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Well, I'm back in another thread? XD First comes HARU-nee's.
Part One: HARUNA
Part Two: MAMI
Part Three: TOMOMI
Part Four: RINA
Part One: HARUNA
- No, I think I want to be nervous about it (laughs).:
Firstly, now that you’ve finished your first tour in Asia, I’d like to hear about your impressions.
With everything that’s happened since SCANDAL formed five years ago, I think this has been a very important tour for us. I’m not sure what the others think, but this is how I feel. I didn’t have any expectations before we left Japan, about would become of us. As opposed to thinking, “I wonder what’s going happen?”, I just thought, “I just have to do my best!” and the tour had started. But, I got more out of it than I had expected.
You mean, in terms of reactions from the fans over there?
Of course there was that, but also because amongst the members, there was this amazing atmosphere. It was a tour that enabled us to really believe, “being in a band is so much fun”. I guess it’s a big deal because I gave myself a lot of leeway. Ah, I guess it’s more that I was taking it easy as opposed to giving myself space. I didn’t panic or agonise over a lot of things, so for me, it was a huge improvement.
When you say that you were able to take it easy, do you think it’s a question of accumulating experience?
Maybe? I guess that’s part of it, but when we went on the ‘Dreamer’ tour before this one; I learned to just enjoy concerts. I had been feeling weighed down lot of responsibilities up until then.
On top of vocals, you’re also responsible for leading the MC, right?
Yes, that’s it. Thinking things like, “I definitely have to say this!” and the fact that I’m responsible for deciding a lot of things on the spur of the moment, it used to be overwhelming. But them around May or June, that feeling disappeared and I became able to naturally say what I wanted. I was really happy, realising that I was able to find this side of myself. So, since I was able to honestly say things as I felt them in each moment, a lot of that stress went away. When the other members told me, “That MC was really good!” I grew more confident.
So relaxing and enjoying yourself became more important?
Yes, I had a lot of fun. About a week before we went on the Asia tour, I had more opportunities to talk with the other members, and I think we probably all had the same outlook. Perhaps that was also a significant factor. I was relieved when I saw that whatever I said would be okay, and realised that it was actually pretty easy.
Moving on, when you said earlier “this tour is important to us”, what was the reason behind that?
Yeah. We were glad we were able to finish our BABY ACTION tour around Japan. I realised once again that concerts aren’t just about simply giving a ‘cool performance’. Because, every day, everyone is definitely growing and developing, even if it’s just a little bit. Concerts aren’t a place you go to show people that, but we wanted to say something important with all of our tours. You have to seriously think about where you are.
You had a lot of things to think about, then. Well, how was Asia outside of your concerts?
We’ve been out in the cities quite a lot. In the band, we believe Asian food is our strong point, so I was able to enjoy myself. The most delicious thing was Singapore’s [Hainan] chicken rice! It was so amazing, I was surprised. Actually, last year when we came to Singapore, I didn’t find anything especially tasty, so I didn’t have any expectations, but this totally made up for it (laughs). But it was a long trip, but the tour went by quickly as well. When we came back to Japan, I thought, “Ah, it smells like Japan!”
(Laughs) Well, before you had time to catch your breath, the Hall tour started.
(At the time of the interview) We haven’t started rehearsals yet, but we’ve changed the set list quite a lot. It’s already been three or four times.
Even though rehearsals haven’t started? What happened, for you to make these changes? For example, choosing more impressive songs to get everyone fired up, or something?
I think it has something to do with the previous “Dreamer” tour. It had only been a short time since the earthquake, and the content of the set lists just changed naturally to reflect that. That time is over now, and we want to create a visually appealing concert. The kind of concert where people often tell us, “You put on a good show.” Also, we’re looking to see how the BABY ACTION album changes in a live show. When we were going around Asia, there were quite a lot of things that differed from our expectations. We realised things like, “So this is the atmosphere when we play this song here”. Our Asia tour was one that helped us realise the strength of our songs, kind of like “Was this song always this good?” or “It’s really impressive when we play it like this”. We made a number of discoveries, so we want to take advantage of them.
And after this, you have your Budokan concert.
I think it’s quite a big opportunity to be given in any lifetime! I’m nervous but I’m also really looking forward to it. Actually, I really like performing on large stages.
Really? Why is that?
I wonder... I think the other members have different opinions about this but I’ve felt this way for a long time. I guess … maybe it’s because on a wider stage, you can focus completely on what you want to show people without caring about the finer details! And then there’s also the fact that you can directly communicate to people who are far away in the audience. On a bigger stage, your own emotions become stronger, I think.
Well, it seems like you’d want to relax in that case.
No, I think I want to be nervous about it (laughs). It’s become a precious day for me.
I look forward to it! Well, now I’d like to talk about what’s in store for SCANDAL from now on. After this, what direction do you intend to head towards?
I think we all agree on this, but I want to stick to doing cool things. Lately we keep talking about we are happiest when we are making music and doing things that we think are cool. In terms of direction, previously, we used to be quite vague about it. We had a period where it was like, “seems like things could be worse so we’ll just do our best for now!” but we began to realise that this wasn’t the right way to do things. In any case, we’re a band so it’s a waste if we don’t do things that we think are cool.
So you all agree on what you think is ‘cool’?
Obviously there’s the rock-esque sound, I think it’s just that part.
When you look from the side, lately, the four of you have quite a ‘rock-esque’ presence.
Really? I think everyone is clearly showing their determination. It’s a kind of strength of will that comes from thinking, ‘Everything will be fine if we don’t falter.’
But, didn’t you have that determination before?
Yeah … if I think that we have it now, I guess we didn’t have it before? If I’m honest about things that people have told me. Ah, people are still honest now (laughs), but it’s because, in the past, in terms recording and performing live, there were more things that we didn’t know [as opposed to things we did know]. When people told me about things that they found different to their expectations, I would think, “Ah, so there are people with these kinds of opinions as well,” and I took everything into consideration. But now, when I think about it, there are moments where I realise, “Isn’t that completely wrong?” So from now on, we want to be firm on what we believe in and communicate our purpose. If you’re doing something because you enjoy it, but there’s no actual determination behind it, there’s nothing real about anything you say. Perhaps I wouldn’t even express it to people who listened to us or came to see us. I’m not talking about the MCs we do at concerts, but I’ve come to realise the truth of how, if we’re not truthful, we can’t express things properly. Maybe things will be different from next year. I don’t think that much will have changed on the outside, but I just want to be able to be in an environment where we will be able to improve.
Upon hearing this, wouldn’t you say SCANDAL as a band is in quite a good condition?
I think it’s in a very good state. Right now, our aims are actually becoming one and we are all looking to move forward in the same direction.
This is a really good thing to hear.
Ah, but when we’re not talking, we actually don’t talk at all. When we’re driving in transit, there are times when no one says anything (laughs). But it becomes quite atmospheric and it’s completely unconscious. Probably a large part of it is knowing that we can talk about good things and bad things. We can properly ask each other, “Why do you feel or think this way?” In the past, we didn’t know if it was okay to ask for more. But, if you can’t get to the heart of things like this, you can’t work as a band.
Ah, I see. SCANDAL was everyone’s first band, wasn’t it?
Yes, it is (laughs). We formed five years ago, and since then I’ve finally come to understand what a band is. I’m not really an outgoing person. I like listening to other people’s stories, but I’m bad at talking about myself. I used to think it was best to talk as little as possible about things that didn’t need to be shared. But, somehow, that time has passed. We came together as a band, and finally we’ve become a cohesive group. I feel like anything can happen. A lot of things have contributed to the circumstances we’re in, and I finally feel like we’re about to start moving. Maybe our next chapter is really about to begin.
- A personal reflection of sorts:
- Somehow, reading about how she can't relax and only in 2011 was starting to let go of what sounds like this anxiety and pressure that she put on herself, and felt like was being put on her ... it's kind of sad, in a way. She's brought this up in previous interviews about how she couldn't relax because she always felt like people were scrutinising her.
I read in the Temptation Book briefly that MAMI doesn't like to stand on her own - but HARU-nee had no choice, not by cultural standards as the oldest in the group, nor as band leader. I'm just glad she's reached this point now where she has much more self-confidence. This was an interesting and poignant interview; it was difficult to translate some of the things when she started talking about 意志/'will' but definitely worth it.
Part Two: MAMI
Part Three: TOMOMI
Part Four: RINA
Last edited by SH_Staff on Tue Dec 06, 2022 10:08 am; edited 3 times in total
I think many HARU (and SCANDAL) fans love HARU because of that part.
