Post by ayanaxxx on Mar 29, 2010 6:26:51 GMT
Hi I'm Ayana and I'm so sorry it took while to submit this post, I finally finished translating the article of Patrick's interview in Japanese magazine, "Yes Magazine."
Please enjoy reading, and let me know if there are any mistakes and things you cannot understand.
*The image was uploaded by jay in "the patrick photo album" thread*
-You’ve come to Japan twice in July and November, 2007. Do you remember anything about it?
Yes, I remember it very well. My mental condition at that time was very different from now and schedule was hard. I think I become an adult now and am endowed with love from my friends and family. I also get used to do touring and am really enjoying it.
-The show in July was short and your schedule was so hard, so that I was wondering if you didn’t have a good image of Japan…
No way, I’ve loved Japan since I was a little boy! Especially Japanese street fashion, it is so inspiring and had a huge influence on my fashion. In Japan people accept any kind of fashion even if it’s bizarre, and it gave me a confidence. It’s really amazing. Last time it was pity that I was busy doing interview and pressing while other members of my band went out to the city and were enjoying sightseeing. However this time my manager gave me an enough free time. He seems to understand not only an importance of feeling inspired, but also the fact that I am not a robot. (Laughs)
-At the next show in November at Shibuya DUO, the distance between you and the audience was close. You were singing and jumping to the back of the floor, your hair was red, and your costume was so so cute… and I was like “Wow, there is an Elf!”
Really?! (laughs)
-(Laughs). But this time the costume was based with black colour and the atmosphere was dark, the image was completely different from that of two years ago.
Yes, I change my visual style depending on musical image of each album. Once the album is complete, I start to think of its visual image. I consider my shows as the 3-D version of its image. So it means various kinds of dimensions such as visual style, music, costume, music video, and artwork are combined, and they express the world / atmosphere of the album.
“The Bachelor” is the album which expresses sadness, suffering, and straggle like winter, while the images of “The Magic Position” were much more fun, brighter, and more colourful like circus. And this time I dyed my hair blond and became a warrior who fights against for my freedom.
-I think the producer of the album Alec Empire played an important role to bring out your darkness inside you. How was it like to work with him?
Actually it was the first time for me to work with the producer. There had been a great pressure from the label, they kept saying like “you are still young so you have to find a producer.” My image of producer before was a person who changes an experimental artist to a commercial artist. But Alec was opposite, he was so experimental and made me challenge a lot of things. His way of progress the work was to sleep at the hotel at daytime, go to the studio at midnight, and start making music with coffee but without any alcohol and drug, which I thought very stoic and amazing. It inspired my creativity a lot.
-The most impressive thing of all songs of the album was the phrase “I’ll work harder, harder for revolution” from the second track “Hard Times.” From that phrase I felt an ideal as a revolution, suffering and sorrow we feel from reality where we have to work hard, and also loneliness. How do you think of my interpretation?
I see… There may be many ways of interpretations in that phrase, but the cause that made me write that song was a suffering in the real world. I’m singing the similar thing in the song called “The Libertine.” When I read a newspaper there are politics, economies, and many other bad news such as environmental problems. I had been thinking I wouldn’t be able to spend a happy life if I didn’t ignore such things. But in 2008 many problems rushed toward me like tsunami, and it became impossible for me to ignore them. So in that song I’m singing about our inevitable sorrow we need to straggle to change the world.
-You are singing about to fight and to face against in the 13th track “Battle.” Why are you so aggressive in this album?
This song is more about reaction than aggression. I attracted a lot of attention for the first time in the previous album “The Magic Position,” both in good ways and bad ways. Since my style of fashion and statements were not usual I took horrible bashings… It was like I went back to my school days when I had been bullied. But one day I realized that the audience got inspiration and felt hope from me treated like that and came to see my shows, especially in South America, Australia, and Tokyo. “I can get love if I fight with my own spirit,” I wanted to send such a message to the audience in this album. So it is not a simple aggression contained in this album, it is a “positive” aggression, because I’m hoping everything is gonna be great.
-Your lyrics are very personal, and they make us feel like we are deeply getting inside your mind. Don’t you feel hesitated or embarrassed to expose your true feeling to the lyrics?
I did when I was younger, and I was worried like “can I be so naked and gouge my life?” But when I was making my first album at the age of 18 or 19, I realized I didn’t have to be so afraid because that nakedness could be one of attractive points as a writer. Nothing can be more amazing if the audience gets inspiration and hope through it, you know. The same thing can be said to my favourite artists, for example Joni Mitchell and Björk, if you track back their albums, you can see everything they’ve gone through. Now I have nothing at all that I feel embarrassed about my life and relationship with people around me, so I don’t have to feel fear and hesitated to anything anymore.
-By the way, you always take your clothes off at almost every show, and is that also from your feeling you’ve just talked about? (Laughs)
(With a shy smile) No no, it’s just because of the heat! And I don’t intend to be sexy! But it is kind of the habit from my childhood to take my clothes off when I get excited… When I take my clothes off at the shows it is often uploaded to YouTube or Flickr, and my mother always scolds me saying like, “Hey Patrick, put on your clothes!” (Laughs)
-(Laughs) Anyway, about your lyrics, they have great qualities as a form of an art, and I think lyric itself can be a great piece of work. The way of rhyming is superb, and the way you use words, it reminds me of early Arthur Rimbaud. I assume it’s more like you spent ages to complete the lyrics than you wrote down the words you’ve just come up with.
Thank you, I’m so glad to hear that. I think art is essential in writing lyrics and making songs. My own ideal as a writer is to write lyrics that strike the right chord of people even after they are published as a book 100 years later. For example, old Madonna’s lyrics are comical and give us a little chuckle, and PJ Harvey’s lyrics are so inspiring even if you only read the words before you start listening to the songs. I’m really a perfectionist so I can’t feel satisfied if all of my lyrics, sound, artwork and mixing are not perfect. So I don’t want other people to hear my demos!
-I see. And you are known for your ability to play various kinds of instruments.
It’s definitely because of my father. There are many kinds of instruments at my house --- guitar, flute, saxophone, clarinet… and I used to play each of them on a daily basis. So the instruments I can play are all playable by my father too. My mother is also an artist so body painting was kind of our daily habit. Such an experimental spirit has definitely been inherited to me.
-There are some kinds of instruments I have never heard before.
I have some special rule in making music… That is, “NEVER make music that someone else has made.” I’m kinda like an environmentalist. It would be amazing if an instrument in danger like Crystal Basche (Sorry I don’t know how to spell it correctly… since I googled this instrument and there were no exact matches
) got an attention and reevaluated by using it in my music.
-Then please tell me about your next album, “The Conqueror.” How is it going?
I thought it was already finished… but I found some things I wanted to add and fix. So it’s almost finished now. Definitely within the year!
-What will it be like?
My schedule last year was very good. I did the touring for 3 weeks, after that I had a 2-week-off to work and charge myself at my house, and then went touring again… I could refresh my mind and body very well. So I’m feeling very peaceful at this moment! I’m sure it will be an album that spreads love to people. Right now 30 songs are finished, and each sound is changing to a good direction every time I go to the studio. In the next album I want to finish “The Bachelor part” and bring a new character. These two are double-albums anyway… I want to make them separate and balance the negative part and the positive part.
-I read your interview, and you were saying there “The Conqueror” was the recovery from “The Bachelor” period. What was an opportunity that made you recover?
Meeting my boyfriend William 2 years ago changed my entire life. The word “conquer” here means him who conquered myself! (Laughs) He found me who was so disappointed and tired, and believed in me. He made me want to “conquer” the world. I’m counting on him not only in a romantic way, but also in a realistic way. These 2 years were really special for me, I could deal with my own problems I’d had since I was a child. So I’m making the next album putting my appreciation into it. I feel so happy being with my wonderful friends, boyfriend and family.
-You surely look so happy right now.
(With a shy smile) That’s also because Japan is so fun! I want to come here privately rather than work next time. I’d love to see around a lot of landscapes. Because I would often see them in magazines when I was a child. There is an old tape I made when I was a child, and there I’m singing Japanese poetry! I had been so much into Japanese poetries then, and my favourite one was “Makura no Soushi” written by… um… someone whose name is like Madam Syou…
-“Makura no Soushi” by Seisyou Nagon?! Wow, that’s wonderful!
And I’m very glad to see audience who is looking forward to my shows. I’m so excited about today’s show.
-Me too. Thank you very much for your interview!
P.S.
OMG his favourite poet in his childhood was Seisyou Nagon?
what an amazing British child. xD
Please enjoy reading, and let me know if there are any mistakes and things you cannot understand.
*The image was uploaded by jay in "the patrick photo album" thread*
-You’ve come to Japan twice in July and November, 2007. Do you remember anything about it?
Yes, I remember it very well. My mental condition at that time was very different from now and schedule was hard. I think I become an adult now and am endowed with love from my friends and family. I also get used to do touring and am really enjoying it.
-The show in July was short and your schedule was so hard, so that I was wondering if you didn’t have a good image of Japan…
No way, I’ve loved Japan since I was a little boy! Especially Japanese street fashion, it is so inspiring and had a huge influence on my fashion. In Japan people accept any kind of fashion even if it’s bizarre, and it gave me a confidence. It’s really amazing. Last time it was pity that I was busy doing interview and pressing while other members of my band went out to the city and were enjoying sightseeing. However this time my manager gave me an enough free time. He seems to understand not only an importance of feeling inspired, but also the fact that I am not a robot. (Laughs)
-At the next show in November at Shibuya DUO, the distance between you and the audience was close. You were singing and jumping to the back of the floor, your hair was red, and your costume was so so cute… and I was like “Wow, there is an Elf!”
Really?! (laughs)
-(Laughs). But this time the costume was based with black colour and the atmosphere was dark, the image was completely different from that of two years ago.
Yes, I change my visual style depending on musical image of each album. Once the album is complete, I start to think of its visual image. I consider my shows as the 3-D version of its image. So it means various kinds of dimensions such as visual style, music, costume, music video, and artwork are combined, and they express the world / atmosphere of the album.
“The Bachelor” is the album which expresses sadness, suffering, and straggle like winter, while the images of “The Magic Position” were much more fun, brighter, and more colourful like circus. And this time I dyed my hair blond and became a warrior who fights against for my freedom.
-I think the producer of the album Alec Empire played an important role to bring out your darkness inside you. How was it like to work with him?
Actually it was the first time for me to work with the producer. There had been a great pressure from the label, they kept saying like “you are still young so you have to find a producer.” My image of producer before was a person who changes an experimental artist to a commercial artist. But Alec was opposite, he was so experimental and made me challenge a lot of things. His way of progress the work was to sleep at the hotel at daytime, go to the studio at midnight, and start making music with coffee but without any alcohol and drug, which I thought very stoic and amazing. It inspired my creativity a lot.
-The most impressive thing of all songs of the album was the phrase “I’ll work harder, harder for revolution” from the second track “Hard Times.” From that phrase I felt an ideal as a revolution, suffering and sorrow we feel from reality where we have to work hard, and also loneliness. How do you think of my interpretation?
I see… There may be many ways of interpretations in that phrase, but the cause that made me write that song was a suffering in the real world. I’m singing the similar thing in the song called “The Libertine.” When I read a newspaper there are politics, economies, and many other bad news such as environmental problems. I had been thinking I wouldn’t be able to spend a happy life if I didn’t ignore such things. But in 2008 many problems rushed toward me like tsunami, and it became impossible for me to ignore them. So in that song I’m singing about our inevitable sorrow we need to straggle to change the world.
-You are singing about to fight and to face against in the 13th track “Battle.” Why are you so aggressive in this album?
This song is more about reaction than aggression. I attracted a lot of attention for the first time in the previous album “The Magic Position,” both in good ways and bad ways. Since my style of fashion and statements were not usual I took horrible bashings… It was like I went back to my school days when I had been bullied. But one day I realized that the audience got inspiration and felt hope from me treated like that and came to see my shows, especially in South America, Australia, and Tokyo. “I can get love if I fight with my own spirit,” I wanted to send such a message to the audience in this album. So it is not a simple aggression contained in this album, it is a “positive” aggression, because I’m hoping everything is gonna be great.
-Your lyrics are very personal, and they make us feel like we are deeply getting inside your mind. Don’t you feel hesitated or embarrassed to expose your true feeling to the lyrics?
I did when I was younger, and I was worried like “can I be so naked and gouge my life?” But when I was making my first album at the age of 18 or 19, I realized I didn’t have to be so afraid because that nakedness could be one of attractive points as a writer. Nothing can be more amazing if the audience gets inspiration and hope through it, you know. The same thing can be said to my favourite artists, for example Joni Mitchell and Björk, if you track back their albums, you can see everything they’ve gone through. Now I have nothing at all that I feel embarrassed about my life and relationship with people around me, so I don’t have to feel fear and hesitated to anything anymore.
-By the way, you always take your clothes off at almost every show, and is that also from your feeling you’ve just talked about? (Laughs)
(With a shy smile) No no, it’s just because of the heat! And I don’t intend to be sexy! But it is kind of the habit from my childhood to take my clothes off when I get excited… When I take my clothes off at the shows it is often uploaded to YouTube or Flickr, and my mother always scolds me saying like, “Hey Patrick, put on your clothes!” (Laughs)
-(Laughs) Anyway, about your lyrics, they have great qualities as a form of an art, and I think lyric itself can be a great piece of work. The way of rhyming is superb, and the way you use words, it reminds me of early Arthur Rimbaud. I assume it’s more like you spent ages to complete the lyrics than you wrote down the words you’ve just come up with.
Thank you, I’m so glad to hear that. I think art is essential in writing lyrics and making songs. My own ideal as a writer is to write lyrics that strike the right chord of people even after they are published as a book 100 years later. For example, old Madonna’s lyrics are comical and give us a little chuckle, and PJ Harvey’s lyrics are so inspiring even if you only read the words before you start listening to the songs. I’m really a perfectionist so I can’t feel satisfied if all of my lyrics, sound, artwork and mixing are not perfect. So I don’t want other people to hear my demos!
-I see. And you are known for your ability to play various kinds of instruments.
It’s definitely because of my father. There are many kinds of instruments at my house --- guitar, flute, saxophone, clarinet… and I used to play each of them on a daily basis. So the instruments I can play are all playable by my father too. My mother is also an artist so body painting was kind of our daily habit. Such an experimental spirit has definitely been inherited to me.
-There are some kinds of instruments I have never heard before.
I have some special rule in making music… That is, “NEVER make music that someone else has made.” I’m kinda like an environmentalist. It would be amazing if an instrument in danger like Crystal Basche (Sorry I don’t know how to spell it correctly… since I googled this instrument and there were no exact matches
) got an attention and reevaluated by using it in my music. -Then please tell me about your next album, “The Conqueror.” How is it going?
I thought it was already finished… but I found some things I wanted to add and fix. So it’s almost finished now. Definitely within the year!
-What will it be like?
My schedule last year was very good. I did the touring for 3 weeks, after that I had a 2-week-off to work and charge myself at my house, and then went touring again… I could refresh my mind and body very well. So I’m feeling very peaceful at this moment! I’m sure it will be an album that spreads love to people. Right now 30 songs are finished, and each sound is changing to a good direction every time I go to the studio. In the next album I want to finish “The Bachelor part” and bring a new character. These two are double-albums anyway… I want to make them separate and balance the negative part and the positive part.
-I read your interview, and you were saying there “The Conqueror” was the recovery from “The Bachelor” period. What was an opportunity that made you recover?
Meeting my boyfriend William 2 years ago changed my entire life. The word “conquer” here means him who conquered myself! (Laughs) He found me who was so disappointed and tired, and believed in me. He made me want to “conquer” the world. I’m counting on him not only in a romantic way, but also in a realistic way. These 2 years were really special for me, I could deal with my own problems I’d had since I was a child. So I’m making the next album putting my appreciation into it. I feel so happy being with my wonderful friends, boyfriend and family.
-You surely look so happy right now.
(With a shy smile) That’s also because Japan is so fun! I want to come here privately rather than work next time. I’d love to see around a lot of landscapes. Because I would often see them in magazines when I was a child. There is an old tape I made when I was a child, and there I’m singing Japanese poetry! I had been so much into Japanese poetries then, and my favourite one was “Makura no Soushi” written by… um… someone whose name is like Madam Syou…
-“Makura no Soushi” by Seisyou Nagon?! Wow, that’s wonderful!
And I’m very glad to see audience who is looking forward to my shows. I’m so excited about today’s show.
-Me too. Thank you very much for your interview!
P.S.
OMG his favourite poet in his childhood was Seisyou Nagon?
what an amazing British child. xD
"Wow, there is an Elf" ahah, cute. 
