Nightmare's Hitsugi x SID's Aki An Inexhaustible Dream

Nightmare's personal series, in which each member will have a dialogue session with the artist he appointed himself, starts this month!
Featured in this commemorable first installation are Hitsugi (G) and SID's Aki (B), who are on very close terms even in private.
A dream-like dialogue session between these two, who belong to bands leading the current scene, becomes reality.
These two who'd actually lived together for a period of time will talk about each other, their bands, and also the scene......
Here, we'll re-enact the 90 minutes in which they finished saying all the honest thoughts they don't usually speak of!!



――The photo session has concluded without trouble.

A: Even though we ended up laughing so much that the photoshoot couldn't progress at first (laughs).

H: We were both putting on expressions that we've never seen on each other except in magazines, so it's embarrassing to look (laughs).

――Is that how much you hang out in private?

H: Un.

A: When was that? You've stayed over at my home for a week before, haven't you?

H: I did! Wasn't it towards the end of '06?

――You even had sleepovers huh (laughs). What did you do for meals?

A: I cooked, right?

H: Un. I still have photos of Aki cooking on my phone. The ones of him holding a frying pan and going "Ya~y!" or something (laughs).

A: Saying things like "it'll be done soon" (laughs).

――What are you, his girlfriend!? (laughs)

A: It really was that sort of feeling. I'd go, "Want to eat curry?" and make curry (laughs).

――How did two people like you meet?

A: There's someone called Tatsurou from MUCC (laughs), he went, let's all go eat together. Hitsugi was among those people. When was that again? It was when we released "Renai", so 5 years ago?

H: Un.

――And your first impressions of each other?

A: I used to think he'd be more like "An!?" (( sort of a belligerent sound )), and have a slightly insolent feel to him, but when we all went to shop in bulk, he unexpectedly did things like taking the initiative to carry the load. Seeing that, I thought, "Ah, he's not like that!?"

H: As for me, I used to think Aki would be more reserved and quiet, or rather have a cool image. But he's actually cheerful and easy to talk to.

A: And then I guess the two of us started going drinking before we knew it?

――You hit it off due to your numerous piercings too, didn't you?

A: Yeah.

H: I wonder how many we have in total?

A: There may be around 100 (laughs).

H: That can't be (laughs).

――Hitsugi, why did you get that many piercings?

H: Because I didn't really like my own face to begin with, and it's interesting to change my face (by getting piercings). That's why I wear heavy makeup too. Even now, I think "Uwa!" sometimes when I remove all my facial piercings at home. It's not that I hate my parents, somehow I just don't have confidence in my own face.

――What kind of face would give you self-confidence?

H: One like Aki-sama's (laughs).

A: Not again!

――Thank you for giving me the exact answer I was anticipating (laughs).

H: Sakito said it too, that he "wanted to be born with this kind of face".

A: He's probably half poking fun at it, isn't he? (laughs)

H: He isn't! Actually, when I first introduced you to Sakito, he also looked at how fashionable Aki was and said, "I want to wear a vest like that too".

――Are you saying it's due to Aki's influence that Sakito often wears vests in private!?

H: He already owned vests before that, but I guess he only started wearing them that much after meeting Aki.

A: Let's stop talking about things like that (embarrassed).

――Why did Aki start getting piercings?

A: I think I wanted to look otherworldly, or rather to be seen as a strange person.

――It wasn't because you had a complex like Hitsugi?

A: No, I had a complex too. I had my tattoo inked for the same reason. I didn't like myself very much.

H: To say you don't like yourself with that face of yours, that's so immoderate! (laughs)

――How do you see each other as musicians?

H: It's not like I'm drawing comparisons here, but Ni~ya is our unsung hero. I think that'll happen in a 5 piece band no matter what, but since Aki plays alone on the left side of the stage, that really does make a difference. (( Bassists always play on the left side of the stage along with the rhythm guitarist, but SID has no rhythm guitarist, so Aki gets the spotlight to himself. ))

A: I've never played in a 4 piece band before we formed SID, it was always a 5-man group with twin guitars. In that case, there'd be 2 people on the left side of the stage, so things like the stage set-up and phrases (( as in bass/guitar phrases )) would be completely different, as would the way you express yourself on stage, so I understand what it means to say "A bassist is like this when he's in a 5 piece band".

H: In that sense, Aki is a bassist who's closer to being an entertainer, so you'll get excited when watching him, like "I wonder what he'll do for us next!?"

A: That makes me happy. Afterall, there are lots of skilled people, but the cool ones are few, right? That's why I'd rather be told "you're cool" or "I don't get tired of watching you", rather than "you're good". (( WELL that explains why he's only playing half the time at lives ksjhdflsf I mean *shot* )) That's what I want to become. However, I also can't look away from Hitsugi when I'm watching Nightmare's lives. This guy, there isn't a part of him that can be said to "resemble so-and-so", is there? The same goes for his makeup, and also for his stage presence. There aren't any other guitarists who move their heads like that. But he created that sort of aura well. When you look at magazines and such, they feature many people wearing makeup like Hitsugi's, right? In that sense, it feels like he has opened up a path.

H: Let's stop talking about things like that (embarrassed).

A: But hey, if it isn't someone who owns moments that steal your heart, you can't get this close, can you? I think we'd probably be more of shallow associates, and if we were to argue one day......

H: We'd probably say bye-bye.

A: That's right. However, when you watch another band's live, you'll definitely feel like you're keeping tabs on the enemy, won't you? But I have none of those sentiments towards Nightmare.

H: Our bandmates are all friendly with one another.

A: Un.

H: Speaking of which, I was so happy I couldn't help myself when SID filled up Yoyogi (Daiichi Taiikukan).

A: We drank on the way back, right? And then this guy cried and surprised me.

――Rather than enemies or rivals, I guess you're like comrades?

H: Besides being comrades, I was terribly happy that a very important friend succeeded at something like that. Watching the live, I just started feeling like crying and thought, "No, I can't cry at the VIP seats!" (awkward laugh).

――SID announced their major debut at that Yoyogi live, as a senior in the major scene, does Hitsugi have any expectations of Aki and SID?

H: I do want them to sell afterall. Because you can't create a scene with just one band. Aki himself likes rock, and is a rock sort of person in various ways, but the way SID itself is easy to listen to, I'd like them to push onwards along that route. For Nightmare, I think we're taking what they call the foolproof path. But SID has the power to support pop elements too, so I'd like them to expand upon that.

A: This guy says "foolproof path", but I seriously think Nightmare does some pretty interesting stuff. Such as suddenly changing the song's tempo at the chorus. Besides Nightmare, I don't think there are many bands doing stuff like that now, songs that have a proper darkness to them are definitely the main (part of visual-kei), aren't they? I think that's good.

(( Okay, the above requires some objective explanation. If I happen to offend anyone from another fandom, I apologise, it wasn't intended, I'm simply laying out the facts here. Whatever I say after this sentence = general public opinion.

Within the scene, it's generally agreed that the "big" bands leading the current generation of visual-kei bands - "neo vkei", anyone? - are Gazette, SID, Nightmare, alice nine, pooooosssibly Ancafe. In that order. Out of these bands, SID is considered the most versatile, while the others more or less stick to the "v-kei formula", each to varying degrees. That's not a bad thing, of course. Good music is still good music no matter the style. It just isn't something you'd usually mention about your own band in an interview. In that sense, Hitsugi is giving an honest and objective opinion. ))

――You mean Nightmare is more hardcore, and SID is more pop?

A: But I don't think we're that different.

H: I think there are aspects where we overlap too.

A: We simply like rock, right? Those who treat things like makeup as something cool are labelled visual-kei, but all we're doing is play the music we like, looking the way we like. We're not doing it under fixed conditions. It's not that we're going to throw our weight around in the scene, but I think it'd be fun if we could hype up it up even more. I really think we could do many things.

――Many things, for example?

A: Like two bands going on a nation-wide tour together.

H: If SID and Nightmare do a coupling tour, that'll be wicked (laughs).

――You'll drink until morning every night (laughs).

A: That'll end up becoming the main point (laughs).

――And play live to sober up (laughs).

H: Going, "we're gonna drink good liquor today too!" (laughs) But I'd like us to stand on the same stage. I want to try a 2-band event!

――Why don't you do that for day 1 of SID's 2-day outdoor show in April?

H: You're saying such unreasonable things again!

A: It'd be amazing if we could, though (laughs).

――You two might as well form a band, how's that?

A: I want to give that a try just to fool around (laughs). Add a drummer, place a mic in the center, have the 3 of us surround it, and have both of us sing, how's something like that? Like, "We won't add anything else! That's all!" I want to try playing the kind of music that seems like it'd originate from a scene like that. Something like rock without impurities.

H: Like it's all in one go?

Aki: Yes, yes. That sort of feeling (laughs).

――You two are currently active in the major scene, do you still feel that there're things like visual-kei bashing?

A: I don't feel it that much, but...

H: We don't really feel it huh?

――For example, even now, it's a fact that visual-kei bands aren't invited to summer festivals.

A: If stuff like makeup is the reason we aren't invited, I think that's stupid. That's something we have to break down. But personally, instead of visual-kei having that much of a mainstream feeling, I want it to have a certain kind of an underground feel to it somewhere. Image-wise.

――It's true that I wouldn't want visual-kei to be suitable for summer festivals (laughs).

A: That's why I say the scene won't be invigorated if people don't gather......

H: When the scene's hyped up, why don't we hold a visual-kei festival? Gather up 10 bands playing one-man shows at Budokan.

――Does Hitsugi also think that a cetain sort of underground feeling is necessary for visual-kei?

H: Un. I think that way our fans will probably also have more of, not to say a sense of superiority, but the feeling that "I know about this!"

A: Something that belongs only to yourself.

H: Yes, yes. I get the feeling that's necessary. Like how middle school kids wouldn't show their parents that they're listening to this kind of music.

――So in other words, if you can't be affirmed by the parents' generation, you won't create a stir on the charts.

H: I want to stir up the charts. But it's fine to not appear much on television and such, isn't it? Although, for things to turn out like that, I think we must appear a lot on television once, then withdraw. Instead of being able to be seen on television anytime, I'd rather have a premium sort of feeling.

A: I want charisma that will make people go, "These guys are on TV!? That's awesome!" I suppose that's what I mean by an underground feeling. I don't dislike getting exposure in the media, but I want to be someone who can build a world properly even when he's been tossed aside by such channels. This ties back to what I said at first about wanting to go to a point of disparity, or how I had a complex, so I think that's why I particularly like this genre.

H: I want to go on valuing that.

――But you also wish to sell well, don't you?

H: Rather than saying I want us to sell, I'd like to slam out hit songs and try becoming a presence that can be called a star, but I want to properly follow the routes leading up to that. Even if I get told, "From tomorrow onwards, you're a super famous person", it won't do. You have to become that by accumulating proper experience, without using the wrong methods.

――Returning to the topic of an underground feeling, both Hitsugi and Aki show your unadorned aspects in magazines like this or on radio etc, don't you? Is that one of the "routes" too?

H: That's because I don't feel charmed by people who are nothing but cool. If everything about them is perfect, you'll end up thinking you can't catch up no matter how hard you try, plus I think they'll have some weak points since they're only human, so it's alright to not hide them all.

A: Rock bands give the impression that you can never show such aspects, don't they? Don't laugh, don't talk. (( Suddenly their comment videos make a lot more sens--*shot* R.O.C.K, Aki. R.O.C.K. )) But now, there are many people who show those aspects too. I've also gotten better at showing them than I was in the past, saying that I've "gained self-confidence" is probably the closest way of putting it. Little by little, I think I'm coming to like myself, whom I used to hate. More than the me who's armed to the teeth with clothes and makeup... I can now think it's fine to like the me who's taken that off, my bare self. I guess that's why I can appear before others, and also think it's fine to not hide that much.

H: Especially since it's tiring to hide. In addition to that, as long as we maintain a hungry sort of mentality, I'd say we're fine.