(09.01.2009) musicJAPANplus - [VRF×MJP] V-ROCK FESTIVAL SPECIAL INTERVIEW with D！

Ever since forming the band, D had gradually but steadily expanded its fan base and continued reaching a wider audience. In 2007, while they still hadbeen an indie band they performed at Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall [max capacity 4000 people]. In May 2008 they made their long-awaited major debut. All the singles released after their debut have ranked No.10 or higher on the Oricon Singles Chart. On September 12th they will release the much anticipated 4th single 'Tightrope'.
One day in August we heard that all the members were getting together at a studio in Tokyo to edit the music video of their new single. We decided to head for the studio to conduct an interview.


――You will appear at V-ROCK FESTIVAL. What sort of performance are you planning on showing?

ASAGI：There are going to be lots of other bands performing too, so we want the people who see us to go home with a clear image of what sort of band we are. We want to enjoy this big event ourselves, while also trying to make our band stand out.

HIDE-ZOU：It's a great honor just to be able to participate in such a large event. There are probably going to be people who don't know us, and I hope we can perk up their interests.

HIROKI：I've always been a big fan of visual-kei music. I'm going to keep in mind the lessons learned from the pioneering bands I loved, and attempt to appeal the good things about D as a visual-kei band to as many people as possible.

Tsunehito：It's our first time performing in a festival with so many other bands. We don't want to end up becoming one band among many. We'll make sure to emphasize the unique parts of D. The other bands and the other bassists are bound to have a positive influence on me, so I'm looking forward to those sorts of experiences too.

Ruiza：Like everyone said, we want to leave a lasting impact on the audience.

――D often participates in live events.

ASAGI：Actually, we haven't. Lately we've been doing only solo concerts. We were just thinking we should participate in an event when we got a call to appear in V-ROCK festival. It was a God-send.

――Are live events different from solo concerts?

ASAGI：Yes. The other bands spur you on to try to perform as well as or better than those bands.

――When participating in live events, have you ever tried to do things different from regular solo concerts?

ASAGI：We sometimes appear on stage in a different way. We once did a medley of our songs.

Ruiza：I think the mindset is different. You feel that you have to at least put on a show on par with the other bands. You also want the people who see you for the first time to remember what kind of band you are. In events you have considerably less time than in normal gigs, so you have to let it all out in the limited amount of time. So we won't gradually build up the atmosphere. We'll make a mad dash right from the start.

ASAGI：When you first begin performing as a band, it's, well, nigh impossible to hold a solo concert. So playing alongside other bands make you look back at your roots.

Ruiza：I think so too.

ASAGI：In solo concerts the people who come to see us obviously know a lot about D. But in events, there will be people who have come to watch the other bands and aren't really interested about us. If we're able to get those sorts of people rocking to our music in the end, I feel very happy. They make us more enthusiastic.

――Have you ever been angry at the audience?

ASAGI：If they were going way out of line, like snoring off, I might get mad but those sorts of incidents are rare (laugh). If the whole crowd doesn't seem to be into our music, then that means we don't have the power to make them excited. That would become something we would have to work on.

HIROKI：It makes you more serious! I always try to give people who've never seen us a visual shock! If they opened themselves up to the music, their bodies should start to move on their own.

HIDE-ZOU：When you're together with other bands you are friendly with, it's really fun when you're backstage. But once the performance starts, they become rivals. You become more intent to do your best.

――At the V-ROCK FESTIVAL, special booth areas are going to be placed. What would you think would be interesting to have in those spaces?

Tsunehito：How about a hair salon? It'll be fun to see everybody with their hair standing up.

HIROKI：Have everyone cosplay (laugh).

Tsunehito：Put sample pictures of the performing bands on the wall, then have the people there pick which member's hairstyle they'll like to have (laugh).

――That sounds interesting!

HIDE-ZOU：Are there going to be any instrument manufacturers?

――Most likely, yes.

HIDE-ZOU：Not that we have any 'D model' guitars and stuff (laugh).

Ruiza：We don't have any replicas, so take a look at our own instruments when we're on stage (laugh).

ASAGI：Is there a place where you can listen to music samples?

――There are plans for a music store.

ASAGI：It would be great to have a space where you could listen to samples of the performing bands. Like, "Oh, so the song they played was the first track of this album."

HIROKI：Is it an outdoor festival?

――Indoors. There's going to be a giant roof.

HIROKI：It would be neat to have a shower room...I'd personally like to have one (laugh). Or maybe a relaxation room.

ASAGI：Like massages?

HIROKI：But what if you have to run to see a band you wanted to watch while being massaged? You won't get to relax very much (laugh).

Tsunehito：Sell some toy masks of the performing artists.

HIROKI：It sure would be funny to see everyone in the audience looking just like us.

Tsunehito：Why not sell things produced by each band?

――Like the famous 'D薔薇饅頭 / D Bara Manju' you sold at Shibuya C.C.Lemon Hall? ['Bara' means roses, while 'manju' are a Japanese snack. They're steamed buns filled with sweet red bean paste.]

ASAGI：We didn't have any plans to sell that. Should we? (laugh)

Ruiza：Are there going to be any booths selling food?

――There are plans for a 'World Restaurant'. ['World Restaurant' usually refers to an assortment of food stands opened during a live event/festival that serves famous dishes of various countries/regions. (e.g. kebab, curry, etc.)]

Ruiza：Wow!
ASAGI：Would any of them serve curry?
HIROKI：It sounds international.
HIDE-ZOU：Another thing to look forward to.
HIROKI：What should we eat?

――Right now, we're doing this interview inside a studio. Which means?

ASAGI：We're here because it's the last day of editing for a music video. Since we're adding the finishing touches to our piece of work, normally it takes a lot of time. But for this occasion we finished in about half an hour.

Ruiza：Did we forget something?

――You haven't released a new single for quite a while.

ASAGI：The last one was released eight months ago.

――What's the new song like?

ASAGI：It's a rock 'n' roll tune that will definitely fire up the crowds when performed live. The name of the song is 'Tightrope'. It's meant to express the traversing of a tightrope called 'life'. The lyrics talk about how you should try to do what you think is right and walk straight across the rope.

HIDE-ZOU：'Tightrope' will include three more songs, and if you combine the limited and standard versions there will be a total of four tracks. What we earned and mastered during the previous album, the experiences, lessons we learned during our tour, everything we acquired and gained in the past was incorporated into the recording. I think we're going to be able to take a firm step towards breaking new ground."

HIROKI：This single is a straight-forward, rocking, solid track that will sound cool to anyone. There's a song that goes at 207 BPM (beats per minute) using double bass drumming. I pushed myself to the limits to play this song. The combinations among each member's instruments are well thought out too. It'll make anyone go wild.

Tsunehito：The members, including me, brought out the best inside us to make a rocking, clear-cut, cool-sounding song. Like all our other songs, this one we can proudly show off to anyone. So I hope a lot of people will give it a try. For this song I paid more attention to my bass playing; like how to control the rhythm and the use of sounds. I was able to learn a lot from this recording.

Ruiza：It simply sounds fantastic (laugh). We're very satisfied with the end result, and with the three b-side tracks you get to hear the very best of D at this current stage. I think everyone will thoroughly enjoy listening to it. It's the best we ever made.

――How is the brand new music video for your brand new song?

ASAGI：There are lots of things to look out for. In some of the places you can even end up laughing.

――You mean literally laugh?

ASAGI：Well, it's more like "Whoa! Hehehe."

――With the BPM going over 200, it's a very fast-paced song.

ASAGI：You can feel yourself speeding along, and I like the no-frills lyrics too. When we make music videos, we always tell the director what we want to have in the video, like the storyline and the individual scenes. For this occasion we asked for the video to be made as close to our requests as technically possible. I think the video fully conveys the worldview of the song, and we're very happy with the results. I can't wait to have everyone see it.

――Finally, please send a message to your fans all over the world!

Ruiza：We are excited just by the fact that we've been invited to join and perform in such a large scale event. Like I said before, I want to leave a lasting impact on the audience. D has never gone abroad before, but we really wish we could go one day, so please continue to check us.

Tsunehito：For the festival we're going to do our utmost and give a great performance! We often receive email from overseas from fans that haven't seen us perform live yet. If possible, we hope you can come to the festival and experience D performing live. Even if it's difficult for you to visit this time, please keep an eye out for us to see what we're up to.

HIROKI：For the people who could come and see us live, we promise to show you what D is all about. We get fan mail from people around the globe saying that they're waiting for us to come visit their countries. We'll head out as soon as we have the opportunity.

HIDE-ZOU：We're working hard so that everyone who comes to the festival will have a great time. Lots of people from overseas might be coming to the festival, and we're looking forward to meeting them. As to our fans abroad that unfortunately can't come, we really would like to visit and perform in lots of different countries. So keep all your power in check and let it all out when we come to see you.

ASAGI：We always want to have as many people as possible to get to know D, so we're very excited to be a part of this event. You can all keep your expectations high, because we promise to deliver a solid performance. D has never gone overseas yet, but we had been receiving offers from abroad. If the time and the situation match up we will definitely go around the globe. Since we are just about ready to release 'Tightrope', we're planning on performing it during the festival. If you can't come, please listen to the single and immerse yourself into the world of D.

(C) V-ROCK FESTIVAL'09