Yoshiki
Japanese Edge

26.07.2014

The “father” of Japanese rock, furious drummer of X Japan, trend setter and coiner of the term “visual kei”, composer of the Japanese emperor, classical pianist, designer and entrepreneur – all of the above are the personae of just one man, Yoshiki Hayashi. We met with Yoshiki two days before his first gig in Moscow as a pianist. When meeting me, he shyly extended his head in a wrist bandage, a byproduct of overzealous rehearsals. The man indeed has more than enough zeal, and his activity is something to be envied. No matter how hard I tried, I failed to cover all of his musical – let alone non-musical – facets in one interview. Nevertheless, I think we ended up having a casual and sincere conversation, regardless of the crowded and bombastic hall where this interview was taking place. Yoshiki, being a pretty shy, concise and restrained person, managed to display many sides of his contradictory personality in it.

How do you feel about coming to Moscow for the first time to play your show?

I’ve always wanted to come here. And my dream comes true. A lot of people came to the airport and gave me a very warm welcome. That was amazing. That’s the second time I come to Moscow and every time I come here I start loving people here more and more.

Is there going to be anything special for the Russian audience at your show?

I’m thinking of something special… We’ll see.

Ah, still thinking…

Yeah, I’m still thinking.

I heard you like Russian classical music. Do you find it unique? Is there something you can’t hear in the pieces composed by people from other countries?

Yeah, I like Russian composers like Rachmaninoff and especially Tchaikovsky. I think Tchaikovsky is amazing. I think I’m going to play a part of “Swan Lake” by Tchaikovsky. It’s my own interpretation, I made a change a little bit. Tchaikovsky influenced me a lot. His music is very special, his melodies are so beautiful. And there’s also some depth to it. And Rachmaninoff is also like that. I think Russian composers are very deep and their melodies are unbelievably beautiful. I really respect those composers.

Do you know anything about contemporary Russian music?

Ah, are you talking about classical music?

Well, any kind…

I’d love to learn more about contemporary Russian music. Actually since I got here I was listening to a Russian music TV channel. There’s a lot of dance music. Well, I like dance music too. I like some electronic music, EBM too.

Do you dance?

Yeah, of course.

Any parties? Any clubbing?

Yeah-yeah. I like clubbing too.

Okay, talking about your two main occupations, classical music and rock music, it seems like those two “Yoshikies” who do that are very different from each other. Do you feel like you have two personalities in you that are represented by these two sides of your career?

Yeah, kind of two personalities, because I’m usually very shy, but when I’m on stage I become very aggressive. But because I’ve been doing classical music and rock music since an early age, I don’t really separate those two genres that often.

If you are that shy, where does this craziness come from?

I don’t know! I think everyone has that kind of side. I’m lucky to play drums and be on stage to express that part of me.

Which side of yourself do you like better then?

I like both, you know. I like that shy part and that aggressive one too.

As far as I know, you don’t live in Japan. Why don’t you live in your home country?

Well, now, these days, actually last year I started living in Japan too. But in America as well. Actually this year every time I wake up, I’m in a different country. I feel much like I’m living on the Earth.

Do you like living in the U.S.?

Well, long time ago X Japan decided to go to California to record there. And during that time I bought the recording studio and then everybody left after the recording and since I had the recording studio, I bought a house and started living there. So that was a kind of an accident. But these days I travel a lot, so… Anyway, there’s a good side of living in Hollywood. You know, because it’s close to the film industry, you can work for it. I also composed The Golden Globe theme song there. But these days I don’t really live in America, I just live throughout the world.

Is it more difficult to achieve things, I mean music-wise, when you live in Japan?

Being in Japan is great too, but being in the U.S., sometimes you get to work with a lot of great musicians. But I don’t know… It’s a good question, you know. I don’t know… (laughs) Being in Japan is sometimes a great merit. And it’s the same about America. I go back and forth and I get both.

Let’s talk a bit about the history of X Japan. How did it feel to stop playing together at the peak of your success? How could you let it happen?

Well, we became very big very fast. Then we didn’t have a life. So we had to stop, to look back, to think who we are and what we are. We needed several years to know how important our band, our friendship, and our music are. We couldn’t keep going.

Did that break help?

Yes. We had an almost 10-year break. But then we realized how important the band is.

So that was a kind of relief when you came back together…

Yeah, I think so.

When you started with X Japan for the second time, you said you wanted to go through it all once again. But can it be the same now? Isn’t it too different?

We lost our guitar player, you know, he died. And it was hard for us to go without him. But his spirit is still here. We almost feel like we’re playing together. For the second time, we decided to go more aggressive… When we were doing it for the first time, we were just doing, you know, desperately. But this time we’re thinking why we’re doing this. We’re convinced about how important is doing the kind of music we’re doing.

Is there any “new approach” to your music? Has anything changed?

Hm. Yes, we always adapt the latest music vibe. Even though the melody hasn’t changed. It’s like with classical music. There are melodies that people listen to for 200 years. I try to create melodies that can last for a long time. But the arrangements, some sound elements can be a bit different, a bit more up-to-date. These days I’m trying to make it as edgy as possible.

“Edgy”? That sounds so intriguing. Could you please tell a bit more about that?

Edgy is… not predictable.

Are you interested in using some unusual instruments or sounds? You know, that kind of experiment?

Even though with X Japan we mostly play with vocals, two guitars, bass and drums, we always adapt strings, orchestra. Also we adapt some electronic music. So we combine pretty much everything.

Could you tell a little about your upcoming compilation album (“The World ~X Japan Hatsu no Zensekai Best~”) which is due to be released on June 17?

Yeah, it’s a kind of “greatest hits” album. Before we release a new album – we’re going to release a new X Japan album – our record company and we talked and decided to release a kind of X Japan history or best hits.

And how did you choose them among your songs?

I think it pretty much came from the research we did among our fans.

So that’s your fans’ opinion?

Not 100%, but they did contribute.

And do you have some songs that you personally think are great but that are not very popular?

Usually what fans like and what I like are the same things. (smiles)  

You said you’re going to release a new studio album. When? Can you tell a little bit about it?

We’ve been working for a long, long, long time. I’m such a perfectionist, so every time it’s close to being finished I say, “I need one more song”, “I don’t like this arrangement” or something and keep changing it. It’s getting closer and closer, but I still need to think a little more, I need to change a little bit more. Hopefully this year it will be out.

So it depends on you. Everything is ready, but you’re not ready.

Well. Yeah… Yeah. But it’s not 100% me, all the members have to agree.

How is the songwriting for X Japan going nowadays?

I always write songs in the music book. Even drum, bass and guitar parts. It’s always been like this. I wanna make this new X Japan album very interesting and heavy.

Heavy? Aren’t you tired of being heavy?

Never. No. It’s interesting. Having this classical tour that I’m having at this moment and then creating some super heavy rock music.

You do so many things and work with so many people. Don’t you feel overwhelmed at times? How do you re-gain your strength and will to move further?

I’m so lucky to be in this position. I have so many fans supporting me. I don’t get tired. I don’t need to sleep. I’m okay.

You don’t sleep?

Well, I sleep a little bit, but… a few hours.

And what inspires you basically?

Pretty much everything from life. But a lot of melodies that I write come from the pain. A lot of death surrounded me and I often write melodies that are kind of sad. But it doesn’t mean negative. I try to create melodies to touch people’s hearts, to support them and to support myself.

Is your life all about music, or do you have any other things you’re deeply interested in?

Well, mostly… It’s 100% music.

But I know that you’re quite interested in fashion. Isn’t it so?

Yes.

As far as I remember you wanted to make a kind of fashion show with your project Violet UK. How did you get this idea?

Music and fashion are almost inseparable. I love fashion. I have my jewelry line. I also have a line of kimono, which is Japanese traditional clothing. Rock kimono. I think doing fashion and music, combining those two, is a very natural thing.

How do you describe your own style nowadays?

I don’t know. Do I have my own style? Maybe Yoshiki style. I don’t know…

What kind of things do you like?

I like something edgy.

That’s your favorite word, I believe.

(laughs) Yeah. It’s a little bit outside of rock. Something competional, something unpredictable.

Do you consider yourself unpredictable?

Uh-huh.

What was the last unpredictable thing you did?

Well… Hm. I don’t know. I usually wake up and just think, “I’ll do so”. Okay. I was in Paris two days I ago and suddenly decided to go to Eiffel Tower and take a picture which was the same picture I took 25 years ago. Also when I was in Mexico just a few weeks ago, I decided to play a song for them, just a popular song in Mexico. Yesterday I came to Moscow and my fans gave me a very nice hat, so I wore that (the hat in question is a traditional Russian fur hat called “ushanka” – and the interview takes place in May – ed.).

Do you like traveling and do you have any favorite countries?

I’m not fond of traveling, but I do go on tour, so I almost have no choice. But I start liking it more and more. When I’m home, I usually don’t go out that much. I stay home and I just play the piano or something. But when I’m traveling, I meet a lot of people, a lot of my fans and I do some amazing interviews, so I really enjoy it. I start liking it more and more.

Do you like to improvise? Do you like any surprising actions on stage? Do you need some special mood for that?

Yes. Yeah. It’s like… At our concerts it depends on the audience. An audience reaction changes my performance. Also I usually do some kind of improvisation that shows how I feel at that moment. When I was in Mexico, people were so loud in a good way. They were screaming, even though it was a classical concert, they were screaming, “We love X! We love X!” – something like that. And even though at a concert there is something like 80 or 90% prepared setlist, a lot of things can change.

You composed music for many great events. Are there any other ones you’d like to write for? Any projects?

Actually I’m composing a theme song for Hello Kitty.

Okay, so how do composing of that kind? Do you just sit down and think, “Well, what do I know about the Emperor or Hello Kitty” and then start composing?

Well, when I was composing music for the Japanese Emperor, his 10-year anniversary song, I had to learn a lot. Composing is not the hardest part. Trying to get the idea or image is a hard part. Once this image comes for the song that I write, the composition process comes naturally. Every time I’m asked to compose something of that kind, like this Hello Kitty thing I’m composing now, I try to research. I know what Hello Kitty is, but I need to know what kind of people wanna listen to a Hello Kitty theme song and if it should be cute or beautiful and stuff like that. When I was composing for the Emperor of Japan, I wanted to make a really dramatic beautiful melody which has some happy moments and also painful moments of the history in it.

And what about that Golden Globe theme?

When I was composing the Golden Globe theme, I though that Golden Globe is a very prestigious award, but at the same time people are drinking champagne there and having a kind of party. So I wanted to combine that prestigiousness and also that party vibe. But that’s not hard for me to combine different elements since I do classical music and rock music.

Is there anything you’re really proud of? Something that makes you feel like, “Yeah, I’m great”?

I don’t know. I can drink alcohol a lot.

That’s unexpected!

Well, if you ask about music… I don’t know if I’m proud of that. But I can write melodies that also touch my heart. And probably it can touch other people’s hearts.

Is there anything you still desperately want to achieve?

It’s not success that I’m trying to achieve. I’d like to create very-very-very beautiful music. So that when I die I can be sure that this is it, I have achieved that.

Will you be composing till the end of your life?

I think so. As long as I’m alive, I want to compose and play music. That’s all I have.

Okay, then my last question is: Will we have a chance of seeing X Japan here in Moscow?

I think so. It depends on how my concert goes. But I will definitely consider that.

Yoshiki on the Internet: http://www.yoshiki.net

Special thanks to Elena Belysheva (Euro Entertainment) for arranging this interview

Interview by Ksenia Artamonova
Photos by Olga “Omena” Dendymarchenko
May 19, 2014
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