MALICE MIZER Interview Translation from ROCK AND READ 83 Part 2

(photo from ROCK AND READ Twitter) 

Last year I translated for myself the MALICE MIZER interview with ROCK AND READ magazine. I decided, because of the safety restrictions everyone has had to go through, because of the virus, to clean up my translation and share it on the two year anniversary of the Deep Sanctuary VI shows. I'm not a trained translator, so it takes time and work to do this. If anyone reposts or shares this translation, I would appreciate it if you could first send me a message through here. And of course, give credit for my work.

So here is the second part of the interview with Közi, Mana and Yu~ki.

RR: When you made a major debut, you may have been told by various parties such as a record company. "Can't sell without lessening the makeup". But that didn't mean it was meaningless. It was strong to beat.

Mana: Looking back now, I think I was just saying ridiculous things. For example, I was asking to set up a stage set that was too complicated. I think I was saying quite a bit to people in the production company.

Közi: Can't say such things, now.

Mana: Now I already know how my world works, Even if I say it, I can say it while considering the circumstances. At that time, I would just say "I want you to do this" without considering anything.

Közi: Because you were young.

Yu ~ ki: That, I also think that is some kind of talent that Mana-chan has. Even if what said is messed up, on the other hand the reason that the surroundings follow firmly is because it is convincing,it's not just selfishness. "Believe in Mana-chan and follow him. I want to see the future." I think because it has charm. That's why, didn't everyone follow MALICE MIZER?

Mana: .... Good story.

Közi: It's cohesive!

Yu ~ ki: Although, when I was looking at it, I said ""Don't say that, it's so cool"(lol). I myself had many thoughts, "Eh, redo this again?", I think the people around me were tough (lol). Even so I think it was great that the members always had a lot of discussions with each other. There were a lot of pains, what I wanted to say was rather contradictory. Especially in the early days we used to gather in Mana-chan's room and talk. Including frivolous things.

Közi: While eating curry.

Yu~ki: We talked all over the place, going to all-you-can-eat yakiniku, in the equipment car. There were times when I was mentally unstable, but I think that while doing that kind of thing (talking), each member made a good balance by building a relationship of trust.

RR: In the 90's boom of visual bands, many adults were quiet on most bands, including major entertainment companies. Complete self-production may have been uncommon, was there anything particular about that as well?

Mana: I had never thought of getting someone to take us on. Since we were developing activities by being able to complete it ourselves, we were able to go around by ourselves.
RR: It is MALICE MIZER's greatness to be able to say that such a scale and concept can be saide to be "completed by ourselves". It may not be well known that it was because of the concentration of communication that the members had a lot of discussions. .. .. ..

Yu ~ ki: I think the relationship between the members was good. We frequently went to eat curry.

Közi: Clam ramen and so on.

Yu ~ ki: Mana-chan's invitation is "Let's go eat". I was asked "Don't you want to eat curry?" so I had to say "I want to eat it" (lol). However, the shops that were recommend to me were really delicious and I used to go there a lot.

Mana: I did not lock the house I lived at that time, so some members came in and out. It was a time when there were no mobile phones, so I came in without a foreboding. Roadies also came as well. KAMIJO (Versailles), who also talked at MC at“Deep Sanctuary VI",  as a roady lived within a 5-minute walk of my house.

RR: You mentioned that the house of Kamijo-san, 25th anniversary live guest vocalist, was behind Mana-san's house. However, Mana-san, was not careful to lock the house.

Mana: I think it's really unwise when I think about it now, there were also some people who did it.

Közi: We also had staff.

RR: So it was in a free state (lol). Mana-san visually looks nervous, was it actually open?

Mana: I can't think right now (lol). The members came on their own, there were no shelters and and they didn't have their own private homes. It wasn't too large in the 1K room, and I am impressed that I had lived like that.

Közi: Could not sleep because of someone's snoring, and the landlord was sitting physical education style (arms around bent up knees) in one corner. It was a octopus room (lol).

RR: Eh (lol) “Deep Sanctuary VI” MC, is it right that former vocalists said "Mana-san's house was gothic and had a great atmosphere"?

Mana: The decoration was European. . . . . I also had the stage set in my room, so I could bring the set out every time we would perform. Inside the room was messy.

RR: Even though the decor is Gothic and decorative, it was not an elegant life (lol).

Mana: It was not. It is said that everyone gathered around one kotatsu.

Yu ~ ki: (imagewise) Can you say kotatsu?

Mana: Ah. . . (lol)

Közi: But, the furniture style of the kotatsu?

Mana: At first I asked Yukari Oba-san, who was in charge of costumes, to make a velvet cover.

Közi: It was black.

RR: A wonderful sight that young band men were crawling like potatoes around such a beautiful kotatsu.

Közi: It was exactly what a clubroom was like.

RR: Since MALICE MIZER is a band that is now legendary, I think that there are many fans who don't know the realistic appearance of those days, including such rough episodes. Have you ever wanted to re-perform that at “Deep Sanctuary VI” "I would like to show this part of MALICE MIZER after protecting it now"?

Mana: This time, we wanted to reproduce that time as much as possible.

RR: ... You wanted to reproduce that time rather than doing new things.

Yu ~ ki: This time, there was a direction of "festival" as a major premise. We wanted to make it a stage that everyone can enjoy, even for those who have never seen MALICE MIZER.

Mana: That's because I felt that I wanted to let people see what they would like to see. I'm pursuing myself as a guitarist in Moi dix Mois, so I used to play guitar in the MALICE MIZER sessions in the previous "Deep Sancturies".

RR ... without dancing.

Mana: That's right. At that time (of previous Deep Sanctuaries), I was converting the sound that was being keyed in without playing the guitar, into playing the guitar, and slid (moved) the performance into playing (guitar). But this time, I was conscious of the stage as it would be when everyone would have been seen the (performance) videos many times.

RR: ... Did you look back at the video and check the performances?

Mana: I guess you remember it. However, there was a little conflict in reproducing. . . . .

RR: Conflict?

Mana: I, would be tangled with vocalists during the performance. "ILLUMINATI" where the body is stroked, "Madrigal" I am held. When I thought I would do that with a roady,I was in conflict....(lol)

RR: When it comes to dealing with a different person from those days, partially embarrassed, it seems (lol).  However, it did not feel uncomfortable to watch.

Közi: I completely forgot about playing (lol).

Yu ~ ki: I forgot completely. To approach the atmosphere of the time to some extent, I copied my bass and played that.

RR: There was no score left?

Mana: In the first place we, had tablature but we didn't use sheet music. That is why I reproduced it with play by ear copying.  However, since MALICE MIZER has guitar phrases with extremely close fingering, I would like to ask myself from that time "Why did you make this score?". For example, in the flow of thinking that I wanted to play comfortably, for a reason the tone goes down. What it is just unthinkable phrases. But, I did not arrange it so that I can play it now, I tried to reproduce the phrases of those days.

RR: In the sense of reproduction, Sakura-san (ZIGZO, ggg, Rayflower) I could only see as the image of Kami-san. . . .

Közi: I was completely haunted.

Yu ~ ki: I was surprised at the time of rehearsal. When I was in the studio, there was a stray person in the center. He put orange extensions in his hair and wore his cap backwards as Kami did as well. That was Sakura-kun.

Közi: I was facing backwards, so I couldn't see his face at first, but I looked over my back (turned my head) and said "That's Kami-chan".

Yu ~ ki: I think I probably saw Sakura-kun about 100 times in the rehearsal on that day. Because when he hit the drums, his hair was very soft. (I think Yu~ki was referring to how Kami's hair would move when drumming, and Sakura's hair was also like this) I could only see him as Kami. . . . During the rehearsal, it was working.

RR: From the look and eyes to the playing style, from gestures, everything was Kami-san. Sakura-san, I think really researched for the live.

Mana: I think maybe. I was not asking for something "We want it this way" from us. There were a lot of suggestions from Sakura-kun, and, for example, the chorus mic, also he said that he wanted to reproduce the way of Kami.

RR:... When you enter the chorus part, the arm with the microphone moves and the microphone is set at the mouth. That's also Kami-san's style.

Mana: I didn't think he would do all that. We didn't even say that the hair color should be orange. So, I was shocked at the time of rehearsals, it's guitar in Moi dix Mois, but isn't it entertainment in MALICE MIZER? From there, I can see Yu~ki-chan and Kami in the back. Seeing the scenery, I recalled various things like flashbacks. I felt like I went back 20 years ago, and Sakura-kun was so similar to Kami. I was confused.

Közi: The drum settings and tuning were completely the same as Kami's.

Mana: We also used Kami's drum set.

RR: The purple drum set, you seemed to be able bring it with Sakura-san from Kami-san's hometown in Ibaraki.

Közi: That's right. The drum set, I went to Kami's alma mater to borrow.

RR: I was surprised to read an interview with Sakura-san that was on Pearl's website. The episode of the time with Kami-san was very detailed. . .

Yu~ki: We were surprised too. What Sakura was talking about at the MC on the day of the live, it was a tentative thing that we didn't know. I didn't know that those two men had such a deep love of brother and brother, and I was not able to measure how much thought Sakura had put into the songs. I was able to play comfortably just because I really appreciated it.

Közi: Sakura's love for Kami is really great. "I'm going to give a day off to Kami today". I think that I was really looking at that kind of awareness. It was also a suggestion from Sakura to post an article on Pearl's homepage and to make Kami's drum sticks and put them for sale. And in fact, it moved towards realization.

RR: As Yu ~ ki said at the beginning, MALICE MIZER is really everyone's thing, isn't it? Such is MALICE MIZER, but after this second time was over, from now on  it is blank paper, right?

Mana: We did everything we could at this stage.

RR: ...What you did not do, have you ever thought about that?

Yu ~ ki: As a former director, I had a unique world view of MALICE MIZER. There was a feeling that I wanted to show. I wanted to fly and fly (lol).

Közi: Fly away from the stage. "Thank you!" What? (lol).

Yu ~ ki: But this time it was just a festival. It was a direction of having roadies sing and having fun playing old songs.

RR: The MC of Kozi and Yu ~ ki was also surprising. At that time, non-vocal members had little talk on the stage.

Yu~ki: There was a struggle, but it was a festival (lol).

Közi: It was hard! We talked about doing our best (lol)!

Yu ~ ki: The roadies, I thought spoke well regardless of their current positions.

Közi: They prepared a lot of episodes. But one thing I thought was that the roadies were telling good episodes of Mana and Yu ~ ki. Even though for me, there was no good story (lol).

Mana: I think it was good because I could hear quite a few secret stories that only the roadies knew. I did not ask them what they would talk in advance.

RR: Different stories appeared for the two days. So not informed in advance what kind of episodes would come out.

Mana: Yes. So, I also heard many for the first time, there were a lot of surprises during the shows.

Közi: I also didn't feel like I was doing better. . . .

Yu ~ ki: That was unsightly (lol).

RR: It was a mischievous episode, but it was a lovely episode of Kozi-san, though (lol). Because the success of the "Deep Sanctuary VI", the DVD (Blu-Ray) will be released on the day of Kami's last year.

Mana: The design for the final day was almost untouched, but in fact the video shot was only on the final day. I had no plan to take pictures, so on the first day I didn't make room for the camera. I mean, I really didn't want to have two days.

RR: Why was that?

Mana: I wanted to make it a one night legend. After all, when it comes to two days, the contents you did on the first day will be spoiled. Because of that, I felt strongly that I wanted to do "the 25th anniversary one night impact". . . However, I heard that many people who participated in the lottery, so  I did it for two days. As a result, it was good to do it for two days. Many people came from afar.

RR: There were also attendees from overseas. Did you make any changes from the configuration you originally thought of by having two days?

Mana: At first, "ma chêrie~" was not planned.

RR: The representative song played at the end of that day.

Mana: "In fact, it was planned to end with "au revoir", which we did before "ma chêrie~". Two years ago, the audience was moved in response to the excitement of the chorus of "au revoir", so I was thinking of closing with "au revoir". At first, I thought that "au revoir" would also have singing."

RR: Actually it was an (instrumental) performance.

Mana: On the day I entered the studio with Közi and Sakura, while aligning the sequence and checking for problems, I put together songs one after another. At that time, I did not get excited about an image for the song "au revoir". So I quickly decided to make it vocal-less. Other than that, I had many ideas at the rehearsal stage.

RR: For example?

Mana: During "au revoir", we might have streamed a live video at the Yokohama Arena on the back screen. At first it was not on the schedule. If you watched Közi and Sakura playing in a rehearsal, I really want to link a special song for us "au revoir" with Kami. So, I thought that I wanted to synchronize the live performance with the video that Kami is playing at the Yokohama Arena. Then the production side became hectic and disordered. . . .

RR: ... because the schedule had suddenly changed.

Mana: When synchronizing the sound and video, the originally planned time changed. Well, that's when the sequence team was "Seriously!". . . .

RR:... young spirit, again (lol).

Mana: The old habit came out (wry smile). However, the result worked well, and I thought it was good to have that direction.

Yu ~ ki: When I think about that kind of thing, I felt that there is an MALICE MIZER only when supported by many people, again. Everyone's power, it's MALICE MIZER that everyone's thought. On the day I did that live, "MALICE MIZER" was first in Yahoo's search word, or that would happen in 2018.

Közi: Red to be on the cover!

RR: You moved it, the world.

Yu~ki: As I mentioned earlier, I personally wanted to do more. However, even without any of the words, from those who said "I was able to see MALICE MIZER for the first time", whatever the report, they were glad that they was able to see MALICE MIZER. I did not know whether it was the best form or not, but I think that it was possible that the current members could do at that time, and it was just with gratitude.

RR: Yu~ki-san, what is your future activity?

Yu~ki: The desire to express is at the root. It was true from that time, but it was not limited to music. . . .

Közi: Yu~ki-chan is making art works. It's all left at home, big works.

RR: What is your plan for exhibition?

Yu~ki: I think that it would be nice if there is a chance to have people look at it in the future, but at this stage it is not something that I want to have someone look at. It's also about looking at yourself, and it's just what I am trying to do to shape my mind. After all, if I live for a long time, is there anything that can be done? Point or point becomes a line, it comes out to be understood now. Now, I am making things, thinking that it would be good if I could put that thought into shape.

RR: I look forward to the day when I can see the work. Közi-san, what are your thoughts and future prospects for that day?

Közi: I think we had a really good live, I think it was good to do it. We could use Kami's drums, I had the feeling it was one break. If there's a next, I think it's an anniversary for 30th anniversary (lol).

RR: Közi-san himself is developing various tremors including ZIZ.

Közi: There aren't so many plans to do this from now on. No, I have nothing to do. . . Since there are many things that I am doing at the same time, I feel like it would be nice to be able to enjoy each form.

RR: Even though there are various forms, all of them are music activities.

Közi: Right now. I'm interested in modeling things like Yu~ki, but in the case of me, I bought materials and finished. I collected the materials in a row and finished with "Yoshi!". Do not start kneading (lol). However, it is possible that music can continue without exception, people who have always supported MALICE MIZER, new customers, because it is because there are such people, thank you. I think it is health first and I wish I could do it from now on.

RR: Közi-san, who is developing music activities in a great variety of styles, is dexterous? Or maybe. . . .

Közi: Is it clumsy? It is a ragged result from doing it, I guess.

RR: Do you like being busy?

Közi: No, I want to take a break. But it may be good with this because it is de M (lol).

RR: How about Mana-san?

Mana: In my mind, I think I was able to do something at the present stage as the 25th anniversary. It may be that it was quite big that the drum of Kami was usable. The last stage on which Kami stood was a fan club event. Because it was over, I still felt that I wanted to see more of Kami who was a musician. What I could do live with the sound of Kami was so great that I was convinced, and I was quite able to digest (take into) myself.

RR: In the case of Mana-san, The solo project of Moi dix Mois has been around longer than MALICE MIZER. . . . What is your outlook for the future?

Mana: That? Was that so? Because Moi dix Mois is from 2002. . . . Oh, that is definitely long. I don't mind (lol). Moi dix Mois is significantly different from MALICE MIZER, I'm standing on the stage as a complete (guitar) player. Now I have a moment to find a pleasant sound by playing the guitar on the stage, but when I was in MALICE MIZER I was playing the guitar and I didn't feel so good. If anything, I used a guitar as one of the expression methods to create a world view.

RR: Mana-san,who is also a guitarist of Moi dix Mois, stood on the stage with MALICE MIZER again and felt that it was clearly different from that time?

Mana: There were quite a few songs in MALICE MIZER that I performed without playing the guitar. Unlike Moi dix Mois, I think it's been a while since I've had a performance-oriented stage. At the same time, I also thought that MALICE MIZER was making a lot of songs to build the worldview. I don't make that now. .. .. .. I mean, I have nothing to make, but I'll think a little more about it (lol). Actually, I didn't study music theory, so I still don't understand the theory, but I am starting to understand it. So, that is why I came to know music as a sensory experience. At MALICE MIZER, it was still under development, so I felt like I was making the songs as I wanted. Maybe it was the goodness of MALICE MIZER.

RR: That's because there was that era.

Mana: That's right. So I think it's good to be able to do a live as MALICE MIZER in Deep Sanctuary VI this time. Many of the fans responded "They didn't think they could see MALICE MIZER in 2018", and there were many who were impressed by the reunion. I was also very happy.

Közi: If I can say, thank you for everything.

Yu ~ ki: I wore the costume I made for Deep Sanctuary VI for the shooting of this "Rock & Read", but I did not think that I would be photographed again in this costume. But, it is a magazine cover. As this costume was made by meeting with Oba-san many times, I was very happy to be able to leave in this way again. With regard to this live, I think that it was possible to have the best stage only because these members including the support musicians. The stage of MALICE MIZER that everyone envisions is the world that was constructed after having a grand theme. I have a feeling that there is not something like this with me. As a director, it would be nice if I could create more shows someday. . . . . what am I thinking.

MALICE MIZER Interview Translation from ROCK AND READ 83 Part 1

(Photo from ROCK AND READ Twitter)

Last year I translated for myself the MALICE MIZER interview with ROCK AND READ magazine. I decided, because of the safety restrictions that have happened because of the virus, to clean up my translation and share it on the two year anniversary of the Deep Sanctuary VI shows. I'm not a trained translator, so it takes time and work to do this. If anyone reposts or shares this translation, I would appreciate it if you could first send me a message through here. And of course, give credit for my work.

Here is the first part of the interview. RR is short for the ROCK AND READ interviewer. And of course the three being interviewed are known to many. There were a couple small things I was not sure about, like the van donation. But I tried to keep this close to what was being said by all four people.

RR: Mana-san's appearance in this magazine is the first time in a year.

Mana: That's right, it was exactly one year because it was last March (2018).

RR: At that time we talked about the process leading up to "Deep Sanctuary VI"  "The reality of 26th year". Közi is the first time in nine years since 2010, Yu ~ ki is the first visit, in fact once before Yu~ki was also been asked to take part in an interview.

Yu~ki: Is that right? I do not remember much. . .　

RR: Yu ~ ki-san participated in the "Deep Sanctuary II" in 2010, and I asked to cover it after thinking that I would like to hear about the feeling of standing on the stage for the first time in a long time since MALICE MIZER's movement stopped. But you declined because you were not doing music now.

Yu ~ ki: I had nothing to talk about. So, it was so bad to get a magazine interview like that.

Közi: Well then, if you couldn't get him to talk!

RR: Doing an interview with the magazine as MALICE MIZER itself is the first time in 18 years, since the suspension of activity.

Közi: I was surprised. "Hmm, why this timing!?" Last year, we did the 25th anniversary live and are releasing it on DVD (Blu-ray), but it wasn't like we were "Having a revival!".

Yu~ki: Although we did the live at the milestone of the 25th anniversary, we have been suspended for a long time. I never thought that I could tell you the story for the interview, but I was really thankful and happy.

RR: Following the talk with Mana-san a year ago, now that “Deep Sanctuary VI” is over, I hope that all three of you will be able to share the background and the story behind the event. What were the stance and feelings of Közi-san and Yu ~ ki-san about this event?

Yu ~ ki: At first, did I receive an email from Mana-chan? First of all, Mana-chan likes anniversaries, so I had a feeling that we would do something in the 25th anniversary. . .

Mana: When Yu~ki-chan told me "You like anniversary", I thought "Ah, that's right" for the first time (lol). When I think about it, I think I'm sure that I don't do anything that is like an anniversary....

RR: Actually there was a plan to do something at the timing of the 20th anniversary. It seems that it did not happen due to various circumstances.

Yu ~ ki: Yes Yes. That's why I was fidgeting a little that there will be some 25th anniversary. Then I got the email.

Közi: After all, it looked like it (lol).

Yu ~ ki: At first, it was a proposal that was still skeletal, and it was a feeling like "I wondered what shape it would proceed in".

RR: ...When did that happen?

Mana: I did Deep Sanctuary V in August of 2016. “Deep Sanctuary" was originally held at a pace of once every two years as a sponsorship event of Moi dix Mois, so there is a regular section of doing MALICE MIZER sessions there. It was the fifth time in 2016, but the finale looked different. It is said that the event at that time influenced the 25th anniversary project at "Deep Sanctuary VI". Should I talk about that?

RR:...Sorry?

Mana: To sum it up, we played the MALICE MIZER "au revoir" instrumental at the finale. Then Közi-chan said "motto" (more). . .

RR: "Motto" was the one phrase サビ/sabi (solo, solitary voice) before entering the "au revoir" big chorus that happens.

Mana: Then there was a great chorus of "au revoir" from there.

Közi: The live was over, and three of us, me, Mana-chan and Yu ~ ki-chan were on the stage for a curtain call. Just when it was time to go back and forth, the solitary voice of "au revoir" flowed. At that time, there was a microphone in front of me. Then I suddenly said "motto", got off the stage and the big chorus happened.

Mana: As Közi said, it was not prepared for, it was a coincidence.

Yu ~ ki: Everyone sang "au revoir", the three of us together listening from the side sleeve (wing) of the stage. . . . It was certain that hot feelings had started to grow at that time. I had a feeling of saying "I want to live up to everyone's expectations" and "Is this okay?". It was a suggestion from Mana-chan that had such a background, but there was no reason to refuse it "that's right".

RR: Specifically, what kind of feelings did you think "is it OK as this is"?

Yu ~ ki: That's a complicated feeling, isn't it? How do you communicate it well? . . . Umm. It's difficult.

Mana: Three people will feel differently, though. . . Until then, I had been doing a MALICE MIZER session in "Deep Sanctuary", but I was like "If it is fun to do it would be fine". The number of songs was about two songs. But when I heard the big chorus of "au revoir", I was in serious mode. The feeling that "I want to deliver MALICE MIZER in a proper form" had sprouted.

RR: The choir of the audience had the power to move the hearts of the members.

Mana: The chorus echoed all the way to the (stage) backyard. Because, I remembered the difficult lyrics. He told me "Please remember me" in advance.

Közi: Everything started from my "motto" (lol). The chorus was sung from there, entered the second A melody and sang as it is. Even I didn't remember the lyrics, but it was amazing.

Yu ~ ki: I could not move from the stage sleeve anymore. I was lined up with three people while shaking their shoulders (lol).

RR: Without that happening, would there have been a big MALICE MIZER reenactment at the 25th anniversary tie-in?

Mana: That's right. It might not have moved on the scale up there.

Közi: With that event, the timing of the "25th anniversary", which was very good for anniversary lovers, fit together.

Mana: Actually, 2018 was the 26th anniversary of the formation （lol)

Közi: Yes, formed in 1992. But it was forced back one year to the 25th anniversary (lol)

RR: It was the day when various elements were intermingled.

Yu ~ ki: That's right. So what I really thought was that "MALICE MIZER is not your own. It was MALICE MIZER that everyone supported".

RR: Did you not think that "MALICE MIZER is for everyone" back then?

Yu ~ ki: Of course, I knew that it was a music activity supported by many people, I was allowed to do whatever I wanted. Especially me and Közi-chan, did what we wanted to do among the members, Perhaps it was more in the way our thoughts came before rather than "for everyone".

Közi: I was doing my best to do what I do, I don't think there was allowance at that time.

Yu ~ ki: How do you make a new thing, I think that "leader" Mana-chan had professional ideas of Mana-chan. But Mana told me "Közi-chan and Yu~ki-chan are fine artists. Do what you want to do".

Közi:. . . . Mana-chan, having a pin up face. Not remembering so well (lol)?

Mana: I don't remember if I said it the way Yu ~ ki-chan said it or not (lol). Because each member had a specialty field. I thought it would be good if I could get a good balance with a band while making use of it.　

RR: As a result of freely expressing that idea, the unique world view, the one and only view of the world unique to MALICE MIZER spread.

Yu ~ ki: I had the idea that I didn't think I would get into the mould because I thought too much. Myself, I use to get close to the line of good bad, "If you do this you will be burned" while pulling that line it was fun to think about various things, wasn't it. Ultimately, I also had the feeling that it would be nice if people who understand could understand me, because I was allowed to do it, I think something new was born.

RR: Was it your idea Yu ~ ki-san, flying in the air at the Shibuya Public Hall performance just before the major debut?

Yu ~ ki: That's right. I was also in charge of theatrics, so I made a lot of effort in directing.

RR: Even though Mana-chan asked you to do whatever you wanted, did Mana-san stop the idea of ​​the members "it's a little different" as Mana-sane proceeded with the overall production?

Mana: I don't think I've ever said "Isn't it different?"

RR: Didn't you say "Isn't it too quick?"

Mana: I wanted them to overdo, so I think I didn't regulate too much

Közi: Each of us was thinking about "let's go in a more interesting direction", and we were doing so while trying not to get outside of the MALICE MIZER frame. But one time, Mana-chan said, "I am not sure about Közi's song" when I started playing the song.

Mana: Maybe I said. . . .

Közi: I think it was around the third period. When I introduced a sampler, it became fun to put in sound effects.

Mana: I remember. It is a time when Közi worked with the Akai's S6000 sampler. I think it was really late, as it was in the time of "Bara no Seidou", I think I didn't say that before I got my hands on it.

Közi: I thought, "Oh no I have to work on this." (lol)?

Mana: No, I thought it was great. The PCM sound source, which was mainstream at the time as a device to approach other sounds, has a feeling that it must be "a sound that is close to a raw sound". I also felt that I could be obsessed with a sampler that can reproduce realistic sounds.

Közi: The song itself was a bit boring, but the sound of the strings was really nice.

Mana: You were too obsessed with the sampler, that was also the reason you were sneaking in too many various sounds.

Közi: (The sound source at that time) has not been listened to recently, but if I listen to it now, I might think "What is this?" (lol).

Mana: After that, I introduced a sample later, but Közi was quite quicker.

RR: Közi-san was the type who liked new things, certainly.

Yu ~ ki: That's right.

Közi: Mana-chan was the other way around, he refused to be a solid Mac (computer user).

Mana: My usage history of Mac is probably the shortest among band members.

RR: It is surprising. Mana-san is also curious, so it feels like Mana-san would have been trying various things.

Közi: Even though I used it later, the introduction of the sequencer was also introduced late.

Mana: Közi was already using a PC when he was in MALICE MIER. Until the middle of Moi dix Mois, I worked hard on the Yamaha QY700 (sequencer) (lol).

Yu ~ ki: Közi was the earliest person to use image processing in Photoshop. I was influenced by it, too, and made images for the newsletter.

Mana: Even when the photos digitally processed by Közi and Yu~ki were posted in the newsletter, I didn't understand any of using it at all. (lol)　

RR: Returning to the story, Közi-san said earlier, "I was trying to keep from going outside of the frame of MALICE MIZER", but in the case of MALICE MIZER, the frame is very wide. In the first place, it was a wicked way as a band to dance without playing an instrument. Meanwhile, did you think "Let's protect only here as MALICE MIZER"?

Yu ~ ki: From that time on, there was the concept of "a stage like a movie scene." There was a strong commitment to "showing" from the beginning. Visa versa, I think there was no particular focus on musicality. While the classic elements are in the base, we also did bossa nova and French pop, anything.

Közi: Be flexible.

Yu~ki: Közi, especially always let me blow a new wind. The reason I didn't think "I can't do this", Perhaps it was because the favorite thing that the core of all the members was close.

RR: There was an episode in the previous interview with Mana-san, it seems in the early days there opposition to a van being donated by customers. Did Közi-san and Yu~ki-san feel swayed by the reaction?

Yu ~ ki: I'm not influenced by people either for good or for bad. I was recognized as a bassist for MALICE MIZER in the world, actually, I wasn't playing the bass very much. I just played the bass as one of my expressions, and it was a way to do what I wanted to do. For our stance like that, I was often told "wrong" by people around me. But, I did not care.

RR: In the first place, how did Yu~ki-san get started with the bass?

Yu~ki: When I was a student, I think that it happened to be that the position was open.

RR: If the band wanted to do it and was looking for a companion, was the bass (position) vacant?

Yu~ki: No, it doesn't mean that the band wanted to do it. I was just invited by good friends and started. Besides that, from long ago I always liked to draw a picture from old days. I have always liked to express myself while creating something. Bands and bass, it was just one way for me. So, even when doing makeup with MALICE MIZER, I made my face a canvas, I had the feeling that I was expressing what I wanted to do. But, really, at the early lives I did it as a scene.

Közi: From the beginning I did also did dramatic, there were no noisy customers.

Yu ~ ki: However, the flash of the camera was amazing.

Közi: I see "It's a photo shoot".

Mana: When I was an indie, I decided to take some live photos. I think the strobe light that was produced, it certainly dazzled.

RR: To take a step back, did the customers take photos because photos were rare?

Mana: That might be true.

RR: Közi-san also, did the reaction around you shake you?

Közi: On the contrary, I want more reaction like "Eh !?". Isn't it better to think that way, whether you're good or bad? Rather than to be told nothing, I thought it was good there were various reactions. When I put on"strawberry head" for the first time, I remember being laughed at the moment I went out to the bandmen. . . . (lol).

Mana: I also remember. A shiny glow, ordinary bandmen absolutely wouldn't shake  this headgear the first time.

Közi: To put it simply, it's a control. I thought it was tough at that time (lol). I heard my voice and I culd see the amazed faces of the customers. But that's what I have now!

RR: If you think so, MALICE MIZER members were all strong mentors. The young children of today, in the modern sense, will break as soon as they meet "disrespect".

Közi: Basically, all three people were De M. Is it strong to be hit. . . . Do you like being hit?

Mana: No. . . .

Közi: Oh, different (lol)?

Part Two of Rock and Read's Interview with Mana

Continuing with my synopsis of my translation of the interview with Mana by the Japanese music magazine, Rock and Read. I got my copy at Kinokuniya book store. Since no translations were online, and I wanted to read the interview, I did my first long translation. Since I am not a skilled translator but I know there are people who want to know what the interview was about, I decided to post a synopsis of it. If there are any errors I will correct them. But for now, here is the rest of the interview.

The topic changed to the 25th anniversary of Malice Mizer and the memorial event this September. Mana laughingly said the 25th anniversary was actually last year. He said that this is something he has never done before, but there was one time something was to happen at the time of the 20th anniversary, in 2012.

Mana shared that back when Malice Mizer stopped working he felt sorry inside. That everyone who enjoyed it felt the same. He spoke about 1998 and mentioned Gackt leaving saying "what is the truth and what is a lie?". That the situation was not expressed then and has continued. The interviewer said that at that time, there were no comments from the Malice Mizer side. Even in 2001 when they stopped performing there was no comments about that. Mana was asked if he wanted to break it down in the 20th memorial year.

Mana said he had that kind of feeling. That the Gackt side was speaking in interviews and putting out books, where the Malice Mizer side was at a disadvantage. That since they did not do anything to talk about it, the situation was misunderstood because there wasn't information released. Mana said it was not his intention to continue things that were not true. So he thought it would be good to move on, "shed the past things into the water". He thought it would be nice to be onstage as an artist.

Asked if it would be with Gackt, Mana replied that the mind and circumstances of people will gradually change over time, that ten years had passed so things will fade away like heartburn. In the first place, he acknowledged the talent of Gackt as part of Malice Mizer. Because Gackt joined they were able to expand theatrically and be more effective. (It was previously mentioned their major debut allowed them to go to France to have photographs taken and shoot a promotional video, Bel Air ~Kuuhaku no Shunkan no Naka de~ de L'image.)

The interviewer asked "So you contacted Gackt?" Mana replied that since they had no contact since his sudden departure and withdraw from Malice Mizer, even though he did not have a way to contact him, Mana made up his mind to call him.

Mana spoke of the rumor that has gone on since Gackt left. That Malice Mizer would not do a comeback because he as leader of the group never forgave Gackt. Mana said that as for what is real and what isn't, he thinks there are some people who understand. That some of the music magazines asked for their thoughts and feelings at the time of Gackt leaving (this is true, there is at least one interview with the band at that time. I plan on posting something about that).

Mana did call Gackt in 2011. He met with Gackt, gathered the other members and they even went to dinner. They discussed Gackt participating in the 20th anniversary show. Back when Malice Mizer was active, they were planning on performing at Tokyo Dome following the live at Yokohama Arena in 1998. Mana had hoped they could trying to do something like that for the anniversary. They had started working out the plan, meeting with staff and it was going well. Then circumstances changed and Gackt could no longer do it. Since they ended up not being able to do the kind of show they wanted for the 20th anniversary, Mana decided to do something special for the 25th anniversary.

Mana contacted everyone who was a former member and roadies and asked them to appear. While he called out to everyone, there were people who could not be contacted by any means (most likely a reference to Klaha, who has gone from public life to private). Sakura-kun (ZIGZO etc.) who was a sensei of Kami will play drums. Kamijo and Hitomi were very pleased to be asked to perform.

The interviewer mentioned she saw Mana's birthday shows in March and had the impression that a lot of the Malice Mizer era fans are still fans. She asked Mana what did he think was the secret that continued this? Mana said perhaps it is because he does not change in what he does. That it is only him. She asked if he thought about changing, taking in new things? He replied that he does not and mentioned his wearing make-up for the shows, that he never did one with out it. (In other words, don't expect Mana to not dress-up for his shows. I wonder if this is a reference to the trend of older musicians making comebacks but not wearing the same kind of outfits and make-up, groups like X-Japan.)

Mana is asked what he thinks is interesting and the interviewer refers to various photographs taken during the Malice Mizer era. Where he was dressed in a motorcycle riding jacket next to a motorcycle, took photos with kids at a kindergarten, and various other shots. He replied that now there is a solid image of medieval Europe and gothic books, although his interests are wide. (Mana may have been referring to the image he has created since Malice Mizer, with his band Moi dix Mois.) He said there is always a desire to constantly surprise fans. He would like to challenge a variety of things, so it is a matter of what those would be.

Asked what is popular with him, Mana replied that it is music. That he can not change the music in any way that he has been doing for 25 years. That is okay to do whatever you do, if you defend it. She asked about the music with Moi dix Mois. Mana said that the atmosphere of the songs are like Malice Mizer and so that has not changed. That he is ready to keep doing this music without bending. It is meaningless for him if music and visual are not fused.

Mana is asked that the fans continue to love Mana, but when he looks back on his life so far, when is it that he thinks he is happy? His reply was that his music life, was not it a series of accidents? That if one thinks so, that he is still well behaved. It may be different from happiness. He mentioned how many of the vocalists have changed, which is not that unusual. Asked how many were there, Mana lists them in order. With Malice Mizer there was Tetsu, Gackt and Klaha. He laughed and said he is adding himself before Klaha since he did the vocals on ”再会の血と薔薇" . With Moi dix Mois there was Juka and now Seth. He said there are mountains and valleys but he appreciates that each singer always supported him.

The interviewer closes with saying even though Mana and the world he creates have not changed much, that it still attracts a lot of fans. Mana said that because the music and world he wants to express are hardened in him, there is no way to deviate to a side street. There is always a feeling that he wants to protect this world, this world that comes from him. From now on, because he will keep his music and world forever, he wants people to follow him.

Part One of Rock and Read's Interview with Mana

I know this isn't what I usually do with my blog. Rock and Read music magazine in Japan did a long interview with Mana, leader of Moi dix Mois and founder of the band Malice Mizer. I ended up ordering a copy from Kinokuniya (link here for their online store). I had hoped that since some had the magazine for a little while that an English translation would show up online before I got my copy. Except for one or two sections, nothing as of the time I am writing this. So I ended up doing my first long translation. Since I am not a translator, I feel it would be a disservice to put my rough work online. Instead I am going to write up a synopsis of the interview so at least people will have an idea of what it is about. Some of what was said in the interview was a little difficult to get a definite translation so if there was an error, すみません. I hope that what I write is accurate and if I find later on that something was different I will update these posts.

Since even my synopsis is long, I decided to break it up. So this is the first part. I also apologize for not having the name of the interviewer at this time. She has worked in music magazines for several years and attended Malice Mizer shows. So here is part one of this interview about Malice Mizer and the upcoming 25th Anniversary show, Deep Sanctuary VI.

To start with, Mana was asked if people still say they love Malice Mizer today. It makes him happy that they do. He mentioned that people who worked with them as roadies did so because they were touched by Malice Mizer and that some of them will be performing at the Anniversary show, Shuuji (Cali Gari/ Goatbed), Kamijo (Versailles) and Hitomi (ex-Moran, UmiYuri).

Mana talked about how around the time Malice Mizer was formed, Visual Kei music was just beginning to take shape. While some bands did have different visual and performance aspects, Mana wanted to take it further with Malice Mizer. By having parts where guitarists danced without their instruments, the twin guitar style he created with his fellow band member Közi where they purposely did not play normal rock guitar but instead created a sound like classical harpsichords.

The interviewer asked about Mana's music teacher father. He spoke about how there was classical music playing in his house all the time. He doesn't know if it is related to that but he likes church and mass songs and the pipe organ. He wanted to create songs like this. To do this they used guitar synths.  He spoke about the difficulty using them but they could get various sounds like violins from it. He was asked why not use a keyboard. He said it was a strange thing in him that he did not want to put a keyboard in a rock band. Even though there are many rock bands that have keyboards, he never made the choice to do it.

Malice Mizer staging was discussed. Mana wanted to have the image of medieval Europe so along with the stage sets, songs and costumes were given story characteristics also. He wanted to be productive with the theatrical elements. They used to have to start their shows early, be the opening act in order to decorate their sets. There were issues sometimes with gold powder that would stick to fans' faces and fake blood that got on people. So they had to make sure there were tarps down and clean up afterwards.

Not having much of a budget they would try to make as much as they could. Yu~ki, the bassist, made the coffin he would come out of on stage. Kami, their drummer, used welded pipe as an instrument in (N.p.s.N..s), Mana remembered being outside in the cold making items.

They had to use two cars to get around to venues because of the sets. Since they did not have money, they got a used car from an acquaintance of Kami. Mana went to Ibaraki to get it. He opened the door and there was a nasty odor, turns out there was something rotting inside. Even cleaning it would not remove the smell. The car for the set also had broken air conditioner. Tetsu, the first lead singer, chose to go in that car because he didn't want air conditioning for his throat. In summer. Mana said when they were next to the car they could see Tetsu sweat coming off of him like a waterfall.

One of the stage sets was so large it would not all fit in Mana's room. He didn't think of finding a warehouse he could borrow space at, so he tried to hide the Parthanon pillars in his apartment parking.

Mana moved on to talk about Tetsu. At the beginning Mana and Közi played guitar but he wanted to do more, move around, create sounds like an orchestra. When Tetsu joined the band he said it looks interesting but after about two years Tetsu's direction with music differed from Mana, who said his own musicality became active during that time. (Tetsu left the band in Dec, 1994).

As for the other band members, Közi was positive about the direction, saying he wanted to do it if it looks interesting. Yu~ki said he didn't want to dance much but he did want to do theater. Kami wanted to try new things, even as they wrote more songs that did not have drum parts. They all worked on doing interesting things, with Közi and Mana getting up at 5 am to go to a park to practice dancing. There was a building there with reflective windows so a lot of people would go there to practice dancing. Mana said he wanted to do both theater and dance.

Mana mentioned how he originally aimed to be a part of Johnny's agency. The interviewer was surprised. When he was in junior high Johnny's dance felt very intense. He was a lively sports boy, also practiced basketball every day. Perhaps because Malice Mizer seems to be a literary band, people see Mana as someone who read books a lot. But being active made him feel it was acceptable for him to dance in Malice Mizer. To think he would be able to use in Malice Mizer something he practiced every day as a junior high school student.

At first, it was a pretty weird air at Malice Mizer lives because there weren't other bands where the musicians were dancing and doing plays, without using their instruments. But Mana was serious about working to make a view of the world of medieval Europe. With the major debut, Mana was working to make Malice Mizer's final form, to make it even more flashy. Even though this was contrary to how when ordinary rock bands have a major debut, which they tend to be styled to the needs of the record company. Mana disliked that. He did work with a variety of record companies but Nippon Columbia told him he could do whatever he wanted. Other companies told them otherwise, like they should drop their make-up. Mana said perhaps it was because there weren't many prior examples of bands doing fancy costumes and make-up and trying to sell themselves to a major label at that time. He did not intend to change what he was doing, but he also did not know anything about major label missions. He did not think Malice Mizer would sell if they became an ordinary rock band.

Because they signed with a major, they could do larger performances and direction. Mana believed the band could be successful, the ultimate art group going beyond the boundaries of bands and could be sent out to the world. Even so, the base must be the music, the concept and goodness of the song, and he believed Malice Mizer's music was good. From the beginning with the Memoire album with Tetsu as vocalist, making strongly built musical pieces was an absolute requirement.

So what makes a good song? Mana said he does not have a theory for it. He threw away the definition of rock and never really thought about what was common in music for selling it. He did not learn music theory so he can not write a score. He creates songs by feeling the sounds he hears while working on a keyboard. He does it all, arrange and so on. He composes with with a world view. Perhaps, he said, he was influenced by the classical music that always played at his parents' house. He was not interested in it as a child but it may be that he absorbed the complex orchestration sounds there. He also incorporated French pop and bossa nova which are not used by the usual rock bands. He was looking for beautiful, awesome, brilliant and graceful sounds.

The interviewer spoke about how Visual Kei became public back then, a music boom. She asked Mana how was that? He said that he felt the bands then made their own boom, instead of it just happening naturally. One thing he wanted to then was to combine music with a two-dimensional world like animation. Then they were two separate genres and the fans of each did not coexist (in Japan). That Malice Mizer was like a group that came out of anime, so he wanted to attract people who liked that to Visual Kei. The interviewer said he had foresight since this sort of thing is now commonplace. Mana replied that he was only faithfully expressing the world he wanted to show. Not like he was feeling like a creator for the future. He was not doing it to create a boom or to sell something, but he wanted to make a new culture that did not exist before. This included starting his fashion brand Moi-même-Moitié, combining elegant lolita with gothic fashion.