Interview with MUCC in Finland

JaME met MUCC in Helsinki, Finland on the day of the second concert of their European Chemical Parade tour on January 17th, 2011. The band shared about their newest album Karma as well as the thoughts and feelings they relate to music.


Last Saturday, you played the first gig of this European tour in Moscow. How does it feel to be back in Europe?

Tatsuro: It’s cold!
Miya: It’s nice.

Your tour was very long the last time you were in Europe. This time, you have fewer gigs. Do you think that makes the atmosphere of this tour different?

Miya: It may alter the atmosphere.
Tatsuro: It feels like we were on tour in Japan. Even though it’s on a much smaller scale in Europe this time, we have the feeling as if we were on tour in Japan for a longer period.

Your newest album Karma is a mixture of various atmospheres — from dance beats to jazzy songs and calm melodies. How was the process of writing these songs?

Miya: Each one of us, without preparing or talking beforehand, wrote his own songs. At one point we all met and gathered our ideas and this album was made. So it was as usual, actually.

What do the goats, gas masks and pink sky of the CD cover art tell about the theme of the album?

Miya: When I listened to the album after it was done, I noticed that there is a mixture of very different influences and elements including digital sounds and raw instrumental sound. Everything was mixed together, so that’s why we wanted to put these mixed feelings and influences also on the cover, mixing both the chemical and the organic side of things.

You style is known to change a lot with every album. This brings you new listeners, but on the other hand it requires an open mind from your fans. How do you think this has affected your career?

Miya: This change is actually MUCC, it’s ourselves. So, to be honest, we don’t care.

How is your relationship with your own instrument, or Tatsuro, with your voice? What do you like most about it?

SATOchi: I like the drums because if you hit it really strongly it sounds really strong and if you hit it softly it sounds soft. It reflects the feeling really directly. I’m not really well-educated — that’s why I like this instrument very much. It’s quite similar to myself.
Miya: I picked the guitar because I was just playing it. It wouldn’t make any difference if I played the drums instead. So there is nothing particular to say about this relationship.
Tatsuro: I see my voice as an instrument of my own, but the difference between my own voice and the other instruments is that I cannot change its sound, because it's my own voice. So what I’m trying to do is to make the most out of it.
YUKKE: First of all, I thought that I couldn’t play the drums and I couldn’t sing — that’s why I didn’t choose to become a drummer or a vocalist. So there were only two choices: the guitar or the bass. And the guitar is actually a main part of the band. The guitarist is the one who is always standing in the center of the stage and the one always showing off. But I myself am not that kind of character. I like being more in the background. So I picked the bass because it has the same characteristics as my own personality.

The song Daraku on Karma is sung almost completely in English, which is atypical for you. How was the song born? Tatsuro, how does it feel to sing in a foreign language?

Tatsuro: When I was writing this song I was thinking about the Japanese fans who would listen to it. Most of our fans don’t really get the idea if the song is written completely in English, instead they first feel the atmosphere. If the lyrics are in Japanese, they understand what we are singing about, so they can build their own ideas in their minds. But if we do it in English, they have to listen to our songs and feel the atmosphere without understanding the lyrics. That was actually the first idea I had for writing this song in English. When I’m singing this song live it feels quite refreshing, very new and also interesting. But the thing is that if we play this song in Europe, the situation will be completely the opposite, because they understand the English lyrics first, so that’s also a very interesting point.

Your songs have a great personal importance to many of your fans. How does it feel to be in a position to make songs that can become very meaningful to other people?

Miya: I’m glad, really glad.
Tatsuro: I’m also very glad that our songs can become really special in our fans’ lives, because the same thing happened to me as well when I grew up listening to music. I also have some songs which are really important to me.

And what does music mean to you personally?

SATOchi: It sounds a little bit strange, but it’s very similar to the air: it’s always there, it exists even though you don’t recognize its existence. You can think about it very deeply, but when you don’t, it’s still there. You don’t notice that it exists. That’s music for me.
Miya: For me music is something that all my activity is related to and it also serves as my personal diary.
Tatsuro: My thoughts are quite similar to SATOchi’s. It’s always there, it’s so natural that you don’t realize that it’s there.
YUKKE: Music has become one of the most important things in my life, because if I hadn’t become interested in music when I was in junior high or high school, I wouldn’t be here right now.

What do you feel when you are playing?

Tatsuro: When I’m singing on stage I can get really high, feeling tension and other things which actually don’t happen in daily life but only happen on stage.
SATOchi: When I play music I’m really showing off. I don’t know why, but when I’m sitting on the drummer’s stool, I’m showing off.
Miya: I myself don’t recognize how I change on stage. But if you see me playing, maybe you see I’m different on stage or when I’m playing, but I myself don’t notice that I’m changing.
YUKKE: When I play the bass I also get this tension difference from low to high that I normally don’t get in my daily life.

You have played hundreds of gigs. How do you feel just before stepping onto the stage? Has this feeling changed over the years?

Tatsuro: I feel nervous.
Miya: I also get nervous.
SATOchi: So do I.
YUKKE: I also get nervous, but the voices of the audience make me feel really high.

What would you like to express with your performances? What would you like your listeners to experience?

Miya: If they are enjoying the space including atmospheres with us being there together then it’s quite alright.

What is the best thing about touring?

YUKKE: Food.
Tatsuro: I like the very particular moment when I lie on a bed after a really successful show.
Miya: I like the process of the band changing in a way from the beginning of the tour to the middle part and to the end. That’s what I like most about touring.
SATOchi: I like troubles — YUKKE’s troubles.

And what makes you miss home?

Tatsuro: When we are on tour for a long period, I definitely miss Japanese food.
YUKKE: When I’m on tour for a longer period I start to miss my own pillow.

In May, you will return to Nippon Budokan with two concerts. What are your expectations for them?

Tatsuro: I hope we can play as usual.
Miya: We have mostly been playing at smaller venues, but at Budokan we can play with a bigger production, so we can express ourselves and the concept of the albums as they should be with a better performance. I’m really looking forward to it and I really would like European fans to come over to Japan to see us at Budokan. That would be really great.

Finally, do you have a message for your Finnish fans?

SATOchi: It’s very cold in Finland, but MUCC’s concert will warm you, so please come to see us to get yourself warm.
Miya: I like the Finnish culture very much and I’m really glad that we can come back here almost every year. I’m very happy about it, so I hope that this continues in the future.
Tatsuro: I’m also very glad that we can come back again and again. I feel that there are a lot of fans really waiting for us, so we are also enjoying ourselves, but I do hope that the fans can enjoy themselves even more than we do.
YUKKE: I’m also very happy that our fans show their enthusiasm to us so directly that I really feel that they have been waiting for us. That makes me really happy.


JaME would like to thank the band, MAVERICK DC GROUP and Gan-Shin for making this interview possible.