Since forming in '06, they have gone past playing street lives
And have rapidly grown into a band that can now fill up Nippon Budokan or Osaka-Jo Hall.
SCANDAL will be celebrating their tenth anniversary this year.
Following their world tour last year and their arena tour,
They will immediately be releasing their new album 『YELLOW』 this year
As well as holding a nationwide & Asia live house tour!
We asked about their new state of mind as they welcome the milestone of their tenth anniversary.

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――It's the tenth anniversary of forming the band in '06. Back then, did you think you would make it this far?

HARUNA: We didn't think we would, but we also didn't think that we wouldn't. We didn't pick up instruments out of our own will, but from the recommendation of our dance school teacher; at first we left everything up to others.

RINA: We started our activities while still having those kinds of light feelings. But, deciding on our CD debut, moving to Tokyo, and me transfering high schools at the time--our self-awareness would sprout every time we would get going. An audience of zero at our street lives on Shiroten Street turned into an audience of ten, and being able to have a visible goal of 「Let's do it for those who listen to us too!」 was a huge thing.

――For years I've thought that the drums & bass rhythm section's groove is great. Is it because of the sense of rhythm was drilled into you with dancing?

RINA: Maybe so. Thanks to dancing, a habit of feeling the backing of a rhythm has been ingrained in my body.

TOMOMI: I casually selected the bass because it has two less strings than the guitar and thought it'd be easier (laughs), but I learned afterwards that it's actually an instrument with great responsibility. It'd make me happy if you'd listen to the sounds of our rhythm section in that way.

MAMI: I think HARUNA and I can play freely because of our rhythm section pair. I grin when I feel their groove during lives.

HARUNA: That's right. They're reliable.

TOMOMI: But, the drum count isn't 1! 2! 3! 4!; it's 5! 6! 7! 8! (laughs).

RINA: That's right (laughs). We do it because our teacher's rhythm counting (while clapping to the time) when we'd have dance lessons was "5! 6! 7! 8!". Since the other members have gotten used to it, no one has questioned it. I first became aware of it when we were playing together with another band, and they said, 「Huh, you start from 5?」

――You've been doing activities for ten years; the biggest thing that has happened has to be your first Osaka-Jo Hall live held in 2013, isn't it?

TOMOMI: Because it was the first dream the four of us had together. The fans, staff, and dance school friends who supported us until then were all delighted.

HARUNA: As we had almost no audience on Shiroten Street right in front of Osaka-Jo Hall, we played while thinking that we'd stand on that stage one day.

MAMI: When we accomplished our dream of playing at Osaka-Jo Hall, which we had always talked about, I thought about how glad I was that we got here without giving up. We got fired up again; it felt like we were relacing up our shoelaces.

RINA: We played at Nippon Budokan before that. Since all of us are from the west, we'd immediately think of Osaka-Jo Hall if someone asked us about a large venue, and we'd forget that there's also Nippon Budokan (laughs). But, when we stood on stage, I first realized the greatness of Budokan, and thought of how it's a place that everyone wants to play in at least once if you're in a band.

――Can you tell us the next dream you thought of after fulfilling your goal of playing at Osaka-Jo Hall?

RINA: There isn't anything for venues with significance. We'd like to play in domes, but that's not our next dream. We want to be a band that wants to play anywhere, and a band that can play anywhere.

――This ties in to the present. Following last year's arena tour, you'll be holding a live house tour this year in support of your new album 『YELLOW』. I saw your Budokan lives in January; rather than using the width of the stage, the four of you gathered right near the center. You performed while standing close to one another.

HARUNA: That's right. It's because, even in arenas, we think about wanting to be like we're playing in a live house.

TOMOMI: We made our outfits simple.

MAMI: Personally, live houses are my favorite place. Extravagant bands can play in arenas, halls, and live houses. We tailor our set lists to match each venue, and it'd be great if we can make the content match live houses for this tour.

RINA: We hope to play simple lives where we can deliver our album songs directly to the audience.

TOMOMI: On this album, we put together songs that you can take anywhere. We think that playing at live houses makes the songs sound different than at arenas, so look forward to them.

HARUNA: We're very happy that we were able to make this album with the four of us, since it's an album that took a year to make. This year, our tenth year, completing what we felt on our world tour last year is a very big thing. Having a world tour mentally supported us, and we were able to take on music with a very bright attitude. It's an album where those kinds of poppy, bright parts come out.

――You didn't know whether or not you'd have a tenth anniversary when you formed, but now it seems like you're confident you'll definitely have a twentieth anniversary.

HARUNA: We feel like, "Let's do it!" Right now we're constantly making songs daily; our music will continue with these same members.

TOMOMI: We're getting older and our music, sound, and looks have changed. By our 20th anniversary, we'll complete songs packed with how we are then.

RINA: It's said that girl bands have short lives; according to Guiness World Records, the longest one has gone without the members leaving or going on hiatus is 17 years. Since their lives are short compared to guy bands, we want to show that a girl band can get to that point too. We'll definitely hit our 20th anniversary. Before that, we first have to make it 7 more years (laughs).

MAMI: We hope to certainly climb up the stairs one by one as we've always done. We're a type that skips grades.

R: An audience of zero at our street lives on Shiroten Street turned into an audience of ten, 

RINA: We hope to play simple lives where we can deliver our album songs directly to the audience.

HARUNA: We feel like, "Let's do it!" Right now we're constantly making songs daily; our music will continue with these same members.

TOMOMI: We're getting older and our music, sound, and looks have changed. By our 20th anniversary, we'll complete songs packed with how we are then.

Following last year's arena tour, you'll be holding a live house tour this year in support of your new album 『YELLOW』. I saw your Budokan lives in January; rather than using the width of the stage, the four of you gathered right near the center. You performed while standing close to one another.

HARUNA: That's right. It's because, even in arenas, we think about wanting to be like we're playing in a live house.