Lamp “Komorebidoori ni te” interview & liner notes (2005)

According to Lamp, their third release, Komorebidoori ni te, was one of the toughest recordings of their career. Thankfully, their hard work paid off: I think it’s fair to call Komorebidoori ni te an absolute classic album that has stood the test of time. This interview from 2005 was published in the free magazine “bounce,” later re-posted on Tower Records Online in slightly edited form.

Original interview & text: bounce.com (parts one & two)
English translation: Henkka
Lamp online: website, label, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, Instagram

You can buy Lamp’s music directly from the band, both physically and digitally, on Bandcamp.

Lamp — a three-piece band that debuted in April of ’03 with their mini-album, Soyokaze Apartment 201. Their third album, Komorebidoori ni te, clearly showcases the members’ stubbornness in their attitude towards music — it’s a work of zero compromise. The harmonies of their male-female twin vocals, already highly praised since their debut, have been refined even further, and the gradation between their rhythms and their carefully selected tones has become even more vivid and colorful than in the past. We’re glad to present to you an interview from behind the scenes of this new-generation, pop music masterpiece.

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Takahashi Yuichi – Tsuishin (English Lyrics)

追伸
Postscript

Even if I had been able to treat you kind that day
How much longer would the two of us have lasted?

Call me sometime,” you said with a smile
As I saw you off, unable to say a word

And yet, each time I walk these roads
It feels like I might meet you again

Like a day repeating forever, I keep reliving the night
When I thought I could love you

Even now my heart aches when I remember
How I chose on purpose to hurt you

Hearing you say goodbye to me that day
A tiny part of me honestly felt relieved

And yet, each time I walk these streets
I’m searching for any traces of you

Like a day repeating forever, it wasn’t a lie
When I thought I could love you

Like a day repeating forever, I keep reliving the night
When I thought I could love you

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Takahashi Yuichi – Aki (English Lyrics)


Autumn

Even now, I can’t put that love behind me
Once more, I look back
Even now, unable to forget about you and that sky
Once more, I remember

Driving along the river, after that gentle curve
A chilly gust of wind blew through the opened window

But even though the love is now gone
I alone remain within that wind

Even now, I can’t put that love behind me
Once more, I look back
Even now, unable to forget about you and that sky
Once more, I remember

Promising each other how one day we’d live by that lake
You were a bit younger — almost like my little sister

“I look forward to it”
You said with a smile
So then why…?

Even now, I can’t forget about your kindness that day
Once more, I look back
Even now, I just can’t put that love behind me
Once more, I remember

“The dead leaves of the autumn sky feel so sad to me”
You told me with sorrow on your face
Even now, unable to forget your profile as you spoke
It remains forever etched in my heart

Once more, I reminisce about your smile that day
Looking up at the autumn sky
As the cassette we listened to in the setting sun
Keeps repeating forever

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Takahashi Yuichi – Tahiti no Yoru (English Lyrics)

タヒチの夜
Night of Tahiti

Do you remember?
Talking as we watched the sea
I said I’d take time off
And we’d visit that Southern island

Neither of us ever thought
That would be the day we break up

Wind blowing against the evening sea
Lights of ships sailing in the horizon
They must’ve looked so beautiful

Waves breaking against the pier
Just the two of us in the night of Tahiti
Memories of never getting to take you there

As the sandy beach becomes chilly
Even the waves start to sound lonely
If only I could’ve won you over that day
It would be just us together now

Wind blowing against the evening sea
Lights of ships sailing in the horizon
They must’ve looked so beautiful

Waves breaking against the pier
Just the two of us in the night of Tahiti
Memories of never getting to take you there

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Takahashi Yuichi – Bourbon (English Lyrics)

バーボン
Bourbon

Day after day
I work until the small hours of morning
In this bar with bottles of Western liquor
Lined up side-by-side

Each time as I polish the dishes I swear to myself
“I’ll drink as many of these guys as I possibly can”

One day I’ll save up the cash and start my own bar
My chance will definitely come
Until then, I’ll save my strength

Surely my dream will come true
That’s what I keep telling myself
I’ll believe only in myself and I’ll show them

On the rare day off, I bring over a nice girl
Taking some liquor from the bar without permission

Doesn’t matter what anyone says — bourbon’s the best!
I love this stuff more than anything else

Already decided long ago where I’m going to build my bar
The best residential coast area in town
Couldn’t care less if it gets covered in rust

Surely my dream will come true
I keep picturing the moment
I’ll believe only in myself and I’ll show them

Surely my dream will come true
That’s what I keep telling myself
I’ll believe only in myself and I’ll show them

Surely my dream will come true
I keep picturing the moment
I’ll believe only in myself and I’ll show them

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