The New Beginnings
Interview with Imai Hisashi
Switch Vol. 42
December 2024
Text: Sugawara Go
Photography: Okimura Norihiko
Styling: Lui Onozaki Hair & Make Up: Yamaji Chihiro
Outfit (Coat, jersey top, pants, boots): All by KMRii (https://kmrii.com/)
Loss & Revival
It’s been a year since vocalist Sakurai Atsushi, who had been with the band since its formation passed away.
Despite their great sorrow, the four remaining members did not stop and instead continued making music, resulting in a new album.
BUCK-TICK
Had their major debut in 1987. Imai Hisashi (vocals, guitar), Hoshino Hidehiko (vocals, guitar), Higuchi Yutaka (bass), Yagami Toll (drums), Sakurai Atsushi (vocals/died 2023). Will be holding their annual show at the Budokan on December 29.
BUCK-TICK’s 24th album, スブロサ SUBROSA has been released. The approximate period of one year and eight months since their last release definitely isn’t considered a particularly long time for a band like them. Or rather, I would say that this is an unexpectedly rapid pace of release considering the situation that BUCK-TICK is currently in. Guitarist Imai Hisashi nonchalantly tells me, “Well, music can be made as long as you have time anyway.”
Following their major debut in 1987, the band had no changes in their member line-up for 35 years一一Sakurai Atsushi, Imai Hisashi, Hoshino Hidehiko, Higuchi Yutaka, Yagami Toll; the five of them continued band activities together. During this period, there was not a time when talk about disbanding or going on a major hiatus ever came about. No band member left, nor did new members join them. Every few years, they would release a new album and go on concert tours. Two years ago, they had various releases and held special concerts in celebration of their 35th debut anniversary, including a consecutive release schedule for two singles and an album in spring of 2023. Their flurry of activities showed no signs of winding things down at all.
But in October of their busy 2023, vocalist Sakurai Atsushi suddenly passed away during their national tour. All remaining shows for the tour which was originally scheduled to run until December had to be cancelled, and their music activities would come to a stop for now…… or so we thought. Imai Hisashi started working on new songs that very December, and recording work among the four of them continued without pause. The culmination of this is the present album, スブロサ SUBROSA. In this interview, we talk to Imai Hisashi about the journey leading to the completion of this album which has a total of 17 tracks with most of the lyrics and music composed by the guitarist-cum-vocalist himself.
Curtains rise on a new chapter in the 37th year
――The very first thing you did after you unexpectedly became a 4-piece band was to hold the annual Budokan show last year end. I think it would be reasonable to cancel it considering Sakurai-san’s sudden death, but how did Imai-san position this concert in your mind?
Imai (I): Before that concert, the four of us were able to share the sentiment that we would continue to create as four members of BUCK-TICK so it didn’t seem right to cancel our year end concert. So in the end, we decided in that form of a concert一一an “exhibition” concert where the band plays music alongside recordings of Sakurai-san’s singing with the projected videos and the lights and all that. But I believe that this is something that would be a first and last for us.
And also…… It can’t be helped, but I believe there were a lot of people who were crying so I wanted to do something about that atmosphere. In that sense, I think that was a show we absolutely had to do, and it was a good thing we did too.
――Are you talking about creating a space where everyone can cry?
I: That’s right. But that wasn’t all there is to it. That day was also a celebratory day for BUCK-TICK; we wanted it to be the day when we started moving forward again. That’s why, after the show, we had an afterparty together and also had a celebratory toast, rather than a toast in memory.
――How did you feel during the concert?
I: All the shows we did before that, we always had our frontman standing tall in the center of the stage while I hold my guitar and spin around however I like, and freely play whatever comes to mind at that point in time, but as you’d expect, I couldn’t do that for this particular concert. I felt strangely tense throughout. But at the same time, I felt that I had to have fun doing this, so I tried to enjoy myself while still tense, and I guess you could say that it was a weird kind of feeling…… It was interesting.
――Without changing where the members stood on stage, you chose to shine a spotlight down on the empty vocalist spot. It was a performance which boldly made us feel an “absence”, but still, did you feel emotional at any point during the show?
I: Before it started I did wonder whether I would feel like that or whether there might be something that tugs at the heart, but I was surprisingly calm, or rather, normal (lol).
――You already decided to continue the band with four members, but when did everyone come to that decision together?
I: Not too many days after Sakurai-san passed, the four of us gathered and confirmed each of our intentions. Right from the start, I have never thought about stopping activities as a band or starting something else altogether. I wanted us to keep going with we four members, so that’s what I told the other three. And by that point, there wasn’t a member who was in doubt anymore.
――Your new album, スブロサ SUBROSA is the first album that was produced with this new formation. Tell us about the changes you encountered during the production process.
I: Well, about that, there weren’t really any big changes but if I had to say, there was a tendency to deliberately eliminate parts that sounded melodious. Since it’s not Sakurai-san singing but Hoshino (Hidehiko, guitarist) and myself, we decided to avoid letting anything go too far towards being melodious. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it rap, but we decided that it would be better if the singing part had more emphasis on rhythm instead too. That said, I always thought I had been making whatever music I wanted to make but actually, on a subconscious level, I had been composing for the vocalist who is Sakurai Atsushi. This is what I realised for the first time now that he isn’t around.
――In your MC during the aforementioned Budokan show, you said, “BUCK-TICK will still be made up of five members going forward.” So, does Imai-san sense Sakurai-san’s presence in this new album too?
I: No, I don’t think it’s there in this album. However, till now, Sakurai-san had always been the frontman of BUCK-TICK and our vocalist. We’ve all influenced one another over all these years so in that sense, I believe that there’s “something” that he has left with us. That said, in reality, the four of us are the ones who are actually doing the work, and to me, this album is something that the four of us made so…… On the topic of Sakurai-san, I feel that it’s good enough that each person keeps him in their hearts.
――Perhaps not just the band members, but also the listeners should all feel free to feel whatever they feel. Actually, the lyrics of the songs in this album also……
I: Ah, that’s definitely up to everyone to interpret on their own, isn’t it?
――You’ll leave that to the listeners?
I: That’s right. Because you’re meant to have fun deciphering the lyrics and reading deep into them. On this, I won’t say anymore (lol).
――I believe that no one could’ve imagined that such a big change would come upon the band more than 35 years after their major debut. But as a result, it not only brought about a new wave of creativity, but also, I could feel a strong sense of accomplishment from the band through this album.
I: There’s definitely a sense of achievement. And in terms of live performances, there’s a part of me that felt like I couldn’t possibly keep wandering around the stage with my guitar the way I did forever, because I actually was getting kind of bored of that myself too (lol). People might misunderstand when I say this, but I feel like this was a form of a turning point in itself. I have a strong desire to bring about an ever cooler BUCK-TICK, so I’m also looking forward to whatever happens going forward.
