LUNA SEA released two self-cover albums on November 29th, titled “MOTHER” released in 1994 and “STYLE” released in 1996.
“MOTHER” is a work that includes hit songs such as “ROSIER” and “TRUE BLUE,” and “STYLE” includes hit songs such as “DESIRE” and “IN SILENCE.” LUNA SEA has risen to an unshakable position in the Japanese rock scene. Album produced during this period. What was the reason and intention behind LUNA SEA, who will be celebrating her 35th anniversary since her debut next year, re-recording these songs? Also, what kind of response do you feel from the arena tour “LUNA SEA DUAL ARENA TOUR 2023” that she is carrying out with her two works? She conducted a long interview with INORAN (G) and J (B) and asked them their thoughts.
Interview and text / Photography by Hiroko Goto / Takuma Suda
INORAN interview
Music will live on even if we die
──How did this series of movements related to “MOTHER” and “STYLE” begin?
In 2018, after finishing the reenactment live of “IMAGE” (1992 tour “IMAGE or REAL”) and “EDEN” (1993 tour “SEARCH FOR MY EDEN”), in the same vein “MOTHER” We talked about wanting to do it. We thought it would be fun to do it on tour, so we came up with the idea of doing a dual tour that included “STYLE”. Furthermore, I thought it would be really interesting if it was tied to the album as well, so that’s how we connected. Over the past few years, a lot of things have come together, including the coronavirus pandemic, RYUICHI’s throat surgery, and the timing of a new staff change. As a result, both the members and the band as a whole felt a strong desire to carve out a stronger history as LUNA SEA.
──It was a step-by-step decision to not only re-record the live performance but also re-record everything to create an album.
But I’ve experienced it before.
──This is a re-recording album of the indie album “LUNA SEA” released in 2011. That was your first sound source after “REBOOT” in 2010. Did you gain much from making it?
I agree. I was able to think about how to interpret reprinting and rewriting. Simply making the same thing one more time is reworking it, but it’s not just about that, it’s about what you put into it. I think it was great that we were able to create this while watching ourselves change.
──Do you mean that you learned something or realized things through the songs you made in the past?
Hmm…The key is to think about it before you start recording. I think some people feel pressure to re-record because of restrictions such as not being able to change things, or how it will be perceived by those around them. Depending on your attitude toward the original, you won’t be able to surpass it. We can’t recreate what was born at that time…but on the other hand, we can make it shine even more. In my case, I went into it thinking that it would be nice to include someone who has grown more than before. The same goes for changing phrases, and even if the phrase is exactly the same, I think it’s like focusing on a more microscopic aspect. At the same time, we don’t just package the moment, we also package the now, then, between now and then, and the future. It feels like I’m looking at both the micro and the macro. It feels difficult to explain in words, but in the end I do it by feeling. In the end, you have no choice but to trust your own feelings.
──I see.
I think each member has a slightly different sensibility, but when I think about how they’ve been able to work as musicians to this day, and how they translate that into their sound, I feel more emotional about it than I did back then. Looking back now, I think that in the past I had a slightly more vague feeling like “I’ll definitely make something great.” Now I can see more of my surroundings, and I can probably see the future, but when I was in my 20s and was making “MOTHER” and “STYLE,” I didn’t think about what I would be doing when I was 50 or 60 years old. Because I couldn’t imagine it. It’s like we have a different way of understanding space and time.
──Back then, it felt more fleeting.
I agree. What we have to do is the same now and in the past, but our determination to do it is different. Now, as a professional, as a musician, as a person in this position, I feel an even greater responsibility. Also, even if we die, music will continue to live on, right? When you think about it that way, what you put into each sound changes as well. Even if you can’t regain your physical youth and vigor, music never ages and never loses its youth, so I think it’s important to honestly infuse it with the passion of your current age. I think the same can be said for live performances. Well, I don’t always think stoically like this (lol).
—No major rearrangements were made for the re-recording, but was that direction shared by the members?
No, I think it depends on the author of the original song. It may be hard to understand because it’s such a small detail, but in my songs, I changed the synchronized parts and phrases a little. I realize now that I didn’t have an idea for this ensemble at the time, or that when a certain phrase plays, the other instruments will do the same thing. It’s an interpretation of the song that I can do because I am who I am now. I intend to be honest about that.
──Did each composer take the initiative?
This was especially true in this case. Each one has completely different points of focus, and I think that’s what makes LUNA SEA so interesting.
──Did you get the impression that J-san and SUGIZO-san were going in different directions?
I guess J doesn’t change much. I think SUGIZO depends on the song. SUGIZO is more stoic than me, but this time I mean it in a good way…To put it simply, I get the impression that his expressions aren’t too formal. Since we’re both guitarists, I can really feel that.
──Is it okay to change INORAN’s songs completely?
I agree. Whether it’s drums, bass, or guitar, I don’t often say, “I want it to be done this way.”
I like RYUICHI’s current voice the most.
──I think it is RYUICHI’s vocals that will inevitably change. Of course things have changed over the past 20 years, and there have also been changes over the past few years since my surgery. I had the impression that the re-recording featured a completely new singing voice, what do you think of it from INORAN’s point of view?
Naturally, humans tend to get deeper as they get older, but RYU-chan’s voice has an even deeper depth to it, which I think from sitting next to her. Even in this recording, he doesn’t show his efforts or what’s going on in his head, so it’s hard to tell, but I felt like he really packaged the present moment. I also sing, and as I sing, I grow to a certain extent. However, it’s not just a matter of growing up; sometimes people say, “The old days were better.” But since I can’t listen to how I used to be, I have no choice but to sing with my current voice. In that sense, I think RYUICHI’s songs have changed and matured nicely. It’s not the small details like the way he sings or the way he sings, but the way he improves as a whole that raises his level…I’m being cheeky when I say that. That might be the point I want you to listen to this album the most. He has been singing and walking all his life, and now he is here. I think this song is almost perfect, including the emotions and thoughts that I put into the lyrics when I faced myself from about 30 years ago.
──I want you to feel the current singing voice.
Yeah. It’s quite a big deal for a vocalist to have throat surgery, but I think of it more as “removing the skin” rather than “cutting out the bad part.” I like RYU-chan’s current voice the most, and I hope she continues to have this voice.
──We also hear about the existence of a producer named Steve Lillywhite (a five-time Grammy award-winning producer who has worked with U2, The Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel, etc.) as another key person. I think that I want to do it. Was it decided that he would be the one to be entrusted with the final mix?
I agree. Each member has different tastes in sound, so in the wide world of music, there are only a few people that all five of us respect. Steve is one of them, and the session we had for “CROSS” (album released in December 2019) was a great source of energy for us. I felt that that energy was absolutely necessary this time.
──Since this is a self-cover album, did you send any requests or messages?
No, it felt more like a one-shot match. Just as the members expressed their thoughts and feelings in the recording, the idea was to have Steve do the same. Because Steve doesn’t know the history of the song or what the fans and we think about “this sound is the key to this song.” There’s no point in working with Steve if he can’t decide from the dozens of channels of sound that this is important. For example, it’s perfectly fine if my 12-string sound at the beginning of “LOVELESS” is super low. That’s a completely different interpretation from making a new album. If it was a new song, it would be a problem if you couldn’t hear the instruments properly, but even if the 12-string sound in “LOVELESS” is lowered, it’s still echoing inside everyone, right?
—Certainly.
So it was interesting to collaborate with Steve’s interpretation of “MOTHER” and “STYLE.” In the end, a few songs were revised, but I liked the first mix that Steve sent me the most.
──During the production of “CROSS,” you formed a strong bond with them, so you were able to trust them and entrust them to them.
When I was making “CROSS”, I never thought that he would do the mix. But if you try saying it and it doesn’t work, then that’s the time, right? Like.Muddy Apes (INORAN, Taka Hirose) that I am participating in[Feeder]Dean Teddy, MAESON [8otto]I was able to get that kind of feeling after working with bands such as “The Band”. Even if the other person is a super famous person, if you respect him, nothing is impossible, and if you have a friendship and bond where you can respect him, nothing is impossible. The world of music has the charm of being able to work with people you admire, so I was very happy to be able to do that with LUNA SEA. Steve, he came to see me at my solo concert in Thailand.
–It’s a wonderful relationship.
I think that’s how good my relationship with Steve was. After all, if one of us becomes apathetic and says, “That U2 guy…”, that’s where the value of the relationship ends.
