credits to Eleonora for translation
◆It's an amazing album
Hyde:(laugh) I made the songs before the Tokyo Dome. Then at the beginning of the year we said "Let's bring together what each of us made!". On that occasion there were plenty of songs even better than these, so we made a 12 group of extravagant ones.
◆AWAKE was intimate, and KISS feels exactly the opposite.
Hyde:No, inside me there is a clear connection. You might say that AWAKE had a worldwide outlook with war at the core and a serious feeling. And while I played with that concept for 2 years, inside me the parts that were on fire gradually changed. I wanted to sing a bit for the people near and around me. Inside me the fire was to sing something having a minimum of link. But when I was composing the melody I wasn't aware of such a view. Instead I composed to have fun. With my solo I composed among the limits of "hard rock", but this time I was doing it for Larc after all, without limits, and once again I was aware that this is a band that can do anything. So, I made songs with an extreme amplitude.
◆Like you could do anything at all.
Hyde:Sort of, up till now my prejudice about Larc was "I want it to be more rock". But with my solo I sublimated that aspect. On the other hand, I noticed that musically L'Arc en Ciel are the real challange. And that took a load off my shoulder.
◆And then everybody wrote a lyric.
Hyde: I told them that among their own songs they would have to write one lyric, a sort of obligation (laugh). Other than those the work of writing was mine.
◆Weren't you nervous as the pop songs were gradually finished?
Hyde:But since from the start I wanted a pop album, and when at last we had the final setlist of songs I was uneasy it might not.
◆And when you gave it a listen?
Hyde:"Ah, it's a pop album" (laugh)
◆And about the album title?
Hyde:I wanted a pop title, something showing a link, a bond among people, and I thought it'd be better a short one. The word matching all 3 requisites was KISS (laugh). And I think this time jacket is very well done. When I opened the booklet "Yes, this is what I wanted to say!". However, it's a jacket so much cuter than before that the meaning might be a downside.
◆I look forward to it (laugh). When I listened to the whole album I thought at lives the lyrics meaning would have reached out very well.
Hyde:Since from the Dome I changed the way I vocalize, so I think that even the way of communicate the lyrics' meaning has changed as well. Originally, unless there was a guitar producing a loud jarring sound I couldn't sing. For me karaoke was impossible, even singing to my own accompaniment felt a bit unreliable. And then I managed to sing properly even without a loud sound, though it's really the ABCs of singing.
◆Maybe you came to like your own voice.
Hyde:Of course........Because I put a real effort into it now (laugh). I came to understand many things, and singing became enjoyable. Before I have never thought there was so much enjoyment at singing. Both when recording or live.
◆Since when you came to like it?
Hyde:From the the live at Dome last year (2006)
◆But you seemed to enjoy it with your solo though.
Hyde:Yeah, but that's something completely different. In that case it was the joy of letting out my feelings, but with Larc at Dome it was the joy of singing.
◆In fact you were smiling (laugh).
Hyde:Yes. But the fact that I was smiling was because I was watching the fans smiling faces. Everybody was enjoying it so much. That made me happy. I was drawn into, in 3 hours spent on stage more than feeling hard, singing felt good and naturally I assumed that expression.
◆This time, after 9 years you did a hall tour playing many new songs.
Hyde:The menu was done to be able to listen to most of the new songs as if the tour was 2 days long. The idea was Tecchan's, the goal was to make them listen to fans as quickly as possible. But since nobody knew the songs, the audience maybe had a minor role. On the other hand, at the next Arena Tour, those who had a minor role will be the main characters, so it's gonna be interesting. Back at indies time it was normal to play songs without any sound source, wasn't it? It was also a way to symbolize a return to our origins.
◆I'd like to talk a bit about the songs. Pretty Girl is incredibly pop.
Hyde:This song, when I got the lyric, I was shocked. My mind was blown away. I heard that Kenchan said "I'll write the lyric for this song" and it took him 2 hours. He's always making jokes (laugh).When I saw the lyric "Wow, I couldn't write a lyric like this!". It seemed like he wrote it as his emotions told him, and when I read it I wondered if that would be fine. But when I tried to sing it applied to the music "Ah, isn't cool?". So it's the song I have most fun at singing.
◆Spiral?
Hyde:In Yukki's lyric I feel the early impulse of rock maybe, "This lyric reminds me of something I forgot" (laugh)
◆ALONE EN LA VIDA?
Hyde:When I heard this music by Kenchan, I had the image of a journey. Then when I replaced the image with myself, in this last 1~2 years there were many things that brought up the image of "death". With an image as real as "death", the usual scenery changed. The impression left was very strong, so I wanted to depict it somehow. The moment the scenery changed I also felt lonely. In the end we are all going to die alone, even if we have friends, even if we have a job we can like. I'm also going to die alone. And that is incredibly lonely. And I don't believe in reincarnation. To know that life is gonna end is incredibly lonely. I wanted to depict it. But the lyric isn't negative, it's a song saying that instead of looking back you should look ahead to what is left to walk.
◆Then Hurry Xmas. This was funny, the strings and jazz rhythm made me think of Disney (laugh).
Hyde:(laugh). Bingo. The goal was to make a song with a fast rhythm and a jazz atmosphere, but it took me 2 years to make it. The moment I managed was last year Christmas season "That's it!". I did my best. When I composed it, it was really funny.
◆If you were asked "did you write this song for your fans?" in which way would you answer?
Hyde:Obviously by saying I did it for me (laugh)
◆So, as last let's talk of the Arena Tour.
Hyde:Before we toured small halls, so what we couldn't do there we are gonna do it at the arena tour. The width is completely different, so it'll be much more entertaining. And then the minor role actors of the hall tour will be main characters so maybe we'll manage to do a easy going live to watch.
◆Thank you very much.
