There's something different in rock band Grapevine's new album "All The Light," compared to the band's previous offerings. The music in this Victor-label album is catchy and colorful; it sometimes sounds sarcastic while also feeling like a ray of light shining through.
It appears that the change in feel was brought about by one key figure: a new producer.
"As always, we didn't set a particular theme for the songs, and we never discuss such things among band members, either. This time is no exception," said Kazumasa Tanaka, the group's vocalist and guitarist. "We were self-producing our recent albums, though. We thought it was about time we found somebody else to do the job, so we asked Hoppy Kamiyama to be the album's producer."
Kamiyama used to be the keyboardist in Pink, a very popular band in the 1980s, and now works on a wide range of projects as a music producer. Shortly after Grapevine debuted in 1997, he played keyboards and other instruments with the band, so they are very familiar with each other.
Grapevine guitarist Hiroyoshi Nishikawa recalls that before the new album's recording sessions, Kamiyama told the band that he wanted to make a "vibrant, sharp-sounding album." They agreed, Nishikawa said.
Overdubbed a capella singing by Tanaka in the opening was also one of Kamiyama's suggestions.
"Not many bands would come up with an a capella song. He said,'Why not? It'll sound great!'" Tanaka said.
The album's song lineup is very eclectic. "Alright" features a brass section in the forefront. The lyrics go: "Yume wa kanattakkena / nakama wa doshitakkena / iza seishun no nijikai no start" (I wonder if dreams came true / I wonder what became of my buddies / Now's the start of our second adolescence).
"Koboreru" (To spill) starts with Tanaka singing and playing the electric guitar, then the song gradually grows chaotic as noise overlaps the music.
"What we do is the same as usual, but I felt the whole thing can change dramatically, depending on tones and ideas," drummer Toru Kamei said.
In this era of digital recording, the trio recorded the songs on analog tape to give the feeling of a live performance.
Since its 1997 debut, the band has made it clear that it did not want to follow trends. There are many younger musicians who say they have been influenced by Grapevine.
What does the band think of today's music scene?
"I get the feeling that rock bands are weak," Tanaka said. "Many of them seem to think of making music mainly by home recording, rather than being in bands giving live performances. I think bands are facing the question of how to deal with that trend. We are wondering about that ourselves," he said.
The band has finished a series of concerts in Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo, joined by musician Kaho Nakamura, who attracted the public's attention after Kenshi Yonezu praised her.
"The plan was for her to become big after performing with us. Dammit!" Tanaka said with a laugh.
The band will go on a nationwide tour from April.
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