Himeaimichu

A little update, the video is also on YT. I guess that possibly means that the PV will be more than one song?

We have another CM spot, but this time, on twitter, and of the song "Furan Furan"

I just realised though, the biggest transformation of Vkei is La'Mule. Whereas Dir en Grey slowly became casual, La'Mule did it within a matter of less than a year.

Let me set the scene. It's the early 2000's, and Soleil is a failed label. Though they already closed their doors, they were releasing whatever they still could.  Most bands would just disband, but La'Mule, well, they kinda just decided to fuck it. (Ironically, La'Mule actually was signed to a major label for a year, but they left that label in favour of Soleil)

And remember, this was the same band that invented Horror VisualKei. They were one of the first fledged horror themed bands. Kon used to preform with  a noose around his neck, wear a handmade net top, and wear bloody, used gauze. They used to make songs about death, and killing, and demons, and eccentric marxists.

Then, in 2002, they released "Fit to naked the heavens fall", and well shit went downhill from here.  

Ironically, it seemed as if no one liked it anyway, since it's hard finding La'Mule stuff post 2001. I have a better time finding their unreleased stuff from 1996 than I do actual releases from 2001 onwards. And well, in 2003, they broke up. 

After that, Kon and You-ya formed a supergroup with a non-Vkei image called Red Carpet, but stuff from them is also hard to find too. Go figure.

Then, in 2005, Kon and Kaie (who has been with Kon since his side project alongside La'Mule, Geno, and was in Vasalla) formed NightingeiL, a VisualKei band that for once, got them back into the music scene. They had a similar aesthetic to La'Mule, but more modernised. A lot of Vkei bands, such as Dir en Grey, were turning toward Nu Metal at this time, and naturally so did Kon. 

Then in 2010, La'Mule comes back, and looks the same as they did back in the 90's (They don't seem to age), and after they disband in 2012, Kon, Nao and Sin would form Cell, which was a further modernisation of their sound, but kept a 90's favouring look. 

So basically, it's like they go from Blood, Guts and Gore, to "We're just a regular band", back to "Blood guts and gore, but more modern", to "Blood, guts and gore, but like the 90's, and more red"

Mei from Kuroyuri to Kage had a pretty big transition from his first band with Koyomi and K, known as "Arutema" (He had another band before, but his first Kuroyuri proto-band would be Arutema), which looked like your general mid 2000's Vkei shtick. This continued with Jigsaw, except he wore way more piercings. Then Memento Mori formed and he wore a pseudo-Military outfit and much darker makeup. However, by the time they had released their first Mini album, he began wearing Kimono, and by their 2nd mini, he had even darker makeup. Then in Kuroyuri to Kage, he began wearing European style clothing. Now he sticks to suit and tie. His band mates have also changed a lot over time, but Mei has changed the most.

35 minutes ago, nostalgia said:

For me, it's the entire DIR EN GREY band members. DIR EN GREY in 1997 and nowadays are like completely different bands in every aspect. 

Heck, Dir en Grey even made a big transition from 1997 to 1999. First, Kyo can't sing for shit, then Yoshiki comes under the table and suddenly, he can sing xD

11 minutes ago, Manji 卍 said:

i hope so.he is my favorite vocalist.and talking about rumos...i don't know if the rumor about mutsuki being builed out of the band is true

but i heard other rumor of a friend of mine who's a big fan and knows some kuroyuri fans around the world

and she said that koyomi retired from the music scene due to his pregnant girlfriend...well,rumos could be true but we can't trust

I'm skeptical of most Tanuki rumours. Back in the days of Memento Mori, there were big time rumours that Koyomi (Tsubaki at the time) was in a relationship with Yue, and that Yue was forced to leave the band because of Tsubaki. But.. there is a huge hole in that rumor, and it's that Yue actually left because he had back problems (probably due to drumming. Yoshiki has similar issues). I'll prefer to wait to see how things actually turn out before I consider any rumour being true. 

I'm skeptical of most information anyway. VisualKei is full of rumours, false information, false translations, etc. It's best to take everything with a grain of salt

2 minutes ago, Manji 卍 said:

so....if they just dropped a new channel on youtube it means that they aren't thinking about disbanding,right?
kuro and k are great musicians,but Mei is something else,he is REALLY something else.
He should be as famous as Tsuzuku,Yoshiatsu,etc...He's so unique.even if kuroyuri to kage break up
i think he's perfeclty able to create his own concept with a new band.. definitely one of the best frontman i ever seen 

Yeah, Mei definitely seems to have a love for music, and I don't think he'll retire any time soon. 

I wish he'd let me follow his account on my new Twitter. I used to follow him on my old account, but that shit got hacked by a pornbot. 

1 minute ago, Takadanobabaalien said:

Yes, that seem to be the case 

Time to buy a VR headset then!

Oh wow. I noticed at the end of the CM spot, it says "360 live PV". Are we gonna see one of those 360 degree videos?

Ghost Train, huh? 

Isn't that the name of a Ningen Isu song?

2 minutes ago, Milayou said:

Under... and Miss Moonlight. Chuuzetsu could be up there if a higher quality version existed.

I forgot about Under...! That was an amazing song. Kinda gives off vibes similar to that of Spellbound by Siouxsie and the Banshees

2 minutes ago, jaymee said:

Also, thanks! I think this lyric/PV analysis would definitely benefit from more contributors who listen to bands that are currently popular. I can translate, but I'm more familiar/more inclined to analyze older VK work, which doesn't seem to attract as many people to participate/comment. D:

 

Don't worry, I'm also more inclined to do older songs (Either that or indie songs xD). I don't necessarily speak Japanese, but I read WAY too much on the Japanese language, and am very familiar with it, so I'm prone to pointing out interesting things in the vocalist's diction and pronunciation. 

I always thought songs like this were satirising how Idols are viewed in Japan, as the Idol industry.. is.. well, far from free flowing. (You have touched in this, but I thought I'd go into more depth) They're expected to stay virgin (in the public eye at least. Their producers, however, well, no one really knows for sure, it's not open information, but... you get what I mean), they're expected to keep a good image, etc. Mostly so the fans would still be attracted to them. They like to market off their "purity", despite often Idol Girls wearing skimpy outfits and all. But I think it's mostly marketing on cute innocence, combined with the Confucian culture Japan is known for, but amped up.  Whereas VisualKei, back in the early 2000's, well... we've all heard the stereotypes that Vkei guys prostitute themselves and stuff, and that used to be true, to an extent. It is RARELY practiced anymore, but Vkei guys were seen as "Bad boys". There was a big contrast back then.  Idols were expected to be cute, Vkei guys were expected to be dirty. Now, the contrast isn't relevant to the lyrics, but it is worth mentioning. 

Basically, the idol industry sexualises girls and makes them attractive based on "purity", and this may be referenced in the lyric "Are you just another dirty bitch?". Daisuke possibly referring to how he hopes his idol girl isn't some other, dirty girl, and that she will be dedicated to him. 

This of course, also brings in the biggest idol fans out there. They aren't your teenaged girl, nope! It's the fat pervert that buys literally ALL their stuff. Ok, so this is a stereotype, but that's what satire does. It makes fun of a stereotype. And well, the song definitely seems to be making fun of the proverbial pervert who is attracted to idol girls. 

The mind of the proverbial pervert generally goes "Oh you're so fucking cute and I want to corrupt you but only with me, I want you to be mine", and that song definitely seems to peer into that mindset. 

BTW, I really think you should continue with these analyses. They're really good! I may try one in the future, if possible

19 hours ago, The Reverend said:

Basically my biggest complaint. Their sound is novel and cool in small doses... but over an entire album almost becomes a gimmick. The vocalist's unrelenting vibrato on some tracks can wear on you. Agreed the production is great though.

 

Yeah, really long albums can get quite boring, as I noticed most are filled with filler songs. Medium sized (in between standard and long) albums are best for bands in general. But knowing Wagakki Band's sound, it's best if they stay with standard length albums, because they're not being Kiryu and having a quite inconsistent sound (Shorter albums are the problem on Kiryu's end). Wagakki Band stays quite consistent, mostly containing lighter stuff, sometimes powerful, sometimes soft, never really "heavy". They're quite defined. and that's totally fine. But long albums + a defined sound is going to feel repetitive and gimmicky. 

And yeah, Yuko's voice can get quite old hearing it so much, especially with all the post-production they put on the vocals, it takes out a lot of the raw frequencies, and well, ends up making every instance sound the same. (Heavy Vibrato plus lots of reverb is a problem on its own). Also, it's the same treatment that they give Pop Vocalists (minus the autotune, I think) and that can make it feel even more gimmicky. 

But that's just my speculation and 2 cents. 

I could also help contribute if possible. Often, I notice VisualKei singers tend to use "archaic" phonetics, and well, I read way too much into the history of the Japanese language, so if this thing does take off, I could provide a "linguistic analysis" if there is anything interesting about the lyric in pronunciation, or how it's used. 

i.e a vocalist pronounces え as we or ye, instead of e. Making 絵の具まみれ become "Wenogu mamire" instead of "Enogu mamire". 

Of course, I won't point out when a vocalist pronounces を as wo, because that's too common. xD

16 hours ago, TrentReznor said:

 

 

I remember a few years ago, one morning going to class and saw and ad from them in the street (I live in Beijing)...at that moment I was running late so didnt have time to check it, 3 hours later when going back home the ad was already gone...it was a shame because at that time I used to listen to some of their music frequently so I was hopping to be something about lives or similar. Maybe it was a coincidence that only their stuff was removed...

 

As for VK taking off in mainland China I doubt it very much, anything that is not the typical pop or very soft rock is not going to appear in the media, sometimes there may be some exceptions like Dir en Grey coming to Beijing, but I feel the most normal will be (specially with the anti foreign/a bit racist orientation the gov has taken in the last times) that the bands find any kind of problems (like X-Japan when tried to come to Beijing).

 

 

Is a bit old, but if any one is interested in the underground punk/rock scene can try to watch "Beijing Bubbles".

 

I know that BP Records bands like Kiryu often do tours of Asia, preforming in Beijing and such. But yeah, within mainland China, there is an extreme lack in Rock Music in general, and alternative cultures are generally viewed as "lowly" (i.e my Shamate example I said earlier)

7 hours ago, Ikna said:

Well, Rozz Williams (Christian Death) kinda did something  similar back in the 80s/early 90s

 

 

But this might just be a coincidence. Rozz had some sort of influence on VK though. I think there was an interview of Baiser's Yukari where he stated that he was very much into Alien Sex Fiend and Christian Death and some of VKs root sound and looks can be traced back to deathrock music and fashion. But Kiyoharu, Kon and Co. might have also come up with that stuff all by themselves.

 

Knowing La'Mule, I wouldn't be surprised about Christian Death influence. Though they weren't deathrock, they were very Gothic Rock influenced

2 minutes ago, Kiryu999 said:

 

He kinda did it back in his old band Ma'die Kusse

Hm. Could go either way. Could even be inspired by Kyo, since Dir en Grey first got popular during that era. 

If he ever preformed with a noose around his neck though, with used gauze, then we definitely got a Kon clone

On 5/26/2017 at 0:54 AM, blackdoll said:

what about Kon? i was listening to La'mule and i was thinking this is who ruki wishes was

Kon was mostly inspired by Kiyoharu and Hide, so. 

But Kon's eye makeup, that's something quite original. I've seen similar tear makeup on Kiyoharu, but it's usually just one tear. Kon is the earliest one I've seen use 3. Then Kyo decided to use it xD. 

Did Ruki ever use the three tear eye makeup thing? 

Well, there is a subculture in China that is inspired by Vkei called Shamate, but they're hated by the general public, since, well, it's like any alternative counter-culture. 

They're mostly made up of Rural Young Adults who go out into the city to work and make a living for themselves. They're generally closely knit and consider themselves to be family. Mostly because the entire public hates them xD. 

As far as I know, there doesn't seem to be a Shamate music scene, they just stick to American Rock and Japanese VisualKei. 

Even though there are literal millions of Shamate out there, they're not really a big, vocal movement. They just want to live how they want to, despite how much the public hates it. 

Vkei itself is interesting though because it's an indie-based scene (For the most part) that has a huge following. It's a rare occurrence, since most indie music scenes have small, online followings. 

Rock music in general that isn't Pop Rock is quite rare in Asia outside of Japan, especially in China and Korea, with their Confucian based conformity culture. Japan also has this especially, but not to the extent of China and Korea. China also has a strict government that enforces conformity (i.e the government trying to force Mandarin in Guangdong and other non-Mandarin speaking areas). As with the Shamate movement, it's really hard for any counterculture movement to get their expression out. Also, knowing how much China controls their internet and media, it's likely that the government could even easily suppress a rock music movement if they wanted. China itself isn't known much for having any sort of underground music movements that gain ground. 

Basically, it'd be much easier to try in either Taiwan, or Hong Kong, especially since Hong Kong is famous for having one of the biggest thriving underground music scenes. 

Though, one crazy idea is for a band with a good enough following and a record label they own to support some Chinese VisualKei bands and sponsor some tours, but the last occurrence of that kind of band with that kind of label with that kind of following is Kisaki and his label Undercode... and well... we all know what happened to that... 

BP records could try, since their bands already perform in China, and there could be potential money to be made, but I doubt they've thought of it. 

I'd really like to see Vkei become a "thing" somewhere else though, so it'll last longer. But, when looking into the reality of things, Vkei seems like something that could only exist in Japan (And Sweden but what doesn't exist there?)

Just an update: The Kuroyuri Argentinian Street Team says Kuroyuri will be at some sort of Kamijo Event.

Does anyone know if that's true? If so, could that be their big break? I mean, Kamijo is a huge musician, and so if Kuroyuri does preform at such an event, it could really get their music out there

On 5/25/2017 at 7:57 AM, Disposable said:

I think sources should be obligatory for posting in this thread first of all, lol. I like the potential it has so it ought to b salvaged.

 

cause it kind of feels like "post your thinly veiled opinions as shit that noob vk fans say" thread

The only reason I didn't post sources before was because I was just letting out all the crazy stuff I've heard throughout the years. Now I've pretty much got all that expressed, I'm mostly doing sources now 

4 hours ago, Komorebi said:

But isn't Ruki actually ripping of Kiyo half the time? lol

Either that or Yu-Dai from Sex Android

sorrynotsorry

Just now, Manji 卍 said:

 

Don't talk about disband,please.... 

Don't worry, I think they're too close to break up. Mei, Kuro and K have been preforming together for years, and seem to be close friends, and Kuro and K are twin brothers in real life. 

They're not going anywhere any time soon~ 

Don't know whether this is a newb, troll, or is just delusional. (What's worse is that it comes from an argument on Vkei being Emo. Yeah to end it all, last time I checked, Emo was Rites of Spring, Fugazi, Sunny Day Real Estate, AFI and Jawbreaker)

And yes, definitely the ancient Japanese, the Jomon and Yayoi peoples, were playing heavy metal while wearing a lot of makeup. Forget all those archaeologists who said they only had 6 string Kotos and Clay flutes. This guy is obviously an expert on Vkei