny?(´┏_┓｀) 33. How do you spend your days off? [DRAGONBALL Z Sparking! METEOR]!! ヾ(｀┏_┓´)ﾉ 34. What type of room do you live in now? Wall _┓｀).｡oO(My room isn’t so good….) 35. Favorite artist FALL OUT BOY 36. Artists who you were influenced by Oden-kun 37. What have you bought recently? DRAGONBALL Z Sparking! METEOR 38. A project that you want to do in SHOXX in future? [I love Akihabara from 12,000 years ago-] project (LOLOL, no such thigs, Nao-san..) 39. How you relieve stress Hitting the drums 40. If you didn’t become a musician you would have…. I want to be a dubber! If I was able to that is… 41. If you could go back to your past, when would you go back to? I never look back at my past… (´┏_┓ ｀) 42. Why? Let’s look to the future☆(´┏_┓｀) 43. What would you do the day before the world ended? I want to do a live of course. 44. Your ideal person Kira Yamato 45. Please tell us other member’s secrets… Actually, the member who eats most is the slimmest, Saga-!! 46. Your motto Make the impossible, possible. 47. Something to say to yourself now…. Is this how you wanna be? 48. Something that you would say to yourself 10 years from now. Don’t forget music. 49. Something that you want to tell each member. Shou—You are the best vocalist!! Hiroto—You are the best guitarist!! Tora—You are the best guitarist!! Saga—You are the best bassist!! 50. Your goal in future Our goal is big, so please look forward to seeing more of us☆ ↓p42-43 『Alpha』— They put this title on their second album, it is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, and the initial letter ‘A’ of the band; alice nine.. The word ‘Alpha’ means beginning. It has been 3 years since they started the band. Over this time they have experienced many things but recently have returned to their roots, wanting to restart and move ahead with leaps and bounds. It was the night in the beginning of September, when typhoon 9 hit Tokyo. Shou murmured after a long solo interview, “We’ll start recording fully from tomorrow, and stay in a studio for about one month. We work hard to make a good album, so please look forward to it!”. At that time I answered “If you work even harder than before on your music, alice nine. will reach heights that have never been reached before.”, instead of saying “Do you best.”. Already well recognized in the visual-kei world, even with just one outstanding song, which no doubt they have in this album, this band will succeed. They have the skills, and there is certainly a lot of expectation that pulls them that extra step forward. “I’ll do my best to take it to my heart.”, Shou replied strongly. –It has been about 2 months since we had that conversation. This time, the interview was about their new album. When I entered into the studio, members said “We made it finally! We are free now!”, one after another, and welcomed me with refreshed faces. When I had their interview about [TSUBASA] that was released on October 24th, it was in the middle of the recording of the album, and they did promotion of the single at the same time. All of the members stayed up all night, so they showed rather tired expressions. However, the band was in their normal peaceful mood again. That was because they put all of their energy into the recording of this album. “I read [SHOCK WAVE]! I was very happy to see it was written very cool! We worked very hard on this album, so please make this interview really cool too! I’m looking forward to reading it!” (Hiroto) Before starting the interview, Hiroto gave me pressure with broad smile on his face like “We made a good album, so please write a good article!”. That is just like him. These words mean “We made a good thing, worked hard, and did what should have been done, so please support us!”, sounded so naïve. So, like an artist and a writer I said, “OK. Leave it to me!”, the words of Hiroto drove me, and I reconfirmed the bands drive in this album. However, Shou cut such Hiroto’s words and asked “By the way, did you see my photograph in [SHOCK WAVE]!? People seem to be talking about it.”.(laugh) (Shou) I heard that his solo shoot in 『SHOCK WAVE NO.7』happened to be a very sexy, and he got many e-mails from fans because of it. “Unfortunately, we can’t beat that shoot.” members said. “I concentrated and tired to work hard to write an article as Hiroto wanted. But it’s so sad that the article which I wrote and worked hard on was beaten by ●●●…….” I replied, and everyone there burst out laughing. The talk about [SHOCK WAVE] made everyone get excited almost as though they were at school again. What lively boys they are….. The feeling of freedom after completing an album must have been big. They are all very lively. And when they talk about things like the magazine shoot their eyes sparkle with a kind of innocence. And here, Shou murmurs again, “I remembered what I said about working hard on this album, and I did not forget that in its creation. I don’t know whether you will be able to see that, but we did our best. Please tell us your impression in the interview.”.(laugh) He said it like that. His words were filled with confidence, eager to hear my response. I think it’s a very good album. It’s an album that is really you, all of you, alice nine.. ＊ You finally finished the 2nd album! All: We made it at last! Thank you so much! (All clap their hands.) Today, you are all so open, aren’t you?(laugh) Hiroto: We worked on the final check until 4 o’clock in this morning, and Saga came here at 7 o’clock in the morning for this shooting and started make-up, so he is in a natural high spirit today. (laugh) But we completed the album finally, so our feeling is full of release! Shou: We could go to a Yakiniku restaurant finally. Did I promise that?(laugh) Shou: You did now!(laugh) Thank you very much! ……..Then let’s start interview.(laugh) Hey, Mr., who are you?(laugh) Saga: (He is naked to the waist and put on sun glasses.) All: (Members pay attention on Saga and burst out laughing.) Saga: Am I strange?(laugh) Tora: You are nothing but strange.(laugh) Nao: There is no one who put sun glasses on Joura (=abbreviation of naked to the waist) like you.(laugh) Saga: OK, I’ll put on clothes……. You are too open.(smile) So let’s start recording the interview. When did you see the direction of this album? Hiroto: It was before 『ROYAL STRAIGHT FLASH』(summer tour in 2007). Shou: Yes. I think alice nine. is the band which has something only we 5 members can do. So, I wanted to make an album making good use of all our personalities. This time we did not really have a concept. I see. From [TSUBASA] you worked with a producer and it was a new challenge for you. How about this time 『Alpha』? Shou: Yes. We learnt a lot too, from [TSUBASA] to 『Alpha』, we worked with the same producer. Did you get anything out of working together? Hiroto: I got various things. The biggest thing we got since we worked with a producer is that we could recognize what we liked. Until now, we decided everything by ourselves, but this time we had to tell people that “We can’t change this.”. I used to think “We are the band who try to make what listeners want us to make.”, but I realized that we are actually stubborn and have firm beliefs in our music. I see, yeah that happens when you bring in someone else. Shou: Yes. Before we made the album I said to work hard on the main melodies before we started recording. Yes. From your last album [Zekkeishoku], it has been about one and half years. Tora: This one and a half years went so fast. There were many things to do, but we did well. When we finished this album, I really believed that it was worth the time it took. Hiroto: Including [Zekkeishoku] and after that, we made our sounds by trial and error every time, so honestly speaking I sometimes had fears about whether it would be okay or not. In this album, there are singles from [NUMBER SIX] to [WHITE PRAYER], which are put in among new songs made for this album, and when I listen to the whole album, I feel like I want to cry somehow. [Blue Planet] was a song released on the internet, and it developed gradually in lives, and this time we re-recorded it for the album. Consequently it became the last song (officially, the instrumental song [Cradle to[Alpha]] is the last, but [Blue Planet] is the last with lyrics.). When I think over this development, various scenes come back, and I can’t help crying.(laugh) Nao: When we finish this album, I felt achievement, of course, and I looked back over this one and half years again. About drums, each member says that “This would be better.” or “That would be better.”, day by day, so in this one and half years I really realized that the band members all take our sound so seriously. In addition to this, I noticed that I too was very serious about the kind of work I do. There was also a time where I thought about how I, as drummer of alice nine. should support the band. I think that thinking out these things made my grow not only as a drummer but as a person too. You mean mentally speaking? Nao: Yes. I was supported by members and fans, and I was able to grow so much in this one and half years, I think. Saga: I feel like the armor has fallen off like a taboo or something like that has disappeared. I think that we were kind of afraid to show ourselves. I think that we gradually managed to shed these feelings, and do things more freely as a band. I think personally too that I have been able to do things that are closer to the real me. At around [Zekkeishoku], your ideas were ‘to be alice nine.’ maybe that was too strong, and you bound yourselves into being something, you suffered from that. Saga: Yes. But because of that and through trial and error we were able to advance step by step, and make the most of our experiences in this album, I think. And we weren’t bound anymore so we were able to take up new challenges. In the last interview, you said you would try unison with the guitar, but you would keep that challenge until the album. Saga: I said that, yes.(laugh) And I did it! In [-Dice-]! [-Dice-] is hot! Well, I’ll tell you that I’m blood type AB so I want to explode in lives.(laugh) This song is very good for me, such blood type AB. Is that applicable for everyone who is blood type AB?(laugh) Anyway, [-Dice-] is hot! I like heavy sounds, so I like it very much. Saga: It’s so good for people who like heavy sounds.(laugh) To play the same phrases with members together is fun and hot, and I really thought good. To listen to the same phrases and release the sounds together, which we can only do in a band. I really thought it was very hot like “That’s it!.”. Shou: Lyrics are mostly written in English, but I want you to listen to it without any explanation. They don’t have much meaning (laugh), and actually I shout “Let’s become crazy!”.(laugh) and the vocalist becomes one with the instruments. Tora: I made [-Dice-] as I thought everyone wants to do this kind of a song.(laugh) I think it’s a hardness of alice nine. which can be only expressed in the album. Hiroto: This is a song which I could make a hit without hesitation. I think it’s a song having freedom, as we played in a studio freely and shaped it freely. The hardness of the song increased in comparison to the original song.(laugh) I challenged myself to trying to get over the limits or boundaries of hardness in this song. Nao: This is the song challenged as a drummer.(laugh) The tempo was raised more and more and band members said “Can you do this faster? More?”.(laugh) I had never done such fast slash beats, so I worked quite hard. Next time I’ll challenge even faster blast beats if it is needed! I see. (laugh) The music really fits together. However, this time, not only heat of just heavy rock, but I feel a sense of identify of the band in other songs. [9th Revolver] is not heavy sounds but gives a very good sense of band identity. Saga: Yes. We did not just work on making it hard, but really paid attention to emphasizing everyone’s individual skills. Tora: And not only skills, but we were able to shape thoughts into sounds. It’s not simply that our sound got better, or our skills became better, or we could make better songs, but I feel that we were able to make one great album. You made your sound without ego with each of your personalities standing out, I think that this album is very persuasive. Shou: I’m so happy that you received it like that. If the range is too wide, you can’t see where you want to land, but there are hard songs, pop songs, ballads, and trans-like instrumental songs particularly in the last part. However it won’t give us a discursive impression. In this way, 1st song [ZERO] is a heavy song which betrays the pop image of alice nine. in a good way. I personally like this song quite a lot too. Saga: As we wanted people to understand us as soon as they pushed the play button, we put a real straight forward song in first. When I made the demo, I really had this in mind and imagined all five of us playing together. I did not really have any concept when making the song, so if there was anything that I really concentrated on I would say that it was pushing us all to our limits. All the members play together, but there are parts were members show their each and individual talents. The intro starts from the drum solo. The bass playing stands out quite a lot in a way, and the guitar solo is very outstanding in interlude. Nao: From the first song, we put a song that has a strange rhythm, but I think we were successful. Hiroto: In the demo stage, Saga put on harmonic twin guitar phrases, so we made use of it as it was. Before, we used to put various phrases into it making sure that it fitted alice nine., but this time, we had the tour, we could see our steady playing, and I really could imagine each of us playing the demo as it was. Tora: As for alice nine., you might think this is an unexpected song, but we think this is a song we have been able to make that is very much like how we want to be. I think we were able to express our feelings of alice nine. in this song as much as humanly possible. Shou: Surely, for us, [ZERO] was very close to how we wanted alice nine. to be, so these lyrics are also very honest. The message which I wanted to send through 『Alpha』was put into this song, I think. I think that this song is a song that only the band as a whole can sing. I don’t think that the lyrics would be this good without all the members. I felt the 2nd song [cosmic world] was the royal road of rock of alice nine., which many people would think “This is just like alice nine..”. Shou: I think so. But I think it was [cosmic world].which I had the most trouble. This was the only song that I really had a clear image of before I wrote it. Of course I thought about how people see alice nine., too. I really wanted it to be a song that we could all get into, so it was really difficult to reach this ideal. You know, I really felt it through『ROYAL STRAIGHT FLASH』especially when fans celebrated our 3rd year anniversary in Osaka, and I wanted to put the happy feeling we had then into a song. This song was born from the warm feelings which I was given by fans at that time. Hiroto: When I made the original song, I didn’t have any special thoughts like “I want to make this song to be like that.”, but I just made the song honestly from the melodies which were born in me. When we finished our tour, I felt again that many people worked hard for us, and cheered us on. I recognized again that everyone works together. So I made the song expressing this feeling. Tora: It’s a very catchy song, and the atmosphere is very much like our lives. It’s very easy to listen to so I’m happy if you can feel the positive mood of this song including what Shou and Hiroto said before. Saga: Our lives are very positive, and they filled with courage and hope, I think. We managed to that feeling into the song, I think. Nao: I have many troubles everyday, so this is the song like “Let’s get over many difficulties together!”. That’s why I wanted to make this song lively, and put so much effort into 4 beat drumming! So I think I can now make you listen to my sharp drumming in our lives! If it isn’t sharp, I think Saga would snap at me.(laugh) Saga: When I loose my cool, I get rid of the tams from his drum set.(laugh) Nao: It’s like they are removed one by one, it feels naked…..(laugh) Saga: He doesn’t notice until they are all gone! (laugh) Nao: Then I’ll be ‘hatto suru!’.(He joked in Japanese, meaning ‘with a start!’) ……..Next, [Aoi Tori]. This is Tora’s song. Tora: (laugh) Yes. I thought that I would make a fresh song. I made this song at around the same time as [TSUBASA], so the mood might be a little bit similar. Hiroto: I wanted to make a song which works itself up, so I wanted to do an approach pushing my guitar playing out more than singing or melodies. I imagine there is a foundation of drums and bass, and we let Shou bounce around on them, push him up, and Shou would do an overhead shoot from there. Nao: When Tora brought something to us, I thought it seemed hard having many developments, but I could play making good use of them. Saga: I faced this song with Nao for one hour in a studio. Nao: Yes. We did that eating sour cream potato chips. (In their interview, they became hungry and ate potato chips of sour cream onion taste, so Nao said this. I write it here because he said it in good timing.) Shou: Saga cream onion!(….Shou said even such a joke…..) Saga: Eh!! Cream onion of me!? Wow, it sounds erotic. Well, it’s a song like that. What~!? Saga: That’s really “WHAT~!”.(laugh) Who said that? Nao! Well….this song has many developments, so it was a challenging song for me. I’m looking forward to seeing what position it will be when we play it in our lives. Shou: From the demo stage, it was rock but still it had transparency in the guitar sounds, so I felt a dark blue light in it. I imagined a vivid world which could be seen through a filter of melted water, and I put my own slant on the message from the fairy tale [Aoi Tori](=Blue Bird) that ‘Really important things are next to us unconsciously.’ And put that into it. I see. Then [JEWELS]. This is a single song, but it was put in the album and it increases the sparkle of the album even more. Saga: We tried to achieve that when choosing what songs to put where. I think this song became a very important song for alice nine.. At that time, through trial and error it took us a long time to make it, but in the end it was really good for us in many ways. Shou: In this song, we went until we could not longer make a poppier (sic) song, then [WHITE PRAYER] was born, and we were able to release an alice nine. band sound, after that. Yes. And a new song [9th Revolver]. I felt this song new to alice nine.. Tora: This song was made quickly after almost the whole image of the album was made, and we thought it be better if this kind of song was put in. We made this song without intro or outro, conveying what we want to say only by the part we play. It was new to us, but members picked it up quickly soon without confusion. Hiroto: It was the type of tune that had never been in alice nine. before, but it was strange that I could accept it so easily. I was able to could make the guitar sounds that fitted well very quickly. It’s the song which I could play very honestly. I felt the relaxed feeling, in which the mood started with expansive strokes of sound with the whole band’s sound uniting together. Nao: This song is for adults, I think. Saga: I felt like the parts which we 5 members originally had, were reconfirmed in this song. Shou: About the lyrics, when I had a long solo interview about my childhood, which ended up being over 20,000 Japanese characters long, I was able to look back into my past again, and I wrote about my memories when I was 9 years old. I didn’t want to write it at first, but when I listened to this song, I remembered a scene at that age very clearly, so I wrote such lyrics. If the content of the lyrics were different, I think the song would be more pop, but the lyrics are heavy, so we could make the unbalanced mood that it has. I think that a Japanese shadow is necessary in this song, you know, you can never be 100 percent beautiful. They are bitter lyrics, but I made such parts vague in English. It became a very important song for both me and alice nine., I think. It flows from [NUMBER SIX] to [Kousai] made by Hiroto. Hiroto: [NUMBER SIX] is a song which rally shines in this album. Tora: I thought [NUMBER SIX] was a song which was made to be put in the album. Hiroto: [Kousai] follows from such [NUMBER SIX], this [Kousai] is the song that we wrote because we didn’t have such a song to make the audience listen quietly in lives. Acoustic guitar sounds and the band’s feeling is very good. Shou: When we recorded the guitar sounds, I got a phone call and talked hot like “This song is love! Just love!”, so I wrote lyrics about love. Most of ballads made by Hiroto make our hearts hot, so I wrote lyrics about a hot love, making good use of such melodies. ‘Kousai’(=iris) is the black part of a human eye, and it’s a personality which is only one for each person like a fingerprint. I wrote it with this meaning that we would draw the world coming out on such an iris with our important person together. I put harmonies on so much that Tora said “Is this Chage & Asuka?”.(laugh) It’s not often that Hiroto sang the temporary song by himself in the demo tape, in which he sang using many sighs, so I sang making much use of them in the first song.(laugh) Nao: This is a great work taking about 7 and half minutes. But it develops up and down, so it’s not boring, and I really think it’s a hot and gentle song. I think that half of this feeling comes from my drum playing. Saga: The other half is my gentleness. I played bass like that too! Hiroto: Half of the gentleness is from Nao, and the other half is from Saga, so there is no other element.(laugh) Well, it’s OK.(laugh) Tora: Yes, it’s OK.(laugh) We share the acoustic guitar parts in this song. I play acoustic guitar thoroughly, and Hiroto plays electric guitar. I played letting my feelings lead me. Hiroto: In [9th Revolver], I played acoustic guitar thoroughly, and Tora played electric guitar, and this time were able really come up with something good. At first I told Tora to play guitar like GonTiti, and he understood that well, and matching both GonTiti- and our band sound. Good job, Tora! And the single song [WHITE PRAYER]. Shou: This song is a kind of the manifestation of our determination and the first cry of alice nine.. In [WHITE PRAYER], we decided “We want to be like this.”, and we could express this in full-length in『Alpha』. The flow from here to [Eraser] is quite good. Hiroto: I almost cry here. I want this song to be listened to at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon in a car! Saga: I wrote this song really paying attention to the later half of the album. I wanted to express it didn’t want to end. We have never done the approach to mix dance beats and acoustic guitar sounds, so I want you to feel a new alice nine. here. Nao: In this song, I muted the snare sounds a lot, created a mood of input sounds even though they are real sounds. I worked hard on searching for a base of dance beats. Tora: In this song, I want you to feel the combination of acoustic guitar and electric guitar. Hiroto plays electric guitar, and I, Tora play acoustic guitar. Please listen to us! Hiroto: I want you to feel our guitar sounds which sometimes nestle together and sometimes compete to with one another. Shou: This is a pop tune at first sight, but I dared to write lyrics about an incurable fragile story “If I make you sad, better still, you would erase me with all of my memories.”. Anemone appears in the lyrics, and the language of anemone is ‘fading hope’. However the basic message is not despair, but the bottom gentleness of a man. It’s the song searching for my favorite ‘sorrowful aesthetic’. I hope you could feel such gentleness which is left in the end. I think so. And then [Blue Planet]. Tora: About one year ago it was released on the internet, and we brought up this song in our lives, so wanted to put it in closing of this album. Shou: [Blue Planet] is the last song, and it’s closed by [Cradle to [Alpha]]. The meaning of the title is ‘a cradle toward an alpha’. My wish is that you could feel peace in our hard sound; so we put this song at the very end. After you listen to the album 『Alpha』 and listen to [Cradle to [Alpha]] at the end, I’m very happy if you could feel the connection to 『Alpha』in our lives to come! Hiroto: [Cradle to [Alpha]] was made because we wanted to play the moment we were born, and it connects to [ZERO]. That’s why it is called [ZERO]! I see, it’s going back to 0(zero). So it’s [Zero]! Hiroto: Yes! So please listen to it looping over again and again, enjoying the flow! I really hope you’ll enjoy Credits www.jrockhouse.com Labels: alice nine., article, shoxx & i shall end here 10:48 AM |
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