Lies and fabrications no longer resonate for me.

– hyde-san, you were very active this time around.
[Well, I don’t think anyone needed to tell me anything. I just worked (laughs).]

– Although the songs are all varied musically, they all seem to send the same message. The same theme permeates them all.
[It might have been because my thoughts all revolved around the same main idea. I consistently stuck to the same spiritual theme.]

– Ah, you mentioned this when ‘Killing Me’ came out. The way modern society appears peaceful, but in reality that isn’t the case if you take a closer look at people’s situations. These are the thoughts currently preoccupying you the most, hyde-san.
[That’s definitely one of the feelings I’m sending out with this production. After examining myself deeply, that’s all I could come up with. No other themes I could think of had the same sort of reality to them, so they seemed boring. Even if I’d written about them, they didn’t move me at all, so it felt like I was writing lies. To me, using words that don’t resonate with me are a kind of fabrication. I wanted to make something that would resonate the way the music did. Of course, if I’d had any other ideas that resonated that way, I would have written about them. But this time, nothing else had the right impact.]

– Nothing else resonated.
[After all, my criteria is whether or not it resonates with me. I could think about what people will think, or what kind of lyrics would make people happy, but there are so many people who all listen in their own way, so I can only imagine their reactions. I’m not confident enough about how that would turn out. If it fails to resonate with me even by a tiny bit, I don’t think I can expect it to draw people in.]

– Then the themes that resonate with you are influenced by recent incidents, and the world’s situation, correct?
[It isn’t really about the current era. It’s more accurate to say it’s about the world up until now. Some things never change. I’m resigned to believing that some things will never change, yet I wanted to include hope in the lyrics I wrote.]

– It’s about things that people keep repeating throughout history, then.
[Right. It’s incredibly scary that we haven’t learned anything from history.]

– But, you don’t want to give up hope.
[Well, part of giving up is aiming for a different goal, instead. I know I’m going to die someday, but rather than having lived without changing anything, I want to die knowing that I’ve done something to improve the situation. This way, I still have a dream, don’t I? It’s like the difference between not winning the lottery, and having a chance to win the lottery (laughs). In the end, even if we’re all together, we can each choose whether or not to buy into the dream.]

– That’s right. Life is much harder without hope. We can probably all understand each other on some level. And yet, it’s human nature to repeat the same things over again. The theme extends to all humans, right?
[That’s the kind of creature humanity is. I don’t think that can change, it might even be genetically programmed. I think humanity is the worst species on Earth.]

– Yet we are all part of that species. We can’t live any other way.
[That’s the sort of thing I wanted people to awaken to when ‘AWAKE’ was made.]

– When I listened to the album, I thought about the meaning of the title, and I was told it meant ‘awaken’. To stop turning your eyes away, stop pretending not to see, and take notice of what’s really going on in the world.
[It would be meaningless if it didn’t reach out to people. If you don’t awaken, it ends up being just another nightmare. If that’s fine with you, that’s okay, I guess. As for myself, I’ve realized that even in these circumstances, people can love each other, and that love is universal. I might be blinding myself to the whole picture, but I still think it’s true. I don’t want to see the evil in the world get in the way of that love. I honestly don’t think a person can be truly evil. Even in wartime, people fight because they have something to protect. But I want people to realise there are other methods. After all, even schoolchildren can understand that killing isn’t the only way to solve things.]

– It would be especially fitting if you were feeling a crisis looming recently, wouldn’t it? In such a case, the words found on this album would hit even harder. hyde-san, if that was the only message you wanted to send, did it make writing the lyrics easier?
[When I can empathize with the line, it’s easy to understand, so in that sense it’s also easy to write. But overall, I approached the production from many angles, so it wasn’t just about saying one thing. Also, there were other elements I wanted to incorporate, but in the end this is what ended up becoming the main point. That’s why everything ended up sounding alike, but that’s what moved me, so it can’t be helped (snicker).]

– Then this product became the expression of your own feelings on this matter. But, wasn’t it tiring to pour so much of yourself into it?
[No, I get a great feeling of achievement when I find the right words to express my emotions. It worked well, this time. And so, listening to it should draw you in. In our previous work, I focused on having the lyrics emphasize the melody, but this time I worked more on the lyrics themselves. The music is great, but I think the lyrics will especially catch the ear on this album.]

– Yes, I think so too.
[In the past, I might have thought it was too much trouble and kept away from this sort of lyric. I used to hate this sort of thing. But now I think that little bit of extra effort is worth it, since it helps the lyrics get noticed. My personal experience might be influencing that. Until now, I just tossed out any lyrics I could, without thinking, but now I’m willing to write lyrics that are a bit more trouble to come up with. It’s not that this sort of theme never occurred to me before, but rather that it didn’t mean as much to me as it does now.]

– This is how you are, now. What you once would have thought to be a bother doesn’t seem so anymore.
[Right. I realized I have my own “truth” inside, and that I don’t have to be embarrassed about expressing it. I don’t think I was strong enough to do that, before. So now, I shine that much more. I’m more firm in my beliefs now, so I can express myself in my lyrics and get closer to the core of what I really mean than I had done before.]

– It’s because your beliefs have grown stronger.
[Right. If I were writing words of love without meaning them, I’d probably be very embarrassed. But if they’re sincerely meant, it’s not embarrassing. That’s how it works.]

– You write what’s in your heart, and then sing it. This time, the songs will be much more persuasive.
[And I had practiced the day before(laughs). In the past the day of recording was the first time I tried out a song. So, I made a lot of stupid mistakes. But this time, I practiced before recording day, so I could try out all sorts of things. It gave me better results.]

– Doing that must have changed how you felt about the recording process?
[No, it didn’t. It’s always fun (laughs). No one gets mad much, and they kind of praise me a lot (laughs). And so, I feel good, we get a synergy going, and I can sing it right. So, it might be an obvious thing to say, but practicing really helps. It’s about time I realized that, considering it’s the tenth album (laughs).]

– Why did you decide to try practicing ahead of time for this album?
[Willpower, maybe? I wanted to sing my songs right. I have to sing anyway, right? I thought that if I’m going to sing, I may as well do it right. I think I was too soft on myself before. Songs are my passion. I decided to put passion into them, finally (laughs). But I might not just be a question of passion. My technique, and the quality of my voice, I use those to express that passion. I think that’s necessary for our music.]

– However, this time, I think you put a much stronger emphasis on your message. Wanting to express it became a fairly major element in your singing. Without paying due attention to that, I think this product looses a lot of its listening worth. No, this album is already a masterpiece. It’s L’Arc, so of course it’s going to be cool, but that’s not all. Listening to it gives you a lot to think about.
[Yeah. I think it’s a pretty good album. Lately, I’ve listened to other people’s music, but nothing else is as striking as this. It’s not that I decided to sing about something deeper, I think it would have been OK to sing about lighter subjects, too. But the way I am now, lighter things seem boring. I just think this album comes from the heart.]

– Yes. It really is quite moving. Also, the tour associated with this album is starting in August. Can we expect to see the world view of ‘AWAKE’ come to life this way?
[Probably. Thematically, it has a heavy atmosphere, doesn’t it? It’s not just coming from the lyrics (laughs). I think I’d like these lives to be cooler than our previous ones. I think it would be nice to focus less on entertainment and more on the message.]

– You’re also touring in Asia, concluding at Tokyo Dome. Will the content of that tour be different?
[Basically, I’d like to do something a little different. The Asia tour will probably have more entertainment. It’ll be more of a party (laughs).]

Translated by Natalie Arnold.

The following interviews were published in the July 2005 issue of CD Data, scans of which are available all over the internet. The issue coincides with the release of AWAKE. Also included are special liner notes for the album written by each member. This translation has never been posted anywhere else!

This is a translation of the talk segment preceeding a performance of Link on Pop Jam from July 15, 2005. Takanori Nishikawa hosted the talk, along with Watanabe Ken and Kojima Issai from Anjasshu. Of L’Arc~en~Ciel, only tetsu and ken participated in this talk. The usual warnings about possible misunderstandings apply especially strongly, since all participants laughed and talked over each other throughout the talk. This translation was previously posted on my LiveJournal. This is a revised version.

Begin

Takanori : And now, once again we have dragged L’Arc~en~Ciel into this playful corner. Today we have tet-chan and ken-chan!!
(Much clapping)
Kojima : Another month, you guys are back.
ken : Today, I’m kind of uneasy. This morning when I watched the news, they said “Sagittarius, be careful with your mouth!!” (laughter)
ken : Bad day for a talk!
Watanabe : Be careful!
Kojima : Maybe you shouldn’t say anything.
ken : As soon as I heard that, I shut it off. But it’s worrying me! So I can’t help it, I’m watching what I do with my mouth. Today, I’d better stick with bananas.
(Takanori cracks up completely)
Watanabe : Don’t they normally follow up with advice for the day?
ken : But I didn’t hear that part. (Miming shutting off the TV)
(more laughing)
ken : Ah, I’m talking too much already.
Watanabe : At least you watch the news.
ken : Yeah, I watched it.
Someone offscreen : Take care. You don’t have to talk too much.

Takanori : tetsu-kun is acting normal. Talking as much as usual. Whenever he goes on TV he seems so nervous. Aren’t you?
tetsu : It’s not nerves, it’s just consideration.
Takanori : Consideration? (some laughing)
tetsu : It’s better that I not talk much.
Others : Whaat?
tetsu : If I talk too much, it’ll seem like I’m trying to outdo the other people participating.
Kojima : We wouldn’t think that! Fine then, we just won’t talk.
ken : He’s like this in shops, too. Even when he’s with a quiet person. Doesn’t talk.
Takanori : But today it’s ken-kun who’s not supposed to talk much.
Watanabe : He’s talking too much!
Takanori : We should make him talk on purpose! See what happens!

Watanabe : Now, we all know that L’Arc~en~Ciel is popular, but to get sales they have to appeal to all sorts of people! So then, we went to investigate what old ladies in Harajuku think of them!

First ‘fan’ question : When was your first love?

Watanabe : Preschool or something doesn’t count. It has to be someone you actually found attractive.
Kojima : After your hair started coming in. (Note: Puberty)
(much laughter)
tetsu : Must have been middle school.
ken : (Starts to say something about puberty, but starts laughing)
(Everyone is laughing and I can’t pick things out, but it sounds like tetsu is telling ken not to talk about something)
ken : I could trap him with what I know.
(More laughing)
Watanabe : Do you remember what kind of person it was?
tetsu : Ehhh?
Watanabe : What kind of club were they in?
tetsu : Who was it again…?
(Much laughing)
Someone offscreen: Then, tell us about your first date.
tetsu : The first girl I dated. She played volleyball.
Kojima : Volleyball… Were you classmates?
tetsu : Not exactly… (laughing)

Takanori : You two were in the same middle school right?
ken : Yeah.
Hosts mostly over-talking each other : So then did the baseball hero (tetsu points to ken) know the volleyball player girl? Did you know tetsu-kun was dating a volleyball player?
ken : Well… (laughs) Now you’re trapping me! (laughs more)

Watanabe : Now ken-san, tell us about your first love.
ken : I was an early one. (laughs)
Takanori : Energetic, too. (more laughing)
ken : I’m not sure if we’d still recognize each other. (turns to tetsu) My partner <3 Someone offscreen : Now that your hair's come in... Takanori : Don't talk about your partner! (laughs) ken : It's actually really interesting. Even though I shouldn't talk! Someone offscreen : It's OK! Talk anyway. Just watch the perverted stuff. ken: It was in third year of elementary school. We had an exchange diary. Everyone : Ohh! How nice. Kojima : What did you put in it? ken : Nothing like... (starts laughing) Watanabe : We don't have to hear about the weird stuff. Takanori : It must have been nothing but slang words! (laughing and more laughing) ken : I wrote stuff like... we should talk more <3 Watanabe : "We should talk more in school!" And stuff like that. Kojima : "Today, we talked! And it's starting to grow in." (Everyone cracks up) Next 'fan' question : When something is bothering you, how to you settle the problem? Watanabe : You must have things worry you once in a while. tetsu : Yeah, I do. Someone offscreen : Like your work? tetsu : My work, my private life. (nodding) Watanabe : So how do you go about making those problems go away? tetsu : I worry by myself. And I cry, alone. Someone : You cry? tetsu : Yes, I cry. Anjasshu guys : Ehhh. And you admit it so easily. tetsu : Mmhmm. Watanabe : It's like he's proud of it. (lots of laughing) Crying must help him forget. Watanabe : ken-san, how do you clear your mind of worry? Settling your problems? ken : Hmm... Mostly, I sleep. And the next day, I've forgotten about it. People : Ehhh... ken : I sleep, I eat... Takanori : tetsu-kun, you're an A type? (Note : Blood type) tetsu : A type. ken : AB type. Takanori : Ah, so you can get distracted faster. It's easier to take your mind off things. Watanabe : Has anything been bothering you lately? ken : Hmm... No! (laughs) ken : Really, I think my lifestyle of forgetting about things is nice and convenient. Watanabe explains about a part of their campaign with the old ladies, which was a popularity contest between them (Anjashu) and L'Arc. A clip plays of old ladies being asked to choose between two photos, one of each group. They were asked to pick who they would like to have for a son-in-law. Old lady 1 : Hahah.. a cute one would be best! (picks Watanabe) Watanabe : Yes! ken : Uh oh. Old lady 2 : I like this one. Watanabe-kun. He looks like a modern kid. Anjasshu : Oh yeah! Old lady 3 : tetsu-san. I like his face. ken : Why did they use this picture? Old lady 4 : This one. (points to Watanabe) Watanabe : Yay, they're picking me! Old lady 5 : Him! (points to hyde) Hahaha... Old lady 6 : Granny picks this one. (Watanabe again) Ken-chan, is it? Old lady 7 : How about this one? tetsu-san. He's my choice <3 Old lady 8 : I'd take that tetsu-san. He has atmosphere. Old lady 9 : I like this kid. (points to Watanabe) He's a cute kid <3 Watanabe : Yay yay yay! Old lady 10 : I like this kid. tetsu. He's cute. In the studio : Oh! Tied! Screen : Tied with one point remaining! Old lady 11 : This one. (Chooses Watanabe) He has a cute smile. Anjasshu guys : We win!! Bonus : Kojima-san? Somehow, he seems unfriendly. (Much laughter in the studio) Kojima : I thought there was something weird. They always picked you! (points to Watanabe) Watanabe : It's because I'm smiling in the picture! That's what draws them in. Takanori : It's Watanabe vs L'Arc~en~Ciel! Kojima : Not fair! They won't even look at me. Takanori : Yeah, well, tetsu-kun, you almost won. tetsu : But it's a bad picture! Takanori : Yeah, that's the only reason. tetsu : The background is too dark. They should have used one with a brighter colour. And a smiling picture. ken : I don't smile in pictures! (much laughing) Kojima : But even if you smiled, the old ladies would pick us. ken : (smiles) Someone : Cute. (more laughing) Takanori : Ok, so with that in mind, introduce today's song. tetsu and ken : (Smile!) tetsu : Here's L'Arc~en~Ciel! ken : Link! (laughing and clapping, then comes the performance) Transcribed and translated by Natalie Arnold

This is a translation of the two hour All Night Nippon broadcast on July 8, 2005, with L’Arc~en~Ciel. I worked primarily from a transcript, but also had an mp3 of the show as reference. The translation should therefore be quite accurate. This is a spellchecked, proofread, final version.

Enjoy!

The choruses of HONEY, HEAVEN’S DRIVE, Niji, Pieces, NEO UNIVERSE, STAY AWAY and READY STEADY GO play.

Narration : Having released their first album in 1993, L’Arc~en~Ciel has had innumerable hit songs along their sparkling career.
Posessing an amazing vocal sense and always rising up to new challenges : the vocalist hyde.
Putting life into all varieties of music and taking the band into all directions : the guitarist ken.
The leader who controls the band, yet takes the initiative in a more playful way than any other : the bassist tetsu.
With a coool, avant-garde image and far-ranging capacities yet to be revealed : the drummer yukihiro.
Tonight, these four characters are on the air with us on All night Nippon, to look back on ten albums with the release of a new one!

all : L’Arc~en~Ciel’s All Night Nippon!

hyde : Good evening! This is L’Arc~en~Ciel’s vocalist hyde.
ken : The guitar, ken.
tetsu : The bass, tetsu.
yuki : The drums, yukihiro. (Not said clearly at all)
hyde : This time every Friday with Motoya Yukiko. Tonight’s All Night Nippon feels like some kind of theatre!
tetsu : Yes.
hyde : L’Arc~en~Ciel… I think the four of us want to reach out.
ken : (laughs)
hyde : All four of us are kinda nervous… on the radio.
ken : More nervous than going alone, before. (laughs)
hyde : The moment I got here, I wanted to turn around and go home. (laughs)
all : (laugh)
hyde : Somehow, we’re doing this… Um, does anything happen on this radio show?
tetsu : What will we have to do?
ken : Maybe nothing?
hyde : Maybe.
tetsu : Nothing…?
hyde : Yeah right (laughs) Something’s gonna happen. Definitely.
ken : Bring it on? (laughs)
tetsu : There’s nothing planned~~?
ken : There’s probably some way to avoid it.
hyde : Yeah yeah yeah.
ken : If we manage to avoid whatever it is… It’ll be an All Night Nippon that doesn’t really stand out, so they’ll want to do something to us.
hyde : Yeah yeah yeah. At least… we’re not in front of people. I want to make a plan. Basically, all four of us need to stick to the same story, so we don’t start any rumours.
ken : Right.. But right now it’s only two of us chatting. We should get a third one going.
hyde : Yeah, yeah.
ken : Although they say it’s all four on the radio…
hyde : That’s not going to happen. (laughs)
all : (laugh)
ken : Ahahaha (laughs) Well, let’s do our best.
hyde : Work hard?
ken : I’m trying hard. (laughs)
hyde : Let’s see… We, L’Arc~en~Ciel that is, released our tenth album on the 22nd of last month. (He sounds like he’s refraining from laughing) We released AWAKE (he says the word AWAKE with a flourish)
ken : Yep.
hyde : It comes, what… a year and three months after SMILE?
all : Hooo~~
hyde : …really (laughs). But still, I think it turned out to be a great album.
all : (laugh)
hyde : You guys (laughs). This is the tenth one.
ken : Hmm.. really, it’s hyde who worked hard.
hyde : Oh, me? (laughs)
ken : Consequentially. (laughs)
hyde : Yeaaah… it shows, right?
ken : It does show.
hyde : It shows that I worked hard.
ken : The last thing we did for that album was look over the cover jacket.
hyde : Yes yes.
ken : Yeah, and next to each song it says who wrote the words and who wrote the music. hyde’s name comes up a lot.
hyde : Wonder why.
ken : Why? You sound embarassed.
hyde : Hehehehe (laughs) Seems so. (laughs)
ken : Hahahahaha (laughing hard)
hyde : Yeah, so AWAKE is out. Hm.. Tonight. What else can we talk about, besides the new album?
hyde and tetsu : New single!
hyde : That’s coming out. That’s why we came to L’A.. All Night Nippon.
ken : Yes.
hyde : Right? On July 20th, we’re releasing Link.
ken : Yep.
hyde : This song will be on tonight’s show. For the first time.. in the universe!
ken : Haa… (Sounds like he cannot talk)

Here, sound effects abruptly start. It sounds like a voice being distorted.
hyde : Hm?
tetsu : What’s that??
Voice : Members of L’Arc~en~Ciel, Welcome to All Night Nippon.
tetsu : That scared me~ (laughs)
Voice : It is true that this was rather abrupt, but we felt that L’Arc~en~Ciel would give a good reaction to the surprise. Oh, and congratulations on the new album getting number one on the Oricon chart!
all : Thank you very much.
Voice : Tonight, the Nippon broadcast wants to congratulate you. Before we start out two-hour chat, here’s something to wet your throats. Help yourselves!
hyde : Whoa.
tetsu : What’s this?

(All sound like they are suprised when they realise what it is)

Voice : The program desperately scrambled to get you this champagne.
ken : Is this expensive?
hyde : Wow~
Voice : What we have prepared is quite possibly an expensive item.
ken : (laughs)
Voice : We had to make sure it was priced appropriately for a group of four people from Kansai~
ken : Would you tell us what the price was?
Voice : I cannot go that far. (laughs)
ken : (laughs)
Voice : As expected of Kansai natives, you betray expectations when it comes to financial matters. (laughs) By the way, there are four glasses over there. For yukihiro-san who does not drink alcohol, we have prepared some cola.
yuki : Thank you very much~
ken : Is it expensive cola?
Voice : Well, I think cola is generally always the same price (laughs). We thought it would be acceptable. Now, please help yourselves. You can each drink as you like. And, while you do so, tell us what you think of the taste. Let’s start with hyde-san.
hyde : Ah, well…
Voice : You take the champagne. (Sound of unwrapping) Take the.. take the champagne…

Pon!! (hyde says nothing, but the cork takes off)

all : Oooh (laugh)
hyde : Ah.. sorry, I spilled some. (laughs)
all : (laugh)
ken : So, can we start pouring now?
hyde : Ah, yeah, guess so…
ken : Yeah yeah.. I guess I’ll be pouring for hyde? (laughs)
hyde : Yeah yeah yeah.. ah, not so much. (laughs)
ken : Yeah, there you go. (laughs)
Voice : The glass is foaming up to the brim. And now we’ll have hyde-san pour for ken-san.
ken : There there there. One thing at a time.
hyde : One thing.
ken : Just one thing. (laughs) Yeah yeah yeah yeah…
Voice : Somehow, you seem like you’d be a threat to downtown. You’re pouring that champagne like you were going to town. Now, let’s have hyde-san pour for tetsu-san.
hyde : Okay, okay. (laughs)
tetsu : Uh huh (laughs)
Voice : Now, ken-san, could you pour the cola too?
ken : Ok, just this once.
yuki : Yes yes yes…
Voice : Now, all the glasses are full. Does anyone have a toast to make?
ken : Who, me?
Voice : ken-san, if you would.
ken : Then, to the tenth album~! Congratulations~! (laughs) Cheers!
hyde : Cheeers.
tetsu : Cheers.
yuki : Cheers.

(sound of clinking glasses)

Voice : Congratulations~~~
hyde : Is it really OK to drink? (whispered)
Voice : Yes, you can really drink it. Feel free.
ken : Ow! My foot hurts!
Voice : Ah, ken-san, as soon as you start drinking!
tetsu : Ain’t it awful when he drinks? (laughs)
Voice : Despite a broken foot, ken-san came to the radio studio for a drink. Few people would go so far. Now, everyone is wetting their throats. This should make for interesting two hour chat on All Night Nippon. It’s a pleasure!
hyde : Yes, but first a song from the album. Here’s Killing Me!

~Killing me~
(CMs)
(BGM : intro from EXISTENCE)

all : L’Arc~en~Ciel’s All Night Nippon!

hyde : So, let’s get on with it. Tonight on All Night Nippon, the four members of L’Arc~en~Ciel are here. (slurring) Eeh..I had me some champagne.
ken : Yeah.
hyde : Ugh.
ken : We’re on the second round.
hyde : The second round is when it starts feeling good. (laughs) Hey, don’t you have a broken foot?
ken : Um, so what?
hyde : Aro (it sounds like he tried to say to say “ano”) you shouldn’t be drinking?
ken : The doctor did tell me I shouldn’t.
hyde : He must have said that for a reason.
ken : Didn’t tell me why.
hyde : Maybe he was just being mean.
ken : Ah.. haha (laughs) What’s the point of that? (laughs) Doctors.. they’re pop, lately.
hyde : Oh, yeah.
ken : Yup, “So you broke something” … “No booze for you!”
hyde : Yay?
ken : Yeah (laughs) Like yaay! The first doctor I went to had this super serious face, when he told me it was broken. I figured that was bad enough. Then the next one I talked to said “Oh, it’s a fracture!” (in a cheerful voice). That one gave me the will to live!
hyde : I see.
ken : That’s what the doctor said. I think it’s important.
hyde : That’s deep.
ken : Yeah yeah yeah. Well, there’s gotta be another side to things. I think I’m drunk.
hyde : Ah.
ken : But I’m OK, I’m OK.
hyde : You are.
ken : Yes.
hyde : Yes, for now. Tonight’s theme is the new album, AWAKE.
ken : Yeah.
hyde : It means ‘to awaken’.
Voice : There. L’Arc~en~Ciel have told us, on All Night Nippon, the meaning of their new album, AWAKE. It has the theme of awakening. Let’s have them tell us all about AWAKE.
hyde : Okaay.
Voice : Are you ready?

(Their responses start to loosen up)

Voice : We haven’t heard much, yet. (laughs)
all : (laugh)
Voice : I don’t want to push you, but I’d like to get things going.
hyde : Yes.
Voice : So then, let’s have hyde-san, red-faced with two cups of champagne, start.
hyde : Yes.
Voice : What is the theme of this new album, AWAKE?
hyde : Theme? Um… Love and peace.
Voice : .. I had a feeling it would be something like that~
all : (laugh)
hyde : Nah, I’m making things up. (laughs)
Voice : Love and peace? (laughs)
hyde : Yeaaaah. (laughs)
Voice : Er, what were your reasons for focusing on love and peace?
hyde : Wh, why? (laughs) When I was writing music, I was thinking about what would be good for lives… For the lyrics, what was it again? For people… No matter where. But in the end it was about love and peace.
Voice : It sounds like you’re changing your story. (laughs)
hyde: Oh, am I? (laughs)
Voice : You say that it ended up being about love and peace, what do the other members have to say about that?

ken : ……
tetsu : ……
yukihiro : ……

Voice : No, you can say anything you want. I think this could be quite interesting.
all : (laugh)
Voice : You seem rather nervous. Are you all right?
ken : Ah, it’s just something I heard. I thought I smelled something familiar, but it turns out I was wrong. It’s not much to talk about. Just filling time (laughs)
Voice : That was ken-san, from behind. How are you, tetsu-san?
tetsu : I’m behind, too.
Voice : At the back.
tetsu : Yes.
Voice : What kind of timing is this?
tetsu : Let me see… Since you mentioned the title?
hyde : Hm.
tetsu : For sure. Yes.
Voice : Anyway, the title is AWAKE. (laughs)
all : (laugh)
hyde : Shaddup, you’re noisy. (laughs)

(all laugh)

Voice : You’re going to get difficult. (laughs)
tetsu : No, well, is there a connection?
hyde : Hm.
tetsu : Love and peace.
hyde : That’s… all of humanity hasn’t awakened to it. Isn’t it deep of me to talk about those good things? (laughs) Good, right?
Voice : … We’ve just passed 1 AM. (laughs) Are you happy?
hyde : Yes, we’re good. (laughs)
all : (laugh)
hyde : Hmm… When I was writing the lyrics, I was mostly going for that “as a person” feel. Now, we’re still definitely repeating history.. Like with wars, they don’t really end. Hmm, no matter how many people get killed, we just keep going through it all again, stupidly. Even when we know it’s destroying us, we pretend nothing’s happening and live normally.
tetsu : Hmmmmm…
hyde : What I want to say is.. I want it to stop repeating. I want people to awaken to that meaning.
Voice : …deep.
hyde : Deep. (laughs)
Voice : Deeeep. (laughs)
hyde : Totally serious… (laughs)
Voice : We’ve made a deep connection with love and peace. Thank you very much. Now, yukihiro-san?
yuki : Yees.
Voice: Do you have anything to add? To the depth of this love and peace.
yuki : Right on.
Voice : … Thank you very much.
yuki : Fufufu (laughs)

Voice : Right, let’s continue with yukihiro-san.
yuki : Yes.
Voice : Is it true then when L’Arc starts to work on a new album, you get a quota?
yuki : Yeah. They tell us to make lots of songs.
Voice : By the way,
yuki : Yes.
Voice : How many songs did you make, this time around?
yuki : Me? I just made one. (laughs)
all : (laugh)
Voice: Oh? (laughs) That’s entirely different from what you answered just a few seconds ago.
yuki : Yeah. (laughs)
Voice : Ah, let’s ask the others then. How many did the other members make? First, hyde-san?
hyde : I did five.
Voice : Ah, five songs.
hyde : Yeess.
Voice : ken-san?
ken : Four songs…
Voice : Four songs. tetsu-san?
tetsu : Huh? ken-chan did five.
ken : No way?
tetsu : Really, really.
ken : You’re lying? (laughs)
tetsu : It’s true. But only four of them had demos, so that’s how many you played…
ken : Oh really?
tetsu : Yeah, so one more makes five songs.
ken : Mm… I forgot! Ok, so make that five songs!
Voice : You’d think the artist himself would know the correct answer.
ken : Nah, I don’t even remember my own life from last year.
tetsu : (laughs)
all : (laugh)
Voice : Are you OK with being so uncertain about things? (laughs)
ken : Yeah, usually.
Voice : So it was five songs.
ken : Yes.
Voice : Now, how many songs for tetsu-san?
tetsu : I made my quota, of five songs. Five, plus tossing out some old ones. The total was seven. I went a bit over.
Voice : Seven songs, that’s wonderful. Now that we’ve heard from everyone, back to yukihiro-san. Something seems to be bothering him…
yuki : Yes. (laughs)
Voice : Eh, yukihiro-san.
yuki : Yes.
Voice : What did the other members say to you when you turned up with only one song?
yuki : Oh yeah… hehehe. (laughs) Something like.. come back when you have a little more.
Voice : This time.
yuki : Yes.
Voice : Who was it that complained the most?
yuki : (laughs)
tetsu : Wasn’t it the manager? (laughs)
yuki : (laughs) Yeah… It was. Our manager, from the office. (laughs)
Voice : That must have been a serious business talk.
yuki : (laughs)

Voice : Now, let’s continue. Let’s hear from hyde-san.
hyde : Yes.
Voice : When you were making your songs, surely you must have expected the other members to react a certain way, when they first heard what you were making for this album…
hyde : Mmhmm.
Voice : When you first showed it to them…
hyde : Mmhmm
Voice : How did it go?
hyde: Um.. hmm… mm… Well, it felt like they were seeing me naked.
Voice. Oh. Have they seen you naked before?
hyde : Ahahaha (laughs) All the time. (laughs)

(all laugh)

Voice : So, how did everyone react to seeing you naked this time around?
hyde : Huh? They didn’t… they weren’t expecting it. (laughs)
Voice : Let’s ask around about how it was to see that. ken-san, what did you think?
ken : Well, something was kinda hanging.

(Everyone in the studio laughs)

ken : Well, the crap he brought out needed arrangements. And smoothing over. To make it into decent music.
Voice : But that didn’t change hyde’s feelings.
hyde : (laughs)
Voice: Now, tetsu-san, how about you?
tetsu : No, no, I was impressed. Wow…
Voice : Now hyde-san seems to be smiling discretely.
hyde : Fufu (laughs)
Voice : Now for yukihiro-san?
yuki : Eh… hyde-kun is impressive, naked. That’s what I thought.
Voice : hyde-san is reaching for the champagne again.
hyde : Yes. (laughs)
Voice : There you have it, the message of love and peace.

Voice : Continuing, now it’s tetsu-san’s turn.
tetsu : Yes.
Voice : When writing music, what do you have to have in order to get things done?
tetsu : Let’s see… my car. Hehehe. (laughs)
Voice : Not your instruments?
tetsu : Instruments… I need those at the end. When I first start writing the song, I need to be in my car.
Voice : So, you go for a ride in your car?
tetsu : Yes. Just for a change of pace. I go out for drives. In the middle of the night. The roads are clear, then. When I’m driving around, I get lots of ideas. That’s when they float out to me.
Voice : Do you just hum out the music, since you’d be holding the wheel?
tetsu : Huhu (laughs) Yeah, that’s it.
Voice : And you manage to remember the melody.
tetsu : Yes.
Voice : I wouldn’t think it would be possible to memorize while driving, so what do you do?
tetsu : I use an IC recorder; it looks like a cell phone. I pretend I’m talking on the phone. But I guess I’m not supposed to be doing that…
all : (laugh)
tetsu : I might get stopped by the police, by mistake.
Voice : You’d better be careful, next time.
tetsu : Right.
hyde : IC recorders aren’t banned?
tetsu : They aren’t.
hyde: They’re legal.
tetsu : Yeah.
hyde : So, you’re fine.
tetsu : (laughs)
Voice : Please explain about IC recorders, tetsu-san. I imagine they’re rather delicate.
all : (laugh) Voice : Be careful.
tetsu : Yes.

Voice : Continuing with hyde-san.
hyde : Yes.
Voice : hyde-san, you wrote many lyrics for this album. Where do you get your inspiration from when you write lyrics?
hyde : Ehhhh…. Let’s see. First I listen to the music. I listen to the song, then something pops into my head.
Voice : You always think of the same things?
hyde : Ah! This time, I kept the same theme the whole time. Nothing else moved me, this time around. So everything has the same theme. The same.. feeling, approached from different angles. It’s like the way looking at Mt Fuji from Shizuoka isn’t the same as looking at it from Yamanashi.
all : (laugh)
Voice : Quite a tangible difference~
hyde : That’s the feeling? But even from a lake, you can tell it’s Mt Fuji.
ken : Fuji’s reflection?
hyde : It’s still Fuji.
Voice : This is starting to turn into 5000-yen talk.
hyde : (laughs)
Voice : Confusing, isn’t it?
hyde : Yes.
Voice : Thank you very much. We have heard much about the album, and we will continue asking questions to everyone after this break. Now, a track from the new album, AWAKE. ken-san, please do the introduction.
ken : So, here’s L’Arc~en~Ciel’s LOST HEAVEN, please listen!

~LOST HEAVEN~
(CMs)

BGM : Killing Me’s intro
all : L’Arc~en~Ciel’s All Night Nippon!

hyde : Nyai (Sounds like he tried to say “hai” and “nai” at the same time / “Yes” and “No”) Tonight on All Night Nippon we have hyde and
ken : ken and
tetsu : tetsu and!
yukihiro : yukihiro here~
hyde : All four of us here! Let’s keep going~?

Voice : ken-san’s face is getting redder and redder as we go on.
ken : I’m drunk! (laughs)
Voice : That answer says it all (laughs). It seems you are enjoying yourself thoroughly.
ken : Owwwww.

Voice : Ah~?
ken : My foot hurts.
Voice : Ah~ has it been a long time since you last drank?
ken : The last time was about eight months ago.
Voice : Eight months ago.
ken : Yeees.
Voice : That’s a bit of a problem.
ken : I’m pretty dizzy.
Voice : Dizzy… By the way, is it rare for the four of you to go drinking?
ken : We usually don’t~~
Voice : Usually not.
ken : About once or twice a year.
Voice : Once or twice a year…but it’s not that you don’t enjoy drinking… clearly. (laughs)
ken : Just for New Years, and the end of a tour.
Voice : Ah~
ken : That’s when we drink our lives away, all of us.
hyde : I don’t even know where you guys go drink… your bars and corners.
ken : Oh yeah..

Voice : You’re simple drinkers (laughs) Now, let’s start the talk with hyde-san and ken-san. Earlier, all four of you discussed AWAKE. Continuing with the same topic, I think we should discuss a personal awakening for each of you. You can each take a turn. What do you use to wake yourself up? hyde-san, if you could please start us off.

hyde : Er… the manager. (Answered quickly)
(everyone in the studio laughs)

Voice : (laughs)… a person? (laughs)
hyde : Yes.
Voice : A person… (laughs) You don’t have any other method for waking up?
hyde : Just once in a while.
Voice : Sometimes. What do you use for those occasions?
hyde : An alarm clock.
Voice : An alarm clock.
hyde : Um… it’s old-fashioned. The… kind that still rings after you hit it. Like, it rings again five minutes later.
Voice : That’s because you don’t get up right away…
hyde : Ah, well, nothing else wakes me up.
Voice : Ah~.
hyde : It’s exactly right for me. You know how at first, your eyes just kind of open gradually?
Voice : It sounds like you don’t wake up nicely.
hyde : I’m a bad waker.
Voice : Ah, well, let’s move on. How about you, ken-san?
ken : Same for me… manager.
all : (laugh)

Voice : L’Arc~en~Ciel’s manager seems to have an exhausting job, as far as I can tell. ken-san, you probably don’t use any other methods.
ken : Mainly, it’s the manager~
Voice : Mostly, manager-san.
hyde : Well, you know. The time we need to set a clock for changes, like, depending on how bad the traffic is, and where we need to go that day.
Voice : Ah~.
ken : (laughs)
hyde : So it’s good to have someone take care of the timing, every day.
Voice : Wonderful explanation. Thank you very much.
ken : (laughs)
hyde : Sorry. (laughs)

Voice : Now how about you, tetsu-san?
tetsu : I use a normal alarm clock, or I set my cell phone to wake me up.
Voice : Ho. It seems you’re more accurate with time. Have you always been like that?
tetsu : Uhhm.. Maybe? But lately, I haven’t been getting up.
Voice : Why?
tetsu : Huh?
Voice : Why haven’t you been waking up?
tetsu : How come? Cause I’ve been tired? (laughs)
Voice : Aah, be sure to take care of yourself.
tetsu : Yes. (laughs)
Voice : And now, how about yukihiro-san?
yuki : For me, it’s the manager.
Voice : (stifling laughter) You could all take a lesson from tetsu-san. (laughs)
tetsu : Aren’t they something? I wouldn’t… I don’t want to hear the manager’s voice first thing in the morning.

(Everyone in the studio laughs. Is the manager there too?)

ken : Yeah, well, if I don’t get a call from the manager, I won’t go out.
tetsu : Ah, I see, that’s how it is.
ken : Yeah.
hyde : I’d just be grumpy.
ken : Yeah.
hyde : I won’t answer to less than two tries. Hey. HEY!
ken : (laughs) So yeah, I think having to go out is a poison, that we get from the phone call.
hyde : Cause we don’t know if we’ll need to get up or not.
tetsu : Yeah, yeah. Can’t know if you’ll have to be woken up, or if you’ll have to sleep in.
hyde : Um, have to?
ken : Um… forget it. (laughs)
tetsu : Forget about it? (laughs)
hyde : Maybe, maybe I’m actually sleeping. (laughs)
ken : Eh, I wonder if the manager thinks that way? Think so?
hyde : If it were me, I would…
ken : But then you’d be in charge of waking me up (cracks up laughing)

all : (laugh)
hyde : Oh, would I? (laughs) So you’d be late once in a while? (laughs) That’s what would happen, right?
ken : Nah, well, it probably would. (laughs)
all : (laugh)

hyde : See~ (laughs)
Voice : It seems there is much love between you. (laughs)

Voice : Now, let’s continue. This time, let’s have all four participate. What was your… sexual awakening like? ken-san, please start us off.

tetsu : Sex… (laughs) (Tries to stifle his laughter)
ken : Ah.. it was on TV. Dirty (ladies?)

all : (laugh)

ken : They were doing it on TV (laughs) Women, on a completely wholesome TV show! Mud wrestling with boob-squeezing… And splashing mud.
Voice : That doesn’t sound wholesome… (laughs)
ken : It was on at 7 pm~. They were already showing the hard stuff that early. So, yeah, I didn’t really get it, didn’t know what it was. Why are these nice ladies doing hard stuff like this? What does it mean? I asked my mom that question.
Voice : Ah.. and how did she react to that?
ken : We had a long talk. (laughs)
Voice : The big talk. (laughs)

ken : “What are you watching?!”

Voice : … the birds and the bees talk.
ken : Yeaah.
Voice : Wonderful.
ken : Mmm~
Voice : Let’s continue by asking tetsu-san. How was it for you?
tetsu : Sexual awakening… When was it? … Um… when… when was it… I can’t quite seem to remember.
Voice : Talk about your awakening.
tetsu : What? Um…??
Voice : Elementary school? Middle school?

tetsu : Ah..

Voice : It’s usually by then that everyone has their sexual awakening.
tetsu : Yeah, it was while I was in school. Probably.
Voice : Middle school?
tetsu : Middle school… Um..? In middle school… yeah, it was middle school, probably.
Voice : Then.. take your time to think about it.

tetsu : Fufu (laughs)

Voice : We’ll come back to tetsu-san later.

tetsu : Wha~?

Voice : hyde-san, when did your sexual awakening come?
hyde : Ah, well, in bed, -that- started.. expanding.
ken : Hm? What was? (laughs)
hyde : Can I say that here? (laughs)
ken : Probably not. (laughs)
hyde : So I rubbed -that-, and, oh? It felt good~.
ken : (laughs)

all : (laugh)
hyde : (laughs) That was probably.. in the top years of elementary school, I think.
Voice : In the last years of elementary school…
ken : (cackling) You used your imagination (laughs)
hyde : Yeah, well, my old lady was sleeping nearby. (laughs)

(All laugh hard, especially ken-chan)

hyde : I have lots of memories of that, doing it by myself. (laughs)
ken : Did you get frustrated?
hyde : I slept like an old lady. (laughs)
ken : Sound asleep.
hyde : Yeah.
ken : More like pretending to sleep.
hyde : Maybe so.

ken : Hm.
Voice : I think your old lady was better off not knowing.
ken & hyde : (laugh)
Voice : Now lets ask yukihiro-san. How was it for you?
yuki : For me it was middle school… with my senpai, at the time.

(After a moment of silence, all laugh)

hyde : … no… no way. (laughs)
ken : (laughs)
hyde : What.. what kind of sexual awakening? What’s the story? (laughs)

tetsu : (laughs)

hyde : Heeey? (laughs)
yuki : Sexual awakening…
tetsu : That means your first sexual experience… (laughs)

(Everyone in the studio laughs hard)

yuki : Oh, well, you know. (laughs)

tetsu : We know, already. I see. Ah~
hyde : Sorry… (laughs)
all : (laugh)
Voice : Such joy. (laughs)
yuki : Yeaaah. (laughs)
Voice : And now, back to tetsu-san…
tetsu : Ah, well, for me it was probably.. middle school.. Eh..? Must’ve been my girlfriend back in middle school.
Voice : That might be going farther than just awakening. (laughs)
tetsu : Nono, my first experience wasn’t in middle school was it? It was just, that. Starting to notice girls, gradually becoming aware, of that stuff. The opposite sex. Isn’t that all it is?
hyde : Hmm… We kinda sound. Like idiots.(laughs)

all : (laugh)
ken : Reeaally idiotic. (laughs) I remember, I still didn’t know about porn and stuff when I started getting my first erections. (laughs)

(All laugh hard)

Voice : ken-san’s face is all red. He is red because of these great revelations. That he was nice enough to share. (laughs)

… And now a commercial break.

(BGM : Intro to EXISTENCE)
all : L’Arc~en~Ciel’s All Night Nippon!

Voice : Let’s move on to questions.
ken : Huhuhu.(laughs) Who’s this?(laughs)
Voice : Rubbing in his futon, hyde-san.
hyde : That’s enough of that. (laughs) That isn’t hyde. (laughs)
ken : (laughs)
Voice : In middle shool, with his senpai, yukihiro-san.
all : (laugh)
Voice : With his girlfriend in middle school, tetsu-san.
tetsu : (laughs)
Voice : Finally, watching the ladies play, ken-san.
all : (laugh)
Voice : Are you ready to move on?
hyde : Gladly (laughs).

Voice: Continuing! Let’s find out about your musical awakening. Let’s start with yukihiro-san.
yuki : Ok. I think it was TV shows.
Voice : TV programs?
yuki : Um, am I allowed to say the show’s name?
Voice : Please do.
yuki : Um.. The Best Ten? Hm? Yeah.
Voice : Ah, many artists appeared on that program… Did anyone in particular remain in your mind?
yuki : Um… Ippudo. Tsuchiya Masami-san, from that.
Voice : Like, Sumire September Love.
yuki : Yeah, that song. Exactly.
Voice : Did you have the CD, or rather the record?
yuki : Yes.
Voice : You bought it yourself?
yuki : Ah, yes. I did.
Voice : These are unexpected roots.

Voice : Ok, next, how about hyde-san?
hyde: Eh… Off Course, probably.
Voice : Ohh. What was it about Off Course that attracted you?
hyde : Hmmmmmmmmm, let’s seee. It’s just that I kind of liked them. And they came on tour. To my hometown.
Voice : How old were you at the time?
hyde : Elementary school.. probably sixth grade?
Voice : You went to concerts at that age?
hyde : Yes. I did.
Voice : Ah. The first concert I went to was Oda Kazumasa-san.
hyde : Yeah, the first one I went to was Wada Akiko, actually.
Voice : (laughs) So, how old were you for that Wada Akiko-san concert?
hyde : That was early on in elementary school.
Voice : Ohh… But you weren’t awakened yet, at the time?
hyde : No, I wasn’t awake. “Oh, there’s lots of grown-ups here.” (Said in a childish tone).
Voice : With the job you have now, you could meet Wada Akiko-san or Oda Kazumasa-san if you wanted to.
hyde : Ah, I haven’t met Oda-san.
Voice : You haven’t met yet. Would you like to? What do you think?
hyde : No, I’m scared.
Voice : Scared?
hyde : (laughs)
Voice : You’re scared?
hyde : It’s just that… I have a lot of respect for these people… I’d be bothering them if we met up. That kind of scared.
Voice : Oh.. You still have your straightforward, boyhood feelings towards them.
hyde : Yes, I’ll always have those strutfor.. stratfo.. Um. Straightforward feelings. I’m not used to that word.(laughs)
ken : Now he’s playing innocent.(laughs)
all : (laughs)

Voice : Now, let’s continue. tetsu-san, what was yours like?
tetsu : It was in elementary school, around sixth year. Either that or first year middle school. YMO… yeah. And I liked Ippudo too.
Voice : How did you encounter YMO?
tetsu : On TV, wasn’t it?
Voice : TV… I guess it was more your classmates at the time, but did your friends also like YMO?
tetsu : Um.. two or three people in my class did.
Voice : Ah, did you have fun together?
tetsu : Um, what do you mean? Huh? (laughs)
Voice : Like trading tapes among yourselves. Or maybe doing covers of them, in a band.
tetsu : Nah, not then. I wasn’t doing that sort of thing yet, in elementary school. I didn’t buy any of their records, but I did have tapes.
Voice : Did you make a tape with records you borrowed?
tetsu : I used rented records for that.
Voice : Ah, you started out just like a normal music fan.
tetsu : Yeah. That’s right.
Voice : Thank you very much.

Voice : Lastly, ken-san, what was your musical awakening like?
ken : We had some kind of records, at home. Movie soundtracks, or something.
Voice : Yes.
ken : Like for Godfather or something. Um.. I listened to that? And I must’ve really been impressed, cause I listened to it a lot. Then I don’t really remember what I was like in elementary school (laughs). I don’t know why I was listening to that lonely music in elementary school. Nothing special happened.
Voice : Do you have a sad memory associated with The Godfather?
ken : Oh, yeah. But nothing sad happened to me.
Voice : Maybe just the feeling of sadness.
ken : Not.. quite. Even though it’s sad, it made me feel good. That’s what’s strange about it. Oh, but I don’t mean like an erection.
Voice: (Refraining from laughing) Thank you for that superfluous clarification.
ken : Ahahahaha (laughs).

Voice : And now, yet another track from the new album, AWAKE. Let’s have tetsu-san do the introduction.
tetsu : Yes! TRUST!

~TRUST~
(CMs)
(BGM : twinkle, twinkle)
all : L’Arc~en~Ciel’s All Night Nippon!

hyde : Broadcasting on 36 channels from downtown Tokyo’s station. OK, all four of us are here for L’Arc~en~Ciel’s All Night Nippon.
ken : Yes.
hyde : Eh.. tonight’s topic is the title of the new album, AWAKE. For two hours, we’re doing talks with the theme ‘to awaken’.
ken : Yees.
hyde : Um.. this time, the All Right.. Ni.. Night Nippon (He’s putting a lot of effort into pronouncing this right) homepage was set up so that questions concerning ‘awakening’ could be sent in by email during the broadcast?
ken : Yup.
hyde : That’s what they told us. Wow, we got a lot of emails. Let’s introduce some.
ken : Hmm.
hyde : ken-chan, you do it.

ken : Eh… This from Aya-chan in Fukuoka. [When I was in middle school, I liked to watch erotic programs late at night. Once, when I was channel surfing, I happened to catch a L’Arc~en~Ciel song. The mysterious artistry of Kasou impressed me and drew me in. When I saw it, I though “Wow, we have a band this cool in Japan!” and I was… moved. If I could meet L’Arc~en~Ciel, I would gladly show them my sexual desire.].. is what it says.
(laughs)
This is from a girl?
hyde : Is it a girl? (laughs)
ken : Yeah. A girl wrote this…. sexual desire letter. They really have late night shows that turn girls on? (laughs)
hyde : I wouldn’t know, I don’t know anything about that.
ken : I don’t know… there’s stuff hidden in the late shows.
hyde : Hmm…
ken : Mm.

tetsu : Hmmmmmm.

all : ……
hyde : ……. Ah! tetchan, go ahead.
tetsu : Ok! (laughs) The next letter is from Misaki-chan. Thank you. [I was awakened to L’Arc on NHK’s Kouhaku Utagassen. At the time, hyde-san was wearing red contacts, (hyde is making “uh huh” noises the whole time) and I had never seen anyone with red eyes before. I was in first grade at the time…]
hyde : Elementary school? (laughs)
tetsu : [It was so shocking for me to see that I still remember it now.]

hyde: That must have been… the year of the rabbit…
ken : Oh, that’s not too recent?
hyde : Or maybe the year after that was the rabbit…
ken : I don’t follow that stuff. (laughs)

hyde : (laughs) I’m probably wrong…

ken : Hmm… So, when the year of the monkey comes… monkeys.
hyde : Right right right right.
ken : I see. I’ll have to be careful.

yuki : Ok, this is from a 14-year-old using the radio name of Makyuu.. san.
[My awakening to L’Arc was through Fullmetal Alchemist. At the time, I really liked FMA. That’s how I found out about L’Arc. I found an anime magazine in a convenience store with FMA on the cover, and when I read it I saw (Reading this in a monotone voice), the opening theme is done by L’Arc~en~Ciel, that’s how I learned your name. At first I asked “Who is that?” as my only reaction. And then when I went home, I watched Music Station. Tamori-san said “Next we have L’Arc~en~Ciel” and introduced L’Arc. I felt a bit of strange tension (the other members are laughing)… I was strongly mesmerized by READY STEADY GO. When the song ended, I was sweating. Of course, it was not cold sweat. It was sweat from the heart. L’Arc is the best~ That’s when I was awakened. I don’t think there’s anyone left who would ask “Who is this?” about you. (yukkie is saying this with strange tension)]
hyde : Heh~.
ken : Hmmm.
tetsu : Heh.
hyde : I.. went to a bookstore once. In Shibuya.

(all members make understanding sounds)

hyde : I was killing time in a bookstore, and they had an FMA poster on display.
ken : Yeah.
hyde : Ah, so they’re displaying that… At the time, I didn’t know much about it.
ken : Mm.
hyde : Well, they’d already done the tie-in, but I didn’t know anything about FMA. All I knew was.. it’s about a guy in fourth-grade or so, and his little brother in first grade.
(others make agreement noise)
hyde : So, on the poster it was the little brother pointing and saying “He’s the FullMetal Alchemist” (laughs)
all :(laugh)

hyde : But, the young one looks older, so I said “Oh.” I wanted to know more about those two characters.. Erm.. “Ah, so this manga is popular now” (laughs)
all : (laugh)

hyde : I thought.. it would be heartwarming.
ken : (laughs)
yuki : That’s not exactly how it goes. (laughs)
hyde : No kidding. (laughs)

ken : (laughs) Ok, the next letter is from Atsuko-chann~, in Kagoshima. [My awakening to L’Arc was with STAY AWAY. At the time, I was in the dance club in high school, so when I saw the video, with all the members doing such a complicated dance, I wanted to try the same movements. I thought your band had more skill than I do, with my dance club, and I was honestly jealous. Later, I found out it was really CGI with pro dancers doing the work, and I remember being very relieved. Anyway, it was a very shocking awakening.] Hmm.. I guess it leaves an impression. That promotion video.
hyde : I wouldn’t have thought anyone would go that far. I thought people would just smile when they saw it.(laughs)

all : (laugh) ken : You don’t expect people to feel that strongly~
hyde : People don’t seriously expect us to dance, do they? That’s really surprising.
ken : Hmm.. It is kinda weird.
hyde : It’s weird.
ken : At the time, yeah, hyde danced, just a little.
hyde : Only a tiny bit.
ken : Dancing really.. suits me the least. That’s what my teachers always said.
hyde : Really? (laughs)
ken : Now that I’m grown up… They can’t say anything against me.
hyde : Ah~
ken : They were really hard on me. And besides, that’s what really matters. From the neck up, it was our CG, and for the hand movements too. I guess some people still hold a grudge. The intro to New World starts playing)
hyde : hm?
ken : Oh.
yuki : Eh.. so now listen to another song! Here’s L’Arc~en~Ciel’s New World!

~New World~

(BGM : AS ONE’s intro)
hyde : hyde here.
ken : ken here.
tetsu : tetsu here.
yuki : yukihiro here.
all : L’Arc~en~Ciel’s All Night Nippon!
(CMs)
(BGM : Killing Me)

Voice : Tonight’s show is a tribute to the hit album, AWAKE. L’Arc~en~Ciel’s All Night Nippon. This AWAKE is the tenth original album since L’Arc~en~Ciel’s debut in 1994. With 12 new songs on this album, L’Arc~en~Ciel have produced over 100 original songs. Which songs among these have the most meaning for each of the four members? This question is of interest to their fans. Now, we will have each member present an older song and give his thoughts about it. We will also ask a few questions…..

Voice : Let’s start again with the vocalist, hyde. hyde-san, which song do you have strong memories of?
hyde : Eh.. It’s not actually on an album…
Voice : (laughs)
hyde : Sorry. It was the c/w for the winter fall single, metropolis.

(BGM : metropolis)
Voice : What do you think of this song?
hyde : This is a good song. Extremely good. It’s got a good tune… Well, this isn’t really related. But, I… Um.. (clears his throat) Um. I’m still having relations with a teacher from when I was in elementary school. Ummmm, it was a really good teacher.. That’s not what I meant to say. That good teacher didn’t exactly give me a blessing or anything, but once in a while when I remember what I was blessed with in elementary school, my relations with that teacher come up, uh… Every time that single comes up, I want to send it to that teacher. When winter fall came out as a single, I sent it… because of the lyrics to metropolis.. oh, this sounds bad. … but it was… gentle…

ken : Ah, that does sound bad~
hyde : It’s the lyrics.
Voice : Ah~

(the line “Hametsu wa Mado no Soto~” part from metropolis plays again, meaning “Destruction is outside the window”)

hyde : That line, exactly.(laughs)
Voice : Let’s listen for a while.

(During the line “Furueru Kairaku ni Oborete” the members laugh, meaning “Drowning in trembling pleasures”)
(They don’t resume talking until the line “Seiki wo Iashite” has played, meaning “healing genitals”)

ken : That says a lot. (laughs)
hyde : (laughs) This makes me want to say.. “Oh, I’m so sorry, teacher.” (laughs)

ken : (laughs)
Voice : Please tell us more about this teacher. Were they male or female?
hyde : Oh, it was a woman teacher.

Voice : A female teacher…

hyde : A woman.. teacher.. Yeah, well, I guess I can’t help but reveal it now. That teacher left a huge impression on me.(laughs) She probably tells her students now “You know, I taught hyde from L’Arc”. I bet it makes them more interested in her. They wouldn’t think this had anything to do with her. But, you know, I tried to write that song, those lyrics, dozens of times before. Whenever I try to write perverted lyrics, I picture that teacher in my mind. (laughs) She, uh.. stimulates my imagination~
ken : She’s your ideal?
hyde : Yeah, she is.

ken : Ah~
Voice : Even though this is a good song, is that the reason it was never put on an album?
ken : (laughs)
hyde :(laughs) Definitely.(laughs)
Voice : Thank you very much.

Voice : Next, let’s have ken-san share his thoughts on a song.
ken : Ok.
Voice : ken-san, which song did you think of?
ken : I pick the song Voice.
Voice : The circumstances behind that one are especially complex, but please tell us about them.
ken : This is a song from the album DUNE. We had a different version of it. Hm, yeah, we did. When I joined L’Arc, it was the first song I contributed, and then we moved out to Tokyo, right? I was still new. I was impressed, thinking “Wow, Tokyo studios are so big!”(he sounds like he’s talking to himself)

(BGM: Voice – not the version that is on DUNE)
Voice : You’re thinking of the version we’re playing now.
ken : Yes.
Voice : This may very well be the first time this version is broadcast.
ken : Ah~ Maybe so.
Voice : Yes. This is extremely valuable.
ken : At the time, the sound engineer was listening to Metallica.

tetsu : Ah~ (like he just realised something)

ken : We became close, when we were comparing my song to Metallica. (laughs)
Voice : (laughs) Ah, so that explains why this version is harder than the normal one. It’s because of Metallica. (laughs)
ken : Yeah. Comparing it like that.. they do things differently in Tokyo (laughs). Or so I thought at the time. Hmm.
Voice : You lost your Tokyo virginity to Metallica.
ken : To that comparison with Metallica. Yeah.
Voice : So what we’re hearing right now is very reminiscent of Metallica?
ken : That’s what it makes me think of. Yes.
Voice : Thank you very much.
ken : Okay.
Voice : Now, we will continue talking with the other two members, but first we have a commercial break.

(CMs)
(BGM : Intro to New World)
All : L’Arc~en~Ciel’s All Night Nippon!

(BGM : Jiyuu e no Shoutai)
Voice : Commemorating the release of their tenth album, AWAKE, here’s L’Arc~en~Ciel. At this time, the members are taking turns picking a song from the past, introducing it, and telling us their thoughts about it. We’ve gone through hyde-san and ken-san, so now it’s tetsu-san’s turn.

tetsu : Yes.
Voice : tetsu-san, please tell us which song from the last ten albums you chose.
tetsu : I pick winter fall, from the album HEART.

(BGM : winter fall)
Voice : Of all four members, tetsu-san seems to be the one most worried about which song to pick.
tetsu : Yes. (laughs)
Voice : Why is that?
tetsu : Eh.. No particular reason. (laughs)

All : (laugh)

Voice : It’s a well-paced song (laughs)
hyde : Maybe that’s the problem.
Voice : That could be it.
tetsu : (laughs)
Voice : Well then, even if it isn’t much, do you have anything to say about this song?
tetsu : (laughs) Er, I think I can talk a little.
Voice : Then if you could please tell us what you’re thinking?
tetsu : When this single came out.. I think it was the first time we hit number one on the Oricon singles chart. Am I wrong? Am I? Am I right? Manager… (laughs)

ken : Eeeh~
hyde : Ooh~
tetsu : OK? Though our album had hit number one, before that.
hyde : Oh, that’s right.
tetsu : But for singles, it was our first number one.
ken : Ehh~
hyde : Eh.
tetsu : Yeah.
Voice : tetsu-san, do you always check your position on the charts?
tetsu : No, but since it was our first number one, it was especially memorable. (laughs)
Voice : At the time, was there anyone in particular you wanted to share your joy with?
tetsu : Ah.. No there wasn’t.
Voice : (laughs) You kept your joy to yourself.
tetsu : Yes, that’s right.
Voice : You could taste it. Was it especially hard to make that song?
tetsu : Ah.. Recording that album, the album HEART, we lived together, in a mountain retreat. About a whole week, to get our rhythm back. Remember?
ken : Yeah, I do.
tetsu : Writing two songs a day.
yuki : Yeah.
tetsu : And I even… I ran away with yukkie, crying in the mountains.
yuki : We ran out to the mountains, right. (laughs)
ken : You ran away?
tetsu : Mmhmm. (laughs)
ken : (laughs)

tetsu : I deserted you. (laughs)
Voice : While all this harship was going on, hyde-san got lost in his own mind.

all :(laughs)

Voice : He’s eating calmly in his corner.
hyde : Sorry. (laughs)
Voice : What was hyde-san doing during that runaway-in-the-mountains episode?
hyde : Hmm.. I don’t really know (laughs). I must’ve been in the mountains, too.
ken : When the two of them didn’t come back, the engineer and producer said “What’s happening with this band?!” to me… I remember saying “Sorry!” to them. (laughs)

tetsu : (laughs)
yuki : (laughs)
Voice : But they came back safely…
tetsu : Well, yeah, but not at the same time! We came back separately… so it didn’t look like we we’d met up, at all. (laughs)
yuki : (laughs)
Voice : Even more trouble. (laughs)

all : (laugh)
Voice : But when you came back, HEART made number one.

ken : (laughs)

Voice : You obtained that distinction.
tetsu : Right. We did~.
Voice : You worked so hard, you deserved it. Thank you very much.
tetsu : Yes, thank you very much. (laughs)

Voice : Now let’s continue with yukihiro-san.
yuki : Okay.
Voice : Which memorable song did you choose, yukihiro-san?
yuki : I also picked a song from HEART, Niji.

(BGM : Niji)
Voice : yukihiro-san, what do you remember about this song?
yuki : Well, you see.. this was the first song I made with L’Arc. So the recording of it is a special memory for me.
Voice : It was your first recording.
yuki : Yes.
Voice : It must have been very difficult.
yuki : Yes.
Voice : How did it go?
yuki : Ah, well, you see, it was an abrupt start. I wasn’t sure if my own style of drumming was going to work out or not. It went slowly, taking the recordings from each day and looking at how it was shaping up. (laughs) It worked though. (laughs)
Voice: Did the other members welcome you?
yuki : Yes.

Voice : What did you think of them?
yuki : Um.. let me think. I don’t really know. (laughs)
Voice : Let’s ask them what they thought of you.
yuki : Hahahaha. (laughs)
Voice : So then, hyde-san?
hyde : Ah, sorry, I can’t remember.

all: (laugh)
tetsu : That sounds like a problem…(laughs)
Voice : What about you, tetsu-san the leader?
tetsu : Well, I really mostly remember the studio. That basement studio. So, well, my first impression is mixed with that. My impression of yukkie.
Voice : Ohh~. How about ken-san?
ken : Ah~ I thought he could stand to be flashier. I think I said as much to yukkie. Then he showed me what he could do. With flashiness? What am I saying? (laughs) Well, interpret that how you want (laughs).

Voice : Your message gets through (laughs). I think it’s allright. So, thank you very much for your thoughts and memories on that song, yukihiro-san.
yuki : Okay.
Voice : And now, we have a commercial break. After that, we will ask each member about their thoughts on the follow-up to this tenth album, the single being released on July 20th, which will be aired tonight for the first time. But before that, a track from AWAKE. Here’s L’Arc~en~Ciel’s AS ONE.

~ AS ONE ~
(CMs)
(BGM : The intro of Killing Me)
all : L’Arc~en~Ciel’s All Night Nippon!

hyde : …you’re crowding me.
ken : (laughs)
hyde : So! Like we keep saying, the new album is out.
ken : Yup.
hyde : And.. we have another single coming.
ken : Yeah, really quick.
hyde : July (talking at the same time as ken) July 20th. The new L’Arc~en~Ciel single will be Link.

ken : ………
tetsu : ……….
yuki : ………
hyde : …. yeah.
ken : Fufu (laughs)
hyde : Um.. Link’s coming out!
ken : Yes!
hyde : Yeaaah! It’s a really summer-ish song. A calm, happy number… And it’s a song that tet-chan made!
tetsu : Yes.
hyde : Hey, tetsu-san. How is it?
tetsu : How..? Um. It’s summer-like. Refreshing.
hyde : Mmhmm.
tetsu : But you already said that.
hyde : So um… did you write it in your car?
tetsu : Actually, this time I wrote it at home.
hyde : No~ (“Iie”)
tetsu : No, at home (“Ie”) (laughs)
hyde : Hmmm, where at home?
tetsu : … at home. (laughs) Probably my living room.
hyde : Living room.
tetsu : Living room.
hyde : Living… tet-chan, what’s your living room like?
tetsu : At home? (laughs)
hyde : Yeah.
tetsu : Well, I have a sofa…
hyde : Oh, sorry sorry. How many mats? (Note : Tatami mats, of a standard size, can be used to measure a room’s area)

tetsu : Huh?

hyde : How many mats?

ken : (laughs)
tetsu : (laughs) Bad question. You ask dirty questions (laughs). Oh, um, I think it’s smaller than the living room at your place, hyde.
hyde : Ah~ (laughs) I see.

tetsu : Really.

hyde : Oh, really. And it’s all white?
tetsu : Yeah, it’s white.
hyde : White.. So you wrote it in there.
tetsu : In there, yes.(laughs)
hyde : I see. So it’s a classy one. This song.(laughs)
tetsu : It’s not classy… (laughs)

ken : You’re done. (laughs)
tetsu : (laughs)
hyde : Do I make sense? (laughs)

tetsu : Not at all. With that classy thing… (laughs)
hyde : Ah, but isn’t your place classy? In that super-tall building of yours (laughs).
tetsu : Nononono (laughs) But there are a lot of floors.
hyde : Oh, how many?
tetsu : Uncountably many.
hyde : That many? How… nice..
all : (laugh)
hyde : Your furniture, how much is it worth, all together?

all : (laugh)
tetsu : (laughs) What are you… (laughs) What kind of talk is this? Um.. let me see..
hyde : More or less than 10 million yen? (he cut tetsu off to say this)
tetsu : No, um, how can I put this? Um, hyde-san?
hyde : Hm?
tetsu : Are you trying to buy my stuff?
hyde : No no no (laughs) … Okay.. about Link…
tetsu : Link. Yeah, Link.. (laughs)

All : (laugh)

hyde : The song that came out of tet-chan’s living room. I got to take that, this, the? classy song and make up lyrics to it.
ken : Ha, ha.
tetsu : Classier lyrics, too. (laughs)
hyde : They are classy lyrics, aren’t they~?
tetsu : So, where did you write the lyrics?
hyde : For this song, um…

tetsu : Where were you?

hyde : …In the studio.
tetsu : The studio?!
hyde : In the studio, yes, the studio…
tetsu : Aah! In my studio? (laughs)
hyde : Aaah~? (laughs) Ah, they took me into that car. (laughs)
tetsu : (laughs)
hyde : The director, I mean. For FMA. I had a chat with the director cause it’s a tie-in song. He’s really passionate about it. So… I helped make up this classy mix.

tetsu : Fufu (laughs)
hyde : For cohesion.
tetsu : Yeah.
hyde : So I gave it a shot. It turned out to be a cool little number.
tetsu : Mmhmm.

hyde : I think so.
ken : Number. (They’re saying “number” in English this whole time)
hyde : Number, number…what’s with you? Lately. (laughs)
ken : Ah… Hmm? Number?
hyde : Saying things like “Listen to this next number” (laughs)
all : (laugh)
ken : Well, first off I don’t even know what number means. (laughs)
hyde : Number, you know.
ken : Hm~

tetsu : Number…

ken : Ok, so what do you want me to say for this one? The next one?
hyde : Chekitout!! Or something.
ken : Chekeraa? (laughs) Oh.. hmm. I think you mean “Check it out!”

tetsu : Che… (speaking softly)

ken : So, say something about the CD being out, then? Drop, or Out, or something?
hyde : Yeah, that’s it.
ken : I wonder if this is going to become a new popular slang word… I kinda like it. (laughs)
hyde: Like the song.
ken : Mm.
hyde : Ok, lets get on with it and play the upcoming single. Link!

~ Link~

hyde : Ok, so you’ve heard Link. What did you think. Eh.. For people who live in classy places (tetsu goes “Eh?”), this song is wonderful.
tetsu : (laughs)

ken : Fufufu (laughs)
hyde : So! Fo sale on July! 20th!

ken : Yep.

hyde : I said “Fo sale” (laughs). It’ll be released July 20th. ken : Yees.
hyde : Please look forward to it.

(BGM : intro to EXISTENCE)

all : L’Arc~en~Ciel’s All Night Nippon!
(CMs)
(BGM : Intro to AS ONE)
hyde : hyde here.
ken : ken here.
tetsu : tetsu here.
yuki : yukihiro here.
all : L’Arc~en~Ciel’s All Night Nippon!

(BGM : TRUST)
Voice : Following the release of the new album, AWAKE, is the new single, Link, coming on July 20th. Also, L’Arc~en~Ciel is starting a tour this summer. L’Arc~en~Ciel, AWAKE TOUR 2005, (Much tour date information I’m skipping)… Are all the members looking forward to the tour?

hyde : Yeah. Asia… Live?
ken : Yep.
hyde : AWAKE tour.
ken : Yep.

hyde : Yeah, so we’re doing a lot of lives.
ken : Yeah, yeah.
tetsu : Yeees.
hyde : Eh, that’s enthusiasm.
ken : Enthusiasm?
hyde : Yeah, I want to reach out to everyone.
ken : Ah~.
hyde : With this project.
ken : Personally, I’m looking forward to the AWAKE tour.
hyde : I see.
ken : But this broken foot is bothering me. That’s what’s worrying me. Will I be able to give as much as I did last year?

hyde : Yeah.
ken : That’s all I’m thinking about. Putting on a show for all those people.
hyde : Mmhmm.
ken : And overseas, too. I want to give them some real entertainment.
hyde : I see.
ken : This sucks. I wanna do my best.
hyde : I know what you mean.
ken : Every show this year. Every performance.
hyde : Going all out.
ken : Going all out.
hyde : I know.
ken : This year is like.. What was I gonna say? Oh yeah, it’s like a second rabbit. Well, no. You know what I meant. (laughs)

All : (laugh)

hyde : Yeah, I know. (laughs) This is like the prelude to what you really want to do? And this broken foot is in the way.. at this late stage…
ken : Entertainment? (laughs) hyde : It’s entertainment..

ken : Hehehe (laughs) It is?
hyde : It is, watching you try to stand up.
ken : Oh, I see. (laughs)
hyde : It’s touching.
ken : Ah, touching.
ken : “I still can’t stand up today?” I keep asking myself.
hyde : Mmmhmmhmm.
ken : Looks like I can’t. (laughs)
hyde : Looks that way. (laughs)
ken : Another two days till I can stand.
hyde : Ah, so you’re close.
ken : Yeah, I am.
hyde : Is something wrong?
tetsu : Nah, not really. But, um, I want to make it a wonderful show.
hyde : You like the lives, right?
tetsu : Eh? (laughs) Lives… (laughs) ken : Well, yeah. It’s not something we usually bring up. (laughs)

hyde : Right, right, right.
tetsu : Well, I certainly don’t hate lives.
hyde : Oh…

tetsu : Um…
ken : But you don’t really like them? (laughs)laughs) I do… like them. Once we get started, I like it. It’s like taking a bath. Before you get in, it’s a pain, right?
hyde : Ah.
tetsu : “Ah, do I have to do this again?”.. you know, taking one every day? (laughs) Well, I do, anyway. But once I’m in it’s like “Ah, this feels great~”…

hyde : Then you’re glad you did it.
tetsu : Yeah.
ken : Oh~
tetsu : Lives are like that. It’s horrible when we’re preparing.
ken : Is it?
tetsu : Yeah!? (laughs) Isn’t it? All the rehearsals…
ken : So…?
tetsu : Oh, never mind. (laughs)

ken : Ok… Well, maybe I’m the only one…
hyde : I get it…

All : (laugh)

tetsu : So that’s it…

all : (stifled laughter)
hyde : (laughs)… Okay, what’s going on? (laughs)
all : (laughs)
hyde : This is a promotional talk, a promotion talk.
tetsu : Nah, but it’s fun. For me too. That’s a first.
ken : Your first time.
hyde : Yeah, and after AWAKE tour, we have ASIALIVE. (He trips over the word “live”) China, Korea, then Tokyo Dome. That should be great. Lots of fun.
ken : Yeah.
hyde : Yeah. I hope they cheer as much as I’m imagining.
ken : Yeah, in China.
hyde : But I heard they don’t stand up.
ken : In both?
hyde : I heard that for them, standing up in a live means you’re mad.
ken : Seriously?
hyde : Yeah, in China, anyway.
ken : Whoa~.
hyde : Well, that’s the information I got, but I guess we’ll have to see for ourselves when we go.
ken : We won’t know the atmosphere.
hyde : Oh and… I don’t remember any Chinese.
ken : Really? (laughs) I can chat a little.
hyde : You can? Oh yeah, you spent some time over there.
ken : I went over for a bit.
hyde : So say something.

ken : ……

all : (laugh) ken : (laughs) Wo shi (Note : I don’t know ANY Chinese so sorry if this looks weird!)

hyde : Wo shii?
ken : I am.
hyde : ken shi.
ken : ken. Hmm. I think that’s it. (laughs)

hyde : (laughs)

ken : But just by saying that, you think we can get our feelings across to them?
hyde : Probably.
ken : Yeah.
hyde : What about “We are?”
ken : Ah, don’t ask me. Chat with the manager.

hyde : Hmm.
ken : hyde, what if you sang one song in Chinese? They’ll ask you to.

tetsu : (laughs)
hyde : … what if.. I .. just hide in the shadows, and not talk? (laughs)
ken : (laughs) Go tell that to the public. They’re not gonna take that. And I bet they can think of a different reason, too (laughs)

hyde : Hmm…

tetsu : That’s awful… (laughs)
hyde : Jojoushi or something.. would work.
ken : Yeah yeah, get a choir! Or something.
hyde : Hmm, well, if we had a choir come on, no one would be paying attention to my singing. (laughs)

all : (laugh)
ken : So, it’s just distribution!
hyde : Ah~.
ken : “It looks like hyde is singing the song in Chinese.”
hyde : I get it.
ken : But it’s just katakana.
hyde : Mmhmm.
ken : All of it. Well, yeah.
hyde : Even if we don’t do that, I can still use English, right?
ken : Well, it’s China, you know. (laughs) Their language…
hyde : Better do things their way.
ken : Yeah, well, maybe they’ll be happy anyway.
hyde : Oh, REVELATION would be a good one.
ken : Revelaaation… Um, what do you mean? Sing that part in Chinese or in Korean?
hyde : The “Yuigadokuson” part…

(They laugh)

ken : That already sounds like Chinese. (laughs)
hyde : Sorta. Kinda.
ken : Hmm.
hyde : Well, it feels that way.
ken : Yeah.
hyde : Let’s keep working on that. It should be a fun tour… A good goal? To aim for.

ken : Yes.

hyde : And now! One last song from AWAKE.
ken : Yeah.
hyde : Please listen to this song. Jojoushi.

~Jojoushi~

(BGM : Intro to Killing Me)
all : L’Arc~en~Ciel’s All Night Nippon!
(CMs)
(BGM : Intro to New World)
hyde : Hi! The four of us are here for L’Arc~en~Ciel’s All Night Nippon. We’re coming up to the end now.
ken : Yes.
hyde : So, our tenth project is complete, now.

ken : (laughs) hyde : The next goal is to make it to 20 albums.
ken : We’ll be 60 by then. (laughs)
hyde : Yeah. (laughs) Probably. So… look forward to it. To our 20th album.
ken : Hey, I know today is a radio show, but it doesn’t feel very formal? Not like a meeting at all?
hyde : (laughs)
ken : Like “Please tell us your thoughts on this next song, hyde-san.”
hyde : Ooh, they can’t help but ask that…

(they laugh)

ken : (laughs) This one was more like… a happy little meeting.
hyde : Aah… But there’s something I want to say.. underwater. (laughs)
ken : Hahahaha (laughs) This is getting pointless.
hyde : Yeah, but ken-chan, I don’t think you’ll go for it… you won’t go down there. (laughs)

ken : (laughs)

Voice : Well, we’re running low on time. Let’s finish by asking each member to send a short message to the fans. hyde-san, please start.

hyde : Okay. Thank you very much for being with us today. I had a great time. If we had a bit more time, I’d get tet-chan to reveal more of his private life. But unfortunately we’re out of time. It’ll have to wait till the 20th album. This was hyde.

Voice : Now, ken-san, please.
ken : Oh, ok. So, we’re getting ready to tour AWAKE, I hope we’ll be able to do something extra special this time, as you heard on this radio show! Um… look forward to it!

(BGM : twinkle, twinkle)
Voice: Thank you very much. Now, tetsu-san please.
tetsu : Ok. Um, it was fun. Today. Thank you very much. We’re rehearsing for the tour now, and I think we’ll have lots of fun doing it. Come to the lives!

Voice : Thank you very much. Finally, yukihiro-san, please.
yuki : Okaay. um… Please keep encouraging L’Arc~en~Ciel.

Voice : … A simple finish. (laughs)

(They laugh)

Voice : Thank you very much! You did an exceptional job tonight!
ken : Good work~
tetsu : Good job.
hyde : Yeah, yeah. Oh, thanks for staying with us all night. This has been L’Arc~en~Ciel. … Goodbye~.
ken : Bye bye.
tetsu : Bye byye.
yuki : Byebye..

Translated by Natalie Arnold

This is a translation of the talk with L’Arc~en~Ciel from the July 1, 2005 episode of Music Fighter. This translation was previously posted on Pieces. This is a revised version. As always with video clips, it is possible that I misheard something and thus mistranslated it. Enjoy!

Begin

After an introductory portion with the three hosts alone, L’Arc comes out.

First part : I want to get to know you better!!
With special feature : yukihiro talking!! Legendary!

First question : Is it true that ken has a dam fetish?
ken : Yeah, it’s true.
host 1 : What’s so intersting about them?
ken : They take about 30 years to make. Nothing else takes that long.
host : I see.
ken : They’re wonderful. (much laughing) Looking at them, it’s like looking at the pyramids.
host 2 : Do you take your dates to a dam?
ken : Well, I might have had one or two ‘dam dates’. (laughs) But, it’s not very dreamy to say “Let’s go to a dam.” Being with me is the dreamy part.
host 1 : The girls aren’t gonna want to go see a dam, though.
ken : We just go on a drive, and then happen to find a dam on the way.
host 2 : It’s not a coincidence; ken-san intentionally drives toward the dam!
ken : On purpose, yeah. (laughs)

Question : What are the other member’s fetishes?
Sign : tetsu-san has a tall building fetish.
tetsu : Well, I like how they rise, and I like the view.
host 1 : The way you can see soooo far from the top of one, right?
tetsu : Just for that, I took a private trip to Hong Kong.
Everyone : Whaaaat?
host 1: Just to see buildings?
tetsu : Yeah.
host : To look at buildings?!
tetsu : (laughing) Yeah.
host : One more time : TO LOOK AT BUILDINGS?!
(Much laughing)
host 2 : You took a plane to Hong Kong just for that?
tetsu : In Tokyo, they’re all so small.
hosts : What? Really? Tokyo?
tetsu : Compared to New York, or to Hong Kong, then yes.
host : You were always looking up, weren’t you?
tetsu : (nods)
hosts : You must have looked like a stupid kid.
(laughter)

Sign : hyde-san has a slope fetish.
hyde : They really excite me.
(lots of laughing)
Aoki : How come?
hyde : To censored and stuff.
(Lots more laughing)
hosts : Does anyone see you?
hyde : (nodding) That’s bad, really bad.
hyde: It takes a good slope. It’s OK if it goes straight up, but I’d rather have it wander off… (some laughter)
host : ?
hyde : So you can’t see the path. “I wonder what could be over there?”
host : I can’t imagine it at all…
hyde : I like a slope with lots of side paths. One that looks all scattered. So then I can turn around and peek. Slopes are good places for that. Just take a moment to (mimes peeking around the corner; much laughing ensues) Just like peeking at panties.
host : That’s not a good thing to tell people.
hyde : Well, normally, I think there’s too much of that going on. It’s got to be a common thing to do. (lots of laughing)
Hosts : Today’s guests are weird!
Hearts : Slopes! Buildings! Dams!

host : I’m scared to ask about the last one. (laughs)

Screen : Tales of yukihiro : The first! What’s his fetish?
Sign : yukihiro-san has a corner fetish.
yukihiro : Um, corners. It’s right angles I like. (laughter)
hosts: What’s that supposed to mean? Right angles…
yukihiro : I hate rounded tables.
Hosts : Like this one?
yukihiro : Corners have a nice tension to them. (laughing)
host: Tension?
yukihiro : If it’s more than 90 degrees, no good. It’s gotta be a 90 degree angle. Like “Wouldn’t it hurt to bump into that?” (laughter)
host : That’s tension? And you like that?
yukihiro : (nodding) Yeah, and… that makes up my lifestyle. (cracks up laughing)
host : yukihiro-san?
yukihiro : (laughing uncontrolably)
(The audience laughs and calls his name)
yukihiro : (still laughing)
Aoki : Wow, he talked and he laughed all by himself!
yukihiro : (still laughing)

Next topic!
Sign : hyde-san followed Shaolin kenbou.
hyde : I used to.
Host: Really?
hyde : (nods
host : You said “used to,” so how long ago was it?
hyde : Probably middle school.
(Note : I can’t translate the next part very well since I don’t understand the sport terms)
(Aoki asks if hyde reached something, possibly a level or rank?)
hyde : I passed.
host : Which way did you do your kata?
hyde : Both ways.
Host : You did kata?
hyde : (nods)
Audience : We wanna see <3 hyde : Morons! (laughter) host : You've forgetten it all by now, right? hyde : Yeah, and that's for the best. (laughing) host : You remember doing this move? (he does a silly move) hyde : Yeah, that's it. Other host : What kind of sports did everyone else do when they were students? tetsu : The go-home club. (laughing) host : So nothing. tetsu : But I ran home as fast as I could. (laughs) host : How come? tetsu : I had stuff to do. Aoki : Uh huh... tetsu : Like, I wanted to drink water! (more laughing) host : So what did you do once you got home? tetsu : I watched dramas, the afternoon reruns. (everyone laughs) Host : That's depressing! Really depressing! tetsu : I'm a depressing guy <3 (Everyone cracks up laughing) Screen : Tales of yukihiro : The second! He did sports? yukihiro : I was in track and field. host : You did all those athletics? yukihiro : I did. Host : What was your specialty? yukihiro : I was a sprinter. Host : The 100 meter? yukihiro : Yep. host : What's yout best time? yukihiro : About... 12 seconds. Hosts : That's fast! Must have worked out well for you. yukihiro : Actually they kicked me out. Cause I hated practise. (laughs) They'd have us run somewhere and back, but I thought that was such a pain. So I'd go halfway and hide in a mountain, then wait for everyone to come back and join them again. I did that a few times, till it fell apart. host : But with ten or so others around... It's a good strategy. yukihiro : (nods) Host : Can you still run like that? Or are you slow now? yukihiro : Probably (laughs). Host : That would be interesting. Having yukihiro-san show off his speed. Other host : WHERE'S THE CORNERS?!?! Next question : Is it true that yukihiro-san has a teacher's license? Screen : Tales of yukihiro : The third! He has a teaching license? yukihiro : That's not true. I don't have one. Aoki : Then where did the rumour come from? yukihiro : Well, I have done some tutoring, maybe people heard about that. Host : Ah, so you were a tutor. yukihiro : Yeah, just for a bit. Host : For what? yukihiro : English and math. Host : When you teach math, you run into corners, right? (Everyone laughs) Host : Like those problems with the triangles and figuring out the angles. Other host : "It's got tension <3" yukihiro : (laughs) Host : For more tension, work with squares. Four right angles! (Much laughter) Host : What were your best subjects? hyde : I hate them all!! (Lots of laughing) Host : You weren't good at any? hyde : I really hate all of them! Host : Since always? hyde : Absolutely. Aoki : Weren't there any subjects you liked? hyde : Only art. Host : Ah, so drawing and stuff. That's fun but look out for the corners! (more laughter) Don't you have any good memories of school? hyde : I wondered what use it would be when I grew up. Host : You could have learned to draw good corners. host : How about tetsu-san? tetsu : Physical health class! Host : You were a perverted middle schooler! tetsu : (laughs) I got hundreds on the tests! (Everyone laughs) Host : Pervert! I'd be embarassed to get a hundred on that. (more laughing) Host : What about ken-san? ken : My good subjects... Math and physics. Host : Woaah... Other host : yukihiro-san's eyes lit up! (everyone laughs) Hosts : Math?! Physics!? ANGLES?! Speed?! Host : This is going to be a reccuring joke. yukihiro : And I'm the butt of it... Next sign : Is it true that ken-san auditionned to be a voice actor in Doraemon? ken : I gave the audition a try. Host : Why? ken : It's on the same channel as Music Station, right? When I was there (At Asahi TV) I saw the flyer. And so I thought.. will I always have my guitar fingers? (laughing) Host : So it was a backup plan. And Doraemon is forever! ken : I talked about it a little, so the rumour got out. Host : Aahh.... Other host : But ken-san, your voice is very distinctive. Whose voice would you have done? ken : Doraemon of course!! (Everyone laughs) Aoki : You're totally wrong for that! Hosts : What kind of role model is that? Hosts : Which one of you was it who expressed shock when they changed the voice of Kazuo-kun? (Note : all Doraemon characters got new voices in March 2005) Audience : Who? Who? Host: Was it ken-san? ken : No, no it wasn't. tetsu : Was it me...? hyde : Wasn't me. Host : Wouldn't it make a good story if it was yukihiro-san? (Everyone laughs) Tales of yukihiro : the fourth! Is he comfortable with improvising? Host : So was it you? Were you shocked by that change? yukihiro : Yes, I was. (Much laughter and hillarity) The next part is about preparing spicy korean food since L'Arc is going to do a concert in Korea. They showed L'Arc the video of the one host being challenged to eat more and more hot sauce in the soup. Afterwards, they dared the members to try the sauce, so hyde did... hyde : (is about to eat a spoonfull) Hosts : Are you insane? Don't eat it like that! It's not like ice cream! This is spicy stuff! hyde : (takes a tiny nibble) (Everyone is looking at hyde) hyde : (eats more) Hosts : How is it? hyde : It's good. Could be spicier. (Everyone else tries some) Aoki : SO SPICY!! hyde-san, you're weird! Transcribed and translated by Natalie Arnold

The following interview was published in the July 2005 issue of UV, scans of which are available on the internet if you will just look around. This translation has never been posted anywhere else!

Begin interview

No matter what kind of music they create, when it comes time to perform, the four members of L’Arc know their craft. That is why it can be said that no matter how hard it seems, they are not facing hardship.

It is unusual to find a musician as even tempered as he is. Of course, this refers to tetsu. Not to say that his manner of speech and action lacks undulation, but rather that since he is made aware of his position as a musically creative individual on a daily basis, he is rather self-conscious. Do you understand? If so, please allow your eyes to take in the following discussion. AWAKE, a rock album comprising multiple pop facets, has naturally attracted much curiosity. At last its secrets will be unlocked via these tranquil yet passionate words.

– tetsu-san, has your personal impression of the album AWAKE changed at all now that it has been completed?
[No, cause I…… didn’t really listen to it (laughs). I only listen to music when I’m in my car, I don’t listen to much at home. But lately, I haven’t had many opportunities to drive around on my own.]

– Take for instance, the discussion of the album’s subject matter at the time of it’s completion. Were you at all affected by the clearer picture that came out during that time?
[Hm, no. I think it’s an incredible album, I personally like it, and that hasn’t changed. But, usually, L’Arc has ten or eleven songs per album, and this one has the most with twelve songs, right? Even so, now that we’ve finished all the work, some of the songs we didn’t record are still in my head.]

– Do you include that in your overall impression of AWAKE?
[Not exactly, but anyway, there were a good 15 songs recorded for it. Including the ones that weren’t part of the final product. In the end, it looks like only those twelve songs were made. So, how can I put this…… I haven’t adjusted to that, yet. Of course, by the time those songs get released, I’ll have forgotten all about this. Like “When did we make this, again?”]

– I had thought that, like a strong ache, creating art was something that couldn’t be completely forgotten. Rather, was this album produced smoothly and quickly?
[Hm, was it? It took a long while. Personally, the impressions that stay or don’t stay with me have nothing to do with how smooth it went, or so I think now. I’ve completely forgotten some recordings that were full of trouble, and I still remember exactly how some completely smooth, trouble-free sessions went. What is it that makes me remember one or not? I don’t really know, myself. But, if I’m told it seemed like a rough one, I’ll end up feeling like there had been some trouble. With L’Arc, when the four of us make music, never once has the music not taken off, or has seemed like it would be better to give up.]

– You could also say that since you take extra care to complete an album with a certain number of songs, this affects your perception upon listening to it, does it not?
[Guess so. Well, anyway, all four of us are wonderful musicians, so each of us brings in lots of great music, and we have four composers putting out all sorts of music, having this wealth of variety to our music is a strong point. Also, no matter what kind of song it is, with the four members of L’Arc performing it, it becomes something amazing, and that’s what really makes us L’Arc. On top of that we’re good at performing……]

– You don’t dwell on the negative (laughs).
[Isn’t that why I can say that troublesome looking stuff isn’t so bad? You know, even though this recording was judged to have dragged on for an incredibly long time, I personally wondered if that hadn’t been a good thing.]

– What do you mean by that?
[Well, simply put, if we hadn’t taken so long, if every three minutes had only taken two takes, would we have had a finished product of the same quality?]

– This time, you were prepared ahead of time to compare the length of time with your previous work.
[Right. Compared to SMILE, or compared to our earlier albums, this one took a long time to make. Looking at it from a company president’s point of view, it probably seems that the scheduling and budget for SMILE were a bit too tight. Well, actually, the other members might not have the same opinion, I haven’t asked them, but a lot of opinions were taken when the scheduling was worked out this time. So there was a whole lot of time allocated. What it boils down to is that this time, the work didn’t drag on because of delays. We had allowed a lot of time for it since the start.]

– As a result, you think that it is because so much time was allowed that you were able to produce work of such substance.
[Yeah. We had time, so we could try things out. Record a little, listen to that, and if it’s no good, try a different approach and record it again. That only works if there’s a lot of time allocated. But, looking at the results, I think we should have been able to produce something of this quality without taking quite so much time. In the end, I think they both went overboard. Looking at SMILE and AWAKE. So next time, I want to be smarter, more efficient about it. So……. well, it’s a lot like that. Construction work at the end of the year (laughs).]

– Great description!
[Like, the budget needs to be used up (laughs). After all, if you don’t use it all, they won’t give you as much money or time for the next one. Lately, I realised that’s sort of how it works. Well, it might be just me thinking that way.]

– I see. Well, moving on, comparing the two albums, I found that the greatest difference was not in how the music was structured but rather that it had a different feel to it. In the case of SMILE, did it not contain many songs that didn’t feel like they had been made by L’Arc? It’s as if each of you had pulled the songs from your individual stock.
[Well, that happened this time too. Two of hyde’s songs came from his solo stock.]

– But even so, AWAKE came later, so it is expected that the process of making SMILE and the tour that followed it would have no small repercussions. That must be clear to yourselves, as well.
[I guess so.]

– For example, when making SMILE, as L’Arc was deciding how to progress with it, I’m sure you must have been instrumental in determining which direction to move in, tetsu-san. For making the music, as well. Are you self conscious about that?
[Yeah, a little.]

– Are you aware of your duty, your mission?
[Pretty much, since I’m the leader and all. It might seem like an obvious thing to say, but during SMILE, right before we started working on it, it was like our engine needed to be started, like we couldn’t move until that engine had warmed up. Of course, I think we did the best we could at the time, but of course, now that we’ve made SMILE, our engine is already warmed up for the next album, and so we should be able to make better music, I think. So, the fact that it turned out this way falls within my expectations.]

– And now, even though you had shown up a lot on the precious album, it seems that this time the other members were more prominent. This time, there was the song New World; it was honestly surprising that yukihiro-san had composed it. For instance, are there things you would have to write yourself on previous albums that are better left to other members now? To put it more blatantly, if you don’t write those fast-flowing pop songs, they’ll come from the other members. I think there’s been a change in what a tetsu-san song sounds like.
[Oh, no, it’s not like I was deliberately trying not to write any songs like that for this set of twelve songs. I don’t feel that way at all. See, between the four of us, we brought in just under 20 songs this time, and twelve of those were recorded, but it doesn’t mean the other songs were rejected because they were bad. There are still plenty of ways for those songs to make their way out into the world later on. There’s no such thing as “Even if I don’t write it, this sort of song will get made.” I may be the leader, but each one of us, each of the other three members, we’re all capable of producing things ourselves, of arranging things, and then I think it’s simply “This one would sound cool on the next L’Arc album.” But, well, last year we went on tour, so we spent a lot of time together, we had a lot of talks. I think the reason hyde came up with AS ONE might have been because ken-chan said to a magazine “I wanna try doing a Slipknot style song.” (laughs).]

– I thought it sounded more like Pantera (laughs). Honestly, I thought there would be more songs from you, tetsu-san. But in the end it was only Jiyuu e no Shoutai and TRUST, wasn’t it? About TRUST, could it be that recently, you’ve told yourself “I shouldn’t forget to write this kind of song,” or something along those lines?
[Yeah, sometimes. This time, I submitted seven songs, but if my seven songs were all the same kind of thing, that wouldn’t be interesting, and the order in which I made them matters to me, too. After writing a couple of up-tempo, cheerful songs, I feel like changing the tempo and making the next one a bit darker. That’s how I get around to writing something like TRUST, and sometimes that’s the only kind of song I can come up with.]

– Is it different, when you work on a fast flowing song, as opposed to when you work on one like TRUST?
[No, it’s the same thing. It’s just that after making a song, I feel like making something different from the one that came before it.]

– About the song TRUST itself, what’s your personal analysis of it?
[When it comes to singles…… It’s always the light hearted pop numbers that are easiest for our staff to sell, and I think that’s going to continue, but there are more and more of these kinds of elements, since I’ve been able to write more of this type of song. Actually, I think there have been rather more dark songs on my solo album.]

– Indeed (laughs). Whether you need a pop song or a dark song, you’re capable of producing either one, right?
[Yeah. I like both. But right now, the tendency around the world is the perception that “Pop song = weaker” and “Dark song = tougher,” isn’t it? And some musicians hold that perception themselves. I think that’s really stupid of them.]

– Actually, I think TRUST is a pop song, too.
[I think so too.]

– By the way, the word “pop” has lost it’s meaning, it’s used so lightly.
[Yeah. That’s just Japan though.]

– For example, in the 80s, heavy metal and new wave both became part of the mainstream, didn’t they? It wasn’t strange at all to like both of them, yet if you listened to Mötley Crue, you were OK, but if you listened to Depeche Mode you were looked down upon. I think that perception comes from the past, after all.
[It hasn’t changed, has it? I think I’m not as judgemental as most Japanese. Instead, I manage to make use of that perception. Just by wearing leather, hard clothes like that, I can be thought of as a tough guy.]

– That means, if I may explain it this way, that you have a talent for manipulation. Moving on, let’s hear about the new single released in July, Link. This is a song you wrote, tetsu-san, but when I heard it I felt that it was a “songwriter’s product.” It’s a song for people who know how to write a proper song. Or so I thought. It gives the impression that “this was made by a rock musician who knows what goes into a pop song.”
[I kind of resent being called a rock musician. “What’s rock?” And what defines a pop song? …… I thought Mötley Crue were pretty pop, and I think Marilyn Manson is pop, too.]

– And Metallica has pop songs, too.
[Yeah. They do, they do. I don’t know what makes something more rock as opposed to more pop. For example, it’s said that “If your work is colourful, then it’s pop music,” right? As if wearing bright clothes means you’ll be seen as pop.]

– Yeah. In the end, even though L’Arc itself is a rock band through and through, you’ve had some colourful periods so I think it’s possible to classify you as a pop band. And even if you aren’t classified with the pop bands, you’ve always had those kinds of elements, haven’t you? In other words, you incorporate both aspects, and that has become one of the special characteristics of this band.
[That’s right. Regardless of what kind of song it is, we work on it normally. We can make songs like twinkle, twinkle; we can make songs like Ophelia. So far, for our band, no kind of song has been impossible. I don’t think there can be many other bands like this out there.]

– I agree. Now, back to Link, was this song written just like the ones on AWAKE?
[You see, when we were working on the album, we had already decided to do the tie-in with Fullmetal Alchemist. And then this song ended up being one of the ones that wouldn’t be on the album.]

– Was it just a matter of timing?
[Yeah. When I was first writing Link, I thought it would probably get chosen. That was just my own impression, but I thought it would end up being the one, and in the end it was.]

– Then you were looking ahead at where it would end up. You personally knew what you needed that song to be.
[No, that’s not it. Whenever we agree to a tie-in, there are lots of songs that could fit what we need. So its just a matter of letting them pick one they like. However, for Link, they didn’t give us a very specific request. Well, we knew that it was going to be an anime opening song, so we were only told what the opening atmosphere was going to be like, whether it would be easygoing or heart-pounding.]

– Did it cross your mind that since it’s for an anime, there will be kids exposed to it, too?
[Since little kids are watching, too, “don’t make them feel like crying” (laughs). It really doesn’t have anything scary in it.]

– For instance, when your band was just starting up, you could make songs by thinking “Let’s try making one like this,” or “What if we did a song like that?” but now, when you go about creating new songs, what is most important?
[Well, basically, it has to be something we’d feel like listening to, ourselves.]

– Do you mean that now, you don’t pay attention to the rest of the world?
[No, I don’t really listen to music that much, so I wouldn’t know. What the rest of the world is doing, that is.]

– If you want something, create it yourself. I think that’s a healthy way of thinking. Instead of going around looking for something, start by creating what you want to have by yourself.
[Yeah. Of course, I want to hear new music, good new music. But generally, it’s a bother. If someone tells me “This is good” then I’ll give it a listen…… but I don’t have many friends who recommend things to me like that. (laughs)]

– What to recommend to you next? (laughs) By the way, now that it’s summer, how do you feel regarding the tour?
[No, nothing yet.]

– Do you plan it out, like “Next time let’s try something like this” or “How about doing that for the next one?”
[Oh, yeah. Lately, we’ve…… played around. We didn’t goof off much during the recording, so now it’s play time.]

– When you say playing, do you mean going home and working on new songs?
[No, not working…… but lately, I have been thinking that I should write some songs.]

– To get the next album done sooner?
[Mm… No, more for my solo. I still have some stock left for L’Arc, and we don’t have a set recording date yet. So, it seems like now would be a good time to write some songs for my solo work. Well, I do still have a bit of a stock ready for my solo work.]

– This is completely changing the flow of the conversation, but AWAKE is memorable because it is your tenth album. Did you keep that in mind beforehand?
[No, not at all. That why when people first pointed that out, I thought “No way!”]

– Is it a “ten already” feeling, or rather “only ten?”
[“Ten, already.” Besides, with ten albums made, it’s pretty clear that there must be over 100 songs, right? That’s incredible…… it feels like they mean someone else (laughs).]

– Normally, when a band starts up, they don’t go around thinking they’re going to make it to ten albums.
[No, actually, when we first debuted, we signed on with Sony for seven albums. But I remember wondering if they actually expected us to make it to seven (laughs). Even though I thought that way, with each new album that got us closer, I thought it was obvious that we would keep going even once we’d passed the seven album goal (laughs). But still, I’d like it if when people became fans, they’d listen to everything in order. There might not be many people going that far, though.]

– Right now, it seems that AWAKE is an ideal “first L’Arc album.” Of course, I think that all of your past albums make good gateways, too.
[Yeah. Of course, I think so too.]

Text by : Yuichi Masuda
Translated by Natalie Arnold

This is the translated script of the Aura no Izumi episode on which tetsu was the guest. It aired on 8th August, 2005. The hosts speak in a rather ambiguous manner, and so it is possible that I have made mistakes in translating this show. I have done my best, but please do not hesitate to let me know if something seems to be way off.

Aura no Izumi

Kokubun (Male host) : This is a bit sudden, but I have something to ask you, Miwa-san.
Miwa (Female host) : Ehehe. You can ask me anything.
Kokubun : Basically, I’ve heard that you don’t really like rock.
Miwa : I don’t have an opinion either way.
Kokubun : Ah, so its not that you particularly dislike it but (he is cut off)
Miwa : If it’s good quality, then I might be able to say I like it.
Kokubun : It’s about today’s guest. He’s the leader of a band quite famous in Japan. Do you know what kind of person he is?
Miwa : Only by name. I’ve never seen him in concert or anything.
Kokubun : So this will be your first meeting.
Miwa : A first meeting. I don’t know what sort of creature is awaiting.
(laughter)

(Show intro)

Disembodied voice : tetsu-san of L’Arc~en~Ciel
tetsu : Yes.
Disembodied voice : Welcome to Aura no Izumi.
tetsu : It’s good to be here.
Disembodied voice : Let us now begin the spiritual check.
tetsu : Yes.
Disembodied voice : If you were to be reborn, what would you want to be?
tetsu : I don’t want to be reborn.
Disembodied voice : What sort of challenge would you like to attempt?
tetsu : Let’s see… I’m interested in being a real estate agent, maybe.
Miwa (laughing) : Interesting.
Disembodied voice : How would you describe your personality in one word?
tetsu : Easily bothered by annoying things… A bit dark… dark on the inside… (laughs).
Disembodied voice : What do you look for in a lover?
tetsu : Hmm.. let’s see. Someone I can feel at ease with, when we’re together.

(TV ad spot)

Kokubun : I’ve seen you on music shows before, but you don’t come on talk shows like this very often, do you?
tetsu : That’s right. I usually don’t.
Kokubun : How come you decided to come to this show?
tetsu : I really like watching this show.
Kokubun : Oh really? What was your impression? Were you impressed?
tetsu : Well it’s sort of… kind of scary (laughs). I wondered what it would be like to go on.
Kokubun : Ah, of course. Even though us two monsters are here (laughter)
Miwa : You mean yourself, too.
Kokubun : You’ll see what I mean once we start today’s check. I think you’ll find it interesting.
tetsu : No, I’m not that interesting.
Miwa : This is the first time I’ve heard anyone say they wanted to be a real estate agent.

Kokubun : This is your first time meeting Miwa-san, right?
tetsu : Mm. Nice to meet you.
Miwa : Nice to meet you.
tetsu : Nice to meet you. It’s good to be here.

Kokubun : What do you think? Of Miwa-san.
tetsu : Um, she’s mysterious. (laughs)
Kokubun : Miwa-san, what do you think of tetsu-san? Meeting him for the first time?
Miwa : He seems like an artist, yes, I think so.
tetsu : Eeh, really? I don’t think I seem very artistic.
Miwa : No, you’re an artistic person. More than most. You think too much, you’re too nervous, too secluded. That’s common in people who are also gifted with genius. Hmm, but you’re no Modigliani.

(Screen caption : Amedeo Modigliani, Italian (1884-1920) A genius painter. While alive, he sold his paintings despite living in poverty. Although he long suffered of tuberculosis, he developed his own style of painting. After battling with the disease, he passed away at age 36.)

Miwa : The blood of a genius, an artist’s blood, that affects your entire life. You’d be unhappy as a normal person. The people around you must wonder what you’re thinking, they can’t understand you. Since they can’t create things, they become annoyed. (laughs) That’s how you are. That’s what I think.
tetsu : Oh, is that so… I’m always by myself.
Kokubun : Always alone?
tetsu : I’m often alone. Well, there will be people around, but I don’t feel like going out and joining them.
Kokubun : You don’t want to join them.
tetsu : Mm. (nods)

Kokubun : Oh, yes, Miwa-san was able to see all of this right away, weren’t you? (laughs)
Miwa : Oh yes. As soon as our eyes met I saw “Ah, this is what kind of person he is.”
Kokubun : Wow, how impressive~.
Miwa : He seems to be easy to get along with.
Kokubun : Ah?
Miwa : I’ve met a lot of geniuses in my life.
Kokubun : Ah. And of course as soon as you saw tetsu-san, you knew he was one, too.
Miwa : Hm, it’s hard to state clearly, but he has the air of a poet, of a true artist.
tetsu : I do?
Miwa : Of course you do. (laughter)
tetsu : I didn’t think I looked like it.
Kokubun : You don’t think you look like a musician?
tetsu : Right.
Miwa : If you think that way, that’s how you’ll seem. To those who don’t see you that way, being near you will be troublesome, so you should think of yourself as a genius.
tetsu : Ah… I see.
Kokubun : I try to do that sometimes, myself. (lots of laughing)

Kokubun : Also, this should be your first time meeting Ehara-san.
Ehara : Nice to meet you. Actually, I’ve gotten information from your fan club’s newsletter.
tetsu : (nods)
Kokubun : How interesting.
Ehara : I saw that it means “rainbow.”
Kokubun : Rainbow? Rainbow.
tetsu : Yes, L’Arc~en~Ciel means Rainbow, in French.
Kokubun : Who came up with that?
tetsu : I did.
Kokubun : That sounds interesting. It seems there’s something to this. Why you picked French… It’s not just for the sound. I think there is a connection to your past life. (laughter) I really think so.
Miwa : His past life?

Kokubun : A challenge you want to attempt… being a real estate agent?
tetsu : Yes, well… I think it’s interesting. If I wasn’t a musician, I think I’d be a real estate agent (laughs).
Miwa : That’s interesting.
Kokubun : Interesting. What are you interested in? The land? Or the buildings?
tetsu : Both. But you know, I really like tall buildings. I have a skyscraper fetish, so I like taking private trips to New York or Hong Kong.
Miwa : What do you like..? Lets say, what type of form do you prefer, or what kind of materials?
tetsu : Ah… The building I like the most is the Chrysler building, in New York.

Screen : Chrysler building : Built in 1930, it is a very tall building in New York.

Miwa : Ah, that’s Art Deco. Many books have been written about the Chrysler building. Art Deco is a beautiful style. The way it is built. And so more recent styles have not come anywhere near matching the way it employs a combination of glass and iron and concrete. More recent constructions all look like hospitals, don’t you hate that?
tetsu : (awkward laugh)
Miwa : (cutting him off) Say whatever you want.
testu : The.. There really aren’t any in Toyko. Buildings I like.
Miwa : Tokyo is lacking that way (laughter). It isn’t beautiful. It’s not beautiful, right?
tetsu : Ah, yes, that’s true too.

Kokubun : tetsu-san, within ten years, you’ve moved seven times. Do you get bored easily? Or do you simply want to change your horizons?
tetsu : Both. I do want to see a different view, really… I guess I haven’t found a place I really like. Not yet. So I move because I’m searching for the right location.
Ehara : Well, there are other reasons, too. (laughter)
Miwa : We’ve dwelled too long on this. (laughter)
Kokubun : We need to go to CM.

CM, followed by a screen reading “The chart of tetsu’s aura”

Kokubun : And now, we shall proceed to chart tetsu-san’s aura. (turning to Ehara) His past life…?
Ehara : (takes a deep breath) Let me see. He hasn’t been letting me inspect his soul at all. It is tightly shut. Actually, for anyone, including him, it’s not that they don’t want to see, but that they don’t want to be looked at, so they strongly wish to shut me out.
Miwa : Projecting a barrier.
Kokubun : A barrier.
tetsu : I’m doing that?
Ehara : Yes. Ah, but it’s useless to dwell on it, you’ll only worsen the condition. You’ll make yourself feel bad. The more frightened you become, I’ve been watching since before you see, ah, well, do you mind if I digress a little?
Kokubun : Go ahead.
Ehara: Well… I’m sorry if this sounds strange. Until now, you have lived by working very hard.
tetsu : Me?
Ehara : Yes. And so from now on, you mustn’t run out of spiritual energy. You were born somewhere on earth, and as you’ve lived here you have encountered incompatibilities with your life, but I think these things will come to an end.
tetsu : …Right.
Ehara : What you should do is focus on your own… how to put this…
Miwa : Reason for living.
Ehara : That’s it. You need to have a reason for living to improve your life. Also, will you please listen to this dream tale?
tetsu : Yes.
Ehara : Actually, this is connected to your past life. Let’s see. This is going to sound rude. You were rejected by your parents. And so, you were always homeless. Always wandering and being picked on. You went from place to place, and wherever you went you absolutely refused to open your heart to anyone. And, you had a poncho?
Kokubun : Yes.
Ehara : Similar to a cape. And also… hmm… an animal. You had some sort of small horse. A pony? Something like a pony.
Miwa : A donkey.
Ehara : Yes, that’s right. Like in an anime? Like in Haha wo Tazunete Sanzen Ri (Note : this title means 3000 leagues in search of Mother. It was about a child searching for his mother all across South America.) It reminds me of that story. That manga. There is a resemblance. Your thoughts and energy from that time, even though you don’t notice, these are surfacing in your work, in your style, as the energy you put into your creations. Of course, a spiritual guardian would naturally have a different take on it. And, um, there may be one person capable of helping you most. One person who could influence you. That person would be a priest. Now, relating to your present life. Although you have many connections to people, including your family, those whom you think of as family, your close friends, the people you love, you don’t understand them.
Miwa : He’s cool on his own.
Ehara : Right. On your own. You appear to be cold, and little by little that is going to cause some trouble. And of course, that is the way life is. Such is the spice of life.

Kokubun : Then what would be the best way to change?
Miwa : The fastest way would be to completely cut off your past life.
Kokubun : Cut it off.
Miwa : Yes. Your past life was a truly miserable lifetime. A normal person, upon seeing something sad on television, usually just laughs “Haha,” but sometimes they also cry. But the part of them that laughs is completely unaffected. I have seen the back of the back of the back of people’s minds. The despicable, the cruel, the dirty, the betrayals, all these things that run along the back of people’s minds. After all, that is part of being human. These things always come from past lives. So, in this life, why not study these things at the back of the mind? You’ve been reborn into this life, so focus on the light aspects, on making people happy, and this will make you happy, as well. You owe it to yourself to experience such things this time around. That is why L’Arc~en~Ciel has become popular, and why you sell your records. But your past life is not aware of this. It is cut off from your consciousness. You must remove that past life’s influence and move on. This time, you can make many people happy, supported by your fans. And, this will also make you happy. You personally. You would be better off if you reformed your consciousness this way.
Kokubun : Change your consciousness…
Miwa : Yes. You see, right now, these things are dragging him down.

Ehara : Now, going back to what was said before, I don’t think it was France. His past life. Look at him, what do you think? Spain?
Miwa : Inca.
Ehara : Ah, is that so? I was thinking of Toledo.
Miwa : Yes yes yes.
Kokubun : What sort of conference are they starting? (laughter)

Miwa : And so. You were part of the Inca tribe, among people who lived high up. You were followed by the Spanish army, and had to run from them. You ran and ran and ran. In the area of Peru.
Kokubun : That’s what he did in a past life…
Miwa : There are always many past lives. This particular past life is the one that repeats itself. Until the Inca’s highest.. what is it called? Their highest location.
Staff member : Machu Picchu.
Miwa : Right. Machu Picchu. It’s high up. Incredibly high. And in that location, they had build a city of stone. That was discovered later. This was all part of your past life.

Ehara : That is how you lived, going from place to place.
Miwa : That is why you were so guarded.
Ehara : That’s right. He is guarded.
Kokobun : Do you now want to change… how you feel about yourself? (said to tetsu)
tetsu : Ah (is cut off)
Miwa : Don’t you think you need to do something?
tetsu : right. Really, I’ve felt something like what you said, a long time ago. I’m very cold, I don’t trust people, I’ve never hoped for anything…
Kokubun : You don’t hope?
tetsu : It’s always coming…
Miwa : You have no energy.
Ehara : Right.
Miwa : That is, love energy. Loving, being loved, that joy.
tetsu : I don’t understand that.
Miwa : That’s right, you don’t. You don’t know what love energy is.
tetsu : I don’t really understand what it means to love someone.
Kokubun : Eh? Is that so?

Ehara : Also, above your aura, it looks bad, it is becoming black.
Kokubun : A black aura.
Ehara : Yes. But it isn’t a black aura. It’s not all black. Rather, I would say it’s silver? It seems to also be emitting some black, among that colour…. I’m sorry, I’m saying this arbitrarily. Um… it doesn’t seem alive. Currently, you have desires, you have a job, but this part of you appears weighed down. This looks bad.

Kokubun : How is your current situation? How do you feel about your situation as an artist, and so on?
tetsu : … I never thought that I would be a musician, although it’s been eleven years since my debut. It’s mysterious, it can’t be helped. How… How did I end up getting here?…
Miwa : You think it can’t be true.
tetsu : That’s right. Somehow, it feels like I’m not really me. Sometimes.
Kokubun : Oh really?
Miwa : Then, take notice of yourself. Notice your own position. How popular you are. How your products have sold, how you have fans who support you. Right? This should demonstrate what’s wonderful about you, illustrate how much you have accomplished.
tetsu : Eh…

Miwa : Right. The proper proof exists, yet even though it’s right before your eyes, you think “No way, it’s not true,” and reject everything that way. So, why don’t you take notice of the truth? It will make things easier.
tetsu :… I don’t think it has much to do with my own power. (laughs)
Miwa : Why do you say that? Why do you think that way? You deny all the positives and refuse to believe in them. You believe in all the negatives. Correct?
tetsu : That’s right (nods).
Miwa : That’s how you are. You’re highly insecure. Many young people are like that.

Ehara : You create your own reality, right? Preforming it yourself, right?
tetsu : Yes.
Ehara : That is not reality.
Miwa : You’re in those weekly publications that girls look at, right?
Kokubun : (laughs)
tetsu : That’s… Not really (laughs)
Miwa : You are.
Ehara : But doesn’t that mean there are people who love you?
Miwa : Doesn’t it?
tetsu : Eh? Are there?
Ehara : It’s not just that. You have friends among your fans?
Miwa : Don’t you?
tetsu : Ah…

Kokubun : How is it? While talking to these two, have you felt anything?
tetsu : (after some hesitation)…Specifically… What should I do?
Miwa : Ah… The simplest way… the simplest method, would be for you to search for something to be thankful for. Always. Wherever you are.
tetsu : Something to be thankful for?
Miwa : You should find something. I once did a concert with Mishima Yukio-san. The profits went to an institution for the physically disabled. At a time when I was poorest, when magazines were writing bad things about me, it had gotten into people’s heads that I was worthless, they would badmouth me, refuse to come near me, and I slipped into self-hatred. And at the same time, I saw these children who had obstacles. They spoke honestly : “What are you so worried about? Your worries aren’t anything to worry about. You can walk, can’t you? You can see. You can tell the people you love “I love you” with your own voice. But you won’t even tell your own children, spouse, parents, grand children, that you love them. With your own voice. Why aren’t you thankful? Why aren’t you happy?” When I heard that, it was as if something had struck me in the head. Suddenly, I understood. Oh, that’s right. I can walk, I can see, I can hear, I have a place to call home. With walls. Long ago, I was homeless, I slept wrapped in newspapers. I’ve had to go months barefoot because I didn’t have shoes. Now I’m grateful for these things, grateful for my shoes. I’m happy. Once I began to take consciousness of all this, my life energy began to flow. Don’t you also have many things to be thankful for?
tetsu : Hmmmngg…
Miwa : You must have so many reasons to love. Your name is known all over Japan. What are you unsatisfied with?
(laughter, followed by CM)

Miwa : Don’t you also have many things to be thankful for?
tetsu : Hmmmngg…
Miwa : You must have so many reasons to love. Your name is known all over Japan. What are you unsatisfied with? (laughter)
tetsu : Unsatisfied? …
Miwa : Don’t you mention luxuries! (Said in rough language)
(laughter)

tetsu : What about luxury?
Miwa : Luxury. That’s what you have. In some tens of years, your name won’t be spoken, your records won’t sell, you’ll realise you’re just another of many 40-50 year olds. I know a lot of people like that. If they heard you talking now, they’d beat you. They’d tell you to smile, or else.
tetsu : Ah. I see, yes.
Miwa : And so… You see, people who truly care about you are going to appear.
Ehara : Yes.
Miwa : And then, when that time comes, do not be suspicious of those who love you. Don’t begin by thinking it must be a lie.
tetsu : Right.
Miwa : You always think it must be lie, at first.
tetsu : I do, at first.
Miwa : You do.
Ehara : I think that love first comes from the family.
tetsu : From… the family.
Miwa : After a long time spent crying, you can attach yourself to those people. And so, please open your eyes to that fact.
Kokubun : It means you have a place to return to.
tetsu : But why… I’ve lived this way ever since I was little, and I wonder why… was it my past life, then…
Miwa : It’s been this way since the life before the life before the life before your past life.
Ehara : Tell your fans you love them, too.
(laughter)

Kokubun : So, tetsu-san, how was your experience today?
tetsu : Ah, that’s right. I’m Marco, aren’t I? (Note : The main character of the anime cited earlier) I don’t really like Marco. He’s so impatient, going “Here, here, here!”
Kokubun : But, that’s how those around you see you, probably.
tetsu : Oh, really.
(CM voice talks over Kokubun’s summarizing of what was said)
tetsu : And my aura’s colour changed, didn’t it?
Kokubun : It seems so.
tetsu : I see. To reflect my heart?
Kokubun : Right. As your feelings change, the bit of black we saw come into it today should vanish. At least, I think so.
tetsu : Ah.. So it’s stuck being black…

(Ending)

Transcribed and translated by Natalie Arnold

Here, you will find other tetsuya-related translations that Nanani has done. Some are L’Arc~en~Ciel pieces, others are solely tetsuya, tetsu, or TETSU69, but all fall within this scope. Most have been posted elsewhere, usually because they were requested there, but the version on this site will always be the most complete and least likely to have mistakes and typos.

1)I am not translating this work in a professional capacity. It is always possible for mistakes to sneak in, but these will be minimal.

2)NO STEALING! Everything that appears here took a lot of time and effort, so do NOT steal my work!

3)Do not repost these translations anywhere. Ever. Link to this page if you want to, giving out credit when you do so.

4)The translations may not be used for fansubs (in the case of video clips) or scanlations (if I ever do anything scanlateable) without getting my permission first.

I’d like to give thanks to my beta readers, because without help these things would be far less coherent.

There is no set schedule for updates, but please check often nonetheless.

– tetsu-san, please tell me your weak point.
[It’s probably that I’m short tempered. I get really rude. I think I’ve hurt a lot of people that way.]

– Let’s say you’re supposed to meet someone. How long are you willing to wait for the other person to show up?
[I don’t wait for anyone. I don’t know if I do it to others, too, but I absolutely despise being kept waiting. Either they come see me or I go see them. Sometimes I’ll arrange to meet up with someone, but its rare for me to do that.]

– Have you always been like that?
[I used to be even stricter when it came to time. Let’s see…… I’ve gotten more casual, haven’t I?]

– Casual? Perhaps a part of you has come to think “Well, whatever,” when it comes to these things?
[But I don’t think “Well, whatever.” Even though I think “This is bad,” I do things for speed when I’m going to be late. Normally, the only things I don’t rush with are washing my face and changing my clothes. So it takes me the same amount of time to do it regardless of whether I’m in a hurry or not (laughs).]

– Of course, arrangements to meet someone bring about a certain pressure.
[Meeting someone, deciding “Which day, what time,” and the like, always feels like work to me. Even if it’s arranging to have fun with friends on my own time. I don’t know how I’m going to be feeling on that day, at that time. By then, I might not even feel like going anymore, so I don’t make promises like that. Even if something sounds like fun on the day it’s being planned, I don’t know if I’m going to end up being in a depressed mood by the time that day comes around, so I really don’t want to make plans. It’s like I don’t want to keep too strict a schedule. I prefer something like “So call me on that day and we’ll see.” Or “I’m usually not working around that time, so call me and we’ll figure something out.”]

– Does that mean that cancelling at the last minute doesn’t suit your personality?
[Nah, sometimes I do bail out. Like “I’m sorry! I forgot!” (laughs). “I forgot” has got to be the worst thing I can say to a person. I’ve never talked about this before, but once I promised to go out for dinner with a friend, even going as far as making reservations in a restaurant, and then I completely forgot. I had dinner on my own, then after I finished, the phone rang, “Shit!” (laughs). I didn’t mention I’d eaten, I just said “Sorry! I forgot! Even though I made time for it!” or something like that.]

– (laughs) Yeah, that is pretty awful.
[It’s horrible. I’m so sloppy. From my public image, I seem like a strict, picky person don’t I? Well, since I’m a type A (1), I can’t say I’m not like that. But I’m sloppy. So much that it surprises people.]

– Although when it comes to work, you return to being strict, don’t you?
[Not really. It’s just that it often occurs to me that things would work better if I were strict about them. Lately, I’ve been thinking that I might be better off not being so strict. It’s not that I don’t want to be strict anymore, or that I’m being forced to change, but I really do think it would be better that way. Before, I followed “Hard on others, hard on oneself.” Lately, I’m going easier on others as well as on myself.]

– But isn’t that a good thing? Though it would be awful if you went “Hard on others, easy on oneself,” (laughs).
[You know, these thoughts I’ve had don’t really sound like they come from me, maybe someone’s been planting ideas in my head (laughs).]

– Ahahahaha. Do you have any others? Weak points. Even just things you aren’t good at.
[My social disposition. I’m rather shy, so I don’t often start talking to people of my own initiative. But if someone else talks to me first, I’ll talk quite freely. It might be a weak point. Just a little. But I like myself the way I am.]

– I see. So, how are you with things like horror?
[I like horror movies. I watch a lot of them. I used to make time to watch at least one horror movie every night. But then when L’Arc got started, I met hyde. He puts on a character, you know? Yet he likes horror movies even more than I do. Given how he acts, I hadn’t thought hyde could beat me that way; I didn’t think horror movies would appeal to him at all.]

– When you go to amusement parks, how much do you scream?
[I like screaming. I’m good at it. I think my record is riding the same roller coaster five times in a row. Isn’t it heart-pounding? Because it’s so much fun. When I was little, I really wasn’t afraid at all, but now that I’m older and wiser I’m a little scared.]

– Thinking “It might break!” “What if we get stuck?” and the like. But it’s OK if you scream. What else?
[…… Weak points…… Mentally, I don’t think I’m very strong. I’m easily hit. I fall for things easily, maybe, too.]

– Could that be why you’re the type to stay cooped up at home?
[I’ve always stayed cooped up at home, so that’s normal for me. I like being alone. I like being noisy with people, too, but I also like my solitude. I don’t dislike that aspect of myself. I’m not the type who can’t handle being alone. Sometimes I have more fun by myself.]

– If you’re weak, mentally, maybe you should work on toughening up……
[No, I wouldn’t say I’m “weak.” I think I’m just “not very strong.” I only said it so I’d have another answer to “What are your weak points?” Well, I guess I’m not very mentally strong, or something. I think this is the first time I’ve asked myself “Weak points? What are they?”]

– Interviewer : Honma Yuuko
Translated by Natalie Arnold

1. Type A as in blood types. According to Japanese superstition, blood type determines one’s personality. See chapter 15 for more. Go back.

Ren Chi msged me this morning asking if I knew of any tabs for the bass solo on New World. I didn’t have a tab but I had heard it so many times, I felt it was worth a shot to give it a go. This is what I came up with and at like 9:00am (I don’t look pretty) it sounded pretty accurate. I’ll check it again later when I am more AWAKE (no pun intended) for accuracy. Anyways, its in Quicktime MPEG-4 Video format for easy learning.

Enjoy the show!