Interview with DIR EN GREY’s Kaoru

On May 18th, DIR EN GREY played a concert in Warsaw. It was the band’s fourth visit to Poland and their 2nd live in the country’s capital. On this occasion, the tour was held to promote new album Arche, which was released in December 2014. Just before the concert, guitarist and bandleader Kaoru sat down for an interview with JaME Poland. He spoke about band’s current activities and previous achievements.

This is your fourth time in Poland. How do you remember previous concerts in Poland?

Kaoru: As this is already our fourth time already, every time we come here, we get better reactions from the fans. We notice that fans know our songs much better every time. So I feel like it’s getting better and better each time.

This is the promotional tour for Arche. How does this album differ from your previous works?

Kaoru: Basically, it’s actually the same. But this album has got more live feeling. The songs are better suited to be played live – our last album was all about showing the atmosphere and the feelings of the band to fans. On this album, there are also melodic songs which are easy to listen to, easy to understand, and work great on stage. Good show, good fun.

Arche is an ancient Greek word that means “primary source”. What is this primary source for you - what is arche?

Kaoru: We already had this word “arche” as a guide for the new album. The idea came from Kyo. At the beginning I wasn’t sure if this word was fit to be the next album title, but while we were writing and recording the songs, the word started to fit the music that we were making. It kind of started to all fit together; it just started to feel natural. That’s why, in the end, we decided to use this word.

Lately you re-recorded some of your old songs, like Kasumi and Bottom of the Death Valley. Why did you choose to renew these, and how did you select the songs to remake?

Kaoru: I wasn’t actually in a mood to write new songs, and I didn’t want to write anything new in that mood, so I thought it might work better if I tried to remake older songs to make them fit with DIR EN GREY’s present feelings and atmosphere. It was me who started it. It actually doesn’t matter which song I use – I just chose some that I felt might be a good fit for our current sound.

The new versions of those songs sound great. Will you be playing any of them live?

Kaoru: (hesitates) Yes, we will.

But you won’t tell which ones?

Kaoru: I will tell you, because we won’t be playing it tonight. It’s THE FINAL.

You officially started as DIR EN GREY in 1997, so in two years you will celebrate your 20th anniversary. Do you have any plans for that? For yourself and for the band?

Kaoru: (laughs) Personally I have none, but as a band we are planning something, but…

I understand, it’s secret.

Kaoru: Yes, it’s a secret.

You’ve achieved so much over the years: you’ve toured all over Europe and USA, participated in the Family Values Tour and Sonisphere Festival, and sold out the Budokan. This is more than most beginner bands can dream of. Was it something you dreamed about, or something that just happened? And when you think about your success now, do you feel that this is something you deserve or is it still something that is a surprise to you?

Kaoru: When it comes to the success in Japan, I think we deserve it, because we tried hard and put all this effort into achieving it. But when it comes to the success abroad, everything that happens, especially big festivals, still surprises us. Many people don’t know the band, but still we play in better slots. All those things continue to surprise us.

What would you consider your greatest achievement so far?

Kaoru: Every time when I finish the recording, I always feel like I’ve accomplished something big. Every finished album is a great achievement.

Great, so you always have a next goal in mind?

Kaoru: But right after the album is done, I never want to think about it.

Of course. You recently released the collection of PVs, so it’s very obvious that visual arts in general are very apparent in a band: in the image, the covers, the merchandises, the videos. Is it something that all bands have nowadays – something you just need as part of your brand – or is it something that actually completes and complements the music?

Kaoru: All those visuals are rather a part of the band, not just a part of music. In my opinion, the band exists to express music and the art in every way possible. That’s what I think, and for me it’s quite normal to be like that, but I’m not sure if every band does that.

Do you think that music, especially your music, can have a therapeutic effect on people?

Kaoru: I hope it does. I can’t actually be sure about it, because I only write the songs, but I have an impression and I hope that those songs has some special effect on people. After the show, even if we’ve played some darker songs, people are smiling, and I realize that those songs might have some kind of positive effect on people as well.

So it’s like catharsis?

Kaoru: I’m not sure about it, but I would love to ask fans what it’s like.

Last question from us. You are scheduled to perform at Lunatic Fest, where you will be playing among people all of you mentioned as your idols from childhood. How does it makes you feel?

Kaoru: I’m really grateful they invited us; I’m happy to do this live, but to be frank, we’re still in the music scene without quitting. Other bands, older bands, have quit once or twice before, so we have to show them how strong we are as a band, and that we’re still getting stronger.

Thank you very much. Can you please give a message for Polish fans and JaME readers?

Kaoru: We have been in Poland a couple times before, and every time we come here, we feel better connected with our fans. We experience one of the hottest shows in here, so we hope we can come back here in the future. We need your support, and we thank you very much for all the support you’ve showed. The first time we played in Europe was ten years ago in Berlin, so today is the 10th anniversary of that. We feel like this energy is coming back to us.

JaME would like to thank Kaoru, DIR EN GREY’s management and Knock Out Productions for making this interview possible.