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(I) At the time of the Budoukan show in march, it was decided that you'll announce, that you'll make „THE BEGINNING OF OMINOUS YEAR“ the core of the Album „DOGMA“, but first: around what time did the strong word „DOGMA“ came around?
Ruki: Last year we let the topic of the tour circle around „Redefinition“, but in that time we did „STACKED RUBBISH“ ('07 release) and „DIM“ ('09 release) in the PULSE WRIGGLING TO DIM SCENE“ tour, so it was around june,wasn't it. But, this time's logo included, to be honest, the word „DOGMA“ was already there in the beginning of last year. At this time, we still didn't know how we would use it, but as we did lives, we thought about our bands situation and included the relationship with our fans, so the word „DOGMA“ fitted nicely, I thought. Also, at the time I saw the picture we used for the CD Cover, the image came up. At this point the title „DOGMA“ was decided for me. At the time of the first choosing of the songs, we chose the songs without deciding what kind of album it will be, at this time it was that I brought „OMINOUS“ with me, but as we were heading for the next song choosing it was that I told the members about my thoughts of „DOGMA“. From then on everyone made songs regarding „DOGMA“. At this time the prototype of „BLEMSIH“ was there too, because our we thought it was good, we corrected it, so it became „DOGMA“ish. The song 'DOGMA' was half way done at the second song meeting.
(I): Till the image of the artwork, it surprises me, that everything was afloat, but „DOGMA“, but I guess you really thought a lot about the meaning „DOGMA“ is carrying.
Ruki: Yes. First of all, we noticed that the public image like religious scene of a live we're doing, isolates itself in the visual kei scene and gives the feeling that it's not really mixing (with others from the scene)... but yeah, we don't want it to be mixed so... We're respecting our senior bands! As we thought about them, we also thought what kind of band we should be and a band that is doing that kind of stile for 13 years, somehow isn't really here. For us it's a normal thing, but if you take a look from above, you get the impression that we're becoming darker increasingly. We wrote these [songs] as „not merging black“, but even more than this black to go to an even deeper place, seems to be the right answer for us. That's something absolute that we want to deliver the fans. You get the feeling of yourself as a symbol of god, a symbol of black, and you don't know if this black cover is male or female and that is connected to it, isn't it? Like a cult group that mistakes the world, but we're respecting the people who act on their convictions... to include this nuance that stile fits us I think. That is why the absolute word „Kyougi“ (dogma), that includes many meanings came up, I guess.
(I): That means, you named it after the word „DOGMA“, but because you weren't doing something unusual, but more like it was decided that it's the word that summarizes your own steps until now, isn't it? With the set up of this topic, was the song making becoming easier, or was it the opposite, that you were bound by it? It seems that every (member) was different too.
Ruki: Isn't the term „DOGMA“ pretty abstract itself? Therefore everyone made songs with his own taste of „DOGMA“, I think. That means that the song who got sorted out, weren't „DOGMA-like“, right? For reasons we may or may not know (lol). But we made the parts, where everyone was nodding the right interpretation.
(I): Some time ago we had the talk, that you had the intention of excluding everything of its EDM (electronic dance music) and such, but why was that? To say it in different words, it was to harden your music, wasn't it?
R: yeah. The albums from „TOXIC“ (release 2011) to „BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY“ (release 2013) were pretty experimental wasn't it? At that time, there wasn't a band who did music like that. But, now as we asked us if we wanted to get to the bottom of it or something, as expected it wasn't like that. Then we couldn't tell a concrete concept, but through the redefinition tours we were able to see something like our own sign! So if we have to tell what wasn't enough at live, it was the really heavy and dark part! Always if we're producing an album, we pay attention to the balance. But this time we excluded the one song where I always want to sing beautifully. In addition we also excluded to think like we should do several strong and several medium ones. It's less which system is better, than that got to the point that we wanted to be biased. That gives an natural like band sound and an unusual feeling of structure. To say it even more detailed, anyway to recommend smth like down tuning or major chords are a no-go (lol), it just gives smth like strange feelings. That was something that was in every members heart.
(I): But of course it doesn't mean that the various experiments you did, were wrong, but it means that with every way of expressing it can be a dark and heavy form, isn't it?
(R): yeah. On the basis of such a way of thinking we calculated everything. Therefore I have the feeling that this time it's pretty near to our instinct. That is different from the way to build things until now, and I have the feeling that we're going back to our original stile.
(I): The tuning you used this time was just made with the A and B chord (I'm not familiar with music so I might have made a mistake >_<), but in RUKIS case, the time you made the songs, even though it was just basic tunes, such heavy and low tunes were ringing in your head, wasn't it?
R: In my case, first the things I make are not coming from a melody but from riffs! Therefore I leave it there and when we're taking a demo, we'll adjust the tuning of the guitar (lol). To tell you our work flow, it's first the intro, and as we did the A melody we're adding the singing. Next step is the B melody, we're doing everything separated. That's why the refrain of „DOGMA“ isn't coming until the end! We're slowly changing the tempo and other changes (while they produce a song)
That's why we're often find things with the trial and error method.
(I): But even though you did all kind of developments, this work is unusual easy to understand. The flow is really smooth. With the dark and heavy parts, if you tried to hold on to the evilness and the chaos, you'll add an even more complicated arrangement, because of this stile it's easy, isn't it?
R: I wasn't concious of it, but yeah it really is like that, isn't it. There are probably few things without a meaning. If I try to think about the band I really like it's the same, isn't it. My main conciousnes isn't that of a guitarist, but the phrases of LIMP BIZKIT or METALLICA or something, somehow you get the feeling to want to copy them... I really like the ones that are easy to play. Because we're a generation of mixture (not sure what he meant with this generation), I liked the simple riffs of Yama Arashi. (If you want to listen to him, there are songs of him on YT, you just have to use the Kanjis: 山嵐) The darkness of SLAYER or PANTERA are good too (lol)
(I): For example the riffs, there are various ones in each song, isn't it. Aren't you doing something like taking just one of these (riffs) and make a new song out of it? It's kind of a luxurious way of making them.
R: That's why my dark repertoire is slowly fading (lol). Because I'm not a guitarist, I don't think about how to place the chords, but play just with listening.
(I): The title track „DOGMA“ shows how the Gazettes form is, but the lyrics absolutely have the meaning of „DOGMA“, but it's not summarizing the unity of the content. Each song is independent and is summarizing the world of the GazettE or better said, Ruki.
R: As we're in a band, we're not staggering how we should proceed. This feeling is especially strong in „DOGMA“ I think, but in the end it's not like we're asking ourselves how it feels to have reached this point. As we tried to finish it I got the feeling that is pretty near to our splitting image, isn't it. Unexpectedly it's not an imaginary world. In writing I use metaphors, but for example, regarding the phrase the pain of the world, with this normal expression it's too light, I think.
(I): „BIZARRE“ is about a recent social problem isn't it?
R: yeah. As I wrote it, the youth crime just happened. But it's not particulary about that, it's more the end of it, isn't it. I have the feeling that I wrote my normal sensations, but in this world there are cases where it's a taboo. It's not like it's a thing that is important for a short moment and then forgotten, but after it happened it was in the news for about one week, but what's important is, what happens after that, isn't it? There are many things that let you think about them, isn't it.
(I): Related to this, this time all the songs are just one word, isn't it? I was wondering if each (song) has a symbolic meaning.
R: Yeah. It's the „seven sins“, isn't it? These too are just words strung together isn't it? Because this time the songs include just one emotion, so I thought that one word would fit best.
(I): Thinking of „Seven sins“, I guessed so because of the lyrics of „RAGE“ and others too, but as you were building the absolute dogma in the band, did you wonder how the listeners would take it? You gave them some space, I think.
R: It's like that. First of all the compulsion of the term „DOGMA“ is something like, „how is God thinking“, or „how is death seen“, such topics are thought of (by DOGMA). Regarding some cult or religion like „DOGMA“, believer are are spreading with their own interpretation, aren't they? Like I said before, in context of the bands I got to like, I adapt their thought as my own and make them absolute (lol) But for example, as Luna Seas „Rosier“ or „True Blue“ came out, in us the image of a big city night was really strong. Because it's strange, and even though it's not the case that a concrete word is coming up, but it's something like a mutual language. Also it's the character of visual kei I guess, but that's probably because in „DOGMA“ are many things about that time, that you can recall, isn't it?
(I): The albums last one, „OMINOUS“ was born pretty early in the process and I was very interested in it!
R: With the order of the songs, we talked that it was just naturally a song, that didn't fit in the middle, but the word „OMINOUS“ shows our current comprehensive self.
...
The Lyrics are a real story, the 13th anniversary pilled up too, at this time as we just named it, many things happend (wry smile). But as the days went by this song got stronger and stronger, didn't it. But in the beginning we didn't make this song with these feelings.
(I): From now on you'll be on tour, but with making „DOGMA“, was there something that you could see as a band?
R: For example is this the way to use music, or if we couldn't experiment or the feeling that something is strange, these things happened, but the time we finished it, we didn't have the feeling of satisfaction... If you listen to it, it's a heavy feeling or better it's like a close up of things I don't like and therefore like a diary. Originally if we had made it from the position, that we should give dreams, it also shows things that shouldn't be shown. But the appropiate way for music to be is the way of conveying, but I also think that it should be in an natural form!
The Gigs project was my first - so I gues there might be some mistakes (>_<)
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