Jump to content
hiroki

Purple Stone

Recommended Posts

You can now preorder Purple Stone's new single on CDJapan!

 

Limited edition: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/CCR-17

Regular edition A: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/CCR-18

Regular edition B: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/CCR-19

 

All CDs come with an autographed photo! :D (same for all types)

 

 

Information for other shops are here if you intend to collect all their preorder bonuses like me :P

 

Autographed photo type A

little HEARTS (Sendai)

Jishuban

Zeal Link (Nagoya & Shibuya)

Like an edison (Harajuku & Nagoya)

 

Autographed photo type B

Tower Records (all physical shops + online)

 

Autographed photo type C

Musing

Neowing / CDJapan

Village Vanguard (online shop + selected physical shops)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

soooo their new single is releasing on 4/27 - in 2 weeks' time!!

 

topmain.jpg

 

 

image1.jpg

 

image1.jpg

 

 

you can listen to the snippets of the 3 songs here:

http://purplestone.jp/discography.html

 

it seems like there isn't a PV for 歌舞伎町バタフライ D:

 

any song in particular you're looking forward to? :D i'm most excited about パラダイス・ダンス (Paradise Dance). the demo ver. of this song was given out at visual graffiti vol.3 and i loved it <3

 

anyone pre-ordering this as well? ^^

 

Edited by hiroki

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Barks did an interview with Purple Stone for their new single (which is releasing tomorrow!)

 

You can read the interview here. :3

 

Edit: Translation in the post below. Hope you enjoy it ^^

 

Edited by hiroki

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[Page 1]

 

[Introductory section of interview]

 

Purple Stone will release their new single “Kabukicho Butterfly” on 4/20. As hinted at in the title of what will be the band’s 4th single, the title track tells of a “butterfly of the night” fluttering in the interstices of soberness and madness.

 

A heavy sound that breeds a heightened sense of danger in thrill and excitement; but along with it, a sweet poppish melody that seduces with latent addictiveness. Dramatically coloring the track is the band’s unique arrangement which fuses darkness and flamboyance.  While the title track has been informed by the band's commitment to “do straightforward rock,” Purple Stone’s extraordinary knack for bringing different elements together can be seen and heard in much of their music. At the same time, the B-sides speak to the members' desire of connecting their past with the present. We present you an interview that keenly explores these very sounds and lyrics.

 

***

 

Q: Your new single “Kabukicho Butterfly” will be released on 4/20. Were there any thematic considerations prior to composition?

 

Keiya: We began by agreeing to do some straightforward rock this time. We wanted to take our music seriously and not resort to any cheap gimmicks. With this in mind we eventually selected “Kabukicho Butterfly” out of the various songs we wrote.

 

Fuma: There were quite a few songs we wrote at first actually.

 

GAK: Yeah, especially songs in contention for the single’s title track.

 

Keiya: When we were discussing which song to select as the single’s title track, the B-side “RIVER” caught our attention initially. However we all felt that we could take it a little further. And so we collectively began to look at song after song. Sometime later we realized that we might be overdoing things, so we returned to what we started off with: let’s do an honest rock song with a strong chorus.

 

Q: And so you ended up with “Kabukicho Butterfly.”

 

Keiya: Yup. After spending a long time on my guitar, I eventually came up with a chord progression I really liked. And after humming some melody lines on top of that, we finally found what we were looking for! We then wrote the demo song for “Kabukicho Butterfly” and had GAK arrange it.

 

GAK: Keiya put a lot of effort into his demo track; the guitar riffs, etc., were all great. So the arrangement job I had was quite simple. We put in a lot of effort thinking about the chorus actually. The chorus we ended up with uses slash chords that give a deeper flavor to an otherwise straightforward sound, and so we wanted to make the best use of that. If it’s too simplistic the song won’t be memorable; so for the bridge we used a “four on the floor” rhythm to ground some of the heavier riffs.

 

Q: Seems like heavy and stylish sound elements leave a stronger impression. As for the song’s lyrics, they deal with one’s awakening of love towards the “butterfly of the night”?

 

Fuma: Yeah, we wrote these lyrics because we wanted to be asked about it. *laughs*

 

Keiya: *laughs* We thought the interviewer would surely ask, so I didn’t ask Fuma when we were recording the song *laughs*

 

Q: Thank you *laughs* Is that because you had a mental image of the “butterfly of the night” when you were listening to the song?

 

Fuma: Not really. The thing is, we often perform at Shinjuku Ruido K4 when we’re in Tokyo, and so we frequently visit Kabukicho. Each time, we always leave Osaka at night and reach Kabukicho in the morning, and after the live is over we leave Tokyo on the same night.

 

Q: In other words, you don’t get to see Kabukicho late at night and at dawn?

 

Fuma: That’s right. We always look at the streets before us and thought we might find something interesting there. I wrote these lyrics based largely on the impressions we got. And so you could say this set of lyrics is the product of our fantasy *laughs* Still, the feelings associated with our departure from Kabukicho are drawn from what we’ve really experienced.

 

Q: I can understand how Kabukicho is always a mysterious place in popular imagination, and it’s exciting for that reason.

 

Fuma: At first we thought Kabukicho would be a crazy place at night. But when we reached at 4am in the morning, we felt that everything was calm. Although that might also be because we were all exhausted from the travelling *laughs* We thought it was interesting how the streets of Kabukicho had a certain kind of doubleness. Likewise, while the melody of “Kabukicho Butterfly” is pretty, the riffs are relatively heavy. A song like this can’t possibly have lyrics like “Everyone, let’s live life to the fullest!” As I played in my mind with this notion of duality, I thought we could also harness the image of Kabukicho in a similar way.

 

Keiya: When I first saw the song title, I thought “what the hell is this?!” *laughs* However this is exactly what I had in mind actually, with the duality of the lyrics coinciding nicely with the “splendor and pain” of the composition. Without adding anything superfluous to the song, we decided to let the lyrics bring out the intended atmosphere. We think the song can express the doubleness we want.

 

Q: Especially in its chorus, the song resonates really deeply.

 

Keiya: The recording was challenging though. Usually I’m able to sing in the full-blooded rock style, but the chorus here is punctuated with a number of slash chords that softened the feel, and if I’d tried to be forceful in the vocals it became all too much. So I went along with the flow of the song. We did the recording for “RIVER” before this song, and at that time Fuma advised me to sing in a softer way. After recording “Kabukicho butterfly” with a slightly modified style of vocals, it struck me that I had never done a song on such a scale.

 

Q: So it’s not a song that you can do simply by putting all your emotions into it?

 

Keiya: That’s right. I had to look at the lyrics, and think carefully about where I can pause, breathe, enter with a lighter touch, enter more heavily; otherwise the song wouldn’t convey what we want.  The idea that we can move our audience simply by deciding on a worldview, getting into the mood and start singing—that’s something I can’t agree with as a singer. There are details and nuances in this song that we can only do justice to after thinking through them.

 

[Page 2]

 

Q: How was the guitar recording for “Kabukicho Butterfly”?

 

GAK: I tried to incorporate some of my own take into the song while staying faithful to Keiya's original demo recording. Also, we changed the amp midway through production. We finally replaced our old one with Fractal Audio’s Axe-FX II, something we’ve wanted since around 3 years ago. Until then we've been using an amp simulator, but Axe-FX II had a different dimension. As the results were even better than we expected, we used it for the recording just 2 days after we purchased it. At that time we still weren’t very sure about some of its functions *laughs*

 

Q: By the way, what amp simulator were you using?

 

GAK: ENGL. Actually I had finished recording the guitar for this song using that model. But other than the B-melo [i.e. the 2nd verse of the song] I re-recorded everything again. For the B-melo I only wanted to change its feel a little, so I did some editing on the previous take.

 

Q: Even though you dropped the tuning quite a bit, we can still hear the guitar clearly.

 

GAK: Yes, I used Drop-B tuning but it’s still clear. I paid quite a lot of attention to that as well as the equalizer settings. I think I managed to do that pretty well.

 

Fuma: For the bass I just went all out as I wanted to give a strong drive to the song *laughs* Our song has a strong melody so I had to make sure it doesn’t distract from that. I also ensured this is a part I can play while being wild at the same time so I decided to make the bass simple while strong enough to carry the song.

 

Q: Let's talk about the B-side “RIVER” (from the A-type).

 

Fuma: Originally there was this demo GAK made around 3 years ago that we had put aside for a while. At that time we felt that we couldn’t really make use of it. But we do regularly take a look at what we can salvage from our old materials; when we revisited this demo we felt that this song’s really cool. After tweaking its melody and arrangement, we built it up to the song we have now. It has changed so much I think we could even say it’s now a different song?

 

GAK: When I first made that I didn’t think of it as a complete song but I recorded it anyway after it came to my mind. I wouldn’t have minded even if it had been rejected, but since Fuma gave it a great melody I wanted to try arranging it. While this was initially my song, because of the different melody I was able to look at it from an entirely different perspective, and “RIVER” became a song totally unlike the original. I also have more experience now than before, and I think I can now finally express in music what I had then wanted to do.

 

Fuma: When I heard this 3 years ago, I thought “the chord progression in the chorus has a rock feel, but it may also be suited to a more pop-oriented direction.” However at that time the melody was really heavy and it was difficult to get away from that dominant impression. When we revisited it again we were able to look at it again in a new light, and I thought it’s definitely possible to put a great melody to this. After some thought we came up with the chorus, and soon after, the other parts of the song. After that I wrote its lyrics.

 

Keiya: It’s hard to believe that the lyrics of “RIVER” were written by the same person who wrote the lyrics of “Kabukicho Butterfly” *laughs*

 

Fuma: *laughs* Since Purple Stone is a band that centers on Keiya’s vocals we have a lot of rock songs, but we also wanted to try something different. “RIVER” could become a really grand track if it had the right lyrics--and so conceptually I tried make it epic. As I was wondering about the theme of the lyrics, I thought of the rivers near the places I’d lived. I cast my mind back to the times when I was in high school and wrote the lyrics.

 

Q: So you’re depicting life by using rivers as a metaphor?

 

Fuma: Well, rivers continue flowing onward regardless of rocks and other obstacles they encounter. I liken that to how we should accept people into our lives. While these lyrics are based on what I felt in high school, I don’t think I would have been able to write such lyrics at that time. Because I disliked people back then. I hated noise so I always escaped to the river and did stuff like… playing the trumpet on the river bank *laughs*

 

Keiya: I see. You live in your own world huh? *laughs*

 

Fuma: Nah, it’s because at that time there was a ska punk band I knew. I thought it would be cool if I can play the trumpet *laughs*

 

Keiya: Oh? That’s really cool though.

 

Fuma: I know right? During the evening I would be playing the trumpet by the river and thinking to myself, “Wow, this is awesome. I’m really cool.” *laughs* But I gave up after learning how to play do-re-mi-so-fa-la-ti-do. *laughs*

 

GAK: Any videos of that?

 

Fuma: No! Even if there are I won’t show them to anyone *laughs*

 

Keiya: *laughs* When I heard the new demo for this song I said “let’s make this into a single.” It’s also because when I’m concentrating on writing one song, the 2 of them are usually on to some other work. So I felt that we should finish the lyrics for this song and have it prepared first. I also like the sound of water—when I was a kid I always sit by the riverbank; and when I was told this song is called “RIVER,” I thought it was written for me *laughs* I wanted to sing it the moment I heard it! The lyrics are positive and it became a song that was so close to me emotionally, there were even times I felt lonely after I was done recording it.

 

Q: That’s because many parts of the song personally relate with you?

 

Keiya: Just like in the lyrics, when I was young I’d go sit by the river whenever I’m unhappy. On my way home in the evening I’d catch the smell of dinner drifting from the houses nearby. This song is like a throwback to my past, and it’s nostalgic for me. When I was recording the vocals for “RIVER” it hit me emotionally. And I think it was the part that goes “no matter where to, let us go, river” in the last chorus where I felt like tearing up *laughs* That was how I gave life to this song. Like I mentioned when we were talking about “Kabukicho Butterfly” it’s important to give thought to the nuances of the lyrics, but I also want to deliver the vocals in a natural way.

 

GAK: For this song: other than the chorus, the guitar arrangement always centers on one main chord. It’s something quite atypical for Purple Stone, but I like a somewhat blunt approach like this. I admire nu metal bands like Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit, and I thought to incorporate some of that into our songs.

 

Fuma: As for the bass of “RIVER,” I stay away from anything that’s disruptive or superfluous. Basically that’s my style. My bass carries the song with simple phrases.

 

Q: I had the impression that the meandering bass lines of the song created a river-like feel for the song.

 

Fuma: I’m glad you could feel that way. Actually I hadn't even considered that *laughs* I’m always direct and honest with my bass-playing. I think a lot when I compose songs or write lyrics, but that’s not the case when I’m playing the bass.

 

Keiya: As long as it sounds good right?

 

Fuma: Yup. It’s good enough for me to know that I’ll get a good sound with a certain root and groove. I’m not that particular with the phrasing.

 

[Page 3]

 

Q: “PARADISE DANCE” (from B-type) is a heavy track with electronic elements.

 

GAK: I wanted something closer to EDM, which is different from our usual sound. This was also something I did around 3 years ago. I brushed up on the original melody and arrangement, and we distributed a demo version of the revised song at our label’s live. As it was a live-distributed CD there were people who wanted to listen but couldn’t get a copy, so we re-recorded it with a slightly different arrangement.

 

Keiya: We also changed the lyrics. I wrote the lyrics for the version on our live-distributed CD, but we wanted something different for the song this time, so I asked Fuma if he had any ideas. There were portions where we edited the lyrics, and other parts where entire sections have been re-written. In other words the final lyrics are co-written by Fuma and I. This is a nice song to dance to and ultimately we want everyone to get wild together, but I also didn’t want people to look at this and think, “oh it’s a party song! yay!” So, “What does it mean to be made to be manipulated?”—that’s also the theme of this song. [*Short note: Here, Keiya is playing on the two verbs “odoru” (“to dance”) and “odorasu” (“to manipulate”), which share the homophonic causative-passive verb “odorasareru” that means either “to be made to dance” or “to be manipulated”]

 

Q: That’s profound.

 

Keiya: With a lot of things that happen in the world, we don’t really know what’s the truth and what isn’t. Even when we feel that there’s something wrong, the moment an influential person says “this is correct” we’re compelled to think in a certain way. At the same time it doesn’t mean that we think it’s appropriate to rise against that in a violent manner. This is a dilemma inhabited by a lot of people, and it’s a paradox that we have to accept and live with. Are we being manipulated and played with?—that’s what's at stake in the lyrics.

 

GAK: I was particular when it came to the guitar. As a heavy song that makes use of down-tuning, I thought the sound of a humbucking pickup would be suitable. However because this song’s riffs require a coil tap, I played it with a single-coil. To make sure the bass is pronounced, I sought to cut off the unnecessary low frequencies. After some experimenting, the guitar lines became more distinct and no longer clashes with the synthesizer. I definitely learned something from this process. I can get a solid sound for the riffs by using a single-coil, while for the chorus I can create a heavier sound with the humbucking pickup.

 

Fuma: This song was written for lives in mind, so that’s the atmosphere we tried to gear it towards. Keiya has been quite philosophical about the lyrics, but actually when we play it lives we just all get high, so… *laughs* Although, since we already have the bass lines of the synthesizer and the guitar in the mix, if the bass is too strong it might oversaturate the low frequency range. So for this song I had to restrain myself with the bass *laughs*

 

Keiya: I also tried to create a party ambience when recording the vocals for this song. For this kind of songs the lyrics might be a little difficult to follow, and I had to switch around some of the word positions in the lyrics.

 

Q: I see.

 

Keiya: I recorded the vocals for this song at my place, and I did it at night. I had turned off all the lights to create a party mood with the spotlight shining on myself. When I listened to the recording the next morning, it was awful *laughs* That wouldn’t do. So I waited until an afternoon when the weather was nice, opened all the windows, and did a re-recording. I thought it would be nice to have a band mic, so I held a condenser microphone in my hands *laughs*

 

Q: Now that it's possible to do recordings at your own place, it seems things have become really different *laughs* Anyway, it has been only 4 months since your last release “Kaitenmokuba” but you’ve already come up with another single everyone can’t wait to listen to.

 

Fuma: We also thought hard about the artwork for this release. The cover art of the A-type was generated by mixing up all 3 of our faces. The CD image is another version of the “face” in the cover art. So there are actually 3 versions altogether: the cover art, A-type CD image, and B-type CD image. We did this because we wanted our fans who buy our CDs to enjoy not just our songs. The PV is also interesting, so I hope they can enjoy everything we’ve put out.

 

GAK: For me personally, this is a song that allowed me to take a good look at what my guitar can do. I was able to get good results from some of my experimentation, and that will be useful for the future. Even though we've just finished the current single, I can’t wait to start recording for our next release.

 

Keiya: All 3 songs in this single are tracks that we think exemplify us. While it’s usually the case that B-sides are thought of as inferior songs, this time we felt that this release is good enough to be thought of as a triple A-side. These are songs all 3 of us came up with collectively and this collaborative effort left a deep impression on us. If you listen carefully, you might even be able to tell that this melody is Fuma’s, the arrangement is GAK’s, this word here is Keiya’s, and so on. This is the product of the chemistry between the members of Purple Stone, and that’s really what we want our fans to savor. Please play all 3 songs on repeat till you drop! *laughs*

 

 

Interviewer: Murakami Takayuki

 

Source: http://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000126324

 

Translated by me.

 

 

Edited by hiroki

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Lol a lot of funny quotes by trumpet man x'D  I wish to see him performing a trumpet in some song in future :parapls: 

 

Keiya doing records at night on party mood? Is the purple fever squad allowed to visit/see this? :D

 

 

Once again, thank you @hiroki

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

since its release kabukicho butterfly has done pretty well in terms of cd sales!! :D

 

the single did especially well in kansai: it topped the zeal link osaka weekly rankings, and was out of stock in several shops in kansai. nationwide, kabukicho butterfly also attained #2 on oricon indies weekly chart, and #9 on the oricon rock singles ranking.

 

obviously we all know that cd sales don't mean everything, nor is it always the most accurate measure of a band's quality or success, but it's still amazing to see their fanbase expanding gradually :) thanks everyone who was able to support purple stone by buying their CDs :3

 

 

Edited by hiroki

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ok, so I found this blog mentioning Purple Stone, and hiroki translated one of the most touching things T_T.

 

http://puilaam.blog128.fc2blog.us/blog-category-22.html

 

946726_10151752502403608_830221543_ns.jp

 

Before I went back to Hong Kong, I went to see the live Purple Stone co-presented with Follow. At the 'buppan' i used my crappy Japanese to chat with Keiya. Actually I hadn't intended to say anything,

but I eventually said "I'm going back to my country this month, I'm not sure when i'll be back, but i'll certainly return to see you live again."

 

I wasn't sure what I was expecting him to say in return. Maybe if he had said "I'll wait for you", I'd already be so happy I'd be fly to heaven, but he replied:

 

"I'll go to your country in future".

 

His smile was so pure and genuine. I felt he was really silly, but at the same time I felt immense respect for him.

I believe, even for artists who have been around for 5 years or 10 years - they wouldn't say something like this. It isn't a matter of ability, but a person's attitude. Maybe with their popularity now it would be impossible for them to perform overseas, but at least he has the ambition to do so.

 

This dream may be as far as the distance separating my country from his, but all I could do was to hold his hand whilst being on the verge of tears.

 

...

...

 

I'M FUCKING CRYING RIGHT NOW ;_;

Edited by colorfuljinsei

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 13/03/2015 at 2:07 PM, hiroki said:

CRIMZON, a subsidiary of GIZA studio.

 

I didn't know that '-' where did you see this?

Anyway, wrote this on my little visual kei notebook <3

Edited by IGM_Oficial

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 30/05/2016 at 0:25 AM, colorfuljinsei said:

"I'll go to your country in future".

 

This is just beautiful <3 Damn, Keiya <3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So... there's a Purple Stone interview featured in the April volume of Cure (#153). I've ordered the magazine and I'll translate it if there's any interest :D (assuming it's not the same as the barks.jp interview i posted above).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

Quote

 

And i got a birthday present from Fuma. He thought 'well it's free-sized so it should be fine'...

but when i tried it on, it was so tight that my navel was showing ∑(゚Д゚)w

The annoyed cat is now showing you his middle finger.

Thank you ♡

 

 

Edited by hiroki

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Purple Stone played "panic panic" for the first time at Shibuya REX last night :)

 

Some pics of the members in their new outfits :3 

 

Spoiler

ClzIjFyVAAE4tZ9.jpg

 

Clzf9uRUkAAHEyY.jpg

 

Clzh-EHUsAA9PVD.jpg

 

rIRePpN.jpg

 

Cly74KyVAAAtNG3.jpg

 

 

 

Edited by hiroki

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

keiya made a series of blog posts today on Purple Stone's June lives and instore events, and in his last post he shared his thoughts on their upcoming single.

 

i thought some of us might be interested in what he thinks so i've translated it:

 

Quote

We've received many comments since the "Panic panic!" PV spot was released. Thanks!

 

It's almost the end of June. I thought I'll write a little more about my feelings.

 

This time, I was placed entirely in charge of the choreography [of "Panic panic!"].

 

The theme for this is Summer Halloween. Which means there are these zombies dancing behind in the video and all, but actually I've also watched videos of MJ's thriller as well as footages of choreographers I respect. I remembered the moves and carefully came up with a dance that suits what Purple Stone is currently doing--it's a routine that embellishes the song's melody and one which everyone would want to try dancing along when they see it.

 

I've always wanted to try doing something like this. Personally it was weird for me at first when I tried to dance, but now I'm really glad that I challenged myself to do it. The backup dancers helped me a ton and the PV shooting was really smooth as a result. Thanks!!

 

Honestly, visual kei always had a dodgy image from the outset. More than any other genre, some people feel that things must be done in a certain way. But precisely because of that we must try to break out of this limitation, and I feel it's great that this is something we're able to challenge. I'd like people who only know the negative side of visual kei to realize the real wonder of this scene. Japan doesn't just have idol culture, comedy, anime, etc.; that's something we want to convey through what we're doing.

 

Hence this time, we tried to present a bold new idea. Because I really love visual kei myself, it'll be wonderful to bring different people into the scene. But first they need to know more about it. For people who haven't tried anything like this, I want to give them something delicious to chew on.

 

It's only possible to alter this image [of visual kei] if artists making good music are also backed up by the power of fans who love the music and help to spread it. Even if it's just a little, I would like to become an artist like that.

 

That's why we wanted to show that we can write a song that's good enough for you guys to want to share with everyone. So if you like the music, please let more people know about it!

 

And at our lives, let's create an atmosphere strong enough to pull in even the first-timers! We will be one in the music, always. I was really happy all of you danced along that night [at the Shinjuku live]. Thanks!


We'll become even better.

 

Thanks for reading until the end.

 

See you!

 

keiya

 

Source: http://ameblo.jp/purplestone-keiya/entry-12175684569.html?timestamp=1467209129

 

Edited by hiroki

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

today so shit day.. can't concentrate on something. kinda play some music even purple stone, some songs really bring me in tears now.

Sakura... such good song. T_T

 

 

 

and I don't like that panic panic song. its too happy.. but yeah still great band :3

Edited by BrenGun

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

fuma you sexy madafaka :D I saw the cootie patootie in someone's siggie and searched on yt for some tunes.  They're just totes adorbs 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Purple Stone will be the cover artist for Cure V-Splash vol. 34, slated for publication on 07/25. This is the first time they are featured on a magazine cover!

 

They shot the photos for the issue today. If I can get a copy i'll post the offshots and the interview :)

 

Cmh0UVHUcAA3M0Q.jpg

 

Edited by hiroki

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I try head banging to their videos but I keep going "awwwwww such cuties. I WANNA PINCH YO CHEEKS!" Them & Morrigan are my fave "new" bands :D

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...