Thursday 8 October 2015

the GazettE Club Zy. Personal Long Interview: REITA (part 4 of 4)


 Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4



Dogma is an album which asks people, "Will you still like the GazettE?"

Q: The title 'Dogma' was decided quite early in the album making period. Was it an important factor?
REITA: That's right. During the first stages of the album making, when the word 'Dogma' came out, I thought, "I see". 'Dogma' is a word which means 'religious teaching'. As we express our music, somewhere between us and our fans some religion-like connection was born. I think 'Dogma' is the perfect word to present ourselves. And that's why as the composers, we want to make it an album with no ambiguity in its definition.


Q: That is because fans are sharp in giving reactions to artists' works.
REITA: A religion isn't something that believers make. First of all, the religion founders should make people believe in their teachings. I think, there are a lot of band which are made by fans, or controlled by their fans' opinions. But the GazettE isn't that kind of band. Even though we also listen to our fans' opinions, we don't let our fans direct us.

Q: Because it's obvious that a band should take the helm in deciding its direction.
REITA: We think, "It has to be like that". In the end, it's about, "Can you sympathise with the things that we do, or can you not?" or "Will you follow the GazettE, or will you not?" It's one way or the other.

Q: And the verdict on your album 'Dogma' will also be divided.
REITA: We present clearly, "This is what we can do". And then, if people say "It's not good", then there's nothing we can do. 'Dogma' is al album which asks people, "Will you still like the GazettE?"


We will always keep maintaining the place where everyone can be excited and go crazy. We definitely will protect that place.

Q: Don't you think 'Dogma' symbolises a lot of things?
REITA: Be it our current status, or the thoughts and feelings we want to express to our fans, the word 'Dogma' really fits to a T.

Q: The lyrics on each and every songs have deep meanings. How do the members feel about the lyrics?
REITA: Usually the lyric is made after the sound aspects of the songs are done. RUKI himself often writes about things that are close to him, the things that everyone listening would understand, so the members also understand the lyrics well. In case of the GazettE, we often write about the 'anger' and 'unreasonable things' that happen around us.

Q: 'Anger' and 'unreasonable things', I see..
REITA: The driving force of our band isn't 'to make someone happy', but 'anger' (laughs). "I want to destroy them", "I want to win against them", those things are our driving force. We felt that as well during the making of 'Dogma'.

Q: Everyone in the GazettE have strong rebellious spirit, don't they?
REITA: Everyone are angry all the time (laughs). Except me (laughs). I think, it's important to have something you're irritated about. If it's not there... Or rather, if the GazettE starts saying "this and that about world peace", I think not many people will sympathise.

Q: A lot of artists sing about 'Love & Peace', but the GazettE don't do things like that.
REITA: I think it's better to just do fund-raising secretly than singing about it. And also, rather than love and peace, it suits us more to sing about the frustration that people feel.

Q: The frustration will turn into energy for the band.
REITA: In the end (our songs) are outlet for stress. And live performances are place to let out everyone's stress. The more stressed people are, the more successful the performance would be.

Q: And all of those are expressed in 'DOGMA'.
REITA: I think so. I think, among our fans there are a lot of people who experience unreasonable things in their daily lives. But, there aren't many opportunities to speak them out. And that's why, it's good if they can vent their frustration on us.
We will always keep maintaining the place where everyone can be excited and go crazy. We definitely will protect that place.


Announcing things beforehand can stir us up and drive us, but it can also be the death of us. That's why it's important to keep plunging forward.

Q: When this article is released, 'DOGMA' would've been released and you would've started your nationwide tour already. You will create your own flow with 'DOGMA'.
REITA: I'm both happy and irritated that we can't announce things just yet, but if you keep following our activities, 'DOGMA' will also keep evolving. We've already created the flow for it. Since we have anticipated our future activities, we're both excited and worried about how to do them. But, when we can properly express what we're conceptualising now, I think we will have levelled up as a band. 

Q: Will the GazettE stay with its aggressive style 10, 20 years from now?
REITA: I want us to keep our attitude and style for as long as possible. And I think it's okay even if our physical lifespan gets shorter.

Q: And when you think about it, 13 years is still just the beginning.
REITA: There are still a lot of concept we want to do. The most important thing is to never stop. In actuality, announcing things beforehand can stir us up and drive us, but it can also be the death of us. That's why it's important to keep plunging forward.

Q: By the way, how would you interpret 'REITA, the bassist'?
REITA: There was a time when there was a gap between the image of 'the ideal bassist' inside me and 'the bassist as a member of the GazettE', and I had a bit of internal conflict. But, I will only play bass with the GazettE. So, it's important that my image of a bassist fits with the image of the GazettE's bassist. When I reached that my hesitation and conflict disappeared, so I can concentrate more on being the bassist of the GazettE.

Q: So you have no intention to do some solo activities.
REITA: No. If I can show my best as the bassist of the GazettE, then I'm good with it.

Q: Lastly, a message for the readers.
REITA: Our latest album, 'DOGMA' is an album in which you can fully feel the current the GazettE. What would fans think when listening to the album? If you come to our live performances, you would definitely be able to feel what we think and feel. We always put our live performances as our priority, more than anything else. And I believe that our fans also feel the same. Live performances are when we can understand each other the most. And that's why, do come to our live performances.


Translated by Val.


Jump to: part 1 | 2 | 3 4

Also read: RUKI | Uruha | Aoi | REITA | Kai


2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for your the GazettE translations! It's amazing that you're translating such long interviews - and they are really interesting and informative. Excellent job!!

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    1. Thank you!! Do check Mangekyou often for more the GazettE interview translations :D

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