nagashiwa
Nugu
Interview with HONMONO
TEXT: TEAM JROCK’N’ROLL SNSTwitter: Vo.魔訶@HONMONO_Maka Gt.怜@HONMONO_REY Gt.PP @HONMONO_PPBa.清 @HONMONO_Kiyo2 Dr.世界@HONMONO_Sekai Official @HonmonoOffiWebsite: https://honmono.info/ Webshop: https://honmono.buyshop.jp/ Youtube: HEREInstagram: Official: @honmono.info Gt.怜 @honmono_rey Ba.清...
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(If you are curious about their lyrics, please check it out on JRNR, I’ve tried to translated it with a Japanese friend.) The interview is also translated in FRENCH by Crimson Lotus (please check JRNR for the translation)
Translation help was together with a Japanese friend.
Thank you very much for this second interview and congratulations on your 1st anniversary!!!
Pachimon = nickname for their “fans”
■How did this year feel compared to what you expected when you just started?
MaKa: At the beginning, all of us had anxiety and many expectations. You can compare it with just a jumble of all kinds of emotions and those feelings are common for us “creators”. We were just worried about being able to find the “correct direction and thing“. Even now, I still tremble and feel nervous before I enter the stage, but our Pachimon’s are still right in front of me, so I can feel we’re doing the correct thing and going the right way. And currently our circle is increasing and that’s the most strongest support for me now.
REY: This year passed before I even knew it, I was doing the tasks I had to do just one by one, so it still feels as if I am in the middle of the scope of our expectations.
PP: According to my own predictions, we should have been on a “Tokyo Dome” tour by now. Well reality is harsh right?
Kiyo: I used to work alone most of the time, I’m more of an Einzelgänger(Loner), so to me band activities are kind of difficult to feel comfortable, but after all, I really do enjoy band activities with the members.
Sekai: I really enjoy touring around and performing in various venues. Each time I feel very happy to see the happy faces of the visitors who watched us. So I’m really happy that all our visitors are still glad to see our lives.
■Could you tell us if something has amazingly impressed you since the start, what changed your way of thinking or working?
MaKa: I haven’t changed my mindset. Because at the end of the day “HONMONO” is to find the “real feelings“. And when I say “MONO” I also refer to it. But when I look back over the past year, I was able to reconfirm that there are many things in life I have to shout out for “us all“.
REY: Well, basically it’s within my scope of expectations, but I feel somewhat surprised that we’re getting along better than I expected. (smile)
PP: Nothing in particular!
Kiyo: I am constantly renewing my awareness of other musical instruments and my approach to other music genres. There were various things that changed my thoughts, especially this year.
Sekai: As someone who stands on the stage, I always have to stay “cool“, so this year I’ve been thinking a lot about how to look “cool” to other people.
■ The past year, you played a lot of live shows, but are there any live shows or scenarios that are particularly memorable?
MaKa: Aren’t our birthday live events? When it comes to birthdays, usually the members themselves are the stars of the show, aren’t they?
But for HONMONO it’s not the case. The members who do not have a birthday turn out to be the stars of the evening. (Mainly in a badass way)
REY: Our very first live at OSAKA MUSE. I never thought I would be able to see such a wonderful view at a venue where we shared most of our struggles. I wish to overwrite that feeling even more and more.
PP: Our first live shows at places like Niigata or Sapporo. Because if I play somewhere for the first time, I can challenge myself. (laugh)
Kiyo: It’s Hokkaido, right? Well, in the first place, I really liked Hokkaido, so it was really fun to be able to go there with everyone.
Sekai: On the way back from Fukuoka, we got a flat tire on our car and we were stuck in Yamaguchi Prefecture for about 12 hours…. Back then I thought “You gotta be kidding me“. But now it is a good memory.
■Your 2nd single 『心音』(Shin’on) has become a hot topic because of its heavy sound, technical writing, innovative feeling and deep lyrics. Regarding the lyrics, it’s true that everyone may interpret how they want it. But we would like to ask MaKa to convey his own feelings regarding the lyrics.
Lyric explanation about:
『心音』(Shin’on)
There are so many things to say about Shin’on. But I don’t really know how to put it in words… But for me, I hope this song will save some of us. There are some of us who don’t want to live anymore. So our heart still beats and our blood circulates, which forces us to continue to “live“.
But we cannot hear our own heartbeat, the only way to hear a heartbeat is to put your own ear to someone else’s chest. I would be happy if you could understand what I meant to express with the heartbeat of this “person“. Well, there is some room for your own interpretation as well, I guess.
『lil’smokey』
For lil’smoky, I created the setting from scratch and decided on how the room and characters would look like, before writing the lyrics. I’m sure this kind of love exists somewhere and I wanted to express it. It’s not “happiness” but it’s not “unhappiness” either.
I thought of writing it in a different contrast to Shin’on. Like stepping in the mind of a different person.
■ The MV of 「心音」(Shin’on) is truly wonderful, we feel it was created with a lot of passion. Local, but also overseas fans loved it a lot. Could you tell a story about what happened during the MV production and also what you want to convey through the MV?
MaKa: The music video is delightful in various ways. When we created the video I thought about the importance of the people around us. We felt very happy to have people around us who were willing to cooperate with us, as it was also the case with the recording of the “NISEMONO” MV. We felt that everyone was very reliable and that we were not connected to them just as an individual but as a solid bond as well.
As for the MV, the storyboard was drawn by myself and it led to this result of completion through the circle of the membebers, actor, camera crew and staff, who all were there to create the MV.
With this MV, I want you to show different ways of your own “interpretation“, depending on how you interpret the “girl [1]“. So please try to interpret it in various ways.
[1] You also can interpret the girl in the video as “You”. I’ve also translated the lyrics of this song, how I understand and feel it, which might help you also with your own “interpretation”.
■ Could you tell us more about the song composition and production of 「心音」(Shin’on)?
PP: This song is based on Paganini’s Caprice No. 24, and the guitar solo and the main riff are also motives of this song, I want you to be aware of that when listening.
By the way, I basically write songs while working on the arrangement, so most of our songs are almost completely written by myself from the beginning.
■ The 2nd song 「lil’smokey」 has a sad melody, even so this ballad is a favorite by Pachimon’s. Could you tell us some more details and the production about the song?
PP: I wanted to write a ballad that other bands wouldn’t play, so I turned it into a sad R&B song. I would love to hear this song in a club.(laugh)
■The 3rd song “أيمكنك سماع” has a very Middle East feeling and the song is instrumental. Could you use an episode about the production of this song. Also why did you choose a “middle eastern be melody feeling” for an instrumental song?
PP: I wrote this song as a SE to open our lives. I guess when I wrote this I was in a kind of Allahu Akbar kind of mood. The voice that comes out in the middle is a sample of a real adhan, which announces the Islamic prayer time, so I thought it would be a good way to start the live show.
■At the release announcement of your 2nd single 『心音』(Shin’on), everyone’s costume and makeup has been renewed. In our last interview you mentioned that you will surprise us even more. With this appearance are there details you were particular about or details we should have noticed?
MaKa: That my costume is absolutely cute, isn’t it?
REY: Elegant exposure.
PP: It’s made with a pattern called “African fabric” as a motif. Also I am probably the only one who can wear something like this!
Kiyo: Even if it looks casual, it’s very comfortable.
Sekai: It’s something I have never worn before, it even exposed some parts of my body, but I felt like, let’s go for it.
■ At recent lives, you performed your new song 「現-utsutu-」. It’s written with a “5 beat”, which is popular nowadays. But could you tell us why you decided to create a “5 beat” song?
PP: I didn’t particularly want to create a five beat song, but that’s how it turned out while creating the song.
■ 「現-utsutu-」 hasn’t been officially released yet, but could you tell us what you want kind of feelings you wish to convey via the lyrics?
MaKa: I wanted to write a story about “pure love“. So I wrote the lyrics from two points of view. So I wrote it in a subjective direction, which makes it feel “disgusting” for others around, but “beautiful love” for the person in love. It’s the kind of pure goodwill love that you don’t have any doubts in the relationship. It may be beautiful, but it also can be very dangerous at times.
■ Please also explain 「現-utsutu-」 musical-wise to us.
PP: I wrote it with the image of a song that incorporates trap elements. A detuned kick or a synth bass sounds like that, right?
■ For your 1st anniversary, ONEMAN shows are scheduled for Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka in November and December. Could you tell us your enthusiasm for the tour?
MaKa: Since it’s our anniversary, I’m happy that we were able to stay together for a year. I want to tell everyone the words of our “Pachimon’s“, who have experienced various kinds of “shame” and “humiliation”. Even if it makes you want to cover your ears, I want you to understand that there are people around you who feel the same way
REY: Please come if you can follow us!
PP: I’ll give all I have those days!
Kiyo: It still feels as if we just started but we’re going to show everything that we have gained in the past year.
Sekai: Thankfully, we have the possibility to successfully celebrate our 1st anniversary, and I believe that this one-man tour is the culmination of our activities over the past year. I would like to spend this time with all of you! So please come and watch us.
■ About Your manager Hiromaru, could you tell us about how you have met him and how the ‘band activity” journey has started together with him?
Sekai: I’ve been indebted to him since I started my very first band and when we met for the first time, it was because of forming a band back then.
All the bands I’ve been in so far have been indebted to Hiro-san, and HONMONO as well. So it’s not an exaggeration to say that I can thank my bandlife to Hiro-san. (laugh)
■ Japanese PACHIMON’s know Manager Hiromaru well, but overseas PACHIMON’S know nothing about how he is involved with HONMONO. Could you tell us in what ways Hiromaru is helping HONMONO with any kind of music activity?
Sekai: Hiro-san joins us for important meetings and gives us advice. At our lives he sells our goods and helps out with “sound” as our personal sound engineer, but it depends on the location. We are always grateful for the many things he does for us.
«MaKa sings each song with great care, being conscious of his breathing and the strength of his voice, so everyone who is watching or listening can understand well what he is singing»
➞To MaKA: Do you have an image of “this is the kind of vocalist I want to be” or “the kind of message I want to convey to everyone through singing“?
MaKa: For example, there are words that increase its depth just by taking a breath.
Everyone can sing words, but to me it’s more about that I am able to sing, what I truly want to say; my real thoughts and my real feelings.
Until everything has been sung honestly what must be told, I want to stay on stage singing my honest stories.
«REY always fascinates everyone with his cool guitar playing and he keeps everyone excited with his excitement. We also noticed you are leading the band activities by taking care of various band business matters»
➞ To REY: Do you have an image of “This is the kind of guitarist I want to be” or “I wanna turn the band into this atmosphere“?
REY: As a guitarist, I would like to become an entertainer who is skilled in both, a flashing and gorgeous guitar hero like a “very skilled and talented Visual Kei guitarist” and a pure craftsman who steadily carves out each note.
As for the band it’s no different. We just have to continue creating the best entertainment and we need to include various “funny prank jokes”, so that everyone can understand and enjoy our music with consistency. That’s why we all(members) need to remember our childhood days and feel like kids again, making some fun bad pranks and enjoy doing the band so that our fans will be able to enjoy what we’re doing too.
«PP entertains everyone with his wonderful compositions and performances, which PACHIMON’s call “genius“»
➞To PP: Where do you find inspiration for your compositions and do you have an image of “I want to write this kind of music” or “This is the kind of guitarist I want to be“?
PP: Inspiration for my compositions mainly comes to me when I’m sitting on the toilet. I have even written about three songs in the toilet of Gotanda Station.
I want to express something more avant-garde and more complete than ever before, both in terms of music and as a guitarist!
«Kiyo is totally passionate about his bass and he started to be a popular TwitCasting “bass player”»
➞To Kiyo: Do you have an image or goal of “This is the kind of bassist I want to be“? Also please talk a little bit about your love for “bass guitar“. If possible tell us also if you plan to continue to TwitCast every Friday at midnight?
Kiyo: I’m aiming to be the best visual kei bassist. But it’s not easy for people who don’t play an instrument to know how good or bad someone plays the bass, so even if I’m unskilled, I want everyone to think I’m good at it.
Well if I would start talking about my love for the bass, I can’t stop talking about it, so let’s skip that for now (lol) However I love parts like playing guitar-like phrases and carving flashy rhythms with slapping! However, to add that to HONMONO’s music I need the cooperation from the other members. (lol)
As for what I wanna do with Twitcasting, I want to make it interesting to watch for all kinds of people. Maybe it would be fun to create something where the audience also can participate.
«Sekai is a stable and amazing drummer and he has a gentle image that calmly watches over everyone. Even during the live shows, he watches over everyone warmly while humming the song along»
➞ To Sekai: Do you have an image of “This is the kind of drummer I want to be” and are there any particular things you are conscious about when you are playing drums?
Sekai: When performing, I am conscious of “singing along with the vocals“. I believe that by doing so, a groove is created.
I love to sing, and I believe that singing can be done with playing the drums as well, so my goal is to become a “drummer who sings“.
«HONMONO’s characteristic is that they stick to “real and truth” and not to anything that’s “fake or false“. Because of this, unless you face him face to face at the venue, it seems that Vocalist MaKa doesn’t “talk” directly back to his fans. This might be rare for a vocalist, but since it’s their policy not to speak directly to fans, to keep the value of “real words“, it’s not that strange right?»
➞ Could you tell us more about this commitment? And will you continue with this characteristic?
MaKa: Humans lie without any hesitation, we humans tell the truth with the same passion as we lie. No one can look inside my heart except myself. That’s why I shouldn’t lie to anyone and should avoid lying to anyone. That’s why I only wish to speak my mind out on the stage where I cannot lie unnoticed. That’s the reason why “To have fun” and “to show joy” are so important and not to break such happy feelings.
«The lyrics of HONMONO have a unique worldview and storytelling. Also it expresses our feelings which we daily feel and it speaks out the words we wish to say but we can’t, which gives the courage to give our best everyday again»
➞ Could you tell us how you receive our lyrics inspiration and how you write your lyrics from that inspiration?
MaKa: “If you have something to say, say it” that’s what people around you would say. But what if it’s something that you cannot say out loud? And even if you would tell them, they wouldn’t not understand or believe you, they won’t even try it. There are humans who can say anything and are always believed and trusted, but we’re different, because we’ve lived by swallowing everything. I wish to tell people they’re not alone and think after hearing my stories “Yes, this is exactly how I feel/live“.
«Your live shows are always creative in staging and you even focus on stage lighting. Also it’s said that a bicycle was used for one of your oneman shows, which gave an innovative feeling to everyone. A few live feeling MV’s are shared on the official twitter and the members shared videos in their instagram stories»
➞ How do you actually get your inspiration for staging and how do you decide together how a show will look like?
REY: We’re just asking our Pachimon’s “Wouldn’t it be surprising if we would do something like this? Wouldn’t it be fun if we could do it?” So actually, It’s just joking around to make everyone smile. Just a scale of pranks we do and playing around like little kids and always wanted to do someday.
■ About HONMONO’s future. All your PACHIMON’S would love to enjoy your music for a much longer time. As we approach your 1st anniversary, do you have any goals or plans for next year? Also in our last interview you said “November 1st, 2028”. If possible could you give us a hint about what might happen then?
REY: There’s need to worry, everything is fine and steady in progress! Just wait for it.
■ Can you speak English or any other forgein languages?
REY: I can’t speak English. But even my Japanese is shaky.
■ Please leave a message for those, who haven’t gone to watch your live shows yet.
MaKa: Please visit us once.
REY: Everyone’s here, so come to join us too
PP: If you come to our lives, a lot of lucky things happen.
“I won the lottery.” “I got a girlfriend.” “I was always a substitute in club activities, but I was able to become a regular player.” “I had back pain all the time, but it healed.” (We heard such stories.)
So please come to our lives! (Then you can be happy and lucky!)
Kiyo: We perform in various cities, so please come to watch us when you can.
Sekai: Anytime, anywhere, I’ll be waiting for you. So please come to see us!
■ You are supported by various “PACHIMON” who follow you everywhere and are very passionate and loyal. Please give a special message to those Pachimon’s.
MaKa: Even if all the people in this world disappear, you alone should stay here.
REY: Thank you! I will continue to cause you a lot of trouble! sorry (lol)
PP: I’ll aim to go abroad next year, so please get your passport ready!
Kiyo: Thank you always. Let’s continue to watch “HONMONO” together.
Sekai: Thank you so much for everything. I hope you will continue to enjoy HONMONO as one of the most pleasures in your life.
■ Please give a special message to your overseas fans, who support you from a far distance.
MaKa: Even if you can’t come to see us here, will you wait for HONMONO to go to your country?
REY: Languages may be different, but music is the same all over the world, isn’t it? Let’s enjoy HONMONO’s music together?! And please be our Pachimon!
PP: I really appreciate your great support!! The support of each of you always makes me brave and challenging. I always wish I could have a gig in a foreign country.Thank you! [PP wrote this in English]
Kiyo: Please continue to love Japanese culture. Someday I will visit your country.
Sekai: I have never been outside of Japan. So please invite us!
HONMONO will release their 3rd single 『断罪』(Danzai) next year!
The exact release date will be announced on a later date!
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