yun_miyake

Arashi and Music

松本潤Matsumoto Jun

Q : You bought your first CD “Christmas Eve” by Yamashita Tatsuro, what was the reason behind it?

Jun : I only listen to anime soundtrack when I was a kid. Then I bought the CD compo for the first time along with “Christmas Eve”. At that time I was injured and went to hospital, an older girl in the same room gave me her songs collection cassette and based on that, J-pop entered my head, the first time I realized there are many kinds of songs.

Q : What song that you liked the most?

Jun : Mmmmm, I think “Love Story wa Totsuzen ni” and “Say Yes” I listen to them often. Since I got the cassette I began to watch the singing show on TV and know more kinds of music.

Q : What about western music?

Jun : I often listened to The Beatles and Carpenters, because my parents also love it. But I know hard rock a long time after that.

Q : When did you get influenced by the genre that you sing nowadays?

Jun : At the middle of my 10’s, I joined Jhonny’s that time and listened to many songs, such as Shounentai, Otokogumi and Hikaru Genji. Shortly, I listened to all the CDs that I have.

Q : Do you think that Jhonny's members challenge new kind of music since then until now?

Jun : There are many groups and many melodies as well, for me the melody that I always remember is Otokogumi, Hikaru Genji also have many great singles.

Q : Which musician and what single that become ‘my boom’ for Matsumoto Jun?

Jun : Yamashita Tatsuro and Yamasaki Masayoshi, I always listen to them until I graduated from Senior High. I got addicted to Prince and Michael Jackson after that.

Q : What kind of genre that you like the most?

Jun : I like Kayokyoku (singing show) because the lyrics is easy to remember, I think I like the genre like Misora Hibari.

Q : Did you get any influence from your favorite musician?

Jun : I think no, because I don’t want to be a copy cat, but the songs that I’ve listened give me more than influence, it inspired me.

Q : What was your impression for the debut single A.RA.SHI?

Jun : Actually it was different with the first recording song. Then they changed it including the lyrics and becomes A.RA.SHI that we all know. I can’t explain the original sound because I don’t remember it well.

Q : You sing it a lot?

Jun : I wondered why we have to sing it (laugh). We sing it in many different shows and I have different impression every time we sing “You are my soul soul” and the last line “Arashi for Dream.” Now I really think that we were given a very good debut song.

Q : You had concert without singing A.RA.SHI, right?

Jun : Because we only have this single, but we don’t have any rule that we must sing our debut single, we prefer sing many songs.

Q : What single that you consider as your “turning point”?

Jun : I don’t remember the single detail, but I think it’s “Dream A Live” we were divided into two parts harmony, the high voice and low voice, when I talked to the staff, we concluded that it’s good if we don’t sing the main part in the same voice. The intentional of the sound thickness and harmony can be produced. Based on that, the recording process increased, but it was fun and I think it was the reason of Arashi’s sound nowadays. We don’t decide the detail of singing part, it depends on the song, for example Nino takes the harmony, Sho kun is not only takes the rapp part but also solo melody, we have freedom on it. Because we are Arashi, so we can do that, for me, when Aiba kun sings, he has his own harmony (laugh)

Q : Do you have any habit while recording?

Jun : I always sit, the time to load the harmony took a long time, it took around 2-3 hours, so I always sit down.

Q : In Ura Arashi Mania secret talk, the other member called Matsumoto san as a person who pays attention the most at the lyrics point.

Jun : Did I say that? I don’t remember it at all. Because it’s our job (laugh). We think about the singles and blocks connection, and what kind of theme that we want to deliver. Naturally the lyrics and its explanation become important, something that we can’t neglect.

Q : Do you have any hard time in recording or in interpreting the lyrics?

Jun : We can do the lyrics interpretation freely, so I don’t have any hard time, for the recording, when I have to sing in high voice, it’s so hard (bitter laugh). Because I am the main person in singing low melody so I rarely sing high voice, it was unnecessary. It doesn’t meant that I am lazy….

Q : In “Popcorn” album, Ohno san’s solo “two” full of charming high voice, when you listen to it, do you think something like “as expected from Riida”?

Jun : Yes, I think I must take vocal training (laughing out loud)

相葉雅紀

AIBA MASAKI

Q : What was the first CD you bought?

Aiba : “Donna Toki mo” by Noriyuki Makihara. When I was in elementary school I watched Tonnenruzu san on TV and want to imitate him so I bought the CD (laugh)

Q : Did you do it well?

Aiba : Fufufu (laugh), how can I say it, I was addicted, I always imitate it with my friends.

Q : Then, what kind of music that you like?

Aiba : My mother loves western music, so I listen to it as well. When I was in Junior High I often listened to the radio and found many new singles, I and my friend even suggest each other about the good songs. I don’t remember the songs but it was western (laugh). After I became Arashi, I listened to Bon Jovi and Backstreet Boys, I haven’t watch their concert yet, but I really want to go.

Q : When did your first time in watching concert?

Aiba : It was Diana King’s concert. When I was in sixth year of elementary, I watched it in Akasaka. My mother loves it so much so she had me accompanied her, I thought it was very great.

Q : What kind of songs that you listen recently?

Aiba : I listen to various kinds of songs. I don’t choose the genre, I listen to everything. When I drive the car, I always turn on the radio and when I find the good song I want to check it, aaa I don’t change since I was in Junior High (laugh).

Q : Who is the artist that influenced you?

Aiba : It must be Michael Jackson, he can dance and sing perfectly, I wish I could dance like him, he is really a great entertainer.

Q : Do you remember when you recorded your debut single, A.RA.SHI?

Aiba : I don’t remember the recording time, but I remember when I practiced the dance earlier than recording, since I am the last Arashi member so I must master the dance first. When I listened to my recorded voice I was shocked, “my voice heard like this?” I thought. When I listened to the recorded song I felt the same, “eee?! Was that my voice?” (laugh)

Q : Did you prepare something in order to make your recording going well?

Aiba : I don’t have specific thing (laugh). I sing while sitting, I rarely do recording with the other members, so I don’t know what they do, perhaps more of us were sitting while singing.

Q : You sing A.RA.SHI a lot in your concert, do you have any different feeling when you sing it now compared with the debut era?

Aiba : Basically there’s nothing change, when we sing live, it depends on the timing we sing it, the way we put our feeling into it. When we sing it at the opening, we feel like “let’s have fun from now on” and when we sing it at the closing, the tension would become higher, it doesn’t the tension wasn’t high since the beginning (laugh)

Q : At the album that you made for Arafest “Ura Arashi Mania” secret talk part you wished to perform “Only Love” live, but you couldn’t do that at Arafest, do you want to set it for the next tour?

Aiba : How can I say (laugh), I’ve been requesting the song to be performed live until now, but it always removed (laugh)

Q : Which songs from Arashi that you consider as a turning point?

Aiba : It wasn’t exactly a turning point, but I think it’s “Step and Go” because it was non tie-up music, it has high freedom, when we listen to it, we feel that we can do anything. It doesn’t mean we can’t feel it for the other songs, but it was the first non tie-up.

Q : If you feel down what song that you want to listen from Arashi?

Aiba : “Fight Song” it’s very easy to understand (laugh). Only from the title we can feel cheerful, when we listen to it, we feel positive.

Q : Your solo called “Rakuen” in the album “Popcorn”, this song portrait you as a relax adult man and 100% happy person.

Aiba : Really? Thank you (laugh), it was very Aiba Masaki, I sing it sincerely.

Q : What is the best point from your solo?

Aiba : I feel that I want to try something new, I want to try the new genre. Ballad? Sound good, I want to try (laugh), next is Hawaiian, I want to play ukulele (laugh). But it doesn’t meant Hawaiian makes me very curious (laugh), because I never did it before, so I think it would be interesting, next is the hard music, I want to try something I’ve never done before because I can sing it freely when it’s solo.

Q : You will soon have “Popcorn” tour, right?

Aiba : I think that the songs were made for the fans, we just released it, we want to sing it together with the fans in our live concert to make it complete, because it doesn’t meant we finished everything after we recorded it, to make “Popcorn” complete, we held a fun concert.

Q : Which Arashi’s song that we can’t see elsewhere but only in Arashi live concert?

Aiba : All of our songs. In our next live concert we would perform something new, it’s better if you come and watch, please looking forward for it.

Credit scan : 炸鸡味爆米花

t/n : Yuph,,finished Aiba and Jun, I'll post Nino and Sho asap, enjoy these two ^^