Ongaku to Hito June 2026 edition - Interview between Kaoru [Dir en grey] and Toshi-Low [Brahman]
Kaoru and Toshi-Low first met at the party after Lunatic Fest 2018. Kaoru didn't know anyone at the party, so he kept bothering whoever did the MC, only to find out that it was Toshi-Low. Toshi-Low thought that Kaoru and him were the same age, but Kaoru corrected him because he is one year older, but Toshi-Low was so drunk that he didn't even remember that Kaoru had said that. Since then, whenever they see each other, they usually hang out and drink until the early morning. Toshi-Low takes Kaoru bar-hopping. ย
Toshi-Low's impression of Dir en grey is that they do "chaotic hardcore", that they had an image of being unapproachable until he got to know Kaoru, and that they are a band who confronts people with the fact that everybody will die eventually. As for Kaoru, he knew Brahman from the start, as they were often featured in Fool's Mate magazines. The editor-in-chief back then, Tojo, made sure to dedicate a page to Brahman, and he had said one day that Brahman and Dir en grey should play together and, if that ever happened, he would make sure to go see that show. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2008, so he was never able to live that dream. The latest Jinmiraisai festival made it come to life, finally, and they had some relatives of Tojo's provide pictures of him that the band members stuck around the venue, to do as if he was watching the show with them.
Apparently Dir en grey gets approached about participating in festivals once in a while, but the way it's done, it feels like the festivals are just running out of ideas and that they contacted Dir en grey as a last resort. But what made the offer to play at Jinmiraisai different is that it coincided with Brahman's 30th anniversary, so Dir en grey felt like it must mean something special to them to invite them on this special occasion, specifically.
The drummer of Brahman, Ronzi, refers to Die and Toshiya as the southern and northern alps hahah.
While rehearsing, there was a day when Brahman talked about nothing but Dir en grey. They all came to like Dir en grey very much, not just Toshi-Low. That's why, exceptionally, all the members except Kyo stayed for the after-party when Jinmiraisai ended. In the end, the only people left were the four of them, the members of Brahman, and Sugizo from Luna Sea.
In Dir en grey, their manager presents them with a proposal for the members to consider. All of them have to agree, because if even one person is hesitant, then they either put it off for reconsideration later, or they outright don't do it.
Based on experience, Kaoru has seen that if he speaks up first, as it is his personality to do, then other members in Dir en grey will hold their own opinion back. To avoid that, Kaoru has consciously withheld his opinions in favor of gathering the other four members' feedback first.
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