interview jrnr An interview with BEAST

[BrenGun 2261]

https://jrocknroll.com/interview-with-beast/

 

2020~ BEAST ARE:
Ba. AKILLA, Gt. BB & Dr. TETSUJI

Learn about the new era of BEAST!
新時代のBEASTについて学びましょう！

RESTART: 2021年1月30日　新宿SAMURAI

 

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BEAST, thank you very much for this interview.

 

Please introduce yourselves.

 

Ba.AKILLA: I’m bass AKILLA

Gt. BB: I am BEAST guitar BB.  
Until 2003 my stage name was BACHI BLUE. (It’s still pronounced that way)

Dr. TETSUJI: I’m drummer TETSUJI

 

How would you describe BEAST with a single kanji?

 

AKILLA: 凶 (Kyou, Bad Luck) 
When I look back on our past, I think there were lot’s of tumultuous and dangerous ways we lived. Now we’re doing what we want to do without worrying about it.

BB: I’m sorry, but only using one kanji is too little to work with (laugh)
Well for example “音 (oto,sound)” would fit.
The BEAST sound is really neat. 
BEAST has the coolest sound, whether it be our current sound or our past!

TETSUJI: 狂(Kyou, Madness)
It applies to our music expression, as well as us individuals.

 

How would you describe your own personality and from the other members with just one kanji? And why did you choose this kanji?

 

AKILLA: 

→→ BB（静, shizu,quiet）: He is calm and gentle.
→→ TETSU（放, hana/to be free）: Airhead. We talk past each other (smile)

BB: I’m sorry but, yet again I cannot choose just one single Kanji!
→→ AKILLA: インテリジェント&重厚  (Intelligent & Profound)
→→ TETSUJI:ダイナミック&気品 (Dynamic & dignity)
→→ BB:  自由&器用 (Freedom & dexterity)

TETSUJI: 
→→ AKILLA: (直,choku) Sticks to his beliefs
→→ BB: (癒 iya, heal) The Neutralizer of BEAST

How was BEAST formed and how do you know each other?

 

AKILLA: Originally it started when I started my own band, when I invited members to join me. Well, I won’t go into details. (smile) I encountered two great members, BB and Tetsu. (smile) I’m counting on you guys! (smile)

BB: I joined BEAST in 2001, after they made their debut on YOSHIKI’s(X-JAPAN) label. Originally, I am indebted to one of the BEAST members of that time, one of the members came to see my band I was active in back then, and the next they asked me to join an audition for BEAST. After all, I was allowed to leave the band I was active in and did audition for BEAST, and when BEAST revived in 2015 I joined BEAST again.

TETSUJI: AKILLA and I have been connected with music since we were teenagers, and each of us went through many different experiences in bands before we got to where we are now.

 

 

This time BEAST returned with 3 members only, Ba.AKILLA, Gu.BB & Dr.TETSUJI. Who will be the vocalist this time?

 

AKILLA: For now, we only will provide instrumental songs. However, maybe if anyone wants to join us as the vocalist, we will let this person join. However for now we will continue being an instrumental band. 

BB: There’s no vocalist at this time. Someone may want to create songs to sing from the start, but firstly we want to express ourselves with instrumental songs. I’ll leave it up to you to imagine how our new sound sounds and what we can do with it in the future. In the future, we surely will change the shape of our songs for sure in many different ways, it surely will turn into the shape of your envision. I hope you’re gonna like it!

What was the reason for restarting this time?

 

AKILLA: KEN-chan (DEAD POP STAR / Kamaitachi), he told me “it’s about time” (laugh)

BB: We had done a lot of preparation, but due the current global situation, it’s not possible to hold a show with our original plan. Regarding our first live performance in January 2021, we wanted to play on the same event with our senior(s) and not just a ONE-MAN. We decided on this event after consulting with our favorite senior(s) talking about various things. They are our favorite senior(s) who always cares about us! Thank you always!  

 

#note: I’m not sure if BB talks about just one senior or more seniors. Also there is nothing known yet about the event. I decided to use senior(s)…I’ll change after the event details will be public~! 

 

When did you decide to restart again?

 

AKILLA: We decided to restart when it was in July (2020)

 

Why did you decide to play the instrument you play now?

 

AKILLA: When I started high school, a classmate asked me “Do you have an instrument”, I owned a guitar, but I was forced to play BASS. Back then I asked my parents to buy a bass for 50,000 yen, I didn’t even know how to read a score. It totally upset me that I couldn’t play well, after all I managed to remember the notes out of my head.

BB: I bought a guitar after seeing some advertisement for a musical instrument mail order in a boy’s magazine. It’s not like that I wanted to be popular with music, but more like I wanted to have it because it looks so cool. In my generation, guitars and motorcycles everyone owned one, it’s also crazy to note that I (laugh) of course also owned a motorcycle which I was riding like crazy. In addition to BEAST, I don’t only play the guitar, sometimes I also play the bass on stage. I try to actively play various musical instruments other than the guitar too, recently I bought a banjo and a wind instrument and I like to play them as a hobby. It’s been a long time since I got my very first guitar, but I still play the guitar and various instruments for both work and pleasure, and I’m still riding my motorcycle like crazy. lol.

TETSUJI: When I was a junior high student, I was in charge of the SAX in the brass band, however after seeing X (X-JAPAN) on TV I was amazed at the visual shock they had at that time and thought drumming was much cooler.

 

Is there anything you want people to pay attention to in the new BEAST?

 

AKILLA: That it will be interesting that we only play instrumental songs!

BB: As always, just pay attention to a lot of different things. (laugh). I’m going to try different kinds of sounds you haven’t heard yet!

TETSUJI: The range from which we perform has expanded, and also attention has increased because the music we create are unique instrumental songs. 

 

You have been creating music already for a long while. Have your own musical tastes changed? Are they still the same?

 

AKILLA: Personally, my taste didn’t change at all. When I started BEAST, I was already addicted to “new techno and mixture”, My taste basic is: “Separate Ways” of Journey, “Technopilic” of Y.M.O and also “Prowler” of Iron Maiden, etc. 

BB: I don’t care how the music is created, analogue or digital or whatever genre it is, I think music is cool, I really like music which you can feel the heat inside. That’s just my personal taste, but nowadays music has a sense of discomfort, they don’t have that heat inside anymore, so they don’t really interest me. It can just be me, but nowadays it feels that there is a lot of unnecessary editing, which doesn’t give a song the feeling that it was created by a human I guess? (smile) I’m always responding to what I am interested in. Personally, because of my job as a musician, I’m always experimenting with different kinds of sounds. BEAST has a main sound, so I’ll just throw ideas at it that come to me at any given moment, and try them out if they fit to BEAST. However it’s too long to write it down here, so if you want to know more, please check out the BEAST SNS. Oh, anyway, at the time when I joined BEAST in the early 2000s, I only listened to HIP HOP. I bought NAS’s “STREET’S DISCIPLE” CD set and also I listened to old anime songs. 

TETSUJI: I find myself absorbing all sorts of different types of music.

 

Please tell us about some of the turning points of BEAST.

 

AKILLA: Everything is a turning point.

BB: So many things have happened, so I never really thought about just one turning point. 

TETSUJI: You could say we are shaping up now.

 

What is your favorite BEAST song?

 

AKILLA: After all “LR-7”, it’s the song created together with YOSHIKI. Also Dayz&Diez and the instrumental songs I composed. 

BB: I love all the BEAST songs because they are all cool. For example, After playing “LR-7”. it feels like that your muscles have been strengthened (laugh). The other songs also have that kind of inspiring effect on my mind and body, or they make me feel as if I’ve been moved to another scenery.

TETSUJI: You can’t forget about6 LR-7 and UNCLEAR. 

 

 

What are some of the most memorable events?

 

AKILLA: Touring around with bands who belonged to EXTASY RECORDS, and a more recently the EXTASY SUMMIT (VISUAL SUMMIT). It’s really fun to play on the same event as your seniors!

BB: Especially, the VISUAL JAPAN SUMMIT held at Makuhari Messe in 2016, Which we performed on after the revival of BEAST was very fun!

TETSUJI: The most memorable event for me was being the opening act of XJAPAN film GIG of VISUAL JAPAN SUMMIT and the international forum.

 

What’s the most fun part of performing a live show?

 

AKILLA: To surprise the audience with our oppressive music. 

BB: The most fun part of performing a live show is that it’s a place where we can all play together on stage and on the floor as we like, with loud noise and shouting. The audience and all the people who support the live show on the day of the event, come to the show with a lot of enthusiasm, and that enthusiasm is really wonderful.

TETSUJI: LIVE = LIFE, Feeling with the eyes, ears, skin, the most fun is becoming one with the audience.

 

Is there anything you learned while being active as BEAST?

 

AKILLA: We’ve been blessed musically in all of our past, not just BEAST. We are members of a band. I’m sure that will continue to be the case in all our future activity.

 

BB: That you always have to continue to study and research. Also I’ve learned that the freedom which you create with respectable people is very important and wonderful. Which we are passing on to the next generation. 

 

TETSUJI: That I am very grateful to all our fans, everyone involved and our staff. Without them this couldn’t be possible.

 

What are the differences between the bands you’ve been in and BEAST?

 

AKILLA: I’ve been in “BANANA FISH” and “Three Eyes Jack”, I joined both bands at a later point, so I couldn’t really give my own inputs as I wanted, but I am a member of BEAST since the start, so I can be as selfish as I want.

BB: There is a difference between how to behave as a musician, your behavior as a professional musician is overwhelmingly different. For example, the miracle that happens when sounds merge with each other. BEAST was the only band with whom I had such an experience. BEAST is the basis for my current music production and teaching at music schools.

TETSUJI: Each band has its own color and each has its own differences. It’s hard to compare, but There’s never been a band with as much spirit as BEAST.

 

When you aren’t busy with BEAST, what are you doing?

 

AKILLA: When I am not with the band I am at a hot spring with a view of the sea. 

BB: I like to drive my motorcycle or car and explore the area, after that I like to surf and play my guitar, also I like to go to the sauna and enjoy a massage! If possible, I would like to drink alcohol that I don’t usually drink and I would like to sleep for about 10 hours on a very high-spec mattress, also I want to watch the movie「男はつらいよ」 while dirnking hot sake. I’d also like to hold a slightly geeky workshop to teach people how to create music, that has been a while, I would like to do that more often. 

TETSUJI: Scuba diving in the beautiful overseas sea.

 

 

Recently, there are many artists who release their music digitally. Do you have any plans to release BEAST music that way?  

 

AKILLA: We’ve scheduled to use it by the end of December or the beginning of January. However only new songs, not our past songs.

BB: Since our resurrection in 2015, we have released 3 releases and also have distributed Videos, but this year we participated only with one song on the compilation album called HAUNTED HOUSE MEMORIAL OMNIBUS “UNHOLY FROM THE GRAVEYARD”. We are planning to release new songs next year which we also will distribute digitally. For more details please check out our SNS. 

 

BEAST’s early producer was YOSHIKI. What kind of influence did YOSHIKI have on BEAST?

 

AKILLA: When I saw YOSHIKI playing the piano up close, I thought, “It’s real!”. Musically, of course, I didn’t see any compromise in my way of life. Personally, I was taught the way of extasy toasting (the soul of Extasy Records) at that time.

 

If you were to live abroad, which country would you like to live in?

 

AKILLA: For me i’d like to live in Barcelona, Spain. 

BB: Please name me any country were I can surf and drive my motorcycle comfortably (laugh)

TETSUJI: I would love to live in Maldives.

 

Please give a message to your fans and readers.

 

AKILLA: I just purely want to have fun, so I’m happy if people watch and listen to the show and feel the need to say afterwards; “that was interesting”.

BB: It’s been a while since the final BEAST one-man show shooting gallery at Shinjuku ReNY on January 14, 2019, but I’m going to continue to create and convey the sounds I want to make. I’m sure things will continue to change in various ways after this, so please continue to support us.

TETSUJI: I know this has been a long time coming, but I hope you’ll be happy with the best sound you can enjoy right now. Thank you for your support!

Edited November 26, 2020 by BrenGun