violetchain

Not my interview, I just translated from here:

http://2youmag.com/2youmag_old/interview/2014/no40/noa.html

 

My Japanese sucks, so I marked anything that might be way off with a *.

 

--

 

A band that has performed at festivals like FUJI ROCK, COMIN’ KOBE, SSMC and embarked on large-scale tours, Osaka’s NOA is certainly a young, first-rate band that has shown growth and one that THE NINTH APOLLO can be proud of, and now they’ve released a four-track single that could be called their defining work “3days of April / Sekai no owari to yoake mae”. This is their first release in a year, and it clearly presents the two pillars of the band: the melodic punk with English lyrics from Nishiura Shunsuke and Japanese rock from Tsumoto Aki, which coexist in this work. We hope you can appreciate this release; four songs packed with the essence of the current NOA.

 

 

Q: This is your first release in a year, what were you up to during that time?

 

Aki: We were playing a lot of concerts. The year went by in the blink of an eye.

 

Nishiura: Before we noticed, 2013 was over. (laughs)

 

 

Q: Your previous release “picture diary” was your first to feature Japanese lyrics. What were the reactions to that like?

 

Aki: I think it went over pretty well. I was a little nervous about that though. (laughs)

 

Nishiura: It was a spontaneous decision to start using Japanese lyrics. Aki just said that he wanted to try singing in Japanese. I think Aki has given NOA an even greater range of possibilities by doing that.

 

 

Q: So NOA has two pillars now, Aki-kun singing in Japanese and Nishiura-kun singing in English?

 

Aki: It’s not something we were aiming for, this is more a result of us each just making music we like. We want to do different things. But I’m starting to think that that’s a good thing. We don’t want to be a band that people get tired of listening to, so we’re not going to fight the urge to do different things.

 

 

Q: So, is it safe to say that instead of a starting the band with a clear genre or theme in mind, NOA was formed by the members bringing together the types of music they liked?

 

Aki: We did start this band with a plan, but it was never really like “Let’s do this kind of music”.

 

Nishiura: Even now, I don’t think we’ve really decided on one particular genre.

 

 

Q: Of course. When did you start working on this new single?

 

Nishiura: Sometime around last summer.

 

Aki: Right after we finished our “picture diary” tour, we started thinking about the next move. We’d decided that we were going to make a single next, but since we were doing too many lives we didn’t really get a chance to work on it until the tour was over.

 

 

Q: On this single you can really see the different colours of the band - the melodic punk side and the guitar rock side - coexisting.

 

Aki: Yes, I guess it came out that way.

 

Nishiura: Yes, but we didn’t really have a concept in mind. It feels more like Aki and I both just did what we wanted and it came out this way.

 

 

Q: Aki-kun and Nishiura-kun’s songs clearly have a different colour, but the way that NOA can contain both of them is interesting, isn’t it?

 

Aki: I’m happy you feel that way. I started wanting to try to make music in Japanese, so this single is half Japanese, but I think it really reflects the current NOA well.

 

 

Q: So, how do you approach each other’s music?

 

Aki: How do we…?

 

Nishiura: We don’t really interfere with each other’s work. I guess you could say that we respect the creator’s intention.

 

Aki: Yeah, we don’t interfere with each other.

 

Nishiura: Aki’s songs are Aki’s songs. It’s the same with mine.

 

Aki: Regardless of whose song we use, if the three of us play it, it becomes NOA.

 

 

Q; So maybe it’s like the way The Beatles worked? Like how even if each member would bring in songs that were completely different, they would bring them into existence together?

 

Aki: That, that’s cool, isn’t it? (laughs) From now on, we’re going to describe ourselves like that. (laughs)

 

 

Q: In your mind, what kind of band is NOA?

 

Aki: We’re by no means a cheerful band, we’re not really a band will get people in high spirits or make them smile, but I want NOA to be a band that respects the individual feelings of people who listen to our music, and one that helps people see things in a deeper light.*

 

 

Q: So, let’s come back to this again, what kind of work is this single to you?

 

Aki: Since I think it’s natural to think that our most recent work is the best, naturally, this new single is our best yet.

 

Nishiura: Personally, I think that this work is an important foothold for our next step. I think it’s easy to see where the band is headed by listening to it.

 

 

Q: Does the band have a specific outlook?

 

Aki: I can’t really pinpoint one. We’ll do what we like to do, and then I want a variety of other people to give us their impressions.*

 

Nishiura: NOA has two pillars, but I think it’s when those two pillars finally meet somewhere that we’ll really be able to see where we’re headed.  

 

 

Q: I really feel that you can see your individual colours clearly in this work. I’m excited to see how those two colours will mix.

 

Nishiura: Since they’re so clearly divided on this single, we’re also excited to see how we can bring them together.

 

 

Q: Lastly, please leave a message for your listeners.

 

Yuu: I want people to listen to this single during their everyday lives. It’s not really for special times, so if people listen to it during their daily routine I’d be happy.*

 

Nishiura: There are different ways of listening to it depending on the person, so I’d be really happy if a lot of different people listened to it.

 

Aki: I don't think there's any point in saying “Listen to it this way!”, I’d be happy if everyone listened to it freely. Please give it a try.

 

--

 

3days of April

 

 

世界の終わりと夜明け前 / Sekai no owari to yoake mae

 

http://www.indiesmusic.com/musicvideo/video.asp?id=12295

Ace choreography

 

One of my online friends recommended it to me as a good place for Japanese music news about two years ago. I lurked a bit and decided to join to disagree with people about Kuroyume. 

Freefall all the way.

Did anyone stay for the whole Soybomb show?

 

I only got to see mothercoat and otori, unfortunately, since I missed my bus down, I had to take the train home and the soundchecks between bands ate up a lot of time, but they were both great. Had a lot of fun dancing to otori.

^it's kind of like limewire, kazaa, etc, but with a bit more of a community feel, since you can join chat rooms based on things like genre and nationality that show you which users might have the type of music you're interested in.

You can also just search for an artist or title and browse all the files shared by the user you're downloading from

I might be curious to try it out if I can peep people's collections at will, though.

That's the main thing that I really liked about it. If I found one song by an artist I was interested in, then I could look through that person's entire collection of that artist's music and pick out any tracks I was missing. 

 

It's really awesome if you're looking for something specific. 

Not only did someone post live footage of LEGO BIG MORL's Spark in the end, but they actually subbed it in English!

 

I used to love soulseek. I haven't used it recently, but if lots of people with Japanese music in their collections are going to be using it I might have to start again.

Sigure doesn't have a monopoly on the "three-piece, male&female vocalist, and aggressive instrumentals" sound, nor does TK have a monopoly on high pitched male vocals. For that reason I'd also like to refute the 'Sigure-clone' tag that has been tagged onto HaKU too (I mean seriously, their recent music in particular doesn't even sound anything like Ling).

Yes, I thought the same thing when I read the part about HaKU.

It's not the strangest name I've heard, but I wonder what the short form for the band "SHIT HAPPENING" is. Do fans yell "Shitto!" to get them to come back?

http://www.shithappening.jp/

 

Also, I remember seeing a band called "cheap cheese" playing at the same event as a band I like, which seems incredibly hard to google and really embarrassing to introduce yourself as...

http://cheapcheese.jimdo.com/

 

コピペ / Kopipe

Music and Lyrics: Shingo Kanehiro

“Daijoubu?”
Ki ni saretakute
Higoro tamatta nayami ya SUTORESU
SNS kara SOS

“Kawaii ne”
Tte iwaretakute
Mawari de hayari no aitsu o KOPII
Jibun ni haritsukete yuuetsukan

Kasaneta
Kasaneta
Boku ni dareka no iro
Fuan ni
Uwagaki
Hozon shita
OH
Kasaneta
Kasaneta
Dareka to onaji iro
Teatari shidai ni
FABOtte

KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
BEE-PO!! BEE-PO!!
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
PEOPLE PAA yo

Okimari no you ni APPU shita
Kawaii koneko no shashin ni “ii ne”
Oishi-sou na gohan ni mo “ii ne”

“Ki ni shiteru”
Omowaretakute
Itsumo BUROGU ya INSUTA ya LINE
CHEKKU shinakucha ochitsunakute

Kasaneta
Kasaneta
Boku ni dareka no iro
Fuan ni
Uwagaki
Hozon shita
OH
Kasaneta
Kasaneta
Dareka to onaji iro
Teatari shidai ni
FABOtte n da

Minna nani shiteru no?
Boku koko ni iru yo
Oite karecha dame da
Dame nanda yo
Minna nani shitai no?
Boku dou ikitai no?
APPPUDEETO ni oware
Miushinatteru

KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
PEOPLE PAA yo

Kasaneta
Kasaneta
Boku ni dareka no iro
Fuan ni
Uwagaki
Hozon shita
OH
Kasaneta
Kasaneta
Dareka to onaji iro
Wasureta hontou no jibun wa

KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
BEE-PO!! BEE-PO!!
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
KOPIPEPAPIPUPEPO
PEOPLE PAA yo

Kanji:
http://www.uta-net.com/song/185866/

I love how they're touring the exact week I'm going to be in the US, in pretty much all of the states around the one I'm going to be in.

 

https://www.facebook.com/kagero.jp/posts/847449998658024

 

6/2（tue）Live at Shrine (NYC)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Shrine/153674264648238

6/4（thu）Live at Fontana's (NYC)
https://www.facebook.com/fontanasnyc

6/5（fri）Live at The Rail House (NJ)
https://www.facebook.com/TheRailHouseBarNJ

6/6（sat）Live at The Room(CT)　
https://www.facebook.com/events/387992011384454/

6/7（sun）Live at Out of The Blue Art Gallery (Boston)
https://www.facebook.com/events/825005810881232/

I don't mind pop in general, but something about K-pop has never really clicked with me. I won't say I hate it, since I haven't listened to nearly enough to form such a strong opinion, but I haven't liked any of the songs I've been recommended.

Bought one of UCHUSENTAI:NOIZ's tiny hot pink tote bags at Anime North because their show was so much fun and I didn't really like the umbrella merch.

 

 

From CDJapan:

 

 

EVERLONG - Plant Worm

EVERLONG - Coin Laundry ni wa

Cool idea. So far I've only got a few, but I'll add more eventually. I've listened to a few new songs here and there, but it usually takes me a few months to a year to get around to listening to a full release.

 

Last update: September 14th

 

 

Frederic - OWARASE NIGHT

 

04 Limited Sazabys - CAVU

FAKE? - Addicted

TeddyLoid - SILENT PLANET

 

EVERLONG - Coin Laundry ni wa

WANIMA - Think That...

yorunitokeru - replay/dilemma

KOHH - Dirt

 

LEGO BIG MORL - Strike a Bell (<- I'd give it a 4 for the title track, but the B-sides weren't very exciting)

MONOEYES - A Mirage In The Sun

THE SOUND BEE HD - DAWN OF THE DEAD ~Shikabane no Yoake~

Frederic - OTOTUNE

THREE LIGHTS DOWN KINGS - ENERGIZER

 

Suck a Stew Dry - Moratorium Spiral

WING WORKS - RAVVE OF MY TRINITY

Kenji and Koji Mihara from フレデリック (Frederic) are twins.

 

English is my native language and the only one I consider myself fluent in.

 

I studied French from kindergarten to the end of high school, but I'm super rusty and I doubt I could hold a conversation in it even when it was still fresh in my mind.

 

I studied Japanese in university as an elective, and since I come into contact with it every day in one form or another I think I'm getting better at understanding it and my vocabulary is improving a lot, but I haven't practiced writing or speaking it in ages, so I'm probably even worse at those aspects now than I was when I graduated.

Reading through an old post/message you've typed up and seeing a typo in there is the most embarrassing thing ever. ;; It just beats saying something you don't realise you're saying wrongly. >< 

Yeah, I know the feeling.

The worst for me is when someone argues against a point in something you've written and you're like "I didn't say that!" and then you look back and realize you worded the message in a way that could totally be interpreted the way they read it.

NOA again. Really hoping the singers' new projects are good, because I love their voices. I'm curious to see whose will be better, since they seem kind of competitive.

Wish the telephones were on the same day as GLAY, but GLAY, LUNA SEA, MUCC and BUCK-TICK performing on the same day is still pretty sexy.

HaKU's "What's with him" PV was filmed in Malaysia.

 

This isn't really "unusual" given the genre, but if we're just talking locations outside of Japan, a lot of HAN-KUN's "With me" video was shot in Jamaica.

The video for OWARASE NIGHT is already subbed in English, because someone running A-Sketch's Youtube channel is awesome and actually added them when people asked for subs in the comments.

 

 

オワラセナイト / OWARASE NIGHT

 

Music and Lyrics: Koji Mihara

 

Owarasenai to

Nanimo hajimannai kara mottai nai

Shuuen saishuukai SHOW TIME de utage saa PAATII da

Fumidasanai to

Nanimo hajimannai kara owari mo nai

Junjou kanjou sen sotomawari de odore saa

 

Owarasenai to

Owarasenai to

Shuuden* kanjou sen sotomawari ni ma ni awanai yo

Ma ni awanai yo

Ma ni awanai yo

Shuuen saishuu sensou no yoru ni

Sassa to OWARASENAI TO

 

Owarasenai to

Hora ne ENDINGU made ni mattoite

Shuusei sai-shuusei hora nandomo nazore saa PAATII da

Hora kantan na kotoba o sanzan to haitara

Owari owari owari owari owari

Junjou kanjou sen uchimawari de odore saa

 

Owarasenai to

Owarasenai to

Shuuden kanjou sen sotomawari ni ma ni awanai yo

Ma ni awanai yo

Ma ni awanai yo

Shuuen saishuu sensou no yoru de

 

Yonaka kakenuketeku SARABA

Ato no matsuri

Yonaka kakenuketeku SARABA

Ato no matsuri

Yonaka kakenuketeku SARABA

Ato no matsuri

Yonaka kakenuketeku SARABA

Hitori yogari

 

Ichi ni san shi

Ichi ni san shi

Kurikaesu asa to yoru

Ichi ni san shi

Ichi ni san shi

Kurikaesu asa to yoru

Kimi ga iru kara boku ga ite

Boku ga iru kara kimi ga ite

Ichi ni san shi

Mata kurikaesu

 

Owarasenai hajimari o

Owarasenai hajimari o

Shuuden kanjou sen sotomawari ni ma ni awanai yo

Ma ni awanai yo

Ma ni awanai yo

Shuuen saishuu sensou no yoru ni

Sassa to OWARASE NAITO

 

OH owarasenai to

 

Notes:

*The kanji says “純情” (junjou), but he’s definitely saying “終電 “ (shuuden - “last train”), going from the English subtitles, so I guess that’s a typo?

 

Kanji:

http://j-lyric.net/artist/a0592ff/l035c95.html

 

 

 

ほねのふね / Hone no fune

 

Hone dake nokoshite

Anata wa ha o kui-shibatte

Ima made doushite

Kakurenbo o shite kita no yo

Mimi ni todoku made kotoba wa umi no nami ni niteru

Hitori de OORU o kogeru to

KEMONO wa omotte ita

 

FUWA FUWA FUWA hone mi ni shimiru wa

FUWA FUWA FUWA ano umi o koeru wa

 

Anata o nokoshite

Namakizu takusan nokoshite

Kore made doushite otoshimono o shite kita no yo

Yakusoku shitara hatasu made

Hone no fune wa susumu

Mirai no tame nara DOBU demo

Shinu ki de koeru wa

 

FUWA FUWA FUWA hone mi ni shimiru wa

FUWA FUWA FUWA ano umi o koeru wa

 

FUWA FUWA FUWA hone mi ni shimiru wa

FUWA FUWA FUWA ano umi o koeru wa

FUWA FUWA FUWA hone mi ni shimiru wa

FUWA FUWA FUWA ano yume o koeru wa

 

Kanji:

https://www.musixmatch.com/ja/lyrics/%E3%83%95%E3%83%AC%E3%83%87%E3%83%AA%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF/%E3%81%BB%E3%81%AD%E3%81%AE%E3%81%B5%E3%81%AD#

 

They might be a bit too pop for this thread, but I love Shounannokaze. They're goofy, yes, but their voices all have so much personality and their lives look like so much fun.

 

I can't listen to Suirenka without smiling.

Eh, I think NOIZ will be fun too. They seem really energetic.

 

I think this is a pretty decent line-up - for a Toronto convention, at least. Both bands seem like they're going to be very talkative and engaging, so hopefully my friends will be willing to stick around for the whole thing. They're not into Japanese music at all, so if the bands aren't funny or quirky they get bored and start wanting to go home.