[Interview] BAND-MAID releases new song "Zen" born from "Epic Narratives" - "We're moving forward at full speed po!"[PART 1]
we explored the background of the song's creation and delved into the harvest of 2024, we began to see the wonderful fulfillment of the situation they are currently in and the movements of 2025. We spoke in the middle of the hectic end of the year. And as usual, the band's creative activities have not stopped even at this time.
◾︎I also felt the fun of songwriting that is unique to tie-ups──Basically
, I would like to explore what kind of year 2025 will be, focusing on this "Zen." First of all, about this song, it is the opening theme for the TV anime "Zenshu." I heard that the title means "all corrections/all retakes." When I listened to the song, I felt that it was related to "Epic Narratives," or more specifically, that it was a song that was in a similar position to "Forbidden tale" that was included in that album... was I wrong?
SAIKI (Vo): It was produced at about the same time, so I'm not wrong at all.
-- That's good (laughs). During the production of the album, SAIKI requested that "I want a song with a lot of development," and that's how "Forbidden tale" was born. This song seemed to be the answer to that. Of course, it may have been written with the tie-up in mind, but the song itself has a sense of drama, and I felt that there was something in common in that part.
SAIKI: In fact, it must have been written after "Forbidden tale" was written, so I think that KANAMI's experience in writing that song was put to good use.
KANAMI (G): Yes. At the same time, the other party clearly requested that "I want a song with this kind of feel." With reference material and other things, he gave me suggestions like "It would be ideal if it started like this, and then developed like this," and while I took that image into account... I ended up breaking it down quite a bit (laughs).
SAIKI: That's what I interpreted in my own way.
KANAMI: Yes. I couldn't do it exactly the same, so I interpreted it in my own way, but at the same time, I wanted to bring out something that was like BAND-MAID. Also, when we were putting in the temporary melody for this song, SAIKI said something unusual... Do you remember? SAIKI
: I don't remember (laughs).
KANAMI: He said something unusual like "I want the melody of the chorus to be like this"... Do you remember?
SAIKI: I don't remember at all (laughs).
Miku Kobato (G, Vo): It's starting to seem like a comedy skit (laughs).
KANAMI: I thought maybe I didn't remember, but it actually was (laughs). He was quite specific about the melody that goes into the chorus, saying, "I want it to start like this, can I change it?" I said, "Sure," but then it would change the atmosphere before the chorus, so I wondered what to do. Since the story itself is about reincarnation, I tried putting in a sample that would fit that, and I think the result was a new feel. Of course, I sometimes change the melody based on a small request, but this time there was a specific request, so I was a little surprised, but we had a conversation about how we'd never done a melody like this before and it was fresh and good in its own way (laughs). Check out my LINE history! (laughs)
──So in a sense, the original song was reborn through SAIKI's suggestions?
KANAMI: Yes. It gave it a new feel, so I think it was good. So I think it would be more interesting if you could say more about it.
──You mentioned earlier that this song was created after "Forbidden tale" was completed, but was this song written after all the songs on "Epic Narratives" were completed?
AKANE (Dr): No, I think it was around the same time. I remember that the drum recording was also progressing at the same time.
Kobato: All the songs for the album hadn't been completed yet, lol. I think it was written in the same flow as the songs that were being written in the middle of the album's songwriting process, lol.
──If that's the case, it's only natural that there is a connection between the album and this song. SAIKI has made official comments about this song, saying, "I wanted to make it a song that feels more story-like," and "The instruments don't go too technical, but instead focus on the melody and spin the sound with a solid stance," and it certainly seems to be a song that lives up to those words.
SAIKI: That comment is something I put together after listening to everyone's comments. AKANE and MISA strongly stated that "after receiving the demo from KANAMI, we arranged it to bring out the melody even more," and when I heard that, I was convinced and thought, "I see, I think we definitely had that conversation." In fact, I think the song really turned out that way.
──Yes, that's true. The technicality and sense of speed are deliberately suppressed, and it has a solid feel. So everyone was conscious of these points when arranging their parts, right?
MISA: Yes, I did. I thought that this song should be like that.
AKANE: It was the same with "Forbidden tale", but through that song I was able to understand once again that if you want to highlight the melody in a song, it will stand out more if you go solid. In this song, the first priority was to make the melody stand out, so the bass was solid, and the drums were solid as well. However, while the rhythm section was progressing with a solid feel, from the second verse it developed as if it was going to another world. ──Yes
. The moving bass line is also impressive. It's like another song melody, or an answer to the song melody, isn't it?
MISA: Yes. I think the bass in this song is particularly like that. It moves along with the melody.
AKANE: As for the drums, they were rather steadily beating the beat, but then they changed completely in the middle, and the number of beats increased, and it felt like it was composed almost entirely of fills. That kind of composition itself is quite new to me. The approach of connecting 8 bars with fills without beating the beat is quite rare for BAND-MAID, and it might have been the first time we connected such a long and playful phrase. I feel that it's very fresh.
--There is a part in the second half where the tempo slows down, but other than that, it's the same tempo, but the speed feels different depending on the content of the performance. What were you conscious of when working on this song, Kobato?
Kobato: The song came from KANAMI, and from the moment I first heard it, I thought it was a song with a very story-like quality. So I thought about how I should sing the chorus, and how I should show the changes in the harmonies po. This time, SAIKI wrote the lyrics, and she even included the demo vocals with an image of how she wanted to sing them, so I was conscious of getting closer to SAIKI's wishes po. In other words, you wanted to emphasize the storyline in the song as well.
──I see. Does the title "Zen" come from the "zen" in "Zenshu"?
SAIKI: Yes. It was a tentative title, or rather, it was already titled "Zen" in the demo stage.
KANAMI: SAIKI liked the title, and the "Zenshu" team also said, "This title is good."
AKANE: "Please keep it
as it is." SAIKI: Right. So we said, "If you like it that much... let's do it that way." (laughs)
──I actually think it's a good title. There are some parts that make me think it might have some kind of double meaning, and I think that for foreigners, the word "zen" is a word of Japanese origin that is connected to "Zen" and might be perceived as something mysterious. As for the lyrics, did you create them while taking into account the story of "Zenshu"?
SAIKI: Yes, I wrote them after seeing the whole story. I told them I would be grateful if I could see the storyboards beforehand, and they sent me all the episodes, so I read through them while thinking, "Is that okay?" Rather than telling a story, I wrote the lyrics while thinking that I wanted to convey what "Zenshu" is trying to convey through the story. The reason I didn't change the lyrics of the chorus and just repeated the same content is because it's full of what I want to convey. Also, since the main character is an animator, I used words from that world, like "page" and "pan up/pan down" here and there. I thought that would be a hook.
──Yes, those words catch your ear. And what I think is great is that it ended up being a "song that seems familiar but didn't exist." We were able to create something that was fresh for us while responding to the requests from the anime production team, so it was a dream come true.
KANAMI: I also felt the fun of creating songs that are unique to tie-ups. In this case, it's an anime, but I think that because we create it while imagining it flowing in the animation and trying to reflect the worldview of the work, we can create something new that has never been done before. That's the difference from when we simply try to make a new song for BAND-MAID; rather, we think, "Let's make a song that fits this anime, in a way that is typical of BAND-MAID." In that sense, the fundamentals of how we make the song change a little, and something new is born as a result. Moreover, in this case, we wanted to make something that emphasizes melody, and on top of that, we wanted the backing sound to be not too technical, but playful, and we thought that by doing that, we could make it into something that is typical of BAND-MAID. We made it with the hope that it would liven up this anime, but... I'm sorry, I can't find a good punch line for what I said (everyone laughs).
Kobato: There's no need to make a punch line there (laughs).
──Yes, there's no need for a punch line, I get what you're saying (laughs). In short, a slight difference in the beginning of songwriting leads to something innovative or fresh, right?
KANAMI: That's right!
AKANE: Thank you for summarizing it so nicely (laughs).
──Many of BAND-MAID's singles are tied up with other bands, but each time something like that happens, it's like a switch, a change of ideas. I can see that it has a very positive effect.
KANAMI: Yes, exactly. Thank you.
Kobato: I think I've got a good example of how to talk about this (laughs).
SAIKI: For songs on each album, or songs that don't have a tie-up, you make them for the masters and the ladies first, right? Of course, it's the same for songs that are tied up, but if it's for an anime, there's an added motivation to make it something that the anime production team and the people who listen to the song through the anime will be happy with. So I think it's natural that it becomes new.
──And there's no need for the other party to ask you to do anything that you don't want to do as a band.
SAIKI: That's right. Everyone really treats us with respect and says things like, "I'm sorry, but this is how it is...". And we're like, "No, no, you're welcome to say whatever you want" (laughs).
--You've established a good relationship between creators (laughs). This song seems like it will be effective in the service, but do you think we'll be able to play it at the service in the new year?
SAIKI: Yes. The first service of the new year will be in February, but "Zenshuu." has already started airing in January, so I'm thinking about doing it.
Kobato: I've never heard of that before! (laughs)
SAIKI: You'll do it, right?
Kobato: I was wondering if you'd do it, but (laughs).
SAIKI: You have no choice but to do it!
--So it's confirmed! I never thought we'd reach a conclusion here. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of presence this song will have at the service. By the way, as mentioned at the beginning, the word "zenshu" means "to correct everything," but surely the same thing happens in music-making, right? Like trying out a bunch of different ideas and then fixing everything in the end.
KANAMI: I think it would be a huge shock to be told "zenshu" (laughs).
SAIKI: The main character was shocked, too.
Kobato: There is actually a scene like that, so I think we can really understand that feeling.
SAIKI: It would be crazy to be told "zenshu."
Interview and text by Yuichi Masuda.
Photos by Yoshinobu Bito.
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