V  i  s  u  a  l
K   E   I

visual kei (vis·ual kay) is a japanese music phenomenon similar to glam rock where bands place as much importance (if not more) on their appearance as their music.

glam bands were not just american rock bands like KISS, Queen,  Guns'n'Roses and early Bon Jovi but also include Elton John and Boy George.

 

links

midi:nette 
Mana's company

The Piass
& Anti-feminism

Gackt

Silver Ash
Chinese kei

HMV Japan

CDJapan

 
Innings: Tokyo Blitz and Mana Hajj 10-16/3/06, plus local gigs: Guitar Wolf NYE, Eve Of Destiny (Haruhiko Ash, Kozi [ex-Malice Mizer]) 10/05

The Piass:The current Piass lineup left to right: Shizuki, Takayuki, Ruiji. The vocalist, Kirala, left. He could sing very well. I first heard this band when I visited Japan in 2000AD (great title for a sci-if comic anthology eh?) and was browsing CDs in a music store, with an aim to find a visual band as I had done a little research beforehand. Their second CD caught my attention, mainly because there were a lot of them - it had just been released - and I could listen to the tracks, which I did and burst out laughing at when the first song started with a scream followed by fast, loud, headbang music. I just had to have these guys; as the last two songs on the four-track CD were beautiful melody pieces completely the opposite of the first two, showing off the singer's fantastic vocal talent. I purchased their first (and full length) CD over the internet from HMV Japan, but unfortunately the band has shrunk by one member and made no more big releases but still play and manage other bands on Anarchist Records label. Recent activity has been Shizuku's hair adding about a meter to his height, and a co-release with ra'S testars. As can be seen from the image, the band has a thing for red and typical feminine appearance. Which leads me to one of their creations...

Anti-feminism: Anti-feminism is hardcore keiGetting serious about the genre again I followed up my small CD collection and learnt about the changes to the Piass and that Takayuki has been responsible for? the creation of Anti-feminism, a rotating band member group unclassifiable by itunes. I have their first CD and they are harder than the Piass' hardcore works and have the original punk sound and full-band backing vocals. Only Takayuki is a makeup girly; the CD's accompanying minibooklet (instead of the CD jacket having the lyrics and band info) shows Aki, the vocalist from The Dead Popstars setting his arm on fire. The band members are always male. Regardless, the name, logo, and picture (Takayuki inspired red) is very, very cool! They play often at one of the Club Holiday venues, and I will make a pilgrimage there in 2006.

Here is a video of one of their lives at Club Holiday in December 2005.

Malice Mizer: Malice Mizer at their peak with Gackt as vocalistMost genre fans would wonder who The Piass are, but all would (*should*) know Malice Mizer and are probably wondering why I didn't put this band first. Simply, they came second because in 2000AD and with their third vocalist, their time was at an unfortunate, self-inflicted end. MM is sort of a visual kei benchmark, and the brainchild of its guitar playing, cross dressing, creator Mana. The band's style was a mix gothic opera and harder elements tied to an unbelievable array of costume changes most probably designed by Mana, who has his own 'elegant gothic lolita/aristocrat' fashion lable called moi-meme-moitie (it is clear that Mana has a thing for French). The band's appearance and sound changed not only when Mana got rid of the vocalist, but many times in between as well.

The three MM vocalists, in order, were Tetsu who was removed after the release of the band's first album, Memoire, followed by Gackt who was sensibly noticed and given a solo career, although it spelt the end of MM, and finally Klaha, always touted as 'classically' trained as if that made him fit MM's charter better; unfortunately Klaha wasn't able to produce what Mana wanted I believe. It wasMM's music and appearance was always changing unfortunate that Gackt left the band, having brought them into the limelight as it were and providing an incredible voice and stage presence (and always looks just so happy and lucky to be there) that MM wasn't able to recapture without his input.

MM produced a handful of full length CDs and maxis before finally disbanding early in the new millennium. They also had some concerts, I have one with Gackt in '97 and the extravagant attempted theatrical show complete with robed choir and gothic church, which had three costume changes, only about six actual songs, and a lot of prerecorded filler that without translation of the lyrics, left me wondering what Mana was trying to acheive.

Despite my criticisms - people are more critical of things they like derailing - I am a big Malice Mizer fan, always drawn to creative works.

Moi dix Mois: Mana, creative control of moi dix mois. I have seen only one photo where he smiles (and isn't dressed up).After Malice Mizer died, its creator, Mana, started a new self-project called Moi dix Mois, which does not mean 'me ten months' as most fansites believe and what google gives as a literal translation of the French. The name is much  more complicated than that. mdm, mxm, m+m, all ways of shortening the name, although simply 'dix' would be appropriate as it is what the band members have on their foreheads, released two albums before the first vocal casualty, Juka - who is quite a good singer - left the band in April, 2005. Whether Mana can find a replacement, or there are any seriously interested singers out there wanting to take Mana on, is yet to be seen half a year later.

For the first time dix (and by earlier extension, Malice Mizer) played outside Japan having concerts in Mana's gothic inspiration, France and Germany, releasing the concert on DVD. dix's sound is 'heavier' than that of MM, with a return of a drummer (MM's drummer died during the Gackt era) and the inclusion of throaty hardcore lyrics all accompanied by a harpsichord.

Mana has extended his fanclub to the international arena, rewarding all the diligent and not so diligent fans (like me). The fanclub, mon+amour, lets me read english translations of the small booklets Mana produces ten times a year (which I also receive), a sort of public journal and thoughts piece. They can be very interesting reading, akin to the back room special features now obligatory on DVDs.

Silver Ash:The Silverash lineup, China's first Visual band I don't know how I could have forgotten and left out the first Chinese Visual Kei band! Currently non-active because they can't afford to be. It was in Inner Mongolia, Boutou, one of only two Chinese cities to have a descent AV store, that I first encountered this band and all of their CDs in one place! For China, that is truly amazing. The store even had reward cards, but I digress. Silver Ash has released four CDs so far: the first, Organum, is a four track demo with a VCD of the group's live event where a mystified crowd watched them play, dressed in leather shorts, boots, t-shirts and half-skirts, with typically big Visual Kei hair. Ling, the one that is cast to really look like a girl had a white frilly feather thing around his neck and happens to be the leader. Each of the tracks has a different style, a demo of their talents and they are okay. The first full release has some of the tracks again. The third CD (the one that I bought first as its cover was less 'visual' than the first androgynous two and I didn't want to freak the cashier girl too much, already having a Malice Mizer VCD in hand) has six tracks, the first few pretty heavy and making me wonder how these tiny gnomes can produce deep black metal voices. They like to swear a bit too, in English. The fourth CD/VCD released last year I purchased in Beijing and none of the myriad of stores I went into there had anything older. Chinese stores are crap. In this CD the band is much more... normal and the VCD has then in suits hanging around Beijing underpasses (????). I picked up the 2001 releases in Chéngdu, the only other Chinese city with a descent AV store and a moderate climate. When I sent the CDs home the female Chinese uniformed postal officer (this was Lhasa afterall) was more interested in the Tian Xian Xi CD (who is pop and very cute and a reasonable talent. Probably was mystified about Silver Ash). 

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