original interview here
♪ Recording for「Insanity」
Q1. What were your impressions when you first listened to the instrumental version and read the lyrics?
Toyonaga Toshiyuki：While I got better acclimated to the group’s more intense feel, I still found this song incredibly difficult! (lol)
With this title, the band proved once again that it stands strong as a group, fully aware of the charms they can use to bewitch the listener… In my opinion, this tacit understanding best shone through the individual fastidiousness in the instruments, creating a cohesive whole. Insanity means “to lose yourself to madness or irrationality.” That really sets the tone for the song, huh! (lol) They never play it subtle.
All three singles will be released simultaneously, which can only highlight and contrast the bands’ respective features. I think our listeners will find familiar traits in HOUND ROAR despite the seemingly incongruous lyrics.
Q2. What was it like in the recording booth? Tell us what you were most conscious about, and what we should look forward to.
Toyonaga Toshiyuki：Everything was going smoothly upon receiving the samples and other raw materials, but… Would anyone be surprised if I said singing was harder than listening to it? (lol)
To be honest, I find this song very curious: I can groove along to the bands’ jam just fine, but if I got too into it I’d lose all means and intentions behind my singing.
HOUND ROAR best shows its artistic freedom in their composition style, notably when the drums dim out and suddenly the vocalist becomes the song’s rhythmic paradigm: that ability to swap the listener’s baseline in the middle of the song is proof of their self-reliance.
Truth be told, I find it very complex to weave nuance into each of HOUND ROAR's titles, but I like the challenge it puts me through: it’s a learning experience for sure!
That being said, I’d like to hear YOU sing this! (lol) That way you’ll understand how difficult it gets when you have no vocal guide on hand and the music sheet is so precise it’s essentially working against you. This single includes off-vocals: if you can sing, there’s nothing really stopping you… Wouldn’t it be fun if we turned this into the “Insanity Challenge”? (lol)