A sound that can challenge the world: ONE OK ROCK has finally gotten it with its sixth album, ”Jinsei x Boku =” (Jinsei Kakete Boku Wa). For all rock music lovers, this is ONE OK ROCK.
Undoubtedly the band with the strongest driving force in the 2012 rock scene, there was no sign of egotism amid this success; merely, four people earnestly sought the realization of their ideal music. The four members poured all of their energy into songwriting and recording, carefully producing at high concentration without a break. That’s why, piece by piece, one can see an overwhelming amount of passion and unquestionable sense of scale of going the next level. Press the PLAY button, and excitement and surprise increase as each track progresses. Keen-edged sounds and words knock down lukewarm nihilism and cynicism instantly, persuading you to see that positivity is key to striking a blow against things such as these. Rock is still alive. That’s why, to many listeners, ONE OK ROCK have been standing on the horizon convincingly so.
Taka: It’s an amazing feeling, isn’t it? Up until now, we’ve had to focus a lot on this album, while also tackling some new things. There’s the actual feeling that we were able to do what we did now. I don’t know whether our sound will be accepted by the world or not, but we intend to at least do shows around the world, and there’s no doubt that we’re headed in the direction of seeing people from all over the world listen to our music. But that’s not really a goal or anything. Naturally, granted that I am in a band, and having said that, there is much of that feeling. In that sense, in terms of things like recording methods and environments, we’ve done all that we could while in Japan. To entertain the thought of a sound that can be accepted by the world, it’s a possible inevitability.
Toru: Looking at each song, each one has its own distinct color―rich, heavy sounds I think we could make. No doubt, it’s as if we’re standing on new grounds, right? Since the beginning, as a result of that certain sound we were aiming for coming to us closer and closer, we discovered a lot of new things. At any rate, I wish for a lot of people to listen to our music.
Ryota: Speaking for myself, I think we made a cool album. Until now, it was the first time for us to spend a lot of time recording, and as a musician, I was able to look at what was missing in Niche Syndrome and Zankyou Reference carefully. With Taka’s voice and us as performers, we were convinced that we were able to make that certain sound, and I think that directly relates to the high quality of work.
Tomoya: To date, this was the most I’ve ever put my feelings into each and every song, and I think that for the future of this band, this will be a very important album. There are various types of songs, and because each song has a completely different flow, there was also the project of figuring out how to make each song’s “color” stand out. For me, there’s a sense of accomplishment that I’ve done everything I can do as a drummer. As for the band, and as an individual, with this album, what we’ve got is really big.
13 tracks. Dynamism and flexible creativity fuse heavily into sounds. Texture and movement of colorful melodies strengthen the popularity of songs. While opening new doors to all possibilities, the band continues to ascend to further heights, carving a relief of their core attitude. This evolution of music, so far as the future ONE OK ROCK is concerned, will be their guideline, their own road. The roles of John Feldmann, Chris Lord-Alge, and Tue Madsen, the three mixing engineers familiar with a “worldly sound,” must have been fairly large to deliver an intense, striking sound. And with that, the band’s reasons behind the succinct album title, ”Jinsei x Boku =”:
Taka: Me, having an uncool complex and disclosing everything…by accepting it, for the first time I think I feel complete. Living through this band is important to me. Even though I’m not smart and can’t study, by putting my entire life into this band, I was able to come here. That’s all I wanted to say, to put it simply. If you think about expressing ”Jinsei x Boku =” without the surrounding punctuation, that’s how the album title came to be.
Soon, ONE OK ROCK will be touring again―this time in new territory. Below are a few words from Taka and Toru.
Congratulations on your second tour in Asia and first tour in Europe! How do you feel?
Taka: I’m looking forward to visiting countries I’ve never been to before and seeing people who’ve never seen us before, too!
Toru: I’m looking forward to seeing all of those who are waiting for us! I think it’s an honor to perform beyond the borders.
What are you looking forward to the most on these tours?
Taka: I hope the tours will be fantastic for the audiences and us, and I want to have fun with the languages and sightseeing, too!
Toru: It’s the first time for me to go to Europe, so the sights, foods and all the other things will get my attention.
Can you give a message for our readers?
Taka: Let’s meet up at the shows!
Toru: Guys, I’ll be waiting for you onstage!
