INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW

HONG KONG FM STATION
"LIVE IN HONG KONG" INTERVIEW (Nov 2003)
Interviewer : Chung

chung	All the costumes you wear on stage are so artistic and special, did you prepare something special for this show?
chako	The stage of such times will arrange clothes which have been put on up to now. I will similarly see the stage of HK of the stage art and decide it.
chung	I know Chako was a "Packaging Designer" before. Do you apply the same design theory from packing design towars your band? From your perspective how important does images and package affect a band?
chako	Packaging is important for a band, especially the CD jacket, because people usually see the CD jacket before listening to the music.
chung	Chako used to be a Punk band’s member; do she still listen to punk music now, does Punk still flows inside her blood?
chako	I do not listen willingly now. What I am liking is mental PUNK. Might do the stream of the blood of such PUNK at present.
chung	What’s your opinion towards Punk Culture?
chako	PUNKMUSIC is already the past one, and the style like the uniform dressed by the genre of music is not so interesting of me. Especially, the fashion of PUNK MUSIC is aggressive. For instance, I do not like things which gather in one place in many people in clothes of PUNK. It was the first disappointment at PUNK.If the fashion becomes excessive, I think that it deserts the mental one.
chung	I found your music contains a sense of elegant, what’s your definition of elegant?
chako	I think that it is elegant with a free sense and the conception mentally.
chung	Your music reminds me a movie called “ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU” directed by Japanese director Shunji Iwai, have you ever watched that movie? If yes, what do you think about it?
chako	I did not watch “ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU”. But I have seen 2 other films by Shunji Iwai.I was impressed by“Love Letter”.
chung	I heard you have a friendship with Director Peter Greenaway, how did you meet him? Is he your fan?
chako	We know Peter Greenaway through our friend Seizo Inoue. Seizo Inoue design a lot of our costumes, stage and CD jackets. He was chosen in the audition of movie "The Pillow Book" and performed. He showed our CDs to Peter Greenaway. Peter Greenaway like our music very much. He asked us to meet in Kyoto when he was shooting“The Pillow Book” in Japan.
chung	Your music is so beautiful and touching, what do you think is the reason why your music won’t touch Japanese’s heart (because you said you are "no-name band" in Japan)?
chako	In Japan, most pop music has lyrics. But Jack Or Jive sing melodies without words. Japanese don’t listen to our music because they cannot understand what we sing.
chung	Your music give me a impression that “sadness is beautiful”, is it your own artistic view?
chako	We are born to live towards an end. It looks sad. But if we know everything has an end, so everything become precious and we may treasure it. For us, the boundary between sadness and happiness is not clear. We like to try any possibility in the middle.
chung	What is your overall impression towards Hong Kong? And how about Hong Kong’s music?
chako	Although we don’t know much about HK music, we listened to HK bands from Monitor Record's compilation CD. We are happy to know there are bands like us in HK who are working hardfor music. It is very good.
chung	From your previous interview, quiet music is your most favorite music nowadays, would it all because you are seeking quiet living atmosphere?
chako	I like quiet living atmosphere, but it is not a way to escape from reality. For music, only “quiet” is not interesting enough. In the reason to feel the charm in the quiet one, it might be a cause that the society today is chaotic. I do not want to escape from a chaotic society. I want to keep meditating in silence and a chaotic world.
chung	Japan intends to sending troops to Iraq, what’s your opinion about this action?
chako	For me, it is a very opposite standpoint that this the Self Defense Forces go to Iraq. To begin with, this Iraq air raid is a war which does not obtain the mutual agreement of the agreement by the U.N. Resolution by all members and has happened. I feel that it is terrorism to Iraq that the America one-sidedly established. Japanese Government thinks that they catch this essence very simply. The country which has kept step with the America such as Britain and Turkey has received the attack of terrorism now. I think that terrorism is not a threat, the trigger which holds terrorism is the strongest threat. Japanese Government which forgets this essence tries to put the pace together on the America now. I think that it is the most dangerous act. If the political power changes from Bush administration to other politicians, the America does not think that they promote the war today. If the representative in the country changes, Japanese Government should imagine the thing that contents of politics change, too. The Self Defense Forces go to Iraq without having arms,it is an act of speeding up the death. Thinking that the Koizumi government is frenzy because it promotes this might be natural. As for going to Iraq without discussing the existence meaning of the Self Defense Forces, I feel resentment very much. Prime Minister Koizumi does not have consideration to Asian nations. Therefore, it should be friendlier to Asian nations in Japan. I strongly pray that the Koizumi political power collapse to similar Bush administration.
Two diplomats encountered terrorism in Iraq after this interview and died. Moreover, Japanese Government admitted the arms maintenance by the legitimate self-defense purpose this year, and dispatched military forces.