Karyu Gt.Angelo - Rock and Read 044

So let’s start to talk about Angelo, when you just joined for a year, and the band is active, do you feel any pressures? Since the rest of the members have rich careers, they should have been reliable. Do you feel enriched this year?

It’s been very busy for recording and live. Sure it is a very enriched year. And I kept feeling pressure in the band, especially during the recording process. It’s obviously that those 3 people (Kirito, Takeo, Kohta) are full of experience, I keep my dedication to shock them.

“Dedication” sounds like a bad word (laugh)

It’s not like that, I wish my ability and my skill could amaze them.

Talking about Careeer experience, I don’t think it’s such a gap?

But yes, I think so.

So to say, D’espairsray is under the same scene as Angelo, it’s like joining a rival’s band, so it’s understandable to keep that dedication.

To me, I don’t really want to lose to anyone, whatever the band or person  that is. Even when the time D’espairsray did the opening band for PIERROT, I knew we couldn’t win over them but I just didn’t want to lose. So when dealing with the same members, it’s hard for me suddenly change that feeling. Plus, I feel if I don’t strive, I may fade out. That’s how I started, and right now I still feel so. If I must make great effects, that’s the pressure I felt.

When joining the band, were you tried to coordinate the other members?

Quite a lot. Especially in live. If you’ve seen lots of my live performance you should understand. At first it was like I once went back to the state of flat. By the experience I have in the past decade, at first I wasn’t able to extend it. It was unconsciously done, I was thinking, maybe I was changing. But in the 3 days of this August’s Shibuya-AX  performance, I felt like I finally be able to continue my previous performance style.

The new Angelo’s tour started from last year’s November, that time were you struggling?

Yes, I was. At the first era of the tour, after the show I went very boozy…Even in the blog (the IPM blog) I have written words like “I’m trying.”, I wanted people to hear my feelings, and that’d help me to accept myself.

Self-implying?

Yes. Such case also happens. Every show I kept fumbling. For me, the reason why I think it was fun was that I could keep fumbling.

When you became the official member of the band, do you feel the distance between you and other 3, like, “me and the guests.” “me and the band”?

Maybe I have, at first year, I was catching their every mood.

When in the live, any awkward moment when you were talking, did you felt you were inappropriate?

Even now I got awkward moments. But, that was not scolding. I asked myself maybe it’s because I paid too many attention on the atmosphere? which led the awkwardness.

Is that how you self-implying?(laugh) In order to get through the struggling, did you ask yourself, I should do that, I must do that, any theme you established for yourself?

I’ve considered those too. It’s hard to give a clear answer. Maybe I can’t give you an answer at all. First of all, make music, and understand my character, and get accepted by the others, “Maybe it’s not matching the band”, “maybe this song could play at live”, “maybe I could”, “as Angelo’s Karyu, I can do many interesting things too, can’t I?” That’s the thought of fumbling. There’s no clear answer I can give to you.

Karyu, you are really pessimistic..

Pessimistic, am I?!

Maybe I used the bad word, when you consider a thing, it seems this thing keeps pressuring you.

Ah, I see. That’s how I see things, even though I really don’t want to see things like that. (laugh)

I think you must have some depressed time, “Could I still continue in this band?”

Talking about this, I had same feeling in my previous band too. And the thoughts about how to conquer it.

(In D’espairsray) You were musically the leader of the band, did you often feel the pressure?

It was so. But “I have to first make music that I like”, making the music based on my own worldview. But after that I felt still I couldn’t continue, at that time, I was struggling, and later I received the members messages, and together we went further.

But comparing to the joining of Angelo, surely that struggling is less?

During the live, I think I no longer struggled, especially the Shibuya AX’s 3 days’ shows, the first day when we did the tie bands were also very good I think, obviously I’m the person who needs stimulation.

Your natural fighting instinct was aroused at that time?

Certainly. I felt great when other bands’ fans were watching me.

The bands that were performing at that 3 days, have you communicated with them in the past?

Yes, all of them. Because they were all the bands in my generation. After the live, the talks were like those in the Classmates Reunion.(laugh) and we encouraged each other.(laugh) But when entering the hall, because the real show came, we didn’t talk to each other a lot. I had lots of preparation to do, and in order to give myself higher tension.That’s what the tie bands’ event should be, isn’t it? At that day, in that situation, I felt the feeling in the past was back, maybe my performance changed, but I wasn’t intended to change, it naturally happened. During the performance I still felt the worrisome, but when our stage was over, I felt “that’s it!”. The decade I’ve been through in my music career, finally I felt it growing in Angelo.

The growing shall mean a lot. The lives from live houses, to halls and outdoor stages, different stages different energy.

I’ve experienced from small stages to big stages in a very short period, I felt like I learned through Angelo’s past from their footprints.

When in the outdoor stage, your MC was very good too, any memory of it?

I think I spoke too much. (Laugh) But, right, I remember the first time when I came to Tokyo, the show I saw was Hibiya Amphitheater, I went to see CRAZE. Now I was standing in the same stage, as a performing band, “The memory.” So many things gone through for so many years, a long lost feeling, like gone back to youth.

Right, you left Yamaguchi to Tokyo, what made you decide so?

For the band. (laugh)

Just for the band, there were people who went to Tokyo to study  in the musical college.

I got the Musical College entrance, but that was just an excuse for the permission of my parents. Making the band was my real wish. Wherever the school I went to, the taught content was not what I wanted. “If this kept going on how would I catch my dream?” So I must first form a band, that was why I quickly quit the school later.

How quick?

About half year when I entered the college. I still felt sorry for my parents.. In order to focus on doing the band, I had to. At that time I didn’t decide if I should enter the V-Scene. I even feared the V-fans, I supposed they were mad.

But you just feel the passion to do it (the V-Scene)?

I didn’t say I need to do it. But I have a strong passion. At that time I watched the CRAZE’s live performance. My tension got very high the day before it, and when I saw them, I was comparing myself, from my style to theirs.(laugh) Now when I saw the people standing on the same seat I used to be standing, I wished they could feel the same excitement and impression as I had been.

Wish to let them feel what you were as an audience, and what you are as a performer.

Yes. By holding such confidence, I stood on the stage. At that youth time, I had the ambition but I didn’t know how to express them out. I didn’t knew what to do about it, and if my band failed, I had to go back to the hometown, I didn’t want to hear the words like “You’ve failed, that’s why you were back.”, If I can’t accomplish anything in Tokyo, too shameful to get back. At that time I felt very lonely, mentally it was quite lost.

You had the dream, but felt anxious about it.

Yes, to me, I had a clear dream, but didn’t know the techniques to achieve it. I was struggling, I wish to soothe the past of me.

You must had considered lots of negative things at that time.

Yes, at that time, I thought, maybe I should just make the tracks I like. I went through them back and forth until I satisfied my own. I didn’t have a band, and really knew very few people. Even if I made tracks, nobody is criticizing me, it was all just me to me. When doing it, I once looked back too. I guess at that time my own music style was created. At that time, all I told myself was :”hurry up!”(laugh) Stop keeping myself at home, maybe I should get out and meet people, by thinking of that, I went to that show. I think that was a turning point for “Karyu”. I wish to take this chance to tell all the people who want to start music career, if you are reading my interview. Hurry up!  be confident and keep going. In this way, I think you could make it. I think lots of composer are penetrating themselves, maybe trying to get out, be more confident, fight more, instead of frustrating yourself, I think that will help you grow faster.

Maybe when the tie-bands outdoor shows were settled, you still were struggling?

I don’t think so. When I stood on the stage, I already made my mind, how to appeal to the past of me, to do a show to the past of me and to tell him that I’m good. Of course, not all the puzzling of me were gone, I’m always confusing about which path is the correct one. But, when you keep walking, of course you’ll have the confusion, when it occurs, you still need to move on, it’s those feelings changing me.

It looks like, recently you were not too negative. (maybe comparing the last time’s interview of RR?)

No, I’m actually a very positive people!(laugh) People have two sides of personality is fine. When my previous band disbanded, I was quite depressed, I must have said lots of negative things, and every day I got drunk, and didn’t want to think about anything.

In order to escape from the reality, you bathed in alcohol every day.

Yes, it was so. Actually, when I got the offer from Angelo, I was asking, in my current state, could I really continue? And plenty of negative thoughts were flying in my mind, I really can’t do it can I? And when having the thoughts of those, I poured myself alcohol over and over.

Like a picture of a useless man.

I was really feeling so. I really had nothing to do in the first half of last year, half year of free time, I felt useless, and lost my strength. Because before that, I was making albums, focusing on how to make better music, and thinking about making the band into a higher level, that was my life, and suddenly that life was gone. I felt I didn’t have any strength to make music anymore. The Senpai around me tried to persuade me that I should keep make music, or do the preparation for the next band. I took those advice and tried to create music, but when hearing it, I had no idea what was inside it, it was an empty image, I really lost on what was the path in front of me. The music I created, I couldn’t accept them myself. So to be honest, nothing was created at those days.

And comparing to the current of you?

Right now I’m very positive. The schedules are full, and lots of things I want to do. I’m so happy about it.

Oct. 4^th is a memorial day for you. What do you think as Karyu?

A guerrilla was played at that time and that was the first time 5 people shown to the world, it seemed like everyone was enjoying it. Of course it was an important day, to me it was a memorial day, I had strong feeling of showing the current of me more things than last year.

You like to call it “memorial day”.

Yes. I have lots of “memorial day”, the first day I entered the Angelo’s recording studio, the first day I started recording, the first day I got the call. They are all my own memorial day. I still remember that day, in last year’s middle of September, the mastering of album were finished, I kept practicing the tracks heavily.

“Anxious, so anxious” Were those what you said to yourself after that day?

Yes… Everyday, thinking of Angelo, doing Angelo, it comes that even in private moment everything was about Angelo, it was my Angelo Disease. (laugh)

And in the September of this year, you were recording the new album. What’s the status of it?

70%-80% of it are finished, it’s good, good!

What’s the good about it?

The concept created by Kirito is very clear, the lyrics of his worldview is so great, and music is better than the ones in BABEL. Overall, the width of music is extended, I really like it. I wish to talk about when everyone listened to it.

Talking about extending the music level, when hearing the tracks of RIP/MOMENT, you feel you were pipped out.

Yes. I held a special worldview inside it. Same when making the single “Calvary”, the reviews were good too. And my friends said, “you see, you can.” And they gave me more confident to move on, RIP/MOMENT is the result of it.

Right now Kirito has trusted you as a songwriter, in the new album, is there anything you wish to do as a songwriter, any big theme behind it?

Yes. A week before the deadline, I sent the tracks. And he said “All are good.” Because there were still 1 week left, so I was thinking about making some ballad. But the results were, I failed..(bitter smile) At first, I made 2 ballad, but I wasn’t impressed.. And then 3 days were left, because I can’t make ballad so I suddenly changed my mood and created a non-ballad song, and was accept too… But, I still didn’t make ballad..

Why you are so persisted on making a ballad?

Because I can’t make it, for so many years. I’ve made ballad, but I’m not impressed, I wish to conquer it.

As a listener, do you like ballad too?

Yes. Ballad is the form that could resonate into your heart. To me, making a cool track is rather easy to me. And for ballad, the middle tempo is more focused, so if not fight for it, it wouldn’t be created. I could pour out the feeling into a track, as a track it was good but, whatever how hard I tried, the ballad failed to express my deep emotion, to me they were not good ones.

In the history,  there were some rock bands that got breakings of releasing a ballad, is there any ballad you heard that made you cry?

KATZE’s ballad always does. And BOØWY’s ballad too. I like BUCK-TICK’s ballad too, and biork’s ballads. The tracks that I heard when I was a student hit my heart more.

What about “Last Letter”?(A track that Kirito made in PIERROT, which he also wrote a fiction inside the booklet)

Of course. The first time I saw them in Budokan live. When I enter into the hall, it was “Last Letter”. Waaaa, what an amazing track, I thought. And after listening to it, I was a bit vexed about myself, I wished making ballad tracks like it. And when I watched the movie “Armageddon”, the Aerosmith’s ballad in that movie hit me too. I remember my staff always sang this Karaoke after the drink. Even though he’s not Steven Tyler (the singer of Aerosmith?), I still love it when he sang.

Karyu also loves to sing in the Karaoke?

I sing sometimes, but it’s embarrassing to sing in front of everybody, I hum secretly.

But first of all, as a songwriter in the band, it’s a hurdle you want to surpass in the future?

Yes, I have to surpass it. I made a summary of my past songwritings, it seems I create better tracks in winter. That’s why, in this year’s winter, I want to try to make ballads.

And surely you tried to write lyrics too?

No.. I stopped making it. I think my lyrics sounds like a pervert.(laugh) I’ve read my own lyrics, in D’espairsray I’ve written some, some were erotic, some like I had taken drugs, tracks like those were a lot.(laugh)

Maybe that’s your point of view of the world.

You can say that. Rather than the real-worlds worldview, I prefer writing movie-like worldview lyrics, so sometimes it looked very unreal, and inside it, it was my own aspiration. And I felt embarrassing to write them straight..

Have you ever have any ambition in writing greater lyrics?

No. I think it better left to Kirito-san. I prefer composing more music, I’ve stopped writing lyrics. But as I have passion to music, maybe things will change in the future. Right now what I mainly focused is to create ballad that I’m impressed about. I’ve struggling in it, but failed. And that track I made when I changed my mood during the ballad-creating process, it was one of my best track IMO. At that time I just wanted to get out all of my stress, and put all my emotion into good music, to forget about all the rest, in the end, the melody was very great, I represented my own feeling into it I think.

It’s not something you thought to impress the others, but yourself.

Yes, it’s a pure of me. Normally, more or less, I’ll consider several aspects when creating the track, how to make the track fitting the main theme, and what it would fit in the live. But that time, I didn’t. I didn’t even care if it would be selected. It’s a very pure of a track. For such a track in our new album, please listen to it.

Suddenly you started to advertise it.. It must be happiness when the members accepted it and put it into the album.

Yes. It’s truly artist’s best moment. As a track first, get myself accepted and then members accepted, in the end, accepted by the fans of the world. The first listeners are the members, so when they say “it’s a good track”, I was so happy.

You might struggling when joining the band, but now you felt, the most important is to express yourself the true form.

I must. Right now I’m thinking about surpass my own further. First express myself, then thinking about how to make the other members express naturally on my music.

Rise yourself into “Look, that’s Angelo’s guitarist, Karyu!”, is that so?

Maybe I’m on the half of it. (laugh)

Not again, the negative feeling…

Again. (laugh) Nope, I’m always like that. Even the new album is finished, released, everyone loves the new tracks, and feeling confident because of it, but that’s just half of my expectation, maybe it shouldn’t be written here. I also wish to see the improvements of our selling records.

That’s an important thing too. Maybe it’s not a good thing to be mentioned, but the selling records show the number of people who’s listening to it.

Yes, I’m quite attached to it.

Sure, if making records was just for satisfaction as a hobby, why not doing it like when you first came to Tokyo, make tracks only heard by yourself.

Yeah(laugh), I don’t know what fans were thinking but I wish to see a good selling record.

Is it a thought suddenly came to your mind recently?

No, I have those thoughts long time ago. Obviously if the selling record is bad, the money came from makers and offices is lesser. I’ve had such experience in my previous band, while I had to calm down and consider how to promote with less money..(laugh) I know that I can’t do it as a single person, but at least I wish to surpass the 3 people’s Angelo’s selling records. Before I joined the band, Angelo have performed in Budokan, so I wish to surpass it, as an equivalent experienced member. Maybe it was just my own thoughts, but I see the new Angelo as a starting point. The thought of standing in a higher level never was wiped out.

And if that number became the number of your unfinished ballad..

That’ll be the best, even if it’s not the ballad. Talking about the current Angelo, I really wish more and more people could hear them.

BTW, in the position of your stage, do you also feel such confidence/eagerness?

Recently, I think my MC didn’t suck..(laugh)

Ah, comparing to your previous MC? But in the previous band, I don’t feel you sucked at it.

In D’espairsray, you know there’s a much more natural dumbass called Tsukasa (laugh), but at times I felt I was not good at it. And when being a member of Angelo, I felt it a lot. “Am I making the awkward pause again?”

Besides MC, is your live performance getting audacious as days go by?

I think so. At least, what I think about performing, at least I should be the spotting one, and during the live, how to accomplish it. But right now I’m still losing to Kirito-san, that man is strong, his presence, I could feel his overpower even he is just standing there.

That’s his aura on stage.

Right, the aura. So right now I can’t be the center of the stage. And after the live, I asked the interviewer, is my recent performance great? And also asked the friends. But honestly, the center of the stage will be the spotting one, so I unconsciously moved to the center. I’d love to give my past experience of performance into Angelo’s stage.

I think it’s great that at times the guitarist’s presence stronger than the vocalist. Vocalist is the band’s face, the gorgeousness is from its guitarist. Lots of bands are like that.

Ah, I don’t understand you, are you talking about BOØWY or van halen?

Beside those, and lots of other rock bands. As an official member of Angelo, to threat Kirito’s presence in the live is also important, I think that’s the amazement as a band.

True. That’s why I sometimes approached to Kirito-san unconsciously to gain my own spotlight. I want to release myself out in the stage. And in the Shibuya-AX 3 days’ performance, I finally made it. Before that I was fumbling.

What do you think as a twin guitarist?

At first, I didn’t feel great about it, lots of things happened, in the recording process. I’ve done lots of arrangement different than the past’s. Lots of stimulation aroused. Twin guitarists can also give great effects on live. But I’ve been a single guitarist in the band for a long time, and because me and Giru both tried getting used to each other, those days we were also fumbling. And lots of cases are that, Giru arranged some parts, they became a new part of my creation, also sometime I’ll keep the original version of Giru’s work, it went on days by days. But at first, to be honest, I didn’t want to have twin guitarist.. In fact, in the D’espairsray, someone gave the opinion of having a twin guitarist too, and the members suggested that maybe when you find a suitable guitarist you’ll change my mind. And we started the audition of it, but in the end, no way.. But as for Giru, the first time when our sounds met, that was amazing, while still saying no, I wanted to taste that feeling. But maybe I already changed my mind at that moment, I wanted to see the result of my work dyed.  I think it was tough for Giru too, right now I think of him I think so. But Giru’s arrangement skill is very good.

He’s like a master of using chord.

Yes. And very good at music theory. I suck at playing anything that is not in my mind.(laugh) But Giru knows how to, when I’m playing he knows what chord I’m playing at, and at those times, he’ll create some new arrangement and phrases. With his help, I expressed more of me. And I started studying the theory too, lots of new sounds I’ve learned, we get quite well. And I’m thinking about how to get Giru’s ability out too.

And how to make the vocalist’s harmony sounds prettier is what he’s strength at.

How to seal the gap between the song’s melodies, lots of phrases were put in. the arrangement he made in this album were mostly selected. And lots of idea coming from his guitars, we get very well right now. And it’s just been 1 year.

Your rejection of having a twin guitarists didn’t last long.

No. that’s why I hope more people could listen to our new album, listen to it as a band.

You wish to perform in Budokan too. And in order to accomplish it, what you think you should do?

I maybe don’t want to say it but I thought about more. (laugh) I want to have world tours. As a member who played in Europe and America before, it kept to be a goal in me. Of course Japan is our base, but I wish more people in the world could know me by touring. It’s my dream right now.

And this year, you toured in Asia.

In the current situation, it’s hard to perform in all Asia, of course I wish to play in Asia, to overpass the frontier musically.

Talking about performing worldwide, you must be the senpai of the band.

No, I don’t feel so. It’s true that my previous band had played live in Europe and America, and also in Asia. But still lots of things were undone. I felt that It was ended at half way. I really wished the audience to see me one more time, I had the passion to let them see the same quality’s live as in Japan. Same quality of lighting and setting, but suddenly it ended…. So I want to continue it in Angelo, I understand that if I can’t extend in Japan, it’s hard to extend into the world. But, I’m not younger anymore.

All of sudden?!(laugh) How old are you.

…I don’t want to tell, it’s a secret.

I think you are still ambitious like a new comer, you have a never grown old leader!

But I’m really not young anymore. Right now I don’t have strength to play like fireworks. So I want to shine in the very bright way at once. That’s my recent topic, I’ve been doing bands for so long, I really wish to reach to a new level. At least once, I’m talking about it in a positive way.

You are the one who don’t want to lose.

It’s always me. But of course I have lost too, and after that I was so weak that everyone could beat me..(laugh) But when I went out of home to tell myself, move on! I’m just that type of person, and for a year I’ve been through, I’ve grown a lot. Let me say that one more time please, I wish lots of people could feel it and be happy about it in our new album.

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