Every
country has not only physical borders
but also the border of language. Music
is an universal language. When I’m
writing music, I believe and write it.
Regardless of nationality or age, in a
heart strikes a wonderful melody.
- Yoshiki
Many people regardless
of their musical backgrounds, nationality
and age worked together to realise the
album “Eternal Melody” that
supports the language of Yoshiki: Music.
Yoshiki wanted for this album to exceed
many difficulties and problems. One of
the problems was that Yoshiki didn’t
want that fans get the feeling that his
solo project is “a rival”
of X Japan. Before starting his official
solo project he wanted to have everything
perfect and ready, a classic version of
X Japan’s musical pieces.
Albums that carried
out an orchestra performance of the
music from X Japan were released several
sorts during the past few years. Those
albums don’t have any connection
with Yoshiki - the composer, even though
it’s exceptional for this short
period of time, that already a few CDs
with this idea got released, it’s
just a very natural way of thinking
to manufacture such CDs, since Yoshiki
started out as a classical pianist when
he was four years old and is very familiar
with classic music and has an according
background.Many kinds of CDs got released
that were completely unrelated to Yoshiki,
not considering that it hurts him as
an artist since he had no input in it
at all.
Yoshiki said that his
music is not bound to a genre, and that
there is no label that should limit
him either. He took the best parts of
each composition, selecting very carefully,
while thinking that it is a pity that
various companies put the other parts
(which do not fit in perfectly) on the
market. Therefore, independently, what
existed until now is merely a good work,
which has no relation to him whatsoever,
even though it is not too bad because
it contains a few interesting arrangements.
But this time he selected the music
personally, flew to London and arranged
the music himself.
.
The
orchestra
This
is how Yoshiki’s classic project
began to grow. The perfectionist way of
Yoshiki’s thinking was that he wanted
to have one of the best teams in the world
since halfway, half is not the kind of
working that goes along with his thinking.
There were three world major orchestras
that were taken into consideration: the
Vienna philharmonic orchestra, the Berlin
philharmonic orchestra and last but not
least the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
The London philharmonic orchestra was
chosen because there were less realization
difficulties.
This orchestra with
a tradition of over 60 years and outstanding
performances has an amazing reputation
and they’re not willing to play
a work until they give their ok. Yoshiki
thought that he would run into negotiation
difficulties. The leader of the orchestra
listened up when the staff explained
that Yoshiki produced the classic anthology
album “Yoshiki Selection”.
An album like this would usually not
sell more than 5.000 copies, while “Yoshiki
Selection” had sold over 100.000
CDs. That’s when Yoshiki got an
official “OK”. Classic musicians
got introduced to young Japanese rock
fun, and the team was surprised about
the positive feedback they got about
Yoshiki who uses classic as a big base.
With that way, his melodies were able
to make the walls of two entirely different
music genres collapse.
.
The
producer
The next problem was
to choose a producer. It had to be a producer
with classical knowledge, excellent orchestra
arrangements and not only that, it also
had to be a producer of the very first
rank. The choice fell on George Martin,
who produced almost every album of the
Beatles and also dealt with the arrangements
of these albums. Even though George Martin
is a very well known producer in Europe
he is barely known in Japan.
When he was offered to produce an album
for a very famous Japanese artist he
said that he would not – even
if a lot of money would be offered –
agree with producing an album unless
he could feel a certain charm.
The event “Yoshiki Talk Live”
performed in the Nippon Budokan Hall
moved him. And it was the video of “Art
Of Life” when Yoshiki carried
out the piano performance with a full
orchestra in the background that convinced
him to produce this album. In the moment
George Martin sensed the charm of the
genre similarity and he had an interest
into the artist Yoshiki and his music,
you can say that the musical work of
Yoshiki smashed the wall of nationality
and the wall of age at the same time,
because George Martin was 67 years at
this point of time.
When George Martin
met Yoshiki in London he said that he
felt a necessity that both together
realize that project and that it was
fate. Both got along great with each
other so the compositions were completed
with a very good touch. The manufacturing
team considered that realising this
project would lead to many difficulties
from the start. But it wasn’t
like that, because this strong team
found together and they wanted to express
what people felt because of Yoshiki’s
music.
Yoshiki said that this
project was not realized only by his
power, because there were record companies,
the staff of an office and the project
truly got realized by the powers of
this great team. That’s a wonderful
thing that seems to follow Yoshiki.
His charm attracts various people and
overbears boundaries. Furthermore this
album was released by a solidarity of
artists who love music and accepted
the mutual talent rather than the staff’s
zeal and everything.
.
The
recording
The cold London on 10th
February 1993:
The whole team gathered in the studio
that George Martin owns. This studio with
a long tradition and the flair of it creates
miraculously a harmony that the whole
staff could feel from every corner in
the studio. At 10.30 am Yoshiki with George
Martin held an English speech in front
of the 74 musicians from the orchestra
and recording was started at last.
The first session was “Say Anything”.
When the baton was shaken and the music
filled the studio everyone must have
been sure of the quality of this work.
Even though the orchestra has it’s
own technique and a very rich expression
and the tunes were re-arranged, the
original melody did not get lost and
is still the center of the piece. That
was the very moment when Yoshiki’s
belief that “there are no restrictions
or a rule in music, not a wall of a
genre, etc” was realized.
Yoshiki himself wrote the exquisite
arrangements that are piercing through
all the songs. While listening to the
sound that flows into the mixing room
he turns page after page of the not
less than about ten pages covering music
sheet. His eyes are following each line
of the score, his feet tapping slightly
along with rythm.
Once the rehearsals
were finished, he changed arrangements
on several places. Of course all conversation
in the meantime was in English. When
the second rehearsal was finished, Yoshiki
turned around to George Martin who was
in the mixing room. You could tell from
the expression on Yoshiki’s face
that he was convinced about the reliability
of all the artists gathering in this
place and that he was really glad to
work with them. His look was telling
“Ok” and in the next moment
his lips were forming the word.
The smoothness of the
work with these first-class artist connected
with the common language called music
and the acceptance on both sides followed
Yoshiki during all the days of the recording.
The strong sense of security and warmth
on the bottom of this work will be produced
from there – a studio where the
air is mixed with music and the smell
of tea and where special music terms
and jokes about the sufficient elegance
style of England are flying around.
Listen to this work
and get to love the music, see how it
implies your thoughts that it’s
the wonderful music made from X. The
listeners of this album are equivalent
to the many persons who attended the
birth of this record. If the music stabs
your heart in this form and is attached
to it, this moment will turn into a
prove that it’s really an “Eternal
Melody” more splendidly than any
language could be.
Yoshiki was sad when
the time of separation in London came,
but with the comfort of having carried
out his language, Yoshiki smiled like
a mischievous child when he said that
this is the prologue of his solo project.
Although he cannot say that yet, since
various things are running parallel
to it and are still progressing now.
Note:
this is a translation from the CD booklet
so there could be some misunderstandings
in it.
