Shoxx 236 - Uruha & Aoi interview

The Gazette
from DIVISION to DIPLOSOMIA part 2
URUHA // AOI

Interviewer: In occasion of DIVISION creations, the guitar team introduced new methodologies in the phase of creating sound.

Uruha: Until TOXIC we created the sound which was added by guitar technicians who thought about coordinating everything about instrumentation. However, this time we worked together with a tuning specialist. More than creating sound focusing on the equipment, as first thing we gave particular importance to sonority and the tension of guitar strings.

Interviewer: Which was in first place the reason of this choice of proceeding?

Uruha: Because the musical pieces in which we used an abundance of A tuning increased. In order to do it, there were various points we had to review.

Interviewer: I see. For this reason, now more than ever, you opted for a lower tuning rather than a regular one. Speaking of which, the effects, which can be perceived working with a specialist, what kind of effects are, concretely speaking?

Uruha: As I thought, the tension feeling actually stabilized. We used thicker gauges [1] and changed a little the way of changing strings, I thought "who knows if it will be different?". Naturally, even from the point of view of changing sound, it became a bit better with more tension. However, during the exhibition it's harder than before to play pulling strings [2].

Aoi: To say it simpler, generally speaking it became easier to play than before.

Interviewer: In other words, during recordings you can focus only on the execution.

Uruha: Exactly. Speaking of the instrumentations, both Aoi and I buy what we like and we use them constantly. Even more important, during recordings thanks to the improvement of guitar condition, we managed to create a situation in which we can pull out a sound without any stress.

Interviewer: For this album, the contents of DISC 1 and DISC 2 are different, about that, were there points that you as guitarists found hard in particular?

Aoi: I think there weren't. Unexpectedly, everything went on as usual.

Uruha: Exactly. The atmosphere changes from song to song but that doesn't mean that the guitar approach in both DISCs is different till that point.

Aoi: Speaking of the sound nature of both parts, since no matter which the song was, Uruha elaborated a certain path and I followed an other. Since Uruha is a person who's seriously studying the sound, I've nothing to say about what he proposes. *laugh* Only for very particular parts we consulted and work went smoothly from the beginning until the end.

Uruha: And then, in the mixing part, an original point is the big sound transformation.

Aoi: Maybe it's a rough way to say it but we recorded with "a sound that we can do as we want in the future".

Uruha: If we record a refined sound really original and typical of guitars, we can later add it combining it with the songs. For this reason, it was necessary to do a more hi-fi sound.

Interviewer: I see. In the last month interview Aoi said "a refined sound", was it about that?

Aoi: Exactly! Depending on the songs, the sound is distorted but the original sound is refined because it's high quality. We played all picking one by one with attention, during aggressive songs we played in an impetuous way.

Uruha: In the creation of this album the fundamental point was how to let the sound reach the listener even adding every kind of effect without any deterioration.

Interviewer: Actually, while listening to it I had the feeling that the clearness of the sound increased but behind that there was the fussiness of each member.

Uruha: To say something not important, we shortened as much as possible the gap of cave rewind.

Interviewer: This to shorten the so called electrical resistance.. doing like that aren't we going in a physics related topic?

Uruha: For sure. *laugh* Recently the staff say that "who can do and give importance to this kind of things is the GazettE".

Interviewer: I think that while you managed to produce a better sound, isn't there the fact that there are musical pieces that created an age [3] ? I would be happy if you could explain them concretely speaking one by one.

Uruha: It's a song I composed myself but the intro of GABRIEL ON THE GALLOWS was really difficult. Since the tempo is terribly fast, when we started pre-production, the right hand couldn't follow the tempo. *bitter laugh* I managed to learn how to play it right before the recording. It's not at all a speech of a new age or something like that *laugh* But for me it was the first time I played a song that fast.

Aoi: Speaking of the executing phase I didn't do anything in particular. I committed myself to do a constant execution that could match the song.

Interviewer: So you had a craftsman attitude?

Aoi: No, at least not yet. Because I think that what I'm doing right now as the GazettE is the best worked, doing the minimum work. Mah, probably if I'll refine more I'll change again, I'm playing some high quality guitars but what I've to do now it's a perfect execution more than going on.

Interviewer: So you're giving more importance to the execution with the team instead of the exhibition itself.

Aoi: If I wouldn't do it, I would have the feeling that I'll be left behind. Little by little hard songs are increasing. Even GABRIEL gives a hard time. I reaaaaally didn't want to play it. *laugh*

Uruha: I don't want to play it. I think that the feeling when he play it, like "what the hell is this song!!", was similar to mine. Even if it's one of my songs. *laugh*

Aoi: AHAHAH *laugh* Since we can't do anything about it, we just have to play it.

Interviewer: In a certain way, the most important thing is facing it with an extremely positive attitude. *laugh*

Uruha: Even for HEADACHE MAN, previously composed, was like this but thanks to the fact of doing lives you learn to play them while moving. This change is really interesting and I think it will be good if even the songs of this album will evolve in the future.

Interviewer: At the same time, as listeners, I think that the fact that this is absolutely not an hermetic album is important. It's an elaborated work but the impact and the feeling of attack are really strong and you can see that it's a quite explicit piece of work.

Uruha: In us it's strong even the feeling of doing a work that appeals to the listener sensitivity.

Aoi: We have the certainty of letting a much clearer sound reach you too, something more real according to us.

Uruha: Let's suppose there are fruits from this works, which will they be?

Uruha: Creating a single product following a precise concept was the first experience but it was funny the process that lead all of us until all of this. Despite the fact we looked at the same direction, the way of thinking of each one of us were different, we talked about it and gathered our opinions… this whole process was interesting and it was really worth it. I've the feeling that us ourselves, in a certain way, met a new face of the GazettE.

Interviewer: Even more, I think that the GazettE is became a band with a incomparable existence feeling. Musically speaking, while you kept doing what you like and having such a strength of persuasion is something really rare.

Aoi: This is because it's a visual kei privilege. Since oddly in the walls of music genres, visual kei doesn't have a specific genre, if you want to do something you can do it.

Uruha: What we, as band, can say is that we absolutely won't change in the visual kei field but then.. sometimes it's just about doing things we found interesting.

Interviewer: This greed seems to encourage even more this work!

Aoi: However we said it already: "it's a band that's earning the best things." *laugh*

Interviewer: Does it mean that the feeling is perfect, doesn't it?

Aoi: I think that the antenna receptivity is quite good. Previously, even BORN's Ryoga said that the GazettE are unfair, that things they want to do.. we end up doing them first! *laugh*

Interviewer: So, following the topic. After DIVISION, you'll start the tour -DIVISION- GROAN OF DIPLOSOMIA 01 in the fall. Did you think of which kind of scene to do in this tour?

Uruha: I'd like to exhibit the sound of the new GazettE in a solidly structured world. I'm really impatient myself.

Aoi: It's just it seems you need physical strength to play that A tuning. It's terribly rigid.

Uruha: Probably if we'll play it, our wrists will break. *bitter laugh*

Aoi: Maybe it's better if we strengthen our wrists before the tour. Moreover, since I heard awesome things from Uruha during the trouble of ear monitor during the previous FC tour, I would like to put into practice that things too. At first I thought that if someone tell me "You can't understand even things like that?", what should I do? But unexpectedly I finally found the answer, thanks gosh. *laugh*

Uruha: eh? You really thought that? You can ask me anything, let's share informations! *laugh*

Aoi: No no, I say it again, asking you something in your face embarrasses me. However, it was a long time since I did that. Wasn't it when went on tour sharing the same room?

Uruha: When we entered in this office it seems it happens quite a lot.

Aoi: We talked about guitars after going to bed until we feel asleep. *laugh*

Interviewer: It's a cuter than funnier episode.

Aoi: No, thinking about it now maybe it was something that gives a strange feeling. *laugh*


[1] Strings Gauge
[2] A way of playing they often use during solos, Uruha uses this technique quite a lote. For example: this video at minute 1:12 or 1:21
[3] He meant 'age' like.. they created something such extremely new that could create a new musical generation.






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