Tsuzuku for Tattoo Tribal vol.56
Interview: Yamamoto Hiroko (for Tattoo Tribal)
Translation: Ariane
Small on-stage universe, which draws in those who watch
- At first, please tell us the story of band’s formation. The time, when Tsuzuku-san (Vo) formed MEJIBRAY was June 2011.
Tsuzuku: That’s right. At the beginning, MEJIBRAY was more like my solo project than a band, but after a bit over one year passed I’ve searched for members, who could create it with me and it got the shape, which it has now.
- What was your members’ selection criteria?
Tsuzuku: The thing I was thinking about was the fact, that I wanted to make a band with members from which you wouldn’t turn your eyes… I think that if there are 4 or 5 members in a band, even if you watch outstanding LIVE, you may think “only this guitarist draws attention” or “that vocalist is great”, so I wanted to gather only members with strong individuality. To make you couldn’t decide, who you should watch during the LIVE… In result, everyone, whom I tried to gather has strong personality, so in this aspect, we lack unity (laughs)
- You are the leader Tsuzuku-san, right?
Tsuzuku: Yes, exactly.
- So how do you put the band in order?
Tsuzuku: Putting it in order is complicated, so I don’t do that (laughs). Thus even if each of us has his own claims, band still keeps good form.
- I see. Do you have any common point in musical roots among so individualistic set of musicians?
Tsuzuku: We all like J-POP. MEJIBRAY’s sound is closer to metal, but the thing all of us like is catchy melody.
- You have heavy and sharp sound, which is surprising.
Tsuzuku: MEJIBRAY style is where violent rock intersperse with melodies easy to listen in choruses. I think that you can’t remember song, which you can’t hum. People, who will hear “chorus of this song is so good” will suddenly sing it. I want to focus on that. I’m focused also on the world, we show on stage. Especially on one-man LIVE days speaking with many people, with members and staff, we’re improving performances. I want to make those performances like plays, more than on regular LIVEs. I want to drag you into our world.
- Do you include the elements of plays into it?
Tsuzuku: It’s not because of words, but if violent songs continue, SE interrupts, except that you’re being dragged deeply (into our world), we perform strong songs with elements of darkness… We perform dramatic plays, using laser beams and fire.
- Do you decide about that concept, Tsuzuku-san?
Tsuzuku: Nope, it’s because my members just know how to do that. We also don’t consult especially on our outfits.
- Do you decide ‘on next single let’s do such outfits’?
Tsuzuku: We don’t talk about it at all. We only pick the colour. For example, if we decide “accent colour on black will be red”, because each of us thinks of his own outfit, we often don’t know how others’ outfits look until the day of photoshooting. We’re getting surprised “YOU decided to wear THAT!?” (laughs)
- It means that your characters are different?
Tsuzuku: Yes. Perhaps, if we weren’t a band, we’d be in bad relations.
- Oh really? (laughs)
Tsuzuku: I think that as MEJIBRAY we’re reaching for the same goal and keep balance because of that, but if we were colleagues at work, I think we wouldn’t like to talk to each other (laughs)
- Personality of each of you is too strong, right? Do you fight, when creating music?
Tsuzuku: If we fight, no one is injured (laughs). But, we almost don’t have disagreements. Because in topics of music we understand each other, when we write melody to lyrics or arrange phrases of instrumentals, we understand things like “you should go like this”, so when it becomes our work, it naturally becomes a good one. Well, I think that it’s barely our balance, but because we feel this kind of tension, we shine.
- In such MEJIBRAY, what image of vocalist you want to create personally, Tsuzuku-san? You have an aura but do you want to become a vocalist with strong presence?
Tsuzuku: Normally, I'd rather stay in my room, I'm gloomy. Only when I stand on stage, tension rises. I mean, except those moments I feel as if I'm dead. Only when I'm singing on stage I feel the meaning of living so I sing for myself - to release my emotions. That's why instead of "I want to become like this", I want to live as Tsuzuku of MEJIBRAY.
- You're able to become your true self only, when you sing?
Tsuzuku: That's right. I love Tsuzuku of MEJIBRAY.
- Do you like your normal self?
Tsuzuku: Yes. I long for Tsuzuku. For me, he's my bestest ideal.
- In what aspect, for example?
Tsuzuku: I don't know what I can do. Being not addicted to anything, I thought "Now this is cool!" and continued doing this; standing on stage I felt the thrill of not knowing, when I'll die.
- You thought of singing then?
Tsuzuku: Earlier I played with friends, I was active. But when I thought of what should I do after starting MEJIBRAY, I read books in my room, not talking to anyone and ate instant noodles (laughs). Gap between me and stage became too widely opened, I started liking Tsuzuku all the more. I started thinking like this this year.
- So you release everything, the feeling of happiness, the gloominess, internal conflicts, if you step on stage?
Tsuzuku: Yes. I have really temperamental character, so when my heart is crumpled, I cry while singing ballads, but if I’m irritated, I’m moving around the taped stage, tearing the pedestal (laughs)
- (laughs). Starting from „A priori” which has been released in September, for three months 3 singles will be released, but you spit the words out in lyrics, right?
Tsuzuku: Right. I never have any concept, I just write what I have in mind or what I have really experienced. I don’t write poems, which match the songs; if I wake up in the morning and think “I’ll write now”, I sit in front of PC. When I am depressed because of being in love, I write in such way; if I think “I’m feeling really horrible! I’d rather die”, I write it.
- You don’t put any filter on your emotions. Well, when it comes to “A priori”, what emotions did you have?
Tsuzuku: When I was writing those lyrics, destructive motions were strong in me, I felt like wanting to break everything into pieces. Grand Poobahs are saying different things, but mostly “you’re devastating this planet”. I was angry and sad, I was writing with that kind of feeling telling me ‘wouldn’t it be comfortable to destroy everything?’. Second release, “Shuuei”, ask if people are unsightly. But as I dug deeper, I started asking, if such me isn’t unpleasant too? Third release, “DECADENCE”, shows decadent world with „rotting me” theme.
- You throw out negative parts?
Tsuzuku: Now, mentioned parts are negatives (laughs). “A priori” shows the greatest melody of MEJIBRAY, “Shuuei” is dropped medium number. “DECADENCE” has atmosphere, which none of our released until now singles had.
- By the way, when did you have the opportunity to make your first tattoo, Tsuzuku-san?
Tsuzuku: When I was 19. I thought that I’d like to get a rose tattoo, just like the flower I got on my birthday. When I tried to check it, I learned that in flowers’ language black rose means disgust to one’s self and if it’s given to someone else, it means “I hate you”, so well, I decided to get black rose.
- Did getting a tattoo require courage?
Tsuzuku: Not really, I’m always impulsive type, so when I decided to get a tattoo, I immediately called for advice. I told the tattoo guy then, that „I want to get as most realistic as possible black & gray rose” and few days before I went to the tattoo studio, I bought the real rose. I had this rose carved, while tattoo artist was watching the withering rose… and I was happy. But I was hiding it from my parents (laughs)
- So you had more and more opportunities to get the rose?
Tsuzuku: Around half of the year later I got violet butterflies on my loins. They have a meaning of that I have fluttered with my own strength… They are painted soaring to fly. I have few characters on my belly and the same I got on my neck. Because I like Marilyn Manson, I got designed by him heart mark. Then I made a break for a while, but since I started MEJIBRAY, at once number of tattoos increased. When I went to Nagoya to have some fun, friend told me „there is a good tattoo artist around” and invited me to „JACKPOT TATOO”, and I got an eye on my neck. I wanted to become person, who has eyes also on the back (of his head) (laughs). We had that emotional link between us with that tattoo artist, so when I said “I want it like this”, he draw it just exactly as I imagined.
- Speaking of precision, which tattoo impressed you particularly?
Tsuzuku: Probably PI on my elbow.
- It has an impact.
Tsuzuku: Does PI have an end? I made it because I want to think eternally. At the beginning, I started from saying ‘Isn’t vortex cool?’, but I went to ‘What could I get?’, “PI would be great”.
- I see. Your right arm has been unified with series of devils, right?
Tsuzuku: Right. At first I got Lucifer. As I gave a request “make it look similar to me”, we started talking about “changing my right arm into devils”.
- Female devils?
Tsuzuku: It’s succubus, it’s said she’s the devil, who comes in dreams to have sex with sleeper. Moreover I got Baphomet, devil with goat face.
- And what did you get on your left arm?
Tsuzuku: Pet dog. And numbers mean death anniversary. I brought a photo and got it tattooed. And together with that, I got Holy Maria.
- You seem to be quite addicted to tattoos, but do you have any design, which you want to get next?
Tsuzuku: I’m getting divination pentagram and hexagram, so next time I think I’ll get septagram and decagram on the insteps of my legs. And then, wouldn’t it remind anything? (laughs) Moreover, I think of getting one on my back too. Because I’m getting more designs.
- The amount grows and grows.
Tsuzuku: Grows. I seem to want to cover my whole body (laughs)
- For this kind of Tsuzuku, what is the charm of tattoos?
Tsuzuku: Changing myself. When I’d see tattooed things, won’t I recall ‘ah, at that time it was like that’? Those are memories.
- You feel that you’re engraving your memories?
Tsuzuku: Many say “get rid of the past, but I want to remember everything. Or rather, I wouldn’t like to forget bad things. In my opinion, if we don’t remember about our happiness and sadness, exactly the same things happen in the future and we feel sad again. Things, which I remember may become lyrics, and without happy feelings I can’t go on stage and rock.
- So you can’t say that you don’t know the pain?
Tsuzuku: If I laughed every day, I wouldn’t sing. I can’t say it even now. Happiness and pain always adjoin each other, that’s why I wouldn’t notice small pieces of happiness, if it was otherwise.
- So you have tattoos meaning that you won’t run away, right?
Tsuzuku: Yes. I always want to face everything.