Weekly Playboy 12.28 No. 52 - Kaoru InterviewTranslated by
Nao at
www.orchestrated-chaos.comDIR EN GREY, a band that debuted during the golden age of Visual Kei bands in the late 90s, is now popular worldwide.
They removed their loud(flashy) clothes and make-up, the reason is that they have successfully transformed to a dark violent metal sound, the leader Kaoru tells us of their daily battles overseas.
"I thought that they called us from overseas just for show"
"When we wear make-up we don't look as if we're dribbling with sweat"
--The new single "Hageshisa to, kono mune no naka de karamitsuita shakunetsu no yami" 's title is symbolic, the song has a very complex development.
Kaoru: We wanted to cram in a lot of things in the single. We did it without deciding so much on our path.
--Honestly, have you ever thought of performing this complex song in a live is hard?Kaoru: I always think about that(Laugh). We made the song while thinking of the live atmosphere but we don't pay much attention to the performance. Sometimes I have thoughts when playing a phrase, "Will I be able to play this during lives?"(Laugh)
--Were you conscious that you were doing visual kei at the time you formed the band?Kaoru: Even from before the word itself visual kei didn't catch on. But I thought that it a was common path for bands to wear flashy clothes and be on a flashy stage. When I was in middle school and high school, I was listening to X and the like.
--So you became free from the equation that Music=Flashiness, around what time did you turn into your current style?
Kaoru: Around 4-5 years ago. When we started thinking that we should express more of the inner aspect, I noticed that in whatever kind of feeling we performed we will still look like we're lumped along with the others. For example, even if my sweat is really dribbling, when I wear make-up it won't look like that. Also, you'd want to naturally wipe all that sweat but you can't (Laugh). I started noticing those things and doing lives became annoying. And then, even if the live starts at 6pm in the evening, but because of make-up we have to be in the venue at 10am in the morning. It felt like we have done a lot (Laughs).
--So what was the reason why you wanted to express more of the inner aspect?Kaoru: I think the feelings in the song became richer and the flashy outfits will lose against the song. Even before our world-view is very dark but when the make-up was gone it became even more dark.
Weekly Playboy 12.28 No. 52 - Kaoru Interview for more!
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