BUCK-TICK
スブロサ SUBROSA Feature
ROCK AND READ 116
December 2024
Imai Hisashi／Hoshino Hidehiko
Interview ◎ Okubo Yuka
Photos ◎ Mori Came
Hair/makeup ◎ Yamaji Chihiro (Fats Berry)
Styling ◎ Lui Onozaki (KMRii)
Outfits ◎ KMRii (https://store.kmrii.com/pages/contact)
We are not alone
BUCK-TICK will be releasing スブロサSUBROSA, their first album with their new formation. With 17 tracks recorded including instrumentals, this is a voluminous album unlike any before with a total runtime of more than 72 minutes. I’ll say it first; Imai Hisashi and Hoshino Hidehiko are the vocalists here.
“We are not alone (俺たちは独りじゃない / Ore tachi wa hitori janai)” — Starting with this line, how this album reflects on the fans will of course be to each his own. But this I can say; they have once again brought us a wonderful album teeming with experimentalism which showcases BUCK-TICK’s innovation. At the same time, they’re proclaiming through their music that BUCK-TICK will continue to steadily move forward from here on out.
In this issue, we get to hear from the two who have taken on the role of vocalists in addition to being lyricists and composers, Imai and Hoshino.They’ll talk about each song, and about all things related to the production of this album.
profile & information
Formed in 1985, members of the band are guitarist Imai Hisashi, guitarist Hoshino Hidehiko, bassist Higuchi Yutaka, and drummer Yagami Toll. They released their 43rd single, Raijin Fuujin – Resonance on 20 November 2024, and their 24th album スブロサSUBROSA on 4 December 2024. They will hold a concert “Naisho no Bara no Shita” at the Nippon Budokan on Sunday, 29 December. They will then embark on their livehouse tour, “BUCK-TICK TOUR 2025 スブロサ SUBROSA” on Saturday, 12 April 2025.
https://buck-tick.com
I might as well take advantage of having no choice but to change to do something interesting
――As we talk about the start of the second era of BUCK-TICK, I’d like us to begin with taking a look back at your 2023 Nippon Budokan performance¹ and how you felt up on stage at the time.
Imai Hisashi (I): Well, the only option was to do it, so. Even though I did get the feeling that it would suck if I didn’t enjoy it, I was still curious about how it would go. There were only four of us on stage, but we also had staff who put things together for us, we had a sort of performance direction, so I kind of felt that it was more or less doable.
――Regarding “how it would go”, are you referring to the performance on the day itself? Or does that include everything about BUCK-TICK thereafter?
I: Just the performance for that day. First of all was to figure out how we’re supposed to execute it in a way that comes across as cool. …… But compared to the very first time we performed on stage, I wasn’t nervous at all, so.
Hoshino Hidehiko (H): Ahahahaha.
――When you mention the very first time you performed on stage, do you really mean the first time in your life?
I: Yeah. During the first time we performed in our lives, Yuta (Higuchi Yutaka) said, “I wish it didn’t have to be today.” (Lol)
H: When he said “it didn’t have to be today”, then, when’s good? (Lol)
I: That’s what Yuta started saying right before we went on stage. But see, that’s also because it was only a week since I started playing guitar and the band was formed (lol). At the time, sure enough, our performance stopped midway, but as we kept going, I gradually started to feel that nerves and all that didn’t really matter. And compared to back then, we’ve got over 35 years under our belt now, so I figured we’ll somehow make it work.
――That was when Imai-san was in high school, right?
I: Yeah. We covered (The) Stalin, and only had 3 or 4 songs in our repertoire. You couldn’t say that we did them any good though.
――And, of course, Hoshino-san was there too, right?
H: I was, in a way (lol).
――Does Hoshino-san remember that occasion?
H: I do, but I don’t think I felt anything close to “I wish it didn’t have to be today.” (Lol) But I was pretty nervous, for sure.
――What did Hoshino-san think about at last year’s Budokan show?
H: Well, it was certainly the first time that we held a concert with the four of us playing our instruments in parallel with Sakurai (Atsushi)’s voice recordings. But it was a concert that I’m glad we did. After it ended, I began to feel that it really was great that we could put on such a show in front of our fans at that time.
When the four of us came together after the funeral service, we talked about doing this with we four. That’s just what it naturally led to.
――During the MC segment of that Budokan show, Imai-san announced that you’re making an album. Your new album, スブロサ SUBROSA² has 17 tracks on it. Was it only after that Budokan show that you arrived at the decision to compose more than enough songs so that you wouldn’t need to perform old songs?
I: Nope, likely before that. There already were a few songs that I started work on even before that concert. So, with the intention of composing something for the next BUCK-TICK, the four-man BUCK-TICK.
――And shortly after that, you said that Imai-san and Hoshino-san will sing instead of getting someone else to come in as the main vocalist.
H: That was the only option, right?
――Hoshino-san hasn’t done any main vocalist parts in BUCK-TICK until now, but you seem to have accepted this without much resistance.
H: Somehow, that’s how it turned out, yes.
――But Hoshino-san didn’t actually volunteer and say, “I’ll sing”?
H: I didn’t raise my hand for this but that’s how it ended up.
I: Nah, I raised volunteered myself (lol). Although I didn’t say anything like, “Hide (Hoshino), you’re singing too.”
――So what’s the truth? (Lol)
H: I forgot (lol).
――But you were prepared?
H: That’s right. When the four of us came together after the funeral service, we talked about doing this with we four. That’s just what it naturally led to at the time.
――Since that’s the case, wouldn’t the two of you have another level of expectations towards what you put out since you’ll be playing the guitar and singing as well? Similarly for the production work with song and lyric writing too?
I: You mean, pressure?
――Yes. Did you feel pressured in any way?
I: We decided to enjoy the process, with that included. You probably shouldn’t compare those things but I guess in the end, people would still do that, I suppose. After all, we’re using the BUCK-TICK name. I guess it can’t be helped.
――What about Hoshino-san?
H: Rather than pressure, I certainly felt uneasy since we were truly starting from zero, but gradually, I could feel that uneasiness become anticipation.
In the previous album, we composed a song with lyrics already written called スブロサ (subrosa).
Acchan mumbled about wanting to do that song too.
――When you actually started making music, did the two of you talk about things like the direction of the new BUCK-TICK?
I: When the four of us met to talk and decided that we would continue, the very next question was, so how were we going to do this? Bringing in another vocalist wasn’t possible, so then we decided to make things work among the four of us. We had rough ideas, like including instrumentals and that if we were to sing, it would realistically be with the two of us, things like that. From there, we gradually started playing around with the melodies. That’s roughly how it went. That’s why the melodies definitely had to change, and I guess that’s also something I enjoyed the process of.
――When you talk about changing the melodies, do you mean you’ll be making music based on the vocalist’s voice and vibe going forward? Although that’s what you’ve always done.
I: That’s right. Because I thought I had been composing without restricting myself thus far, but I came to realise that maybe not after all.
H: When I think beforehand about things like the fact that I’m going to record the vocals myself for the songs I compose, it would realistically be pretty impossible to execute without putting some restrictions on the melodies, so. There’s definitely some element of having to think about that while composing.
――Previously, when we conducted a solo interview³with Hoshino-san, you said that you had to change the music you composed, but now, with this sudden turn of events, you’re in a position where you have no choice but to change it.
H: You’re right. At the time, I probably wanted to break my own limitations more or something, but I think I was talking about how it would be nice if I could reach new horizons. But this time, the evolution happened naturally.
――Being a vocalist, guitarist, and a stage performer, does this mean that the two of you have been talking more than ever?
I: Nope, I don’t think we talk that much when it comes to music arrangement. Because recording work mostly progresses according to the arrangement that has mostly been 100% decided by the composer. But the setup of the instruments on stage won’t only be a guitar. A synthesiser will also be there so I think we’ll be having discussions about that in future.
――So even the instruments on stage will change.
I: The way we’ve always done it so far with Sakurai-san being our frontman while we play guitar in the back is completely gone now so I guess you could say that’s something that we have no choice but to change. Which is why I thought I might as well take advantage of the changing arrangements to do something interesting. We’ve got instrumental tracks with no singing parts, we also had videos made to show. In other words, the typical staging of a rock band, what we have for BUCK-TICK thus far is something that is going to change bit by bit. That’s why it’s something else to look forward to.
――As production progressed, were there any changes you made compared to previous years?
H: When I think about having to sing while playing the guitar, I changed all the arrangements from how we used to do it, and we used the synthesiser comparatively more than before. You could say that the share of responsibilities changed a little bit so that’s definitely different than what it was before.
――When I listened to the album, not only did you not hold back on the main vocals, but even the chorus work was well. Is there anything you came to realise after singing this time around?
H: It’s no doubt difficult but I guess it wasn’t that bad. I got chorus parts too so it felt like there was more [to sing] than I expected though.
I: Nah, it was tough. I didn’t think about the chorus arrangement at all so we had director Tanaka (Jun’ichi) do the thinking for us. So there and then, we thought about which songs Hide should sing on, the consistency and all sorts of other elements while recording.
――Now, we’ll move on to properly talking about the songs in your album, スブロサ SUBROSA. The first track, Hyakuman Nayuta no Chiri SCUM. Is this the start that Imai-san planned to have?
I: That’s right. You could stay this is a song with sound effects. It starts off slow and gradually the members’ instruments come in. It’s a song that was composed with the intention of making it the first track from the very beginning.
――It begins with Imai-san’s guitar and singing, and then the second guitar comes in only around the end of the first verse.
H: Right. The arpeggio comes in around the second verse. The melody is always there so it’s a song that’s easy to listen to. I have the impression that before this song came about, we had quite a few other types in the beginning which shared a similar rhythm to TIKI TIKI BOOM so we thought we should definitely have such melodic tracks too.
――What kind of image did you have in mind when you wrote these lyrics?
I: I matched whatever I came up with to the music.
――That’s how it works for all songs (lol).
I: The working title was “nayuta”, so, nayuta (那由他) is a word that represents “a large number”, right? Then, I just got the idea of attaching “a million” (hyakuman / 百万) to it which now makes it a tremendous [figure], and the whole phrase is pretty euphonic so that’s how the phrase “hyakuman nayuta” (百万那由多) came about. Then, I thought about what words to connect this to, and the idea of trash (chiriakuta / 塵芥) came to mind. So, instead of “akuta” (芥), I switched it out for “SCUM” because it looks more crude, so I liked that better.
He’s probably travelling around to all sorts of places, maybe he went to the sun,
to the moon. Now, I think he’s probably flying everywhere.
――When the numerous droplets of sound expand to create a feeling of connection with the universe, it felt like it’s wrapping up all the different emotions I felt through the past year. The next track, スブロサ SUBROSA is also the album title and it’s an industrial hip-hop track that I don’t think you’ve done before.
I: When the Chemical Brothers came, I went to watch them. And I thought doing a song without any guitars present, like this one, was a pretty good idea too so I did some programming at home. As the snare hits, I wanted the pitch to rise with it but although it sounded simple, didn’t know how that works. So to start, I had to go research and figure out how to raise the pitch and all that. Then I wondered whether there was anyone who did this stuff on YouTube, and when I tried searching, I found quick and easy ways to do this stuff and people who taught programming. And it’s all free (lol). It was interesting to figure out how to make things work while watching those. It took quite some time but I had fun making things at home.
――So even Imai-san learns from YouTube.
I: I just wanted to try doing it myself. Instead of always going to Yoko-chan (manipulator Yokoyama Kazutoshi) and saying “like this”. Techno music guys who have always done these things have probably developed muscle memory so I think they’ll be able to get everything done in one shot but since I don’t know how they do that at all. I set the starting pitch here and the ending pitch here, then create the waves there. I learned that such a function exists. But if I don’t do it often enough I‘d forget. Probably, if you asked me to do it now, I think I’d get stuck wondering how to do it (lol).
――This song doesn’t have guitars, right?
I: While recording this, people around me kept asking, “Are you really not going to put guitars in this?” a number of times. When they sounded like they were going to give up, I started to wonder whether I should include guitars, so I did waver a bit for a moment. But even if we were to add guitars, it’s not as simple as just saying it. Also, if there were guitars in this track, it would turn into just another normal one, so.
――Did Hoshino-san also question his decision?
H: Nope, I probably didn’t say anything (lol). He spoke about doing it without the guitar so we didn’t, but for live performances, we’re planning something fun there.
――Then, this will become one of the things to look out for in a live performance. SUBROSA also means “secrecy under a rose”, but what are your thoughts about this word?
I: I’ve known for some time about the concept of hanging a rose above a room if the conversations there were secrets, not to be said to outsiders. During 異空 -IZORA-⁴, we had a composed song with lyrics already written for it called スブロサ (subrosa). Although it was completely different than the 4/4 kick track that we have in this album.
――Oh, I see.
I: But it was dropped from 異空 -IZORA- and I thought it would be a good idea to put it in the next album instead. At the time, Acchan (Sakurai) mumbled about wanting to do that スブロサ song too. The song has changed since then, but with the band being four members now, I thought it would be nice to make it the album title instead.
――Also, there was a line in the lyrics, “Alpha Bravo Charlie Delta Echo Foxtrot”, which sounded like some sort of code but when I looked it up, they were words used for communication.
I: It’s a set of words for times like when you can’t tell whether it’s a B or a D, you distinguish it by saying “Bravo” or “Delta”. Once, I overheard the workers who came to my house for installation works using those words in their conversation. That was when I realised people really use it for long alphabetic codes. I thought it was cool.
――So that’s how it came about. Then, what about the line with “Kitsune Ookami Hebi Fukurou Kuroyagi Yamaneko Karasu Taka (狐 狼 蛇 梟 黒山羊 山猫 鴉 鷹)”?
I: Hunters and tricksters.
――I see. It’s fun deciphering all these. Next, we have Muyuubyou SLEEP WALK (夢遊猫 SLEEP WALK), a song with a comfy floaty vibe.
I: We used both drums and metal percussion. I like that the rhythm feels kind of rowdy.
――I also like how you switched out the “病 (illness; byou)” in muyuubyou (sleepwalking disorder; normally written as 夢遊病) for “猫 (cat; neko, alt. reading byou)”.
I: The words just came naturally. They popped up in my head when I was making the demo tape at home.
――I see. The line, “Yoru no sanpou wo shinai ka ne (夜の散歩をしないかね / Shall we take a stroll in the night?)” is……
I: RC Succession.
――So it’s one of the songs by RC Succession. From Now On is a song with music and lyrics composed by Hoshino-san. It has an interesting format where you’d think it was going to be an instrumental track until the vocals come in.
H: For this song, I wanted to make half of it feel like an instrumental track. Then maybe later on, the two of us would come in with our guitars. The singing, I used a vocoder. The lyrics, the chorus, they were all short so I made this track thinking I should just write the lyrics myself.
――Was the intertwining of the twin guitars’ sound already complete at the demo stage?
H: I just added a gweeeeen kinda sound then in the studio I had them do it randomly (lol).
――Randomly (lol).
I: The noise guitar part.
H: Yeah, with the noise guitar (lol). So, in the demo, the pitch shifting…… thing, what’s it called? The red thing.
I: Whammy!
H: Ah, yeah, yes. The whammy.
I: Huh? You play guitar, right? (Lol)
H: I used the whammy (in the demo) but when we actually play, the…… guitar, what’s it called?
I: Mine!? STABILIZER.
H: Yes, we used the STABILIZER (lol). Really, I’ve been terrible like this lately.
I: In the studio, he told me to play the noise with a very impressive feeling. So I first started with a gaaa on the STABILIZER and recorded a pretty good take in one go. Afterwards, I added in the whammy on top while listening to it but somehow it wasn’t as effective as I hoped it would be. So I decided to do it without the effector and in the end, only the main guitar sound was used. And that’s why it’s not a very good idea to add on an effector only afterwards (lol).
H: This made it a lot like a take from our early days.
――So, the lyrics are entirely in English. Was there a theme you wanted to follow here?
H: The theme is, something I wrote addressed to ourselves and the fans. Normal and direct, not much depth in meaning (lol).
――No no, I think it’s a very heartening message. Rezisto is a song that uses programmed drums instead of live drums, right?
I: Such a slow and heavy song is what we used to call trip hop in the past. The parts are from a synth bass.
H: The guitar parts are simple, the usual. The programmed rhythm feels like it piles together quite a bit so we felt keeping it simple would be best. Just adding in gaaa-sounding noise in the chorus turns it into a rather deep sound.
――Next, the artistic instrumental track, Shinkeishitsu na Kaidan. The bubbling droplets of sound and the bass which comes in with a boom really left an impression on me.
I: I’ve always wanted to make an electric, ambient instrumental track that could be interesting to tie to a video but with the number of tracks we have this time, I felt it would be a better flow if we had such a track in the middle. In terms of Yuta’s bass playing, we were talking about something when he said something along the lines of absolutely wanting to include it in no matter what so there it is (lol).
H: Ah, really?
I: Yeah. I just said, “OK, got it.”
――Did Yuta-san say that after hearing the demo of this song?
I: No, it wasn’t only about this song, he meant it on the whole. He just wanted to play his bass in any case. But since there are areas where I wanted bass sounds, these are the parts where I tried having him play to see how it’ll turn out. In future, we might just release instrumental tracks where none of us are playing anything, so I thought it would be better to continue experimenting.
By the time the album is complete, I would have an idea of what to do next.
I look forward to it because this happen. Because I simply never run out of things I want to try.
――Since you said that, then the 11th track, Strelitzia (ストレリチア), is an instrumental track that has the four of you playing on it, right?
I: Right. That’s a song that has the four of us playing as a band.
――Does the oriental sound come from Hoshino-san’s sitar?
H: Yeah, I used an electric sitar.
――And the guitar that Imai-san used?
I: Had a sitar effector applied.
――Strelitzia is the name of a flower, but what imagery is this track linked to?
I: I can’t quire remember what sparked the idea, but I came to learn of the name Strelitzia from somewhere, and found the flower itself interesting too, so I decided to make it the song name. When I looked it up, I also realised that its Japanese name is “極楽鳥花 (gokuraku chou ka / bird of paradise flower)” and found it rather apt.
――Rajin Fuujin – Resonance (雷神 風神 – レゾナンス) was released in November as a lead single⁵. With Imai-san and Hoshino-san’s duet, it was a clear and easily understood sign that this would be the style of the second era of BUCK-TICK.
H: That’s right. That’s one of the reasons why it was chosen to be the single. It’s a song that gives an idea of our future.
I: It’s one of the first songs I composed and it’s a major chord melody, so I felt this would be a good one to release first. The album version has a longer intro than the single.
――It’s a good-feels song with an energy that seems to blow the clouds away to leave a sunny sky. In Ogata Kourin’s paintings on bi-fold folding screens featured the Thunder God (raijin / 雷神) on the left and the Wind God (fuujin / 風神) on the right. Imai-san’s and Hoshino-san’s positions [in the music video] were similar so that image came to mind.
H: Oh, really? (Lol)
I: That’s…… unrelated (lol). Besides, Gunma’s Jomo Karuta also has a card for “雷と空っ風 義理人情 (rai to karakkaze giri ninjou)”.
――On the single is a remix by Pasocon Music Club. How did that turn out?
I: It became Pasocon’s music (lol).
H: A member of our staff knew them so this time, we asked them to do it. I feel like it became something that’s unlike our usual remixes.
――Meiousei de Shine (冥王星で死ね) has an afrobeat and expressions that have a nice ring to them. It feels uplifting.
I: Simple with an afrobeat. I wanted it to be a song that is propelled by just the rhythm of the words and the beat. A song that feels like a ball of energy.
――While it featured the both of you singing, the way the two guitars came together left quite the impression too.
H: Right. I think that’s about it for songs where our guitars do that in this album. Although such intertwining is something we often did in the past too.
――Yuusei Tsuushin (遊星通信) was also interesting with how a spacey ambience was applied to a shuffle groove.
I: This is a song that started developing from a riff. Something like this probably fits a slightly retro synthesizer too.
H: “BUZZ BUZZ NOISE” and “BUZZ BUZZ VOICE” are in the chorus but when I tried to sing it at home while playing the riff, I found that it was actually pretty difficult (lol).
I: I also tried doing it when practicing at home. I think it’ll somehow work out if we pack it in a a bit though.
H: It feels like maybe I can just barely do it? But I also get the feeling that I can’t cut corners so, this is going to be tough. But I’ll do my best (lol).
――Next up is paradeno mori, an upbeat dance tune with music and lyrics composed by Hoshino-san.
H: I wrote this song with the intention of making it an upbeat one. I didn’t intend to write the lyrics but the first line just came to me so I thought, I’ll just try to go with the flow like this and this is what I got in the end.
――So you’re saying that it was never intended for the song composer to also write the lyrics?
H: Not at all, I was going to ask [Imai] (lol). But when I was recording the scratch track, the first line, “How’s the wind there? (socchi no kaze wa doudai / そっちの風はどうだい)” came up, which made me decide to give it a go. And then, the song naturally turned out this way.
――While hearing references to lyrics from past songs was fun, I also felt touched by how it sounded like you were singing this to Sakurai-san.
H: I wrote the lyrics with the sentiment that he’s probably travelling around to all sorts of places. I wonder if he visited the sun or the moon. And while thinking like this, different old songs came to mind. And when I wrote while looking at those lyrics, this is what it resulted in.
――Makes you wonder where he is now, doesn’t it? Maybe he’s visiting the beach?
H: Yes, exactly (lol). I think he’s probably flying everywhere.
Even we are discovering ourselves how things would turn out.
So this is an album that we made while enjoying that process.
――For Zetsubou to Iu Na no Kimi e (絶望という名の君へ), you relied on Imai-san for the lyrics.
H: I asked him for “something that packs an emotional punch”.
――So, Imai-san, undertaking this, what kind of image did you write these lyrics with?
I: When he said, “something that packs an emotional punch”, I thought, “But isn’t that what I always do?”. This is the first time I wrote lyrics for Hide’s music, so I picked up the sound at home and then broke up the notes. But I had the idea that even if [the words] didn’t fit perfectly, the composer himself should be able to interpret it. I started work from that perspective but I was done relatively quickly. As I listened to the music, I got a vague but strong image. That I didn’t want it to be a weak song. [But] something that feels powerful. From there, I got my reference image.
――Was the melody already firmly decided when Hoshino-san was working on it?
H: It was when I passed it over, but the division of the notes more or less changed due to the lyrics, so I got a version with Imai-san’s singing first. After that, I sang back it myself ahead of the actual recording.
――When Imai-san wrote the lyrics, could you hear Hoshino-san’s voice or did you already have an idea of how Hoshino-san would sound?
I: That, no. Not yet.
H: I’m still new (lol).
――How did Hoshino-san feel seeing the lyrics that he wrote?
H: It was what I expected. Singing it was great too.
――Did your emotions take a hit when you sang?
H: Because when I sang, I sang in full seriousness (lol).
――I see (lol). When I see words like “絶望 (zetsubou / despair)”, “光 (hikari / light)”, and “希望 (kibou / hope)”, I somehow found myself linking them together and kept wonder whether “絶望という名の君 (zetsubou to iu na no kimi / you who’s named despair)” is Sakurai-san.
I: No (lol).
H: Apparently not (lol).
――So it seems (lol).
I: This isn’t a song that’s about a specific “something”, it’s more of a bigger, powerful song.
――Understood. Next, TIKI TIKI BOOM. This track has a memorable tribal rhythm.
I: The phrase “TIKI TIKI BOOM” came first. This is another song where the arrangement was vaguely set while building things up from the rhythm. In other words, it sprouted from the phrase and the rhythm. It’s as if I solidified whatever was spilling out from inside of me.
――Hoshino-san is in the chorus here too, right?
H: That’s right. Only the chorus, I believe.
――Pushukee -PSYCHE- is another track that has music composed by Hoshino-san and lyrics written by Imai-san. The simple structure makes it cool.
H: This song is made from the rhythm and the main synthesiser, or rather, the synth bass. The rhythm was programmed but it was quite detailed so we decided to base the song on that.
――I think it leaves quite an impact because of the repetition of the verse and the chorus.
H: Instead of the fixed structure we’ve used all this time, we wanted to go with a slightly different composition. Rather than going with verse, pre-chorus, bridge and the usual, this is a much simpler song.
――Is that the theme of this album? To change the format you’ve been using so far?
H: We more or less spoke about it so maybe that ended up turning apparent, on the whole.
――Right. In the chorus, is the guitar that comes in with the singing played by Imai-san?
I: The single note?
――Yes, that.
I: That complicated bit, right?
H: Ah, right, the complicated bit.
I: The suuuper complicated bit.
H: Hoshino’s complicated bit was done by him, as it was written (lol).
――At the very least, I understand very well now that it’s definitely complicated (lol).
H: Although it’s being played by me, who has to sing too. But since I have to sing here, there’s no other option (but to ask him to play for me) (lol).
――The lyrics of the chorus and that single note guitar melody put together really cuts straight into the heart. I really like that part. When Imai-san received this song, how did you go about coming up with the lyrics?
I: For this track, once I got the music, the image came to mind very quickly. The lyrics themselves flowed out quite smoothly.
――Psyche is the name that appears in Greek mythology, right?
I: It basically means life or soul.
We’re off to a good start with the completion of this album.
I feel that there’s still a lot of possibilities as to what we can do.
――The manipulator for Hoshino-san’s music was Cube Juice-san. For Imai-san, it was Yokoyama Kazutoshi-san. But there was one song, Gabriel no Rappa (ガブリエルのラッパ) which was handled by YOW-ROW-san. I would appear that he turned it into a heavy and theatrical number, similar to Warukyuure no Kikou (ワルキューレの騎行) from your previous album, 異空 -IZORA-.
I: That’s right. Because YOW-ROW-kun makes a song three dimensional by adding sounds from various angles. This song was also built on hip hop as a foundation, so the idea was to add the words and the rhythm on top of that.
――The last song by Imai-san and the synth-only part was also by YOW-ROW?
I: That’s right. I don’t think there was any singing there in the very first arrangement.
H: He added the percussion too, right? YOW-ROW-kun.
I: Mm, right.
H: He contacted me about something else. And then he said, “That was cool, innit?” (Lol)
――Next, the third instrumental track, Kurage (海月). Is this song fully programmed? Not even Yuta-san’s bass is in it, right?
I: I don’t think it is in this one. It’s an ambient instrumental track, so I wanted it to be something that could make listeners feel good. While working on it, it started to get this watery vibe and that’s when I got the idea to title it “kurage (海月 / jellyfish)”.
――And here, you used ZTAR’s new MIDI guitar.
I: It just so happened, or rather, it was finally released. I thought I’d use it a little during recording as a symbol or a marking of sorts. Somehow improvise and try not to overplay. I think it turned out nicely.
――And the last track is Tasogare no Howling (黄昏のハウリング). Imai-san’s sound through and through.
I: I thought it would be good to have a slightly longer song that progresses with calm vocals and a synth bass.
H: In this song, I did a bunch with the chorus too, and of course the guitar. It’s a song appropriate to come last. It makes you feel like “that’s just how things go”.
――Did Imai-san compose this song with the intention of making it the last track?
I: More or less. It wasn’t a guitar solo at the end though. More like a guitar running wild.
――It brings to mind the image of Imai-san playing the guitar as the last one left on stage. Have the two of you more or less decided on the stage concept for this year end’s Budokan show⁶ and next year’s tour⁷?
I: There is [a concept]. There is, but……
H: We’ll end up spoiling the surprise. So, just look forward to it (lol).
――Right (lol). The album marking the second era of BUCK-TICK was completed after a year but looking back, what does this album mean to you?
H: Having to start from nothing, there were times when I wondered whether we could really pull it off, but just like that, we made it. And we’re not exactly reintroducing ourselves but…… it’s an album that says, “This is what came out of our efforts.”
I: Even we are discovering ourselves how things would turn out. We’re getting a sense of what an album made by the four of us looks like. So this is an album that we made while enjoying that process.
――I’m sure you’re looking forward to finding out what kind of reception this work will get once it’s released.
I: Recording is done, but ahead of us is the work we need to put into figuring out how all of this will be done in a live show, so that’s also something I’m looking forward to.
――This may not be something to talk about in this interview, but on the way home after an interview that Imai-san and Yokoyama-san did for another publication, Yokoyama-san asked me, “Among the songs in this album, are there any which get you wondering how it would sound if Sakurai-san sang it?” Since I was asked, I thought back and realised that it never even crossed my mind once, and I replied, “There aren’t.”
I: I think Yoko-chan probably wanted assurance on that. If there were any songs that made you wonder about how it would sound with Acchan’s voice, then he’d know, “Ah, I’m still stuck in the past.” From a musical standpoint. That’s why Yoko-chan needed that confirmation (lol).
H: Maybe it’s better to keep this in? (Lol)
一一When I listened to スブロサ SUBROSA, I naturally thought that this was definitely an album by BUCK-TICK album, and while I honestly did feel melancholic at times, I was reminded of the power of BUCK-TICK and the underlying strength of its four members. Could you both share what you see in BUCK-TICK’s future at this time?
I: It’s the same as usual, but by the time the album is gradually completed, I would already have an idea of what I want to do next. It’s definitely because this happens that I look forward to it. Because I simply never run out of things I want to try.
H:We’re off to a good start with the completion of this album. I feel that this start of an album shows that there’s still a lot of possibilities as to what we can do.
Notes:
¹ Nippon Budokan performance = “BUCK-TICK Genshou -2023- (バクチク現象 -2023-)” which was held on 29 December 2023.
² スブロサ SUBROSA = Their 24th album. Released in December 2024.
³ Solo interview = Hoshino’s personal interview published in issue 104 from December 2022.
⁴ 異空 -IZORA- = Their 23rd album. Released in April 2023.
⁵ Lead single = Their 43rd single, Raijin Fuujin – Resonance (雷神風神 – レゾナンス). Released on 20 November 2024.
⁶ This year end’s Budokan show = “Naisho no Bara no Shita (ナイショの薔薇の下 / Under the Secret Rose)” which will be held at the Nippon Budokan on 29 December 2024.
⁷ Next year’s tour = The live house tour, “BUCK-TICK TOUR 2025 スブロサ SUBROSA” which starts on 12 April 2025.
Yokoyama Kazutoshi
H.U.G
Interview ◎ Okubo Yuka
We hear from Yokoyama Kazutoshi, who was in charge of manipulation for 12 out of the 17 tracks in BUCK-TICK’s new album, スブロサ SUBROSA, about the recording work.
profile & information
Manipulator, keyboardist, and percussionist of H.U.G, the band formed by Angelo and D’ESPAIRSRAY’s Karyu. He also works as a manipulator for the recordings and live performances of numerous bands, including BUCK-TICK.
https://hug.bitfan.id
Once it strikes five in the evening, you’d hear
the clicking of his shoes as he comes in to start vocal recording.
So my mind conjured up the way it’s been all this time
while I worked.
――When Yokoyama-san heard Imai Hisashi-san’s announcement last year on 29 December that [the band] will be making a new album, what thoughts came to mind?
Yokoyama (Y): I felt a strong, unstoppable will. But actually, I already heard that he had started writing a lot of music. It’s just that I had the thought that they probably couldn’t make the type of music, the lyrical songs that they have been making until now, so I was in part excited, in part anxious about what kind of songs they’ll come up with.
――Any specifics on what you were anxious about?
Y: About BUCK-TICK songs that don’t have Atsushi-san singing, and how that would affect the listeners’ perspectives. In terms of Hide-san’s singing, we managed to create works with a variety of possibilities, including sound.
――How did you feel after actually listening to the demo tapes that Imai-san made?
Y: Both the rhythms and the beats have a quality unlike anything they’ve done so far. And you could say it sounded Western to me. Instead of something Japanese, I got the sense that it could turn into something that has an international appeal.
――Did anything change with regards to the production process?
Y: Until now, the songs are completed with the music and singing of five people, but this time, [there are tracks where] there’s no drums, there’s no guitar, those kinds of irregular arrangements which Imai-san made decisions on from the very beginning. This time, there’s no Sakurai-san coming in at the very end to stamp the mark of BUCK-TICK on the songs, and I was worried about how the BUCK-TICK signature was going to come in at the end so I was checking with Imai-san on every occasion. However, we’re talking about a band who’s like a huge bathtub that can take in anything and everything, so I came to understand better than ever before that this is something to tackle head on without hesitation.
――Including your discussions with Imai-san, which song in this album made the biggest impression on Yokoyama-san in terms of production?
Y: The first track, Hyakuman Nayuta no Chiri SCUM (百万那由多ノ塵SCUM) starts with Imai-san who is then gradually joined by the other band members. On top of that, he said that he wanted to start the song with noise, so I had to keep in mind to make sure that [the noise] isn’t too obtrusive while the band slowly comes together to layer up. I also had the idea that the song had to have this sense of being able to see the future, to see light ahead, so I remember working on this very carefully, part by part. Although, for this album, there were so few occasions that I had to redo everything to the point that I actually asked Imai-san, “Why are you giving me the OK so quickly?” (Lol) The gap between the world that Imai-san perceives and what I create has closed so I thought it was a good thing.
――When you mention that the gap has closed, do you mean that it’s easier to envision the scenes for each song or what is needed for each song?
Y: It might be presumptuous of me to say this, but I’ve grown aware of what I would propose if I stood in Imai-san’s shoes. I believe that we cannot move in the same direction if I can’t match what he feels. In terms of the atmosphere that he seeks for each song, he would always tell me it’s “something like this” at the very beginning, but maybe this time, I thought about why Imai-san would give such instructions to me and could actually get an idea of the reason behind his words.
――Were there occasions when Sakurai-san came to mind during recording?
Y: I had always been conscious of Sakurai-san when in the studio. Once it strikes five in the evening, you’d hear the clicking of his shoes as he comes in to start vocal recording. So my mind conjured up the way it’s been all this time while I worked. I believe that everyone worked [on this album] with the hope that we’d make something he wouldn’t feel embarrassed to listen to so I did my best to not hold back.
――This is related to a question that I asked Imai-san and Hoshino-san during their interview for this magazine issue, but I’d like to ask Yokoyama-san the real reason behind why you asked me, “Among the songs in this album, are there any which get you wondering how it would sound if Sakurai-san sang it?”
Y: I’d think everyone’s tried imagining it. Like, if Sakurai-san sang this song, it would probably sound like this or that. I think it’s only natural that people would think about it and I think it’s fine as it is, but I genuinely just wanted to get some affirmation that Imai-san and Hoshino-san’s vocals have been established as a work of their own.
――How do you feel after giving the completed スブロサ SUBROSA another listen?
Y: To me, the first track to the 6th are songs that are meant to show the new developments within Imai-san. Because the order of these songs is pretty aggressive. So I can feel Imai-san’s determination. Hoshino-san’s songs are also sandwiched nicely [in between Imai-san’s songs] that comes across great. And when the final track, Tasogare no Howling (黄昏のハウリング) ends, it circles back to the start again. Imai-san had already decided on the placements of the first and last tracks from the very beginning, so we made the album start and end in a way what fits that vision. I think it’s a pretty interesting album format. And that there’s a whole lot of energy packed in these 17 tracks.
――What does Yokoyama-san hope for BUCK-TICK going forward?
Y: I don’t believe they’ll wither away, so I’m not worried about their music or their work at all. I only hope that they’ll take good care of their health, and continue to be a band that brings us excitement. Because there’s definitely no other band like them after all. I hope they will continue to excite and thrill us all.
Translation: Yoshiyuki
Scans: Yoshiyuki