Perfume Rockin' On Japan Magazine Scans

INTERVIEW






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Some part of the interview translation.

['ROCKIN'ON JAPAN' (2009 July issue) 4/4]

(I=Interviewer, A=A~chan, K=Kashiyuka, N=Nocchi)

I: I want to ask you about the album, too.
A: Ah, right.
N: 'Ah, right.'?(laugh)
I: It is rendered as a dance album with a few singing parts. And effects are heavily applied to your vocals to the extent there are some parts where you can't tell who is who. What do you think about that?
A: Well, it doesn't matter who is who.
K: I know what you mean!
A: Do you care about who is singing?
K: I have grown not to care about it much.
N: It is OK as long as it is Perfume.
A: Yes. If three voices are blended, I am fine with whatever it is going to be, and it is an album, so, unlike a single song, it is not like one person singing this part and all of us singing the chorus part. It is not considered that way. I think Nakata assigns each part as he sees best. We just have the privilege of putting our voices over it. It is like, Oh, he gave us such good songs this time, I'm glad.
K: As long as it comes off as a good piece, it doesn't matter who is singing which part. If the listeners like it and find how good the songs are, it will be good.
A: It is none other than Nakata-sama who is giving us the songs. I am grateful to him for not deserting us. I will work hard for him. That is just how I feel. It is like, he wrote such beautiful songs for us! Not for Capsule but for Perfume!
K: I am really glad that his concept of trying to make singing songs has disappeared. You know, he is working with girls like Ami Suzuki or MEG, but he says he can have his own way when he is working for Capsule, and I can understand it. Because I often think "Which part is Toshiko (Koshijima) singing?". And when I ask him, "Whose voice is this?", he says "Oh, this is a diffrent person, I don't know." It is amazing he places emphasis on creating the music itself rather than on two of them working together. I heard that when he first worked with Perfume he thought he should do idol things like many singing parts or old bliping sounds, but that concept is disappearing and he is having his own way with Perfume, too. I am happy about it.
A: But I wouldn't like it if all songs turned out into 'Speed Of Sound'.
N: What could we do in a live concert?
A: You kind of wonder if there's a point to our singing. Capsule is OK as they are, because they aren't a live concert act, and besides Koshijima is so cute and pretty. She looks great by just bouncing around a bit. That is OK, since the fans come to see it. But Perfume is different. If it becomes all about the sound, that would be scary. You know, if Perfume was only thought of as the raw material. But I believe that's not the case, and I can count on him even if he goes this far. I can think it is OK. And when three voices overlap, that makes Perfume. And, don't you think it is great, the part where our voices overlap?
N,K: Yes.
A: Although my voice has nothing characteristic about it, if I was replaced by somebody it would sound different, and of course, if Kashiyuka was replaced it would sound different, and if Nocchi was replaced it would sound different. It wouldn't be Perfume. That's how it is. It must be three of us. I was thinking the other day. When three voices are put together, it sounds astonishingly pretty and makes me think it is magic! It sounds transparent, and you will notice the way we say words, and it has a little bit of an airy feeling about it. I also had this strong feeling. It was about when we started out as Perfume. Just after we finish the recording, the parts are not assingned yet so all three of us are singing the primary tune. When I listen to it, it makes me happy. It makes me feel that it is OK for me to be here. It gives me a great feeling.
I: Let's say, for example, there are some fans who want old-style cute idolish songs. What would you think about that?
K: Just accept Perfume as we are now. Maybe we don't want cute songs that much. When you get old, it gets harder to do it. We have met many artists and have worked with musicians and there are many things which we think are cool and many new things we want to challenge. So if Nakata wants to do cute things, it is fine, but that cuteness would be cuteness of twenty-year-old Perfume, so if they want us to be cute as we used to be, that would be hard.
N: That is right.
A: (in a weird voice) That is right.
K: I think it is possible to go back to the old cuteness when we are singing old songs. All we have to do is just go wild and crazy. But if they want that cuteness in our new songs, that would be a different thing. We want them to accept us as we are. We are twenty years old now.
N: It's sad. (laugh)
A: Of course, everyone has their own taste, and some may be leaving us because of it. But there are many other people and many people say they like us as we are, so it doesn't bother me at all.
I: After making this kind of album, the next tour will be to show what Perfume is, I guess?
K: I don't want to overdo it as a show.
A: If you just want to listen to the songs, you can listen on the CD. I don't want them to think like that. That is why I do MCing kind of things. I want to do many stage effects, too. I want them to feel happy about coming to the concert. So I want to do live performances. Well, we are fortunate!
N: I thought you would say that.
A: I don't think we should do the same thing as in Yoyogi, or Budokan, so I say whatever comes to my mind and I feel happy if they bring back home what they have felt. Wouldn't that be great if everyone becomes happy and feels kind of exhilarated? We become silent for about ten minutes after a live concert, like all the energy is sucked out. I hope everyone will be like that.

Translation credit
http://perfume.ekuseru.net/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2290&start=80