[Herald Interview] Ellegarden returns to Korea for first time in 15 years

When Takeshi Hosomi, the vocalist and guitarist of Japanese rock band Ellegarden, shouted, "This is one of the best days of my life," during the band's Pentaport Incheon performance earlier this month, it was evident he genuinely meant it.

The band's reunion with the Korean audience on Aug. 4 at Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival 2023 was extraordinary. Tens of thousands of rock fans greeted the band with a fervor that lasted through its 80-minute performance.

It's last visit in Seoul was also at the Pentaport festival in 2008. Soon after returning to Japan that year, the band abruptly went on an indefinite break that eventually lasted for a decade.

In 2018, the band reunited and went around Japan holding concerts for the next five years. Last year, it released its first album in 16 years, its sixth LP, "The End of Yesterday," and officially declared its return.

The bandmates -- Hosomi, drummer Hirotaka Takahashi, bassist Yuichi Takada and guitarist Shinichi Ubukata -- sat down with local media ahead of taking the stage on Aug. 4.

"As we toured Japan for five years, greeting our fans, we found ourselves idling in our past glory and didn't think it was right. That's when we decided to make a new album," one of the Ellegarden members said. An audio recording of the interview was made available to The Korea Herald. The comments were not attributed to the members' names.

The chemistry between the bandmates was even better, they said, as they had all continued music separately to make a living during the band's 10-year hiatus.

"Whatever anyone says, I thought I must go my own way tonight," Hosomi said at the concert that night.

Enigmatic as it may have sounded, this was the core value upon which Ellegarden had started in 1998. It was also the value that enabled the members to assemble despite their decadelong separation.

"We used to say that we would do the music that we want, whatever the world says. We're a rock band, and rather than trying to become a team that everyone loves, we believed it was important that we strive for what we have passion in and can pride in," said one of the quartet.

As a veteran band with a 25-year career, the members said they wish to take things more sincerely, making every moment together count.

"We've all aged and we cannot continue to act young. We're not a commercial band and we wish to show ourselves getting old naturally through music and talk about how we could live our lives in each of our meaningful ways," a member said.

The group said they head out onto every stage believing it may be their last live performance. They felt the same ahead of Pentaport Incheon and dressed in all black to reflect that mentality, the members said.

One of their goals is to continue making new music. Attempting new sounds of their own colors according their own pace is what Ellegarden will show in the future as a rock band, they said.

This is reflected in the band's latest music, which deviated from the band's fast-paced and perky sound portrayed in its past songs. They flew to Los Angeles to produce their new album in an effort bring a new and slower sound to it, the band said.

The highlight of Ellegarden's Pentaport performance came with "Make A Wish," the band's 2004 hit that had catapulted it to fame here. Before kicking into the song, the vocalist, Hosomi, translated the song's main message in Korean: "Let's make a wish. That you are not the only one. Someone next to you will hold your hand."

The Japanese musicians reiterated the message as they wrapped up the interview.

"We're living in an era where everything changes so fast and we don't want to get swept away in that trend," said a member.

"Even if the whole world turns the back on us, we need to stand by ourselves. We want to do that with our music. Rather trying to be everyone's friend, we want sing for those people who support us and who need our music."

Ellegarden returns to Korea in October. The Oct. 3 concert at the Yes 24 Live Hall in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, is part of its concert series, "Boys are Back in the East" tour, which is set to continue in Taiwan and Hong Kong.