[01:15]
1. Greeting / Introduction
Susumu Hirasawa: Well, good evening, I'm Hirasawa. I apologize for any inconvenience caused. Probably, it seems that everything has been solved, so I would like to start again. [There had been a technical trouble in streaming for about 30 minutes.] Well, even if you watch it from the middle, if you rewind it, you can see it from the beginning, so I think it's okay. Let's get started. Eh, Back Space Pass on Dasshutsu-kei Ashu-On[Escaping Type Sub-Species Sound] concert.
[01:43]
First of all, I would like to briefly explain to those who are new to Back Space Pass, or BSP for short. BSP is a streaming program that is held irregularly after an event such as a live performance, and it is a program that adds anecdotes and explanations related to the event that has been completed.
[02:09]
It's going to be about an hour, but it's already been 30 minutes. Well, I will extend it. The content is for about 1 hour, but it may expand or contract depending on my mood. Let's get started now.
[02:29]
2. The time of the year when Dasshutsu-kei Ashu-On concert was performed: The balance with the release of the new album
First of all, I would like to explain a little about the Dasshutsu-kei Ashu-On concert, which was done at a very delicate time in relation to the new album. First of all, before the Dasshutsu-kei Ashu-On concert was held, I had been reporting on Twitter that I was currently recording and producing a new album. And normally, it is decided that an interactive live show[ILS] will be performed after the new album is released.
[03:05]
3. "24(Fushi/Immortal)Mandala" Concert in Osaka [in April, 2021]
However, it has not been long since the production of the new album was completed. Usually, there should be about half a year between the release of a new album and an interactive live concert. In the meantime, we would prepare for the concert. However, this time, there was only a very short period of time, when the production of the new album was finished and when the Dasshutsu-kei Ashu-On concert was held. There was almost no break. So, the reason for this is that, first of all, we made a reservation for the Festival Hall in Osaka during the production of the new album. The reason for this is that it is usually very difficult to secure a concert hall, and if you do not secure it when there is a vacancy, you may not be able to get it later.
[04:08]
So, it was secured with a report from the staff saying, "For the time being, there was a vacancy in the concert hall, so we have secured it." However, it would make it[the Fuji Rock show] after a very short interval, only about a month after the release of the new album. What's more, this time I had to give a concert at Osaka Festival Hall before the new album was released. So, even if you do a normal live show... even though I say have made new album and it would be exciting, I would not be able to do a normal live show there [in April before the release of the album]. So I was thinking, "Is there any good solution for that?" And at that time, the number of followers on Twitter reached 240,000.
[05:09]
4. My decision to perform at Fuji Rock Festival and naming the show "脱出系亞種音/Dasshutsu-kei Ashu-On[escaping type subspecies sound]"
So, in order to confirm this fact[that my followers reached 240,000], I placed an event called "24 (Fushi/Immortal) Mandala" there. Well, after that, a new album was going to be released, but for the interactive live show, we would have to set a period of about half a year or more, and until the next concert hall is secured, there would be a long vacant months. At that time, Fuji Rock's offer came over, and the word "Fushi/ふし" in "24 (Fushi/Immortal) Mandala" exactly matched the word "Fuji/ふじ"[almost the same characters as the title] in "24 (fushi/Immortal) Mandala". Simply because of the resemblance of the words, or just the flow of the words, I was invited again this time and I decided to perform at Fuji Rock. So, in doing so, we have set up our own title, "脱出系亞種音/Dasshutsu-kei Ashu-On[escaping type subspecies sound]"
[06:10]
5. First appearance (2019) and second appearance (2021) at Fuji Rock Festival
So, in the first place, in Fuji Rock, we, or Hirasawa, would probably look different, quite different, and I have always felt that the audience there must have felt we had the atmosphere very different from other bands in Fuji Rock. When I first appeared in the festival in 2019, because there were various timing factors, and then the preamble in the advertisement about me was something to make the audience expect a great unknown artist, Hirasawa, would perform. So, I think, moreover, for them, something they didn't understand came out on the stage, and although it was quite different from other bands, he did an unusual performance with a huge mayhem. I thought that everyone was kind of deceived by the feeling that they had attended a great show. It must have been like some unknown musician suddenly appeared, stirred up the venue for a moment and left suddenly.
[07:14]
It was somehow misunderstood as something amazing had happened. After that, the topic spread, having wings, and the number of playbacks on youtube also became huge. That made the Fuji Rock audience hold a certain image about me, depending on the size of the topic. And I don't know if I was misunderstood as a big name artist or something, but they located me on the upper grade stage this time[White Stage. Hirasawa was assigned to Red Marquee, a smaller stage, in 2019]. And then, I was kind of afraid that the audience would be disappointed and think, "Oh, is this what has been advertised as something awesome?" when they look at our actual performance. However, It must have been like some unknown musician suddenly appeared, stirred up the venue for a moment and left suddenly again, and it become a popular topic of conversation again. This is the situation we are in at present.
[08:30]
After all, that's... how shall I put it, at the event where people would enjoy the outdoor scenery and get relaxed in the atmosphere, enjoying various things, and listening to music at the same time, our performance that must have looked very out of place was still welcomed, and we could complete our performance successfully and leave the venue quickly. That was what happened with our performance at Fuji Rock.
[09:05]
6. Yuji Rerure Kawaguchi, the new drummer
And that live show, first of all, there was a line up of the band that I planned as of 2019 for performing at Fuji Rock, with two members of Ejin and live drums. I planned it that way for the stage of 2019. I was looking for a drummer and found a talented person named Yuji Rerure Kawaguchi, but unfortunately he wasn't in Japan at that time, so he couldn't participate. This time, to fulfill the wish of yesteryear, we hurriedly ventured into the show with a drummer with live drums.
[10:10]
Well, the stage was bigger than the last time, and because it was outdoors, I felt that the live feeling with drums had some kind of good effect.
[10:33]
7. Rehearsals near Mt. Tsukuba and rehearsals in Tokyo
And, this time, the rehearsal was done quite differently from the way I had prepared for the usual live performances. I mean, there were Tokyo Olympics and surrounding events at that time, and the highways were going to be regulated, and that regulation was applied to the highway to go to the rehearsal venue that I always use, which made it impossible for me to know when I would arrive. I didn't want to end up getting tired before arriving the rehearsal studio because it takes me hours to get there, so I thought I would have the rehearsal rather close to my area, near Tsukuba City and Tsukuba Twin Peaks [in Ibaraki Prefecture]. I call it Twin Peaks because there are Mt. Nantai[男体山/male body mountain] and Mt. Nyotai[女体山/female body mountain] in Mount Tsukuba. Anyway, I was looking for a big enough studio near Tsukuba Twin Peaks, and I wanted everyone to come there [from Tokyo] by train. So, I did a band-style rehearsal for the first time after a couple of decades in order to prevent the loss of time by getting there by car myself.
[11:59]
The reason for having the band format is that, in my usual live rehearsal, the PA device is assembled with almost the same set as the actual concert venue, and in order to do it in the rehearsal studio, the monitoring staff monitors the sound with the headphones, I mean, earphones as if the actual live show's sound is monitored. Therefore, the balance of the monitor the staff is listening to is the same as the balance that comes from the mixer of the monitor at the actual show. In other words. the rehearsal is performed in the same monitor state as when we are standing on the actual stage. Suddenly, like other ordinary bands, [because the studio in Tsukuba was not large enough to have all the PA system,] we had to do the practice for the concert while listening to the orchestra from the speakers and listening to the noisy live drums right next to me. I thought, "How tiring this style of rehearsal is!"
[13:01]
So, while doing so, after we rehearsed near Tsukuba Twin Peaks for a certain period of time, and when the Olympics traffic regulations were over, we did the Genepro[generalprobe/dress rehearsal] for two days, with the full set of PA at the big studio in Tokyo that we always use. So, there, we had everything covered, from the lighting staff to the video staff, and we brought in all the PAs and monitors, the same set as the one used at the concert venue. We adjusted the sound balance there at the rehearsal studio, and brought it as it is to the concert venue.
[13:57]
8. Pre-production sound check at Fuji Rock Festival
Actually, though I do this every time, the sound we have made in the studio is usually completely different from the sound that comes out when we are at the live show venue, so we usually make sure to rehearse and check the sound at the live show venue, too. I have to rehearse, readjust the sound again, and rebalance the monitor, etc. Otherwise it would be a very difficult live performance. So I usually take the time necessary for that. However, when it comes to Fuji Rock, other performers would have been doing their performances until right before our performance, so we can't go out and rehearse there, and we can't do a sound check. "What should we do now?" I thought. Then, actually, we decided that the staff would arrive there the day before and make adjustments by assembling a set during the spare time of the stage.
[15:07]
9. Hydration
Now, let me replenish a little water.
(Drinks water from a bottle.)
So, if I do something like this, you guys will say something again. Well, whatever. Huh.
10. Traveling from Tokyo to Naeba, Niigata, by one vehicle
So, when the staff arrived at Naeba[Fuji Rock venue] the day before, we, I and the supporting musicians, also arrived there the day before. There are several reasons for this, but one of them is that I have a body that suffers from motion sickness, and the vehicle sickness medicine that I use all the time is the type that works almost all day long. I'm using the type of the pills that doesn't put a lot of strain on my body and has a good effect, but the difficulty is that I get very sleepy. If I get to the venue during the day to make it to the night show, I would have to stand on the stage while I'm sleepy. So I would fall asleep on the stage, well, I would never fall asleep on the stage actually. I remember Master Shinsho [a rakugo storyteller] once dozed off in front of the audience. Then, the audience was so smart and kind that they said, "We don't want to watch sleepy Shinsho's show, so let him sleep". But in my case that should not happen, so I arrived at the venue the day before. It was necessary for me to take steps to eliminate the effects of the motion sickness medicine before going into the actual production.
[17:00]
11. The hotel was 30 minutes drive from Fuji Rock Festival venue
And we couldn't stay at the hotel near the stage due to various reasons. At our first show there in 2019, the dressing room was in the hotel closest to the venue, from which we could get to the backstage in a few minutes by car. However, the hotel we were staying this time was 30 minutes away by car from the Fuji Rock venue because the hotel in Naeba, Prince Hotel, which is closest to the venue was not available. Well, on the other hand, the hotel we stayed had an open-air onsen [hot spring] and other facilities that the hotel closest to the venue did not have, and also, there were large Japanese-style rooms that Yuji Rerure Kawaguchi was delighted with. Each of the band members was put in that kind of big room. But I would not be able to get ready for the concert in a Japanese-style room because I couldn't sit on the tatami mat floor [without chairs] to use my laptop or to check the guitars. So I asked the hotel to change my room to a western style one. So, we had to drive to Naeba before the show, and then drive up the mountain to get to the dressing room next to the stage.
[19:11]
So, the vehicle we used to travel From Tokyo to Naeba this time had everybody; me, the two Ejins, Yuji Rerure Kawaguchi, and the staff. It reminded me of the tours with P-MODEL in the '80s. The sight of travelling in one vehicle like that was a very reminiscent of the tragic, dark and painful tours of the past, though we kind of enjoyed travelling this time though we were not on vacation. I decided to take a nap in the back seat, relying on the sleepiness from the motion sickness medicine and fell asleep.
[20:22]
After that, our hotel was a 30-minute drive from the Fuji Rock venue, and in the meantime, my task was that I had to get to the stage without motion sickness medicine, I had to overcome this harsh ordeal, but I managed to get through it somehow.
[20:49]
12. Guitar: EVO PHYTOELECTRON SEED
Well, and that's how I was going to carry out the actual show. Now, I'd like to talk a little about the equipment that was used for the first time for Dasshutsu-kei Ashu-On show. First and foremost is the Seed version of Phytoelectron. This is a cool musical instrument that, Cap Inazawa, the EVO guitar developer, Mr. Inazawa, explained about [in Ikebe Gakki music store's Youtube channel] the other day.
[21:35]
(Guitar: EVO PHYTOELECTRON SEED is picked up and shown)
This is his SEED version of EVO PHYTOELECTRON. I had this made for Fuji Rock. Well, what makes this different from other EVOs is this Pickup. This Pickup is the kind that is on the so-called Jazzmaster model, Fender's Jazzmaster model, and the Jazzmaster model is a very old one, originally developed for jazz players. That's why it's called Jazzmaster, but it was not so popular with jazz players, but rather it was a model that was very good for Surf Rock and Surf sound musicians. The reason is that it has a very clear sound, and it was ported from the model that produces a very metallic, or rather hard sound, when you put reverb, spring reverb, an so on. So, this model also has acquired the specification that gradually increased the output and became easy to distort the sound in recent years, such as a modern style of slightly distorted sound, or something like that. The specifications are such that it is easy to make that kind of sounds, but mine is equipped with a vintage, old-fashioned clear sound that does not have much output.
[23:39]
And here,
(Points to the part of the guitar body between Pickup and Pickup)
It is here that you should pay attention to. Here, there is a Hirasawa logo designed by Mr. Nakai, Hidefumi Nakai (correctly, Toshifumi Nakai). The Hirasawa logo is engraved here which seems to require a very difficult processing. And I hear it can not be done if the logo is too small , so this is the minimum size. And here is supposed to be SUSUMU HIRASAWA in very small letters, which is blocked by the pickup screws, but due to various reasons, this size is the best, so the manufacturer crushed HIRASAWA's name to have the best finishing touch of the guitar.
[24:35]
And what makes it different from other EVOs is this tremolo unit. Unlike other EVO tremolo units,(Guitar: He shows the tremolo unit of EVO PHYTOELECTRON SEED)
It seems that all EVOs now have this, but it's very smooth, for example, when I play a tremolo guitar, you would push the tremolo arm down like "gyoon", but I really do the rough thing of pulling it up to raise the tension of the strings when I play in the so-called "Destroy Guitar" performance which is somewhat violent, but the range when pulling it up is also secured with this model, so it is very convenient for me. So I requested the factory to adjust this tremolo arm like that. The other PHYTOELECTRON has a green neck, but this is dark brown as it is originally, and the head is the same color as the pickup, cream or off-white. And here is PHYTOELECTRON ...
(There is a rattling noise. Hirasawa looks at the bottom right and says,)
Oh, wait a minute.
(and places the fallen side table back in place.)
Oh. please wait for a minute. I have a disaster here. Yes, the mouse table has fallen over.
Is that thing...?
(He stare sat the computer monitor silently for a while. It looks like he is looking for something on the screen while clicking the mouse.)
[27:06]
(Hirasawa disappears from the screen)
Well, can you see this? Can you see it like this?
(The screen turns black)
Well, is this reflected?
[28:23]
(Screen is restored)
Yes, is it reflected? Is it reflected over there? Let me check the monitor in the separate room ... You can't see it? Could you reload it again?
(Hirasawa leaves the seat)
[30:15]
(Hirasawa takes the seat and put on the headphones)
Well, can you hear me? It's been a mess today. Just now, I knocked down the mouse table, and at that moment, the streaming software had dropped. I thought that the URL would change if I start to restore it, but that was not the case. Then, I would like to continue here, but how far have I gone in the program?
[30:49]
I feel like it was a story about PHYTOELECTRON. Well, it was like that. It was successfully... actually, I had a trouble with the PHYTOELECTRON, but later, I'll explain what happened.
[31:11]
13. New laser harp
Next is the laser harp. I used the new type of laser harp. So, at the time of the 24 (Fushi/Immortal) Mandala, that type of laser harp was played for the first time on stage, but it has been modified further. First of all, as for how the modification was done, the laser harp model that has the laser beams go sideways having light sensors on one side, and the spot where the laser always hits the sensor is blocked by a hand. When the switch is turned on by being blocked, it is sent to the computer and the instrument is switched on. It was like that.
So, this time, since we had received an opinion that, the model with the beams reaching sideways, was an obstacle for the audience to see Hirasawa because the laser harp was in the way. So in order to solve that problem, this time, we have purchased the laser harp that has the beams come out from the bottom to the top. By making the laser give off from bottom to top, I have build a type of laser harp having nothing to block me. So, the model I used for the 24 (Fushi/immortal) Mandala concert that had the beams come out from the bottom to the top had the light sensors on the top bar, and when I blocked a beam, it worked. I just changed the directions of the beams horizontally to vertically. However, there were still various problems, even with that. There were various problems such as the laser harp is interfered by the stage lighting. So this time, when I blocked the laser beam coming up from below hits my palm like this,...
[32:59]
(With the index finger of the left hand, he points to the spread right palm)
It shines here when this light is detected by the sensor below. Making a change in this system having a sensor to directly senses light on the machine below, we have installed the system that captures it with a camera and detects and judges where it is on a certain grid. We changed it to something different, in which the signal is sent to the computer and switched on to the synthesizer or sampling machine. The reason why this is better is that the stage lighting comes from above, the lighting comes from below, and the lighting comes from all directions, they affect the beam receiving parts. If that happens, it is easy for the laser beam to malfunction. For example, if the platform on the stage shakes, the light may not hit the sensor, so the system has been changed to the specification that senses the light that hits a human hand which does not shake affected by the shaking of the platform.
This could be also easily affected by the lighting coming from above, but since the stage lighting is blocked by hand, so, It is harder to malfunction because of the stage lighting than the type where the light hits the light receiving part. And it will be further remodeled from now on, and a process like a cylinder will be attached to the sensor so that it is not affected by the surrounding lighting as much as possible. By doing so, I think we can finally make something much more stable than it is now. In other words, that laser harp is still developing.
[35:31]
So, by the time of the interactive live show, I think we'll probably have some kind of finished product. It is Mr. Matsumura who is doing all this. Mr. Matsumura is my roadie and stage director. I trust him and I leave everything to him, so he's working hard now to study about laser harp between his other jobs. He continues his research and work.
[36:05]
14. About the transparent helmet
Well, in addition to that, I used a new tool. It might not have been clearly visible because it wasn't lit and I used it only in one song, but the helmet used in the album jacket design, that was used in the first song. Only in the intro part until the middle of the song, I wore it. I will show it to you now. Also, I'll be careful not to knock down anything and have a disaster.
[36:45]
(He take out the helmet and shows it)
This is it. Can you see it? It's something like this. It ’s transparent, so it might be hard to see.
(Helmet hits the microphone)
Ouch! It's something like this. This is, first of all, what happens when you wear this is that there is no place for the sound to escape, so all the voices you make inside will bounce back to you. Everything bounces back and I can't hear any outside sounds, so something like a flood of sounds that I've never experienced before comes in and I don't know what's going on.
And there is a fan here
(Points to the small silver fan on the helmet)
It has two fans, here too. Is it here. The air is circulated by this fan so it would not be clouded by breath. So it should not be clouded by the circulation of air, but in fact, the sound of this fan is screaming in it. I can't sing in this, not at all. So, despite having this fan, it becomes cloudy over time. When it's getting cloudy, the more you increase the power of this fan, the more you'll hear a screaming sound inside, so you don't know what's going on anymore. So, before Fuji Rock, I asked someone to process it and make triangular holes on the sides. It is also open here,
[38:50]
(He shows the triangular holes on the helmet)
What has improved because of this triangular hole is that it hardly improves anything. Everything has been alleviated, but it's still impossible to sing a song in it. And, a heavy battery is inserted here, but with the heavy battery inserted, all the noises and my voice that are ringing in this are picked up by the microphone. Well, it's a symbolic item. It's a symbolic tool because it's used in the album cover. But unfortunately it has to be removed when I am singing live. So I decided to remove it before singing. This was the helmet.
[39:52]
15. About the Flash Book
Well, next. Oh yeah, there is something called a Flash Book. At the time of "Dreaming Machine", I came out with a thick book and wearing glasses with black frame, and when I opened the cover of the book, a flash was lit and hit my face, right? Like the idea used the last time that a small beaded LED light bulbs came out of a water bottle, my video staff came up with the idea. So, he always prepares something like that and presents it to me like "Can this be used for something on stage?" "Can this be used for something?" This time again, he brought a lot of LED beads and said, "If you can, please use them." So I was thinking and said, "Let me think about it." Incidentally, I wanted to bring something with me on stage when I sing "Dreaming Machine," and while we were talking about using something shiny on the stage, he suggested, "You can do this kind of thing."
[41:23]
That production was conceived by him saying, "If you put a strobe in a book and open it, you can make it shine. If you can use it, please use it." Actually, it has a tremendous amount of light, so I was told, "Don't look at it directly because you would be dazzled if you so." However, of course you shouldn't be dazzled during the live show. After all, at that day's concert, it was a rare chance to see what kind of people there were and where they were. I didn't want to be dazzled because I wanted to see my audience. On the contrary, there was no spotlight, so that item that usually dazzles me wasn't there. So, I tried to put up with the light because if I suddenly took the flash book there and opened it, it would dazzle me. I had to put up with it and tried to look away, but the amount of light was so great that I was in trouble because I couldn't see my feet when I went back to the stage side after the verse with the flash book was over. This is what happened with thinking about where and how to use the provided item by my video staff.
[43:15]
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