Fourth?

Fourth, yeah.

Really?

Yeah!

That's a lot...

If I count right...

So, how do you feel about being in Poland again?

I'm honored.

I'm very happy to be here

Always, Polish fans are really, really hot and enthusiastic

They really like rock music, I really feel it

And then, you know, even the hotel staff is really polite

they turn the lights on

Yeah, I always have a great time here

because the typical image of Poland...

Before I came to Poland for the first time

I didn't have an image of kinda "rock"

The same as Japan, I mean (there are) some rock musicians in Japan

but Poland - I didn't have that kind of image

I didn't even know how many fans I have

But the thing is, of course, people love music

and they're really, really enthusiastic

and really energetic

Do you have any special memories or specific things that come to your mind when you think about Poland?

So I, as an artist, always try to make new stuff

because that's what I feel, that's what I think

that's my responsibility as an artist

to take my audience, my fans to the next level

something that they never experienced

especially as a guitarist, I wanted to make something new, especially now

So always making new stuff and sometimes I make

what my fans do not expect me to create

So every time when I play old music, old songs, it's pretty special

for me and the audience as well

And then, maybe for the first time or the second time in Poland

when I performed one of my old tracks, "Selfish Love"...

That was the hottest moment I've ever had when I performed that song

I don't know how to describe it, it was really, really-

The energy level was really high

and then we became one

just really, really strongly united

Yeah, I was really happy to play that song

because, you know, that energy, the energy from the audience is really, really important, every show

So at that moment, I was blown away by my Polish fans

I actually have been there and I remember we were singing very loud-

Oh, you were there?

Yeah, of course!

Do you like when fans sing along or you're like, annoyed that they are interrupting you?

No, I love it, I love it.

You know, that's what I mean when I say we cannot make a show special without the audience.

We are making the show all together.

So the energy, and also the voice from the audience, from the floor, is really, really crucial for us.

So, you know, we are professional performers, musicians

Always take care of our health, condition, even on a tough road, we do perfectly

But also we are human beings and we get affected by the audience.

If the energy level form the audience is really high, we get affected and we go higher as well

So it's a mutual kind of energy exchange

Yeah, that moment- I strongly remember that moment, and I was really really happy.

On your latest album, "Samurai Sessions vol. 2" you work with many different artists with different styles

but you still managed to create a very consistent album.

What was the most challenging thing in the creation process?

Yeah, collaboration, you know, always need to make sure that the timeline and the direction of creation is okay

So of course it's harder that creating something by ourselves

But at the same time there's always chemistry during the session

So especially now I don't know how my fans, my core, strong fans might feel,

but as a guitarist I want to kind of find a new path

as a guitarist, as a rockstar

because you know, "rockstar" is not shining in this generation

Yeah, it's really crucial to find a way to be able to collaborate with other singers

So this time although it was not easy to handle the timeline and everything,

but it was great to explore the new style, new sound.

As long as you have your own style, I mean, as a guitarist

there's a signature tone there

I think we can say "this is the new Miyavi sound".

So, you know, I'm still singing, but like

When I was in visual kei world

I'm still visual kei kind of - I perform

I, as a rockstar, I'm here

But no need to be categorized or stuck in a box

You know what I mean?

Because creation...

The thing is, the way, let's say, the visual kei was born, is like freedom

of expression

But people say "Oh, you're in visual kei, you cannot do that, you cannot have a rapper" or "you can't have a tap dancer"

What does it mean?

Just putting make up on?

Is that visual kei?

No.

It's not visual kei, at all

That's just one of the styles, one of the expressions

To me, now, as a musician, as a creator, as a guitarist, I want to find something new

It's happiness, it's a pleasure

To be able to pursue and also challenge new things

And now I feel that's my responsibility

Which one, out of all of your songs, represents you the best? Like says: "This is Miyavi right now"

That's a good question

I mean, it's really hard

I mean...

It's not good to say this,

but "What's my name?"

But!

Which means

We haven't found the newer signature style yet

But - "Long nights", the track we just released last month

and we featured Sonita, an Afghan rapper

It's a really really meaningful track to me

The song I wrote right after I came back from the refugee camp

in Lebanon

And then, the message

I just thought, it's my message, but also important to

feature and support artists like Sonita

Because her voice is also authentic, from her experience

So, it's also an interesting, fascinating way of creation

As a composer

You know what I mean?

So that I don't have to limit myself, as a creator, with my voice

You were talking about performing older songs

I remember when I first heard "Kimi ni negai wo" back in middle school, it was almost 12 years ago

Are there any songs that you can't relate to anymore, that you wouldn't perform anymore? How do you feel about your older songs?

I still play "Kimi ni negai wo" with the acoustic

and actually I've been playing those old tracks recently a lot actually

because

I don't know, I feel strong enough

You cannot protect your people if you're not strong enough

So now I feel even if we have people who don't know about Miyavi or any of my tracks

I can rock them

00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:14,939 Yeah that's why I can perform those old tracks as well

and then, it's really interesting, but recently I've been playing many old tracks

Because time is limited we need to make new tracks and keep moving forward

But the thing is, we cannot go back to the past, right. Playing old tracks doesn't mean that we go back to the past

As long as we see the future

That's the key

I don't want to just keep playing old tracks, it's good of course, I'm not saying that I forget the past

That's also a great achievement, it's also important

Without that we wouldn't be here

But

We need to face the future, we need to face tomorrow

We saw you on the big screen in "Unbroken" and then "Kong: Skull Island"

And this year we are already expecting to see you in two another movies

"Bleach" and "Gangoose"

What is it about acting that you like the most, that makes you want to keep doing it?

Fun.

It's very fun

I mean, especially villain, bad boy, bad guy in a film

Many, many layers of humanity, to get to that level

You know what I mean

So to follow their steps, is really interesting experience to me

And then, again, I'm always Miyavi on stage, even off stage I'm Miyavi

No matter where I am

But on the screen I can be somebody else

And it's also a really interesting experience

I learn somebody else

and their life. Why did they get to that point?

And also it gives me more capacity

Through the experience, to portray other people

And then expression wise, it's really, really similiar to performing on stage

So, we perform in front of the camera like this

In a different way, but it's same, it's all about expression

and message

So it's always important to hold onto the message of the creation you're in

What's the story?

Why are you there?

Why I'm a villain in that story

Why I'm needed

So it's fun

Also the music, acting, fashion - it's really close as entertainment

And now I'm doing humanitarian work, activity, so those three things are really important to explore the new world

So you're busy with all those projects and tours, but what do you like to do on your day off?

Kids.

I mean it's more tiring though.