Sorry for the wait. Here it is.
-You've always had set goals that you wanted to accomplish as a bassist for each album. What were your goals for this one?
Toshiya: I wanted to make the songs sound more lively. I didn't want to make the bass sound like it was in the way. So that I don't cause unnecessary friction(laughs).
-I understand. In this album the guitars and drums have a wide variety of phrase, so you need to think about how to approach those with the bass.
T: Yea. I wanted to do something that I wanted to do and at the same time function as part of the band's full sound.
-I think you've become the best to support the songs and sound. Bass is the core of songs.
T: I think so. Depending on the songs, I'm playing crazy but I have some riffs that contain silence.
-At what point in the recording process did you choose your bass tone?
T: The very end of mastering. The guitar and drums had their sound set, and I chose the tone at the very end. Our concept for this albums was to make it beautiful so I though I shouldn't put too much low in. But when I listen to it, it sounds too empty. So we decided to redo the mastering and put more low in.
-You really liked the heavy bass sound.
T: It's really heavy and low on this one too.
-But this has is lower than usual with more grooves.
T: I wanted it to be that way. I've had thoughts for different approaches too. I wanted to hold it down so that there isn't too much high. But actually, the really low sound you hearing is from the guitar. The bass doesn't go that low and stays a little higher than the guitars.The bass's low mixes with the kicks. That's how we make our wide ranged band sound. So the basic tone for the bass is coming from the mid range.
-You've changed your playing style. Seems like you've done a lot less obbligato on the higher frets.
T: Yea, I didn't put in too many. I played them depending on the song. I just thought it was enough with the guitar being showy. It might not be the best way to express it but the bass might sound too quiet. It was fun for me though. I also thought there was a lot more variation compared to TMOAB.
-In "STUCK MAN" you did slapping and played with the drums.
T: Yea. But you can't play too much on bass(laughs). I didn't want to play too much but at the same time I wanted to express what I wanted to get out.
-You try to make the mood of the song with the bass right? The fret noise in "VINUSHKA" was really effective.
T: That's not fret noise. I just switched an effect on and off. It sounds like the bass comes out all the sudden. The reason I played higher on the second half of the song was to make the song more exciting(laughs). I really wanted to make the songs more lively and wanted to make a really good album. That's how it ended up. This might be too extreme but it's like the secret to martial arts. You utilize the opponents power and slash them. It's like Toki from "Hokuto no Ken"(laughs).
-In "Ware, Yami to te...". I didn't know how long you were keeping the sustain and where you were cutting it. And it seemed like you weren't doing much and yet you kept making the mood of the song. That really came to me.
T: So it did(laughs). I'm glad. I think the most effective skill on the instrument called bass is rest notes. If you cut the note you can stop the flow and start it over. You can always make the mood. Bass is really fun.
-Even though you said you tried not to put in too many obbligato, the bass lines are really melodious.
T: Yea. I like singing bass lines but this time I wanted to approach it from a different angle and play a singing bass. So when you realize these things, it makes me really happy.
-"INCONVENIENT IDEAL" has a melodious bass that's really easy catch. And "Doukoku to Sarinu" is very violent but still melodious.
T: Yea. Bass can be a melody instrument or a rhythm instrument so I wanted to play both. My play in "STUCK MAN" is more of a rhythm while "Doukoku to sarinu" was both rhythm and melody. While I build up the melody I build a wall with the drums. Then I top it off with a good phrase in the last chorus. In "VINUSHKA", it had a lot of changes but I didn't put any moving phrases in it on purpose. The voice was main and the guitar made the melody. The drums built the core and the bass cemented that core.
-Was it a long path to get to this style of approach?
T: It was a pain(laughs), "RED SOIL". The first phrase, I actually thought that the bass alone is good enough. Not only this song but every song. There were some songs where I thought I should stand out but then you'd get tired listening to a band where every part is doing crazy shit right?(laughs). I might be plain on this one was well but I think I did a good job keeping everything together. Bass is the only part that can do that.