The band members are 櫻井敦司 (Sakurai Atsushi) (vocals), 今井寿 (Imai Hisashi) (guitars, noises, electronics, vocals), 星野英彦 (Hoshino Hidehiko) (guitars, chorus), 桶口豊 (Higuchi Yutaka) (bass) and ヤガミ・トール (Yagami Toll) (drums).
BUCK-TICK's music has changed and evolved hugely over the course of their career. Their early work is what the Japanese call "positive punk". It used simple rhythms and chords, with the songs mostly in major keys and using some English words in the lyrics. Starting with 1989's TABOO, they experimented with a darker sound, which grew more mature with 狂った太陽 in 1991. darker than darkness style 93 delved into a harsher industrial rock sound which continued all the way up through Mona Lisa OVERDRIVE in 2003. With 2005's 十三階は月光, they deliberately adopted a "goth" concept, which they combined with a retro straight rock sound for the albums 天使のリボルバー (2007) and Memento Mori (2009). Their next album, 2010's RAZZLE DAZZLE, then incorporated many instances of dance-rock.
Some elements that persist throughout their music are resounding, jangling guitar chords, throbbing, prominent bass lines, harsh roars of electronically distorted noise, and ambivalent melodies that wander between major and minor keys, as well as Sakurai's distinctive rich baritone voice. Jrockrevolution described the band's style as having gone "from the bubbly sounds of pop to the buzz of electronic cyberpunk to lustful velvety goth to the smooth style of hard rock and back again". Sakurai, who is the main lyricist of the band, is famous for the erotic decadence of his lyrics, but he also often addresses existential psychological themes. His lyrics is also described as "dance in a daydream about reality". Imai, the main composer, has written many songs that read like science fiction stories, involving genetic engineering and computer hackers, but more recently has branched out into love songs.
As Josephine Yun describes them, in 'A Concise Report on 40 of the Biggest Rock Acts in Japan', "BUCK-TICK's music is smashed-together nuances of everything from Depeche Mode and New Order to U2 and The Knack. While wry, it can float and be nebulously melodic. [...] Masked in eye makeup, Atsushi looks and sounds possessed. BUCK-TICK was (and continues to be) and anomaly in the Japanese music scene, a tangle of goth rock diluted with synth and electronica. It's unhappy, dirty music, the musical equivalent of exploded soot and smoke."
BUCK-TICK and their members have performed with, for example, KMFDM, Soft Ballet, Luna Sea, Sheena Ringo, and The Yellow Monkey. The band members have also participated in different side-projects, such as Schaft, Schwein (Sakurai and Imai with Raymond Watts (PIG) and Sascha Konietzko (KMFDM)), and The Mortal.
Deep Slow
BUCK-TICK Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rhythm wa hidoku kurutte kita tsukinukeru
Hada wa chigiresou karada no soto e
Yubi wo nobaseba tokete shimau romantic
Uchuu no naka de itoshi au you ni ukabu
Taiyou wo utsu kurayami no tenshi ni naru
Mou kotae wa mieteru sa
Hikaru hitomi no yoru no naka ni kimi ga iru nureta karada eros ni hikaru�
Motto hageshisa wo itai hodo aji au you ni
Tada mou kanjiru yoru dake wo machiketeta
Saa urei yo kietekure
Oh oh furisosogu hoshi kono boku wa tobikomu
Oh oh utsukushiki ima kono karada kuruoshii
Deep Slow
Mou kotae wa mieteru sa
Saa shinu hodo daitekure
Oh oh atsukunaru naze kon nanimo hoshi garu
Oh oh nuretekuru ima kono karada tokedasu
Oh oh furisosogu hoshi kono boku wa tobikomu
Oh oh utsukushiki ima kono karada kuruoshii
Deep Slow
The lyrics of "Deep Slow" by BUCK-TICK are filled with imagery and emotion. The song begins with the line "Rhythm wa hidoku kurutte kita," which translates to "The rhythm has become terribly crazy." This line sets the tone for the rest of the song, which is a contemplation of intense feelings and emotions. The singer describes his body feeling like it's about to fall apart, and wanting to escape from it. He reaches out, hoping to be embraced by the universe, and floats, as if in a dream, with someone he loves in space. The imagery used to describe this experience is vivid and intense, with the singer expressing his desire for more intensity and pain.
The chorus of the song features the lines "Oh oh furisosogu hoshi kono boku wa tobikomu / Oh oh utsukushiki ima kono karada kuruoshii / Deep Slow." These lines convey the feeling of being overwhelmed by the beauty of the universe and the intensity of one's own emotions. The singer feels as though he is diving headfirst into the experience, and that it is both beautiful and painful.
Overall, "Deep Slow" is a powerful song about the intensity of human emotion and the desire for connection and transcendence.
Line by Line Meaning
Rhythm wa hidoku kurutte kita tsukinukeru
The rhythm has become extremely frenzied, as if piercing through
Hada wa chigiresou karada no soto e
My skin seems like it's about to tear apart and escape from my body
Yubi wo nobaseba tokete shimau romantic
When I extend my fingers, it feels like they melt away, in a romantic way
Uchuu no naka de itoshi au you ni ukabu
I float, as if to lovingly embrace you in the midst of the universe
Taiyou wo utsu kurayami no tenshi ni naru
I become an angel of darkness, striking the sun
Tada mou umareru boku dake wo machiketeta
I was waiting only for my own birth
Mou kotae wa mieteru sa
Now, the answer is visible
Hikaru hitomi no yoru no naka ni kimi ga iru nureta karada eros ni hikaru�
You are there in the glittering-eyed night, your wet body shining erotically
Motto hageshisa wo itai hodo aji au you ni
I want to taste the pain even more intensely, as if savoring it
Tada mou kanjiru yoru dake wo machiketeta
I was waiting only for nights I can feel
Saa urei yo kietekure
Come on, disappear, oh sadness
Oh oh furisosogu hoshi kono boku wa tobikomu
Oh, oh, the pouring stars, I jump into them
Oh oh utsukushiki ima kono karada kuruoshii
Oh, oh, this beautiful moment, my body is going crazy
Mou kotae wa mieteru sa
Now, the answer is visible
Saa shinu hodo daitekure
Come on, hold me until I die
Oh oh atsukunaru naze kon nanimo hoshi garu
Oh, oh, it's getting hot, why are there so many shooting stars?
Oh oh nuretekuru ima kono karada tokedasu
Oh, oh, I'm getting wet, my body is melting away right now
Deep Slow
Deep Slow
Contributed by Aaliyah I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.