L'arc~en~ciel PSYCHOSONIC SHAKE vocal:hyde,guitar:ken,bass:tetsu,drums:sakura "a story buried beneath the desert" Having welcomed new drummer Sakura into the band, L'arc~en~ciel has finally released their first album "Dune". A limited, mail order only pressing (9 songs, special jacket) is first being released on 3/21, and on 4/10 a special version with one extra song is also planned. With this new album as a birthing of the member's combined styles, who knows what kind of evolution they will show to us... --Did you decide on the new drummer Sakura through your session work with him? Tetsu: Yes. --What were your personal feelings about the sessions, Sakura? Sakura: ...they were interesting (laughs). --What did the rest of you feel about Sakura? Hyde: I thought he was really good, that his drumming had a different style. Although he did some weird things too (laughs). I felt he was a really tight drummer. But when I first met him I thought "what a scary guy!" (laughs). --That was your first impression when you met him? Hyde: Yes. He seemed really unapproachable, but as we talked to him more and more, I gradually started to think "ah, he's a sweet, good person." (laughs) Ken: For me, when I first met him, and from then on we talked a lot. (laughs) I thought he was easy to talk with. Tetsu: When we got together for the session, I wasn't really sure either way. --So what was the point you asked him to join the band? Tetsu: It was a gamble. --In what ways? Tetsu: Personally, for us. Hyde: (laughs) We were thinking about which way we should go as a band.. something very bizzare, something fun? We decided to leave it up to chance and said "let's just let the chips fall where they may". --Was it something of a gamble for Sakura too? Sakura: It was. I've drummed around for a lot of bands before this, but drumming for one band only and being a part of that band required a change in my perspective and mood. Also, everything I had done until now was completely musically different as well, so even during the sessions I felt that there was something of a gap between us. But we were close in age, and the music I personally listened to was not so different from L'arc~en~ciel. --When you recorded this first album, is there anything you discovered about each other? Hyde: In recording you can layer sounds, and come up with something you couldnt get from a live performance, and so you have to think of things to express those new parts, not just what you had done before. I thought everyone came up with wonderful ideas during the recording. Ken: Rather than "discovery" I would say it was more like "confirmation". Places where I normally thought "he'll probably play it that way" or "oh, he must be thinking that", after the recording I would think to myself "yeah, he did it that way!". There were a lot of instances like that. --In a good sense, were there any times when your expectations were betrayed? Ken: In that sense too, from the beginning there were places I predicted "he'll probably do something different here", and when it happened it was like "just as I thought". (laughs) Sakura: I was surprised by them individually and as a group. They're all personalities that I haven't known.... And there's still unknown parts of them, so I am looking forward to discovering those out too. --Tetsu, having had two years of continuous band progression and changing members, how do you feel about the band now? Tetsu: I've found my actors. I've finally found the people who can fulfill my ideals for L'arc~en~ciel. --Are there any things you discovered about yourselves? Hyde: I really suck. I overestimated my abilities. Also, I was surprised at how some of the vocals came out, being that I had always sung them a certain way before. I discovered two things, that there were parts I wanted to have more life in, and that there were parts that must be fixed. The holes and mistakes in our songs that I had discovered in our previous recording expereiences were different from the holes and mistakes I found this time. Ken: Personally, upon hearing the parts I recorded it was like, "does it really sound like *this*?" --Before you went into the studio, did you have a general theme or methodology planned for the recording? Hyde: We're not the type of band that decides on a certain thing and then aims towards it, so if I were to say there was a method to our recording, it would be for everyone to do as they like. Tetsu: I thought if everyone just put forth their selves, no strings attached, then it would become "L'arc~en~ciel". Hyde: Like a natural progression. We wanted a sound that was encompassing and enveloping, otherwise it wouldn't have the right feeling. Hard, rough music has its good points, but it wasn't the feeling we were going for. --That said, how do you feel about how the songs came out? Hyde: ......I'm happy with them. (laughs) --You had to think there for a second! Hyde: We had some difficulties with the technique aspect of the recording, so I wasn't completely relieved until the end of it. We had very little time at the end, and though I'm pleased with it, there are stressful memories as well. --What was difficult in particular? Hyde: This is my own fault, but I was slow to finish the lyrics and vocal melodies... --Because of time constraints? Or just thinking too much? Hyde: Both. There was no time... however, I don't think anything was compromised. More than making just an album of songs, we wanted something that didn't have mistakes or bad parts left in it, so there were days when we couldn't get any sleep. And when I had to sing on those days, it took time for my voice to warm up. That was really stressful and difficult. Ken: I personally wanted a sound that softly enveloped the listener, not something hard and aggressive. There were other albums that had an atmosphere I really liked which I was aiming for. --Do you think you actually achieved that atmosphere? Can you really feel it? Ken: We did. And in doing so I think the album is a success. Sakura: More than a method or theme, most important for me was trying to get a sound that was all my own. Even though I had no time to practice before the recording, and there were many songs to remember, I didn't want to make it sound like I was just "doing my job", but rather to express myself in the music. --The result? Sakura: I think it came out quite good. (laughs) Although next time I'd like to put even more of my own style into it. --And Tetsu? Tetsu: Since the songs are well composed in the first place, I was confident that if I just went along it would come out well. --You went straight into it without any preparations? Tetsu: None. (laughs) Even if you couldn't follow or hear the bass lines at our shows, you can on the CD. I wanted basslines that weren't too flashy or too simple... I did think about that. Ken: There were new songs too, and not knowing how we would finish any of them, we went into the recording and completed them. --You hadn't finished them before the recording? Tetsu: That's right. Ken: We had the basic shape of the songs... we all followed our own styles. The bass was led by the drums, then the guitar would follow the bass, and the vocal would come in then. --Didn't that put a lot of responsibility on the drum part? Sakura: It wasn't like that at all (laughs). The composer would show me the song, then I would express my own image of it through the drums, also trying to put my own style in. To me, these were all new songs. --Well, let's have introduce the album. Who made the title "Dune"? Tetsu: Hyde did. Hyde: Translated directly it means "sakyuu", but it evoked the image of the desert [[sabako]] for me. But "Sand" and "Desert" have different nuances to them, so I made it "Dune". To me, even though the desert is a land of nothingness, its a place of countless tales and stories buried beneath. There are many different tales in this album and I thought it was an appropriate title. --Song Introduction-- 1. "Shutting from the Sky" (composition: l'arc~en~ciel / lyrics (all songs): hyde) Tetsu: This is a very old song, and one we play every show, but for the album we changed the arrangement. Hyde: At first it was a song without much breadth or spaciality, but with the re-arrangement, the songs atmosphere and the nuance of the lyrics have pleasantly changed... it feels like its final form now. We wanted it to have more spaciousness and a stronger, catchy chorus. At a glance the song just seems bright and happy, but I want people to feel that on the contrary, the lyrics describe a drowned self being overwhelmed... 2. "Voice" (composition: ken) Ken: This was recorded for the omnibus album "Gimmick", but its grown up some since then (laughs). We came closer on this album to what we wanted to do with the song. 3. "Taste of Love" (composition: ken) Ken: Its a new song. It has a slightly different atmosphere from the previous two songs, and I think something comes out here that hasn't been seen in l'arc~en~ciel before. 4. "Entichers" (composition: hyde) Hyde: This is also a song we've had for a long time, and its changed almost completely. Its different from what I thought it would be like when completed. It was missing something, and we investigated into that and came up with the result you see on the cd. Before the song's mood was very hard, and although the music is now soft, the spirit of the song is still rough. 5. "Floods of Tears" (composition: tetsu) Tetsu: We put this song out as a single, but we re-recorded it for this cd. The image we had when we made the song was of the wind blowing and dead leaves being swirled into the sky... and its raining, right? Hyde: I think.. (laughs).. the composer of the song is having the wind blown on him and the writer of the lyrics is being rained on. Tetsu: But in a broader sense we're together. 6. "Dune" (composition: tetsu) Tetsu: I wrote this song so long ago that I can't remember what I thought of it then, but the lyrics Hyde wrote for it match the image I had exactly. Hyde: The song title shares its name with the album, but they are entirely different things. I wanted to have fun when I sang it. The meaning of the lyrics will probably be misinterperted, but if you consider "suna no machi" (town of sand) to be a city that's actually near me, you may understand. I only sing about things around me, so consider the fantastical stories I make to be allegories of a sort. 7. "Be Destined" (composition: ken) Ken: I wanted to express an emotion of apathy, coldness. It's a new song. Hyde: From the beginning I thought I would write some interesting lyrics for this; its an experimental song. The first half is easy enough to enjoy, but the latter half has subtle melody lines in it. So if people think "Hyde, you were thinking so seriously about this...", well.... . I think this song was success in this way. 8. "tsuioku no joukei" (composition: l'arc~en~ciel) Hyde: Like the first track, this song changed into something more pleasant. The lyrics in the chorus changed a little from the live version too. The content of the lyrics have a hard, un-gentle edge to them. 9. "as if in a dream" (composition: ken) Ken: We finished this song last summer. I want people to listen to it as they drive. Personally, it had something new in it for me. 10. bonus track "ushinawareta nagame" (composition: ken) Ken: At first I wrote this song on guitar, and intended it to be that way. But we had already used accoustic guitar like that on track number 8. So we found a person who played keyboards and had them play the parts guitar couldn't do on piano. This is the first time the image in my head has been exactly realized by the song. --The 10th track is only on the 4/10 released version, right? With the addition of this song, in what ways do you think the 4/10 version differs from the mail order limited press version released 3/21? Ken: I personally think it shows a whole different L'arc~en~ciel with the extra song. In which sense I also think its a bonus track. Hyde: Basically, the album is complete with the nine songs, but the extra song acts as a more final, resounding silence after the curtain falls. To put it in movie terms, with the extra song, its like a movie that has a happy end even though the main hero dies...is that really a happy end? That's the "punch line" at the end of the album. Tetsu and Sakura: What he just said. --(laughs) If you could express this album in just a few words? Tetsu: "PSYCHOSONIC SHAKE" (laughs) Sakura: Its the starting point for the four of us. Without doing any lives, its an album we've made only through rehearsals and recording. I think from here we will evolve. That and "PSYCHOSONIC SHAKE". (laughs) Hyde: (laughs) It has more than just a surface, it also has substance and meaning. Ken: L'arc~en~ciel's atmosphere permeates the album, and it came out how we thought it would. Please listen and see for yourself. (laughs) --What are your live plans after this release? Tetsu: In april we're planning on "SONIC GIG II". --Well, if you have any thoughts on the shows from here on out, or any ambitions or dreams youd like to share, please tell us. Tetsu: As for dreams, I'd like this band to continue on for a long time. --How should you go from here to make that happen? Tetsu: Isn't it very bad to consciously think about things while you do them? I think so. I think it will be most beautiful if we just let things happen naturally. --But in past interviews you mentioned words like "strategy" and "calculation"? [[senryaku, keisan]] Tetsu: That was because at that time, we had to plan all our *business* strategies and such on our own. It didn't mean that musically we calculate everything out. --And now you have staff that can take care of those things for you, leaving you to spend more time on your musical activies. Tetsu: That's right. Ken: For now, we've completed an album, and I'd like people who hear it to come and be a part of our live shows too. Hyde: Up till now there's been things we've been unsettled about, and theres parts of us that haven't been able to fully enjoy the shows.. lately that's faded though. To do lives which we have more fun is a goal, and I want people to come see our new selves... please come see us (laughs) Sakura: We'll be doing many shows soon, and if you come see them L'arc~en~ciel will change too. You will get to see a high tension l'arc~en~ciel I think. Hyde: I want to improve our artistic side, that's a goal we always carry with us. Besides that, I want to keep our current attitude as we progress...right now its very smooth, and we all get along great. --So you could describe this release as "the best era, the best l'arc~en~ciel"? Tetsu: Yes.