MUCC's Tatsurou Discusses "Kido Airyaku": "I Wanted to Make It Intense and Distorted"
This interview was originally published in Japanese on barks.jp. Translated by VK Chronicle.
Interview: Tatsurou (MUCC) Speaks on 『奇怒哀落』—Inexhaustible Emotion: “I Wanted It Dense and Distorted”
Tatsurou of MUCC, who launched his solo project in 2021, has consistently released music and performed live, discovering what was “missing” from his solo work each time and creating new material to enhance its completeness. About five years into his solo career, during the interview for his previous single “checkmate,” Tatsurou spoke of having “created a coordinate-like song that shows my current position for the first time in my solo work,” hinting at a real sense of accomplishment that “my solo activities have finally come full circle.”
After completing the national tour <LIVE HOUSE TOUR [VILLAINS chapter 2]>, Tatsurou stepped into the next phase, creating the EP 『奇怒哀落』. This four-track EP takes the four emotions of “喜怒哀楽” (joy, anger, sorrow, happiness), removes “喜” and “楽,” and adds “奇” and “落” instead—each of the four tracks swirling with different emotions in Tatsurou’s unique interpretation.
Infusing raw human emotion into songs—whether in MUCC’s work or elsewhere—is arguably Tatsurou’s strength as a vocalist. However, the distinctive worldview each of the four tracks possesses and the depth of expression they contain are uniquely possible in a solo project. We invite you to glimpse into the world of Tatsurou’s solo work, which has bloomed further under the constraints of this concept.
“真人間”—Starting with a Word / Moving on Instinct, But It Was Right
Q: The <LIVE HOUSE TOUR [VILLAINS chapter 2]> took place from March to April 2026. In your previous interview, you mentioned that “something like a comprehensive collection of my solo work so far seemed possible.” How did it actually feel?
Tatsurou: During the
Q: So your premonition came true. Could you put that sense of accomplishment into more concrete words—what aspect was that?
Tatsurou: It’s like I was able to create something with a distinct atmosphere—”this is the vibe of a Tatsurou solo live.” What I mean is, I was able to create emotions, atmosphere, and temperature that only move in Tatsurou solo, not MUCC. That was huge. But that atmosphere isn’t something I create alone—it’s created by the whole floor including the audience, all the members on stage. It’s a world born from me sending something out, everyone sharing it, and coming together. That’s the sensation.
Q: You started solo with some uncertainty, and through working with various people, it’s all come together.
Tatsurou: That’s right. So next, I don’t want to just continue on the same trajectory—I wanted to build on something completed and move into a different world.
Q: And what you created was your first EP, 『奇怒哀落』. Was your approach to making this different from before?
Tatsurou: The first thing I decided on was the tour title <真人間> (True Human). I'd been thinking I wanted something in Japanese since all my previous tour titles had been horizontal English writing. Then, out of nowhere, the words <真人間> just popped into my head. So I started thinking, "What kind of material would I bring to a tour titled <真人間>?" The schedule is tight, but if I could make something, I wanted it to be around four tracks—an EP. I also wanted an upbeat, fast song. So I thought, wouldn't it be good to make an EP themed around the emotions that "human" represents—喜怒哀楽 (joy, anger, sorrow, happiness)? Last year I released the mini-album 『MONOCHROME』, and I found the approach of writing seven songs themed around a rainbow's color palette really interesting. So I thought, "Why not assign a song to each of the four emotions in 喜怒哀楽 and write them out?"
Q: The tour title had quite an impact when it was announced. Why did you want to go with Japanese?
Tatsurou: I’d been doing hazy, horizontal English words and phrases forever, so I was getting tired of it (laughs). Instead of something vague and broadly interpretable, I wanted something grittier, more dense, more distorted, you know? I wanted the EP to have a bit of an edge to it too.
Q: I thought it was very you—the way “喜” becomes “奇” and “楽” becomes “落.” But joy and happiness are…?
Tatsurou: I just didn’t need them (laughs). I wanted to change the entrance and exit in my own way, so I went with 『奇怒哀落』. Before the songs and lyrics were finished, I already had images in mind—”奇” as “奇妙な果実” (Strange Fruit) and “落” as “落下の終着点” (The End of Falling). The “怒” and “哀” changed from the working titles, but either way, the title image came first. I shared it thinking it might be a hint as I worked on the songs with Fusumi Adachi in the usual way. For the guitar recording, I asked the same person who worked on the previous single “checkmate.” I told them, “I want a song with this kind of title, so please expand the image and play guitar accordingly.”
Q: Do you leave a lot up to them?
Tatsurou: Fusumi’s demo already has pretty solid ideas in it. So based on the demo, since the guitarist has their own brain, it’s more like “based on this, give me a good take.”
Q: Sharing the vision probably helps things move smoothly.
Tatsurou: The songs probably came together smoothly. With 『MONOCHROME』, the sounds were associative from colors rather than emotions, so it was hazier. This time it might have been more concrete.
Q: The jacket artwork by Takahito Takahashi is really wonderful—the worldview of the piece comes across beautifully.
Tatsurou: I really like it too. From the start, I had the image of “I want them to draw a clown.” I told the designer, “For the work 『奇怒哀落』, I want a clown with an indescribable expression,” and they introduced me to someone they knew. I told them, “I can’t make out the expression, can’t tell the gender, draw it with that indescribable quality,” and it turned out perfectly. Starting from words like <真人間> that appeared out of nowhere, I moved on instinct and inspiration, but it wasn't wrong—I'm really happy about that.
Q: The first track is “奇妙な果実” for “奇.” The guitar and bass sound crisp, but there’s something fresh about the mid-tempo and stylish atmosphere.
Tatsurou: With a tempo like this, it doesn’t necessarily get the live crowd hyped, but as a recording, it’s fun to listen to. I’m sensing J-POP in there. That anemic kind of J-POP feeling, not the catchy type. I was conscious of that across all four tracks, not just this one. We’re doing something niche, but the song can’t become niche—when writing lyrics, I’m conscious of pop music. I wanted it to be something you can really listen to as pop music, that kind of openness.
Q: Not just something that gets the crowd going live, but something to enjoy as a song itself.
Tatsurou: Exactly. Since “奇” doesn’t mean the song has to be difficult to understand, and it is pop in how it sounds. I wanted to do pop music, but with lyrics that are a bit twisted and interesting. When I got the sketch from Fusumi for this song, I was really excited. As an opening number, it became a song that makes you wonder what’s about to begin.
Q: The lyrics have a worldview that makes you imagine whether it’s a happy ending or a sad ending.
Tatsurou: This is a merry bad ending, I’d say. Like, you thought they were a sketchy person, but it turns out you’re both sketchy… well, if both of them are having fun, isn’t that fine? (laughs)
Q: (laughs) With “St.Anger,” did you make that from your earlier point about wanting an upbeat, fast song?
Tatsurou: Yeah, it’s just a song that runs full-speed ahead. With this type of song, you can place it anywhere in a live set—at the beginning, toward the end—so it’s a useful piece to have. It’s an approach MUCC does well, but since Fusumi writes the melody in my solo work too, it felt fresh and interesting. From my side, I just shaved off one note at the start of the chorus to give it a bit more momentum—it’s basically all Fusumi’s melody.
Q: Themed around “怒” (anger), what’s written is anger directed inward, not outward.
Tatsurou: When I was thinking about how to direct a single person’s anger as part of the 『奇怒哀落』 theme, instead of anger directed outward, the image was more about building it up inside yourself first and then an explosive release. Every time, I dialogue with the song and think “what emotion does this song stir up in me?” before writing, and what this song stirred up was that. The title “St.Anger” too—there’s an interesting irony and contrast in “the anger of a saint,” someone who wouldn’t normally get angry.
Q: Those lines at the beginning—《何時からか忘れてしまっていた 願う事 夢見ることを》(I forgot when, but I’ve forgotten wishing, dreaming)—really struck me. The message “release the emotions you’ve been holding back” seems to be directed at an adult version of yourself?
Tatsurou: Yeah. I really love a calm, peaceful everyday life, but I think at times, when emotions move—like at a live—that’s necessary too. Though it is exhausting when emotions surge.