Eternal
Elysium may not have the international fame of BORIS or Church Of
Misery but these guys are still considered pioneers of the
International Psych Doom/Stoner Metal scene. The band have been going
since 1991 and have released a wealth of fantastic Doom/Stoner Metal
riffs over the years and across 6 critically acclaimed albums.
Their
most acclaimed album is probably 2005's – Searching Low & High
– which has been given a new lease of life courtesy of RobustFellow
Prods. As that cool label is reissuing the album on DD and CD. The
album has been digitally remastered and remixed by lead
guitarist/vocalist Yukito Okazaki with stunning new artwork to match.
I
caught up with Yukito Okazaki (Vocals/Guitars) recently where we
discussed about this classic album and future plans for the band.
Hi
Yukito. Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with you
today.
Pretty
good. Thanks to you guys for giving us the opportunity to get the
word out about us to people.
We
are here to talk about the reissue of your classic album –
Searching Low & High. How did the idea came about to reissue the
album on CD. Was it your idea or RobustFellow.
We
got a great offer from RobustFellow last year. I was surprised and
glad, because we were often talking about how most of our past
albums are out of print. We asked what they wanted to do, and they
explained their plan very much. That's totally great, so we decided
to create something great with them.
Why
that particular album. Why not other earlier albums of the band.
I
understand what you're saying. There are a few reasons: the
first point was that we needed to check the old contracts and
situations of each album. At least with Searching Low & High we
knew we were free to reissue for CD and digital releases. Vinyl of
this album (released by Hydro-Phonic Rec) is still alive, so we
didn't think we wanted to do that again. It took some time to clarify
the situations with some of the other albums.
And,
there is a more important point. This album is the 4th, but also the
first release of the current lineup. I love every album we put out,
and I'm sure Searching Low & High has great vibes. I remembered
what we felt then. Lots of beautiful people helped and supported us
so much. Almost 12 years have passed since we made this. 12 years is
the timing when the Japanese zodiac has made a complete cycle.
Perfect.
Did
you have any other label offers to release the remastered album on
CD. Are there plans for a vinyl release in the future.
Not
really, we remastered it for this project. I don't want to spoil any
surprises of future plans. Anyway, there’s gonna be great
gifts for those who are waiting for reissues of more of our works.
Can
you tell people what is different about this album compared to the
original.
The
biggest change is the sound image. I mixed both the original
and this reissued version, and I tried to pull some ornaments out of
there to get the sound of the real recording environment back.
Enhancements that I made on original mix sometimes covered what we
were doing, so I was carefully taking out the excess. I think the
total balance became much better than original. Shape of sounds
became a little mellow, but still heavy, even more. I took out some
trippy dubs, and modified others. And, I added some dubs only a
little bit after I made natural mix. I think you guys can catch our
vibes more.
You’ve
included two songs that appeared on the vinyl version of the album –
Eternal Elysium and The Spiral Conclusion. Why were these not
included on the original CD version of the album.
We
recorded these two 4, 5 years after the original release, just
for bonus on LP, so it was impossible. Well, I remixed both tracks
for reissue release, so I think fans who already have listened on LP
can enjoy again.
I’ve
heard the new version and it sounds so much better than the original
version. Was it an easy or hard experience remastering the entire
album.
Thanks.
I actually tried only remastering first, but I felt the it was
possible to make the original sound even greater. I think that's
right decision. It made value so much more.
Did
you feel apprehensive or feel under pressure when remastering and
remixing the album. As the album is held in high regard within the
Doom/Stoner/Psych Rock scenes.
Yes,
I did, obviously. But, that's not for rating from people. It
was like I was fighting with my own previous work. This hard work was
a kind of big trial, especially for me as mixing engineer.
The
new artwork for the album is stunning. Why did you decide to go with
new artwork and not the original artwork. As the original artwork is
very cool and superb within its own right.
Honestly,
because I felt tired to do artwork at the time. Eternal
Elysium has kind of D.I.Y. mind, so original artwork was created by
me and my wife who have much experiences to do graphic design. But,
that usually takes a lot of my energy. And RobustFellow introduced
some great artists/drawers from Robust team. So we decided to work
with their artist. Anyway, cards of original artworks are included on
reissue package, so you can enjoy both.
Did
you have much involvement with the new artwork. Or did you leave that
decision upto RobustFellow.
Not
too much. I suggested just some real Japanese tastes.
Does
it surprise you to this day at how people still hold Searching Low &
High in such high regards.
Yeah,
I didn't think people feel like that. For me, the things I'm
deeply into are usually what we're doing, so I didn't care much about
past releases. I appreciate people keep checking our old titles.
Did
you realize you had something special on your hands when you
originally released the album.
Well,
I felt we've got something special and am in another dimension
just after every release. I had some kind of confidences about the
sound, but I couldn't imagine somebody really wanted this album to be
reissued.
Did
you ever notice or realize the insane high prices people were selling
and buying copies of the CD & Vinyl on eBay when the album was
originally released. How did that make you feel.
That's
pretty crazy. I didn't check how much people spend getting the
original one, but I also understand people’s feeling. I just
remember how I spent lots of money when I got some rare items of
Black Sabbath long ago, ha ha. Anyway, I hope this reissue makes good
opportunity to listen to the real sound that we created for
listeners.
Will
any of your other albums be getting the same reissue treatment that
Searching Low & High has recently gone through.
I
think so. We're certainly planning other reissues. When this reissue
of Searching Low & High sells well, our upcoming reissue
projects will be smooth.
What
are the future plans for Eternal Elysium. Any new records or
forthcoming tours that fans can look forward to.
We
were playing very much after releasing latest album last last
year, but we couldn't show what we’ve got happening overseas for a
few years. We hope to back to Europe as soon as possible. I think if
the voices of people who want to check us are getting louder, it's
gonna be possible. Please support us.
Thanks
for doing this interview. All the best with the new version of the
album.
Thank
you so much, too. I hope everybody feels great to live well.
That's the main message from Searching Low & High. Have a great
life. Peace.
Words
by Steve Howe and Yukito Okazaki
Thanks
to Claire at Purple Sage PR and RobustFellow Prod for arranging this
interview. Thanks to Yukito for doing this interview. Searching Low &
High is available to buy on CD via RobustFellow Prod now.
Links:
