"We are ourselves. That's something that hasn't changed."
Birth, their break from that sly old fox Ivan, and the new album
The Renaissance of Tatu!
As we reported in the Character of the Month feature in last month's rockin' on, Tatu have returned. They have at last got off and running ahead of the October 5th release of their second album "Dangerous and Moving". This is an exclusive interview that we were eventually able to secure after our staff stuck close by the duo during their video shoot in LA. Initially, we were told that we would be able to talk to them immediately during the breaks in filming somewhere, but this shoot, during which two videos were ultimately filmed, involved working around the clock for three days. As is characteristic of Tatu, the schedule for the interview was gradually pushed back further and further, but our staff stayed close at hand and were eventually able to talk to the more sedate duo on the fourth day, once filming had ended.
The two girls, who created a sensation with a variety of scandals, such as their sudden cancellations in Japan, their almost-empty Tokyo Dome concert, the attitude of their former producer Ivan, and Yulia's birth, spoke candidly to us about those scandals. In the previous edition, Yoichiro Yamasaki (Editor-in-Chief of rockin' on) described their first single "All About Us" as, "A straightforward message song from the ‘abandoned generation'" and this was an interview in which this essence of their words may be able to be perceived unexpectedly well. Normally, Yulia hardly speaks during interviews in English, but this time we were able to secure the services of a Russian interpreter. The air around the table was filled with words in Russian and English as the two girls answered very earnestly.
Rockin' on = R
Yulia = Y
Lena = L
R: Yulia, you've had a baby, haven't you? Congratulations! We're delighted that both mother and baby are doing well.
Y: Yeah, thanks.
R: What's wrong? Wasn't the birth one of the most important experiences of your life?
Y: That's true – my viewpoint on things has changed a lot. Firstly, I've become more responsible and when you have a baby at home, there are various things that you have to do for the baby, but at the same time all these emotions that I've never felt before have welled up inside me.
R: Do you feel that this has had some kind of effect when you sing your new songs?
Y: Yes, I do. I think my approach to the songs has changed. New sensations have emerged, like gentleness and softness.
R: Lena, while Yulia was pregnant, you did various things on your own. During this time, were you absorbed in anything particular?
L: I carried on studying at the university. I'm in my last year at university now. Apart from university, I spent time with my friends and family.
R: When did discussions about making your second album as Tatu begin in earnest? How did you each feel when you heard about that?
L: No, that's not right – nobody told us to make a second album.
Y: We decided to make it.
L: Yes, the two of us discussed it and we began making it when we thought we were ready to get started on the recording.
R: So, when did you actually begin recording, then?
Y: In January this year.
L: We were planning the second album before that, but we actually got the ball rolling in January.
R: But before that, your old producer, Ivan Shapovalov, left you, didn't he?
L: We left him.
Y: Well, it wasn't so much that one left the other, rather that we decided to split up with each other, because our opinions began to differ and there was no longer any need to carry on working together. But even now we still talk to Ivan and meet him, and we're still good friends.
R: Who are the key staff members who support you in this sense now? Has Boris Rensky (who was with them the whole time during the video shoot), who is credited as executive producer on your album, taken on the work that Ivan used to do?
Y: Boris is our manager. We don't have a producer like Ivan now. The overall production, not just the music, is done by us and we have various people supporting us in those areas as well.
R: So you two have the power of decision when you have to decide something.
L: Yes, we do it.
R: That's great.
Y&L: Yes!
R: So your second album "Dangerous and Moving" is going to be released. How was it, singing songs that various songwriters had written for you?
Y: It was great fun.
L: Yes, I think we were able to put all our souls and energy into making this album, and it was the best feeling.
R: How many songs did Trevor Horn produce on this album? Just "Craving"?
Y: Yes, just the one song.
L: But it's always amazing to work with him. He's easy to work with and a really lovely person.
R: Who wrote the single "All About Us"
Y: A number of people wrote it….but I forget who.
L: It was some American songwriters. The song "All About Us".
R: Including the content of the lyrics, doesn't this song honestly express your feelings right now?
Y: Yes, that's right. But it's not just about us, it's a song that includes you, and him, and everyone.
L: It's a song that's applicable to everyone in the world, I think.
R: I see. As you sing at the beginning of this song, you've been the focus of criticism, but how do you feel about that?
L: We don't take any notice of the Tatu-bashing. Everyone has their own different opinions, you see.
J: I mean, everyone was complimenting us, saying "Yulia and Lena are cute, they're pretty", but behind our backs, various people were saying nasty things, like "Lena's not pretty" and "Yulia's fat". But that doesn't matter.
R: But didn't you get depressed about being criticized?
Y: No, we rise above it!
L: We don't get depressed about things like that.
Y: In fact, it makes us stronger.
R: Do you think this strength is a national characteristic unique to Russia?
Y: Ummm…I don't think it's so much that Russians are strong, rather that we're more relaxed. We don't get bothered about trivial things.
L: And we say exactly what we're thinking.
R: Japanese people tend to speak after they've thought about what they're going to say, and I certainly think that you are a lot more open compared with that.
Y: Yeah, I think we're open.
L: We definitely don't think before we speak.
R: You came to Japan in December 2003 to do some concerts, but the Tokyo Dome was pretty empty, which was partly due to the uproar over the sudden cancellations. But the concerts themselves were superb.
Y: [seems pleased] Thanks!
L: Thanks.
R: Besides the superficial scandals, do you think you have inside you an awareness of yourselves as artists and performers getting by through your own efforts?
L: We are just ourselves. Don't think of us as scandalous beings or performers, we are just being our natural selves. It's like I was saying before – it's "All About Us", like our first single. We are not doing anything special. We are just doing what we want to.
R: At the beginning, when you were performing the songs from your first album, you used to kiss and embrace on stage, but do you think that the concept of sex has a big role to play in Tatu now?
Y: Ummm, before that might have been the case…but that wasn't everything, you know.
L: Sex didn't play a big part.
Y: What we want everyone to know is that the lyrics of our songs aren't talking about our actual lives. What's important, first of all, is us, and then the music; we really don't see ourselves as lesbians.
L: And we're not lesbians, you know. We just love each other.
R: Well, if that's the case, what do you think is the biggest concept that dominates Tatu now?
Y&L: [in unison] We don't have a concept!
Y: We are ourselves.
L: That's all.
Y: That's something that hasn't changed. Before we released the first album and since then, we have been our natural selves and have been doing what we want to. There were various things before, but they are in the past now and we are now who we are now. Everything's cool now.
L: Even before now, we were ourselves, but if there is a difference, it's that we feel we have more freedom now.
R: So do you think that by being yourselves in this way, you are giving listeners the message "Be yourself"?
L: Yes, "Being yourself" is what's at the very heart of Tatu, I think. Because many people want to be someone else and aren't true to themselves. That's not good. I want everyone to be their true selves, not try to be someone else. I want them to be themselves, without worrying about other people's opinions, and feel happy and become free.
Y: I think it would be great if everyone could listen to our new album "Dangerous and Moving" and become more relaxed.
L: I think it could become the opportunity to think about things.
R: What are your thoughts about your lives in the future?
Y: We don't have any plans, but we have various ideas and we want to do various things other than music.
R: Lena, you said that you wanted to retire at 27. Do you still feel the same?
L: No, even I don't know what I'll do in the future. It might be when I'm 28, it might be when I'm 30, it might be when I'm 25. I don't know.
Y: Me neither! [laughs]
L: [laughing] You can't plan for the future. The things you think today could completely change by tomorrow.
R: OK, finally, what do you have to say to people who reckon that Tatu is already behind the times?
L: Everyone has different opinions, so I don't give a toss. The people who like us listen to our music. Those who don't, don't. That's fine.
R: What about you, Yulia?
Y: I feel the same. Who cares!
R: I'd like to ask you one last thing. Even now, your Japanese fans still don't know what actually happened to make you suddenly cancel your live TV appearance. So what did happen?
L: We don't want to talk about that. It's in the past and let's just forget it. Let's not think about the past; let's think about what's ahead. But I just want to say this: we love our fans and we love Japan, and we really want to go to Japan again and play there.
Rockin' on
Interviewer: Takuya Furukawa
Interpreter: Miho Suzuki
Transcription: Cain
Translation: LenochkaO
06.09.2005 |
