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Tell me about VAMPS?
Guest: Kyo [D'ERLANGER]
Target: K.A.Z

This is “Tell me about VAMPS?”, the corner where the VAMPS friends are introduced, who, along with the greatest rock music, spend many days and nights together and exchange plenty of alcohol.
This time it’s D’ERLANGER’s vocalist Kyo who will talk about K.A.Z, who he’s known for as long as 10 years, and HYDE.

Lately Kyo-san and K.A.Z-san’s meetings, around what time did they start?
Kyo: The first time we met was in 1998, at the time of hide-chan’s event “hide Seva [C-Aid]” in Yokohama arena. Ten years have already passed~. Because I worked with hide-chan since my amateur days and we were acquainted, I sometimes went to see Spread Beaver perform, and I often got to hear the words “we have a good guitarist”. “He’s the guitarist of a band called OBLIVION DUST.” K.A.Z-kun also got to hear a lot of stories about me from hide-chan. But I think they probably weren’t very decent stories (laughs). Then at that time in the Yokohama arena we met and it was the first time we exchanged some words during drinking. As for me, I was doing solo work at the time and I was at the same recording company with OBLIVION DUST, and that’s how things got going.

Concerning your impressions lately, what kind of feeling is it?
Kyo: Frankly, when you look at photo’s and the likes, he’s covered in tattoo’s. He looks like that type of person, and at first I thought he must be a difficult person and such. But in reality he’s completely the opposite, calm. And the way he talks is cute (laughs). My impression of that time still hasn’t changed at all. For some years now we haven’t met up, but the place where we go drink in private is the same, so when we meet there we drink together and such. My impression of that time have stayed the same as when we met for the first time, when exchanged some words.

If you had to try describe K.A.Z-san’s character in words, what would it be?
Kyo: This… well to me it’s absolutely the biggest praise, but I think it would be ‘a “kotatsu cat”-like person~’ (laughs). Because well, when you consider music, he’s a really strong person who also has many ideas and well, what I’m going to say may be presumptuous, but I think he’s really talented. Therefore I think that guy is a very interesting person. When I think of before, when he was with OBLIVION DUST and I was doing solo work, and we’d release a single at the same time, during drinking he’d say things like “because making a new song feels almost exactly like giving birth to your own child, I want to take good care of more songs (in the recording company)”. Although he was usually relaxed, he would say this all heated up and that was really impressive.

So after all, his love and fixation and such for music is uncommon.
Kyo: That’s right. Well, when you think about people who are quite stubborn, you don’t expect to get along with them well, but K.A.Z-kun is different.

Such people have strong persistence in doing things, but it’s not that kind of feeling right.
Kyo: If you don’t persist with words and such, you become a person who does it with sound. Therefore, when HYDE started with K.A.Z-kun, they somehow understood each other well. To me HYDE also resembles that image. That Hyde also speaks easily about his own persistence and that he strengthens his surroundings gives me the feeling he’s the type who conveys his stubbornness by the things he creates. I think in this way those two resemble each other incredibly.

From Kyo-san’s point of view, what kind of guitarist and composer is K.A.Z-san?
Kyo: As for the guitarist part, in this I’m probably also the exact opposite of the usual K.A.Z-kun. I think he’s a very emotional guitarist. Also in sound source I feel this, but when comparing that to live performances this is incredibly reinforced. If you for example take the way he plays it’s also like this, and he’s one of the very few guitarists who can convey emotion I think. Concerning the composer part, I think he’s good at using things that are found to be cool. Of course, those things are products of K.A.Z-kun that have been shaped through his own filter. But there are moments when you realise he’s using interpretations of elements that we talk about as being cool. When I talk about skilful it seems big misunderstandings are born, but I think he’s a skilful composer. And then he has a wide range, right. For example, the fact that there are songs where loud drumming is used, and songs where this isn’t used. He can see if it is necessary in a song’s scenery and if it is, he uses it. Comparatively I think there are many people who stubbornly use something, just to use it, so to say. But I think K.A.Z-kun adapts greatly to the circumstances. Frankly I have thought of trying to start a band together with him.

So in what way are you sort of drawn to K.A.Z-san?
Kyo: This is the biggest compliment, but in “everything”. Character, looks, the style of his playing, the music he makes too… Various things are included in “everything” I think. Well, actually I’m by no means drawn to his tattoo’s (laughs).

Have you listened to VAMPS’ single?
Kyo: I have listened to it. When I listened to “LOVE ADDICT”, I got the impression the culture of American and European music was blend together incredibly well by Japanese people, so to say. So I feel this is what it’ll be like, when K.A.Z-kun merges into HYDE’s senses. I received the single from HYDE himself and with the words “I’m not saying this to be nice but I really think it’s cool” I returned it. Because it’s cool I think the lives are also a great spectacle.

After this, what kind of feeling of anticipation does VAMPS have?
Kyo: In the first place I have straightforward expectations of the album. I want to try listen to the album soon. From their first single you don’t know more than two songs. If you look at the album as a ‘world’, it’s fun to see how they present this world. Is it something that isn’t known in the major scene? To human beings who already know that, it perhaps becomes a little uninteresting when this is forced. For us too, I think if we’d meet with being forced, we would struggle with that. This also means when this happens, the front man who’s in the centre of a major scene, feels he wants to go see this forced road that’s being used.

So it’s a new, fresh road with an edgy mix.
Kyo: That’s right. But although we’ve done it before, there are also parts that are refined now (laughs). It feels like VAMPS is somehow becoming a really interesting being, don’t you think.

Finally, some last words for K.A.Z-san?
Kyo: Although I have a lot of silly messages for him, there aren’t a lot of words to be said about his vision and so. When you get to see the concerts you’d understand. Therefore the message that you can pass on for now is, well, that’d be “go with what comes on your path”.