Pati Pati, October 2005

Translated by: Sweiled

1. Please DO NOT take my translations and use them for whatever reason, without my permission.
2. Please DO NOT publish my translations elsewhere without my permission. Please kindly link back if you want, but DO NOT copy and paste them.


[number] = more explanation of the sentence below
xxx = more detailed explanations
[xxx] = what I felt a certain part of the sentence meant
(xxx) = other meanings of the word or literal translations or missing word/words not specifically mentioned. For e.g. The fans screamed when (Gackt and his band members) entered the stadium! Read it like you will a normal sentence.
=xxx= = real brackets used in the interview


The more you try to express it with words, the more complicated the story presented in this music becomes. That is why you should take a good look at the CD cover first and in your own way, unravel the messages hidden there. Next, I would like you to move on to the pictures inside [the booklet] and do the same thing. It is, perhaps, the best and shortest way to feel Gackt’s new work, “DIABOLOS”, more strongly. That is what I've concluded for the time being.

In any case, the album had not been completed yet when this interview was being held. Gackt indeed!? Of course, it’s not something to praise about, but even so (though the album has not been completed), the direction of the album is already indicated very clearly. Intense, fleeting, painful and beautiful [1] “DIABOLOS”. As can be seen even from the title [2], it’s obvious that “devil” is a major factor. But I believe that in the end, everybody would definitely be able to understand that this is indeed a “human work” [3]. That is why I feel a pain which I’ve never felt the like before when I listen to it. It seems like we will, through this work, be invited to those depths at last. And so begins the story of “MOON”.

[1] (激しい hageshii: violent; vehement; intense; furious; tempestuous); (はかない hakanai: fleeting; transient; short-lived; momentary; miserable; empty; ephemeral); (切ない setsunai: painful; trying; oppressive; suffocating); (美しい utsukushii: beautiful; lovely)
[2] The meaning of DIABOLOS is devil in Greek.
[3] I think he is trying to say that the stories/music are very “real” and you can relate it to your own self. It’s not fantasy, but something which is connected to the real world, the human world.

Angels are but a mold created by the evil inside us

I: I think this is the (most) complicated work you’ve done since the start of “MOON PROJECT”.
G: Thank you. I’m going to take that as a compliment. (laughs)


I: From the word “DIABOLOS”, is it okay for me to take the title to mean “devil”?
G: Well, it’s not such a literal meaning of “devil”. Rather, it’s the darkness that humans possess in them. Humans do not live with righteousness alone, right? Just like Yin and Yang which exists in every single thing, every human has good points and bad points too. That is what the characters in this “MOON” story expresses (lit. exude; oozes; seep out). I think I’ve expressed very well the deep darkness in human and the evil sides of it.


I: So in that sense, you can feel a lot of chaos in this album because the subject is humans. But the figure of a perfect angle in contrast with diabolos is not something that can be seen concretely.
G: That’s right. Well, the way I think, though a lot of devils exist in this world, I’ve never once met an angel before. Something like that. The sense that angels are but a mold created by the evil inside us. There is no doubt that evil exists, because if it doesn’t, the morals that people cling to will be gone.


I: In other words, good doesn’t exist?
G: No, it does exist. Though it exists, good cannot create anything by itself.


I: Ah, I see. You mean good and evil coexists.
G: Exactly. The main point is good doesn’t exist in a complete form. That is what I feel.


I: I think that’s a rather sad thing.
G: It is, but that is the reality. Just that most of the parts are compiled beautifully for this album, especially the lyrics part. Of course, there are some songs which are expressed grotesquely, but because I avoid ugly ways of expressions, I think there isn’t any which is completely grotesque.


I: That is definitely what you call “哀婉”. (aien) [1]
[1] 哀 generally refers to feelings of sadness, sorrow, grief, etc while婉 refers to something elegant; graceful.
G: Yes, indeed.


I: So that is why one can really feel the thick heaviness in contrast with the beauty of the presentation.
G: Ah, I think the power that each song possesses has been wielded successfully if you can really feel that way.


I: But it’s a pity that I could hear only one new song from the album.
G: Ah, unexpected, isn’t it? I feel the same way. (laughs)


I: I’ve heard the scary rumour that the expected completion date for the album is one week before the release date. (laughs)
G: No, that’s a maybe. I’ll press on.


I: Can the album be released!?
G: It will. It will be. (laughs)


I: But the recording is going well for Gackt-san, right?
G: Yes, it is going well for me. But the instrumental team [1] is late, which is why I keep waiting =to record= the songs. So I’m pushing them on right now so that the instrumental team can proceed more quickly. It was very intense previously as well.
[1] Literal translations, he is referring to the people/team in charge of recording the instrumentals.


I: But that’s because the instrumentals are difficult (to play), isn’t it?
G: Yes. Partly because we are doing a lot of new things, so it becomes more difficult and also because the changes made to the songs overlap each other. The number of staff is also limited so everyone is pretty stretched to the limit.


I: Indeed, I’ve anticipated the series of singles [1] for a long time, but the abundance of the number of sounds [2] surprised me.
[1] He released three singles before “DIABOLOS” album: BLACK STONE, Metamorphoze ～メタモルフォーゼ～, and届カナイ愛ト知ッテイタノニ抑エキレズニ愛シ続ケタ... (Todokanai Ai to Shitteita noni, Osaekirezuni Aishitsuduketa…)
[2] Literal translation of 音数 (onsuu)
G: The number of sounds is really a lot, isn’t it? When I first turned the things on my mind into form, it will be more or less different from the image I had (originally), so we had to do it over again. The drum can be re-recorded three times for one song. It is true that that takes a lot of time.


I: Well then, if you look at the album as a whole, what will be the (main) feature of the sound work?
G: It will be very difficult to place the songs under any genre because of the new method we used to create the sound. I would say it is something like a “New Mixture Rock” feel.


I: Then the heaviness is the focus? (lit. front part; frontage; façade)
G: Yes. Heavy; bewitching; painful; and fleeting. You feel really crazy, but even then, it’s fleeting and it’s sad.


I: Ah, like “Ash” for example. I remember it as a song which gives a sense of gentleness yet is violent.
G: That will surely be it. The song that you’ve already heard is “Future,” right?


I: Yes
G: That song also has a very beautiful melody and composition, yet it depicts ephemerality and violence (at the same time). I like that part of the song. I think I’m the only one who can create such a view of the world.


I: That’s why this album pains (us).
G: But, that is what a human’s life is like.


I: Just a slight choking feeling will be swiftly followed by a physical pain. [1] This album gives such a feeling.
[1] Hmm, just as you feel that choking, suffocating feeling (like what you feel when you are sad and in pain?), at that same moment, you’ll feel the pain physically. It’s an album which can affect one’s emotions rather strongly.
G: Ahahaha, that’s an honour. (laughs)

Mirrors which reflect the filthy and evil side of humans

I: Starting with “DIABOLOS”, the vampire theme (lit. motif) used in the design of the booklet is eye-catching too, isn’t it? What is the relation between the music and this artwork?
G: To put it simply, in this continuation of the “MOON” story, we are right in the middle of the scene where something like the origin of the vampires is revealed. Though this novel of “MOON” that I’m writing is a story which starts from A.D. 700, the world shown in the “MOON” album is from between our current time to the near future, right? This time, “DIABOLOS” focuses on the year 1500 to 1600 and it was during that period of time that vampires started to appear.

And if you ask why I’ve been so focused on vampires all this while, it’s because even though their existence is the exact opposite of humans’, they are, at the same time, mirrors which reflect the filthy and evil side of human. I think humans are weak animals who live while comparing themselves with others and consequently feeling superior or inferior. However, to express that as it is (lit. lively; fresh; green; raw) would be too straightforward and instead becomes difficult to convey; besides, it’s not beautiful. But through the existence of vampires, the darkness in human can be expressed clearly and beautifully. Of course, that I myself love vampires is also part of the reason.


I: You mean to say the existence of vampires is symbolic?
G: That’s right. By doing that, a very good balance is captured in my music between the intense, beautiful, and fleeting… world I seek and the sadness these vampires have felt since birth. [1]
[1] I think this part will make more sense after you’ve read the next translation.


I: I see, it’s inevitable that the visual work leans towards the gothic side then.
G: Yes, it is. This artwork doesn’t illustrate the story found in the music in this album, but a story from an earlier setting instead.


I: Ah, could you possibly be referring to the pictures of the Japanese medieval period which were also in the booklet? [1]
[1] There were two pictures in the booklet of him wearing a kimono, for “Farewell” and “Noesis”.
G: Yes, an image from around the mid Heian period to early Kamakura period. [1] This artwork is a preview of the first chapter of “MOON”, which will be revealed next, and illustrates at the same time how [the person] from that period is foreseeing the future, a reincarnation of sorts.
[1] The Heian period was from the year 794 to year 1185, while the Kamakura period was from the year 1185 to year 1333.


I: In a way, the release of the work under “MOON” follows the same time axis as “Star Wars”, doesn’t it?
[1] The interviewer from B=pass magazine, June 2005, said the same thing too. Just in case anyone doesn’t know Star Wars, part 4, 5 and 6 were released first before they made part 1, 2 and 3. So it’s the same as what Gackt is doing with “MOON” here because he starts with the end and not the beginning.
G: I’ve been told that often. But, it’s more interesting that way. See, we don’t know our own origin, right? You wonder, “Why do we keep fighting?” As soon as we like someone, you began to hate as well, don’t you? It’s an interesting balance that we humans have. We have things to hate and we have things to love. And I believe whether that can be expressed well depends on the way the works of “MOON” are released.


I: Well then, every time a work is released in the future, one will realize, “That thing from that time is actually this thing!?”
G: That’s right. If you don’t already know the story from the start, you’ll just end up trying to make what you are going to release consistent with what has already been released. [1] I don’t want to create my works in such a way. So I’m thinking of expressing (the story) through novels and movies in the future. Well, maybe I’ll retire after all that has been completed.
[1] Took me a while to figure this out, so I thought I might explain it as well. ^^;; When we create/present stories the normal way, from the beginning and slowly working your way to the ending, we can make adjustments to the story as it progresses. But if it was turned the other way round where a story was told from the end, you can’t just change the beginning, right? So if you don’t already have a clear view of what the whole story is like, you’ll end up trying to make the beginning fit the ending and it will probably turn out pretty messy.


I: This kind of joke today? (laughs)
G: No, well… Like, this should be good enough, isn’t it? It should be enough already, right? (laughs) There are times when I want to slow down the pace a little bit, the pace of thinking over, feeling it as well as creating the story. But once you feel connected to (the story), you cannot slow down the pace. [1] Though I say that (about retiring at first), I will retire (only) when I feel I cannot stand on the stage anymore. As long as I can still make music (lit. create works), I will continue; as long as I can still stand on the stage, I will keep singing.
[1] It’s just like when you feel excited about something, you can’t slow down but you want to keep moving and complete it.


I: But, listening to this talk today, one can tell that the sound of “Noesis” has academic roots unlike any other before.
G: Yes, I combined it with the theme and created the music in such a way that you can tell the historical background (of the story). Thus, a gothic tune is created. The reason why I use Asia’s traditional instruments for the song is also to make the story the background. Because I feel achieving that balance depends on me.

There is no one else besides me who can create such a music

I: I wonder how that balance will be expressed in the tour.
G: That is what you can look forward to watching.


I: This album has such a wide range of approach and it will be difficult to recreate that, won’t it?
G: Isn’t recreating that the job of GacktJob? (laughs)


I: But the tour is drawing nearer day by day…… you don’t have the spare time to complete this album, right?
G: …… Someone, please give me spare time. (laughs) But that is something I take pride in because no one creates a stage the way I do, and because there is no one else besides me who can create such a music. I’m not anxious. Well, if you talk about what’s making me worried, it’s wondering if the album can be completed in time for the release date.


I: (You’re) already enjoying the thrill now, aren’t you? (laughs)
G: Ahahaha (laughs) It’ll be fine, I will release it as planned. Do look forward to the album.