Going to victory.
In '99, MAX convinced us that plan was not necessarily
undecided, but they were determined to get it. If that's the case, they'll be digging in their
spurs to do so in the year 2000. They'll push forward to this crucial last year of the 20th
century, with the strongest teamwork, and a robust spirit!
It will soon be the year 2000. In our last interview, you said things like 'We're
beginning to see what comes' and 'We'll explode next year.' This time, I'd like to ask
you, 'What can you see now, and how will you explode?'
MINA: To say it broadly (our feelings of) 'We'll burst open! We'll explode' have
intensified. We want to go to everything with all we've got.
NANA: Last year we said 'We'll make the next year a year of concerts', and this year we
were able to make that a reality. And as we did that, our longing to do more gradually
increased. Next year we want to do it all, we want to put everything into a concrete form,
and burst open. I feel like this year was a year of recharging, I feel like as we fought, we
were storing stuff away. So next year, maybe we'll let it all out. (laugh)
'Maybe' refers to the letting it out, right?
REINA: Like ' I wonder what we should do?'
Huh? Are you still in the 'I wonder what we should do' stage?
REINA: We're really troubled about what we want to do, and what kind of songs we
want to sing. But we want to go in that direction doing one thing we want to do at a time.
NANA: Like, 'Without compromising on anything, we'll do what everyone agrees to!'
Before this, we've done some things that we thought 'Hmm?' about, so next year, we'll
do everything....
MINA: We'll do the things we think 'Let's go for it!' about.
LINA: We won't yield until the end.
As far as songs are concerned, wasn't your song 'Issho ni...' a beginning for all of
that? I think that it's a hint of what we'll see next year, but how were the
repercussions
MINA: A lot of the staff told us, 'This is wonderful!'. So we thought 'MAX is good!!'
(laugh)
What was your own response to it? Because you said before 'We don't know if it
will come out well.'
LINA: It's pretty hard to give out everything you want to express just doing it standing in
front of the camera. But when we're doing it standing on the stage in front of people, it's
easy to sing, and it feels good, like in a concert.
MINA: We heartily feel 'People have come to see us, this is so good!'
LINA: We feel the song the most (then). There's a huge difference in my feelings when
we have people there, and when we don't.
How was the reaction of those people, and of your fans? Was it noisy like you
imagined?
NANA: The first time we sang in front of people was on 'Hey! Hey! Hey!' When we first
walked out, they all said 'Wow!' (laugh) It was like everyone was thinking 'Huh? They
came like this?'
LINA: First off, they were really surprised at our outfits.
MINA: We'd decided, let's wear something so that you can tell we're not going to dance
just by looking at it. (laugh)
REINA: So was a feeling of 'walking, holding our skirts'
LINA: But it seems like our fans like this song too. Looking at the mail (from the
homepages), it has a really good reception, so we're very happy.
And MAX all like it a lot too. So this year locked up okay. To make the things you
want to do concrete, and a reality...
LINA: Until the bitter end. (laugh).
So next year, how will you explode? 'Boom!' like the explosion of a volcano, or
'bang! bang! bang!' like special rapid-firing, one after the other?
MAX: I wonder how...
MINA: I think we want to go with the special. Do it all one after the other.
NANA: We'd like to go 'bang! bang! bang!' (laugh) Because we all have so many
different things we want to do, but it's a struggle inside ourselves how we should do them
reality.
MINA: And I have a feeling that will be our task for next year as well.
What do you mean when you say task?
MINA: Umm...Like, how much can we fight? (laugh)
So it's hat kind of thing after all.(laugh)
LINA: We have a lot of various ideas and images, but like Nanako said before the
question is what form we should put them in, and if we can explain them to the people
that will make them with us so that they'll be able to see what we're talking about.
NANA: Also, I think there's the question of, how much can we actually do to go to what
we see inside ourselves?
LINA: But I think that these ideas come out because we feel like we can do them.
When I watched MAX's live video, I really felt 'MAX continues to go forward by
creating their own path. Rather than walking their own way on a paved road, making a
road where there wasn't one.
LINA: We're a construction site. (laugh) With a drill we go da da da da!
Surely. If you come across a rock blocking your way, you destroy it with a pickax.
That kind of energy and feelings
MAX: We do have that, for sure.
REINA: In a good way, I want to get off the road. Even if I'm told 'Go here.', I want to
leave that road. (laugh)
It seems as though MAX will be very interesting next year. As you special fire bang
bang bang! (laugh)
MINA: We're in the middle of making our strategy. (laugh) But I think we'll start really
soon.
NANA: Yeah. Because our heads are full of our first shot for the new year. Because
we're worried about how we want to make our first single for next year....it's a part of
us that we won't yield about. (laugh) I think if we can do that, then with that confidence
we'll go quickly to the next thing.
REINA: Since it's also the next one after 'Issho ni...' we want to split open. First off, we
plan to go to a place that you can't imagine if you listen to 'Issho ni...'.
You're really strong because you've gotten to where you can assert your own wills.
You say 'We won't yield', and 'We'll fight.'
MINA: Yeah. We have so much energy, we're saying 'The four of us together, let's go to
fight!' (laugh) now.
But, you're going to fight because you believe you'll win, aren't you?
MAX: Yeah, of course. (laugh)
What if they say, 'Save this for a little later?'
MINA: No. We won't bend next year! (laugh)
LINA: First of all, we want take a challenge, do what the four of us are thinking. Not a
revolving, like next, next, but like 'Let's try it!', more positively....we ourselves don't
even know how things will turn out, but I have a feeling that since we're MAX, we can
do it.
NANA: We'll just do the things that we think of. Because it's boring to just do safe
things all the time. We want to take a challenge, in the true sense of the word.
Mina: With our songs this year, we we're challenging ourselves with what we were
given. Next year, we want challenge ourselves with what we ourselves think.
If you do that, you'll be the only one's responsible for what happens.
NANA: Right. We've been told that. (laugh)
REINA: But we're prepared for that. This is a serious showdown.
LINA: And you can't get anywhere if you're scared of failure.
By the way, your tour for next summer has actually already been decided, right?
REINA: We already have a lot of ideas for that as well. (laugh)
NANA: This year, we visited pretty slender places. So next year we want to do interesting
things on a slightly bigger stage.
MINA: It's become an arena tour, but...
NANA: So we'll make the concerts as well something different than this year.
REINA: As soon as we release an album. But what songs should we pick up, and
stuff....we're feelings 'Ah, what should we do?!'
MINA: And it also depends on what we show everyone.
There's also the prediction that before your tour you'll release an album. What do
you want your next one to be like?
REINA: Um....we want to include a bit of playfulness. Yeah, like the kind of play you'd
enjoy at a concert. Also, we want the whole album to have a theme.
NANA: For example, we'd put in an introduction, and have the songs gradually go
forward from that image to create a story.
LINA: We'd like to make a flow to the album. Like our concert had. Also maybe a little
more casual feeling would be mice. Because all our songs up until now have been very
set and formal. Of course there are fun elements to that as well, but....I think that it would
be fun if we had a more....cool and yet casual feeling.
It seems like at the moment you're worried more than enough over the concepts for
the first half of next year.
MINA: It's because we're always thinking about it. Lately, we're always talking together
about our plans, and strategies for next year.
I'm looking forward to this all next year.
MAX: Doesn't it excite you?! We're all really looking forward to it too.
Anyway, gradually surprise us all. Slip away from the path and be cool. If everyone's
hearts beat fast, everyone get excited, or if everyone talks about it a lot, that's all okay.
I'm looking forward to it.
NANA: We'll be happy if everyone will look forward to it like that.
MINA: We're on fire!
REINA: Brimming with confidence....
LINA: We want to triumph! (laugh)