Strange Days No. 46 [May, 2003] - Japanese magazine for the pop music freak! ..."The title of this album is a play on words - piano forte and foreplay" usually spend nine months writing songs and spend three months on promotion or touring. I constantly write music. "If he can’t make music, he is not an artisit." This is my opinion. Songwriting is very important and enjoyable. Some Japanese music industry businessmen asked me to make a record of songs by famous Japanese musicians which would be a huge success in Japan. However, I didn’t want to do that. I’m always satisfied with writing songs, not singing songs by others. Also, I like recording the song I create, because I don’t how what the outcome will be. Sometimes I can finish a song better than I imagined but some times I can’t. But after I try to redo the song many times and finish it, It's a blissful feeling. That’s why I’m never bored with music. I never analyze my music which I’m sure is very dangerous. I just make music and finish making the song and just start another one. That’s all. I don’t care if the song I release is a hit, although I would be glad if the song is a success. Concerning his hometown Swindow which is famous for XTC. The first celebrity from Swindon is Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, the next one is me and then there is Rick Davis of Supertramp and then XTC. We contribute to Swindon’s fame. My mother and elder sister live in Swindon. So it still is an important city to me. The title of this album is a play on words - piano forte and foreplay. The piano on the cover of this album is very unique. I searched for a piano, which you can transpose on and found it in Europe several years ago. It was made in 1832. But the fact that it was made in the 19th century just gives me inspiration for songs. This album has a jazzy feel because the guitarist likes Jazz very much. But I’m not a jazz musician and I made an effort to appear as a jazz musician. I like the sound of a vibraphone. Rod Stewart recorded an album of consisting of standards earlier. He used an orchestra and jazz musicians. But he used synthesizer trying to reproduce the sounds of a vibraphone. I couldn’t understand why he did that. Why didn’t he use vibraphone if he could afford an orchestra and jazz musicians? I like the real raw sound of instruments, and I’m satisfied with this album. Of course, I also like synthersizers, though. When I thought of the title of "Conversations With The Plates" I was worried what sort of story I would create. So when I finished it, I was very happy. The title refers to a conjugal quarrel. I will tour Europe first if possible and then I would like to come to Japan. Unlike the previous tour, I would like to tour with a band. I hope you’ll enjoy my music and it’ll make you happy. I look forward to seeing in concert in Japan probably later this year. ******** Strange Days has a website and you can surf to it here. Unfortunately, it's all in Japanese and it takes a second or two to download! *Thanks to my Japanese Friend Isao for always being there and never saying no! He translated the article into English. I've changed just a few words! |Home||Music||Lyrics||Multimedia||Images||Links||Fan Zone||GOShop||FAQ||About Us||Email|