Alice Nine’s Shou and Saga talk about their new album “Supernova," shooting the "Seven" MV, and their past 10 years as a band.
—Alice Nine’s single [Daybreak] released 3/20/2013. It’s been a year since your appearance on Vif, could you reflect on last year’s 9th anniversary?
Shou: We had a 9th Anniversary Live in response to fan requests, we had a tour that featured songs from our アリス九號. days, and released a DVD of our tour that featured songs from the last 4-5 years. I think it was a year of reflecting back and giving our thanks.
Saga: In 2012 we released the album [9] and ended the year with a tour, so that closed that era. In 2013 we introduced a new Alice Nine to Universal Music. We worked with producer Hirade-san for the first time, leaving behind our old methods of doing things and confronting new challenges. We created a lot of new songs that were different from our usual Alice Nine style and experienced sceneries we haven’t seen in 8 years at lives. And thus, we entered a new era this year.
— This is your 10th year together as a band, did you think “Ah, it’s here already?” or “Finally it’s here!”?
Shou: Even though your 10th year is supposed to be a very big deal, I didn’t realize it was approaching so soon. Our first 5 years together included times that felt both long and short, but 10 years has really gone by fast.
Saga: If you think about 10 years, it’s the same length as first year of elementary school to first year of high school, which seems like a really long time. But our activities as a band passed as quickly as the years from when you first enter high school until you graduate. Definitely it feels like a “Ah, it’s here already?” moment. There were lots of things that happened, both good and bad. 10 years really isn’t trivial. However, people around us are definitely aging. [laughs] When we occasionally meet relatives and classmates, they’ll say, “How come you guys still look so young?” Since we’re able to only do the things we want to do, it’s been a good 10 years.
—If you could say something to yourself 10 years ago what would you say?
Shou: It would be, “Please practice more.” Even though I want to vaguely say, “Do your best,” I wouldn’t have known how to in the past. However, in the end I would tell myself to do things straightforwardly, one step at a time.
Saga: Hm… I probably would absolutely not listen to whatever my current self had to say. I wouldn’t have that confidence. But now that I can see the present, I would want to convey the feeling “Just do your best” three times as much. [laughs]
— Even though you’re going to release a new album “Supernova,” your single “Shining” from two months ago was originally from your album, right?
Saga: While simultaneously working on our single and album, we had originally prepared to release a different song as our single and imagined “Shining” to be the first song on our album. During that time though, we suddenly realized that “Shining” would be a great single and thus changed the songs.
—You actually came up with the album’s theme a while ago right?
Saga: Last year after completing our tour (6/25-7/15), we started talking about creating songs for our album. We didn’t really talk about the direction album would take or how to not make the process difficult. During that time, we wanted to see what would result as we went along. However, it’s easy to recreate the feelings from our lives. Compared to before we’ve gathered songs that were simple and sensual, and we wanted to easily convey our album in a straightforward, simple way. We’ve thought about these things since the beginning. (Not completely sure about this section.)
—When you completed “Shining” did you decide on the album’s title?
Shou: We started thinking about the title only after creating all the songs. We had lots of trouble deciding what words to use. When Saga and all of us thought about the audience’s expression and the live atmosphere, we wanted to create a feeling of closeness. But beyond that point, we also thought about illustrating a deep and profound world. When contemplating exactly what words would convey such a world, the image of “a ray of light born from emptiness and bursting into a supernova” came about. The album gave off the feeling of hot energy and dizzying brightness, and so we named it “Supernova.”
—As of now the composers: Saga has 5 songs, Shou 3 songs, Tora 2 songs, and Hiroto 1 song. In terms of deciding the number of songs, how does Saga take advantage of that?
Saga: In regards to the first song, the last song and the songs in between, I decided on what the general feel of the album was going to be. During that time when I made songs while thinking about what kind of imagery to create, the number of songs naturally increased.
Shou: Saga had a very clear vision. How to convey our band, how to give our songs significance- thinking about these thing made it easier to create the album.
—In the past Shou said that since Saga’s demos were such high quality, he didn’t have to change the original melody much, is that right?
Saga: Yes I guess he didn’t change much, this time as well. [laugh]
—To what extent do you compose your songs thoroughly?
Saga: I’m very picky in the details because I want to deliver the songs properly to others. Even if the process is rough, that doesn’t stop me. Although I can do just the minimum, when I stop I find that I’ve actually given my full effort. [laugh] Since I take such care in everything, they’re usually quite complexly composed. Sometimes I feel I should apologize for that.
Shou: But his detailed obsession and ability to convey music are very good things to have.
—On a similar note, according to Tora you don’t play the bass as much?
Saga: [Laugh] I think that it’s mainly the vocals or drums that attracts you to a song. If you want to convey a song, you need expression in the main melody and a rhythm that flows with the beat. Secondly, you consider how the guitar adds to the flavor of the song. Lastly, bass. Vocals and drums are the main components, then you have the guitars, and finally the bass sews everything together.
—In previous interviews Shou said that Saga was someone who loved music with a pure heart, a true music nerd. Tora said, jokingly, that you weren’t a bassist: “I don’t know what he is, but shouldn’t he be a producer? He has that kind of almighty feeling.” What do you have to say about yourself?
Saga: To me, music always has a sense of being in imminent danger. For instance when I go to the store, it’s amazing the countless amount of new music out. There are many music “crossovers” now and twice as many artists compared to before in the 90s. Why do I think about these things…the cutting edge developments- once you understand the basic foundations of music you want to break those foundations down and try to understand everything. (Not 100% sure what he wants to say here, did my best translating. :/ I think he’s just rambling on about his theories of music.)
Shou: People like Saga- even among musicians-are rare. Even if they exist, probably not to that extent. There aren’t many who are as honest and sincere about music as him.
—Saga, how would you describe Shou’s music?
Saga: I usually think about things a bit too much, to the extent that it’s superfluous. Shou’s songs don’t give that kind of feeling. His melodies easily strikes the main points- their pureness is really great. Although his songs may seem like they can be listened to in an ordinary way, they’re unexpectedly complicated. Even before Hiroto adds to Shou’s main melody, it has a distinguishable characteristic. It’s easy to understand what kind of song it is, so it’s easy to arrange. For instance, when you add the drums, bass, and synthesizer to elaborate the song, whichever is emphasized more, you seriously lose sight of the song. But here you don’t have that problem, since the vocalist’s songs are so distinguishable.
— What things do you pay attention to when composing songs Shou?
Shou: There are three others who also compose, so I’m not afraid of being misunderstood, which allows me to create melodies that I want to sing. Since I make songs like that, I want other members to be able to easily add in the components that they want to make as well.
—I was surprised that Mobius and KID had EDM elements. KID was arranged by the two artists from Jazzin’ Park right?
Saga: After releasing GEMINI in Feb 2011 and “9” in Feb 2012, Tora said that he wanted to do EDM type music. When we held meetings to choose which songs to release, he brought songs that mixed heavy guitars with EDM. This time he added such feelings to “KID” even though it was planned to be done in our typical style. Even though he didn’t say it out loud, he still wanted to add such things.
Shou: That person, he definitely didn’t say anything! [laugh]
Saga; He just said “It’s been chosen.” [laugh] However, after it was decided, we realized that we didn’t understand much about the electronic scene. When our director realized we needed help in reaching our goals, he introduced us to Jazzin’ Park.
—When creating the original melody, did you realize what course of action it would gradually take?
Saga: We realized it a bit, but the song became something completely different. The atmosphere changed. Mobius’s melody stayed the same, but the pop-like sound turned into a completely different kind of pop sound.
Shou: Mobius became much more pure and simple. Although it has a strong rock-guitar style, we gradually scrapped off the unnecessary, excessive parts. We used a lot of Hirade-san’s (producer and arranger) strengths in this song.
—This time, did the recording go according to plan?
Saga: It went as well as it could. Shou recorded his songs at home.
Saga: We’re two people who don’t suffer from studio recordings in this time and age. I actually recorded three songs in one hour. Isn’t that amazing?! I try to shorten the recording time… but since Hiroto is so obsessed with recording everything perfectly, he didn’t finished until morning.
Shou: Yeah, they started recording at night. The sound engineers were a bit angry that they had to stay until 6 or 7am in the morning.
Saga: Even though everyone has hard times, people outside of the band will also have to suffer when Hiroto is recording. [laugh]
— [Laughs] So that’s how it is. Shou-san also recorded Daybreak’s coupling Himitsu at home. Is it starting to become a pattern?
Shou: Yeah it seems like it’s heading in that direction. I have a brand new mic as well. I recorded Shooting Star at the studio, but completed the coupling song Affection at home. But if I want to make the best product I’ll have to leave home.
—Anything interesting happened while recording?
Saga: In the chorus of +-, there’s a section that goes “ooh~ooh~” which required lots of different voices, so I used my smooth-talking (ie: seduction) to ask people to record for us. Next to the studio there’s a lot of madams on the street, but as you would expect, their “ooh~ooh~’s” were really bad. I had no choice but to do it myself, so in the beginning my voice took the place of five people’s. I asked Hiroto and Tora to do the bass part, but since it still felt a bit empty I asked the sound engineers to please help us. That still wasn’t sufficient, so I finally asked our manager to record his voice as well. But since Tora can’t hit high notes, I had to change my part one octave lower.
Shou: I also had fun recording +-. There were a lot of words in this song, so I had to sing clearly and pay attention to the details. When I start singing all those words, it increases the tension doesn’t it? This is the first time I’ve done such a thing to raise the feelings of a song.
—Listening to the lyrics, you’re left with such splendid feelings. Did you have any particular requests from others?
Shou: I didn’t have any this time. I was able to say the things I wanted to in the lyrics.
—I felt like +- was able to showcase a really great personal aspect of Shou.
Shou: It seems like that. However, I also tried to keep the feel of how Saga originally wrote the song. Saga’s songs address music in a very sincere fashion, so I tried to sing like that as well. Tora’s songs are a bit flashier.
—What do you mean? [laugh]
Shou: I write Tora’s lyrics while feeling high in spirits. [laugh] Being flashy isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it gives a rather funky, high-energy feel. Hiroto’s music leaves a reckless impression.
—I see, I see. This time in your lyrics, you seem satisfied with the feeling of shining brightly. You used stars and night sky motifs in the past- did you not want to make any changes this time?
Shou: At the root of our foundation, Alice Nine is a band that wants to give the feeling of a light that shining brightly from your dreams.
—So the title of your songs is a fundamental part of the band?
Shou: Correct.
—"Kaisen Zenya" (On the Eve of the War) leaves a big impact doesn’t it?
Shou: It was one of the rare occasions when I asked Saga “what should I call it?” After considering it together, we wanted the song and title to hold significance. Around that time we also had a live called “On the Eve of the War,” which is the English translation of "Kaisen Zenya". It was a live that was like the eve of releasing our album. We were able to see how the audience rose up in such a strange but powerful way, and so it became an important song. It’s a song that’s an anthem to our live concerts.
—For your "Seven" MV, there are also solo MV versions of each member. Please talk about the highlights.
Shou: Saga-kun was very erotic in it.
Saga: I thought a lot about how to be erotic while filming.
Shou: The MV started to become more and more charming. Since Saga gave such a sexy performance during his part, I was able to act more like myself.
— How did the solo versions go?
Shou: The staff told me to give off a sensual feeling.
—As usual, it was decided from the camera-man’s point of view.
Shou: As a vocalist, there are many times when you have to follow what the camera wants. Even if you don’t, they’ll cut it however they want. [laugh]
—I see. [laugh] Saga can you give some highlights of your solo version?
Saga: It’s the same method used during photoshoots- it feels like you’re filming porn. There’s someone like an unshaven older male filming you, saying things like [Yes! Oh! Good!] when you move the way they want. Their reactions are exactly like what you get when filming porn. [laugh]
Shou: They’ll say things like “Wow! I’ve totally fallen in love there!” [laugh]
Saga: We’re like gravure idols or pin-up girls… since we film with that kind of feeling in mind, don’t our members always make MVs that are sexy?
Shou: Tora has to completely resist from smiling or laughing.
—[Laugh] This year you guys have also decided to do various events. For instance the special prize for “Alice in KARAOKE” is to “go on a date with your favorite member.”
Shou: We thought of many different ways that would make people excited.
Saga: Nao-san is actually the best at karoke. (I think he’s being sarcastic here.) Even though he has horrible facial expressions, he was the champion of Ninety-Nine-san’s “Worst Singer Contest.” (This was part of Fuji TV’s “Mecha-Mecha Iketeru!” variety show. Ninety-Nine-san is one of the show hosts.) [laugh]
Shou: He’s definitely not easy on your ears. [laugh]
—Really! [laugh] In the MV, he is impressively sloppy mouthing the words.
Shou: He doesn’t know the lyrics all at. He probably just says “tan tan toshan” or something.
—[Laugh]
Shou: When you look at his mouth, he’s not really singing but saying things like “doko doko don,” making up his own phrases.
Saga: There’s a lot of meaning to that.
Shou: Like some singing drama. [laugh]
—[laugh] You’ll start touring in April and will have a female-only and male-only live.
Shou: We’ve never had a male-only live, and we definitely wanted to do it sometime. Of course if we do a male-only live, we’ll have to do a female-only live as well. This will be a fun experiment to try. [laugh]
—After your domestic tour, you’ll have 14 performances in your Asia tour. In addition, Supernova will be available on iTunes in 35 other counties. What message would you give your fans all over the world?
Shou: For our 10th year, we’ll be giving 34 shows, which is the longest tour ever in our band’s history. We’re also having a male-only show and performing at Hibiya Outdoor Theater, so we’ll be facing many new challenges. Alice Nine has already reached our 10th year, but in order to not remain static, we’ll constantly try new things to challenge ourselves. I want to grow together with everyone who has given us support over the years, so let’s do our best!
Saga: This is a band that at its core exists through lives. Since lives is the most important place for us, I want people to come see us. Although it’s fine to learn about us by listening to our music at home or reading our interviews, you’ll get a completely different impression of us at lives. This is what many people say about us. Definitely, if you don’t see us in person you won’t understand our real self as a band. Even though we joke around a lot during MC, there are also moments of when we showcase our humanity through sincere emotions. I want people to experience all these things. Please, come see the Alice Nine who has many human qualities at our lives.
Original article: http://vif-music.com/pickup/alice-nine-3/
Translation credits: hellotime-being @ Live Journal
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