SPECIAL PROJECT DRUMMER : Portrait of KEN P’UNK [from P’UNK~EN~CIEL]

It’s like I just ran the hundred meter dash, sometimes, I can’t even breathe.

– Is this your first interview as KEN P’UNK?
[It’s my first time speaking as KEN P’UNK, yes. I ought to get into character (laughs). Hi, I’m KEN P’UNK.]

– I heard that when P’UNK~EN~CIEL records a song, you won’t let yourselves have more than three takes to do it, maximum. Is that true?
[Yes! That’s why I have to work pretty hard at practise before the recording. But in my case, my practise time is restricted to when I can get the studio. I’m on drums, so there’s only a few places I can go. I know how the readers of GiGS must feel. So yes, this time around, I practised at a live house during certain stops on the tour.]

– Not in a studio, but at live houses?
[The rehearsal studio was booked solid, so I had to use a live house. Plus, I had to practise on that day, or else I wouldn’t be ready for the live. I couldn’t just go on stage and play the drums without taking the time to rehearse.]

– Of the many songs you’ve released as coupling tracks to L’Arc~en~Ciel singles, several of them have become well-known, but the most spirited of them all must be Natsu no Yuuutsu SEA IN BLOOD 2007, right?
[Yeah. When I first heard the demo though, I wasn’t too sure, but I didn’t think I’d be able to play it. Up until then it was like “Double bass is forbidden”, so at first I played it on the tams. I think it was tams on HYDE P’UNK’s demo tape, too. But it’s hard to play that way, you know? There was no other way to do it, I practised double bass (with a twin pedal)…]

– It’s not a tempo you can learn just by practising lightly, is it?
[Man, my foot moves so fast now that I can’t sit down anymore. I was just thinking about pounding it, and before I knew it my butt was floating 2cm above the chair (laughs). …Honestly, it’s pretty tough. After playing that song, I’m panting like I’ve just run the 100m dash. I don’t know when to breathe, so I end up breathless (laughs).]

– Sounds rather dangerous.
[HONEY 2007 and Feeling Fine 2007 went extra smoothly, you know. The tempo was just right for what I’m good at. Just when I was starting to think I didn’t need to practise anymore, Natsu no Yuuutsu SEA IN BLOOD 2007 comes along, and well… yeah. But I did want to see if I could pull it off.]

– Because it’s so much like Slayer?
[Yeah, and I love Slayer. I told myself “Hey, I’m Dave Lombardo!” while playing it.]

– The intro closely resembles something Metallica might do, then the rest has an intense sound throughout… By the way, this isn’t quite “punk”, is it?
[…It’s slash metal, I know… I thought of that too.]

– Doesn’t P’UNK~EN~CIEL have a rule about only making punk songs? I already thought Kasou Heisei Juunananen was rather suspicious…
[Not really, no. The only thing is that YUKI P’UNK needs to yell “One two three four!” in every song, a little thing like that to standardize the songs. Oh, and I think HYDE P’UNK is making himself play right-handed (laughs).]

– For every song, it’s a different member who chooses the song to cover and decides the arrangements, right?
[That’s right. This time around, I did HONEY 2007, Feeling Fine 2007 was YUKI P’UNK’s, and HYDE P’UNK was in charge of Natsu no Yuuutsu SEA IN BLOOD 2007.]

– Does HYDE P’UNK get guitar advice from ken-san?
[Not really. HYDE P’UNK is always practising a lot. When he recorded the solo for Feeling Fine 2007, I was surprised. During the recording (for L’Arc~en~Ciel’s KISS) he practised to exhaustion every day, I guess so that he could copy the original solo perfectly.]

– When I first heard it, I honestly thought that it must have been played by ken from L’Arc~en~Ciel. I especially noticed the sweeps.
[Nope, it’s HYDE P’UNK. But yeah, I was surprised when he announced he was going to play the solo. He’s good! What the hell! (laughs)]

– But KEN P’UNK-san, you’re getting better and better yourself.
[I guess so, thank you. It’s really interesting, to the point that for the last tour, I wanted to practise drums more than guitar… Even I can see how I managed to progress to this level, it’s because I practised at this crazy pace. But if I play drums all the time and stop playing guitar, I get mad at myself, like “What the hell am I doing?” It’s just a question of having the time, drumming is really interesting for me. I love it. It feels wonderful. Thinking about it makes me feel a bit sad, though.]

– I understand. To cheer you up from that sadness, let’s talk about your precious drum set now. You debuted your personal drum set during the tour, but I’m wondering if there’s any particular reason why the shells are all different colours?
[Well you see, it’s just that I wanted to be able to go “I’ll play the black tam now!” or “I’ll play the red one now!!” They’re different sizes, but when you first look at them, don’t they look the same? That’s just… taste, you know?]

– Right…I see…?
[Oh, and if it’s all different colours, it looks more like a toy and it’s cute. This time, during the tour, I changed one of the cymbals halfway through. I’d been playing it, and decided it sounded too rough. I knew I had to change it to one that would sound a little clearer. I asked yukkie from L’Arc~en~Ciel for advice, and he agreed that I should change it, so I got the other one in there, and now I can play the way I want again (laughs).]

– As you accumulate experience as a drummer, I’m sure you must be discovering which equipment and which settings suit you best?
[During the tour, the engineers or yukkie would give me advice on what to do to make it easier to play, they taught me a lot. I’d try those things out, and learn what I like about it. So I guess the settings I use change naturally. It gradually turned into a proper drum kit, as you can see. And the settings are important, I know that now.]

– I guess that unlike tuning a guitar, you can’t do much in the way of adjustments in between songs. P’UNK~EN~CIEL isn’t on stage long enough.
[Right. Once I sit down, I can’t adjust anything. Now I understand why drummers are so picky about the way their drum kits are set up. It happens a lot. Like the song will start, then I notice “Whoa, this one’s a bit higher than usual, oh man…” you know (laughs).]

– And lastly, is there anything else you’d like to experiment with, as a drummer?
[As a drummer… I’d like to try songs that are less violent (laughs), but considering the special kind of band that P’UNK~EN~CIEL is, I don’t think I’ll ever get away with it. I’ve got to get myself into shape. The way I am now, just walking a little gets me huffing and puffing (laughs).]

– Are you training yourself, to get a body as strong as yukihiro-san’s?
[Well… I guess I’ll have to, if I want to play. Playing drums, you naturally end up with a body like that, right? But if I don’t have the guts, it’s impossible (laughs).]

Interview by Fushimi Satoshi
Translated by Natalie Arnold