“Cyclamen boasts a repertoire featuring both mathcore chaos and technical aggression to the seemingly polar opposite with post-rock atmospheres and calming beauty in a genre I like to call post-djent.” heavyblogisheavy
”CYCLAMENはMATHCOREのカオスとテクニカルな攻撃性、同時にそれとは正反対に思えるPOST-ROCKのアトモスフィアと静かな美しさを兼ね備えている。POST-DJENTとでも呼びたいね” こんな感じだと思います。2010年にこういった文章を書かせたCYCLAMEN、書いたTHBIH、どちらも素晴らしいですね。と言うのもこの4年間でシーンの成長と共にそういった音楽性のバンドが増え、人気も出てきたように感じるからです。先日あのKSCOPEと契約を果たしたTESSERACT然り、FALLUIJAH然り、THE CONTORTIONIST然り。そして今回インタビューを行ったVERSE VICAは彼らに続いてPOST-DJENTの新たなる地平を切り開き2010年代後半のDJOPINION-LEADERとなる可能性を秘めています。デビュー作ENDEAVORで彼らが提示したANIMALS AS LEADERSとMONOのハイブリッド的音像は確実にここ日本でも多くのファンを獲得する事でしょう。インタビューです。どうぞ。
MARUNOUCHI MUZIK MAGAZIN PRESENTS JAPANESE PREMIERE
9/22に発売となるフランスの奇才八弦師、Clément Belioさんのフルアルバム’CONTRAST’からまさに日本のファンの為の曲KEIRO NO HIを曲解説、メッセージ付で世界独占公開です。
【ABOUT KEIRO NO HI】
This track is actually the most “japanese” one of the album.
I’ve always loved Japanese music, especially mathrock…
Nah seriously, Japan has the BEST mathrock bands in the world haha, TOE, Lite, Mouse on the keys…
So that song is my humble tribute to them, and especially to Ryuichi Sakamoto and TOE.
Pentatonic scales, fun drums grooves, acoustic guitar, and in the middle of the song, an intense groove between all those elements.
The tittle, “Keirô no Hi”, is as you probably know, a Japanese holiday celebrated annually to honor elderly citizens, and this year I think it was on the 15th of september, which was the first date plan of album release… Also, as my grandmother died recently, so I decided to dedicated that song in particular to her.
Anyway, this is one of the most “authentic” track of the album, because of the multiple LIVE instruments recorded (by yours truly), hope you enjoy… By Clement Belio
この曲はまさにアルバムの中で最も日本的なんだ。僕は本当に日本の音楽が好きで特にMATH ROCKを愛しているよ。いや真剣に日本には世界で最高のMATH ROCKバンドがいるよね、TOE, LITE, MOUSE ON THE KEYS・・・だからこの曲は彼らへの控えめなトリビュートと言えるだろうね。特に坂本教授とTOEへかな。
My most humble tribute to your country is that song…
I’ve always been fascinated by all I could see from Japan, from the mathrock bands to the YouTube videos “wtf japan seriously” haha, from several comics to tv shows…
Well, I really want to come to Japan and see all of this at least one time in my life.
This song reflects that desire and that admiration, I really hope you enjoy that modest tribute to what Japan has best to offer :) By Clement Belio
’敬老の日’は日本に対する僕の最大限のトリビュートなんだ。
僕は日本に関するあらゆることにいつも魅了されているからね。MATH-ROCKバンドからYouTubeでみる”wtf japan seriously”(笑)。漫画やテレビも素晴らしいよね。
Q:Your new album “Nothing More” has just released. How is the reaction?
【Jonny Hawkins】:The reaction has been amazing – it has surpassed our expectations. One of the coolest things about it is hearing personal stories from people we meet on the road about how one of the songs got them through a difficult situation in their life. We met a guy who lost his wife and was left as the only parent to their 2 young boys – he said that all he did for the month after she died was blast “God Went North.” It helped him through the uncertainty of his wife being gone and not knowing what to do being a single parent.
Q:新作”Nothing More”がリリースされましたね。反応はいかがですか？
【Jonny Hawkins】:素晴らしいよ。完全に予想以上だね。ロードで会った人たちから僕らの曲のおかげで彼らがそれぞれの困難な状況を切り抜けられたって話を聞けるのは最高にクールな事だ。
妻に先立たれて二人の男の子のシングルファーザーになってしまった人に会ったんだ。彼はこう言っていたよ。「妻が亡くなってから一ヶ月間やった事といえば”God Went North”を爆音で流す事だけだったよ」とね。妻を亡くした不安とシングルファーザーとしての心配事からこの歌が彼を救ったんだ。（”God Went North”は恋人、妻を病気で失う歌）
Q:Please tell me why did you contract with Eleven Seven Music?
【Jonny Hawkins】:This is our first label in our long history of DIY work – they stood out to us because of their sheer passion and love for their bands. At the end of the day money and a reputable name and a big building can all go away – but the thing that remains is the passion with which the label works.
Q:Would you tell me the origine of band’s name Nothing More? And why did you titled your band name on this album?
【Jonny Hawkins】：When we set out on this journey as a band, we were testing out if the experience of being a working musician was for something for people of privilege, or if it was something we could create from our limited resources. We discovered that you can do whatever you want, if you are passionate enough about it. We want all our work to point back to the fact that we are nothing more than human beings like everyone reading this. Success is not a testament to things out of your control – you can achieve your dreams. We made that the name of our album to reinforce that point.
Q:How have you progressed from “The Few Not Fleeting”?
【Jonny Hawkins】：“The Few Not Fleeting” was my first experience as a singer – having been a drummer for many years, singing was a bit foreign to me at first. The Self Titled release that we have out now is really just a coming-of-age / maturation for me as a singer and the other guys as writers and musicians. This record encompasses a lot of things we always wanted to communicate and sound like. “The Few Not Fleeting” was more of an experimental process.
Q:前作”The Few Not Fleeting”からどのように進化しましたか？
【Jonny Hawkins】：“The Few Not Fleeting”はシンガーとして初めての作品だったんだ。何年も僕はドラマーだったからね。最初歌うことには少し戸惑ったね。このセルフタイトルの新作で僕はシンガーとして成熟しているし他のメンバーはそれぞれライター、ミュージシャンとして成熟しているよ。このレコードには僕らがこんなサウンドにしたいと思っていたものが入っているよ。”The Few Not Fleeting”はもっと実験しながら作った感じだね。
【MUSICAL INFLUENCES】
Q：I think you have a lot of aspects of music. Metal,Alternative,Prog-rock,Djent,Dubstep…But in the same time,You have strong and beautiful melody. Is that important for you?
【Jonny Hawkins】：Melody and lyrics are really at the heart of all of it. If you don’t have those done right it doesn’t matter how you dress it up. We go through phases of music that we are listening to that span a variety of genres but the thread throughout them all are strong melody and a real story. Without that you might as well be an instrumental band.
Q:Do you hear bands of new generation like Periphery,Karnivool,Chevelle?
【Jonny Hawkins】：YES! We love all of those bands. Periphery and Karnivool (along with many others we listen to) are at the forefront of what the new generation of rock is going to be.
Q:Would you tell me five albums that changed your life? And recently,what are you listening to?
（人生を変えた５枚のアルバムと最近のお気に入り）
Life-changing albums, in no particular order…
Tool – AENIMA
Brother Ali – THE UNDISPUTED TRUTH
Karnivool – THEMATA
Rage Against The Machine – EVIL EMPIRE
Ben Folds – ROCKIN THE SUBURBS
Listening to right now …
Soliloquist of Sound – NO MORE HEROES
M83 – HURRY UP, WE’RE DREAMING
【ABOUT JAPAN】
Q:Most of Japanese likes melodic rocks. And we still buy more CDs than any other countries. Do you think Japan is going to be important market for you? And do you hear some Japanese musics?
【Jonny Hawkins】：We played with a Japanese band called CROSSFAITH at DownloadFestival in England this year and they were excellent. We also toured with a band called SUPE some time ago and we are goodfriends with a guitar player who was in OPUS DEI. He really peaked our interest in playing Japan. We have been discussing the market with him and the feasibility of us getting over there. It is absolutely in our sites. We would love to learn about other Japanese bands – tell us about YOUR favorites!
