KGNU Sleepless Nights NARASAKI 3.11.2008 Interview
[special thanks to KGNU]
[interview source: https://kgnu.org/cgi-bin/programinfo.py?time=1205215200 ]
[playlist: http://playlist.kgnu.net/default.asp?show=8&from=03/11/2008&to=03/11/2008&ord=asc ]

Y - Yukari (KGNU)
N - Narasaki
[] - spoken in English

[NOTE: The music in the interview MP3 has been edited out so only the interview audio is available.]

[transcribed by HT]



Y: [I did a telephone interview with Mr. NARASAKI, the composer of the band of the night and here is how we started our conversation.
Here in our studio at KGNU, NOBUKI NARASAKI is on the phone with us from Japan. He is the composer, vocalist, and guitarist of COALTAR
OF THE DEEPERS.

Hello.]

N: [Hi.]



Y: [Hello, thank for being with us today.]

N: [Your welcome.]



Y: [Honestly, I discovered your music only one and a half month ago by accident on Youtube.]

N: Really?



Y: [And I first saw you doing Joy Ride and Prophet Proved and I freaked out. I said "OH MY GOD! Who is this person? Who is this band?" I never knew about you and or your group so I was really floored and then I studied your discography a little bit. The band was formed in 1991, right?]

N: [Yes, yes.]



Y: [You were very young.]

N: [Yes, very young.]



Y: [And since then, you have been prolific with your work. You have composed over one hundred songs, is that true?]

N: [Yes, it's true.]



Y: [And your band has produced more than thirteen EP albums and seven full-length albums, including the recent released Yukari Telepath.]

N: [Yes.]



Y: [And I have been reading some of your fan sites on the web and I learned that your live shows in Tokyo and Osaka have a cult following of passionate fans. In fact, you just had completed a live show last week, right? On March 5th. How was it?]

N: [Yes, yes.] The live show is always fun.



Y: [And but again, I'm still not familiar with your music so may we ask some questions? So what are the DEEPERS?]

N: DEEPERS- The name was given by one of the original members without too much thinking, but it implies our intention towards something deeper.



Y: [Then please introduce us your current member of your band.]

N: Currently, the official members are two of us- the drummer, KANNO, and me. For live shows we bring four support members: two guitarists, a bass, and a synthesizer.



Y: [Then, when and how did you start playing music?]

N: When I was fifteen years old while walking, suddenly I heard a voice telling me to go buy a guitar. So that's how I got started with music. I first started out with punk music. It didn't take too long to learn the guitar. I played hardcore punk/metal like Anthrax or Metallica- fast-driving volatile and brutal music. I love brutal music. Yes, even now.



Y: [Do you know from where your song or music come from?]

N: I think it's in our DNA. Music is our ancient memories carried in our blood. I feel connected to this ancient memory through music and I feel that music comes from far away and we're a part of this in vastness of time and space.



Y: [For me, magic of your music reside in contrast or in congruence and I even thought Beauty and Beast is a great way to describe it. So those are very prominent character of your music. How do these multiple elements reside inside of you? How do they coexist or how do they emerge inside of you?]

N: One time I examined deeply why I write music the way I do. My childhood experience was very unusual and I have always carried a sense that I am different from others. I was attracted to music that expressed such experience. The music of COALTAR OF THE DEEPERS carries this awareness and by accepting contradiction inside of me as a whole that became my own identity.



Y: [Are you always prepared to catch a song out of thin air or does it come through you in spite of your intention? Does your music come in your dreams?]

N: As I said earlier, I always try to jot down ideas in my notebook as soon as the music appears in my mind. Sometimes a great song is written in a dream but I often forget it when I wake up. I regret that so much.



Y: [How does your song come to you? What prompts you to write a song?]

N: There are many ways that music comes to me like an idea, melody, through playing guitar, or a certain beat triggers it. Before any emotional context comes, beat element appears first, especially when I'm walking. A song may appear while looking at landscape in front of me. I take a note on a piece of paper and do my best to capture it. I consciously try not to sing my song with emotionality- a certain affect is achieved by not emphasizing the emotion.



N: I want to create music that nobody had ever heard before. I want to write music that only I can write- kind of loud music that only a Japanese person like me can write. The idea of using the shamisen came after the song was already written but that song was too perfect, too tidy. I wanted something that could tilt it off- shamisen just came into my mind. (referring to Wipeout)



Y: [I asked him what is most important thing for him as an artist who sometime has to struggle with external pressure and he said this...]

N: As long as I can enjoy  music with honesty- as long as I can stay faithful to my music- that is all that matters. I want to give that to my audience.