Tatsuya Nakamura (BLINDMAN)
BLINDMAN is one of the few authentic hard rock bands coming out of Japan. They have just released their 8th studio album titled “Blazing Crisis”, 2 years since their previous release. “Blazing Crisis” portrays a dynamic and grandeur sound of powerful melodic tunes. This first class album not only satisfies the BLINDMAN fans, but has the potential of pleasing global rock fans still not familiar with the music of BLINDMAN. Tatsuya Nakamura, the guitar player of the band, appeals greatly with his melodic guitar performances filled with spirit. Also the producer, songwriter, and mastermind of the band, Tatsuya Nakamura took time to talk to us about the band and the new album.
Interview / Text Mamoru Moriyama
Translation EAGLETAIL MUSIC
Muse On Muse : There are probably many people, especially outside Japan, that are not familiar with BLINDMAN. Please give us a brief introduction. Please tell us how BLINDMAN was formed.
Tatsuya Nakamura : In the spring of 1995, I met Manabu Takaya at a club in Tokyo during a jam session. His voice really blew me away. I had a solo album released about a year before that, and I asked him if he would be interested in singing material from the album, for the shows I had coming up. That was what started the whole thing. We did a show together, and I instantly knew it would turn out to be a great band!
MM : When and how did you start music/playing guitar?
TN : I bought my first acoustic guitar when I was 15. No particular reason. I just felt like I wanted to play the guitar.
MM : Who were your influences back then?
TN : I was really into the Beatles at first. I then bought my first electric guitar about a year after I started. I then went on to like musicians such as Gary Moore, Michael Schenker and Yngwie Malmsteen.
MM : How did you learn to play, and improve your skills on the guitar? What got you to build up your originality and style, songwriting skills, developing licks, etc.?
TN : I basically just tried to play all the songs I used to listen to. Looking back now, I feel there really wasn’t a definite plan in what I was doing back then though. The bottom line was that I really wanted to write my own songs, and I started writing originals with my band when I was 18. I never really cared too much about trying to be original or having my own style. I just kept on writing what I liked.
MM : Tell us about BLINDMAN’s new album “Blazing Crisis”. What is the concept behind “Blazing Crisis”? What did you aim for when making the album?
TN : I basically aimed for high quality in every aspect. I wanted to make an album that had power, beauty, melancholy, and sounding cool at the same time. Definitely an album without any compromise at all.
MM : It took 6 months to make the album. Please tell us how you proceeded with the recordings.
TN : I basically allowed myself to take the long way round in order to achieve the perfection I wanted. For example, even if we were half way done with a particular song, if I didn’t like it, I would start from scratch again. In the tracking stages, I wouldn’t settle for a take that sounded okay. It had to be perfect. Obviously, by doing that, I found myself working on the album for 6 months.
MM : You wrote all the songs on the album. How complete are the songs written when you present them to the band for pre-production?
TN : It would depend on the song, but I would say the songs were 50 to 70% complete by the time I present them to the band.
MM : There seems to be an overall impression throughout the album, from the fast songs to medium tempo and slow, that the guitar riffs and rhythm patterns seem to have a great ‘hook’ to it. This seems to create a feel that definitely pulls you in to the atmosphere of the whole album.
TN : That’s definitely the point. That’s another reason why it took a whole 6 months to make the album.
MM : Louis Sesto and Tatsuya Toda have returned to the band after a 11 year absence. Are these two members a significant factor to the groove displayed in this album?
TN : Definitely! I’m sure it wasn’t easy to perform on this album, but they definitely put out their best. It’s been a long time since we have recorded together, but it was easy working and communicating with each other. We were all headed in the same direction and that was a great feeling!
MM : All songs performed by BLINDMAN are impressive with melodic vocals and guitars. It seems that a lot of bands in this style tend to have a rather ‘wet’ production, whereas BLINDMAN keeps a bright and powerful sound production, creating a unique originality of the band.
TN : I personally feel ‘dark’ and ‘sad’ to be something different. I really don’t have a feeling of ‘darkness’ in myself. On the other hand, I do have a feeling that expresses ‘sadness’. Although, I feel there is ‘hope’ in the ‘sadness’ portrayed in our sound, and that seems to be a trademark of BLINDMAN’s music. This is also reflected in the sound production, and I feel it was quite prominent on this album.
MM : “The Wasteland” and “Flame On The Sea” have a great dramatic progression.
TN : Both songs went through quite a bit of arranging after the recording started. All of my ideas slowly molded the song to what you are listening to now. I would have to admit, this was only possible due to the amount of time I was able to spend on the recordings.
MM : The guitar solo on “The Dirty Puppet Show” has a thrilling progression from the first half to the later half.
TN : I didn’t really intend to do that. I like the way you phrase that as ‘thrilling’ though. Yeah, that’s probably what I was trying to make…a thrilling solo!!
MM : All the guitar solos in the album sound like there is a solid melody line, composed prior to the recordings. Can you please tell us about your approach to the guitar solos on this album?
TN : None of the guitar solos were completely composed beforehand. I just like to sit down and keep playing until I come up with something I really like. I did have something more or less constructed for “The Tears Of God” and “End Of The Rainbow”, but I basically would keep playing without really thinking too much.
MM : Guitar riffs are an important aspect of hard rock music. We can hear some great riffs on songs such as “Blazing Crisis”, “The Wasteland” and “Rip My Soul”. Is there any particular approach you take, or anything you keep in mind when making a guitar riff?
TN : I admit that guitar riffs are a very important aspect in rock music. I’ve never really been overly conscious of that factor though. I consider a guitar riff equally to what I would consider a drum pattern or bass line to be, in terms of songwriting. It’s just another piece or part that makes up the song. Maybe it’s just that particular consciousness I have that allows me to come up with a great guitar riff.
MM : The ballad “End Of The Rainbow” really proves the musical deepness of the band. It also seems to blend in very naturally with the other songs that are more hard-edged.
TN : Thanks!!
MM : Can you tell us a bit about each of the songs on the album? How were the songs made? Are there any special meanings, messages behind the music?
TN :
“The Tears Of God”
This song was made in no time. I don’t even remember from which part of the song I wrote. The moment I wrote the song, I instantly knew that this would be one of those songs that would play an important role in my career. I mentioned that BLINDMAN’s music has an essence of ‘hope’ inside the ‘sadness’, and this is one of those songs that clearly express that value. It’s also a song I’d like people to look into the lyrics as well.
“My Fading Heart”
This was the first song I wrote for this album. It’s one of those songs that have the typical BLINDMAN trademarks. I personally consider the guitar solo on this song to be the best of all the guitar solos on the album.
“The Dirty Puppet Show”
It’s an up tempo song but has lots of rests, and that makes it difficult to play. Easily written but hard to play!! The solo on this song was more about the energy.
“The Wasteland”
Trying to make it sound like a song from the 70s…that was what I had in mind when writing it. After laying the vocals, the whole vibe of the song became more distinct, and I had fun doing some arranging on it. I remember getting goose bumps when listening to Manabu laying the vocals.
“Blazing Crisis”
The more we proceeded with the recording of this track, the better it sounded, and turned out to be a favorite among the band. That’s how the song finally made it’s way up to becoming the album title. This song is one of those typical BLINDMAN metal songs.
“Take My Hand”
I was playing around with this guitar riff, and Manabu started to sing on it. That’s basically how the song came to be. I then made a demo and presented it to the band. Everyone seemed to be awed with the intro though lol The song was written in F# but played in drop D tuning.
“Flame On The Sea”
I wrote the intro part first for this one. It’s one of those epic hard rock tunes.
“Rip My Soul”
This song was written based on the guitar riff. It may be a bit contradictory to what I stated previously, I guess. I always wanted to write a song in 6/8 with a 16th beat feel.
“End Of The Rainbow”
I happened to write this song right after one of my beloved cats passed away. I never really planned to link this song to the death of my cat, but Manabu wrote the lyrics that implied the incident. This song is a very important song for me.
“No Man’s Land”
This one’s a typical BLINDMAN rock’n’roll song. It’s all about the energy.
MM : Please tell us about your gear. What guitars, amps, effectors, foot pedals did you use for this recording?
TN : I used a ’91 Gibson Les Paul Custom and a recently made Les Paul Standard thru a 100W Marshall JCM 800. For foot pedals, I used a Fulltone Full Drive 2 and a MXR Phase90.
MM : What kind of guitar picks did you use? What kind of guitar strings did you use?
TN : I use 1.0mm Dunlop TORTEX teardrop picks and DR strings, either 10 – 52 or 10 – 50.
MM : What do you have planned next for BLINDMAN?
TN : We’re planning on doing more shows in 2013. I’m pretty sure we’ll be releasing something as well.
MM : Please give the readers a message.
TN : I really hope everyone has a chance to listen to “Blazing Crisis”. I’d love to have people to come and see our shows as well. It doesn’t matter in which order lol
BLINDMAN Official Site : http://www.blindman.jp/
BLAZING CRISIS / BLINDMAN
Triumph Records \2,940
1.The tears of god
2.My fading heart
3.The dirty puppet show
4.The wasteland
5.Blazing crisis
6.Take my hand
7.Flame on the sea
8.Rip my soul
9.End of the rainbow
10.No man’s land
“Blazing Crisis” is currently sold only in Japan.
The CD is available as an import at this website:
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=XQHK-1008
For any information regarding BLINDMAN, please contact the band at this e-mail address:
info@blindman.jp
