As I previously had featured a Japanese rock musician (Miyavi) in March, noting his extremely unique and quirky style, there is no end to the selection of interesting outfits worn by Japanese musicians (in pop or rock). But while their clothing choices may pique my interest, their music may not always warrant a second listen for me.
In the case of rock band UVERworld (the site is in English!), I first fell deeply in love with TAKUYA's voice (hey--the guy can rap, sing and beatbox), when I heard the second opening theme to the anime "Bleach". If you ever get the chance to noraebang (Korean karaoke) with me, you'll quickly learn that I know this song by heart. My friend Rick later sent me one of their albums, and I became a crazy UVERworld fangirl.
It wasn't until I came upon their live performance from this year's ONTAMA Carnival show that I realized their vocalist rocks quite the wicked street style:
Plaid shirt + deep V + fur tail + waxed skinny jeans + shearling-lined boots + single fingerless glove + blonde tips = normally, that would never work.
Furry sweater coat with a tank.
In the most recent issue of Arena37c (a popular Japanese rock magazine), he's wearing a ruffled bomber, zipped vest and very interesting pants...
Scanned by me
Patchwork denim!! I'm not sure if they work, post-70's, on ANYONE, but this doesn't bother me at all. Image via fanpop.com
Here's their debut single, "D-tecnolife", which is one of my favorite songs, ever...
And I'd like to mention that their latest video, "GOLD", was the 1st video to be released in 3D in Japan. Unfortunately the video was removed from Youtube recently... too bad, because TAKUYA rocks some crazy gold fringed pants in the vid!
Since I returned from Japan a mere few days ago, I felt I should write briefly about a Japanese artist this time--or two--the duo behind J-techno/trance act "capsule".
L-R: Toshiko, Yasutaka (uh... he's looking a little like Andy Samberg here?
capsule officially debuted in 2001, their latest release in March marking their 9th year working together. The mastermind behind capsule, Yasutaka Nakata, personally handles every aspect of anything the duo puts out. We can hear in capsule's music, similarities in beat arrangements to popular American and European techno artists, with a fantastical, anime-like twist. This type of feeling behind the music is only encouraged by the overly cute frontwoman Toshiko Koshijima, who we can see bouncing around in the "Jumper" video.
"Jumper" is one of my all-time favorite songs from capsule, even if Toshiko repeats the same verses over and over with different melodies...
There are a few other Japanese techno/electronic acts people have recommended to me as I love capsule, but don't seem to be as unique or even similar. Even listening to their music, late at night, cruising through downtown LA, is quite the surreal experience that I rarely encounter.
I always find it amazing how techno acts can differentiate themselves from each other, and capsule is one that offers the genre a distinct, playful mood of their own.
Going to concerts, like getting tattoos, can be addictive for the soul. Alright, maybe you might disagree with me on the tattoos activity, but enjoying live music, for me, is so soothing for the soul. I love basking in the world the musician is sharing with me, and how the music invades my ears and pushes the stresses of reality away. That being said, some concerts are so powerful for me that I have to enjoy them twice. There are only a few artists I will bother to see the second time, two of which include The Faint (I've never danced so hard in my life) and The Vincent Black Shadow.
The Vincent Black Shadow hail from Vancouver, and I'll have to thank an old coworker for turning me onto them. I guess in a way she provoked me into listening to them, as she said, "Oh. The lead singer is Asian and tiny. Reminded me of you." Unfortunately, I don't sound like Gwen Stefani and I can't pull off dark eyeshadow like TVBS' vocalist, Cassandra Ford.
After listening to "Metro" in 2008, I was hooked. I've been a fan ever since, and I must admit, Cassie's voice is much more powerful than Gwen's, and she spits out a lot more spunk. (Sorry, Gwen, I'm a fan of yours too though!) To add to her vocal prowess, the guitarist is one of the most animated (and skilled) musicians I've ever seen on stage, and he has a great sense of humor. After attending one of their live shows, I could easily see the band's shining chemistry.
"Metro" has a hot chick, monsters and guns. What more can you want?
One of the songs from their last album, "El Monstruo" - Don't Make Me So Mad
It's a shame that such a great band hasn't gotten the recognition they truly deserve, but I'm hoping great things happen for them in the future...!
During my high school years, I wasn't the "emo kid", the "goth kid", the "nerd", the "cheerleader".... I was just like every other Asian at my school: good grades, involvement in sports, active participant in club activities. However, there weren't many Asians in my school that were interested in Japanese rock music or Gothic/Lolita culture. The few of us that WERE piqued by this culture eventually went all our separate ways, and I somehow ended up working in fashion, leaving that "culture" behind. Then I started watching anime again, and a Ticketmaster email roped me back in, as one of my favorite artists would be returning to LA on a world tour.
Miyavi, as a young boy, dreamed of being a professional soccer player, but had a serious foot injury that kept him on the bench for the rest of his life. As he could no longer play soccer competitively, he took up the guitar... which, now, doesn't seem to be so bad after all.
Miyavi's origins were in visual kei, a type of Japanese rock that involves a lot of make-up, outrageous hair and ensembles (think 80's hair bands with more make-up). He was the guitarist for the band Due le quartz, who were very popular in the indie circuit and were thisclose to touring in the US. But most indie Jrock bands separate after one or two "mini-albums", and Miyavi went solo in 2002 shortly after the bands' breakup.
I don't know where this image is from (sorry!) L-R: Kikasa (bass), Sakito (vocals), Miyabi (guitar), Kazuki (drums)
His solo debut was highly anticipated, as fans (like me) simply saw him as a pretty guitarist, slightly uncertain of his skill as a musician. I don't believe his debut album helped to confirm his abilities, but it was different from what other indie artists were producing, and of course, with his good looks, he garnered more and more (mostly female) fans. His first solo tour piqued a lot of interest as well though, as he recorded all the instruments himself on the album, and there was no mention of a traveling band.
One of his first singles, "Girls, be ambitious". I'm not crazy about it, but it did pretty well on the indie charts.
An updated version of the song, featuring the KAVKI BOYZ! I much prefer this variation of the song.
POP is dead
Senor Senora Senorita
It was his 5th album, "Miyaviuta ~dokuso~", an all-acoustic album--just him and his guitar, that finally won me over 100%. My favorite songs from him are from this album.... (see below)
The intro track on ~dokuso~
A version of "Kimi ni funky monkey vibration" performed with TYKO; one of my favorite tracks from his acoustic album.
On his next album, "This iz the Japanese Kabuki Rock" he collaborated with the KAVKI BOYZ, and again, changed his sound. It was funky but it was still Miyavi. I caught him on tour after the release of this album, at the Avalon in LA (my video is below). The KAVKI BOYZ performed with him, TYKO providing the beatbox, Tap SARO bringing tap-dancing skills, both giving a very unique rhythm and sound to what could have just been a very ordinary rock concert.
Though he's left the visual kei scene, he's kept some of it with him, as his style continues to evolve through his career....
Miyavi vs Tap SARO
He went on a little hiatus it seems, after that tour, and in the middle of 2009 he got married and had a daughter. This was totally unexpected as most of us Miyavi fangirls were praying that he was gay. I mean, look at him, isn't he pretty? On occasion I check the Japanese music charts, various J-music websites, and it didn't seem like he was producing music anymore....
Until I got that email today from Ticketmaster.
Scanned from "21sekigata koushinkyoku" Scanned from "This iz the Japanese Kabuki Rock"
This is such great news for me, as he is one of the best musicians around today, though many people don't know of him. From reading his blog and seeing a few of his tweets, I could tell that he genuinely cares about his fans, much like another huge talent today, Lady GaGa. I think it's unfortunate that other superstars aren't more grateful and humble to their fans (I won't point out any in particular), and this only makes Miyavi a better artist.
Hopefully, this insanely talented 28-year-old decides to stick around for a long, long time, because not enough of the world has been exposed to his talent yet.
The past few musicians I've showcased ranged from rock to electronica, with OLIVIA being the only one with a tinge of pop-rock history (Shiina Ringo is popular, but I don't feel her music really has a pop sound...).
I actually listen to a lot of pop music, mostly Japanese or Korean (I grew up on Japanese pop), and one notable band comes to mind when it comes to Japanese pop-rock: THE BRILLIANT GREEN. They were the leading pop-rock band consisting of 2 men and 1 female vocalist. The other popular band at the time was Do As Infinity, also comprising of 2 men and 1 female vocalist. I was a much bigger fan of D-A-I as a teen, as I liked Tomiko Van(the vocalist)'s deeper voice, and the band's edgier rock sound.
Tomiko Van & Ryo Owatari of D-A-I
I listened to a little of TBG here and there, but it was not until the lead singer went solo in 2001 that my interest was piqued.
THE BRILLIANT GREEN - Rainy days never stays
She first debuted as Tommy february6 (her Japanese name being Tomoko Kawase), February 6th being her birthday; hence this special blog post. Her music is extremely poppy, very cute, and a little bizarre. Based on her long history with TBG, one would assume she would keep her "safer" image, but with her solo debut, Tommy has emerged as a very quirky pop/rock star who sometimes looks like Avril Lavigne.
Tommy, resembling Avril Lavigne.... (image via moetron.com)
In my opinion, her songs are more catchy than TBG's (I think TBG sounds a little bit like Sixpence None the Richer...). The English is very strange in the songs, and she appears as some sort of sexy-secretary-delinquent-schoolgirl. This look is quite... difficult to pull off, I have to say, especially for someone who just celebrated her 35th birthday, today.
She then debuted another moniker as Tommy heavenly6, and these songs were in the pop-rock genre, closer to TBG's style, yet her style became more gothic/lolita.
Her last single as Tommy heavenly6 was released in 2008, and it seems that THE BRILLIANT GREEN has again reunited, working on new material together.
Though I've never been a die-hard/obsessive fan of TBG or Tommy (in both alter egos), I do believe that Tommy's music is a worthwhile listen, even with her nonsensical English-Japanese lyrics, strange music videos and 80's reminiscent pop/synth/punk influences.
Hm. Speaking of above-mentioned quirkiness, I guess there IS someone who can wear the recent Giles collection. Charles Anastase's and Luella's collections also come to mind.
