A banda visual kei UnsraW anunciou que fará um tour pela Europa em Fevereiro de 2010. Diversos CDs da banda foram lançados pela alemã CLJ Records. A banda já havia mostrado um certo interesse em tocar no país durante uma entrevista com a JaME em 2007.

Planos para o tour pela Europa já estão concretizados. Os shows serão na Suíça, França, Países Baixos e haverá três shows na Alemanha.

Enquanto isso, vamos esperando, de preferência sentados, por mais um show de uma banda visual kei no Brasil, como os de Miyavi em 2008 e 2009.

Fonte: JaME World

A banda de visual kei GLACIER, natural de Okinawa, lançou seu primeiro CD depois de quase um ano: um novo single, intitulado Kanasambana, no dia 4 de novembro de 2009.

Kanasambana, que não tem nada a ver com samba (tentativa fracassada de trocadilho), é uma doce canção de amor que conta com a essência popular mostrada na música do grupo. A música vem junta de Hoshizuna, uma bonita balada com influências do estilo musical de Okinawa, um acústico desta mesma faixa e também as versões instrumentais de ambas as canções originais.

O single inclui um encarte de 16 páginas e um DVD especial, contendo o clipe de Kanasambana, um vídeo ao vivo de Hoshizuna e, por fim, um vídeo com cenas de backstage, com comentários de áudio embutidos.

Kanasambana (かなさんバナ)

Preview do PV

Como o PV ainda não está disponível, não pude avaliá-lo.

Embora GLACIER seja denominada como uma banda visual kei, seu estilo é diferente de muitas outras do mesmo gênero. O último single da banda é tão tropical quanto a ilha de onde eles vieram. Kanasambana é quase que “chocantemente” POP para quem não está habituado.

A canção abre com um som de sintetizador que lembra até a canção Dramatic de YUKI, o que é até apropriado, já que a canção é dançante e cheia de energia. No entanto, há uma pitada de algo como um jazz gótico, o que é bem vindo, e a voz de Makoto é suave, o que torna a melodia no mínimo interessante. Para quem quer experimentar algo diferente do visual kei “padronizado”, recomendo este single.

Fonte: Jame-World

Tény.

Titulo: freesia
Artista: MUCC
Calidad: 320kbps |30.66 MB
Genero: Visual Kei

Tracklist:
1. freesia (フリージア)
2. Shushifu (終止符)
3. freesia -Rhodesian Ridgeback ver.-

Descargar

Mucc (ムック, escrito MUCC) é uma banda visual kei formada em 1997. O nome da banda vem de um personagem do seriado japonês infantil “Ponkickies”. A banda, diferente de outras do mesmo estilo, faz um som mais diversificado (eu diria até psicodélico). Sua música vai do punk até o hard rock, e às vezes até o soft rock. Após o lançamento de Horizont, eles foram mais longe ainda, incorporando sons de tango e disco em suas músicas.
Tão ousado quanto suas músicas são também seus PVs. O último, Freesia, fez jus ao estilo da banda, possuindo um ar misterioso. O single de mesmo nome, lançado no dia 25 de Novembro de 2009, foi produzido por ken de L’Arc~en~Ciel, que também trabalhou no álbum Kyuutai e nos singles anteriores.
Freesia possui duas versões diferentes. A versão limitada possui a faixa título, um b-side chamado Shuushifu e um remix de Freesia. A versão regular contém um b-side diferente, chamado Rakuen. Como o single foi lançado hoje, ainda não tive chance de avaliá-lo, mas posso garantir que se estiver no mesmo naipe da faixa Freesia, o single promete!

Freesia Regular Edition (フリージア 通常盤)
Tracklist:
01. Freesia
02. Rakuen

Freesia Limited Edition (フリージア 初回限定盤)
01. Freesia
02. Shuushifu
03. Freesia -Rhodesian Ridgeback ver.-

Freesia (PV)

Nota do PV: 4/5

Fonte: JaME-World

Este grupo ,aun es un grupo indie,pero tiene muchos seguidores,fans del visual kei.

Aunque su aspecto recuerde mucho a este genero su música es muy diferente:toques de metal/punk mezclados con swing y jazz.

Este nuevo trabajo sale el día 25 de este mes en edición regular y limitada,con una particularidad,la edición cd lleva 13 tracks y la cd+dvd 11 pero con contenido extra…

CD:

01 Undo – Kasousekai
02 Time machine
03 Blind Android
04 Kuroi kasen to ichiru no nozomi 
05 Koigokoro 
06 Mienai chikara ni yokuatsusareru monochrome no gyakusetsushikou
07 Jussei
08 Binetsu 
09 Suimin Tengoku
10 End Roll
11 Parade
12 Mirai note
13 Redo – Kasousekai

CD+DVD:

01 Undo – Kasousekai
02 Time machine
03 Blind Android
04 Kuroi kasen to ichiru no nozomi 
05 Koigokoro 
06 Binetsu 
07 Suimin Tengoku
08 End Roll
09 Parade
10 Mirai note
11 Redo – Kasousekai

Time Machine PV

making of en vivo del  Summer Oneman Live "Don’t let me down en Akasaka Blitz on August 20th, 2009.

+una postal

Ya ha salido la preview del PV,aquí lo tenéis:

Rock band cali≠gari has announced yesterday (11/18) at their Zepp Tokyo live that the band will suspend activities after their Nippon Budokan live on 2/11/10. They previously announced a hiatus period back in September, telling fans that after 11/18 show they were going to suspend activities.

They have also made a ‘movie’ making a public announcement on their official website.

source: natalie, official website

Peso: 90.13 MB
Dimensiones: 848×480
Formato: MKV
Duracion: 4:38
Genero: Visual Kei, J-Rock
DVD-Riper: KarenTakarai
Uploader: KarenTakarai

MediaFire / MegaUpload

El grupo presenta el miércoles su nuevo trabajo,con el titulo de:P!NK masquerade.

Serán 3 temas y un PV,apareciendo en versión regular y limitada.

CD:

01-P!NK masquerade.

02-Steeze~chokkaku bali kata suppin ha~

03-Kagiri no tsuki, kimi ni tsumugu(solo CD)

DVD:

P!NK masquerade. PV

Y ya tenemos una preview de 46 segundos,para escuchar esta nueva canción de la banda:

SuG нь анх 2006 оны 10 дугаар сард Takeru, Masato, Yuji, Shouta гэсэн бүрэлдэхүүнтэй байгуулагдаж байсан.

Сүүлд 11-р сард бөмбөрчин Mitsuru хамтлагт эрсэн орсон юм.

Удалгүй 2-р сард Shouta хамтлагаас гарч Chiyu хамтлагт басс гитарчны үүргийг гүйцэтгэж эхэлсэн.

Анхны release нь 7th Breeze байсан ба удалгүй PS Company-н visual kei label-д элсэн орж 8-р сард анхны сингл Scheat-г гаргасан.

SuG Love Scream Party нэртэй EP гаргаснаар Японд төдийгүй Германд J-Rock Invasion-д Kagrra, Kra, Alice Nine-ын адилаар багтаж чадсан юм.

Mitsuru энэ оны 5 сарын 9-нд хамтлагаас гарч өөр хамтлагт хүчин зүтгэх болсон байна.

Sug гэдэг англиар Thug /дээрэмчин/ гэсэн үг бөгөөд Японоор サグ /sagu/ гэж бичдэг байна.

Албан ёсны сайт: SuG Official Site

Хамтлагийн бүрэлдэхүүнд :

Takeru /武瑠/ – Vocal

Masato – Guitar

Yuji – Guitar

Chiyu – Bass

Shinpei – Drum

Хамтлагаас гарсан :

Shouta – Bass

Mitsuru – Drum

Цомгууд:

* I Scream Party (2007.12.19)

* N0iz Star (2008.5.14)

* Punkitsch (2008.9.3)

Синглүүд:

* “Scheat” (2007.8.1)

* “Yumegiwa Downer” (2007.9.2)

* “Alterna.” (2007.9.5)

* “Toriko Roll-Caller” (2008.12.3)

* “39Galaxyz” (2009.4.5)

* “Life♥2Die” (2009.10.14)

* “P!NK Masquerade” (2009.11.18)

We posted before that An Cafe will be going on “hiatus” (well the term we used is ‘quits’) after their Nippon Budokan live on 1/4/2010.

Well before that the band will release one more album, a best of album to be exact. As for the title of the album they will use their original name “Antic -coffee shop-“. The album will include their singles, songs performed at their pervious shows and some ‘rare’, un-published songs. The album will also be 2-disc, 15 songs each. First press (limited edition) will include a sleeve (slip case).

In 2010 they will also release an official artist book “NYAPPYBOOK“. The book will come with a DVD that has 100 minute movie of An Cafe and an original tote bag enclosed.

Their agency, Sinko Music will start taking pre-order via web on 11/16.

And if you didn’t know, An Cafe will also be featured in SHOXX magazine’s “SHOXX FILE”.

Pre-order: CDJ

release date: 2009.12.09
Pre-order: CDJ | Amazon Japan

Disc 1
01.キャンデーホリック
02.踊るメルヘン時計
03.似非占い
04.逃避回路
05.雨の繁華街
06.悲想橋（現在入手不可音源）
07.我侭行進曲
08.テケスタ光線
09.エスカピズム
10.メリメイキング
11.メープルガンマン
12.校廻
13.二時間シャボン玉（未発表音源）
14.巡り逢えた奇跡
15.BondS～絆～

DISC 2
01.LOCK ON ☆ザ☆ 御NEW世界
02.スマイル一番イイ♀
03.スノーシーン
04.覚醒ヒロイズム
05.流星ロケット
06.恋のディペンデンス
07.オレンジドリーム
08.Cherry咲く勇気!!
09.孤立ホスピタル
10.SUMMER DIVE
11.MY HEART LEAPS FOR “C”
12.可愛湯’s ЯocК
13.AROMA
14.夏恋★夏GAME
15.YOU

Hi world and all the cosplayer from sabah, of cuz I also say hi to other cosplayer from other place.

Today this post I want talk about Cosplay =/= Lolita or Fashion to all the “SABAHAN”.

Well, Why I need to post about this? Because, just now one of the sabah magazine (I wouldn’t post out the magazine name.) they send me a message in facebook. And then the message make me facepalm all the way. Ok.. I just post out abit what they send.

“Hot Toys Limited Edward Scissorhands 12″ figure sponsored by XXX and a Lolita Cosplay Costume sponsored by XXX to give away!”

Yea… I know… = = its kinda… silly and stupid for me. Actually, I did explain to them what is cosplay and lolita, but they did a same mistake again and again. And I did explain the same thing in my own personal blog, forum and facebook. But they also did a same mistake again and again. *sigh* I don’t mind explain again in this blog and I will try to use very very simple example to explain what is cosplay and lolita.

“Cosplay (コスプレ, kosupure^?), short for “costume play”,^[1] is a fan labor type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan. Favorite sources include manga, anime, tokusatsu, comic books, graphic novels, video games, hentaimovies. Role play includes portrayals of J-pop and J-rock stars, Taiwanese puppet characters, science fiction characters, characters from musical stories, classic novels, and entertainment software. Any entity from the real or virtual world that lend itself to dramatic interpretation may be taken up as a subject. Inanimate objects are given an anthropomorphic forms and it is not unusual to see genders switched, with women playing male roles and vice versa and fantasy “

-Copy from Wikipedia-

OK, I give some very very very simple example to explain what is cosplay~

You cosplay superman

You cosplay spiderman

You cosplay pikachu

You cosplay power ranger

You cosplay snow white

You cosplay sleeping beauty

You cosplay Gundam

You cosplay Olympic mascot

ok, this all is cosplay.

now, I give some example what is not cosplay…

Lolita

Visual Kei

Punk

Gothic Punk

Gothic Lolita

Sweet Lolita

and etc….

All, is fashion…..

So, next times, please don’t say again “I COSPLAY AS LOLITA or etc( all about fashion )” in front all the cosplayer, because they will ask you back “YOUR LOLITA or etc CHARACTER IS FROM WHICH MOVIE, WHICH MANGA, WHICH ANIME,WHICH CARTOON OR WHICH VIDEO GAMES” or they will slap or punch you immediately… so don’t do the same mistake again~ please….  You also don’t want  punch or slap or torture or kill by cosplayer just because you do a same mistake again ,right? ^^;;

P/S>I also respect Lolita and etc, but  please difference Lolita or etc and cosplay… Please forgive my broken english and leave your comment about my post, Thank you.

-SAKUYA-

]]> http://sininenchan.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/love-addicted-nightmare/ Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:55:02 +0000 sininenchan http://sininenchan.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/love-addicted-nightmare/ http://yumenosekai07.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/mini-album-deluhi-yggdalive/ Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:56:32 +0000 KarenTakarai http://yumenosekai07.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/mini-album-deluhi-yggdalive/

Peso: 61.14 MB
Bitrate: 320 kbps
Formato: mp3
Fecha: 2009.11.04
Genero: Visual Kei, J-Rock
Uploader: KarenTakarai

Track List:

01. Overture -Yggdalive-
02. G.A.L.D.
03. REVOLVER BLAST
04. flow snow
05. WAKE UP!
06. Hello
07. FOLLOW THE FUTURE
08. Syllable -Yggdrising-
09. Hoshi no Nai Yoru ni

MediaFire / MegaUpload

This is my first proper post on this blog, so I decided to share the report I submitted for my music research assignment last year for school. For the assignment, I was allowed to choose my own topic, so I decided to write about my favourite style of music. As I wrote this for a school assignment, I have tried to focus on a few aspects and elaborating on those, so there are many things that I didn’t mention or if I did, have not spoken much about. I may/may not decide to write about those in the future. Also as I shaped this report with my researched knowledge and own opinion, there may be some debatable topics. Feel free to comment if you wish to raise a point about it. But otherwise, I hope this is not to dull for you all.

+++++

What is Visual Kei, and J-Rock?

“When you say J Rock, it’s the same as America, it’s very diverse. But probably, you are talking about, more like Visual Kei.”[1] – Yoshiki Hayashi (drummer of X JAPAN)

So what is Visual Kei? And what is its link with J Rock? Japanese Rock, or commonly known as just “J Rock”, refers to Japanese bands that play anything related to Rock, ranging from Pop, Punk, Metal, Rock’n’Roll, to the more niche styles like Visual Kei.

J Rock took its influence from western popular rock music, such as psychedelic rock in the British and American music like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, who made an undeniable impact on the music scene in Japan in the 60’s. Japanese musicians, inspired by these western rock groups, began to emulate that sound in their mother tongue.

American music was also a large influence, especially with the arrival of the 80’s, when American Heavy Metal and Glam Rock artists like KISS and David Bowie dominated the music scene. In Japan, many popular musicians were inspired by both the psychedelic rock of the 60’s and 70’s, and by the glam rock and metal hair bands of this time. The 3 very different but nonetheless most popular of these Japanese bands include BOØWY, X JAPAN and BUCK-TICK.

These Japanese bands, influenced by their western contemporaries, presented themselves in flamboyant and extreme costumes, with extreme make-up and eccentric hair styles while recreating the sounds played by their western counterparts, making it their own. As the hair band movement of the 80’s in the Western world reached its peak and began to die down, bands like X JAPAN and BUCK-TICK took their stage presence to a new level, bringing forth a movement of music and fashion that was soon to be known as Visual Kei. And so came the characteristic exotic costuming, makeup, theatrics, extreme hairstyles, all combined to create a new and enhanced stage presence. “Originally wearing makeup and costumes was an influence from American rock bands. Then we interpreted that American culture into our own: Visual Kei.”[2] – Isshi (vocalist of Kagrra,). That is to say, with these bands, the Visual Kei movement emerged and began its legacy in the history of Japanese music and culture.

Visual Kei literally means “Visual Style” (“visual” from English, “kei” is the Japanese word for style or type). It is often known as a sub-genre or sub-culture of J Rock. Just as the term ‘rock’ often encompasses a wide range of sub-genres of music, like hard-rock, punk, pop, metal; so too does visual kei. The term refers to bands or musicians that place as much emphasis on their image, as their actual music. It is a term that defines the image of the musicians rather than the sound that they produce. Ironically, many people refer to Visual Kei specifically when they use the term “J Rock”, even though technically Visual Kei is only a part of Japanese Rock. Visual Kei as a movement was at first slow to be recognized and only began to take flight later during the band boom of the 90’s. X JAPAN was far from popular when they first debuted in 1982, especially as their strange and striking image and heavy sound was not yet acceptable. Yoshiki created his own label “Extasy Records”, with which the band released their first album, and soon gained impressive popularity. Only a few years later, Visual Kei started to become popular, and all kinds of bands emerged in Japan, including LUNA SEA, Malice Mizer, GLAY, Dir en grey, D’erlanger, Kuroyume, PIERROT, and many more. Although, many believe that X JAPAN are the creators of Visual Kei, and some say that visual kei began in their time. In saying this, X JAPAN undoubtedly plays an important role in the birth of visual kei, and I too consider them to be the creators of Visual Kei. After all, it was they who first embraced the label “Visual Kei” to describe themselves, before any other bands began to use the term.

The Visual Kei image is a major factor for drawing the attention of an audience. Visual Kei comes in varying degrees. The image presented by visual bands is often feminine or androgynous, and many male members of these bands are often mistaken as female, despite the majority of these bands consisting of an all-male line up. Some Visual Kei artists discard their use of aesthetics after gaining popularity and being signed to a major label, in order to be more widely accepted. Though this is not always the case, and some bands will keep using the aesthetics, for example, Malice Mizer, who remained “Visual”, though the visual styles that they used changed throughout the years.

The influences on Visual Kei – How significant are other music styles on Visual Kei?

All music is influenced by either music of the same style, or of a different style. Visual Kei is no exception to this matter of fact. Moreover, Visual Kei musicians may possibly have been influenced by outside styles more so than musicians of many other genres, resulting in the diversity of Visual Kei. As stated earlier, even though Visual Kei is referred to as a musical genre, the music of visual kei bands in fact may come across as having no similarities. Visual Kei is not limited to the boundaries set by generic labels. Visual Kei covers styles like pop, rock, metal, punk, electronic rock, and others including fusion styles.

Visual Kei musicians come across as being quite experimental. With their sound, they often incorporate or fuse other styles of music with their own. A common goal in Visual Kei is to differentiate themselves from others, which I think is the underlying concept that brought upon Visual Kei in the first place. Or at least, visual bands are certainly not united by their style. “I think it’s important to be unique and we try to keep up our own style.”[3] – TAKEO of ANGELO (formerly from PIERROT).

Most bands try to have a sound that is their own rather than fitting into a genre. Their influences from other music styles are significant to Visual Kei in the sense that combining sounds from different styles will allow them to create a new sound – one that can be uniquely their own. In the fusion of styles, they achieve a sound that is different from other musicians/bands, and therefore differentiates them from others.

One of the reasons that many bands are involved in Visual Kei is to grab attention and differentiate themselves from ordinary people or “something for a band to set themselves apart from others.”[4] – KIRITO from PIERROT. The radical way in which they dress created shock and controversy, an attribute which bands embraced, as proclaimed by X JAPAN in their motto: “PSYCHEDELIC VIOLENCE CRIME OF VISUAL SHOCK”.

The androgynous appearance of many bands is reminiscent of the glam rock in the west, for example, David Bowie; during his time as his androgynous alter-ego “Ziggy Stardust” inspired many Japanese musicians to follow the musical innovation and visual presentation.

Another influence on Visual Kei musicians are their own roots. In Japanese history and culture, there are theatrics that are similar to visual kei. Androgyny has a been in Japan’s history from the ancient “Kabuki” theatre which eventually involved male actors playing men’s and women’s roles, to the Takarazuka Revue, an all-women acting troupe, who does similar though with Broadway style productions. Once again, the androgyny is presented in Visual Kei’s emergence, though this time it comes in the form of music.

The band Kagrra, (pronounced as the Japanese word Kagura, meaning “music of the gods” written with a deliberate misspelling and a comma at the end) incorporates a traditional Japanese music style into their pop-rock style. This includes their use of traditional Japanese instruments such as the Koto, a Japanese zither, using Japanese styled melodies – pentatonic scale, and also the use of old Japanese in their lyrics. The Koto is played by the rhythm guitarist of the band, and is often seen alternating between guitar and Koto when the band performs in a live. The lyrics are entirely in Japanese (though it may vary between old Japanese and modern Japanese), whereas most modern Japanese musicians include some English words in their music.

The song Utakata is a good example of the “neo-japanesque” aspect of the band, with the use of seemingly pentatonic melodies common in traditional Japanese music. Originally, the aesthetics used by this band were a mixture of colourful eccentric imagery similar to many visual bands, infused with their own influence of the ancient Japanese style. This could be seen when they wore kimonos (traditional Japanese dress) mixed with their colourful hairstyles and makeup. In more recent times, they have moved away from their extreme visuals.

X JAPAN’s music especially their ballads, have been considered to be “neo-classical” due to the use of Classical music infused with the “neo” styles of music, in this case, metal and progressive rock. X JAPAN incorporate classical orchestral or avant-garde piano sections into their heavy headbanger style music, as well as write soft yet emotional and powerful rock ballads. Their pieces often include piano, as drummer Yoshiki is a classically trained pianist. X JAPAN’s pieces also include strings, for example the opening of Say Anything, a ballad from their album “Jealousy”. Also from that album, their song Silent Jealousy is a good example of classical infused with metal, beginning with a beautiful piano introduction that dies away before bursting into rapid speed metal guitar riffs. Although it is heavy metal, this piece is still incredibly melodic even through the distortion and shredding of guitars and the quick pace of the drums and bass. X JAPAN often incorporates English for emphasis on their lyrics. In the middle of the song, a section of spoken English dialogue (a form of expression often used by the band) leads into the instrumental section. The piano re-emerges in the music backed by harmonious strings. A short section brings in the guitars by alternating the piano and guitar parts in a question-answer format. This then transitions the music to a twin guitar solo, played by both guitarists of the band.

In X JAPAN’s 30-minute piece, “Art of Life”, X JAPAN brings together the neo-classical, the progressive rock and speed metal altogether into an epic masterpiece. The entire piece was written in English lyrics, even though they spoke Japanese. The composition of the piece goes through several sections showing no lack of ideas. The song deals with the meaning of life, love and death, and the changes of musical themes, moods and textures help to enforce these meanings. Throughout the song, the music powers through speedmetal, with harmonized guitar riffs, to voice-over dialogues that deepen the song’s atmosphere. The piece also features a piano solo lasting around 7 minutes. Beginning with a tranquil, but unsteady, melody, the music gradually gains complexity. The melody develops into discords until any sense of key disappears, much influenced by 20th century composers. The use of poetic English lyrics is important, as English is the most common language over the world. The use of English emphasizes the universal themes: the idea of living out life, times of contemplation, truth and lies:

“Art of life
I try to stop myself
But my heart goes to destroy the truth
Tell me why
I want the meaning of my life
Do I try to live?
Do I try to love?

Art of life
An eternal bleeding heart
You never wanna breathe your last
Wanna live, can’t let my heart kill myself
Still I’m feeling for
A rose that’s breathing love
In my life…”
– Art of Life by X JAPAN

Visual Kei took what it needed from its mixture of foreign influences, and departed from it. Over the years, it became very different from the Visual Kei that was originally witnessed at the end of the 80’s. It became something new, a style that is considered to be uniquely Japanese.

How significant is Visual Kei in the modern world? (Japan, America and worldwide)

Visual Kei in the last decade probably takes its influence from the Visual Rock bands that emerged in the 90’s. When compared, the new visual kei is obviously quite different from back in the 80’s. Originally started by one band, over the years has expanded over a new generation of musicians. In appearance, what was originally big and brightly coloured hair accompanied by outrageous dress and showy make up, has branched out into several different visual styles. In recent times, some visual styles have become more fashion conscious, while others have turned to the more gothic, dark and frightening blood drenched theatrical styles. Visual Kei has evolved greatly in recent times. The big and colourful hair has become almost stylish, though still in all sorts of colours, and less over-the-top but still feminine or androgynous makeup.

Presently, Visual Kei remains as a diverse, ever growing music culture. Although it is Japanese music, its appeal has surged far beyond Japanese shores. Language has not prevented Japanese music reaching people over the world. Or as it is sometimes said, “Music is universal” and knows no language barriers, and therefore the wave of Japanese Rock will continue to surge over the shores and influence fans from all over the world. As said by ShuU, the bassist from girugamesh, “Just like how we were inspired by foreign music, without understanding the lyrics, we can inspire foreign audiences by just rocking the live show.”[5] The popularity of the Japanese music scene has allowed non-Japanese fans to learn the lyrics and pronunciation of their favourite Japanese songs.

The dramatic costumes and visual imagery used by Visual Kei bands may seem to be more important than the music itself, from just looking at the extent that these bands go to in presenting themselves. For this, even in Japan, Visual Kei receives much criticism as the majority are nonsupporters. In actuality, most Visual Kei bands use dramatic costumes and visual imagery in order to enhance the band’s performance. “No matter how pretty they are, no matter how flashy they are, they just want to rock.”[6] – Yoshiki

The popularity of Visual Kei has also lead to further sub-cultures and sub-genres such as gothic Lolita and Oshare kei. In Japan, these are most influential among youth and are evident in districts where youth often meet. For example, Visual Kei is often associated with Harajuku, as often youth gathered there can be seen dressed as their favourite bands, or in Gothic Lolita styled clothing, or other visual styles of dress. This kind of dressing up is called “cosplay”, an abbreviation of costume play, and fans will often dress in this way for concerts, or other events with visual kei fans. (Cosplay is not restricted to dressing like visual kei bands, people may dress in costumes of characters from cartoons, movies, etc)

In Japan, there are several magazines in Japan that deal with the music and fashion involved in Visual Kei, the most well known ones include SHOXX, Cure, FOOL’S MATE, Arena37°C, Neo Genesis. These magazines are often filled with interviews with current music acts within Visual Kei, J Rock, or similar styles.

I find that for most people see Visual Kei as having a sense of escapism and fantasy and that it is meant to be unbelievably over the top. For foreign fans of Visual Kei, they see it as being different from their local music or mainstream western music, and therefore provide them a way to escape and enjoy music from outside of the mainstream. But I think a bigger reason for the growing popularity of J Rock is in the bigger picture, from the attention on Japanese culture as a whole.

In recent times, Japanese culture has become very popular worldwide, with the growing popularity of anime and manga, video games, dramas. Music has also been a factor in this increasing popularity, especially mainstream genres such as pop, hip hop, and even music used as opening or ending themes within anime. Visual Kei too has therefore become more widely known, as western audiences have become more receptive to Japanese youth culture, and therefore Visual Kei too. Visual Kei is considered to be a uniquely Japanese part of the Rock music scene. Miyavi, the musician who proclaims to be the founder of “Neo Visual Kei”, says: “I think J-Rock is so original in Japanese culture.”[7]

In more recent times, Visual Kei is often linked with Anime, and visual kei rockers are often mistaken as Anime cosplayers (dressing in costumes after their favourite characters from anime – Japanese animation). Though they are not the same, anime is definitely connected with Visual Kei. Anime has developed to be a large part of Japanese culture, and newer Visual Kei bands have began to incorporate almost anime-like styles of dress, hairstyles and makeup. Also, Visual bands often gain popularity from performing music for an anime opening or ending theme, as is the case with alice nine. Their songs for the anime Meine Liebe took them to #4 on the Oricon charts of Japan.

I think that the J Rock in the future will continue to grow in popularity, even though there is no indication of the extent of this popularity. One of the reasons would be that, in the past, “people kind of seemed to think that all Japanese music was the same, but as the rock scene has evolved there’s really something for everyone out there right now.”[8] – Josephine Yun, author of the book “jrock.ink: a concise report on 40 of the biggest rock acts in Japan.” She also says that the factors that will bring popularity to Visual Kei will “need to come from all different sides media-wise.”[9] She says, “I really think touring will be the main thing that increases popularity in the US, because seeing these artists live, they exude such energy I really think more fans will be made that way.”[10]

Indeed seeing visual kei artists live will enable people to realize what is exciting about Visual Kei, and thus bring about new fans. The fact that Visual rock bands have already begun touring outside of their home country should be enough evidence of the increasing popularity of Visual Kei. In the recent decade, Visual Kei bands have been touring most often in America and European countries such as Germany and France.

The “J Rock Revolution” a J Rock and Visual Kei music festival organized by X Japan’s Yoshiki was held in 2007 at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. It was the first multi-artist festival in the US to consist of exclusively Japanese rock musicians. The festival ran from May 25-26, featuring the 9 J Rock acts: alice nine, Vidoll, DuelJewel, Miyavi, Merry, girugamesh, D’espairsRay, Kagrra, and MUCC. If anything, this shows that Visual Kei’s popularity has dramatically increased since X JAPAN’s attempt to break into America’s music industry.

D’espairsRay and MUCC and another band, The Underneath, have also performed at the 2008 Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour in America, alongside popular western metal and hard-core bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, ATREYU, Bullet For My Valentine, blessthefall and Idiot Pilot.

Dir en grey is another band to tour alongside western bands, taking part in the “2006 Family Values Tour” created by the band Korn, with bands like DEFTONES, in 2007 they played in Germany’s Rock Festival “Wacken Open Air”, and in other festivals with NINE INCH NAILS and TOOL. Dir en grey have been very successful in Europe, maybe more so than in Japan. Their first ever shows in the UK at London’s Islington Academy were sold out “with no publicity whatsoever, the first gig sold out in minutes.”[11] From British Magazine Kerrang’s interview with Dir en grey.

J Rock and Visual Kei manage to span over a wide range of styles in sound, imagery and aesthetics, which therefore appeals to a wider audience worldwide. J Rock and Visual Kei’s popularity also spans in other countries, such as Finland, UK, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and even Chile and Brazil in South America. As Josephine Yun mentions, the factors that will increase the popularity of visual kei will need to come from all sorts of media, and so it does. Many organizations dealing with J Rock and Visual Kei have been established to boost international marketing and awareness. The J Rock Revolution is but one of the many establishments for this purpose. Others include “CLJ Records” – a record label with the task of bringing rock from Japan to Europe, and “Tainted Reality Internet Radio Network” – a J Rock internet radio station that also manages the operations of some Visual Kei bands in the US.

There is no doubt that Visual Kei’s significance is growing amongst youth in Japan and over the world, it is indeed youth culture. But this does not mean that visual kei is exclusively for the youth. X Japan’s ballads were commercially successful with broad appeal, and people of all ages, young to old, and all sorts of people enjoyed X Japan’s music. Even Japanese Prime Minister, Koizumi Junichiro, was a fan of X Japan.

A different way that Visual Kei has affected modern society is by the use of imagery that evokes a transgender image. As Visual Kei is generally a male-dominated genre (there are few female acts within Visual Kei), it has enabled boys to express themselves with their bodies and their physical appearance in the modern westernized world (even Japan has become somewhat westernized). This kind of expression is considered “womanly” and man’s expression in this way was originally oppressed. Women have long been exploring the men’s realm – they are able to wear men’s clothes like trousers, cut their hair short, without these having any relation to their sexual orientation. Visual Kei likewise, even with the somewhat feminine appearance, has no relation to sexual orientation. And so, with Visual Kei, men in Japan have become freer to express themselves through appearance, by wearing makeup, dressing in elaborate costuming or stylish and elegant clothing. The effect is evident in the increased beauty salons for men, and men’s magazines devoted to fashion hairstyles and makeup. It has enabled men a way to express themselves in a sense other than in terms of masculinity (for example, strength, “macho”-ness, or how well-trained one’s body is), and therefore the men’s turn to explore the women’s realm.

As for me, my first encounter with Visual Kei is when I first heard Endless Rain, and X Japan ballad from their album ‘Blue Blood’. However, it is undeniable that the aesthetics of this band sparked a curiosity within me, leading me further into the world of visual kei. This encounter introduced me to other Visual Kei or Japanese Rock musicians and has shown me a new approach of what music could be. Visual Kei can be considered as a culture: “The way they act, the way they dress, it’s not just about the music, it’s a whole lifestyle.”[12] – From a fan who attended the “J Rock Revolution”.

“It rocks, and feels good, that’s what’s important. I really hope the J-Rock scene will become rooted overseas, not just a passing trend.”[13] – Tatsurou of MUCC. This quote, though, is a closer summary to what I personally think about J-Rock and Visual Kei. I think that the most important part of Visual Kei remains to be the music itself. The aesthetics are still extremely important; the word visual shows the importance of the aesthetics used. In no way does the image of a band take away from their goal to bring good music to their fans. In fact, for many Visual Rock musicians, “People can get more from our music with the visual aspect. We want people to enjoy both our music and visuals.” [14] – Shou from alice nine. The aesthetics to me are part of the music. Visual Kei is about rock: everything in visual kei is part of the music, about the music, and it is the music.

CITINGS:

1. Yoshiki Hayashi (X JAPAN), IMF Feed on J Rock Revolution
2. Isshi (Kagrra,), IMF Feed on J Rock Revolution
3. TAKEO (ANGELO, ex-PIERROT), J Rock Revolution: Interview with Angelo
4. KIRITO (ANGELO, ex-PIERROT), J Rock Revolution: Interview with Angelo
5. ShuU (girugamesh), IMF Feed on J Rock Revolution
6. Yoshiki Hayashi (X JAPAN), IMF Feed on J Rock Revolution
7. Miyavi, IMF Feed on J Rock Revolution
8. Josephine Yun (“jrock.ink”), PRI’s The World Interview with Josephine Yun
9. Josephine Yun (“jrock.ink”), PRI’s The World Interview with Josephine Yun
10. Josephine Yun (“jrock.ink”), PRI’s The World Interview with Josephine Yun
11. From THE OUTSIDERS, (interview/article with Dir en grey, written by Emma Johnston
12. From IMF Feed on J Rock Revolution
13. Tatsurou (MUCC), IMF Feed on J Rock Revolution
14. Shou (alice nine.), IMF Feed on J Rock Revolution