Miyavi

Translation by Sutematsu
From: Newsmaker February 2005
Interviewer, writer: Toshitomo Doumei



His determination, struggle, and confidence toward his new field. miyavi summarizes the excitement of 2004!

His first tour, the first Asian tour, he dared to give as a free event in Tokyo Dome; he realized the sky stage at the Indies Last LIVE at the Budoukan; and what’s more, he sold three different versions of his debut single at the same time�Ehe list goes on and on, from the shocking to the exciting—this has been miyavi in 2004. How did he perceive this year, and how will he move toward ’05?

Photographer: Yosuke Komatsu [ODD JOB], Stylist: Rikiya Kawada, Hair Make Up: Asami Yamada

Change equals growth. Even in lives and the manufacture of goods, the -miyavi- of 04 has come to see many different approaches, but these are just signs of the growth that he achieves each moment. The final coverage of this year starts with his solo activities, and looks back on the steps that lead him closer to his own core this year.


-----

-First of all this year, after all is said and done, you did lives in several different places, including the Budoukan, of which the DVDs are just now coming out.

"First off is my first album! I hold the mike and stand in the middle of the stage �Emy first tour. When I recap this year, if I’m asked what the most painful, terrible thing was, and my answer is of course that tour."

-Your first experience of wearing yourself out with the many different facets of your show was really intense?

"It was really wearing, yeah. Only�Ehat first day at Nagano was only 56 minutes! (laugh) There wasn’t even an encore. The Budoukan was my very first encore after the performance. The last day of the tour was Osaka. I had a temperature of like 105 (40 degrees Celcius), and I did the show dripping with sweat. It was two hours! (laugh) It was twice as long as the first show."

-Wow, that’s amazing. I’m sure something inside of you must have grown up during that first tour.

"Inside of me, in that tour, everything seemed like one live, but there was also a beginning, middle, and an end. That is, we really pushed the limits, but the climax was awesome�EIt was na�Ee. We did 18, but it was naive. But to a beginner like me, it really had a deep meaning."



-You dared to place your seal on the guitar, because you started with a place as a vocalist and performer.

"Yeah. The people who saw my lives at that time were very lucky, including those at Shibuya and Yaon, because I’ve changed since then. The person I was then doesn’t exist anymore. I mean, I don’t change all the time, and the relationship I have with my fans never changes, but when I say "change" I mean "growth." There’s a time axis in the unchanging relationship with, and sense of distance from, my fans. There’s no point if I don’t grow in that time axis."


"Moment by moment, until they die, human beings are always changing."


-In accordance with your gaining skill as a performer, you’ve also done splendidly to increase the scope of your venue. You really began being a newsmaker around the time "Ashita, Genki ni Nare" came out and you were going to be playing at the Budoukan. Since that time, the circumstances around you have gradually become more and more turbulent.

"But when you’re talking about those circumstances, they all piled up and didn’t get any worse. In the end, they just made me think, ‘Well, what do I want to do now? What do I want to say?’ I recognized these questions in myself. I may have said things before, but I didn’t say them clearly because of the ups and downs in my life. The other people who’ve been newsmakers are probably the same, but aren’t there twists and turns sometimes? Aren’t people always changing moment by moment, until they die? To say it another way, those negative times and valleys give you the chance to run to the tops of the mountains."

-Because those valleys are such painful times.
"Yeah. But on the other hand, even when you’re up on the mountain, there will be a time when you’ll have to fall back down into the valleys. So then, if I ask what I should place importance on, I can preserve my own average, without being influenced by the things around me. They have nothing to do with it. I keep those circumstances going on around me, separate from myself. It’s because, technically, you could go to the Budoukan even on only one fan. Though if there was only one person, the ticket price would skyrocket. (wild laughter)"

-Tickets at a couple million yen* a piece. (laugh)

"What a rip off! (laugh) But for that much, I could do anything. Actually, there’d be a lot of problems. Physical problems and that kind of thing. Like I don’t think I’d lose an hand or a foot over that, but then, that’s probably not what I’d be asked to do. I guess that if it was something I wanted to do, I’d probably do it. And isn’t that freedom? And in that core part of me, even though I’m writing songs, it still touches me."


"I’m approaching what I really want to do in my very core."


-You were reaching about for different kinds of sounds until the ban on guitar was lifted for your major debut single, despite that it’s the basis of your sound.

"That’s never changed. To put it simply, it’s an existence of self-reliance. I played the instruments I was sampling, the way I put out my own singing and my own mixes. For example, "Ashita, Genki ni Nare"... How do I say it? It was heresy. But that kind of sound was important to us at the time. By ‘us’ I mean me and my fans. That song was really aimed at my fans. For my Indies Last I thought it was really important to express my feelings toward my fans through a song."

-In terms of sound, I really think it had a unique approach. However, at that time that kind of gentle tone and wording was important to you.

"Yeah. It wasn’t a terrible thing, just the sound and approach were very important to me, not only for the sound, but also because of my great interest in world music. In those terms, it seems like I have been groping around for a sound. I was looking to see how far I could go. But now my focus is clear, because I can see what I need to do, and what I need to achieve. The way to do the work itself has never changed from then till now, but�E say it over and over, but I’m approaching what I really want to do in my core, little by little. The beat, the sound. Those things first�Ehey’re the landing point. The base message is this: we are always together."

-Face forward in life. And you wonder how to send that message though a catchy beat, right?

"Yeah. The important thing is how you tie that unchanging message to the things that come from you. Probably. (laugh)"



*One million yen is $8,600USD, so the interviewer is suggesting ticket prices in the tens of thousands of dollars. As a note, in Japan even expensive concerts barely break 7,000 yen ($60USD), and when miyavi was last in the Budoukan, the tickets were 5,500 yen ($46USD).

JMIgnited.com is not affiliated with the artists presented on this website or their representatives. All images are the property of their respective copyright owners. Images are displayed for educational and decorative purposes only under the "fair use" clause.

All music samples are property of their respective owners. All music featured are samples only! If you enjoy a particular band, please help endorse them and buy their music! No copyright infringement is intended.