Squeeze Spirits
translator commentary is in [] brackets
Lay's Personal Interview: PT1
Squeeze Spirits [SS]: So, let's talk about your childhood.
Lay: My mother played the Electone, so there was always an Electone in the house. My sister even learned it, but I just watched. I didn't have any interest in the Electone. But since I was a kid, I've always liked listening to music.
SS: So music was close to you?
Lay: Yes, I listened to it always. It was around middle school that I think there was a band boom. When things like "Ikaten" [short for 'ikasu tenkoku' or 'cool paradise' that was a music show] was around, right? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was around then that even my classmates in middle school started saying they wanted to make bands. And yeah, it seemed to be in the form of so-called J-POP copy bands. Generally, because of the band boom, you'd see a lot of bands on the television. I vaguely remember thinking, "Bands are pretty cool." It was roughly from that time that I started to listen to bands like BUCK-TICK and X.
SS: So what was it that made you want to start a band?
Lay: I started playing instruments around High School ... In High School, self-wise, there were a lot of changes in my environment. The middle school that I went to was kind of rare and unusual. Usually, [for compulsory education] you might go to two to three schools, in the following order elementary school, then middle school, and then to a higher school. Well, the school I went to was different. It's like one school where a pupil will go to its elementary school and then it's middle school, and afterwards a higher school. There were new students that came in at middle school, but everyone was generally really good friends.
SS: So your friends didn't really change?
Lay: That's right. Because of that, it was a pretty closed-off school (Laughs). But I wonder what would have been different, if I had gone to a different middle school. When it came time for High School, out of everyone in my middle school, I was the only person to go to a different High School. I didn't know anyone there. I didn't really think about anything in particular, just that it was normal to go to High School... But it was there that I changed. As usual, I met everyone, but I didn't really make any sort of friends. It was from that time, that I started to call into question the significance of my existence.
SS: Why so sudden?
Lay: Well, I think it was an aging thing. In the past, my friends all wanted to do things quickly. But while attending High School, I started to think things like: "I wonder what other people are thinking about?"; "What should I do with myself?"; "What can I do that is just for me?" I vaguely had been thinking about how usually [after high school] you enter the university and then find a normal job --- and I thought that I wouldn't like that kind of life. But when I looked at the people around me, I knew that "They'll all surely end up that way." And since I thought that way, even when people talked about these normal things, I found myself bored.
SS: So already, you found it impossible to become like your friends?
Lay: Yes, and of course I wanted to have close friends. But it would have only been superficial to hang out [with those friends], so I didn't worry about it .... That's how I felt. So while thinking about what I wanted to do, I worked part-time, things like that. I love music, and always needed to listen [to music]. And that was when I had the thought: "Oh! I know! I'll play the guitar!" I then thought, "If I play the guitar, I could put together a band, and that should definitely not be boring!" I remember every day was spent all dokidoki [over this new idea]. I didn't want to do a band in the sense that it would be popular with girls. Like I had said, when I was in High School, I had wanted to do something just for myself, and [making a band] was truly for this reason. While thinking "I want to do this, but what should I do..." I bought a guitar and began to think of what band I wanted to make. At that time, I did have a close friend who felt the same. We bought his guitar together, and then entered the High School's soft rock club. That was the first band I tried to make.
SS: So in regards to playing in that band, Lay-san, did [doing it] lead to a breakthrough in something?
Lay: Yes. Of course, playing in that band was a good thing. It was unbelievably fun. Every day was never boring. I didn't feel there was any meaning in going to school. I always thought that "studying for school will certainly avail to nothing." And I thought variously about what I could do for myself. I think it was then that I started to like da~rk lyrics and the like.
SS: Da~rk lyrics?
Lay: I really enjoyed great lyrics, like BUCK-TICK's for example. My band covered various songs from BUCK-TICK, LUNA SEA. It was these kinds of bands that were called visual kei, and I watched them do risky things, scary things, uniquely dangerous things [on the television]. Then there was the said band boom, where it wasn't about selling ... that was the feeling of underground-kei. Until then, I didn't care to know about the bands on TV. I was looking for music that really appealed to me. Thus, when I couldn't discover the music I wanted [to do], I found visual-kei. I wanted to feature that perfectly into whatever band I would make. At that time, visual-kei had no limits. And so, when I saw this [scene], I thought "Who the hell are these people?!" (Laughs). Guys putting on makeup, giving off scary looks, it was just really cool. But now it's different, Visual-kei is weak. [Visual-kei back then wasn't] "cute," and guys put on really corruptive makeup. The music wasn't anything like "hope this catches your interest easily," it was much more aggressive. And so, that really suited me --- the me that was really dark, and didn't want to go outside, but wanted to seclude myself in my room. And that was exactly how my high school years were, listening to BUCK-TICK and the like in the dark of my room (Laughs).
SS: So the cause of that must have been school, huh?
Lay: Um, hmm, how should I say this? Going to school was always boring, even though I wasn't apart of generation X, I had the same thoughts that everything was useless, like "If there's nothing I can do just for myself, what's the meaning of life?" Everyone turns into something horrible. Of course, I started to think like that. But no matter what, these people completely surrounded me .... why is everyone so normal? But from there, when I took my first step forward, I couldn't find what I wanted to do that would be just for me. But as I looked around me, I thought: "Everyone's just afraid of taking that courageous first step." Therefore, I didn't care about making friends at all, and I ended up not having any good friends. I remember thinking that I couldn't make any close friends. And I think it was that that spurred me on (Laughs).
SS: So you just listened to BUCK-TICK and the like in your dark room...
Lay: Yeah (Laughs). I also listened to the Bauhaus (British Rock Band). Anyway, I really like the dark. It's my roots.
SS: So, those times that you were listening, are they just as big of an influence even now [on you and your work]?
Lay: Perhaps.... but I wonder how. Well, big you say? I haven't really thought about that. But when I'm thinking of making music, it plays a minor role. Without realizing it, It makes [the melody] kind of dark (Laughs).
SS: Naturally, huh?
Lay: Naturally (Laughs)
SS: Was there anyone you admired at that time?
Lay: Even now, I still really like them, like BUCK-TICK's Imai-san. I think that "there's no one like him in the world." And that's why I still really admire [him] as well as his presence. Even now, I really like him. Probably because BUCK-TICK is a part of my roots. And it was from then that I started to listen to different music, and expand my horizons.
SS: You said you started playing the guitar [when you first got into music], but when was it that you changed to the bass?
Lay: It was around my 3rd year in high school that I changed to the bass. Until then, I didn't really know much about what the bass exactly was. Of course, there was a bassist in our band that I knew, but I didn't understand all the parts of the bass. And so, when I thought about doing a band, I wanted to play the guitar. And since I was so into Imai-san, I thought "Of course I probably should play the guitar, since I can't sing or anything like that." But when I started my first band, I noticed that the bass was actually pretty cool. I thought, "I really can't surpass Imai-san's guitar skills, he's way too good." And because of that I decided, "Since the bass is pretty cool, I'll try that!"
SS: I see.
Lay: And so, it was about this time that I finally noticed J-san. At that time, I thought "this person is such a cool bassist!" And so I said that "I know I'm not good, but I'll do this!" And so I bought it with a guitar, when I made my first band. After the band kaisan'd, I met the person who would determine my fate (refer to the Mizuha x Lay relay).
SS: So did you know what kind of bassist you wanted to become?
Lay: I thought that "I want to become a really strange bassist." It's not that I didn't want to understand the parts of the bass, I just wanted to be a bassist that you can't find anywhere else.
SS: So not a the kind of bassist that keeps a low profle?
Lay: Exactly. A bassist that is memorable in all aspects--- his presence, his tone quality, his phrases. And I think that a plus to this is a bass has many excellent parts to it, and so I wanted to make something of my own [bassist style]. But it's really hard. I wanted to put together all bass parts, drums, guitar, and vocals inside of me. In regards to the guitar and vocals, I thought they shared the same important position. And the drums was a percussion instrument that had to follow the beat. I thought I could put that together into the bass. So with knowing what I wanted to do, I tried to incoporate those parts together ... and when I couldn't, I came up with some other way to express it that was just as cool. Seriously, I was also able to make something percussion-like.
SS: In regards to the bass, you like stressing both the rhythm aspect and the melody aspect?
Lay: Yes. I really am captivated [by doing such]. The bass is really interesting.
SS: So after switching to the bass, you think it's the most fun?
Lay: Yes, I love the bass. I take a lot of pride in being a bassist. But I also have somewhat of a guitarist complex.
SS: Complex?
Lay: Of course, I think that being a guitarist is cool. .... But now, the bassist is cooler (laughs). But I admire many good guitarists. For example, when I'm asked "what artists do you like?" I seem to say, a lot of the times, my favorite artists are either vocalists or guitarists.
SS: So conversely, you want to become the number one bassist?
Lay: I want to (Laughs). And so, generally, I don't think I've done everything that I could do with a bass. I've wanted my part to be interesting, like "whatever I do, it needs to be full-range."
SS: So you wondered if you could, yourself, blaze some kind of new trail?
Lay: Yes, I think that would be the best way to put it. I just want to emphasize how I'm perceived (Laughs). Something like, that bassist is so cool. And that the bass itself is pretty cool, right? Cause it's pretty long.
SS: So the long neck [of the bass] is the point? (Laughs)
Lay: Yes (Laughs). Somehow, it's more fashionable than the guitar. Well, to change the subject of the bass so that I can explain this better, um, it's kind of like if I were a fashion magazine director (something like that), and a stylist. And if I was styling a model [for a feature in the magazine], I'd probably be like: "Since you've got kind of a short neck, why don't you use a prop like a [long-necked] instrument?" It's that kind of thing that makes the bass so cool.
SS: Surely, huh?
Lay: Yes. It is just one of the reasons why I think the bass is cool. My sense of it is, "how can I leave the feeling of something cool?" And I really feel confident that it is the bass (Laughs).
SS: Why'd you laugh at that? (Laughs)
Lay: It's just that even I don't really understand why I have such confidence (laughs). The real sense is something like, "my own way of life is cool," and I think most people don't have that. But it's really difficult when you think about the value of cool things, and how you'll keep being cool. And even if people think you're cool, are you really cool?
SS: Surely...
Lay: See, that's exactly why it's so difficult. But when I think of cool things, there must be something cool in me.
SS: You don't really think like that.
Lay: Yeah I do. What other people think is cool, and what I think is cool; but I know what's cool for me. But when I think about what isn't cool, I'm pretty sure it's not cool [to me]. I've got complete confidence in that (Laughs).
SS: So you have values like: "oh this is it" or "this isn't it."
Lay: Exactly. I think that having that sense is really necessary. In regards to what I feel is cool, for example, when I'm making music, I'll ask myself: "does it sound cool now?!' And if I'm lucky, I'll say to myself, "This is the kind of cool thing I'm going for." And with that, things that I think are cool are good, but if I were to say that it was "fashionable" and the like, it would have to be something that isn't at all normal, right? That's what I mean.
SS: So Lay-san, "fashionable" is important to you?
Lay: Hmm... how should I say this more clearly? I'm not sure if I can explain it well, it's too difficult.
SS: Your words are like a dialect to me.... (Laughs)
Lay: Well, for example .... how Stanley Kubrick and Tarantino use music is really amazing. And it's not just amazing, but somehow has a fashionable sense to it. That kind of "fashionable" sense is what I think is really important.
