[Scribble R]

For all the speculation and analysis of SR's music (Which is warranted), I'm surprised that there aren't more translations available (Well, apart from the fact that it's time consuming). Especially in the recent splurge of Sanmon Gossip promotion, I would have thought Ringo would have talked about her music with Phase 2, as well as where she plans to go from here on.

Also, it's a thing of mine to learn about the behind-the-scenes aspect of ANY piece of entertainment I really enjoy. Plus, Ringo (And Phase 2, deluded or not) seem to have substantial things to say.

There must be more floating around the net somewhere? I'll post the one that D.K Liu translated, and if there are any more, it'd be cool =)

VARIETY interview

New album interview: "Entertainment"

Shiina, Izawa, Ukigumo, Hata

V1.00 - 16/06/2008 translated from Chinese (D.K.Liu)
V1.01 - 17/06/2008 spelling/grammar correction (D.K.Liu)
(source: http://blog.pixnet.net/emijpop/post/9274393)

Int
In your solo career and the past Tokyo Jihen, there was always notes and explanations for the listeners, but the section appears to be scrapped this time round, it seems to invite people purely into the music.

Shiina
Regarding this album, I was just like a special guest attending the band's activities, but the band members didn't really serve me carefully as they might for a real guest (laugh). I didn't want them be that way anyway. This kind of setup is quite nice, and at one time I seriously considered continuing with this model. In this album, everyone provided music and lyrics, and I went through a project not focusing entirely on creating the written space, perhaps I would be able to do this more comfortably in the future.

Inteviewer
As you said, this time it was as if your were guest, and unlike in the past the members began rehearsing when you were promoting your solo work, right?


Shiina
New work can be made, regardless of who's rehearsing. But rather than listening to others explaining the contents, if you don't personally go to the rehearsals, you'll still be concerned. And after I actually went, I found the rhythm/progress to a bit slow, thinking "what is this"? But I was involved in the song selection stage. Each song was written by others, so it felt good, and there was an expectant mood.

Inteviewer
Let's talk about the song selection phase.

Shiina
Just those that were already recorded, a lot of them did not have lyrics. As I listened, I thought that it would be good if the contents could be made to invoked a wave-like feeling, so I made the suggestion a few times.

Inteviewer
What you mean by "wave-like" is?

Shiina
Because there's a marked contrast in the styles, even if we only placed the tone/sound of the same 5 people, we thought the whole work would create a sense of large variation, and each songs themselves are stacked with smaller variations that will make for a richer content, I personally also wanted to hear this kind of album.

Inteviewer
During the recording stage, which song did you begin with?

Shiina
Metro was the first we produced. Don't know why but it had a all-members-acting-as-one kind of vibe, and a feeling that represented character of this albums.

Inteviewer
By character, do you mean the title of album "Entertainment(Variety)"?

Shiina
Although the title wasn't decided at the time, when we entered the recording studio, there was a sense that we were heading in a new direction.

Hata
Also, the form of the rehearsals was much like the rhythm of Metro, it felt natural.

Inteviewer
Although the album didn't have a unifying concept at the time, you were focusing on producing one song at a time right?

Ukigumo
In the previous album, we used some non-band member sound, but this time it's a pure band sound, so all the way we followed a nature progression. Even though we focused on one at a time, it had a unifying color. This is the
impression I had from the recording process.

Inteviewer
When the singles were being released, you said (Ukigumo) that you wanted to hear a Shiina Ringo that you have never heard before. Did you have the same ideas for the album?

Ukigumo
Yes. That was the single thought that filled my head all the way.

Shiina
In the demos Uki made, he imitated one person for the harmonies in part 1, and he imitated yet an other for the chorus, truly capricious (laugh). And the sound quality couldn't be worse.

Inteviewer
Izawa didn't write many songs, and decided to provide the main works, right?

Izawa
Right.

Shiina
The demos Izawa made, most of them didn't have vocals.

Izawa
Yeah, because they were created on the keyboard.

Just like those simple jukeboxes in the supermarket (laugh).

Shiina
They were quite interesting as demos, with the main melody played out on the keyboard. Some also used guitar synth for the guitar part.

Izawa
Yeah. It was really enjoyable (laugh). Ringo imagined the vocals and added her own preferences, and we made modifications during the rehearsals.

Inteviewer
Also, it was heard that Izawa and Hata began rehearsing very early on.

Izawa
Because nobody has started, I just had personal practices with Hata.

Hata
We didn't have anything else to do anyway (laugh).

Izawa
Yeah, we were really free. If Hata is going to the studio alone, I might as well practice with him. So from January, we two comrades living in West Tokyo were carrying out the West Tokyo Incident.

Inteviewer
For some time, Hata could not play drums because of injury. Did the recording process go smoothly this time?

Hata
Hmm ... I don't have any specific feeling about this (laugh). Regarding the drum parts, Ukigumo and Izawa both gave me clear directions, so it was quite easy to handle.

Ukigumo
Also, last time Izawa who had to work alone at end because of hand injury, this time he participated right from the start. So he was able to make swift responses to every situation. This is reflected in the work.

Izawa
Compared to our last work, the tone in this album is closer to my breath. The amount of time spent on recording was shorter too.


Ukigumo
Maybe you were still unfamiliar with the other members last time.

Shiina
It really was a big factor.

Ukigumo
Yeah. Now, not only do we understand each other's roles, we could also proceed with hearts open wide.

Inteviewer
So summarizing your comments, the current album is built upon relations established last time, and completed in a short timeframe while maintaining freshness of the songs.

Shiina
Yeah. Afterall the recording work of professionals are not so simple, whether it's because of constraints or lyrics etc.

Inteviewer
Reviewing the recording process, did you ever unknowningly fall into an undefined method of operation.

Shiina
When I was releasing my first two albums, I wanted to proceed according to the common method. You're right, maybe I really did fall into a certain mood. At one time, I thought perhaps I could never again make music in the same way, maybe it's due to psychological effects, I had the same feeling this time as well.

Ukigumo
In "Adult", the method for arranging the music was decided from the beginning, but this time the music contents were developed together by everyone, rather than saying that we had no concrete method, we should say that we proceeded with the recording with a desire to created something different from our past work.

Inteviewer
The richly varied percussion employed in the last album was also decided from the beginning, what about this time?

Hata
This time Izawa's song had more prescribed structure; in this regard, it was quite easy to pick it up. But compared to last time, the recording process was a lot more relaxed. When I heard the completed album, I found that I really wasn't thinking of anything. (laugh).

Inteviewer
Is this it? Just doing it without thinking of anything; that is to say - playing freely without being confined to any particular form/style?

Hata
I really like to rehearse, I'm one of those people who likes to impose rules on themselves, but among these guys, I have no need for rehearsals (laugh). Even right until the completion of the recording, the content of Ukigumo's songs were still unclear; guitars were not generally used either during rehearsals, so there was no use even if I did practice (laugh).

Ukigumo
Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this way, but the previous album felt as if it was recorded in a state of combat, pervaded by a sense of restlessness. But this time it was quite relaxed. Not sure why, but the atmosphere this time was really great.

Inteviewer
Perhaps compared to the recording of the previous album, where the musical exchanges created a sense of tension because of unfamiliarity between each band members, this time a peace of mind is maintained because the members have come to understand each other.

Ukigumo
Yes, the feeling was one of everyone moving forward together with a common understanding.

Inteviewer
But don't you feel a bit of unease with the work proceeding so smoothly.

Shiina
It really did feel that way too. But everyone agreed to go with the theme of 'entertainment' so we didn't make any significant modifications.

Inteviewer
Could I put it this way? Everyone believed firmly that in order to pursue something that's comfortable, it had to be joined by quality work.

Shiina
Hmm ... I should say, the feeling is one of -- deciding on a split moment, whether you can accept it, whether you can laugh out loud at it. So -- I'm not saying this to avoid responsibility -- the recording was completed before developing any feelings for it. But since everyone is experienced, when we later heard the completed work, we thought "Yeah, no problem, it's done".

Inteviewer
Any comments about writing lyrics for Izawa and Ukigumo 's songs?

Shiina
In Izawa and Ukigumo 's music, including the music of their own bands, there are much terms used by boys. Even after rewriting them to suit my (vocal range?), the lyrics and music are naturally completed at the same time like when I'm writing songs, so the work this time on the lyrics was really tough.

Inteviewer
Would you say that you enjoyed writing the lyrics under these circumstances?

Shiina
Because it was so difficult, and I wanted to write contents that I've never had before, I was so terrified that I had not an ounce of spare energy left to enjoy it.

Inteviewer
What did you think of Ringo's vocals?

Izawa
It was truly amazing. We don't know how to express it, it's just second to none.

Ukigumo
She really successfully mixed in her own color/style. Those unsuspecting may even think that the songs were her own compositions. No matter whose song it is, there would be no problem when you hear her sing.

Inteviewer
However, this album didn't follow the model of "Shiina Ringo in collaboration with the band", rather she took the part of the main vocal as a component of the whole; this is kind of balanced band sound that we haven't seen before.

Shiina
Since "Adult" I had been thinking about presenting lyrics and sound texture as a whole band, not as performances or reactions of individuals. This time the goal was finally achieved. So just like we were called Phase 1 and Phase 2 Tokyo Jihen, I thought why don't we just change the band name; it was with this kind of determination that we worked.

Inteviewer
I can understand this feeling.

Shiina
I worked under situations that I think is suitable, like when I formally stopped my solo career after releasing 'Ringo no Uta', it's nice to make these abrupt mode switches. After all, in a gradual evolution, doesn't it feel trivial and redundant if every details are explained so intimately. It this album there's finally a sense of standing on the starting point.

Inteviewer
This time, the blueprint for the band is finally realized, but it's a pretty drastic change isn't it. And as works are continually released, muscians can also become formularized by the music, with a tendency to turn music into commercial products. And in recent years, the flood of overly commercialized music have gradually alienatied the audience. I think the step taken by Ringo in this album is just the right action in resisting the tide and returning to a music that speaks to the heart.

Shiina
And the current members have all been personally invited by me, so on this point it's matches pretty well.

Ukigumo
We're still the same---haven't changed one bit (laugh). Although I should apologize to Ringo for saying so, it is only in this light that our irresponsible nature is seen favourably.

Izawa
And it feels alright being able to straddle the edge of J-pop.

Shiina
Since when I was small, I only liked music that would never appear on TV, it's a stubborn-rebellious spirit that I've always had, there's no helping it. Even so, I hope people can listen to our work with joy.

Ukigumo
Yeah, you can never tire of listening to this album.

Izawa
The album is a bit like dried squid (Note: a kind of snack). I hope people will give it a good chew.


The End