Zy 37: Merry

The new album M.E.R.R.Y. (on sale November 7th), was released about one year and four months since their last album. This is their third album since debuting with a major label and the name seems to show their confidence. Their tour, Many Merry Days #3, where they will play their new songs for fans, starts on November 20th. Although we are interested in what is happening in their lives at the moment, we took this opportunity to ask them about their new album. This time vocalist Gara and guitarist Yu, represented the band and took some time out for this interview.


First of all, I want to ask you why you made the album title M.E.R.R.Y.?

Gara: I talked with the members before we started to make this album. I talked about various artists work that I listened to from way back and how usually a third album is something different, like a new starting point. Also I was told by my engineer that the third album is very important. We thought that too, so I told the members that I wanted to put the title M.E.R.R.Y. on it. At that time the songs hadn't been written yet and we hadn't yet determined the concept, but we thought we would make our album with this approach.

Some may say that your way of thinking that the third album is important seems a little old fashioned (laugh), but I personally totally understand that. Why did you put periods between the letters?

Gara: When we finished the recording and all the songs were chosen, I felt that there was a law of M.E.R.R.Y. in them. "M" is Merry. "E" is eroguro. "R" is retro. Another "R" is rock and "Y" is Japanese yellow. When I saw these elements, I found that all of the songs put in this album were integrated in the title. We can read it "Merry". However, I found "Merry is just M.E.R.R.Y." after all.

Wow, that really sums it all up for you. Did you get goosebumps when you came up with that?

Gara: "Y" was difficult, but I used the word "yellow" in lyrics and titles, so I thought it was good. I didn't aim to do it by the release date, but I managed to come up with it on the day of our first live. But yeah, I did get a kind of tingly feeling.

It's awesome and almost seems too good to be true. So the title was determined while you didn't have a concept, and the result was "M.E.R.R.Y.". I think that bands in their early phases are usually bound by the concepts they have.

Gara: There are many cases in which they can't get away from a particular concept, because they make their world view too clear.

So, you were able to make songs freely this time?

Yu: Yes but we have been thinking that since we made this band, that we have to avoid having too firm of a concept, to keep spreading our world. So I think that we have been able to broaden our world quite a lot. So we released our compilation, and I was writing songs thinking about the title of "M.E.R.R.Y.".

Gara: Recently we were told that we "don't do eroguro so much", and that we "became more beautiful and fresh" (smile). However, we haven't changed from before because eroguro and retro still exists within us. You can see that in the song Seinen Himitsu Club. We didn't think "We'll aim to do this", but we made it naturally, and that's it.


For the rest of the interview, please refer to Zy 37.

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