Japanese Magazine INROCK Interview with Darren - June 2001

Darren was interviewed by phone on May 31, 2001 from his home in San Francisco for this article.
A HUGE Thank you to Aya for translating this Japenese article into English and for scanning the picture for us.

[INROCK Darren]



Hi Leonie, how are you doing lately? It seems your diary updating stop...

Yes, I stop updating my diary. You know SG taking break after they finished Affirmation tour last year. But I think various things will happen to them future and I'm still working this job...

But your diaries are very important sources of information for fans?

That's okay Darren will contact with his fans continuously from now on and I'll tell him if fans miss my diaries. Now, he's on the phone. Go on talk with him.

(Darren on the phone)Hello, gorgeous!

(laughs)Hello, Darren. I talked with Leonie about her diaries. We can't get to know your information without her diaries. There's no news so I'm bit disappointed.

Because there's no news I can tell you now. It's all secret. You know what I mean? I decided keep silence until I'm ready to back.

Why?? Is there necessity of making it secret?

Um..you know everybody needs privacy and rest. And I'm doing nothing different former. I've been contact with fans updating website when I'm on album promotion or tour. Now the time ends I need rest to recover and find myself again. After the tour finished...there was 87 shows, I've been apart from everything. Everything..even my fans. I quit reading and hearing what my fans saying about me. I just return to my own life.

But it was hard for fans because they wanted keep connecting you.

Yeah I know. But it's the point. It was necessary apart from fans because I have to make something new that I can tell them. I should keep my own life to find something share with them. You know this is my job..making new music..to be celebrity... Being celebrity is..it's a job in sence. Surfing on the net all the time and give them all my information even I'm in bathroom...I'm just a kidding (laugh). Even if it makes it exaggerated, I think it is pretty boring if I tell them everything what I do. I think it was good I apart from them mere time because I could experience various things. I have many things that I wanna share them. I experienced many things.

When Leonie start her diary again?

Um..I have to tell you she's not my PA anymore. She became my manager. She's not only my PA.

What about your management office? Where's she who I met in New York?

I've changed my management and...

Was there any trouble or problem?

No, that's not. It mean our contract expired. SG tour is finished now, Dan and I taking time off and we're going to do our own work for a while. So I signed a contract with new management for my solo project.

Well Leonie became more important partner for your solo project. I mean..she's not only your friend.

Of course she's still my friend also future. She's my best friend you know. But also she will manage other people too. I'm going to release my solo album and she is concerned my solo project but we have another Australian assistant already. (Leonie add from his back "she's 20 years old and she's Darren's friend. Darren can reveals his everything his friends who know him old days that's why we choose her as new PA for Darren")

And we will building website for my solo project until around this year-end. I wanna release my solo debut single in September or October. This is what I'm doing lately after we finished our tour.

I heard you went to Hawaii and make hair grow. You've changed your looks and spend a time to find yourself again. Why you're goin to Hawaii? What happened in there?

I wrote to fans I won't updating for a while after the tour. I just taking time off for a while. I back to Australia for spend Christmas season with my family. We rent the house in Byron Bay and spend Christmas holiday. We held a party. Leonie and her family joined it and I invited my friends but some of them couldn't join it. We enjoyed the party very much. Then I back to my home in San Francisco and I was into yoga. Did I tell you I have yoga studio in my house?

Yeah, but you're doing yoga before.

Yeah, I was doing yoga during the tour but it's feel good like when I taking in fresh air. I wasn't thinking about making new songs and song writings I was just into yoga. I went to travels some times. I went to Hawaii and I've got my scuba diving licence. Well..I spend very ordinary life. I've been charging my battery. I knew I have to working hard again afer my time off over so I needed charging myself before I start work again. I know my solo work will be hard more than I experienced until now. So I needed to sleep my bed in my house and communicate people around me and I felt and I got my life. It will become my new songs, my new music.

You challenged things that you can't never do? Like you tried stand own your head without hands, you tried scuba diving that you can't do before but now you've got licence. You became you can do various things. Do you think you became different man used to?

No, I don't think so. I am my own. I just challenged myself. In yoga case, I posed stand my own head without using my hands. I couldn't do that before because I was afraid it beginning. But I think the same thing can be said even if it can transpose to my life. I couldn't stand my own head because I had fear but it came be made while I repeating practice. About water..I was feared getting a shock. I was thinking what to do when a breath becomes impossible, what to do if I drowned... But I was able to go underwater as deeply as it has not gone underwater until now.

You are Australian..(laughs)

Yeah..(laugh) scuba diving was fearful much for me till then. The idea of a dive itself is very fearful even now. I still think that's impossible to breathe in meters deep water! even if I have attached respiratory organs. Other people...I mean it's Dan, it's challenge for me writing songs without him. I thought I couldn't do by myself but it has done exactly now. After the tour was also the time to grow up for me.

What other thing was done?

Except scuba diving, I written my songs and made yoga make progress and no others have been carried out. Oh, wait a sec..Leonie is saying something...Oh I was doing dance lesson! (laughs) I've been practice Hip-Hop dance lately. And I've got driving license and I bought a car. It's Californian driving license.

Did you say Hip-Hop?!

(he makes hip-hop sound his voice) Yeah, I've been practice it lately.

Is anything related to a solo album? About 35 more songs will be written, right? like you said electronic hip-hop... R&B, dance, electronic hip-hop...it's variously. I'm listening to various artist's music. Jewel, TLC's first album, Prince, Michael Jackson's old days music etc. I'm listening to black sounds a lot. Soul music, R&B, Hip-Hop. I practice with dance instructor while watching Hip-Hop or R&B videos. But I can say why I practice dance, it's just for my hobby..haha. It is very fun.

Is that you came to get interested in such a thing because you met someone?

Um...no that's not mean I met someone. I was been interested it from before. It was only I didn't doing it as Darren Hayes from SG.

It's very different sound from SG.

Yeah it is. It was like I learned how I sing like Michael Jackson. I was singing imitate as Michael Jackson when I was kid. My sister was listening Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Motown. I start loving those music after I heard "Purple Rain" by Prince. I've been interested in black music. It come to loving Madonna and George Michael music later...but beginnings of their career, it's like um.."white soul". I liked soul music from before. BMSM is influenced of such music. I think even IKILY has such a feeling. So I was interested in black music from before. I keep distance from Dan and I research into the music that I loving from before. It's fun for me.

You said "white soul" while second ago, I think Madonna and George Michael music was sounds like pop. Do you wanna make music like that for your solo album?

I don't wanna say and I don't know what's like my solo album clearly because I'm creating it now. And it has possibility changed to different type of music. But I can say I'm working create pop music. It's hot and strong pop music. I'm thinking to make album it's including 6 or 7 songs could be single released. I wanna make incredibly wonderful album and I'm full of ambition. I wanna make it people can be dance or wanna dance with my songs. Sexy..R&B..I want to make it the result as which influence is regarded. I'm planning use many keyboards sounds and electronic sounds. It is clear to become the thing completely different from SG Affirmation album. Of couse the album has my melody and my voice...so some of fans may feel it's totally the same as SG. But it will become totally different touch from SG. I'll make it so fun anyhow and wanna make it has '83 or '84 sounds.

Which stage of album work is it now? I know you written 35 songs already. Um..are you in recording?

I'll start working again with Walter-A next week.

Are you work with him again?

Yes, I've been writing few songs with him.

Did you remember you said you don't know working with him again for your solo album.(laughs)

I know! (laughs) But it is like being accidental working again together with him. We worked couple of songs then I told him "I'm listening music like this and I wanna make album like this. I wanna make it what doesn't resemble closely any album even if you made until now. I don't need real sound. I wanna use electronic sounds it's totally different type from former." Walter is the person who makes music classic way and he adopts how to do organic work. If it makes classically and presence is taken out, the value will hide on the contrary. But Robert Conrad...he has a band and I'm planning his band contract to my production label. His band's sound it's very industreal, electronic, and dark like Depeche Mode. I've been writing few songs together with Robert and other people. I was writing with Rick North. Rick is one of my favorite songwriter and he's writing songs for Madonna. I worked with many people like him and I thought I wanna make my solo album with different person from them. That's why I start working again with Walter. I thought I wanna produce this album with him. Anyhow, Various persons have participated in this album. There's a song DJ scratching, Robert is also performing by several songs. This album would be my reaction to the mainstream of music that I've been listening to from when I was a kid.

Are they experimental and adventurous sound for you?

Um...Yes and also No. If you hear it I'm sure you'll get what I wanna say. It would be very modern and pop album. But my voice has taken the lead and it is my melody. I think that's easy to hear it. It's considerably influenced by Madonna music, I think you'll think if you hear it.

Did you able to meet Madonna?

No, not yet. But I don't care if I don't have an opportunity to meet her (laughs). Of course it is great when it's happened accidental...well I went to Sweden for MTV European Music Awards...

Was that November last year?

Yeah, you know Madonna was there. But she makes her floor the charter and nobody brought close. In the downstairs, we're sharing waiting room with BSB, U2...everybody was there. We had some drink with them. Then I thought there's a person like Bono who I wanna meet and there's a person like Madonna or Michael Jackson who I wanna watching them keep distance. Madonna..she is existence just like the Royal Family. I don't wanna be like that and I'm satisfied with now enough. I don't think I wanna be her acquaintance and drink together with her. Of course I'm a huge fan of her you know.

What do you think of her attitude? There is no change in her being human and she's a mother.

Yeah. She has a kids..but she is the race prepared in an exclusive floor. (laughs)

Do you think she wants to show her status to everyone?

Hum..maybe. I think it is strange somehow. It's funny but that existence of such a her..it is also required. But I don't think that I wanna approach her. I'm happy I'm just one of her big fan.

Thank you so much taking your time for us today.

Thank you.

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