J-rock
As I listen to Love Letter by Gackt now, only one word comes to mind - immortality. The same perplexing sensation is felt when listening to tracks by artistes like L’Arc~en~Ciel, Luna Sea and of course, Gackt (former vocalist of Malice Mizer), whose soulful voice serenades with undying passion.
If confined by genre, you’d find these artistes on the shelf labelled J-rock. From the days of “visual kei” (visual driven J-rock; eccentric and often androgynous in fashion and make up) in the 90’s, these artistes have evolved into mainstream pop rockers with a tinge of yesteryear’s baroque quintessentials.
<camui m.s gackt
Gackt. Music is sensual and mystifying. This larger than life, elegant, soft-spoken, witty and highly sexual eccentric almost drowned to death at age 7. Gack-to (Jap pronunciation) plays the piano, guitar, drums, bass, trumpet, tuba, horn, trombone, other standard orchestral instruments, and most traditional Japanese instruments. He can speak Japanese, English, Mandarin, Korean, and French, with varying degrees of fluency. Gackt and close friend Hyde (vocalist and lyricist of L’Arc~en~Ciel) also co-wrote and co-starred in the vampire movie Moon Child. Gackt calls his band GacktJOB and his fans Dears.
<hyde, vocalist/lyricist of l’arc~en~ciel
L’Arc~en~Ciel. Music is harmonious, uplifting and dreamy. L’Arc~en~Ciel means “Arch in the Sky” in French. The way this band weaves music in such rich textures and depth (composed by Ken/guitar and Tetsu/bass/founder), combined with Hyde’s highly spirited voice, it’s no wonder that Laruku (Jap pronunciation) is the most appealing J-rock band ever..
<luna sea, live
Luna Sea. Music is strong, dynamic and infinite. In their heyday, effeminately gothic Luna Sea was second only to visual kei pioneers X JAPAN in popularity. The unique aspect of this band’s music is the immense contrast between their powerful rhythm lines and vocalist Ryuichi’s delicate voice that somehow blend to create beautiful hard-edged sonatas. Ever since I first saw the music video of “Love Song” and “I for You” on TV in the late 90’s, I’ve always deemed Luna Sea as a purist in J-rock.
<miyavi
Miyavi. Music is hyperactive and violently sweet. Formerly Miyabi (ex-guitarist of visual band Due’le Quartz), he has emerged with a new taste of J-rock – a fusion of industrial punk synth pop rock that initially stung like the occasional wasabi overdose. On his tracks, interviews, as well as live performances, Miyavi enjoys belting a spastic screech when you least expect it. He started playing the guitar at age 11, which explains his speedy solos. Like Gackt, his concerts often include fan service (homoerotic play).
<kyo, vocalist of dir en grey
Dir en grey. Music is ultraviolent. Formed in 1997, from the disbanded visual kei band La:Sadie’s, Dir en grey continues to produce highly unpredictable music, spreading misery and despair. First of all, Kyo’s vocals bears an uncanny resemblance to Gackto (try listening to less aggressive tracks like Psycho and Embryo). I was shocked. Nevertheless, on the rest of their typical tracks, Kyo sounds raw, slithery and downright filthy. Kaoru and Die’s heavy guitar riffs have the tendency to pound you mercilessly, and then surprise you with very abrupt changes in pace. The track “ain’t afraid to die” is Kyo’s deep and poignant response to being partially deaf in his left ear since 2000.
<the pillows, yamanaka middle
the pillows. Music is fresh, poppy and nice. Each of the trio emerged from a deep J-rock background in the 80’s to form the pillows in 1989 and has been finally and massively exposed recently, thanks to the hit anime – FLCL. Having totally set the mood, ambience and emotional platform for FLCL by providing hit tunes from their three most recent albums for the soundtrack, the pillows made this unique anime all the more special. Their tracks are alternative pop rock with Yamanaka’s bubble gum vocals (irregardless when happy or mellow). Great stuff you should wake up to every morning.
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Favourite Tracks:
Gackt: Fragrance, Sayonara, Dears, Vanilla, Another World, Kimi no Tameni Dekiru Koto, Love Letter, Missing, Mizerable, Papa lapped a pap lopped, Secret Garden.
L’Arc~en~Ciel: Kasou, Honey, Sayonara, Niji, Lies and Truth, Ibara no Namida, Heaven’s Drive, Flower, Driver’s High, Shi no Hai, Dive to Blue, As If in a Dream, Blurry Eyes, Anata.
Luna Sea: End of Sorrow, Desire, Gravity, I for You, Love Song, Precious, Shine, Storm, True Blue, Wish, Rain, Providence.
Miyavi: Joushou Kaidou, Ashita Tenki ni nare, Happi Endo no Uta, Coo Quack Cluck, Hime, Jingle Bell, Tome to Jurii, Dear, Eccentric Otanabyo, Night in Girl, Shindemo Boogie-Woogie.
Dir en grey: Beautiful Dirt, Drain Away, umbrella, Filth, The Final, Machiavellism, ain’t afraid to die, Cage, Obscure, Embryo, Erode, Psycho, Hades.
Malice Mizer: au revoir, Illuminati, Syunikiss (all 3 tracks feature Gackt).
<malice mizer, gackt in front
the pillows: Hybrid Rainbows, She is Perfect, Crazy Sunshine, Bran-new Lovesong, Blues Drive Monster, Beautiful Morning with You, Skeleton Liar, Runner’s High, Juliet, Kim Deal, Advice, Ride on Shooting Star, Instant Music, Rush, Funny Bunny, Angel Fish, That House.
