Club Volvic: My On Time (January 24, 2007)

Translated by: gekka_no_neko (@LJ)
Please do not copy, take, redistribute, retranslate or repost this translation without my permission. Thank you~


Part 1 of 4. "I'm not interested in making a song that merely explains the drama."

Q: Is the single "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") your first drama theme song[1]?
A: When I create a song, I start with a story that is much like a novel, and I turn that story into a song. The theme this time is "vampire", and within that theme a love story has developed. I write songs by putting my own feelings and thoughts into the story. This song is (used as) a drama theme song, but I was not conscious of that[2] at all. I'm not interested in making a song that concretely explains a drama in minute detail, and I also feel that writing a song in that way narrows the world view of the song as well as the imagination of the listeners.

"I first fell into the world of Gundam as an adult."


Q: "Metamorphoze~メタモルフォーゼ~" is the theme song for "機動戦士Zガンダムー星を継ぐ者" ("Kidou Senshi Z Gundam -Hoshi wo Tsugu Mono-"; "Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation -Heirs to the Stars-") Were you a big fan of Gundam?
A: The first time I saw Gundam was when I was an adult. I've always loved movies, so after I watched everything at the video rental shop, only the anime was left (laughs). Then as soon as I watched Gundam, I was hooked. Of the characters, my favorite was Lieutenant Ramba Ral[3]. "Gundam" is not about hero vs. villain. It asks[4] why people fight and for whose benefit do we exist, so the subject matter is extremely deep/profound. I am close to the director Tomino Yoshiyuki, and respect him, so I was truly happy when my song was chosen as the theme song.

"I live in my own way. That won't change in the future."


Q: In "Metamorphoze", there is the lyric "I only wanted to protect you." What do you believe is "the thing you want to protect above all"?
A: "My own way of life," I think. My way of thinking, things like my faith/beliefs[5]. I have my own rules in how to live. Those rules are not laws and they weren't decided by things around me, they are things that I decided upon on my own, and that is what I want to protect. I don't have the sense that I will be swept away by my surroundings, nor do I believe (those surroundings) are necessary. After all, you can accept failure if you are following the way of life that you believe in; but you can't take responsibility for failure if it happens while you're living the way everyone else is living. That's why I live in my own way. That is what I've continued to protect up to now, and that won't change in the future.


Notes:
[1] "届カナイ愛ト知ッテイタノニ抑エキレズニ愛シ続ケタ。。。" is the theme song for the drama "契約結婚" ("Keiyaku Kekkon"; "Contract Marriage").
[2] In other words, the fact that the song was being used as a drama theme song did not come into play when he was writing it.
[3] Lietenant Ramba Ral: Lt. Ramba Ral is a character from the original Mobil Suit Gundam television series. He is a veteran ace pilot of the Principality of Zeon.
[4] "testugaku": philosophize; speculate; theorize.
[5] "shinnen": belief; faith; conviction; principles.

Source: www.volvic.co.jp/musiccinema/bn_interview_m_gackt1-01.html (September 2005)

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