【EN】Ep.2-How Release Hallucination Began

※This article is a revised version of one originally published on Release Hallucination’s pixivFANBOX.

Over time, as we exchanged a few more messages, I learned that he was the same age as me. His replies were always so brief that I couldn’t help wondering what kind of person he really was. Still, at that time it was rare to find someone my age who both used a computer and made music, so the idea of a guitarist my age reaching out carried a lot of promise.

Not long after his message, we arranged to meet in Shibuya.
—Nowadays meeting someone you first contacted online might sound reckless, but back then the internet wasn’t as widespread as it is now, and this sort of thing was surprisingly common.

Our first meeting took place at a Doutor Coffee in Sakuragaoka, Shibuya, a place I often used for band meetups.

My first impression of kaoru was simply, “What an interesting guy.” He seemed calm but had a strong will, hard to tell if he was more grown-up or more childlike. Either way, he was unlike anyone I knew. Strangely enough, our taste in music and the flow of conversation clicked right away, and before long we had agreed to rehearse together. After a short preparation period, we booked a studio in Shibuya, brought in a support drummer, and played through three cover songs.

One of those songs was Janne Da Arc’s RED ZONE. Back then, being able to play that song properly was sort of a benchmark we used. Kaoru’s playing was more than up to par, and so we naturally began working together in the same band. Looking back, I think it was actually me who was the weak link, technically speaking… but that’s a part of history I’d rather not dwell on too much.

The band’s style leaned toward J-ROCK, with strong influences from groups like L’Arc-en-Ciel and Janne Da Arc—close in spirit to the visual-kei scene.

To be continued in the next article.

— emi