991011 : Hey minna! I chanced upon Laruku being interviewed on Channel V's Turn on Japan a few nights ago. And I can't believe I actually it ^ ^ So here's my translation of the said interview, and pardon my errors and deficiency in Nihongo ^ ^;;

PART 1

MICHEAL (VJ): So how are the 2 new CDs different? (holds up both CDs) This (Ark) seems to have a bright image, with the picture and all, but this (Ray) seems dark, right?

HYDE: Yeah.

MICHEAL: Nanka...[Shi no hai]

HYDE: (laughs) Dark, ne.

MICHEAL: How come your songs always seem to be that dark, Hyde?

HYDE: Actually I don't know...

MICHEAL: You're not a dark person, are you?

HYDE: (smiles) Never cry. **I don't know if I got this right though, he could've said 'Never kurai', or he was playing around with words ^ ^**

MICHEAL: (flips through lyrics booklet of Ray, reads titles) [It's the end], [Sell my soul]...

HYDE/TETSU: (laughs)

MICHEAL: Oh, there's even French...

HYDE: That's Yukihiro's song.

MICHEAL: So, it's just the two of you who went to Asia.

HYDE: Yeah.

TETSU: The others (Ken, Yuki) should be working on some lyrics back in Tokyo, maybe the coupling of the next single.

MICHEAL: What can you say about the next single, what does it feel like?

HYDE/TETSU: ...(smiles)

MICHEAL: Secret? (smiles)

HYDE: (in English) Great sound.

MICHEAL: These (2 albums) sound great too.

HYDE: Well, even better than that.

MICHEAL: (looks at the Chinese lyrics which goes along with the CD booklet. He looks at someone off-camera) I wonder why this (L'heure) didn't come with any translation... so what does the song mean?

HYDE: **gomen , I didn't catch all of his explanation, just that he was saying 'Taikutsu da na, taikutsu da na' **

MICHEAL: Have you studied French?

HYDE: No.

MICHEAL: You seem to be interested in other languages like French..Chinese...

HYDE: Je'taime.

MICHEAL: Do you know what that is in Chinese?

HYDE: Ai.. wo ai ni.

PART 2

MICHEAL: Among the 4 of you, who do you like best when it comes to writing songs?

TETSU: ...

MICHEAL: (smiles) Your self maybe?

TETSU: **I _think_ this is what he said...I'm just assuming the first sentence 'cause I didn't catch everything he said** We write individually, but in the end when making the song, we all contribute. I like everyone (when it comes to composing songs).

MICHEAL: Where do you get inspiration from in writing songs?

TETSU: Anywhere, when I'm in my car...in my room...I always carry a recorder. (holds hand up as if he's carrying a recorder, and hums a few notes)

MICHEAL: Interesting. How about you?

HYDE: **says something also to the effect of he can get inspiration from anywhere. I think anyway ^ ^** When I'm in my room, I play the guitar while writing songs.

MICHEAL: You don't seem to play guitar a lot in concerts. So Ken is...

HYDE: (smiles) He's a lot better at than I am.

MICHEAL: You like doing concerts?

HYDE: Yeah.

MICHEAL: Artists like you do lots of work, right...interview, promotion, promotion videos, recording, then concerts. Which do you like best?

HYDE/TETSU: ... (thinks for a long time)

MICHEAL: Ok then, what about the part you really hate? (jokes around, whispers to the camera) Could it be interview?

HYDE/TETSU: (smiles)

HYDE: I think it's photo shoots.

MICHEAL: Really?

HYDE: It's tiring.

MICHEAL: Let's go to you group's name... I always pronounce it (Ciel) as "Shi-e-ru"... is it really correct?

TETSU: I think the real French pronunciation would sound different though.

MICHEAL: Would you know how to pronounce it correctly (French style) ?

HYDE: (smiles) 'L'Arc-en-ciel' (with a French accent).

MICHEAL: Why did you choose that name?

TETSU: Mainly because it sounds nice to the ears...

MICHEAL: In Chinese, it's 'tsai hong'. Did you know about that?

HYDE: Yeah.

PART 3

MICHEAL: (flips through the GB Larc issue that was given away in countries where Ark and ray were sold) But looking at this though, you don't seem to hate doing photo shoots.

HYDE: (smiles) No, I really don't like it.

MICHEAL: Tetsu even looks like an idol singer...kawairashii get-up.

TETSU: **says a Japanese term which I don't know what means, to describe his outfit**

MICHEAL: So how different from this (get-up in the pictures) is your style in dressing now? **kindda like, how different from your ordinary get-up**

TETSU: When I leave home, I'm usually in jeans, t-shirts...shades plus hat.

MICHEAL: How about you, Hyde?

HYDE: I'm usually in something like this (looks at himself. Then he looks at the picture in the magazine). See, only the top I'm wearing now is different, right.

MICHEAL: What else do you do in ordinary life, aside from music?

TETSU: I'd like to watch movies, go for a drive...really ordinary stuff, right.

HYDE: I play video games.

MICHEAL: When you play, do you get inspiration for songs?

HYDE: (laughs) It wouldn't come...(demonstrates how he'd look when playing, to show how tired he could get that he can't possibly get any inspiration from that ^ ^)

MICHEAL: What genre of music do you like, aside from yours?

TETSU: I like British-kei music.

HYDE: I like hard core and slash metal.

MICHEAL: Have you been to other groups concerts? Overseas?

TETSU: I saw Depeche Mode's live last year, in New York.

HYDE: I don't really watch a lot though, but when we were in Las Vegas to shoot the PV for Driver's High, I went to see The Cranberrys.

PART 4

MICHEAL: I really liked Pieces, both the song and the video. It kindda feels like a movie.

HYDE: **gomen, I'm only assuming part of this** At the beginning the song and the video might be the same but there are parts where they differ. Pieces (the song) starts out gentle but you'll see violence (in the vid) at the same time.

MICHEAL: Where did you shoot it?

HYDE: New York.

MICHEAL: Only in NY? The start of the video was in Italy, right?

HYDE: (thinks for a while, then grins) Yeah, Italy!

MICHEAL: But your part was only shot in NY. Okay, so what was your relationship in the video? You didn't seem like friends, right? (to Hyde) You seem like you hated tetsu.

HYDE: It's not hate actually...it's because of the knife.

TETSU: The knife makes people kill. After 100 years, it fell in Hyde's hands, so he was able to kill.

MICHEAL: So where's the knife now?

TETSU: (everyone grins, acts like a bit scared) No one knows. Scary, huh.

PART 5

MICHEAL: Actually I've really been meaning to ask this. So what was your objective in coming to Asia? It's not promotion, isn't it.

TETSU: Promotion desu ne. **like, "This _is_ promotion, right?", but said in a nice way ^ ^**

MICHEAL: How about doing concerts here?

TETSU: We wanted to do concerts, though we were thinking, would people come to see us or not. So we're doing these promotions...as it is now, we don't think enough people would come to see our concerts.

MICHEAL: But you're already popular in Asia.

TETSU: I really don't think so though.

MICHEAL: Where did you go when you first arrived in Asia?

TETSU: HK, then Thailand.

MICHEAL: As you saw, there were so many people who came to see you guys in HK, so why didn't you think of holding a concert there?

TETSU: We were scared not enough people would come.

MICHEAL: Everyone would surely come, you know!

TETSU: (grins with a sortta "your just kidding me" expression)

MICHEAL: So when do you think you could do it (stage an Asia live)?

TETSU: We hope by next year. We want to come up with something as good in quality as lives in Japan.

MICHEAL: We're entering the 21st century, and there are talks about the end of the world. What do you think about this?

HYDE: Paradise. Everyone in a party ^ ^

TETSU: **something to this effect** We want to protect the world with the music we make.

MICHEAL: Have you eaten anything particularly delicious here?

HYDE: Yeah, spicy Chinese food.

TETSU: I ate nabe.

MICHEAL: You don't like spicy food?

TETSU: Yeah, I like some too.

MICHEAL: What's your favorite food?

TETSU: In the whole world?

HYDE: **says something, I don't know what food that is, sorry ^ ^;;**

TETSU: (smiles) Probably Hakata ramen.

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