mnavi Interview Vol. 41
SCANDAL
"No matter how it starts, if you take the trouble to start playing an instrument, you should give it all you've got." (HARUNA, quoted at the end of the article)

(Introduction paragraph)
Performing aggressive rock with cute pop looks, they are the break-out hit girls band, SCANDAL. Just off finishing their nationwide tour, we asked the four girls about the recording and never-before-heard stories behind their new single "Scandal Nanka Buttobase" and their cover mini-album "R-GIRL's ROCK!" releasing this November, and asked them to share any important advise for beginning musicians. Throw in a test play of the newest CUBE series amplifier, and you've got a "scandalous", fully-loaded interview.

In our new song, there are tons of phrases that even the bass beginner can learn from. (TOMOMI)

First of all, congratulations on your nationwide tour (SCANDAL TEMPTATION BOX TOUR 2010~YEAH!) How was it?
HARUNA: It was a really fulfilling tour. This time, every day we had a meeting just the four of us where we said "Let's do it more this way tomorrow". In the past, we really focused and gave a lot of thought on how to give a cool performance and how to thrill the audience, but this time it was a tour where we gave a lot of thought about "what do we want to tell our audience?"
TOMOMI: A live show after a meeting where we reflected on so much, it really changes our motivation entirely, and the eye contact we make during the show naturally increases. Also, there were so many times when our tension and excitement went way up.

Heading into your final show of the tour at Zepp Tokyo with that, it certainly was a huge sellout.
MAMI: Every place we played was like that, but I was so happy when people in the crowd sang along with us. I was so moved to think they loved our songs so much, and although I told myself to smile, I wound up crying.

Since you could see not only the sellout crowd but the 3 other members, how do you think this tour went, Rina?
RINA:As days went by, I felt the band truly evolving, and I took huge motivation from the members as well. From the drum position in the middle of the band, I really gave a lot of thought to my own role, and I seriously thought that as a person who takes the stage, it's not about self-satisfying dimensions like "this is fun" or "I'll do my best", but from daily actions to taking care of myself, "I've gotta try harder!"

It seems like this was a tour where you really grew as a band. Your new single "SCANDAL Nanka Buttobase" which was released around that time was written by the famous "golden couple" Yoko Aki and Ryudo Uzaki - how did you go about putting the song together?
HARUNA:At first, we didn't have the song or even the lyrics finished, but with the lyrics Mrs. Aki wrote for us, they made us a simple demo with melody and rhythm, and with thoughts like "In order to bring out more of a real feeling, what kind of words should we use?", we thought of the words during our meetings with Mrs. Aki.

There's a sense of an adult rising from an up-until-now life-sized view of the world to one or two levels above, and the lyrics are very strong.
HARUNA:Yes, very strong (laughs). To put it simply, because there's no personal connection in the lyrics themselves, we sang with the sense "we're playing in the world in the lyrics". The fact that "SCANDAL" is the name of our band, and the fact it's a word with so many different meanings, we thought we'd expand the image from there.

We took a look at the PV, and with dances and triple vocals, there's plenty of trademark SCANDAL.
TOMOMI:With vocals, first we recorded one at a time, but eventually, HARUNA, MAMI and I went into the booth together and we recorded at the same time.With the three of us together, we can share the excitement in the air, so we really put a force into the song and it became much more vivid.

Did you do anything special when you recorded the instrumental parts?
MAMI: You have to devote a lot of energy just to vocals, so I played the guitar putting in a lot of emotion as well. I played the bridge with the same rhythm as the song, but with singing while I was playing, I put even more feeling into the sound. Personally, I like distorted sounds, but I also enjoy mixing them with contrasting clean tones.

There's a lyric in the song that goes "When you're found out, there's the game", and there is a dialogue between Haruna and Mami's guitars. There's also irregular timing with the rhythm and such, so weren't there lots of new challenges?
RINA: Whenever we perform a new song, I always prefer a written score, but this song does have the irregular timing, so I thought this time I'd just copy with my ears. "When this guitar phrase comes, that fill!" If you pick up on the chances, you can play freely through most of the song, so if you're going to cover this song, I recommend memorizing with your ears.

There really are a lot of amateur bands covering your songs. While we're at it, please share some points for anyone wanting to cover this song. First off, how about guitar?
MAMI: In addition to following the rhythm, the A melody has a deep and heavy feeling in the background. In addition, I also think grease is very important. This is a cool song with a "boon!" feeling to it, so the coolness of the guitar and the bass can really be brought out.
HARUNA: There's also the matter of playing while singing. There are so many places where the accents of the song and the instruments come together. Especially with the B melody, there are phrases that end with the same word as the first in the next heading, and from there you plunge into the rhythm, so you just need to play like you sing.

With the bass part, there's a lot of groovy and tightly-played parts - really a lot of different situations for one song.
TOMOMI: That's right. That's why I think there are a lot of phrases that even beginners can learn from. The B melody cut into 16 parts is good rhythm practice, and the bridge gets very groovy so it's a lot of fun to play.

Rina, is there anything special you do while playing drums from the back?
RINA: I always sing the full chorus of all our songs while I play drums. When you enjoy the drums, you make enjoyable sound - I think it's an instrument that expresses your natural emotion, so you should definitely sing along. If you do that, the shot of the snare and the tone quality of the high-hat (cymbal) start to change.

In your new cover mini-album "R-GIRL's ROCK!" set for release on November 17th, we hear there's a song where Rina actually sings lead vocals.
RINA: I sang "Sunny Day Sunday", but I was so nervous! (laughs) There were so many times when I sang as a kind of special surprise at certain moments during our live shows, but because this is the first time my own song made it on a CD, it feels like I'm making a new debut with this album.
HARUNA: I was the one who recommended it. "I really want Rina to sing this one"
RINA: At first it was the set-up of HARUNA and TOMOMI on twin vocals, with MAMI providing back-up, just like always. But then, HARUNA told me to sing.
HARUNA: I thought this song was perfect to bring out RINA's good qualities. I felt there was something that I couldn't do - but if it were RINA, she could.
RINA: Up until now, there were a lot of questions from fans saying "Are you going to sing?", and that really touched my heart. That's why I'm very happy I got to sing. (laughs) I'm looking forward to singing at our live shows too.

EugeneAng wrote:I LOL-ed at the writer lady,Mrs. Aki HAHAHAHAHAHA

RINA: Up until now, there were a lot of questions from fans saying "Are you going to sing?", and that really touched my heart. That's why I'm very happy I got to sing. (laughs) I'm looking forward to singing at our live shows too.