音楽と人 PHY- November 2010
Liner Notes
Translation: Lola
[RAZZLE DAZZLE FRAGILE]
Sakurai: Our manipulator Yokoyama-san devoted himself completely to this intro. And well, I feel as though it embodies the theme Imai-san was going for.
Imai: The image I was going for was something like creepy chamber music. The kind that would play in a mansion.
Hoshino: To me it feels like it's saying, "And so it begins~".
Higuchi: The manager just sent it to me all of a sudden saying, "This is the intro". So at first I was a little lost *smiles*.
Yagami: I had no idea whatsoever that this song was going to be used for our intro *laughs*. I didn't even know Imai was working on anything for an intro. So I was surprised when I first heard it during the track down.
[RAZZLE DAZZLE]
Sakurai: After the middle stage of recording Imai's world was swiftly taking shape and you see it first and foremost with this song. It really raised my spirits when I sang it.
Imai: This is the first song I wrote with the album in mind. I wanted the sound of the song to really express the feeling I was going for. From the word 'Action!', the imaginary world starts or something like that.
Hoshino: I think this is probably one of the first songs I got from Imai-san but at the time I didn't know it would be the title song, even so I thought we should draw from the energy of this song for the album.
Higuchi: I thought this song would be the first. And I think the image of the album will come through even more quickly when we do it live.
Yagami: The image I get is of the clamour of an incredibly extravagant ball. Maybe our set for the lives will reflect that somehow.
[狂気のデッドヒート]
Sakurai: Perhaps I would say that I sang this song with the feeling of being enraptured. Perhaps because I have felt that way myself at times. So I thought I would try singing it seriously and comically while actively being intense.
Imai: This is such a Hide song. I thought it was rather rough when I heard the demo because at first it didn't have that electro feeling at all. But with that added to it, it's got a ska vibe that's extremely cool.
Hoshino: I warped the rock sound of the guitar for the demo as well but with the feeling of playing nonstop and I wanted the rhythm to have a very driven dance beat.
Higuchi: When I listened to the song with Acchan's lyrics, they blew me away and it's been a long time since I've felt that way *smiles*. It makes for an interesting balance with the other songs on the album.
Yagami: When I first listened to it, I thought it had that 80s sort of pop feel to it, so I tuned my drums to match making it a little high pitched.
[独壇場Beauty -R.I.P.-]
Sakurai: When I was recording the vocals for this song, because it has such a rushed melody it felt like I was completely finished in the blink of an eye.
Imai: I put the R.I.P. because I figured it would be better to be clear. With Lucy-chan (from LAZY guns BRISKY) singing the chorus it makes the song sound fresh *smiles*.
Hoshino: I'd say it has an 80s era dance beat with that sort of glittery image and because of what Imai himself told me I felt I did it and understood it *smiles*.
Higuchi: The riff is so melodious. We don't really have many songs like this. We played it for the first time recently for an event this summer and live it's really exciting.
Yagami: It starts with this Ramones sort of feeling but then becomes a disco tune. I found that interesting. The chorus is pretty good too isn't it. It sounds young *smiles*.
[羽虫のように]
Sakurai: It has that sort of melodious pop element from the past but to put it rather simply, this song puts the melody first.
Imai: I thought it'd be good if I could express the fleetingness of life through the brief existence of an insect. Since the image I wanted to express was very clear to me, the lyrics came to me quite suddenly.
Hoshino: It makes your heart stop from the power of the emotion *smiles*. There's something unique about the lyrics too.
Higuchi: My first impression of the song was that it was incredibly techno chic but with this song as well, once I heard it with Acchan singing, the image really changed for me.
Yagami: It reminded me of 'Baby, I want you' when I played it. Imai told me he wanted me to play inorganically. Basically to make the sound more human.
[妖月 -ようげつの宴-]
Sakurai: Because I wrote these lyrics knowing they were going to be coupled with a theme song for an anime, I made the outlook expressed in this song match. And personally, I like it.
Imai: We changed the arrangement from the single for this one too, it's better now that it's noisier *smiles*.
Hoshino: We rearranged it for the album. CUBE JUICE-kun helped us out with the rhythm and stuff. His sections fit in seamlessly*smiles* and the result is great.
Higuchi: Acchan and Hide really work together beautifully for this song. I feel as though the way the song was rearranged for the album suits the image better.
Yagami: I played the drums for this song in my style. You know, like Ringo Starr *laughs*. By doing that it ended up coming out like a ballad.
[BOLERO]
Sakurai: The first image that came to my mind for this song was of someone singing as they played guitar. Usually I try to break away from my initial impression when I sing but this time I stopped myself from doing that and that's a new thing for me.
Imai: The image I had in mind for this song was always the same since I gave it the tentative title of 'BOLERO'. It's meant to express a heartbeat.
Hoshino: I mean this is really an Imai song but I really like the feeling in it. The lyrics are quite deep as well.
Higuchi: At first it was Imai-kun singing in the demo but having Acchan's voice in it now changes it. And I think it shows how well Imai-kun understands Acchan you know *smiles*.
Yagami: I listened to it during rhythm rehearsals and thought wow, this song's interesting. The beginning is meant to have that tam-tam feeling and from there the rhythm builds.
[Django!!! -眩惑のジャンゴ-]
Sakurai: I sang it with a sort of dubious triviality in mind *smiles*. It's Latin style. I love it.
Imai: It's got that Latin style but with a conga rhythm. At first I thought it would be really hard to do since we had never really done anything like that before *smiles*.
Hoshino: I don't think we've ever really done anything like this up till now, like with that kind of rhythm and all that. It was insanely hard because of that but personally, I love the feeling and mood of the song.
Higuchi: Because it was our first time using a Latin beat, I found playing the bass line fun. I was looking forward to playing it since I heard the demo.
Yagami: I think this is the first time Imai used this sort of pattern isn't it? With a Latin beat. I enjoyed it. I felt like I was doing a fusion of Master Ponta-san's style *smiles*.
[錯乱Baby]
Sakurai: I think this may be the song that comes closest to what we've done previously. In regards to the lyrics, I wrote them intending them to have a wanton feel and without having any consistent story.
Imai: If there's a theme Sakurai-san is always consistent about when he sings it's that life is fleeting. And this song seems to show that.
Hoshino: I think this comes closest to what we've done previously, I mean since it's a rock song so that's what comes through strongly in the sound as well. It's evident in the riffs too.
Higuchi: From the start I thought I should warp the sound of my bass for this song because the song itself is so blunt and the distorted bass suits it perfectly.
Yagami: I think Acchan's lyrics for this are great you know. For awhile his lyrics felt a bit personal but recently it's the complete opposite. Now they're good and lively.
[PIXY]
Sakurai: The melody really stands out in this song of Hide's. The lyrics were decided with the melody in mind and so that is what comes through all the way to the end.
Imai: I really understand Hide's desire to do something different this time. The rhythm and the composition of the guitar riffs are clearly different than anything he's done before.
Hoshino: I mean I thought it'd be interesting if I did a song that was psychedelic in 4/4 time. It was just a random idea but, it turned out the psychedelic feel went really well with the rhythm.
Higuchi: The bass line for this song was surprisingly difficult. Even though there wasn't any emotional variation in it. I've played a ton of Hide's songs but even so, it was hard for me to let go of the emotional expression.
Yagami: Hide came to our rhythm rehearsal so the three of us could rehearse together and he ended up making various changes to the rhythm parts then.
[くちづけ -SERIAL THRILL KISSER-]
Sakurai: I wrote the lyrics knowing the song would be used for an anime and be on a single. It's rather unusual that a song made with that purpose makes it onto an album.
Imai: I changed the arrangement of the synthesizer to make it a little more electronic. It's more techno oriented now. But I left most of it as it was.
Hoshino: It's dark but it's got that excited feeling *smiles* and I think the album version has a different feeling than the single when you listen to it too.
Higuchi: When I first listened to the song I thought 'ah I see, so this is the kind of album we're doing I guess' but I was completely thrown for a loop *laughs*. In a good way though.
Yagami: You really can't get a full picture of the album just by listening to this song because it's a song that Imai wrote for the anime. But it does go well on the album though.
[月下麗人]
Sakurai: Initially it was just meant as something you could dance to but, gradually, it came to feel as though it was about pleading for rest due to being worn out *smiles*. It's a fairy-tale like song.
Imai: It's a serious song *smiles*. There's quite a variety of songs on the album but, this sort of song really pulls it all together.
Hoshino: It's certainly the deepest song. But while I do think it is fundamentally an Imai song, it's the kind of song that even I like.
Higuchi: For this song too, once I heard it with Acchan's vocals, my impression of it changed considerably. Imai-kun's vocals suit the song too though.
Yagami: Man, Acchan's nihilistic way of singing really hits you doesn't it. Because he's at his best when he does what he's good at. It feels like he's really coming out and saying, "I am Sakurai!" *laughs*.
[夢幻]
Sakurai: I certainly thought this song was a good candidate for a single around the time of 'Dokudanjou~'. Because it's quite pop sounding.
Imai: This is a song Hide had brewing for quite awhile. I think the arrangement changed a number of times too. It was meant to be a candidate for a single.
Hoshino: I wanted the high point of the song to have that soaring feeling you know. That's how I got this new pop melody. I think it has the feeling I was going for. Luckily *smiles*.
Higuchi: At first I thought it really didn't sound like a Hide song at all. Then I realized it was probably Hide trying to do something new in his own way.
Yagami: At first it was hard for me to understand where Hide was going with this song. I remember asking him as we were fixing the rhythm for it, "Hey, won't this be hard for Acchan to sing?".
[TANGO Swanka]
Sakurai: This really has nothing to do with an actual tango *smiles*. I sang this song in a sort of exhausted style and I think I managed that much more smoothly than previously. Perhaps my abilities have grown.
Imai: I wanted to do something simple and noisy. And we wrote the lyrics together without any established theme.
Hoshino: It's a burst of Imai's world *smiles*. I find this sort of song is becoming more and more prevalent.
Higuchi: It's got a good rhythm that makes your body move automatically. I think it's gonna be absolutely great live so I hope people will enjoy it.
Yagami: When Imai first gave me the CD with this song, he was singing the whole way through it. So I listened to the whole thing......and then I remember thinking no way, Imai's not really gonna be singing the whole song is he? I was all nervous about it *laughs*.
[Solaris]
Sakurai: Dream as long as you like.
Imai: The image I had was of the bass mixed with the synthesizer. When I told our manipulator Yoko-chan that I wanted it to be like a single street lamp in a park at night or like the lights that line the highway in the middle of the night, he was incredibly confused *laughs*.
Hoshino: Speaking of highways, this is about the road we travel right and by putting this song after [TANGO Swanka] it makes it that much more incredible.
Higuchi: I took off my headphones for this song. You might be wondering why we dropped the excitement level in this song *smiles*. But it's the rise and fall in the music that heightens the mood.
Yagami: Acchan's voice is wonderful and raw in this song. When we were deciding the order for the songs, there was a lot of careful thought involved but I was absolutely sure this song should be last. It is the one song that brings the album to a close. It's a good ending.