As I already have mentioned a long time ago, I have had the possibility to lead an interview with HIZAKI himself before his concert in Cologne on 25th May. Finally I was able to translate it into English, so enjoy! ^___^
The original interview in German can be found here on AnimePRO. Big thanks to 33Degrees again for making this interview possible!
Please do not repost/copy etc without my permission!
It has been an important European tour for
Visual Kei guitarist HIZAKI: In May 2015 he travelled as a solo artist for the
first time. We not only were allowed to attend his debut concert, he also took
some of his time before the show to answer a short interview for us.
Due to some difficulties with the organization
the intended interview time had to be postponed and shortened a bit.
Nevertheless we have received some interesting answers:
·
AnimePRO: You’re
on a solo tour for the first time now. Which aspect is dominating, anticipation
or anxiety?
HIZAKI: Definitely anticipation! I would say I’m looking
forward to it 95%, only 5% consist of worries.
· AnimePRO: If
you will have some free time during the shows, do you want to do or see
something special?
HIZAKI: I want to visit many castles and churches
because the European architecture is impressing and inspires me. For example
there shall be amazing buildings in Liechtenstein, I would like to visit them
very much.
·
AnimePRO: Talking
about inspiration: What do you do if you lack of it once?
HIZAKI: Then I go to the temple and pray to the gods
that this time span will pass quickly.
·
AnimePRO: Let’s
talk about song composition. What is created first when writing a new piece?
HIZAKI: Above everything concerning the music the
message thrones. Just after that everything else follows, the melody, the
chorus, the instruments. And just at the very end we go to the studio and record
the full song.
·
AnimePRO: Concerning
studio recording: It needs some time until a song turns out to be perfect;
breaks are needed in between. Do you have a “miracle cure” or a tradition which
restores your power again quickly?
HIZAKI: The pure recording time isn’t that long at all,
usually we are done with everything within one day. We don’t need long breaks
or “miracle cures” but focus on finishing off successfully quickly.
·
AnimePRO: You
are famous for your breathtaking and fast guitar solos. It needs a lot of time
and effort until such a solo is composed – how long in average, regarding your
experiences?
HIZAKI: It differs very much: Everything from 0 to 100
hours is possible.
·
AnimePRO: How
about inventing the title? Do you already have some ideas in your mind while you
are still composing, or do you decide this after finishing the song?
HIZAKI: Just at the very end the song gets its title.
·
AnimePRO: Besides
to composing songs and writing lyrics there are several other tasks to be done
until a new album can be released, for example giving interviews, promotion,
photo shoots. What needs most time?
HIZAKI: Definitely TERUs design work! (laughs)
·
AnimePRO: How
about the outfits? Do you create them yourself entirely?
HIZAKI: Usually TERU creates the main parts of our
outfits, but we also have a designer. When I have a rough idea for a new outfit
we meet altogether and work at the final result.
·
AnimePRO: In
the end a random question which doesn’t fit the frame of the interview that
much, just for interest: What is your favorite animal?
HIZAKI: (answers in a shot) Cats! (common laughter)
After that our time already was over and we had
to shorten our questions a bit. We thank HIZAKI and 33Degrees for making this
interview possible although there has been time delay.
_____
Thank you for reading and see you again with a report about the concert itself!
Junsui~
