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Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red/Merlin

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< Article and Interview: Lunasa   Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red   Article and Interview: Lyrica >

Article

Illustration by Genji Asai.
第百十四季 神無月の一
Season 114, Kannazuki issue #1 (est. 1999/11/08 ~ 1999/12/08)
プリズムリバー次女、ソロ活動?
Is the Middle Prismriver Sister Going Solo?
自縛霊の多い塚で
At the hill of the ghosts of suicide victims
最近、プリズムリバー三姉妹の次女メルラン・プリズムリバー(ポルターガイスト)。トランペットを扱う彼女だが、三姉妹を離れて一人で演奏会を行っている時があるという。特に墓地などで霊から呼ばれることが多いらしい。今回は密着取材を行った。 This article is about the recent actions of the middle Prismriver sister, Merlin Prismriver (poltergeist). She plays the trumpet in their ensemble, but she has been performing alone on occasion. It seems that ghosts and deceased spirits often call her to places like graveyards. I went to get total coverage on this issue.
彼女は一人で墓地に行っては、垢抜けたトランペット演奏を披露していた。亡霊達が多い夜の墓地。亡霊と言っても色んな性格の者がいる。中には恨みや未練を残したまま亡くなった者もいる。特に自縛霊の多い墓地で演奏するときは、彼女一人で行くことが多いという。 By herself she went to graveyards and gave refined trumpet performances. The night air was filled with a great number of ghosts. They also had a wide variety of personalities. Among these were the souls of those who had died holding on to grudges and attachments. Especially when performing in places with many locally bound ghosts, she went by herself.
彼女のトランペット演奏は、若干三人の時と異なるイメージでより表情豊かな音を奏でていた。亡霊達は思った以上にノリが良く、墓地中を駆け回っていた。まるで大勢の亡霊達を彼女がトランペットで統制を取る軍隊のようにも見えた。彼女にソロで活動している理由を聞いた。 Even more so when she would perform with her sisters, her sound was rich with expression. The ghosts were even more easygoing than expected, and soared around the graveyard. It was as though her trumpet were controlling the ghosts, rallying them like an army. I asked her what the reason for her performing on her own was.

「私達三人はヴァイオリンとトランペットとキーボードなんだけどー、奏でる音はそれぞれ別の役割を持っているのよ。姉さんはしっとりと聴かせる曲で、聴く者の気持ちを落ち着かせる鬱の音。私は感情の変化が激しい曲で、聴く者の気持ちを高揚させる躁の音。リリカはその二つを纏めて耳障りの良い曲にする幻想の音。どれか一つでも欠くと音楽は暴走して魔法の様な物になるのー。逆に言えば自縛霊の様な者には少しばかし躁状態になって貰った方が良いから、私一人で演奏に行くのよ。風狂相手なら姉さん一人で演奏すると良いし、リリカは一人でも特に効果は無いけど問題もないので、……勝手に一人でやっても良いよ、って感じ?」

"Well, the three of us play violin, trumpet and keyboard, but each of the sounds we play has a different role, you know? My older sister plays gentle songs, with melancholic sound that brings the listener's mood down. I play songs that have intense changes in emotion, with manic sound that drives the listener's mood way, way up! And Lyrica's illusory sound brings the two together, creating a song that's pleasant to listen to.[1] If any one element is lacking, the music goes out of control, and it turns into something that's kinda like magic. But on the other hand, with people like these suicide ghosts, it might actually help them out if they got a little manic every once in a while! So I go to perform for them on my own. A solo performance from my older sister would be a good choice for crazy people, and Lyrica's music... doesn't really do anything on its own, for better or for worse, so it's fine if she does her own thing too? Basically?"

楽器と演奏者の違いは音だけでは無かったようだ。それを聞く者がどういう状態の者なのかによって音を使い分けるとは驚愕である。確かに彼女のソロトランペットは、必要以上に表情豊かな上に変化が早く、聴くと冷静ではいられない。今回取材で演奏を聴いていたが、途中で気分が良くなってしまって墓石をひっくり返しそうになった位だ。正常な者は、彼女達の演奏は三人一組以外では聴かない方が良いかもしれない。 It seems the difference between the instruments and their performers goes beyond the sounds they produce. It is surprising that based on the mental state of the listener they change the sound they make use of. But it is indeed true. The overly rich expressions of her solo trumpet performance can change the mood so quickly, it is impossible to sit still while listening to her. While I was listening to her performance for research purposes, I became so elated that I almost knocked over a tombstone. It would be best for those of stable mind to avoid any of these three performers while they are performing by themselves.
(射命丸 文) (Aya Shameimaru)

Interview

Illustration by Touya.

Merlin

人の演奏を聴かない方が良いだなんてひどーい

Saying people shouldn't listen to our performances is so mean!

Aya

でも、ちょっと精神に影響が有りすぎて危険です。冷静沈着な私でもめちゃめちゃハイになってしまいました

But they have a rather excessive effect on the mind, which is dangerous. Even someone as calm and collected as myself practically lost their head listening to you.

Merlin

精神に影響の無い音なんて、絶対に良い音とは言えない。心を動かせない音になんか興味はない。そもそも私の音は感情の音、トランペットのぐるぐるは感情の増幅器なのよ

Sounds that don't have any effect on the mind, absolutely cannot be good. I couldn't care less about sounds that don't stir one's heart! In the first place, my sounds are the sounds of emotion. And my trumpet's dizziness is an amplifier for emotion!

Aya

ぐるぐるですものね。貴方も

You're rather 'dizzy' too, aren't you.

Merlin

失礼ねぇ。わたしは『それ』じゃなくてちょっと毎日が楽しいだけよ

Hey, rude. I'm not that far gone, you know. I just try to have fun with each and every day!

Aya

楽しそうですね。三姉妹は普段どういう生活を送っているのでしょうか

You certainly do seem to have fun. What is daily life with you and your sisters like, exactly?

Merlin

普段はもっと騒がしいわ。女が三人寄れば姦しいっていうけど、それを言葉じゃなくて音で実地にやってるから。一番騒がしくした者が勝ちだって思ってるからすごいわよぉ?自分で言うのもなんだけどさ

We're usually even more noisy. They say it takes three women to make a racket, right?[2] In our case, it's not because we're talking, but because we're literally making a ton of noise! The loudest one wins, as far as we're concerned, so the noise is REALLY something. Well, if I do say so myself.

Aya

勝ち、って普段の生活に何か勝ち負けがあるのですか?

"Wins?" So do you actually compete with each other in your daily lives?

Merlin

気分的な問題ね

Eh, it's more of a mood thing, really.

Aya

お姉さんが一番負けたりしてるのかな? なんて思ったりしたんですが、いちばん大人しそうですし

Ah. I briefly wondered if your older sister would lose the most. She does seem the most mature, after all.

Merlin

姉さんはあれでいて五月蝿い時はものすごく五月蠅いわよ。姉さんの騒音レベルはかなり高いわ。ガラスが割るくらいの騒音

Believe me, when my older sister gets loud, she REALLY gets loud. She's got a very high noisiness level. Noisy enough to break glass.

Aya

さすがはポルターガイストですね……。ところで記事のソロライブですが、自縛霊はちゃんとあの世に行ったのでしょうか?

Only natural for a poltergeist, I suppose... By the way, I wanted to ask about your solo performance from this article. Did the ghosts of the suicide victims succeed in passing on to the next world?

Merlin

行ったのかも知れないし、自縛から解き放たれてその辺を歩いてるかも知れないし

I dunno? Maybe they did, or maybe they just came loose from their bindings and started walking around somewhere.

Aya

そんなもんなんですか

They can do that?

Merlin

別に私は亡霊を導く為にライブをする訳じゃないしねぇ。ただ単に、この世に未練がある亡霊達に楽しんで貰うには、浮世を忘れるくらいのハイテンションな曲の方が良いと思ってねー。とか言いつつ、みんな姉さんの命令でやってるんだけど

It's not like I'm performing to lead ghosts into the great beyond, or whatever. I just figure, y'know, if you want ghosts with lingering attachments to this world to have some fun, you should play 'em some songs that are exciting enough to make them forget their fleeting lives! ...Well, that said, I mostly did it 'cause my older sister told me to.

Aya

お姉さんは本当にライブを楽しませる事を良く考えているのですね

Your sister puts quite a lot of thought into how to make your performances enjoyable, doesn't she?

Merlin

前は姉さんに負けたからぁ

Well, I did lose to her before...

Aya

勝ち負けは気分的な物じゃ無かったのですか

I thought the winning and losing was just a mood thing?

Merlin

冗談よ冗談

I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

Aya

そういえば、ソロの時はトランペット以外の楽器も使ってましたね。あれはなんて言う楽器なのですか?

Now that I think about it, you used other instruments besides trumpets during your recital. What are those ones called?

Merlin

トランペットだけだとメロディにも限界があるからね。そういうとき同時に何個も楽器が弾ける私たちは便利なのよ。トランペットよりぐるぐる度が少なめのトロンボーン、トランペットより多めのチューバ、トランペットよりかなり多めのホルン。他色々ね

If I only play the trumpet, that kind of puts a limit on the melody. Being able to play as many instruments as we want at the same time is really handy! There's the trombone, which has a lower dizziness level than the trumpet, the tuba, which has a higher dizziness level, and the french horn, which has a much higher level. And various others, too.

Aya

あなたの楽器はぐるぐる度基準なんですね

You measure your instruments by their dizziness level?

Merlin

人のテンションを上げようと思ったら、少しぐらいアレになった方がいいのよ。だからぐるぐるな楽器なのよねー

If you want to get people excited, I figure it's good to have them go a little nuts. That's why my instruments are all dizzying!

Aya

演奏している貴方も相当なぐるぐるだと思いますが……

I think the performer herself is rather 'dizzied' as well...

Merlin

テンション上がるでしょう?

It's exciting, right?

Aya

ええ、十分上がりました

Yes, more than exciting enough.

Profile

メルラン・プリズムリバー Merlin Prismriver
ルナサの妹で、やっぱり騒霊。管楽器が得意で、トランペットを特に愛用する。 Lunasa's younger sister, so she's also a poltergeist. She is good with wind instruments and especially favors the trumpet.
出演作:『東方妖々夢』『東方花映塚』 Appearances: Perfect Cherry Blossom, Phantasmagoria of Flower View

Notes

  1. The expression as written, 耳障りの良い (mimizawari no yoi), literally reads as "painful to one's ears". While technically incorrect, it's often used by younger people believing it to be written as 耳触りの良い (mimizawari no yoi), in the same vein as the existing phrase {lang|ja|手触りの良い}} (tezawari no yoi, meaning "something that feels good").
  2. 女が三人寄れば姦しい - an idiom linked to how the word 姦しい (meaning "noisy") contains the kanji for "woman" () three times.


< Article and Interview: Lunasa   Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red   Article and Interview: Lyrica >