Voice Magazine Vol. 02
September 2002

 

Coming into contact with T-REX and SEX PISTOLS led ISSAY to pick up a microphone himself. What are the “memories of songs” of this man who has, ever since, been performing on stage; the one and only place where he belongs?
Because of his appearance of being drawn to the virtuous¹, there is no doubt that this is what makes him beautifully dignified¹.

 

 

 

 

Poise¹ drawn to the poised¹

 

■ Are there songs that you’ve always listened to right from the very beginning? Something that you’ve never had a period of not listening to?

ISSAY (I): There aren’t any that I’ve come to dislike, but there are those that I don’t listen to for a time, for sure. Like, say, the Doors². I love them but there was a period when I didn’t listen to them for years, too.

■ It just suddenly hits you that you haven’t been listening to them?

I: Yeah, exactly. Also, in my case, there was a period when we transitioned from vinyl records to CDs, right? There were also occasions where I didn’t listen because I had the vinyl record but didn’t have the CD version. Excuse³ the old talk (wry smile). That’s probably what happened with the Doors. For me, when I get stressed, I’d end up going to the bookstore or the CD shop and buy tens of thousands⁴ of books or CDs. Doing that somehow helps me to destress. That’s when I’d buy [music], though.

■ Among all of that, are there any songs that mean something special to you?

I: I think there are. Those that I’ve got an emotional attachment to, you know? If they’re people I liked in the past, I can’t help but buy [their releases] even if I think they’re not that great these days. So, although I know that I only like this person[‘s work] from this period to this period, I’d buy their releases again even when they’ve changed completely. For Lou Reed⁵, it’s definitely [the songs he released] around the time of TRANSFORMER⁵ and BERLIN⁵ that I love the most. Although I’d still listen to him if he releases [something new] now and I’d still go and see him if he comes [to Japan]. I’d say the same goes for Iggy Pop⁶.

■ And that’s because it’s the people themselves after all?

I: The fundamental parts of them won’t change that drastically, right? Besides, even if the music they make gets a bit boring, I still like their voices anyway and things like that.

■ On the other hand, is there anything that you were crazily into at one point but now you wonder why you ever liked it?

I: Probably, yes. Nothing comes to mind now, but I think there’s definitely something like that. What, though? It’s very possible that there’s something. I’m most certainly sure there is. Probably something from the new wave period. If it’s those guys from that period, I think it’s very likely that there are quite a few (smiles). I can’t think of anything, but I’m pretty sure there’s something.

■ What songs did you listen to when you were an even younger child?

I: The usual popular ballads. But I was just listening to them because they were popular. I did think that Sawada Kenji-san⁷ was cool, though. Because, you see, he had a backing band in the formation of a rock band, didn’t he? I don’t know if I’m right, but among solo artists who perform popular ballads, that man was the very first person to have a rock band-styled backing band, wasn’t he? At least, that’s what I think. Prior to him, all of them used orchestras, didn’t they?

■ What about [music] aside from rock bands?

I: Among chanson⁸ singers are Jacques Brel⁹ and Léo Ferré¹⁰, though. I like the two of them. I think it was already about 10 years ago, but I happened to turn on NHK’s educational program in the middle of the night. And on it, they were doing some sort of French language course or something when they put on an interview with Léo Ferré and I thought, “What a strange old man.” Right at the end, he was playing the piano and singing a song, probably Künstlerleben¹¹ or something, and I was blown away by that. And less than half a year later a 2-disc best-of compilation was released. Among the few different genres in it, Jacques Brel was in there too and that [release] was when I grew to love him. Jacques Brel’s songs have surprisingly been covered by rock musicians too. I guess in the end, if you like him, you like him.

 

The result of a huge misunderstanding?

 

■ Who inspired you to sing?

I: If not for the SEX PISTOLS¹² and T-REX¹³, I don’t think I would’ve done it. Up until [I came into contact with them,] I’ve only been listening to music because I liked it, but I’ve never thought of making it myself. I’ve said this a lot, but when I heard T-REX and the SEX PISTOLS, I got this huge misunderstanding that if this [is music], even I can do it.

■ That you’re capable of it?

I: I thought [I’m capable of] that simplicity.

■ The feeling that it’s possible for you to actually do it?

I: Yeah, I was convinced [of it]. Doing something like that is actually the most difficult, though. I was probably in high school, or graduating from high school when I heard it and I was like, “What the hell, if this is all there is, even I can do it.”

■ You were on vocals from the very start?

I: Formed a band. And of course, I was going to sing.

■ Did you start off doing covers of their songs?

I: When I was about to start my very first rehearsal with the band, I thought that we should cover T-REX’s songs. But I had already written a song by the time I actually stepped into the studio for the first time. Now that I think about it, it wasn’t all that much of a song but it was made.

■ How did you compose it?

I: Humming. By humming, I went to the bassist or the guitarist’s home and told him that’s the kind of song it is. Then he suggested to start a band. But I didn’t listen to Japanese music at all and had zero clue about the rock scene in Japan, you know? I didn’t intend to start a band, but I’ve never even thought about how I was going to go about it. So, when my band members said, “Let’s get a studio,” I thought, “Ah, I see. So we need to have a studio.” (Smiles). But all I had was confidence even though I didn’t know anything. I just had the confidence that I could do it. And you know what? I absolutely hate singing in front of people.

■ Even now?

I: Even now, I don’t like it. But it was far worse back then. I couldn’t sing unless I drank and got absolutely drunk.

■ Were you okay with going into the studio?

I: I’d also drink when I go to the studio.

■ You can’t [sing] as long as there’s someone else around?

I: That’s my impediment (wry smile). It’s contradictory but this is a weird thing [about me]. Although I hate it, all I can do is sing in front of others, right? That’s why I drink and get it done. Performing by using that momentum, I thought I was definitely a genius [for coming up with that], but now that I think about it, I have no clue where those ideas came from.

■ When you look back on those days, do you attribute it all to your youth?

I: I guess you could say it was because I was young, but I suppose I just didn’t know anything. Because I was brainless (smiles).

Because I have a complex far stronger than other people

 

■ Have the music you listen to changed since you’ve started singing yourself?

I: Not particularly. Not until much later. After debuting as a professional, I took the suggestion that I should listen and find out what kind of music is being made these days rather than only listen to music I like, but it bored me (smiles).

■ Have you ever listened to a particular artist for the sake of singing your own songs [in a particular way]? Like, as a study.

I: I’ve never done that. That said, I used to think covers were just imitations. The singing is what comes out of this body of mine, so I didn’t think that it was up to me to perform songs however I liked if I were to sing by imitating someone who has different vocal chords and a different bone structure. Looking back, I think it would’ve been good had I done covers.

■ Why?

I: In terms of singing techniques.

■ Do you have any influences from your favourite vocalists?

I: Like techniques or habits, I have those, right? I think I’ve been influenced in those areas, very much. Even if I didn’t have the intention to copy them, I’d absorb it all into my own body because I’m listening to them all the time, so I think it’ll more or less show.

■ What about things you’ve consciously referenced?

I: With regards to singing, none at all. In the area of staging, outfits or whatever, I’d always look at all sorts of things and incorporate what I think can be incorporated. Aside from singing, there’s a lot of that. Be it fashion, or anything else, I’d browse fashion magazines and when I find something that looks cool, I’d want to try wearing it. Similarly, if I think a particular artist is cool, I’d want to try dressing like them or something.

■ You still react that way to the same things?

I: Uh-huh, I do. Because in the end, rock isn’t just about the music. Well, you see, for me, I consider myself as a part of the adult entertainment industry¹³, in a way. Because I feel that this is a genre of music where a lot of importance is placed on what that person is wearing or what kind of person the performer portrays. And that’s why even now I’m still mindful about those things.

■ Does that mean the things you care about haven’t changed?

I: They do change, but I guess the fundamental part of it remains the same. Because the things that I’m drawn to are basically things that attract something inside of me, so long as [whatever’s within me] doesn’t change[, it will remain the same]. Besides, I’d never think of standing on stage wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt. Because, you see, there’s a ton of other guys out there who suit that style better than me.

■ So, it’s like picking what’s more suitable for yourself?

I: That’s of course, isn’t it? [It’s about] how effectively I can make people go “Eh?”, or “Whoa!”, and so on. Because, what’s the point if you can’t leave some sort of impression on people? At least, that’s what I think.

■ Have you ever come across something that you think is really cool, but think you can’t wear because it doesn’t suit you?

I: I have. I’ve had that experience. Like, it’s because this is the body I have, you know? There are plenty of instances where I’d think that I’d be able to pull off this particular look if I were more muscular, but that’s not possible. Other people might look at me as a narcissist, but since I have a complex far stronger than other people, it’s of course (wry smile).

■ Ah, I see. Do you think you will be drawn to something different again in future?

I: You see, I think it’s something that changes with the times. So it is changing. I mean, among those who are a little older than me, there are people who love Ivy¹⁴ and they’d spend their whole lives wearing Ivy. That’s not what I want to do. Because doing that will make time stand still. Instead, what should we do in the next era with this same spirit that loved Ivy in the previous? For example, I love glam rock a lot, right? That’s a movement which started up around 1972 or ‘73 in England, and if you ask me what is the form it evolved into some years later, I’d say it’s punk. To me, I think that London punk and glam rock are very similar. Because I believe it’s just the approach that adapts with the times and those sorts of changes.

■ But the spirit of it, so to say, or the roots are the same?

I: Depending on the era, if you think about it in the sense that we’re holding on to the same roots, I’d decide that, well, if these are the kind of times we’re in, let’s change and do it this way.

■ What does ISSAY-san think your roots are formed by?

I: I believe it includes the way I was brought up and later on, finding pantomime. When the way to portray something isn’t suitable for a musician, I’d become a representative of pantomime; it’s this very dramatic way of thinking about things that I have within me. But, you see, I’m a person who’s very interested in stage performance to begin with. Say, for example, Jim Morrison is cool because he performs on stage in a particular way. And I feel that’s good enough for me to classify him as a theatrical person, in terms of that era. Besides, he’s a very flashy person too. Even glam rock, which came afterwards is very much like that too, don’t you think? The SEX PISTOLS were like that too. Because, you see, people don’t sing like that, do they? Normally. I believe that is, without a doubt, influenced by theatre or film.

 

You know, I love refined¹ [rock music]

 

■ Are there songs that you think you’ll continue listening to in future?

I: What are there? I think there are definitely some but none come to mind. Recently I haven’t really been listening, not that much. I’ve got a cycle, like, there’d be times when [I think that] rock is noisy so I don’t like it. Those periods when I don’t listen to rock at all.

■ How long do these periods last?

I: The longest so far went on for about a year. The rock that I’d listen to is pretty much just Lou Reed, and there are even periods of time when I really listened to nothing except chanson and classical music too. Though, I do wonder if it’s just my own mental issues. Well, now, as to what I’m leaning towards, rather than rock, I’m in this state where I’m looking for something, but I think I want to listen to dark latin music or something. It’s just that I’ve got no knowledge in that area so I don’t know what kind of musicians I should listen to, but I want to listen to stuff that sounds like old cabaret songs and the like. That’s what I’m feeling strongly now, I guess. Like Kurt Weill¹⁵, early 20th century German songs. I have [a desire] to listen to this kind [of music]. I listened to BERLIN⁵ yesterday after a long time, Lou Reed’s. It’s got a dark vibe, doesn’t it? I can’t listen to that, you know, unless I’m full of energy and vigour. Like, “Ugh, it’s so dark~” (smiles). But that album is so well done, you know? I think it’s a masterpiece among masterpieces. I listened to the Jesus and Mary Chain¹⁶ too, yesterday. I just happened to borrow it from a friend to listen to it, though. Well, you know, speaking of rock music, I love refined¹ ones, mhmm. It appears rather than the chaotic, messy types, I prefer those who say, “Alright, that’s enough.” That’s what British rock musicians are like, right? American rock musicians are different, though. Aren’t there a lot of party-stunt types among British rock musicians? Like, I may be bad at playing the guitar, but if you make me do this, I’ll be the best in the world at it. I like those types, it seems, somehow.

■ Do you want to be like that too?

I: You know, that depends on the song, though. HAMLET MACHINE’s arrangements, well, TATSUYA’s quite the conscientious person, so he’d do it up real elaborately before sending it over, but there are also times when I think that it’s kind of chaotic, you know? And I’d tell him, “It’s good like this. Because if you make the chorus like this with this sound, this side would win.” But then, you know, TATSUYA would say, “Where the hell are you getting that sense of winning and losing from?” (wry smile). But that’s how I think, you know? In the end, doing rock music is about going all out and doing it in the most impactful manner to leave something with the audience. Even just a single word is good, but as long as you’ve left some sort of impression on them, you’ve won. It’s about how much of an impact you can make on people. This is a way of thinking which belongs very much to the impetus of the early days of rock, and that’s not all there is to it, but such a way of thinking will always be there, you know?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ISSAY

Vocalist of HAMLET MACHINE. Born on 6 July in Shizuoka. Cancer, blood type AB. Major debuted in 1985 with DER ZIBET and their release of Violetter Ball. Thereafter, they released 12 original albums before going on an indefinite hiatus which began in October 1996. He then formed Φ¹⁷ (Phi) in 1998 together with Hirose Satoshi. They disbanded in 2000. His activities with HAMLET MACHINE started in 1995 and it went on on an irregular basis until August 2000 when they restarted activities with new vigour and are still going strong. His presence, charisma, and of course, his singing have gained him much support from fellow current artists.
His hobby is night walks.
His favourite vocalists include Lou Reed, Jacques Brel, Jim Morrison, Leonard Cohen¹⁸, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and many more.
Recently, he has also formed a band called ISSAY meets DOLLY and is writing songs for them aside from HAMLET MACHINE.

 

■ HAMLET MACHINE

Formed in 1995 together with ex.ALL NUDE’s TATSUYA. Particiapted in the omnibus album DANCE 2 NOISE. After that, activities went on on an irregular basis while each member continued activities with their own bands until August 2000 when they restarted activities with new vigour. They have since released Evil Flower (October 2001) and TRANCE-MISSION (April 2002). On 7 July of this year, they successfully held a solo live performance at Shibuya ON AIR WEST.

 

 

 

 

Notes:

¹ These words all refer to the same Japanese vocabulary: 潔い (isagiyoi). It can be translated as “elegant”, “dignified”, “virtuous”, “graceful”, “manly”; a whole range of words. In general, it is meant to refer to a person who is decisive, resolute, a good sport, an all round gentleman.

² The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore.

³ He said スイマセン (suimasen) rather than the proper “sumimasen”.

⁴ I would think he meant tens of thousands of yen in value rather than item quantity but he didn’t specify it that way, so… it might very well be tens of thousands of things.

⁵ Lou Reed was an American musician, singer, songwriter and poet. He was the guitarist, singer and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Transformer is his second solo album and Berlin the third.

⁶ Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Designated the “Godfather of Punk”, he was the vocalist and lyricist of influential proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1967 and have disbanded and reunited multiple times since.

⁷ Sawada Kenji, who was nicknamed Julie for his love of Julie Andrews, is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and actor, best known for being the vocalist for the Japanese rock band The Tigers. Donning long hair and using makeup to accentuate his image, Kenji was one of the first (if not the first) pop idol to introduce Japan music culture to the ideas of dandyism and androgyny.

⁸ A chanson is, in general, any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular.

⁹ Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer, songwriter, actor and director who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, later throughout the world. He is considered a master of the modern chanson.

¹⁰ Léo Ferré was a Monégasque poet and composer, and a dynamic and controversial live performer, whose career in France dominated the years after the Second World War until his death. He released some forty albums over this period, composing the music and the majority of the lyrics.

¹¹ Entitled 芸術家の生活 (Artist’s Life / Geijutsuka no Seikatsu) in Japanese, this piece is a waltz written by Johann Strauss II in 1867, following closely on the success of the popular “The Blue Danube”.

¹² The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they are regarded as one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music.

¹³ T. Rex were an English rock band, formed in 1967 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band was initially called Tyrannosaurus Rex, and released four psychedelic folk albums under this name.

¹³ He used the phrase 風俗産業 (fuuzoku sangyou) which directly translates into “sex industry”. The sort of businesses it covers ranges from brothels, to soapland, to what the Japanese call “fashion-health” stores which are basically stores which sell vibrators marketed at women.

¹⁴ Referring to something called Ivy League style, also known as American Traditional. It’s a style which draws its primary influence from the Ivy League preppy style of the early 1960s, and the blue-collar American workwear of the first half of the 20th century. Read more here.

¹⁵ Kurt Julian Weill was a German composer, active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht.

¹⁶ The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid.

¹⁷ One of ISSAY’s other projects with ISSAY on vocals, Hirose Satoshi on guitars, HAL on bass, and Sato Minoru on drums. During their short period of activity, they released 2 albums, Φ(Phi) and Naked, and a single Knife of Romance (ending theme song for Angel Sanctuary’s OVA).

¹⁸ Leonard Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death and romantic relationships. Cohen was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation’s highest civilian honour. In 2011, Cohen received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize.

 

 

 

 

Translation: Yoshiyuki
Scans: devalmy on LJ

 

On Sakurai Atsushi’s World

PHY Vol. 5
december 2015

Interview text by Ishii Eriko
Photography by Yoda Junko

 

 

DER ZIBET’s ISSAY Speaks of “The World of The Expressionist, Sakurai Atsushi”

With The Mortal, Sakurai Atsushi has inscribed that which is his core into his work. He professes that DER ZIBET’s ISSAY is “a senior (senpai) who he respects”, and their relationship has only deepened since his debut. ISSAY, too, dwells in the same dark universe of Sakurai’s, and is an artist who has embodied the concept of decadence since the beginning. Each having their own values resonate with the other for close to a quarter of a century, ISSAY shares his thoughts on the expressionist, Sakurai Atsushi.

 

 

 

I don’t think that he is one who has ever aimed to be “gothic” or “decadent”
This is a consequential result. That’s the part of him that I can empathise with the most

 

I think it was around the time when BUCK-TICK debuted that I first came to know of Sakurai Atsushi-kun as a person. When was that……?    When we released our second album, there was a TV recording. The location, it was Meguro’s Rokumeikan. Back then, there was another shoot for a broadcast that would be aired on a different day from ours going on as well, and BUCK-TICK was there. We were put together backstage, and that was the first time we exchanged greetings. When I think about it now, I think Atsushi-kun probably mustered up a lot of courage to come and speak to me (smiles). Because he isn’t the type of person who would initiate a conversation, you know.

When we met, I already sensed that he was someone who liked the same things as I do. From the very first time that we spoke, I got the feeling that “this person’s preferences are probably very similar to mine”. I wonder, what made me feel like that? We had casual conversations about live performances and such, and we spoke about the musicians who we liked, but perhaps it was from what was shared in those conversations that I understood very well that he was someone who looked at things from the same perspective as I did. There’s a glam rock mentality, and there are people who like the most pop-like image that from the “Let’s Dance”* period. But for us, I could feel that we both liked David Bowie for that unique depth and gloom. I thought that this was the viewpoint of ours that matched.

It’s the same for me, but Atsushi-kun is a person who really likes things that revolve around such gloom and depth, isn’t he? If I were to put it in a more easily understandable word, I suppose that would be “darkness”, I guess (smiles). But, you know, when I look at him, this is what I feel but, I don’t think that he is one who has ever aimed to be “gothic” or “decadent”. This is a consequential result, isn’t it? Perhaps you can say that that’s where we’re similar, or that’s the part of him that I can empathise with the most. There are many who express themselves with “decadence” as a goal, but there just aren’t that many people who turn out like this as a consequential result. When he expresses what he feels and what he likes in the words that he favours, the resulting product ends up getting considered as “gothic” or “decadent”. That is…… because he will always see the duality of things too after all, isn’t it? I suppose, like how the scent of death will definitely be found right next to something with vitality. I think he’s the kind of human who has the sensitivity to sniff out those kinds of things.

You know, every time I see him, I come to understand that he is someone who possesses something similar to what I have. We happened to bump into each other a number of times after the first time that we met at Rokumeikan, you know. Like, we’d bump into each other outside the venue when we’re going to watch lives by foreign artists, then we’d stand there and talk for a bit. Among these occasions, the funniest one was when I was on the way back from a tour, we were traveling

in the equipment vehicle so we were taking a break at one of those service areas along the way. Just then, this tall, blond guy** began approaching us with this huge grin on his face, and as I was wondering “Who’s that?”, it was Atsushi-kun. Our conversation went something like, “What’s up?”    “Well, we’re in the middle of a tour.”    “Same. Me too.” (smiles). It made me think that it’s like we’re tied by fate or something.

Also, I suppose another thing that surprised me was, back when we were recording our 4th album, ‘GARDEN’, in London, BUCK-TICK was also recording in London as well. Before this, he did say to me that we should meet if we could, but well, I’m going to London, you know, so I figured that it’s rather unlikely that we’d happen to bump into each other. But we met (smiles). So, then, I heard that they were going to perform live in London, and it just so happened that on that day, we finished our recording session early, and the venue also happened to be near the studio. So I thought, well, let’s go and see, and I went over with my band members, right. It really was just a continuous string of coincidences. If this happened between a man and a woman, they would’ve already fallen in love, wouldn’t they (smiles)?

Even after we became friends, my impression of him is still the same as what I had in the beginning, you know. He’s always been a gentleman, and he barely gets surprised in the way a person goes “Ah, so such a thing exists”. It’s still the same image as the one I got when he first came up to me and spoke to me. Despite those intense eyes, he’s such a terribly shy person (smiles). And he’s mischievous, isn’t he? He has such a great sense of humour. Those little things that he suddenly blurts are funny too. Once, when we were parting after having met for work or something, he said “…… Next time, let’s have a beer too”, you know (smiles). “Sounds good, a beer.”    “We’ll both go for a beer together next time.” and so on. Since then, we kept saying “Let’s have a beer” to each other (smiles).

He drinks a lot, doesn’t he? Well, but all the members in BUCK-TICK are like this though (smiles). But when it comes to Atsushi-kun, you know, he doesn’t change much even after he’s had alcohol. When we’re drinking, we speak as per normal, you know. From “what have you been up to lately”, to conversations like “Have you listened to this work before?” or “Have you read this book before?”. Also, we send albums to each other, so there’d be talk like “That album was nice”, or “Klimt*** was used on this album’s cover, wasn’t it”    “Well…… but I do know that ISSAY-san loves Klimt though”, and so on (smiles). Our conversations generally revolve around these exceedingly average topics, you see. With Atsushi-kun, I drink with him probably only once or twice a year, and we do go and watch each other’s live performances, and to me, it’s quite rare for a relationship to last this long with someone, you know.

 

Without considering solitude and loneliness as negative emotions
Embracing them as if they are very precious things
I think that he is aware that this is who he is

 

When I see him on stage, during a live, it no longer matters that he is my junior (kouhai) or younger than me, I think that he’s a really impressive person. Firstly, it’s that voice, you know. He has a magnificent voice, and he knows how to sing in a way that makes the most of it. Though when he steps out onto BUCK-TICK’s stage, it’s like there’s an extreme tension, and when he comes out, it somehow feels like a string snapped apart to the beat or something. I do wonder if it is at that point when his personality changes. Perhaps, you know, maybe during his high school days, his friends thought that it’s rather unbelievable that he could be someone who can be a vocalist and sing in front of other people. When you look at how he normally is, you wouldn’t believe that with music, he is someone who will go out in front of people. I imagine that he’s the type of person who you wouldn’t expect this from, you know.

But, ever since a certain point in time…… somehow, he changed, you know. Initially, he was uptight and full of nerves, but after a certain point in time, he grew very gutsy. When was that?    Or should I say, he grew defiant. Like, “I am me, this is how I am, so there”. Maybe he grew defiant, I think. Probably…… it was in the middle period. I think it was during the period of time when they released that album where I was asked to be a guest on one of the songs (Six/Nine, 1995), but ever since then, all of a sudden, Atsushi-kun became strong, didn’t he? I began to feel something dignified in him, like he’s declaring “This is me”.

I think that now, he truly is the type of musician that I like. In any case, in these few years…… From time to time, I can see glimpses of him enjoying fiction. The fact that he makes me feel that “Ah, to think that such an artist exists in Japan and in the major labels too” is a very promising thing, and it makes me glad, you know.

In BUCK-TICK, each of the members understands their own positioning extremely well, and I think that they are a band where it turns out exceptionally nicely. You know, usually, someone would keep yearning for the spotlight and stepping out to the front, and then the band goes bad (smiles), but it’s amazing that they don’t have this, isn’t it? The band members understand very well things like “Ah, he needs to be the one in front now” or “I have to stand in here for this moment”. And without ever wavering, they’ve just continued on like this all~ the way. But this time, Atsushi-kun stepping away from that and creating a solo project with a band is…… a lot of pressure on him, I think. But since he has decided to work on a solo project, there’s no way that he can run away from that pressure, is there? Because it was the same for me when I worked on my solo project as well. But earlier, I said that “There was probably a time when he grew defiant”, and I think, there is probably a need for him to grow even more defiant than that. The phrase “to grow defiant” doesn’t really have a positive image, but it also has the connotation of a person accepting themselves with “I am alright as I am”.  I think that it also means to lose whatever doubt you have in relation with yourself being as you are. But for him to have completed his solo work like this, isn’t it yet another contribution to him growing stronger? That’s what I think it is.

I’ve listened to THE MORTAL’s album, and the very first thought that came to mind was, “Ah…… He’s done it” (smiles). I felt that he’s done something really wonderful here. I suppose you could say that it’s really very much Atsushi-kun’s style. He’s excluded all unnecessary colours and the sort, and made it something that draws close to his own core, don’t you think so? Of course, it’s not like there aren’t any songs that make me feel like “Ah, this song wouldn’t sound odd even if BUCK-TICK were the ones performing it”, but, the colours are completely different after all. To put it precisely, there aren’t any colours at all, it’s a work that is in monochrome. You know, for me, I particularly loved the last two songs. “Mortal” and “Sayonara Waltz”.

In terms of the content that he depicts and his lyrics, there are things that I, myself, would not express in the same way if it were me. But I think that those parts, we both have, mutually. Because I express things with my own words, and him with his own. But when it comes to why he chooses to express something the way that he does, that, I can fully understand. I often get the feeling that even if the way he expresses these words are different, he’s probably saying the same thing, you know. Like, “Ah, so he sees such a world too……”. That comes across very clearly, doesn’t it? Developing empathy for the conceptual parts like that, I think it only happens with him. Of course, when I listen to other music, there are many occasions when I am surprised and I think “Ah, I see, so such an expression exists!”, but when it comes to him, I’d notice what’s under the surface, like “Ah…… I suppose this was what he saw” or “It seems like there was a moment when he felt like how I did”, and I’d find myself nodding in agreement. Well…… Perhaps we share the souls of lovers, right? Hahahaha!

But, speaking like this, I said earlier that the common aesthesic that we share is “darkness”, but that might be putting it a little too simply, you know (smiles). While it’s true that it can be considered as darkness…… it’s something that has more contrast than that. Like, take for example, when the blazing sunlight of midsummer shines down on a tree, the shadow of that tree isn’t total darkness. I can see the border that lines it. It’s not about whether I like or dislike it, it’s just something that I do out of habit, you know. There are people who say that they like dark things, but on the other hand, you don’t really meet many who naturally exude it like second nature. I think, what makes him and I even more similar is probably the part of us that is capable of treating things that an ordinary person would feel is negative, as very positive things. Usually, let’s say, for example, solitude and loneliness, these things would be treated as negative emotions and rejected. But for him and me, without considering them as negative emotions, we treat them as very precious things and plunge in. And then we accept them, embrace them. Because we understand that this is who we are, and they definitely do exist, they are fact. I think that this is something that Atsushi-kun is already distinctly aware of.

 

 

 

Notes:

* Referring to the album by David Bowie.

** In this sentence, he used the phrase お兄ちゃん (oniichan), which, in Japanese, does not necessarily mean ‘older brother’, especially when referring to strangers. It’s like a slightly more affectionate term used to refer to a random dude. An example would be calling a waiter in an izakaya お兄ちゃん, which would be similar to calling them ‘bro’ in English. Of course, there is the flipside where you call a waitress お姉ちゃん (oneechan). You could say that it’s one of those Asian things, similar to how we call everyone our ‘uncle’ or ‘aunty’, even if we’re not related.

*** Referring to the Austrian artist, Gustav Klimt.

 

 

 

 

Translation: Yoshiyuki

 

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[Dec 2015] PHY Vol. 5: An interview with ISSAY for DER ZIBET’s 30th Anniversary & Bessekai Release

 

Bessekai Feature

PHY Vol. 5
December 2015

Interview text by Ishii Eriko

 

It feels like this is my life work to me
The one thing that I’d continue with for the rest of my life is probably this band

DER ZIBET is currently on their solo 30th anniversary tour with a show on 14th November in Tokyo, and on 22nd November in Osaka. Their 19th album “別世界 (Bessekai / Another World)” will be releasing on the 25th, and they will continue their vigorous activities as usual… but this is probably not something that can be written lightly. This is a band that has continued in their non-conformist ways since they first debuted because of their overwhelming sense of aesthetic and glamour. Even after going through label changes and a hiatus, their sound continues to ring on even now, aloof, without breaking down the high-strung fantasy world of theirs.

There are many songs in their new work, Bessekai, that gives us another good look at the nucleus of DER ZIBET. In other words, it is a masterpiece that is glamorous yet romantic, that is grand and decadent, that cannot be brushed aside as just another fantasy, that leaves behind a vividly sensual afterglow that seems to have no end. This is because of the charm of, as ISSAY puts it, [fiction]. Your own realism can be precisely constructed because it is [fiction].

In this extended interview, as he speaks of his thoughts and his frame of mind, a strong conviction can be felt behind his gentlemanly and calm manner of speech. Without a hint of [falsehood] or [factitiousness], they have continued on for 30 years. Seeing the strength of his smile as he equates DER ZIBET to his life work, once again, induces shivers.

 

 

 

When DER ZIBET debuted 30 years ago, there was as good as no scene in existence. Back then, what were you referred to as? How were you categorised?

ISSAY (I): Well, you know, we were all put together under one single category known as <European Decadance> (wry smile). There was that recognition that it was kind of easily picked up with just that alone though.

How did ISSAY, yourself, describe it in words? With regards to what DER ZIBET wanted to do, what you’re going to do, and such.

I: Back then, all I had was the image in my head that, in any case, I just wanted to bring out our aesthetic. You see, in this band called DER ZIBET, everyone’s musical preferences are all over the place. When the band came together, the one unanimous opinion that every one of us had was that <film music is interesting>, that’s all. We’re not a band that came together because we liked a certain type of rock and wanted to play it, we came together because we thought that we’d be able to create something interesting if we played with these band members. Because of this, we’re always swaying around, here and there. So, sometimes we use a very rock-like approach, but other times, we stray far away from that, using tango or even chanson in our approach.

How conscious are you of the fact that you are a band that plays rock, to begin with?

I: Hmm…… Instead of saying that we play rock music, it’s more like rock is the only genre that we can play, for us. But I think that rock music itself is something that has an exceptionally large scope. “This is rock” is not something you can declare over any one form. So, I think that the gesture of saying that “Something like this ain’t rock” isn’t very rock-like anymore, is it? And, you see, that’s why I think that it’s a question of how you can prune that and bring it out. You know, 3 years ago, we released our two-part work ROMANOID, and at that time, we ended up coming in with the image that <we’re frauds> too. Like, as if…… we’re only pretending to be a rock band.

I, thought that was a joke.

I: No. Because it was an album that made us think that our own contrivance would be brought to the front, that we’re just fakes and frauds. You see, that was subjective. Till now, that stance hasn’t changed either.

Frauds. What does this “fraudulence” relate to?

I: When DER ZIBET came together, we understood that we were somewhat different from the rock bands that took the royal road. Back in the day, for example, there was Chuck Berry and Elvis, then there was Led Zepplin, but I’m a human being who, no matter what, has never been partial towards such popular figures. Compared to that, the awareness of using this rock methodology to perform was stronger. That’s the reason why we’re a sham though. But that trickery is also being treated as one of the appeals of rock. The successive musicians that I liked were those who possessed this, you see.

Taking the backroads instead of the royal road. Not only that, you chose to go underground instead of aboveground. ISSAY-san’s expressions always tends towards that side, doesn’t it?

I: Yes…… Yes, that’s true. I do pantomiming as well, but when I stand on a theatrical stage, I’d first have it pitch dark, then I’d shine a light on it and create a world, you see. I like these kinds of man-made things. Then I’d spend a rather enjoyable night with my friends until morning comes, you know. But when dawn comes back around, I’d see trash rolling around in areas that got lit up, I’d end up seeing things that I don’t need to. I don’t like those sorts of things, you see. Perhaps you could say that bathing in the sun doesn’t suit me.

 

It’s extremely important to break free
Those who say <Ah, I’ll stop at this point>without breaking even once
right from the start won’t be able to express anything

 

Though it is said that bathing yourself in sunlight is good for your health. So you’re saying that you don’t want to be in such a place.

I: …… It’s turned out like that as a result, but, it’s just that, I’ve never aimed to be unhealthy, not even once. Though this time, we have a song like <Blue Sky (青空 / Ao Sora)>, and based on the summers from my memories, the seasonal sense that summer gives me, I definitely do not hate summer. I think I do have a longing for the vitality of summer. However…… I somehow end up feeling desolate, you know, when I see something with far too much vitality. Perhaps you could say that the more lively, the more energetic something is, the more heartrending it is. Also, having me…… sing something like <The summer beach is the beest!>, you don’t want that, do you?

Hahahahaha! On the contrary, I’d want to hear it.

I: Hahahaha. No matter how hard I try, I can’t do that, you know. I’d find myself feeling like I’m lying to myself.

Ah. So, even if you like contrived bands, you can’t lie to yourself.

I: Yeah. The contrivance that I’m into, in other words, is fiction, you see. Don’t you think that fiction projects the most truthful things? That’s what I think. Because fiction has no realistic ties at all, so it’s easy to bring out and convey this truth. Be it on a theatrical stage, or in a pantomime, or on a rock stage, it’s all the same, you see. Fundamentally, I am a human being who inhabits this space after all.

As someone who lives in fiction, what is reality^ to you?

I: …… If you feel that something is real in that moment when you hear or see it, then that is reality to me. No matter what kind of lie it is. For example, let’s just say that I tell you an outrageous lie while were having a conversation like this, right? But if you truly believe it and think <Ah, that’s very nice>, then that has already become a truth. Only in that moment. Isn’t it the same when you dream while you sleep? You seriously feel that it’s reality. Right now, I think you’re probably speaking of reality as something that has the same meaning as<actuality>, but even if it’s not actuality, I think that having a <sense of reality> is enough.

I see. So what is required to bring fiction into reality?

I: …… Performing, and having yourself firmly believe in that world. I suppose that’s it. There’s a song called <Paper Moon>, and above the stage, there’d be a moon made out of paper. But if the audience feels that that is the moon, then it is the moon. How should I put this…… I suppose, everyone goes out to see beautiful lies, you know. Whether it’s a movie, or a play.

Ah. Indeed that is true.

I: Isn’t it true that it’s hard to get to see something that only pierces into your core to make it sting to such an extent in reality? I think that people go out to look for that beautiful lie that properly strikes their hearts, you know. And I think that rock is the same in that sense. If I can have people truly appreciate the important things while living in a beautiful lie, I think that this would constitute a great success for me.

I fully understand now. In other words, neither fiction nor lies have any negative connotations.

I: Ah, I’m putting it in an extremely positive light. It’s positive, and I suppose you could also say that it’s very direct. To me, I feel that these are things that are straightforward.

Is such an awareness something that DER ZIBET possessed right from the start?

I: Ah…… I guess it might’ve been subjective? But, it’s true that when DER ZIBET came together, we had that conversation about paper moons, and I suppose that awareness came from somewhere. But, you know, like what I said earlier, to me, this is very natural. But while I was with the band, I spoke to a number of people, and it was about 12 years ago when I started to realise that normal people aren’t like this at all (lol). That’s why, I think I only came to realise that I’m expressing myself to people different than myself around the time of the 3rd album’s release though. Ever since then, it’s always been a battle between actuality and the truth of fiction, you know. In terms of which one I should make more concessions for.

So, it’s how you inflate the things that exist in reality, the ordinary things with your imagination to make it look beautiful. I’d go further to say that you express things as a decadentic fiction. I’ve once again felt that grimness in this time’s lyrics too.

I: Hm, well…… Though I dooon’t do that intentionally, you know (lol).

Is that so? Though, I was first blown away by the lyrics in Metro. Like, to think that there’s a person who can describe the subway as a<steel coffin (鋼鉄の棺桶 / koutetsu no kanoke)>that <writhes from darkness to darkness (闇から闇へとのたうつ / yami kara yami e to notautsu)>!

I: But I’m just writing exactly what I see and what I feel (smiles). To me, this is something that is real, you see.

What do you think is the reason for your words, that describe exactly what you see and feel, tending towards flavours of darkness and eroticism.

I: I wonder why……… I’ve never thought about it. It’s natural to me, you know. Of course, people do often say it to me. “Why does it turn out like that?”, they’d ask. Though I’d always answer, “I wonder why?”. Probably…… It’s as I said earlier when we spoke of summer, I end up seeing the duality of things. Isn’t it the case that, where there is a front, there will be a back? I feel death when it comes to extremely vivacious things, and when death isn’t near to something, I can’t feel the vitality in it. I think that all things have two-sides that tend to conflict each other, but that isn’t the part that you can see on the surface. Instead, it’s the back part that exists to show that surface. I guess I have this habit of looking at that.

That said, this line from the 3rd song, Mr. Bad Trip, <I want to be as I am until my last breath (最期まで俺は俺のままでいたい / saigo made ore wa ore no mama de itai)>, is rather interesting. This doesn’t have a front or a back, and it feels like the words of ISSAY-san’s physical being.

I: Isn’t it? For me, the scariest thing is becoming someone who isn’t me. No longer understanding myself is what I fear the most. Take, for example, Daniel Keye’s Flowers for Algernon*, I can’t bear that person’s work, you know. Isn’t it a story that is entirely about a person who loses himself?

It’s the same with Billy Milligan**, isn’t it.

I: Exactly. I want to trust only my own perception, and that’s the only thing that I can trust, you see. I’m afraid of losing it. I suppose you can say that this is why I wrote what I consider to be the most horrific thing to me.

Um…… She has already passed away, but my grandmother had dementia. In her final days, she only had memories of her childhood, and she kept talking about Manchuria*** during the war. And yet, she seemed to be having fun in some sense of it.

I: Yeah.

So one might say that she lives in fiction too. Broaching such a topic all of a sudden may be difficult, but how does ISSAY-san feel about this?

I: About your grandmother? Hm…… There are 2 ways you can look at it after all. One is that you are in the world where this person is living in, so I think that that’s a very blessed thing. Although when I’m the one in such a state and I look at myself from a third-person’s perspective, I’d be scared. So…… This isn’t something I can say much about, but to an extent, if you were to ask whether I’d be happy or not, I might be. But if I were to look down at myself, it’s scary, you know. I can’t really…… put it properly in words though.

No, no, it’s the same for me. It’s just that, from our earlier conversation about ISSAY-san living in fiction and going all out to sink into that world, isn’t this what you’d consider to be fiction as well, with the way you usually look at yourself?

I: That’s true.…… Now that you’ve mentioned it (lol). But I think I’d want to be like that, you know.

Though among musicians, there are many who say that their one true desire is to go blank on stage.

I: Ah, I have that too, you know (lol). I think that it’s a truly wonderful thing too. However, in that moment, I’d be there, watching over myself while knowing that I’m expressing myself, and I think that if I could still control myself, that’d be even more wonderful. Finally…… I’m finally able to think of things like these. That’s what I’d think of myself. Though in the past, I used to think that just blanking out anyway and going into a state of not knowing anything would be best. Now, I think that it’d be wonderful if I could live in a state of looking down at myself from a third-person’s perspective while controlling my own body, you know. Because as an expressionist, that is more correct.

Correct?

I: Because, if it’s not in control, beauty will be compromised. This is with regards to pantomiming, but when a form is taken, there are specific positions for your hands to bring your form to its most beautiful state, but there are times when you put too much thought into it, thus breaking form, you see. In terms of beauty, this is a mistake.

Ah. I see.

I: Of course, for lives (concerts), it’s better to let out your feelings of confusion, so this is the biggest difference between the works though. That’s why it’s alright for me to have some of the forms collapsing, you see. But even so, there’s a limit to everything (lol). Like the lives from our early days, when I watch them now, I often think that I overdid it too.

What you speak of now isn’t narcissism, but about something like moderation and grace, right?

I: Yeah. And, you know, it’s extremely important to break free, so if you’re not someone who has done that once, you can’t stop. And that’s the reason why those who say “Ah, I’ll stop at this point” right from the start won’t be able to express anything. Really. You’ll understand the necessity for it when you look at yourself from an observer’s point of view as you break free and arrive at a state where your form breaks a little. Because you’ll only have the thought of wanting control after you see yourself overdoing things and pushing too far.

Ah…… This, somehow, makes me feel strongly that these are words that only someone who has done this for 30 years can say.

I: Fufufu. Nah, I’d say that it just so happens that I’ve continued on like this for 30 years. Well, I think that I’m lucky. Very much so. Because there are many who can’t keep at it after all. That isn’t just my own feelings, because there are also reasons pertaining to the physical condition, reasons pertaining to band members. And we’ve got a 10-year long hiatus, but I think, the fact that we can play together as DER ZIBET even now is a very happy, very lucky thing, you know.

Does the difficulty of enduring refer to the chance that this band may never happen again?

I: Hm…… That’s already becoming less and less of an issue after our revival though. Well, but things really were awful during the few years before our hiatus. Things were uptight, and I was at loggerheads with HIKARU too (lol). Both of our mindsets were in conflict with the other’s, and the result of that was us being in agreement that we can’t go on anymore.

And 10 years after that, you became active again. The thing that sparked this off was one of your members being in an accident, right?

I: Yeah. Our bassist HAL got into an accident…… That was a really terrible accident, you know. It was so bad that when I first heard about his condition, I thought, “Ah…… he’s going to die”. But even though they said that he’d be bedridden for the rest of his life, he regained consciousness and mobility, didn’t he? Apparently, it was at that point in time when he decided that he wanted to play in a band. So he decided to phone all the people who he wanted to play with to bring them together, and those who gathered ended up being the members of DER ZIBET (lol).

Hahahaha. What a reunion!

I: I suppose he thought that, to him, the members of DER ZIBET were the best, you know. Though in the beginning we didn’t have any intention to get together again, at all. HAL-kun said that he wanted to do it, so he pulled every trick in the book, you know. But as expected…… when we first jammed together, with HIKARU playing the guitar and me singing, I thought, “Ah, it’s DER ZIBET”. Because I clearly understood creating sounds together with these people was all we needed to do to turn into DER ZIBET. The sense that it would be interesting to be in a band with these people now, at this point in time, has returned, you see.

ISSAY-san didn’t stop your own expressions, and you were active with your own solo work too, but is DER ZIBET something different to you after all?

I: Ah…… Well, I wonder. Right now, it feels like this is my life work to me, you see. The one thing that I’d continue with for the rest of my life is probably this band. After all, when I debuted, it was with this band too, and the thing that I’ve kept at for the longest time is this band as well. There’s definitely love in it after all, in our work. I get the feeling that ultimately, this is something that can’t be done by anyone except for DER ZIBET, you know.

It’s been 30 years now. What do you feel with regards to the length of this time?

I: Well…… Like it didn’t happen^ I suppose. Fufufu. If I were to meet myself from 30 years ago, I’d probably tell him “You’ll still be in DER ZIBET 30 years later”, you know. And to that, I think he’d say, “You’re lying”. Hahahaha!

“Like it didn’t happen”. No matter how you look at it, these words are so typically DER ZIBET.

I: Fuhahahaha. Right?

 

 

 

 

Notes:

* Daniel Keye’s Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction short story that won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1960. The story is told through the perspective of Charlie Gordon, the first human test subject that underwent surgery to increase his intelligence by artificial means. Algernon is the laboratory mouse that had successfully undergone the surgery before Charlie.

** Billy Milligan was an American citizen who was the subject of a highly publicized court case in Ohio in the late 1970s. He was arrested for various crimes, and was then subsequently the first person diagnosed with multiple personality disorder. He was also the first to be acquitted of a major crime for this reason, instead spending a decade in mental hospitals.

*** Manchuria was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China and Inner Mongolia from 1932 until 1945. In 1931, the region was seized by Japan following the Mukden Incident and a pro-Japanese government was installed one year later with Puyi, the last Qing emperor, as the nominal regent and later emperor. The ruling government was then dissolved in 1945 after the surrender of Imperial Japan at the end of World War II.

^The actual statement by him was 嘘みたい, literally, “like a lie”. It doesn’t sound quite natural in its literal form, neither did it have the right nuances, so I went with “like it didn’t happen” instead.

 

 

Translation: Yoshiyuki

 

Related Articles:

[Dec 2015] PHY Vol. 5: ISSAY talks about BUCK-TICK’s Sakurai Atsushi

 

2013.12.25 | POP MANIA LABEL
NINE STORIES

2020.11.11 | POP MANIA LABEL
21 世紀

Words by ISSAY

Music by HAL

Japanese

 

懐かしい橋の上で
君の面影を探したよ
果たされない約束に
目を伏せて風が吹いていた

夢の散りゆく街中
孤独な花が咲いていた
待ちくたびれた僕には
この日差しは眩しすぎる
Don’t forget this pain

夜から夜へと泳ごう
沈んだ太陽を目指してライラックの花が咲く永遠を
探すのさ

夜明けの遠い街並
あきらめの嗤いが浮かんだよ
守られない約束に
又一つ歌が終わるから
Don’t forget this pain

夜から夜へと泳ごう
沈んだ太陽を目指して
ライラックの花が咲く永遠を
探すのさ

Don’t forget it, Don’t forget me…

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Natsukashii hashi no ue de
Kimi no omokage wo sagashita yo
Hatasarenai yakusoku ni
Me wo fusete kaze ga fuiteita

Yume no chiriyuku machi naka
Kodoku na hana ga saiteita
Machikutabireta boku ni wa
Kono hizashi wa mabushi sugiru
Don’t forget this pain

Yoru kara yoru e to oyogou
Shizunda taiyou wo mezashite
Rairakku no hana ga saku eien wo
Sagasu no sa

Yoake no tooi machinami
Akirame no warai ga ukanda yo
Mamorarenai yakusoku ni
Mata hitotsu uta ga owaru kara
Don’t forget this pain

Yoru kara yoru e to oyogou
Shizunda taiyou wo mezashite
Rairakku no hana ga saku eien wo
Sagasu no sa

Don’t forget it, Don’t forget me…

English

By: Yoshiyuki

On a familiar bridge
I searched for your face
Unfulfilled promises
Whispered by the wind as I closed my eyes

In the city where dreams scatter away
A lonely flower bloomed
And I, who have grown tired of waiting
Found this sunshine too much of a glare
Don’t forget this pain

Let’s swim from night to night
In the direction of the sunken sun
In search of
the eternity where lilac flowers bloom

At daybreak, from the distant cityscape
A laugh of resignation emerged
For unkept promises
Have brought yet another song to its end
Don’t forget this pain

Let’s swim from night to night
In the direction of the sunken sun
In search of
the eternity where lilac flowers bloom

Don’t forget it, Don’t forget me…

2015.11.25 | POP MANIA LABEL
別世界

Black Dog (Kuroi Inu)

Lyrics By ISSAY

Music by HIKARU

Japanese

 

俺を起こすのは誰だ?
しわがれ声が囁いた
黒い犬が立ち上がり
皮肉な笑い浮かべた

ゲームをしようじゃないか
左か右か真っ直ぐか選べ
真夜中の十字路は
迷える魂にお似合いさ

Voice of darkness  僕を迷わせる
Voice of Black dog  何も見えない
Voice of darkness  僕を走らせる
Foul is fair  霧の中

少し長く生きすぎた
あいつはため息つきうそぶく
脈打つこめかみには
とりとめのない罪の意識

Voice of darkness  僕を惑わせる
Voice of Black dog  何も感じない
Voice of darkness  僕をかりたてる
Foul is fair  霧の中

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Ore wo okosu no wa dare da?
Shiwagare koe ga sasayaita
Kuroi inu ga tachi agari
Hiniku na warai ukabeta

Geemu wo shiyou janai ka
Hidari ka migi ka massugu ka erabe
Mayonaka no jyuujiro wa
Mayoeru tamashii ni o niai sa

Voice of darkness  Boku wo mayowaseru
Voice of Black dog  Nani mo mienai
Voice of darkness  Boku wo hashiraseru
Foul is fair  Kiri no naka

Sukoshi nagaku iki sugita
Aitsu wa tame iki tsuki usobuku
Myaku utsu komekami ni wa
Toritome no nai tsumi no ishiki

Voice of darkness  Boku wo madowaseru
Voice of Black dog  Nani mo kanjinai
Voice of darkness  Boku wo karitateru
Foul is fair  Kiri no naka

English

By: Yoshiyuki

Who was it who woke me?
A hoarse voice whispered
The black dog stands up
A sardonic smile appears

Let’s play a game, shall we?
Pick left, right, or center
The crossroads at midnight¹
Are perfect for wandering spirits²

Voice of darkness  Misleading me
Voice of Black dog  I can’t see anything
Voice of darkness  Making me run
Foul is fair  In the fog³

I’ve lived a little too long
He brags with a sigh
Between his throbbing temples
Lies a digressive sense of guilt

Voice of darkness  Leading me astray
Voice of Black dog  I can’t feel anything
Voice of darkness  Hunting me down
Foul is fair  In the fog

 

 

Notes:

A black dog is a motif of a spectral or demonic entity found primarily in the folklore of the British Isles. The black dog is essentially a nocturnal apparition, in some cases a shapeshifter, and is often said to be associated with the Devil or described as a ghost or supernatural hellhound. Its appearance was regarded as a portent of death.

 

¹ In folk magic and mythology, crossroads may represent a location “between the worlds” and, as such, a site where supernatural spirits can be contacted and paranormal events can take place. Symbolically, it can mean a locality where two realms touch and therefore represents liminality, a place literally “neither here nor there”, “betwixt and between”.
In conjure, rootwork, and hoodoo, a form of African American magical spirituality, in order to acquire facility at various manual and body skills, such as playing a musical instrument, throwing dice, or dancing, one may attend upon a crossroads a certain number of times, either at midnight or just before dawn, and one will meet a “black man,” whom some call the Devil, who will bestow upon one the desired skills.

² Or lost souls.

 

³ A Shakespearean reference. The line “fair is foul and foul is fair” comes from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The scene where Macbeth meets the three witches ends with the lines:

“Fair is foul and foul is fair,
Hover through the fog and filthy air.”

The line “fair is foul and foul is fair” means that all is not what it seems. What seems good and trustworthy is actually not; what might seem repugnant is actually good. The witches are foretelling the treachery of Macbeth, who will commit treason by killing the king.
When the line “fair is foul and foul is fair” is used today, it is often used in reference to someone who appears good, trustworthy, and genuine; but who is not-looks can be deceiving. This idea is often repeated in reference to public figures, such as politicians, who have a public persona that does not match who they really are.

 

2009.03.06 | POP MANIA LABEL
PRIMITIVE

2020.11.11 | POP MANIA LABEL
21世紀

Chemical Beat of a Trembling Moon (Furueru Tsuki no Chemical Beat)

Lyrics By ISSAY

Music by DER ZIBET

Japanese

 

シェルターから逃げ出して来たBoys and Girls
裸足で彷徨うShanty Town
真っ直ぐな心に突き刺さる
凍りつきそうなリアリティー

砂漠の声に包まれて
真っ白な壁にもたれる
カラッポの胸に響いてた
預言者の言葉を頼りに

“Find your love…Love with Pain
Find your Hate…Hate with Love”

凍える太陽の乱反射が君を誘う
激しく踊れ
明日なんて忘れるくらい
震える月のケミカルビートが君を守る
高らかに唄え
新しい夢見せて

混乱と平和の街のFoxy Trap
愛情も憎しみも育たない
きらめく星空 見上げながら
小さな未来を抱きしめろ

“Find your love…Love with Pain
Find your Hate…Hate with Love
Find your Love…Love is Pain
Find your Hate…Hate is Love”

凍える太陽の乱反射が君を誘う
激しく踊れ
明日なんて忘れるくらい
震える月のケミカルビートが君を守る
高らかに唄え
新しい夢見せて

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Sherutaa kara nigedashite kita Boys and Girls
Hadashi de samayou Shanty Town
Massugu na kokoro ni tsuki sasaru
Koori tsukisou na riaritii

Sabaku no koe ni tsutsumarete
Masshiro na kabe ni motareru
Karappo no mune ni hibiiteta
Yogensha no kotoba wo tayori ni

“Find your love…Love with Pain
Find your Hate…Hate with Love”

Kogoeru taiyou no ranhansha ga kimi ni izanau
Hageshiku odore
Ashita nante wasureru kurai
Furueru tsuki no kemikaru biito ga kimi wo mamoru
Takaraka ni utae
Atarashii yume misete

Konran to heiwa no machi no Foxy Trap
Aijou mo nikushimi mo sodatanai
Kirameku hoshizora miage nagara
Chiisana mirai wo dakishimero

“Find your love…Love with Pain
Find your Hate…Hate with Love
Find your Love…Love is Pain
Find your Hate…Hate is Love”

Kogoeru taiyou no ranhansha ga kimi ni izanau
Hageshiku odore
Ashita nante wasureru kurai
Furueru tsuki no kemikaru biito ga kimi wo mamoru
Takaraka ni utae
Atarashii yume misete

English

By: Yoshiyuki

Boys and Girls who have escaped from shelter
Wander barefoot in this Shanty Town
Pierced by an honest heart
Is a seemingly frozen reality

Enveloped by the voices of the desert
Resting against a stark white wall
They ring in my hollow chest
The words of the Prophet I lean on

“Find your love…Love with Pain
Find your Hate…Hate with Love”

Diffused reflections of a freezing sun call out to you
Dance with all your might
So hard you’ll even forget tomorrow
The chemical beat of a trembling moon protects you
Sing high
Show me a new dream

The Foxy Trap of a city of turmoil and peace
Where neither love nor hate gets cultivated
Looking up at the twinkling star-filled sky
Let’s embrace an insignificant future

“Find your love…Love with Pain
Find your Hate…Hate with Love
Find your Love…Love is Pain
Find your Hate…Hate is Love”

Diffused reflections of a frozen sun call out to you
Dance with all your might
So hard you’ll even forget tomorrow
The chemical beat of a trembling moon protects you
Sing high
Show me a new dream

1987.02.25 | SIXTY RECORDS
Electric Moon

1993.03.24 | SIXTY RECORDS
Historic Flowers

1993.08.21 | SIXTY RECORDS
OFFICIAL? – live anthology –

1996.03.24 | BMG ariola
アリ

2017.05.10 | POP MANIA LABEL
20世紀

Words by ISSAY

Music by DER ZIBET

Arranged by DER ZIBET & AKIRA NISHIHIRA

Japanese

 

Flowers
春の雪の中で
Flowers
ガラスの路地裏で
Flowers
踏みつけたかげろう
Flowers
ふわふわと浮かんだ

My Boys   何を見ている?
                  何を聞いてる?
                  何を感じる?

Flowers
くるくる踊って咲き誇れ
Flowers
キラキラ輝きくだけ散れ

Flowers
湖水に映る影
Flowers
とけおちてうごめく
Flowers
幾千の想いよ
No
幾億のため息

Stay!   僕の身体に
            僕の意識に
            僕の隣に

Flowers
くるくる踊って咲き誇れ
Flowers
キラキラ輝きくだけ散れ

Flowers, My lovers, Flowers…

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Flowers
Haru no yuki no naka de
Flowers
Garasu no rojiura de
Flowers
Fumi tsuketa kagerou
Flowers
Fuwa fuwa to ukanda

My Boys   Nani wo miteiru?
                  Nani wo kiiteru?
                  Nani wo kanjiru?

Flowers
Kuru kuru odotte sakihokore
Flowers
Kira kira kagayaki kudake chire

Flowers
Kosui ni utsuru kage
Flowers
Toke ochite ugomeku
Flowers
Ikusen no omoi yo
No
Ikuoku no tameiki

Stay!   Boku no karada ni
            Boku no ishiki ni
            Boku no tonari ni

Flowers
Kuru kuru odotte sakihokore
Flowers
Kira kira kagayaki kudake chire

Flowers, My lovers, Flowers…

English

By: Yoshiyuki

Flowers
in the spring snow
Flowers
in the glass alleyways
Flowers,
the trampled ephemerality
Flowers
floating lightly, airily

My Boys, what are you looking at?
                What are you listening to?
                What are you feeling?

Flowers
twirling and dancing in full bloom
Flowers
glittering and sparkling and scattering apart

Flowers,
shadows reflected on the waters of the lake
Flowers
quivering and dissolving
Flowers
like a thousand thoughts
No,
like a billion sighs

Stay!   In my body
            In my consciousness
            By my side

Flowers
twirling and dancing in full bloom
Flowers
glittering and sparkling as they scatter

Flowers, My lovers, Flowers…

1995.04.21 | BMG ariola
Green

2017.05.10 | POP MANIA LABEL
20世紀

Words & Music by ISSAY

Arranged by DER ZIBET

Japanese

 

朝日が影を盗んで
二人は凍えて立っていた

天使達のバリケード
壊れる音を感じてた

夢の結晶が溶ける
銀のスプーンの上で

Silence in Film
寝かせておくれ
静かに
灯りが消える
Silence in Film
さよならさ
笑っておくれ
Party is over

震える心を抱き寄せ
捻れたベッドに転がる

もう一つの世界の背表紙
鼻歌まじりにノックした

「もうじき僕は沈んでいく
終わらない陽炎の中」

Silence in Film
寝かせておくれ
静かに
灯りが消える
Silence in Film
さよならさ
笑っておくれ
Party is over

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Asahi ga kage wo nusunde
Futari wa kogoete tatteita

Tenshi tachi no barikeedo
Kowareru oto wo kanjiteta

Yume no kesshou ga tokeru
Gin no supuun no ue de

Silence in Film
nekasete okure
Shizukani
akari ga kieru
Silence in Film
sayonara sa
Waratte okure
Party is over

Furueru kokoro wo dakiyose
Nejireta beddo ni korogaru

Mou hitotsu no sekai no sebyoushi
Hanauta majiri ni nokkushita

“Mou jiki boku wa shizunde iku
Owaranai kegerou no naka”

Silence in Film
nekasete okure
Shizukani
akari ga kieru
Silence in Film
sayonara sa
Waratte okure
Party is over

English

By: Yoshiyuki

The morning sun steals away the shadows
While us two stood frozen

From the barricade of angels
I could feel the sounds of crashing

Dream crystals melt away
On the silver spoon

Silence in Film
Just let me sleep
Quietly,
the lights go out
Silence in Film
This is goodbye
Smile for me
The party is over

Embrace your trembling heart close
Rolling around in a distorted, twisted bed

On the book spine of another world
I knocked while humming a tune

“Soon I’ll sink away
Into the endless heat haze”

Silence in Film
Just let me sleep
Quietly,
the lights go out
Silence in Film
This is goodbye
Smile for me
The party is over

1990.10.21 | COLUMBIA TRIAD
HOMO DEMENS

Words by ISSAY

Music by HIKARU/HAL/ISSAY

Japanese

 

今夜は全てが輝いてる
全てが全てを照らしてる
空の裂け目から光が降りそそぎ
今が限りなくおまえを愛してる
   一つの命が
   時間の海を
   そっと浮かんでは消えてゆく
   “Fly Away”
Fade… Fade away Fade away…

今夜は全てが報われるさ
全てが全てを抱き寄せる
開け放たれた扉の前で
翼ある者達のざわめきが聞えてる
   この歌の中で
   祈りをささげよう
   生まれて消えてゆく魂に
   “Fly Away”
Fade… Fade away Fade away…

天国から閉め出された天使達
踊ってくれ心のままに
消えて去る者を祝福してくれ

Fade… Fade away Fade away…

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Konya wa subete ga kagayaiteru
Subete ga subete wo terashiteru
Sora no sakeme kara hikari ga furi sosogi
Ima ga kagirinaku omae wo aishiteru
   Hitotsu no inochi ga
   Jikan no umi wo
   Sotto ukande ha kiete yuku
   “Fly Away”
Fade… Fade away Fade away…

Konya wa subete ga mukuwareru sa
Subete ga subete wo dakiyoseru
Ake hanatareta tobira no mae de
Tsubasa aru mono tachi no zawameki ga kikoeteru
   Kono uta no naka de
   Inori wo sasageyou
   Umarete kiete yuku tamashii ni
   “Fly Away”
Fade… Fade away Fade away…

Tengoku kara shimedasareta tenshi tachi
Odottekure kokoro no mama ni
Kietesaru mono wo shukufuku shitekure

Fade… Fade away Fade away…

English

By: Yoshiyuki

Tonight, everything is aglow
Everything is reflecting everything
Light is raining down from the fissures in the sky
Now I’ll love you endlessly
   This one life
   On the Sea of Time
   Gently floats and fades
   “Fly Away”
Fade… Fade away Fade away…

Tonight, everything is paying off
Everything is embracing everything
Before the now open Gates
I can hear murmurs from the wing-bearing beings
   Amidst this song
   Let’s say a prayer
   For the born but now fading souls to
   “Fly Away”
Fade… Fade away Fade away…

Angels locked out of Heaven
Dance for me as your heart desires
Bless those who have faded away for me

Fade… Fade away Fade away…

1996.03.23 | BMG ariola
キリギリス

2017.05.10 | POP MANIA LABEL
20世紀

Words by ISSAY

Music by HIKARU & HAL

Arranged by DER ZIBET

Japanese

 

自己紹介させてくれ
俺の名前は Dr.Real Love
住んでいるのは真夜中の遊園地
ネオンで化粧すれば少しは見られる程度の面さ

俺の仲間を紹介しよう
ペテン師、サギ師、嘘つき詩人
用心棒の山猫は可愛いメス猫
嵐の夜に生まれてきたからあだ名はStormy

Come on! 俺と遊ぼう
Welcomeここが俺の庭さ

空にぶら下がるPaper moon
バニラ味のお前の壊れたheart
癒してやるから楽しんでいけ

観覧車のテッペンから
歪んだ街を毎日見下ろす
口から出任せで夢を織る
偽物と作り物の世界でしか生きられない夜光虫
Come on! 俺と遊ぼう
Welcome異次元への入口

全てが寝静まるDark fantasy
孤独はお前の束の間のbest friend
空にぶら下がるPaper moon
バニラ味のお前の壊れたheart
朝日と一緒に連れ帰ってやれ

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Jiko shoukai sasetekure
Ore no namae wa Dr.Real Love
Sundeiru no wa mayonaka no yuenchi
Neon de keshou sureba sukoshi wa mirareru teido no tsura* sa

Ore no nakama wo shoukai shiyou
Peten shi, sagi shi, usotsuki shijin
Youjinbou no yamaneko wa kawaii mesu neko
Arashi no yoru ni umarete kita kara adana wa Stormy

Come on! Ore to asobou
Welcome koko ga ore no niwa sa

Sora ni burasagaru Paper moon
Banira aji no omae no kowareta heart
Iyashite yaru kara tanoshinde ike

Kanransha no teppen kara
Yuganda machi wo mainichi miorosu
Kuchi kara demakase de yume wo oru
Nisemono to tsukurimono no sekai de shika ikirarenai yakouchuu
Come on! Ore to asobou
Welcome ijigen e no iriguchi

Subete ga neshizumaru Dark fantasy
Kodoku wa omae no tsuka no ma no best friend
Sora ni burasagaru Paper moon
Banira aji no omae no kowareta heart
Asahi to issho ni tsurekaette yare

English

By: Yoshiyuki

Allow me to introduce myself
My name is Dr.Real Love
I live at the midnight amusement park
With a face you might just about see if I put on neon makeup

Let me introduce my friends
The Charlatan, The Swindler, and The Fork-tongued Poet
Now, the bouncer’s wildcat is an adorable female cat
Nicknamed Stormy for being born on a tempestuous night

Come on! Play with me
Welcome, this is my garden

Paper moon hanging in the sky
Your vanilla-flavoured broken heart
Is what I’ll fix, so enjoy the ride

From the very top of the Ferris wheel
I look down upon the crooked city every day
Weaving dreams with the thoughtless words spoken on a whim
And sea sparkles which can only live in a world of fakes and fabrications
Come on! Play with me
Welcome, this is the gateway to another dimension

Where everything is a sleeping Dark fantasy
And loneliness is your short-lived best friend
Paper moon hanging in the sky
Your vanilla-flavoured broken heart
Is what you’ll take home along with the sunrise

 

 

Notes:

* “Tsura” (面・つら) is a condescending or a rude way of saying “face”. Typically, either “men” (面・めん) or “kao” (顔・かお) is used.