Taboo in Taboo

B=Pass
February 1989

Interview: Yasue Matsuuba
Photography: Masaaki Toyoura
Styling: Sayuri Watanabe
Hair & Make-up: Masashi Nakayama
Costume: arrston volaju, Crazy Cat HARAJUKU

The emotions that lie dormant deep inside humansーthat is the insatiable desire, the ego, essentially the cruel and destructive aspects. In our everyday lives, we live with them by covering them under a lid we call rationality, but at a whim, for example, when we love someone, we may happen upon those emotions of ours. Because they are honest emotions, they are also beautiful in their own twisted way… The theme of BUCK-TICK’s 3rd album, TABOO, is an eternally elusive love, and it is an ambitious work that exceptionally and beautifully cuts deep into the inner workings of a human. As we go beneath their surfaces and explore, we bring to you BUCK-TICK’s first special front cover feature.

Sakurai Atsushi Q&A
Imai Hisashi Q&A
Hoshino Hidehiko Q&A
Higuchi Yutaka Q&A
Yagami Toll Q&A
Group Interview
Album Interview
Live Report

Individual Q&A

_______________________

Sakurai Atsushi

*I want to kill it all with my own hand.**

・What is the city of Tokyo to you?
It’s all so vibrant that it doesn’t work well for me, or something… Though in the first place, it’s not like I came to Tokyo because I was fascinated by that aspect of it.

・Is Tokyo a utopia to you?
No. In truth, anywhere’s fine. Even if I can’t pick a place. Right now, I’m in Tokyo because of BUCK-TICK, but I’ve long ago given up on finding a place to live or settle down in. It’s not painful, not particularly. It’s a problem that’s easily solved as long as I don’t have to go out or don’t have to go to crowded places. It’s not a big issue. But, this place isn’t a utopia, and I don’t particularly like it or hate it.

・What kind of people are your neighbours?
I’ve only ever caught glimpses. A normal university student.

・What is privacy to you?
When I’m not standing on stage. When I’m not doing interviews. When I’m completely separated from music, that’s all privacy.

・Do you think that you have privacy?**
Nope. Though I suppose it can’t be helped to a certain extent. I’m sure that people consider BUCK-TICK’s Atsushi and Atsushi Sakurai in his private life as “the same”. I suppose if they see me off stage there’s a stronger sense of intimacy too… It can’t be helped that it can’t be split apart.

・Methods to work off frustrations?
Nothing in particular… Aren’t I always in a situation where I can soon work off my frustrations even if I do have them? Even so, if I can’t stand it anymore, I’d only say something like “shut up, go away”.

・Do you think that you’re a person with moral standards?
At the very least (lol) I think that I am.

・So, what are morals?
Firstly, greetings. Feelings of gratitude. Feelings of apology. Be thankful, have a conscience, having compassion. I think that’s good enough. But it’s very important.

・Do you think that BUCK-TICK is being misunderstood?
Yes. I think that we’re a band that can probably be captured in a number of ways.

・How can this misunderstanding be resolved?
Just let people think what they want to think of us. We won’t ever change.

・What are prejudices to you?
Irrelevant things. Perceived notions. Egoism.

・Are you someone with a big ego?
If I had to do unpleasant things to improve my relationship with people, then it’d be easier for me to be alone. A person who isn’t self-centred doesn’t exist.

・Do humans need an ego?
Even if people say (nasty) things about me, I want to keep a part of me that I won’t compromise. So, to me, it is necessary.

・Do you think that cooperativeness and flexibility is needed in society?
In my elementary school reports, I’ve always been described as lacking in flexibility and cooperativeness though… I do think that I’m lacking in those aspects too. But I don’t think that it’s something that a person has to force themselves to fix.

・Do you think that war will disappear from this world?
War won’t disappear from this world unless humans lose their fighting spirit.

・Have you ever lost yourself by drowning in ecstasy?
To the extent of losing myself? Well, in no small measure, yes. I can explain it, but I think it’s kind of impossible to publish that in a magazine.

・Have you ever hated someone so much that you wanted to kill them?
I have. I don’t want the detailed story behind that to be printed in a magazine.

・Have you ever loved a woman to death?
Yes.

・Have you ever liked someone of the same sex?***
Yes. It’s different from the way I like women, and he’s someone who possesses what I don’t have. He’s kind, he’s manly, he sings well…

・Do you accept homosexual love?
Yes. Because they do what they feel is right.

・Regarding incest?
I think it’s fine. For me, if my children were to do that, I’d think that it would be cute… Even if things don’t turn out that way, I get the feeling that I’d understand those feelings. I think that it’s alright as long as they’re both of the same mind.

・Can you love 2 women at the same time?
I think that’s kind of impossible… I suppose, a person who chases after rabbits won’t even get one, after all (lol).

・Have you ever loved 2 women at the same time?
No, I think…

・Have you ever thought of wanting to die?
Yes, when I was young. Like “I hate having a home like this!”.

・Regarding suicide?
Without an older brother, or parents, if there was no one who would grieve over me, it’d be fine. When I think about the grief of those who I’d be leaving behind, I can’t choose death.

・Have you ever considered committing a lovers’ suicide? If the love between you and your partner cannot be fulfilled, will you choose death?
I’ve never considered it, and I won’t choose death. I’ve never loved like that before. But if I loved someone so much that I wanted to kill them and I did do it, I think I’d die too.

・Have you ever had an abortion?
No.

・Do you agree with the idea of getting an abortion?
Depends on the time and situation.

・Have you ever experienced an ecstasy greater than sex?
No.

・Have you ever had sex without love?
No.

・Can you live without love?
I don’t know. Because there’s no situation where there is no love involved. I won’t know unless we’re in a situation where love has disappeared from this world… In that sense.

・Are you presently in love?
All the time.

・What do you think of Japan’s marriage system (one husband one wife, marriage registration, etc.)?
I’m not particularly concerned about it. I think it’s unrelated. I might be a determined bachelor. I’m lazy, and I like being alone too…

・So, what about divorce?
If you were going to do that then don’t get married to begin with!

・Do you have any interest in drugs?
Yes, just a mere interest…

・Have you ever fallen into a state of delirium?
I don’t know but… probably not. I’ve been in a state of confusion, or rather, emotional instability before. Is being on edge the same as being in a mentally unstable state? If that’s the case then it often happens to me during tours. I’ve no choice but to control myself then.

・Are you capable of throwing away your lover for the sake of your own desires?
Yes. After all, I’m cute. I’m self-indulgent… Whatever I want to do comes first, and I don’t think of anything or anyone like my lover. I’m selfish, aren’t I? Truly.

Notes:

* Lyric translations come from This is NOT Greatest Site. This particular lyric comes from Silent Night.

** The original form of the question would literally translate into “Do you think your privacy is being protected?”. In present-day context, this takes on a rather different meaning, thus my choice of wording.

*** “好き” was the word that was used in this question. It can be interpreted as a simple “like”, as in “I like cake”, or as “love”, as in “I love you”. The different members definitely took liberties with the possible interpretations of this word, so I went with “liked” instead of “loved” since the “like” spectrum can also include “I like you and I want to date you” situations. [Yay for Japanese vagueness!]

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_______________________

Imai Hisashi

The warmth of your breasts and my faithless sin.*

・What is the city of Tokyo to you?
A place where you’ll quickly start to fall and get swept away if you become lazy. But I think that it’s the most exciting city in the world.

・Is Tokyo a utopia to you?
There might be a dangerous side to it but probably, yes. It’s a mysterious city.

・What kind of people are your neighbours?
I heard from the people I’m living with that they’re someone who works at a pet shop. Sometimes I can hear cats meowing.^

・What is privacy to you?
When I leave the stage. All of my time that’s away from the stage.

・Do you think that you have privacy?**
I don’t think so. Please stop prying into my privacy.

・Methods to work off frustrations?
Getting on stage. And also, drinking to your heart’s content. That might get rid of it temporarily though.

・Do you think that you’re a person with moral standards?
I don’t make a conscious effort to keep to it, but I might be keeping to it.

・So, what are morals?
The balance of society. A tacit understanding. But the existence of it has been thinning out in recent times.

・Do you think that BUCK-TICK is being misunderstood?
Yeah. The part where judgement is passed on us based on our looks. We incorporate a variety of things into our songs too, so they’d say things like, we don’t have a message, or that we’re weak or soft, and whatnot.

・How can this misunderstanding be resolved?
By not making music just for that purpose.

・What are prejudices to you?
First impressions.

・Are you someone with a big ego?
I think I tend towards that. I always want to be free.

・Do humans need an ego?
Yes. They need to be selfish for themselves.

・Do you think that cooperativeness and flexibility is needed in society?
I suppose it’s necessary, but I don’t think I can find it in myself.

・Do you think that war will disappear from this world?
I would like to think so. If all earthlings could ride a rocket into space and take a look at the earth just once, don’t you think they’d more or less calm down?

・Have you ever lost yourself by drowning in ecstasy?
I have. I can’t explain it in detail.

・Have you ever hated someone so much that you wanted to kill them?
Nope. I’ve never hated before either. To get driven to that extent…

・Have you ever loved a woman to death?
Nope.

・Have you ever liked someone of the same sex?***
I have. As a person.

・Do you accept homosexual love?
Yes. There are lots of such people in this world.

・Regarding incest?
No way. I can’t believe it.

・Can you love 2 women at the same time?
I can’t. I’m not that skilfull.

・Have you ever loved 2 women at the same time?
I’ve never. I don’t think that this is what love is.

・Have you ever thought of wanting to die?
Nope. I’ve never brooded to the point of wanting to die, and I’d forget bad things. That’s because I’m basically a forward-looking, optimistic person.

・Regarding suicide?
I don’t want to approve of suicide. You’re not thinking about the people around you, are you? Aren’t you only thinking about yourself? If you think about the people who will grieve after you died, you can’t choose death, and death isn’t something to pick either.

・Have you ever considered committing a lovers’ suicide? If the love between you and your partner cannot be fulfilled, will you choose death?
I won’t choose death. I’ve never thought about it. I’ll somehow push through optimistically, while keeping things as they are, without dying.

・Have you ever had an abortion?
I’ve never.

・Do you agree with the idea of getting an abortion?
Yes, because there are times when it has to be done. But it’s not something that can be decided on one-sidedly.

・Have you ever experienced an ecstasy greater than sex?
I’ve never. Or rather, there are different kinds of ecstasies, and I think that they can’t be compared to each other. Since those things are sensory-based.

・Have you ever had sex without love?
I have. There’s no need for me to explain this, right…

・Can you live without love?
I’ll suffer, but I can survive. I think.

・Are you presently in love?
Yes. I don’t want to explain with specifics.

・What do you think of Japan’s marriage system (one husband one wife, marriage registration, etc.)?
Simply put… Isn’t it fine? For example, for me… It’s not like that but, I don’t think that anything changes with that one piece of paper… In any case, I suppose it’s a formality… I don’t want to be tied down but I guess a person might feel a sense of relief by submitting it… Honestly speaking, I’ve never done it before so… I don’t understand the significance of that piece of paper or anything like that well.

・So, what about divorce?
I think that it’s mainly a problem that revolves around feelings. Even if two people stayed together or remained married to each other for any longer… I guess this is something that occurs when they decide that they can no longer stay like this. But aren’t there a lot of people who don’t go through with it even though they have emotionally become like this? I’ve never done it before so I don’t really understand it. Seems troublesome.

・Do you have any interest in drugs?
I do. Like, I wonder how it feels to be able to hear sounds and see things. Basically, I like things that make me feel good, so. However, even if I’m interested, with regards to whether or not I’d actually do it, that’s a completely different thing though.

・Have you ever fallen into a state of delirium?
More or less…

・When, and at what point in time?
I don’t really want to say. Whatever it is, I don’t really want people to see that side of me, neither do I want them to know about it, so. Though it was more like a time when I was emotionally unstable than delirious… I’m vain, I put on airs, so I don’t want to show that I’ve lost confidence in myself, or that I’m depressed, I don’t want to let others see that. And that’s why, I may look like someone who is composed, but that’s the kind of guy I am. In the first place, I don’t like emotional outbursts, like getting angry and the sort so… It’s not that I’m suppressing my emotions, but I think it’s more like the fact that I’m not a very emotional person.

・Are you capable of throwing away your lover for the sake of your own desires?
Yes.

・Can you concretely illustrate that object of desire?
To me, that’s BUCK-TICK and nothing else. That’s the kind of guy I am.

Notes:

* Lyric translations come from This is NOT Greatest Site. This particular lyric comes from Embryo.

^ Gender of their neighbour(s) was not specified.

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_______________________

Hoshino Hidehiko

I love you so much I could die, you’re too lovely.*

・What is the city of Tokyo to you?
Even now, I think that it’s an exciting city. There was a different kind of excitement in the beginning too. Just that alone makes it a city where all kinds of things are being born at a fast pace. Because it’s restless.

・What kind of people are your neighbours?
I’ve only ever seen them once, but they wore spectacles.^

・What is privacy to you?
Parts (of me) that I don’t want people to get into. Parts that I absolutely have to protect, no matter what.

・Do you think that you have privacy?**
Rather than having my own privacy, it’s more like a feeling of isolation.

・Methods to work off frustrations?
I can’t really stand being frustrated. That’s the kind of nature I have.

・Do you think that you’re a person with moral standards?
I think I’m normal. I pee in the streets (lol), I litter with my empty cans (lol). Everyone does a little bit of light moral breaking, right?

・So, what are morals?
Well, I wonder (lol). Something that is necessary for a person to decide how they respond to things. Because without that, the world would be in a bigger mess than it already is.

・Do you think that BUCK-TICK is being misunderstood?
Probably.

・How can this misunderstanding be resolved?
With us continuing what we do.

・What are prejudices to you?
Not something I want to have.

・Are you someone with a big ego?
Doesn’t everyone have a part of them that doesn’t want to give in to others?

・Do humans need an ego?
This isn’t only for me, but I think that each of the members, and as BUCK-TICK, we all have a side of us that values our own egos. I believe that a person’s personality would otherwise disappear. We’d be met with the question of ‘what the hell am I without BUCK-TICK?’. Humans do need an ego, for the fibre of one’s being.

・Do you think that cooperativeness and flexibility is needed in society?
To a certain extent. You can’t live alone after all…

・Do you think that war will disappear from this world?
It won’t disappear. Weapons are being built in secret, and I think that fighting spirit won’t disappear from humans anyway.

・Have you ever lost yourself by drowning in ecstasy?
Nope.

・Have you ever hated someone so much that you wanted to kill them?
Nope. No matter how much I hate someone, it was never to the point of wanting to kill them. Besides, I’ve never really hated a person.

・Have you ever loved a woman to death?
I have.

・Have you ever liked someone of the same sex?***
‘Like’ as in, not romantic feelings, right? I’ve liked someone, but I’ve never loved.

・Do you accept homosexual love?
Accept it, well, rather… Isn’t it fine?

・Regarding incest?
Pitiful. I’ve never done it so I don’t know but… I suppose that’s obvious.

・Can you love 2 women at the same time?
I can’t.

・Have you ever loved 2 women at the same time?
Nope. But you can’t love another when you already love one person, right? It doesn’t seem possible to do so equally between two…

・Have you ever thought of wanting to die?
I might have. I forget bad things.

・Regarding suicide?
It’s okay to do it if you’re not going to inconvenience others. But I think that this is probably an impossibility in most cases. Because, you see, you’ll definitely be causing someone grief, so.

・Have you ever considered committing a lovers’ suicide? If the love between you and your partner cannot be fulfilled, will you choose death?
I won’t choose that. I don’t think that this is what death is.

・Have you ever had an abortion?
I have not.

・Do you agree with the idea of getting an abortion?
I do think that there are cases where it is the only choice that is available. It’d be weird to say that there’s no choice, but there are people who do not have any other option but to do that, right? For sure.

・Have you ever had sex without love?
… … Please leave that as my answer (lol).

・Have you ever experienced an ecstasy greater than sex?
Um, no (lol).^^

・Can you live without love?
Hmm… I wonder. I think that there are cases where I can live even without love. Like if I’ve found a way to live life beyond love, or something like that. But I don’t like that though. Having love is better, otherwise it’s kind of lonely, isn’t it? It’s like you’re trying hard to go on without love.

・Are you presently in love?
… … (lol) Well, rather, I want to always be in love, not just for now. Because I don’t want to become lonely.

・What do you think of Japan’s marriage system (one husband one wife, marriage registration, etc.)?
Isn’t it fine as it is? Because it’s up to you whether you want to follow the system or not. You probably don’t have a choice if it’s something that required by law, but it’s not exactly forced, right (lol). If someone wants to do it, they can just go ahead with it, right? I think that’s probably what it is. I’ve never thought deeply about it.

・So, what about divorce?
It’s the same for this as well. However, it’s a more severe situation that getting married, and there are problems that revolve around it too, so it’s rather troublesome, isn’t it. But if splitting up is better for both parties, I think it would be better to split up even though it might be a sad thing to do so. Not just one person is suffering, but both people are probably similarly suffering. I think that this is definitely not something that happens just because of one person’s selfishness as the cause. But having everything end with just one piece of paper, it’s quite heartbreaking, isn’t it.

・Do you have any interest in drugs?
Yes but… That’s all. It’s just a mere interest.

・Have you ever fallen into a state of delirium?
Nope. That is referring to a state where I don’t even know what kind of state I’m in, right? That’s kind of scary, isn’t it, losing yourself. I suppose that’s a form of losing the balance in your mental state. Humans are fragile, so there’s definitely a part of them that fears the possibility of becoming like that somehow someday though. I suppose, luckily for me, I’ve never been like that before.

・Are you capable of throwing away your lover for the sake of your own desires?
I can’t. Desires and love can’t be measured against each other, right? Furthermore, the expression “throwing away” is distasteful.

Notes:

* Lyric translations come from This is NOT Greatest Site. This particular lyric comes from Taboo.

** The original form of the question would literally translate into “Do you think your privacy is being protected?”. In present day context, this takes on a rather different meaning, thus my choice of wording.

*** “好き” was the word that was used in this question. It can be interpreted as a simple “like”, as in “I like cake”, or as “love”, as in “I love you”. The different members definitely took liberties with the possible interpretations of this word, so I went with “liked” instead of “loved”, since the “like” spectrum can also include “I like you and I want to date you” situations. [Yay for Japanese vagueness!]

^ Gender of their neighbour(s) was not specified.

^^ His answer to this question was “ない、です” with the comma indicating a moment of hesitation in his reply, thus the “Um”.

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_______________________

Higuchi yutaka

Crumbling, melting, cracking.*

・What is the city of Tokyo to you?
I’m already used to it but I have the impression that it’s hectic. It’s more like a place of work than a place to live at.

・What kind of people are your neighbours?
A husband and wife and their two children. I wonder what they think of me (lol).

・What is privacy to you?
Time outside of BUCK-TICK. It’s precious time.

・Do you think that you have privacy?**
More or less…

・Are you frustrated?
I don’t have time that I can take to think about myself.

・Methods to work off frustrations?
You mean, an outlet? Drink alcohol (lol).

・Do you think that you’re a person with moral standards?
I think I’m just a normal person though…

・So, what are morals?
Standards that different people have different perceptions on… I think.

・Do you think that BUCK-TICK is being misunderstood?
Yes. Quite…

・How can this misunderstanding be resolved?
By continuing to perform our lives. There’s no other way than to continue producing “BUCK-TICK”-esque albums.

・What are prejudices to you?
It’s not something that you have of yourself, but something that others have of you.

・Are you someone with a big ego?
I don’t really know.

・Do humans need an ego?
I don’t really know.

・Do you think that cooperativeness and flexibility is needed in society?
A person can’t live alone after all, so I do think that it is necessary.

・Do you think that war will disappear from this world?
It won’t go away. Because humans are competitive by nature.

・Have you ever lost yourself by drowning in ecstasy?
Yes. It was a momentary occurrence though. I think that ecstasy is probably something that is short-lived, fleeting.

・Have you ever hated someone so much that you wanted to kill them?
No. That emotion of wanting to kill someone is too scary for me. Even if I hate someone, even if they disgust me, I’ve never thought of killing someone.

・Have you ever loved a woman to death?
I have. To the point that I’ve bent over backwards for her.

・Have you ever liked someone of the same sex?***
Nope. I’ve never had any romantic feelings (lol).

・Do you accept homosexual love?
I’ve never experienced it so I don’t know but… To me, it’s kind of gross but… It’s like the feeling of, “I guess such people do exist in this world too, huh”.

・Regarding incest?
I can’t believe it (exists).

・Can you love 2 women at the same time?
I can’t. I think that it would be a lie for me to say that I love them both. It’ll mean that I’m lying to both of them. I’d be lying to myself too.

・Have you ever loved 2 women at the same time?
I’m incapable of that.

・Have you ever thought of wanting to die?
I guess not… No matter how much I’m suffering or how troubled I feel, it’ll somehow all work out, and we’re here anyway… No matter how difficult things are, I want to live. Because, I think that I won’t be able to escape that pain even if I die.

・Regarding suicide?
I think that suicide is nothing more than running away. God definitely exists so you can’t be the one to decide if you live or die. All humans will die one day, so you shouldn’t make your own decision on when you want to die.

・Have you ever considered committing a lovers’ suicide? If the love between you and your partner cannot be fulfilled, will you choose death?
I’ve never thought of that. If I have to go as far as to choose death, then I’d prefer things to just remain as they are. Though, I personally won’t choose to commit a lovers’ suicide, but I think that this is something that can only be established if both parties agree to it. It’s not something that you can do if it’s over a one-sided and short-lived emotion.

・Have you ever had an abortion?
What a question (lol). This question, its too much^, isn’t it (lol).

・Do you agree with the idea of getting an abortion?
Depends on the time and situation. This, again, isn’t something that can be done based on one person’s decision alone. You’ll be ending a person’s life too… For me, I don’t want to agree with it. But, after all, since I’m a man, I won’t be able to understand a woman’s feelings about this.

・Have you ever had sex without love?
Yet another horrible question (lol). I’ll leave my answer as “?” (lol).

・Have you ever experienced an ecstasy greater than sex?
I don’t think there’s anything greater than having sex with the person you love. So for me, it’s a no.

・Can you live without love?
I can’t. I have a lot of love in me, and it is not only limited to the love that I have exclusively for women… For me to not dry up, I really want to cherish the feeling of loving anything and everything. Be it brotherly love, friendship, or even BUCK-TICK. It’s like… I think that if my love for all of these things disappear, won’t I be the one who suffers the most in the end? That’s why, if there’s no love, I can’t live. I think it’s a very important emotion.

・Are you presently in love?
In that sense, I’m always in love.

・What do you think of Japan’s marriage system (one husband one wife, marriage registration, etc.)?
Nothing in particular… Or rather, I think that people who want to get married will get married even without considering the system, and those who don’t want to won’t anyway… Even with regards to marriage registration, I think that it’s just another kind of formality but it’s something that people will carry out if they want to. If they don’t want to, isn’t it enough as long as the couple considers themselves as husband and wife? Because I think that there are people who have registered but aren’t actually husband and wife. In short, it’s about the feelings between the couple. That’s the most important thing.

・So, what about divorce?
I think that this is an issue regarding the couple’s feelings. Because a person’s feelings doesn’t change as simply as getting a scrap of paper and then declaring “Alright, from today on, we’re strangers”. Though the arrival at that point is the result of the build up of all kinds of emotions in each of them. But no one gets married with the thought of getting a divorce.

・Do you have any interest in drugs?
I do. I do but… I’m not so interested that I’d break the law for it. Because, well… isn’t it a crime after all? No way.

・Have you ever fallen into a state of delirium?
I’ve never. Though I don’t quite know what kind of state would be considered as delirium.

・Are you capable of throwing away your lover for the sake of your own desires?
I can’t. Because I can’t compare my desires with my lover.

Notes:

* Lyric translations come from This is NOT Greatest Site. This particular lyric comes from the song Tokyo.

*** “好き” was the word that was used in this question. It can be interpreted as a simple “like”, as in “I like cake”, or as “love”, as in “I love you”. The different members definitely took liberties with the possible interpretations of this word, so I went with “liked” instead of “loved”, since the “like” spectrum can also include “I like you and I want to date you” situations. [Yay for Japanese vagueness!]

^ The actual comment here was “鬼ですね”. While “鬼” is commonly used as a noun to refer to devils, ogres, and other not so nice (or nice, depending on your preferences) supernatural beings, in this case, it is being used as an adjective. To compare something to “鬼” would normally mean that you’re calling it evil, fiendish, demonic, and other words along those lines, but that doesn’t quite sound right in English, even if that’s the implied meaning that he wants to give. It turns out that “鬼” is also another form of intensifiers (like ‘very’, ‘really’, ‘super’, etc.). And for this reason, I decided to go with the term “too much”.

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_______________________

Yagami Toll

People dance, then they sleep.*

・What is the city of Tokyo to you?
It’s clearly a place of work. I want to eventually go back to Gunma. In the first place, I only came to Tokyo to play in a band. I don’t want to live here for the rest of my life. If I’m going to die, I’d definitely go back to Gunma.

・Is Tokyo a utopia to you?
Wrong. I don’t think that utopias exist in this world.

・What kind of people are your neighbours?
A regular husband and wife with two kids. We only see each other on occasion but when we do, we’ll just nod to each other in passing.

・What is privacy to you?
It’s definitely my rest time to me. When I’m with BUCK-TICK, there’s some kind of tension from somewhere so I’d be thinking that I definitely want to stay awake. So with that kind of a reaction, I have this strong thought of wanting to laze around and just space out when things aren’t like that.

・Do you think that you have privacy?**
When I go home, I have my privacy. And I have a reason for wanting to keep my privacy too, so that is why I’ve been using a stage name right from the start. When I am Yagami Toll, I’m not the same person as the one at home.

・Methods to work off frustrations?
If you do stupid things and kick up a fuss you’ll work off quite a bit (lol).

・Do you think that you’re a person with moral standards?
I don’t know about myself. It doesn’t matter what others think of me, but there isn’t a single good person who would proclaim that they’re a moral person (lol).

・Do you think that BUCK-TICK is being misunderstood?
I think that’s probably the case. People do say certain things to us, although politely.

・How can this misunderstanding be resolved?
By naturally continuing what we’re doing. That’s the only thing we can do.

・What are prejudices to you?
This is from the perspective of BUCK-TICK though. We’re not a band that has prejudices, right. I believe that this is the character of the band, so do hold more and more prejudices (lol).

・Are you someone with a big ego?
I wonder… I really don’t know if it’s big or not in my case though. My ego as an artist is probably big. Because I think that no matter how great a drummer someone may be, they won’t be able to exude the presence that I have, and only I can drum the way that I do.

・Do humans need an ego?
Whether it’s big or small, it depends on the person, but to me, those who have an ego have confidence. I think that applies to myself too. Since I’m a musician, if I don’t have that kind of precision for what I do, I can’t distinctly bring out my personality. I don’t think that I’m an egoist though.

・Do you think that cooperativeness and flexibility is needed in society?
Humans can’t live alone so it’s necessary after all, but I don’t think that there’s a need to force yourself to fit in.

・Do you think that war will disappear from this world?
As long as humans have a fighting instinct, it won’t go away.

・Have you ever lost yourself by drowning in ecstasy?
I wonder… I might’ve experienced it before.

・Have you ever hated someone so much that you wanted to kill them?
In the past, yes. Around three times (lol). When I was more hot blooded I’d get pissed quickly. But since I’m reasonable, it was alright (lol).

・Have you ever loved a woman to death?
Never.

・Have you ever liked someone of the same sex?***
In terms of friendship, I’ve often found myself liking them.

・Do you accept homosexual love?
Well, since such people exist, it’s alright, isn’t it? I don’t really know much about it though.

・Regarding incest?
Those kinds of people do exist, don’t they… Though it’s unbelievable.

・Can you love 2 women at the same time?
… … … I guess I don’t think I can after all…

・Have you ever loved 2 women at the same time?
Yes. If the capacity of my love is 100, it was nicely divided into 50 and 50.

・Have you ever thought of wanting to die?
No… I think. I’m very afraid of death, so I won’t think of wanting to die so easily.

・Regarding suicide?
Death is a very scary thing for me, so I don’t want to so readily choose death. Though I suppose that there are people who unexpectedly do it…

・Have you ever considered committing a lovers’ suicide? If the love between you and your partner cannot be fulfilled, will you choose death?
After all, I can’t choose death, so I’ve never thought of it.

・Have you ever had an abortion?
No. I’ve never.

・Do you agree with the idea of getting an abortion?
I don’t agree. I don’t want to agree.

・Have you ever experienced an ecstasy greater than sex?
Probably.

・Have you ever had sex without love?
Well, I wonder (lol). But when doing it, I do love. Can something like this be said?

・Can you live without love?
I don’t think that I can. Because I don’t think that humans can live in solitude.

・Are you presently in love?
I am.

・What do you think of Japan’s marriage system (one husband one wife, marriage registration, etc.)?
I think that you just can’t do anything about it. Because Japan is just that particular about formalities. I don’t think that I’m particular when it comes to formalities, but I’ve never done this before, so I don’t know.

・So, what about divorce?
I guess it can’t be helped… I think, but after all, I’ve never done it before, so I really don’t know.

・Do you have any interest in drugs?
I do. My interest is in finding out just what caused the change in the music scene, what caused a change in The Beatles, along those lines.

・Have you ever fallen into a state of delirium?
I have.

・When, and in what situation?
It was the time when I just came to Tokyo, but my stomach was so empty, I was so hungry but I had no choice and I was sucking on Halls (candy), drinking green tea, smoking cigarettes and I ended up like that. It’s a true story. Really. I couldn’t sleep and I started hearing voices. That was horrible.

・Are you capable of throwing away your lover for the sake of your own desires?
I might be able to.

・Can you concretely illustrate that object of desire?
Like if I ended up falling for another woman… (lol)

Notes:

* Lyric translations come from This is NOT Greatest Site. This particular lyric comes from Just One More Kiss.

*** “好き” was the word that was used in this question. It can be interpreted as a simple “like”, as in “I like cake”, or as “love”, as in “I love you”. The different members definitely took liberties with the possible interpretations of this word, so I went with “liked” instead of “loved”, since the “like” spectrum can also include “I like you and I want to date you” situations. [Yay for Japanese vagueness!]

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Group Interview

TABOO, which was recorded in London, was finally released on January 18. What kind of emotions did they put into this work that foretells a sensation!?

Contrary to the showy appearance of BUCK-TICK’s 5 members, their 3rd album, named TABOO, is relatively dark. What feels truly ephemeral might be the words that were put together or the spectacles that were imagined, bringing forth that desire for destruction, that distrust, and that insanity, which are hidden in the depths of human beings, more so than the mild, tender, warmth of God and love. Perhaps that is exactly what BUCK-TICK needs now. If a single human questions their own existence, life, and death…… That is something that is truly fleeting, yet terrifying after all.

―― First, please share the image that you had in mind for BUCK-TICK’s 3rd album before you went to London to record it.

U-ta (U): We listened to Imai-kun’s demo tape whenever we had time, and while we were on the move, we tend to have meetings among us members in the car, so it was early on when we managed to put the images of each song together into one. Of course, there were parts that were changed after we went to London, but it was made exactly the way they were in Imai-kun’s demo tape. How do I say this… I guess the composer’s ideas were easily conveyed to everyone.

Imai (I): It’s specifically because compared to before, the recording equipment like the rhythm box and whatnot have gotten better (smiles). Somehow, I think the nuances are now more easily understandable.

―― So, that is to say, that the arrangement has more or less already been decided upon in the composer’s mind.

I: Compared to before, quite so. Though in the sense that I can reproduce the sounds in my head.

Toll (T): Though in the demos, Imai-kun is the one singing so the image is a little different, isn’t it, like an indies impression (smiles). It’s just that I somehow had the thought that it would turn out to be even more maniacal, but I once again felt that, if the 5 of us were to do it, this is something that basically wouldn’t change, even if we went to London and added in a producer.

Hide (H): I guess, I, too, thought that it might possibly become more maniacal… I thought that it would be great if it did.

I: Dark. Hard. Thrilling. Melodic. Discordant. The imagery that those words created are what I first had in mind. Not only is it because this is our 3rd album, but we’ve also wanted to create something dark since some time ago.

―― Are such words always floating around in Imai-kun’s head?

I: Somehow, I’m always thinking about them.

―― When you mention ‘maniacal’, are you referring to the technical side of things?

Ani^ (T): That’s not all. Especially considering our super tight schedule for SEVENTH HEAVEN, we only had 5 hours of rehearsals! Like, we decided that we’d take more time and do it carefully this time around.

―― What is Acchan’s image of the 3rd album?

Atsushi (A): Definitely dark. Actually, I’ve already had that image even before we made SEVENTH HEAVEN, but when we tried putting it together, it’s pop, isn’t it? So I guess that kind of recoil does happen too. I wanted to bring out the heavy things that come from inside.

U: Like my elder brother said earlier, this was the first time that we had a producer on board with us, in addition to it being our first time recording overseas. It’s not like we didn’t have our insecurities, all of us. But I believe that the image that each of us had for each of the songs were solidified into one through our meetings. Furthermore, what we were anxious about was that we did not want it to be completely imbued in the producer’s colours, so I think that a concrete image and a certain extent of the arrangement was already firmly understood by the 5 of us before we even started recording.

T: However, it was quite tough that we did not have much time for rehearsals at all, but I guess it’s because we did things the way we wanted to. So the producer took on an advisory role instead.

A: The way we think with “Let’s do this song like this!”, it didn’t really change much even when we were in London. The tension was exceedingly high.

U: Because even if we can’t communicate in words, we’re able to make the sounds with our mouths (smiles).

―― A human sampling machine (smiles).

U: Yes, yes.

―― But if you can’t communicate with words, doesn’t that mean that it’s rather vexing that you can’t convey the minute nuances with your own words?

I: When I try to pass the image of the sound in my head through an interpretation, the nuance changes subtly. And being unable to put that in words even though I understand that, it’s quite…… Maddening.

H: It takes time. Like I wish this was in Japanese, or I wish I could speak English.

A: We didn’t have time to rehearse, and the lyrics weren’t done yet too. When it comes to time-sensitive things, I get irritable though. And I’m always irritated and annoyed so…

―― Within all of that, what were the things that you did not want to lose sight of, or did not lose sight of?

A: That feeling of “Let’s do this!”. We’re not being instructed by someone over this and that, so I think that each one of us firmly held on to what we imagined to make sure that we ended up completely satisfied.

―― Was that something that you kept in mind until the very end?

A: Yeah. Because the only thing that we really hated was being swept along by the schedule.

―― This dark image was something that both Imai-kun and Acchan brought up, but could it be that the 2 of you have discussed about the image before?

I: We didn’t especially talk about it just between the two of us, right? Like SEVENTH HEAVEN’s “heaven” and “angel(s)” and so on. Back then, the both of us were surprised that we were both thinking of the same things too though. This time too, there wasn’t really anything spoken of beforehand.

―― Even so, this 3rd album of yours is dark, isn’t it? Furthermore, it’s ephemeral and sorrowful, and so on. Or is it the darkness that seems to come from cutting your chest open with a knife. In particular, the content of the lyrics really comes at you. Right from the very first song, ICONOCLASM. Running away from reality, or questioning the existence of humans, and so on. EMBRYO isn’t abstract, but instead, it quite directly sings about abortion. Even that alone is heavy, isn’t it. If I were to put it in extreme terms, I’d say that even the madness that is hidden in the depths of humans is felt though.

I: Within me is this word, “TABOO”. I guess, somehow, this word, it isn’t any one specific thing, but it is something that is born from the words “hard” and “dark”. And I did ask the members whether it would be good to make “TABOO” the title of the album though. So I think that common point that I have with Acchan is just that word, “TABOO”.

―― Even if that’s all there is, couldn’t it become an album concept?

I: I’ve never thought of making an album with a concept in the first place. If you asked me which one had more of a concept, I’d say that it’s SEVENTH HEAVEN, and that, you can see from those keywords alone that “HEAVEN” was the concept.

A: Be it the content of SEX FOR YOU, or EMBRYO, those vaguely came to me while we were in Tokyo, but at that time, the word “TABOO” came from Imai. SEX does become “TABOO” in certain cases, and EMBRYO does become “TABOO” in certain situations as well after all. “TABOO” is a word that captures everything. If you gave TOKYO an image of destruction, it applies too. I think that “TABOO” can include anything and everything.

―― Could it be that you were inspired by this “TABOO” that Imai-kun brought up?

A: Hm… I wonder. Though on my own, I did wonder about what situations are considered as “TABOO”.

―― Did Imai-kun come up with lyrics from the word “TABOO” as a basis as well?

I: I’m thinking that I want to change how I’ve been thus far. That’s always been the case, but I don’t want to write about the continuation of what we’ve had so far. I do want to make different kinds of music too, and I write by starting with the melody. I personally think that I’d want it to be something that comes of a natural change.

―― What about Ani? Though you’ve said that you’ve written it in Acchan’s image.

T: There was that, and the image of London too. But I didn’t really keep the word “TABOO” in mind. Just naturally, with all I had (smiles).

―― In this dark album, the very last track, Just One More Kiss, was pretty much the only source light, the one that lets us breathe a sigh of relief with a sense of “ah, I’m saved”. It was recorded in Tokyo and was released as a single hit song too, so how did you add that song in? Without that song, the album would’ve ended in empty thoughts. In distress.

I: We thought of having TABOO as the last song, but Acchan said that if that was the last song, “I’ll die, y’know” and “That’s painful, y’know”. I guess we have to save the listeners’ emotions or it would be bad. So the last song became Just One More Kiss.

T: It’s like a founding song (smiles). Even though we didn’t compose it with that in mind.

A: But when you look at that song from the perspective of sound quality, that’s the only place where you can put it in. Not to mention, if it was placed as the first song, it would’ve ended up concluding the album. For me, I wanted to put Just One More Kiss into the album as an extra or a bonus. Like, I don’t think that this song will make a turn the end. Since it’s a good song, the thought of wanting the song to end as it is was strong. And that’s why, I thought that the number one, best way was to have the album TABOO end once with the song TABOO, and then have Just One More Kiss come alive after it in that order.

―― So you didn’t consider the possibility of not including Just One More Kiss in the album.

A: With or without it, TABOO is TABOO. I don’t think that this dark and heavy tone will change.

―― I believe that what mostly gets captured is BUCK-TICK’s flashy and colourful side. With your songs being poppy and melodious, and such. However, your 3rd album is hard and dark. Releasing such an album at this point in time makes me read deeply into it, and I wonder if perhaps you made this move on the volition that you want to completely override the image that you’ve built up thus far and change things. This isn’t a strategic part but a mental and emotional area, isn’t it?

H: We’ve released something new, something that we’ve never done before, but our intention isn’t to reject or throw away whatever we’ve done thus far. I think that what is left behind is what will persist, and what is uniquely BUCK-TICK. It’s just that the only things that are different are the parts that are hard and dark.

I: I guess you could say that those are simply the parts that couldn’t be seen before, or that we’ve never shown before.

A: I wanted to change, but it was neither a duty nor a strategy, it was just my own wilfulness. Ever since the period of time when we were recording SEVENTH HEAVEN, what I wanted to do became clear to me, and this vague sense came into realisation in the form of TABOO. I wanted to do something dark and hard, and that, I was able to do. It’s not about changing because I wanted to change, or override, or change the circumstances around me. It was simply me wanting to change myself for the sake of doing what I want to do.

I: Though, rather than changing, it’s more like different parts, the parts that we’ve never shown before but are showing now.

―― But I believe that with this album, there are many who are saying that BUCK-TICK has changed, aren’t there?

I: It’ll definitely be so.

U: I think that there are pros and cons to that…

A: We wanted to do what we wanted to do.

I: Just like our previous work, you can’t predict what’s coming next. BUCK-TICK will continue to change. Even in this album, we haven’t shown everything that we’ve got, so naturally, there are pros and cons, I believe.

Notes:

^ I think there might’ve been an error here since they referred to Toll as トール (Tōru) instead of アニイ (Anī) in the earlier part of the article and after this part as well.

^^ U-ta refers to Toll as アニキ (Aniki) here instead of アニイ (Anī), thus the decision to use ‘elder brother’ instead of Ani.

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Album Interview

“We wanted to produce an album that you won’t be able to understand no matter how much you listen to it.”

This was what Sakurai Atsushi said of the album TABOO. Listening to it, the words and the melody grow familiar to the body and the heart, but perhaps, the part that we’ll never understand no matter how much we listen to it is the elusive unconscious mind that is hidden in this album. Before the release date (January 18), in a state without music nor words, that was all that I had in mind as I conducted the interview.

The theme behind this album, entitled TABOO, may just be the imagination that even the band members themselves are unaware of. The personal interviews, which grew from those thoughts, first started with me asking the band questions that came to mind based on the word “TABOO”, and the lyrics and melodies that I heard. Because my impression of “TABOO” is rather impulsive, the questions turned out to be quite extreme, but the result is as you’ve seen.

Since the members will be talking about the themes and explanations behind each song in the next issue, we’ll unveil a little of the ambiguous existence of TABOO through their inner thoughts.

Firstly, the “lyrics”. These are not just the use of extreme words or the telling of a superficial story. Deep in them hides a human’s insanity, desire for destruction, and distrust. The ego and desire that a person does not want to show to others. The contrasting purity and beauty. The honest feelings that one has for love. All of these “coexist” in this album, but it does not lean heavily into one side or the other. In an instant, they come together while separating, and separate while coming together.

For example, in SILENT NIGHT, there is a line that says “I want to kill it all with my own hand [kono te de koroshite shimaitai]”.

Because he wishes to remain as they are, just the two of them, because he loves, he stops time, life, and existence to trap this love in eternity. Such ferocity and violence and pureness is insanity turning into beauty in that instant.

“Just like that Closing off the world”

How romantic, how terrifying. Even though death is definitely not the equivalent of eternity.

Confused, losing his mind, running away from reality. Sakurai Atsushi writes about these things in plain simple words.

Contrasting him is Imai Hisashi who writes fanciful lyrics with his imagination. (This time, Yagami Toll has also provided the lyrics for one of the songs and he said that they were written in the image of “Sakurai Atsushi”.)

In the balance of these two, vocalist Sakurai Atsushi changes his voice and singing technique (method of expression), enhances the image of the songs, and changes his countenance. Even using both sighs and screams.

In a previous interview, Sakurai said, “Frustration has become the theme of the lyrics, but I want to write about what’s behind that hunger and desire. But I’m still unable to express them well enough for my words to be considered as rock lyrics”, but on the contrary, it feels as if the straighter and more direct and frank he gets, the closer we get to the hidden, unseen theme of TABOO.

SEX FOR YOU relates to the production of life and human potential.

With EMBRYO, it’s abortion.

J is about madness. While for TABOO, a lovers’ suicide.

No matter how many times you listen to this album, each of the songs is enclosed in the wide frame of TABOO in my arbitrary interpretation. Perhaps, it could be said that these cast doubt over human nature and our existence. With that backlash, they may be escaping into love and death…… and so on. As we move from one to the next, to what they call “the dark side of wishes and desires”, thoughts run around and around. “An album that you won’t be able to understand no matter how much you listen to it”. Perhaps the meaning behind these words is the descent into such a state of confusion……

“BUCK-TICK is a band that will continue to change.”

“This is an album that shows what we’ve never shown before.”

“You can’t predict what’s coming next.”

And so on.

From their words, it sounds like BUCK-TICK is a band that cannot be captured in one single portrayal, but as expected, these 5 who reject being represented by one image have once again impressed themselves with an ever-changing image that only BUCK-TICK is capable of with this album, TABOO.

“Uniquely BUCK-TICK”. This is what they always say, and as they shine with a new light, they change.

Their showy, flashy roots. Their poppy, melodious songs. These are the different words that they have been described with thus far.

They are not tied down by these words, neither are they fixated on them.

Depending on how light hits a prism in which new cuts are engraved, the way the light gets reflected and the colours that are produced changes too. It seems like BUCK-TICK is much like this, continuing to shine a new light from one work to the next.

Right after they were done with producing this album last September, they switched their minds back to their previous work and leapt into their SEVENTH HEAVEN tour. They did say that “As players, we want to play new songs as soon as possible”, and they would soon have the chance to. The ones who have been waiting most impatiently for it are without a doubt, the members themselves (after all, they have been waiting for 4 months).

On the 19th and 20th of January next year, they will, for the first time, perform the songs from TABOO at Nippon Budokan. It would seem that they will build the stage with an image that completely differs from the flashy, visual, and highly effective SEVENTH HEAVEN TOUR.

A dark, hard, beautiful, yet ephemeral world is where BUCK-TICK’s new potential is headed towards.

I can’t help but feel that by giving this album a name like TABOO, they are saying that there really is no such thing as a “taboo” in this world.

Right after the interview ended, I stopped the tape recorder, and as I said, “This album is so fleeting, so painful, so very heartrending after all”, Sakurai Atsushi, with that piercing gaze of his, said this in a languid tone.

“It’s alright. Because we’re deeper than that.”

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Live Report

Act 2 | Secret Gigs 4 Nights Report
BUCK-TICK NIGHT 1988 Nov. 20th

BUCK-TICK has made an appearance, taking time out of their busy schedule while in the middle of their SEVENTH HEAVEN tour to do so. The excitement of the 500 lucky people was at its climax even before the performance started.

There were many girls standing outside the stage door at Power Station with their umbrellas open, all eagerly waiting for the venue to open at 5:30 P.M.. And at 3:30pm, the members of BUCK-TICK arrived at 3:30 P.M. in all of this.

November 20th is right smack in the middle of their SEVENTH HEAVEN tour, which began soon after their return from London. The band’s fatigue was probably at its peak, but the moment they entered, they immediately started rehearsing. Backstage, I said, “I’ve listened to it, TABOO. Acchan’s passionate voice is great”, and to that, I was told with a grin, “It’s also been said to sound begrudging”.

After getting their makeup done, they started the show 10 minutes behind schedule. Before they went through the door on the side of the stage, Yuta shouted, “Alright*!!”. From that moment, all 5 of their faces tightened in concentration. I can’t help but be impressed by their focus and how quickly the band’s mood switches over. It was if their noisy, laidback selves from just a moment ago were never there.

They were welcomed with loud cheers, and their first song was VICTIMS OF LOVE. After a longer than usual guitar solo by Imai, the song began with moans of Atsushi’s voice. It was a hard opening that slathered the entire hall in B-T’s world in an instant. HYPER LOVE and SEXUAL XXXXX! attacked suddenly in waves. The floor was an onbeat dance paradise from the get-go.

For the first time in a long while, they played PLASTIC SYNDROME II, and after it ended, Atsushi spoke. “Today is a day of celebration for B-PASS, so we were wondering about what we should do, but we were in the middle of a tour and we couldn’t come up with anything. So we’ll do what we normally do.” “Cheers to B-PASS and everyone (here)!” As he said that, he showered the floor with water from his cup, and then, they started the second half of their show. In the heat, the temperature in the hall rose, and Atsushi shook his mic multiple times, draining moisture from it and left the buttons on his shirt open. He looked like he was feeling very warm. During the bridge of IN HEAVEN, the interaction between Atsushi and Imai as they sat down got the audience excited. In his MC, Atsushi sounded worried as he said, “Even if you tell me that it’s tough and so on, it’s worrying, so please control yourselves”. But by this time, there were already 2 or 3 people who had to be carried out.

During the 2nd song of their encore, FLY HIGH, the audience sang the chorus together with the band. As the audiences’ voices were not growing loud enough, Ani endlessly played his snare drum. Atsushi even laughed as he said, “You’re not listening to what Ani is saying!”.

The second encore had TO SEARCH, followed by JUST ONE MORE KISS. After that, the final encore song was an indies track, MOON LIGHT. They performed a total of 15 songs. After it ended, almost all of the 500 people on the floor were drenched in sweat as they stood still for a while, as if in a daze. One warning. Don’t throw things onto the stage! A ring or something hard hit Atsushi under his eye and that’s really dangerous.

* Actual text is ヨーシ (yoーshi).

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