fitear1590

Nice look! 

This featured list is dedicated to some of the most head-turning transformations in Japanese music. Whether from budget VK drag goth to plastered pop boi or trading in a watermelon dye-job for lightly tousled locks spilling out from under an ill-advised fedora, we've got examples of, let's say, aesthetic 'evolution' in every which direction. And, surely, this list is just a taste, so be sure to let us know in the comments what are some other unbelievable transformations in Japanese music that we didn't get to cover.

@fitear1590's Picks
   
麗羽 (ErecSia, ALPHONSTEIN) → いっち (みるふぃね, キャンゼル, ★NOハウス)
Reiha (ErecSia, Alphonstein) → Icchi (Milphinne, Canzel, hoshi NO house)
Right around the turn of the century, Reiha, as he was known back then, made his first foray into the world of VK. Talk about jumping into the deep end first! Who knows what he looked like as a teen, but Reiha's aesthetic in his first bands ErecSia and presumably ALPHONSTEIN (there are no available photos of this band to my knowledge) was very much 90s VK 'goth' trash -- I mean that in the nicest way possible. Pictured above with red hair and a frilly lolita aesthetic, it's indisputable he was influenced by 90s queen Kei, vocalist of Key Party Records' legendary Eliphas Levi who came just a few years earlier. Rounding out the aesthetic are cassette tape releases of seance chants, banshee screams, and low-budget atmospheric Lockheart Castle-kei. By late 2002, Icchi, his new moniker, pulled a night-to-day transformation and was releasing full-blown oshare kei in a group called Milphinne. Future bands Canzel (2007-2010) and hoshi NO house (2012-2016) continued to deliver upbeat pop-rock, twinkling synths, and sparkly looks. It's all a far cry from how he started off visually, but every once in a while, you can hear remnants of his ErecSia/ALPHONSTEIN vocal freak-outs, especially live. Interestingly, Eliphas Levi's vocalist made a similar change, moving on to oshare band Vinett in the early to mid 2000s.


   
PIECE → 超時空アンドロイド-PIECE- → グリモア
PIECE → Choujiku Android - PIECE → GRIMOIRE
Around 2009, Kasumi Shinjou (ex-SMILE, Gekijou Tenor) opened Dear Dolce, home to the likes of リロード (Reload) and メメント・モリ (Memento Mori), the proto-bands of グリーヴァ (GRIEVA) and 黒百合と影 (Kuroyuri to kage). As a super indies label, fans were often required to turn a blind eye to budgetary constraints, but unfortunately, PIECE suffered more than their labelmates. How else do you explain this PV? Pro-tip, do not waste all your funds on the cheesy lens flare effect. Even after Dear Dolce's shutdown in 2012, the band continued as 超時空アンドロイド-PIECE- (Choujiku Android -PIECE-). Their revamped aesthetic was kinda cool, I must admit. In 2015, the band's musicians reemerged in GRIMOIRE, kicking their singer of 5 years to the curb, instead being joined by the former embarrassing lip-sync rawr vocalist of Dear Dolce's Diement. Thankfully, he keeps his mouth shut now, lol. With new stage names, a gloomy and imaginative zodiac theme, and a dark graveyard carnival sound with chugalicious riffs, GRIMOIRE represent an unlikely phoenix, risen from Dear Dolce's ashes. Now, this is a transformation I fully support!

   
えみる (愛狂います。) → 涼木 聡 (Yeti)
Emiru (Aicle) → Satoshi Suzuki (Yeti)
Who would have thought one of the most visually flamboyant members of the mid-2000s VK scene would one day forego hair dye and settle for totally casual outfits? Let's start with Emiru, back when he was the love-him-or-hate-him lead singer of Aicle. Admittedly, he started off quite rough. He legitimately sounds like Cartman in "シドロモドロ (shidoro modoro)". Because of his helium tone and straining to hit notes in earlier releases, it would be easy to write Emiru off as a 'bad' singer, but that would mean ignoring how commendably he 'compensates' in all the other things he does with his voice. What really contributes to Emiru’s success as a vocalist is his variety. In any given song, you might hear any combo of the following: growling, oldschool Madeth Gray’ll-esque 'fast talking,' shrieking, maniacal cackling, whispering, and more. Some absolute highlights include Emiru chanting off the number sequence of pi in the punky "球形無限連鎖～ミズタマ～ (kyuukei mugen rensa ~mizutama~)", or the demonically adorable alter-ego he takes on in "まみむめモンスター君 (mamimume monster-kun)." After Aicle's sputtering out, Emiru resurfaced in Yeti, which started off quite strong, arguably leading the VK/indie rock movement with bands like Chanty and SRASH NOTES GARDEN. I was willing to accept them despite Aicle's disbandment, but the more six-song mini albums Yeti release, the less remarkable they become (though previews for their sixth mini, HOWL, are quite promising!). By now, they've apparently cut all ties to the VK scene, performing exclusively with other J-indie artists. The 'Emiru' persona must be in there somewhere and I hope he'll grace us again one day.


   
小山田圭吾 (フリッパーズ・ギター) → CORNELIUS
Keigo Oyamada (Flipper's Guitar) → CORNELIUS
This one is still a puzzle to me. Flipper's Guitar started in the late 80s as a proto-Shibuya kei/Britpop-worship extravaganza. Citing Western twee legends like The Pastels and Aztec Camera as influences, their infectious guitar pop was unmatched in Japan. Guitarist and vocalist Keigo Oyamada even performed their first album three cheers for our side〜海へ行くつもりじゃなかった (umi e iku tsumori janakatta)〜 in what I still consider to this day to be the most endearing use of Engrish in Japanese music. They went on to release two more albums, in Japanese, while still sticking to their indie pop guns. Only occasionally did they introduce more diverse influences like jazz and house music, with the third album Doctor Head's World Tower particularly showing a move in the direction of sampling. Flipper's Guitar disbanded in the early 90s, but Oyamada returned a few years later as an experimental/electronic solo artist under the moniker CORNELIUS. Tunes like "MUSIC" show little relation whatsoever to the work of his former band. While I do enjoy me some CORNELIUS, a part of me wishes he would go back to composing sunshine-y guitar pop.

  
分島花音
Kanon Wakeshima
Back in the late 2000s, MALICE MIZER's (in)famous Mana took a protégé under his wing. Kanon Wakeshima's initial music took after what we've come to expect from Mana's projects, implementing twinkly music box arrangements and dark orchestration befitting of the OG gothic aristocrat. What really set Kanon apart, however, was her cello work. While so many arrangements in this strand of the VK scene are riddled with canned strings, Kanon proved she has the chops to actually play. After her first album, however, her production relationship with Mana came to an end. Ever since, she has distanced herself from her darker orchestral beginnings. Although she still plays cello from time to time, it's no longer the center of attention, with her music generally assuming a more pop-oriented nature. Plus, she deviated from her gothic lolita aesthetic. While I don't particularly care for Kanon's work in this second era, one undeniable hit has been "ツキナミ (tsukinami)." Despite the goofy nurse and deliverywoman outfits, the song is a masterful pop tune with surprisingly noisy flourishes, though you wouldn't even believe it's the same artist as something like her debut single, "still doll."
  
女王蜂
Ziyoou-Vachi / QUEEN BEE
Ziyoou-Vachi started making waves in 2011 with the release of their mini-album, 魔女狩り (majo kari). The band stuck out in so many ways: having the backing of a major label while churning out raucous punk, featuring two multiracial siblings as band members (vocalist Avu-chan and drummer Ruri-chan), and always coming prepared with vibrant, drag-alicious outfits. Furthermore, Avu-chan (who, I believe, identifies as trans) would often switch between a gruff ‘male’ voice and a squeakier ‘female’ register, keeping the vocal work dynamic. Even in PV tracks like “デスコ (disco)” or "フランス人形の呪い (France ningyou no noroi)", it was common for the band musicians to keep the distortion and zaniness set at 11, while Avu-chan did her thing. This flamboyant sound and aesthetic more or less continued for the next two mini-albums. It was the dry spell from 2012-2015 that seems to have had the biggest impact on the band’s sound. Since their return, it's not uncommon to see the band members with natural hair colors and sporting simple outfits, like suits. The sound also became uncharacteristically polished with songs like “スリラ (Thriller)“ or "金星 (kinsei)" ironing out the band’s signature fuzzy edge. Although Avu-chan now exhibits commendably more vocal control, the unpredictable melodies are all but gone. While I can see why the second wave of Ziyoou-Vachi has garnered more popularity (working alongside the likes of NEGOTO, Tokyo Jihen’s Ukigumo and the dresscodes’ Ryohei Shima; well-attended festival appearances; TV interviews and commercial work for Avu-chan; etc.), I think many of us here at MH miss the band’s former noisy glory.

@doombox's Pick
   
狼哦 (ハートレス) →TSUYOSHI (Unveil Raze)
Rouga (Heartless) → TSUYOSHI (Unveil Raze)
     Maybe since I'm still not finished emotionally digesting the ハートレス (Heartless) reunion I was able to attend last year (which also happened to be my very first visual kei concert experience in Japan, ayeeeeee) and witnessing the departure from what Heartless used to be to what the members are currently involved in really stayed with me. Especially guitarist Rouga's transformation to his current evolution in the band Unveil Raze where he performs under the name Tsuyoshi Ikeda. While his playing sounds like a natural progression from Heartless' more metal aspects, Tsuyoshi has fully dropped the flowery, melodic aspects that make visual kei what it is and has moved straight into hard rock and metal full-time. His physical changes are the most notable now that he's just about covered himself with tattoos, shaved off his hair (up until very recently started growing it back out again), put on some muscle mass, and dropped all of the heavy make up. It's always interesting to me to see how certain visual musicians would be when they aren't in full costume and if the reception of them would be more or less favorable. Tsuyoshi is a strong case in point that music will speak for itself in the end no matter how it's dressed up. Though, I remain a strong believer that a little eyeliner never hurt anyone.

@Zeus's Pick
  
XecsNoin → XECSNOIN
Let me recount to you a story of a band who was always behind the curve, and why only following trends will get you nowhere. XECSNOIN, originally stylized XecsNoin, formed in 1998 as yet another melodic rock visual kei band inspired by the Finnish and Scandinavian death metal scenes. A few things were working against this band from the very start, as their activities coincided with an overall shift in the sound and style of visual kei. The goth style was losing popularity and this left XecsNoin out in the cold. A rotating cast of members did them no favors as well; originally the group was LOKI (vocals), JIN (guitar), K (guitar), JUN (bass) and Yuzuki (drums) which is pictured left. Constant member changes plagued the band - they replaced five members in three years - and while the band was stable long enough to record their first album, vocalist LOKI quit and then drummer HiЯo was fired not long after. K, JUN, and  ZAKURO persevered, changed their name to XECSNOIN and their sound to death metal - because that was all the rage in 2005 - and found K.K. and ZEN for drummer and vocalist respectively. At some point around 2010 after releasing a single and EP with a more melodeath sound, both K.K. and ZEN left and were replaced by vocalist U (ex. THE EIGHT) and guitarist HIROKI (ex. EXCEPTION). Unlike THE EIGHT, XECSNOIN managed to put U to work and released their second album Corridor to the Sky. Even though they've changed radically, you can still hear the visual kei influence in "DISILLUSION", linked below. Unfortunately, troubles were never far and the Reaper of 2016 took XECSNOIN in his grip of disbandment along with other fan favorites. Perhaps this one was more merciful than most, but I believe XECSNOIN wallowed in obscurity precisely because all they did was follow trends. "DISILLUSION" is their most recent sound. "Spiritual Road" is as early as YouTube allows, but there's even older than this! Also the picture is very misleading but whatever.

@togz's Picks

てんてん (餞ハナむケ。→KuRt→朱ィ。→ケミカルピクチャーズ→kiss my way→My BACTERIA HEAT IsLAND→ラッコ)
Tenten (Hanamuke→KuRt→Benii→Chemical Pictures→kiss my way→My BACTERIA HEAT IsLAND→LACK-CO.)
Tenten (Taira Kazuhiro) debuted in the visual kei scene in the year 2000 with a little band called Hanamuke. That means our little (not so little anymore) buddy here has been at it for SIXTEEN YEARS! While his tendency to bounce from band to band may be an annoyance to some, it's a godsend to others. Generally the groups he partakes in only last a few years or are ideas that never fully surface, but his fans are left with the feeling he will always be back. Musically he's dipped his toes in a variety of styles. Hanamuke and KuRt have a similar sound and style while Chemical Pictures had a lighter look and less harsh vocals. He's always had a raspy feeling to his vocal technique and proved his skill to growl or scream, but over the past 16 years he has grown not only as a vocalist but as a person as well. His most recent project is LACK-CO. which includes other well-known faces in the scene such as IVY (ex. DIO, Remming), SAN (ex. NEGA/BFN), and Milk (fka Satoshi ex. para:noir) There is no telling for sure how long this act will last, but it's good to see him still active in the scene after all these years and bands.
 
@plastic_rainbow's Picks

怜 (Clarity → kannivalism → バロック → baroque → kannivalism → BAROQUE)
Ryo (Clarity → kannivalism → barokku → baroque → kannivalism → BAROQUE)
Where do I even begin with this guy? Ryo has gone through so many different transformations throughout his music career, both aesthetically and musically. If you've never bothered looking at his band history, you may not realize that he wasn't always that orange/brown haired punk with lip piercings or the simpler blonde-haired man that he now is. Believe it or not, Ryo used to dress-up in an old school visual kei style with his brighter orange/red hair in messy pigtails, wearing crazy colored contacts that is evident from his early days of Clarity (1998-2000), old kannivalism (2001), and very early baroque (2001-2004). Later, Ryo leaned on a more mature and manly appearance, growing a goatee in the late years of old baroque, and then gradually grew his hair out in second era kannivalism (2006-2011). All of that is now in the past though. Musically, his singing style follows the same trend as his appearance. Ryo began singing in quirks and cackles that are quintessential to older visual kei, which you can hear in "トリップショートケーキ (Trip Short Cake)". During some experimentation over the years, his vocals went from a deep to a rap-singing style, that is sometimes raspy, gentle, and whispery as he does in "Ila.", or just something completely fun and wacky like in "カスタリーンナ (Castarina)". Ryo is probably one of the most versatile Japanese vocalists that I know of and it's quite unfortunate that he now lazily employs autotune in the new BAROQUE (2012-present). It's true that he has used autotune before, but only to a lesser extent. The amplified autotune in a song like "DREAMSCAPE" for instance, camouflages all his singing talent in the years before. Who knows, maybe he'll make another abrupt change in the coming years. Whatever he does, I sure hope it'll be good.
 
 
悠希 (Crystallium(gt) → SUBDUAL → De stijllia → 人格ラヂオ → Solo)
Yuuki (Crystallium(gt) → SUBDUAL → De stijllia → Jinkaku Radio → Solo)
Although Yuuki performed in several bands before, he is most well-known as the vocalist, guitarist, and main composer of Jinkaku Radio (2001-2012). Jinkaku Radio was an indie duo which, at a glance, seemed to follow the string of dark and heavy suit-kei bands. However, what made them stand out musically from the rest was the softer, yet nasally vocals of Yuuki's. Their musical style was also less aggressive as Yuuki rarely screamed or growled, and mostly sang in anguish or grief along with heart-rending guitars and sad melodies, which in turn labeled them heavily as gloomy and depressing. Despite showing their brighter side during lives -- Yuuki manically flinging a cloth doll at the audience and fooling around with balloons -- the forlorn image from their music left such a strong impression that it became quite a shock to most fans when the duo started putting out happy-go-lucky music out of nowhere. It was as if they were injected with some happy oshare kei fluids and had magically recovered from all their misery. Although it's true that they released something cheerful before, which was basically a tongue-in-cheek song about bangyarus, it wasn't until the release of their second album Ichibyou in 2010 that they started writing upbeat music as part of their actual serious music. Currently, Yuuki continues writing music as a solo artist, and as he basically wrote all of Jinkaku Radio's songs he can still pull off some of the same sounds in his solo works. However, it's highly unlikely that we'll hear any more of those heart-wrenching and depressing songs like "姥捨て山(Ubasuteyama)" or "午後の落下(Gogo no rakka)" again, which essentially encompassed the melancholy and wistfulness of Jinkaku Radio.
 
 
悠璃 (9ミリ。) → ゆーり (イロクイ。) → おかゆさん (秘密結社パンピー)
Yuuri (9MIRI.) → Yuuri (Irokui.) → Okayusan (Himitsu Kessha Hanpii)
In the visual kei scene it's nothing unusual to see a male dress-up all feminine and girly. Yet, even though so many visual kei musicians wear dresses, frills, thick eyelashes, and lipstick as part of their getup, very few go as far as undergoing a sex change. Okayusan (or Okayu), formerly known as Yuuri from the oshare kei band Irokui. (2005-2011), was one of the few who did. It happened not too long after Irokui.'s disbandment in 2011 that Yuuri underwent surgery and even went into prostitution under the name of Yuu Takizawa for a while. Seeing that she gradually became less of a colorful punk and more of a gorgeous looking woman during the late years of Irokui., especially in their last look for Aimai Stripe before the disbandment, the sudden sex change did not come off as a huge shock to me. Still, the rumors of her being involved in prostitution shook fans in many ways. Even though Okayusan now lives her daily life as a woman and as a youtuber, it does not change the fact that she still holds the same passion for singing as she made a short return to the music scene in 2012 along with ex.Irokui. guitarist Hazuki to form Himitsu Kessha Panpii. Two years later, she also sang for one song in contribution with a producer named TACOS NAOMI, but as far as singing again full time goes, the idea seems to be nothing but a thing of the past.

-----------------------------------
We hope you enjoyed the list! Maybe we'll do another installment in the future!
Which of these transformations is most surprising to you?

Kind of surprised no one has mentioned Tetsu Takano (MALICE MIZER -> ZIGZO, nil, The JUNEJULYAUGUST, THE BLACK COMET CLUB BAND, Indies Denryoku...etc.). 
 

 
Part of me loves the fact that he and Chiba Yusuke are both trying to rock the silver fox look now. 

This featured list is dedicated to some of the most head-turning transformations in Japanese music. Whether from budget VK drag goth to plastered pop boi or trading in a watermelon dye-job for lightly tousled locks spilling out from under an ill-advised fedora, we've got examples of, let's say, aesthetic 'evolution' in every which direction. And, surely, this list is just a taste, so be sure to let us know in the comments what are some other unbelievable transformations in Japanese music that we didn't get to cover.

@fitear1590's Picks
   
麗羽 (ErecSia, ALPHONSTEIN) → いっち (みるふぃね, キャンゼル, ★NOハウス)
Reiha (ErecSia, Alphonstein) → Icchi (Milphinne, Canzel, hoshi NO house)
Right around the turn of the century, Reiha, as he was known back then, made his first foray into the world of VK. Talk about jumping into the deep end first! Who knows what he looked like as a teen, but Reiha's aesthetic in his first bands ErecSia and presumably ALPHONSTEIN (there are no available photos of this band to my knowledge) was very much 90s VK 'goth' trash -- I mean that in the nicest way possible. Pictured above with red hair and a frilly lolita aesthetic, it's indisputable he was influenced by 90s queen Kei, vocalist of Key Party Records' legendary Eliphas Levi who came just a few years earlier. Rounding out the aesthetic are cassette tape releases of seance chants, banshee screams, and low-budget atmospheric Lockheart Castle-kei. By late 2002, Icchi, his new moniker, pulled a night-to-day transformation and was releasing full-blown oshare kei in a group called Milphinne. Future bands Canzel (2007-2010) and hoshi NO house (2012-2016) continued to deliver upbeat pop-rock, twinkling synths, and sparkly looks. It's all a far cry from how he started off visually, but every once in a while, you can hear remnants of his ErecSia/ALPHONSTEIN vocal freak-outs, especially live. Interestingly, Eliphas Levi's vocalist made a similar change, moving on to oshare band Vinett in the early to mid 2000s.


   
PIECE → 超時空アンドロイド-PIECE- → グリモア
PIECE → Choujiku Android - PIECE → GRIMOIRE
Around 2009, Kasumi Shinjou (ex-SMILE, Gekijou Tenor) opened Dear Dolce, home to the likes of リロード (Reload) and メメント・モリ (Memento Mori), the proto-bands of グリーヴァ (GRIEVA) and 黒百合と影 (Kuroyuri to kage). As a super indies label, fans were often required to turn a blind eye to budgetary constraints, but unfortunately, PIECE suffered more than their labelmates. How else do you explain this PV? Pro-tip, do not waste all your funds on the cheesy lens flare effect. Even after Dear Dolce's shutdown in 2012, the band continued as 超時空アンドロイド-PIECE- (Choujiku Android -PIECE-). Their revamped aesthetic was kinda cool, I must admit. In 2015, the band's musicians reemerged in GRIMOIRE, kicking their singer of 5 years to the curb, instead being joined by the former embarrassing lip-sync rawr vocalist of Dear Dolce's Diement. Thankfully, he keeps his mouth shut now, lol. With new stage names, a gloomy and imaginative zodiac theme, and a dark graveyard carnival sound with chugalicious riffs, GRIMOIRE represent an unlikely phoenix, risen from Dear Dolce's ashes. Now, this is a transformation I fully support!

   
えみる (愛狂います。) → 涼木 聡 (Yeti)
Emiru (Aicle) → Satoshi Suzuki (Yeti)
Who would have thought one of the most visually flamboyant members of the mid-2000s VK scene would one day forego hair dye and settle for totally casual outfits? Let's start with Emiru, back when he was the love-him-or-hate-him lead singer of Aicle. Admittedly, he started off quite rough. He legitimately sounds like Cartman in "シドロモドロ (shidoro modoro)". Because of his helium tone and straining to hit notes in earlier releases, it would be easy to write Emiru off as a 'bad' singer, but that would mean ignoring how commendably he 'compensates' in all the other things he does with his voice. What really contributes to Emiru’s success as a vocalist is his variety. In any given song, you might hear any combo of the following: growling, oldschool Madeth Gray’ll-esque 'fast talking,' shrieking, maniacal cackling, whispering, and more. Some absolute highlights include Emiru chanting off the number sequence of pi in the punky "球形無限連鎖～ミズタマ～ (kyuukei mugen rensa ~mizutama~)", or the demonically adorable alter-ego he takes on in "まみむめモンスター君 (mamimume monster-kun)." After Aicle's sputtering out, Emiru resurfaced in Yeti, which started off quite strong, arguably leading the VK/indie rock movement with bands like Chanty and SRASH NOTES GARDEN. I was willing to accept them despite Aicle's disbandment, but the more six-song mini albums Yeti release, the less remarkable they become (though previews for their sixth mini, HOWL, are quite promising!). By now, they've apparently cut all ties to the VK scene, performing exclusively with other J-indie artists. The 'Emiru' persona must be in there somewhere and I hope he'll grace us again one day.


   
小山田圭吾 (フリッパーズ・ギター) → CORNELIUS
Keigo Oyamada (Flipper's Guitar) → CORNELIUS
This one is still a puzzle to me. Flipper's Guitar started in the late 80s as a proto-Shibuya kei/Britpop-worship extravaganza. Citing Western twee legends like The Pastels and Aztec Camera as influences, their infectious guitar pop was unmatched in Japan. Guitarist and vocalist Keigo Oyamada even performed their first album three cheers for our side〜海へ行くつもりじゃなかった (umi e iku tsumori janakatta)〜 in what I still consider to this day to be the most endearing use of Engrish in Japanese music. They went on to release two more albums, in Japanese, while still sticking to their indie pop guns. Only occasionally did they introduce more diverse influences like jazz and house music, with the third album Doctor Head's World Tower particularly showing a move in the direction of sampling. Flipper's Guitar disbanded in the early 90s, but Oyamada returned a few years later as an experimental/electronic solo artist under the moniker CORNELIUS. Tunes like "MUSIC" show little relation whatsoever to the work of his former band. While I do enjoy me some CORNELIUS, a part of me wishes he would go back to composing sunshine-y guitar pop.

  
分島花音
Kanon Wakeshima
Back in the late 2000s, MALICE MIZER's (in)famous Mana took a protégé under his wing. Kanon Wakeshima's initial music took after what we've come to expect from Mana's projects, implementing twinkly music box arrangements and dark orchestration befitting of the OG gothic aristocrat. What really set Kanon apart, however, was her cello work. While so many arrangements in this strand of the VK scene are riddled with canned strings, Kanon proved she has the chops to actually play. After her first album, however, her production relationship with Mana came to an end. Ever since, she has distanced herself from her darker orchestral beginnings. Although she still plays cello from time to time, it's no longer the center of attention, with her music generally assuming a more pop-oriented nature. Plus, she deviated from her gothic lolita aesthetic. While I don't particularly care for Kanon's work in this second era, one undeniable hit has been "ツキナミ (tsukinami)." Despite the goofy nurse and deliverywoman outfits, the song is a masterful pop tune with surprisingly noisy flourishes, though you wouldn't even believe it's the same artist as something like her debut single, "still doll."
  
女王蜂
Ziyoou-Vachi / QUEEN BEE
Ziyoou-Vachi started making waves in 2011 with the release of their mini-album, 魔女狩り (majo kari). The band stuck out in so many ways: having the backing of a major label while churning out raucous punk, featuring two multiracial siblings as band members (vocalist Avu-chan and drummer Ruri-chan), and always coming prepared with vibrant, drag-alicious outfits. Furthermore, Avu-chan (who, I believe, identifies as trans) would often switch between a gruff ‘male’ voice and a squeakier ‘female’ register, keeping the vocal work dynamic. Even in PV tracks like “デスコ (disco)” or "フランス人形の呪い (France ningyou no noroi)", it was common for the band musicians to keep the distortion and zaniness set at 11, while Avu-chan did her thing. This flamboyant sound and aesthetic more or less continued for the next two mini-albums. It was the dry spell from 2012-2015 that seems to have had the biggest impact on the band’s sound. Since their return, it's not uncommon to see the band members with natural hair colors and sporting simple outfits, like suits. The sound also became uncharacteristically polished with songs like “スリラ (Thriller)“ or "金星 (kinsei)" ironing out the band’s signature fuzzy edge. Although Avu-chan now exhibits commendably more vocal control, the unpredictable melodies are all but gone. While I can see why the second wave of Ziyoou-Vachi has garnered more popularity (working alongside the likes of NEGOTO, Tokyo Jihen’s Ukigumo and the dresscodes’ Ryohei Shima; well-attended festival appearances; TV interviews and commercial work for Avu-chan; etc.), I think many of us here at MH miss the band’s former noisy glory.

@doombox's Pick
   
狼哦 (ハートレス) →TSUYOSHI (Unveil Raze)
Rouga (Heartless) → TSUYOSHI (Unveil Raze)
     Maybe since I'm still not finished emotionally digesting the ハートレス (Heartless) reunion I was able to attend last year (which also happened to be my very first visual kei concert experience in Japan, ayeeeeee) and witnessing the departure from what Heartless used to be to what the members are currently involved in really stayed with me. Especially guitarist Rouga's transformation to his current evolution in the band Unveil Raze where he performs under the name Tsuyoshi Ikeda. While his playing sounds like a natural progression from Heartless' more metal aspects, Tsuyoshi has fully dropped the flowery, melodic aspects that make visual kei what it is and has moved straight into hard rock and metal full-time. His physical changes are the most notable now that he's just about covered himself with tattoos, shaved off his hair (up until very recently started growing it back out again), put on some muscle mass, and dropped all of the heavy make up. It's always interesting to me to see how certain visual musicians would be when they aren't in full costume and if the reception of them would be more or less favorable. Tsuyoshi is a strong case in point that music will speak for itself in the end no matter how it's dressed up. Though, I remain a strong believer that a little eyeliner never hurt anyone.

@Zeus's Pick
  
XecsNoin → XECSNOIN
Let me recount to you a story of a band who was always behind the curve, and why only following trends will get you nowhere. XECSNOIN, originally stylized XecsNoin, formed in 1998 as yet another melodic rock visual kei band inspired by the Finnish and Scandinavian death metal scenes. A few things were working against this band from the very start, as their activities coincided with an overall shift in the sound and style of visual kei. The goth style was losing popularity and this left XecsNoin out in the cold. A rotating cast of members did them no favors as well; originally the group was LOKI (vocals), JIN (guitar), K (guitar), JUN (bass) and Yuzuki (drums) which is pictured left. Constant member changes plagued the band - they replaced five members in three years - and while the band was stable long enough to record their first album, vocalist LOKI quit and then drummer HiЯo was fired not long after. K, JUN, and  ZAKURO persevered, changed their name to XECSNOIN and their sound to death metal - because that was all the rage in 2005 - and found K.K. and ZEN for drummer and vocalist respectively. At some point around 2010 after releasing a single and EP with a more melodeath sound, both K.K. and ZEN left and were replaced by vocalist U (ex. THE EIGHT) and guitarist HIROKI (ex. EXCEPTION). Unlike THE EIGHT, XECSNOIN managed to put U to work and released their second album Corridor to the Sky. Even though they've changed radically, you can still hear the visual kei influence in "DISILLUSION", linked below. Unfortunately, troubles were never far and the Reaper of 2016 took XECSNOIN in his grip of disbandment along with other fan favorites. Perhaps this one was more merciful than most, but I believe XECSNOIN wallowed in obscurity precisely because all they did was follow trends. "DISILLUSION" is their most recent sound. "Spiritual Road" is as early as YouTube allows, but there's even older than this! Also the picture is very misleading but whatever.

@togz's Picks

てんてん (餞ハナむケ。→KuRt→朱ィ。→ケミカルピクチャーズ→kiss my way→My BACTERIA HEAT IsLAND→ラッコ)
Tenten (Hanamuke→KuRt→Benii→Chemical Pictures→kiss my way→My BACTERIA HEAT IsLAND→LACK-CO.)
Tenten (Taira Kazuhiro) debuted in the visual kei scene in the year 2000 with a little band called Hanamuke. That means our little (not so little anymore) buddy here has been at it for SIXTEEN YEARS! While his tendency to bounce from band to band may be an annoyance to some, it's a godsend to others. Generally the groups he partakes in only last a few years or are ideas that never fully surface, but his fans are left with the feeling he will always be back. Musically he's dipped his toes in a variety of styles. Hanamuke and KuRt have a similar sound and style while Chemical Pictures had a lighter look and less harsh vocals. He's always had a raspy feeling to his vocal technique and proved his skill to growl or scream, but over the past 16 years he has grown not only as a vocalist but as a person as well. His most recent project is LACK-CO. which includes other well-known faces in the scene such as IVY (ex. DIO, Remming), SAN (ex. NEGA/BFN), and Milk (fka Satoshi ex. para:noir) There is no telling for sure how long this act will last, but it's good to see him still active in the scene after all these years and bands.
 
@plastic_rainbow's Picks

怜 (Clarity → kannivalism → バロック → baroque → kannivalism → BAROQUE)
Ryo (Clarity → kannivalism → barokku → baroque → kannivalism → BAROQUE)
Where do I even begin with this guy? Ryo has gone through so many different transformations throughout his music career, both aesthetically and musically. If you've never bothered looking at his band history, you may not realize that he wasn't always that orange/brown haired punk with lip piercings or the simpler blonde-haired man that he now is. Believe it or not, Ryo used to dress-up in an old school visual kei style with his brighter orange/red hair in messy pigtails, wearing crazy colored contacts that is evident from his early days of Clarity (1998-2000), old kannivalism (2001), and very early baroque (2001-2004). Later, Ryo leaned on a more mature and manly appearance, growing a goatee in the late years of old baroque, and then gradually grew his hair out in second era kannivalism (2006-2011). All of that is now in the past though. Musically, his singing style follows the same trend as his appearance. Ryo began singing in quirks and cackles that are quintessential to older visual kei, which you can hear in "トリップショートケーキ (Trip Short Cake)". During some experimentation over the years, his vocals went from a deep to a rap-singing style, that is sometimes raspy, gentle, and whispery as he does in "Ila.", or just something completely fun and wacky like in "カスタリーンナ (Castarina)". Ryo is probably one of the most versatile Japanese vocalists that I know of and it's quite unfortunate that he now lazily employs autotune in the new BAROQUE (2012-present). It's true that he has used autotune before, but only to a lesser extent. The amplified autotune in a song like "DREAMSCAPE" for instance, camouflages all his singing talent in the years before. Who knows, maybe he'll make another abrupt change in the coming years. Whatever he does, I sure hope it'll be good.
 
 
悠希 (Crystallium(gt) → SUBDUAL → De stijllia → 人格ラヂオ → Solo)
Yuuki (Crystallium(gt) → SUBDUAL → De stijllia → Jinkaku Radio → Solo)
Although Yuuki performed in several bands before, he is most well-known as the vocalist, guitarist, and main composer of Jinkaku Radio (2001-2012). Jinkaku Radio was an indie duo which, at a glance, seemed to follow the string of dark and heavy suit-kei bands. However, what made them stand out musically from the rest was the softer, yet nasally vocals of Yuuki's. Their musical style was also less aggressive as Yuuki rarely screamed or growled, and mostly sang in anguish or grief along with heart-rending guitars and sad melodies, which in turn labeled them heavily as gloomy and depressing. Despite showing their brighter side during lives -- Yuuki manically flinging a cloth doll at the audience and fooling around with balloons -- the forlorn image from their music left such a strong impression that it became quite a shock to most fans when the duo started putting out happy-go-lucky music out of nowhere. It was as if they were injected with some happy oshare kei fluids and had magically recovered from all their misery. Although it's true that they released something cheerful before, which was basically a tongue-in-cheek song about bangyarus, it wasn't until the release of their second album Ichibyou in 2010 that they started writing upbeat music as part of their actual serious music. Currently, Yuuki continues writing music as a solo artist, and as he basically wrote all of Jinkaku Radio's songs he can still pull off some of the same sounds in his solo works. However, it's highly unlikely that we'll hear any more of those heart-wrenching and depressing songs like "姥捨て山(Ubasuteyama)" or "午後の落下(Gogo no rakka)" again, which essentially encompassed the melancholy and wistfulness of Jinkaku Radio.
 
 
悠璃 (9ミリ。) → ゆーり (イロクイ。) → おかゆさん (秘密結社パンピー)
Yuuri (9MIRI.) → Yuuri (Irokui.) → Okayusan (Himitsu Kessha Hanpii)
In the visual kei scene it's nothing unusual to see a male dress-up all feminine and girly. Yet, even though so many visual kei musicians wear dresses, frills, thick eyelashes, and lipstick as part of their getup, very few go as far as undergoing a sex change. Okayusan (or Okayu), formerly known as Yuuri from the oshare kei band Irokui. (2005-2011), was one of the few who did. It happened not too long after Irokui.'s disbandment in 2011 that Yuuri underwent surgery and even went into prostitution under the name of Yuu Takizawa for a while. Seeing that she gradually became less of a colorful punk and more of a gorgeous looking woman during the late years of Irokui., especially in their last look for Aimai Stripe before the disbandment, the sudden sex change did not come off as a huge shock to me. Still, the rumors of her being involved in prostitution shook fans in many ways. Even though Okayusan now lives her daily life as a woman and as a youtuber, it does not change the fact that she still holds the same passion for singing as she made a short return to the music scene in 2012 along with ex.Irokui. guitarist Hazuki to form Himitsu Kessha Panpii. Two years later, she also sang for one song in contribution with a producer named TACOS NAOMI, but as far as singing again full time goes, the idea seems to be nothing but a thing of the past.

-----------------------------------
We hope you enjoyed the list! Maybe we'll do another installment in the future!
Which of these transformations is most surprising to you?

https://thesmartset.com/why-music-ownership-matters/

A band I follow recently shared the article "Why Music Ownership Matters" and I thought it was an interesting read. Here are a few exemplary quotes, in case you can't read the entire thing:

So, what do you think, does this article have a point?

I must admit, the power streaming companies have over individual pieces of media can be scary and it's something I've thought about before. There was this one older German movie I really liked on Netflix streaming a while back. In physical form, the movie only exists on VHS in the US and region 2 DVDs in crappy quality. Netflix, for whatever reason, had some remastered version in pristine HD quality. But now that the film is no longer available in their online library (to quote the article: this particular movie likely didn't 'justify upkeep anymore'), it's like this HD version never existed. I would gladly pay for a Blu-ray version, but it's simply not offered. Maybe I'll never get to watch it again and that sucks. Sure, that's just one movie, but think about the bigger implications of streaming's role in archiving.

I will say, one aspect that seemed downplayed in the article is the material difference between downloading and streaming. Both are digital, rather than physical, but remember, this article is making the argument that the shift from 'ownership' to 'streaming' is the more significant one. So, I would think downloading technically falls under the category of 'ownership' (you have file ON your computer hard drive), rather than 'streaming.' These days, I would say about 80-90% of my non-Japanese music listening is done via streaming, like Spotify. Is there some difference in that culture of listening via streaming versus listening by downloading?

And since this is a Japanese music forum, what can we make of this article? Do you think the general 'Japanese music industry' or particular Japanese music scenes are still promoting music ownership over streaming?

Discuss!

Was this too obvious?
 

 
The evolution from this to this in five years time always wows me

https://thesmartset.com/why-music-ownership-matters/

A band I follow recently shared the article "Why Music Ownership Matters" and I thought it was an interesting read. Here are a few exemplary quotes, in case you can't read the entire thing:

So, what do you think, does this article have a point?

I must admit, the power streaming companies have over individual pieces of media can be scary and it's something I've thought about before. There was this one older German movie I really liked on Netflix streaming a while back. In physical form, the movie only exists on VHS in the US and region 2 DVDs in crappy quality. Netflix, for whatever reason, had some remastered version in pristine HD quality. But now that the film is no longer available in their online library (to quote the article: this particular movie likely didn't 'justify upkeep anymore'), it's like this HD version never existed. I would gladly pay for a Blu-ray version, but it's simply not offered. Maybe I'll never get to watch it again and that sucks. Sure, that's just one movie, but think about the bigger implications of streaming's role in archiving.

I will say, one aspect that seemed downplayed in the article is the material difference between downloading and streaming. Both are digital, rather than physical, but remember, this article is making the argument that the shift from 'ownership' to 'streaming' is the more significant one. So, I would think downloading technically falls under the category of 'ownership' (you have file ON your computer hard drive), rather than 'streaming.' These days, I would say about 80-90% of my non-Japanese music listening is done via streaming, like Spotify. Is there some difference in that culture of listening via streaming versus listening by downloading?

And since this is a Japanese music forum, what can we make of this article? Do you think the general 'Japanese music industry' or particular Japanese music scenes are still promoting music ownership over streaming?

Discuss!

An interesting piece about streaming that's been discussed at work is that big artists, at some point, will no longer need to make music.
 
Every time someone like Beyonce, as an example, releases an album, the streams of her entire catalogue sky rocket. Most of the money she makes isn't from the new album, but it's from people seeing she has new music and then going back and listening to their favorites from 10 years ago. This same thing happens when they do large events, i.e. the Super Bowl or VMAs. Why spend the money promoting and producing a new album when you can just cash in on the rest of the stuff you've already done for free-ish?
 
Imagine X got behind that mindset too? We'd really never see that new album

I'm posting some grandpas because this thread needs more of them. 
 
KoREDS (Aura/AZZ/Piranha 69 Kingz/HeavensDust)

 
Cindy (Color/a bunch of tribute bands)

 
The original line up of Decameron

 

https://thesmartset.com/why-music-ownership-matters/

A band I follow recently shared the article "Why Music Ownership Matters" and I thought it was an interesting read. Here are a few exemplary quotes, in case you can't read the entire thing:

So, what do you think, does this article have a point?

I must admit, the power streaming companies have over individual pieces of media can be scary and it's something I've thought about before. There was this one older German movie I really liked on Netflix streaming a while back. In physical form, the movie only exists on VHS in the US and region 2 DVDs in crappy quality. Netflix, for whatever reason, had some remastered version in pristine HD quality. But now that the film is no longer available in their online library (to quote the article: this particular movie likely didn't 'justify upkeep anymore'), it's like this HD version never existed. I would gladly pay for a Blu-ray version, but it's simply not offered. Maybe I'll never get to watch it again and that sucks. Sure, that's just one movie, but think about the bigger implications of streaming's role in archiving.

I will say, one aspect that seemed downplayed in the article is the material difference between downloading and streaming. Both are digital, rather than physical, but remember, this article is making the argument that the shift from 'ownership' to 'streaming' is the more significant one. So, I would think downloading technically falls under the category of 'ownership' (you have file ON your computer hard drive), rather than 'streaming.' These days, I would say about 80-90% of my non-Japanese music listening is done via streaming, like Spotify. Is there some difference in that culture of listening via streaming versus listening by downloading?

And since this is a Japanese music forum, what can we make of this article? Do you think the general 'Japanese music industry' or particular Japanese music scenes are still promoting music ownership over streaming?

Discuss!

Keep the posts coming, everyone! I am loving these
 
Thanks for the feedback. I was just trying something a tad more sensational this time, since we've gotten word that some list titles in the past weren't snazzy enough.

But I do stand by the transformations I chose. Part of the fun in this list for me was removing the factor of development over time and just showing radical changes, side-by-side, from point A to point C, D, or even Z.
 
Sleeping salaryman is one of my faves in this thread!

If I don't have control over it, it's not mine. that's been the philosophy I've carried for the better part of ten years, and it's one that hasn't failed me yet. The only time it comes to bite me in the ass is when I don't heed it. I learned my painful, personal lesson not with the loss of my music library, but with the loss of my cyber locker. The death of MegaUpload meant that things I had backed up on that site are lost for good and I'm not getting them back. @fitear1590's example of the movie is another aspect to this conversation.

Industry support of streaming standards stems from a place of profit; with any technological revolution there are bound to be inventions which do one simple thing that upsets the natural order of the ecosystem. One early example is how casettes could record the radio and the head of the MPAA (at that time) complained that the invention was going to kill the radio and introduce rampant piracy. There are plenty more, but the general point I want to get at is that these technologies allow the individual consumer to exert some level of control over our products that was thought infeasible at the time of its creation. This is the first result of a technological revolution where control shifts back to the company owners and away from individual consumers. Companies can determine when something is available, where it's available, and for how long it remains available. I can rip a CD as many times as I want as long as I own it and the tools to do so, but when Netflix or Spotify or some other company can just decide it's no longer profitable to market and remove my access to it, that's it. If I don't have control over it, it's not mine.
 
There's also a compound effect here, one I've noticed outside of music circles. "The cloud" is nothing more than someone else's computer and hard drive. If it's stored elsewhere, I don't need to store it locally, right? So by now, I thought we would have terabyte iPod models to hold all the media we could desire, but we don't. Manufacturers everywhere have taken a slide back in the amount of space they are willing to ship with their products by pushing "streaming" and "cloud services" as an alternative.  If I wanted any half-decent media device with internal storage, I have to either buy something that supports SD cards or import the device from Japan and pay a heavy price tag. Shrinking local storage only incentivizes people to give in to streaming, which I think is a bad development even if it's not pointedly malicious. (Not to mention most of these companies introduce data caps to limit the amount of streaming you do, also shared with other forms of "data", effectively putting an upper cap on how much music you can listen to...as opposed to having the music on an MP3 player where you can listen to it until the hard drive dies. Even if the former limit is technically infeasible, it's still there...)
 
Note the emphasis on "control". I don't have the obsessive need to own something as long as I can do with it what I want, when I want, where I want. Buying CD's versus buying digital copies is one and the same to me, especially when my entire collection lives and breathes digitally. I can control my digital collection and it's something I know all of us here have in common. If I pay for streaming, I'm not paying for a copy of the music. I'm paying for the right to stream the music at a predetermined bit rate for a set amount of time, in specialized locations.  I can't even stream and take the subway because the signal will cut out once I go underground!
 
Perhaps I'm more sensitive to this because I've identified with a music scene that thrives and depends on ownership of physical media, but streaming is just not for me.

https://thesmartset.com/why-music-ownership-matters/

A band I follow recently shared the article "Why Music Ownership Matters" and I thought it was an interesting read. Here are a few exemplary quotes, in case you can't read the entire thing:

So, what do you think, does this article have a point?

I must admit, the power streaming companies have over individual pieces of media can be scary and it's something I've thought about before. There was this one older German movie I really liked on Netflix streaming a while back. In physical form, the movie only exists on VHS in the US and region 2 DVDs in crappy quality. Netflix, for whatever reason, had some remastered version in pristine HD quality. But now that the film is no longer available in their online library (to quote the article: this particular movie likely didn't 'justify upkeep anymore'), it's like this HD version never existed. I would gladly pay for a Blu-ray version, but it's simply not offered. Maybe I'll never get to watch it again and that sucks. Sure, that's just one movie, but think about the bigger implications of streaming's role in archiving.

I will say, one aspect that seemed downplayed in the article is the material difference between downloading and streaming. Both are digital, rather than physical, but remember, this article is making the argument that the shift from 'ownership' to 'streaming' is the more significant one. So, I would think downloading technically falls under the category of 'ownership' (you have file ON your computer hard drive), rather than 'streaming.' These days, I would say about 80-90% of my non-Japanese music listening is done via streaming, like Spotify. Is there some difference in that culture of listening via streaming versus listening by downloading?

And since this is a Japanese music forum, what can we make of this article? Do you think the general 'Japanese music industry' or particular Japanese music scenes are still promoting music ownership over streaming?

Discuss!

This featured list is dedicated to some of the most head-turning transformations in Japanese music. Whether from budget VK drag goth to plastered pop boi or trading in a watermelon dye-job for lightly tousled locks spilling out from under an ill-advised fedora, we've got examples of, let's say, aesthetic 'evolution' in every which direction. And, surely, this list is just a taste, so be sure to let us know in the comments what are some other unbelievable transformations in Japanese music that we didn't get to cover.

@fitear1590's Picks
   
麗羽 (ErecSia, ALPHONSTEIN) → いっち (みるふぃね, キャンゼル, ★NOハウス)
Reiha (ErecSia, Alphonstein) → Icchi (Milphinne, Canzel, hoshi NO house)
Right around the turn of the century, Reiha, as he was known back then, made his first foray into the world of VK. Talk about jumping into the deep end first! Who knows what he looked like as a teen, but Reiha's aesthetic in his first bands ErecSia and presumably ALPHONSTEIN (there are no available photos of this band to my knowledge) was very much 90s VK 'goth' trash -- I mean that in the nicest way possible. Pictured above with red hair and a frilly lolita aesthetic, it's indisputable he was influenced by 90s queen Kei, vocalist of Key Party Records' legendary Eliphas Levi who came just a few years earlier. Rounding out the aesthetic are cassette tape releases of seance chants, banshee screams, and low-budget atmospheric Lockheart Castle-kei. By late 2002, Icchi, his new moniker, pulled a night-to-day transformation and was releasing full-blown oshare kei in a group called Milphinne. Future bands Canzel (2007-2010) and hoshi NO house (2012-2016) continued to deliver upbeat pop-rock, twinkling synths, and sparkly looks. It's all a far cry from how he started off visually, but every once in a while, you can hear remnants of his ErecSia/ALPHONSTEIN vocal freak-outs, especially live. Interestingly, Eliphas Levi's vocalist made a similar change, moving on to oshare band Vinett in the early to mid 2000s.


   
PIECE → 超時空アンドロイド-PIECE- → グリモア
PIECE → Choujiku Android - PIECE → GRIMOIRE
Around 2009, Kasumi Shinjou (ex-SMILE, Gekijou Tenor) opened Dear Dolce, home to the likes of リロード (Reload) and メメント・モリ (Memento Mori), the proto-bands of グリーヴァ (GRIEVA) and 黒百合と影 (Kuroyuri to kage). As a super indies label, fans were often required to turn a blind eye to budgetary constraints, but unfortunately, PIECE suffered more than their labelmates. How else do you explain this PV? Pro-tip, do not waste all your funds on the cheesy lens flare effect. Even after Dear Dolce's shutdown in 2012, the band continued as 超時空アンドロイド-PIECE- (Choujiku Android -PIECE-). Their revamped aesthetic was kinda cool, I must admit. In 2015, the band's musicians reemerged in GRIMOIRE, kicking their singer of 5 years to the curb, instead being joined by the former embarrassing lip-sync rawr vocalist of Dear Dolce's Diement. Thankfully, he keeps his mouth shut now, lol. With new stage names, a gloomy and imaginative zodiac theme, and a dark graveyard carnival sound with chugalicious riffs, GRIMOIRE represent an unlikely phoenix, risen from Dear Dolce's ashes. Now, this is a transformation I fully support!

   
えみる (愛狂います。) → 涼木 聡 (Yeti)
Emiru (Aicle) → Satoshi Suzuki (Yeti)
Who would have thought one of the most visually flamboyant members of the mid-2000s VK scene would one day forego hair dye and settle for totally casual outfits? Let's start with Emiru, back when he was the love-him-or-hate-him lead singer of Aicle. Admittedly, he started off quite rough. He legitimately sounds like Cartman in "シドロモドロ (shidoro modoro)". Because of his helium tone and straining to hit notes in earlier releases, it would be easy to write Emiru off as a 'bad' singer, but that would mean ignoring how commendably he 'compensates' in all the other things he does with his voice. What really contributes to Emiru’s success as a vocalist is his variety. In any given song, you might hear any combo of the following: growling, oldschool Madeth Gray’ll-esque 'fast talking,' shrieking, maniacal cackling, whispering, and more. Some absolute highlights include Emiru chanting off the number sequence of pi in the punky "球形無限連鎖～ミズタマ～ (kyuukei mugen rensa ~mizutama~)", or the demonically adorable alter-ego he takes on in "まみむめモンスター君 (mamimume monster-kun)." After Aicle's sputtering out, Emiru resurfaced in Yeti, which started off quite strong, arguably leading the VK/indie rock movement with bands like Chanty and SRASH NOTES GARDEN. I was willing to accept them despite Aicle's disbandment, but the more six-song mini albums Yeti release, the less remarkable they become (though previews for their sixth mini, HOWL, are quite promising!). By now, they've apparently cut all ties to the VK scene, performing exclusively with other J-indie artists. The 'Emiru' persona must be in there somewhere and I hope he'll grace us again one day.


   
小山田圭吾 (フリッパーズ・ギター) → CORNELIUS
Keigo Oyamada (Flipper's Guitar) → CORNELIUS
This one is still a puzzle to me. Flipper's Guitar started in the late 80s as a proto-Shibuya kei/Britpop-worship extravaganza. Citing Western twee legends like The Pastels and Aztec Camera as influences, their infectious guitar pop was unmatched in Japan. Guitarist and vocalist Keigo Oyamada even performed their first album three cheers for our side〜海へ行くつもりじゃなかった (umi e iku tsumori janakatta)〜 in what I still consider to this day to be the most endearing use of Engrish in Japanese music. They went on to release two more albums, in Japanese, while still sticking to their indie pop guns. Only occasionally did they introduce more diverse influences like jazz and house music, with the third album Doctor Head's World Tower particularly showing a move in the direction of sampling. Flipper's Guitar disbanded in the early 90s, but Oyamada returned a few years later as an experimental/electronic solo artist under the moniker CORNELIUS. Tunes like "MUSIC" show little relation whatsoever to the work of his former band. While I do enjoy me some CORNELIUS, a part of me wishes he would go back to composing sunshine-y guitar pop.

  
分島花音
Kanon Wakeshima
Back in the late 2000s, MALICE MIZER's (in)famous Mana took a protégé under his wing. Kanon Wakeshima's initial music took after what we've come to expect from Mana's projects, implementing twinkly music box arrangements and dark orchestration befitting of the OG gothic aristocrat. What really set Kanon apart, however, was her cello work. While so many arrangements in this strand of the VK scene are riddled with canned strings, Kanon proved she has the chops to actually play. After her first album, however, her production relationship with Mana came to an end. Ever since, she has distanced herself from her darker orchestral beginnings. Although she still plays cello from time to time, it's no longer the center of attention, with her music generally assuming a more pop-oriented nature. Plus, she deviated from her gothic lolita aesthetic. While I don't particularly care for Kanon's work in this second era, one undeniable hit has been "ツキナミ (tsukinami)." Despite the goofy nurse and deliverywoman outfits, the song is a masterful pop tune with surprisingly noisy flourishes, though you wouldn't even believe it's the same artist as something like her debut single, "still doll."
  
女王蜂
Ziyoou-Vachi / QUEEN BEE
Ziyoou-Vachi started making waves in 2011 with the release of their mini-album, 魔女狩り (majo kari). The band stuck out in so many ways: having the backing of a major label while churning out raucous punk, featuring two multiracial siblings as band members (vocalist Avu-chan and drummer Ruri-chan), and always coming prepared with vibrant, drag-alicious outfits. Furthermore, Avu-chan (who, I believe, identifies as trans) would often switch between a gruff ‘male’ voice and a squeakier ‘female’ register, keeping the vocal work dynamic. Even in PV tracks like “デスコ (disco)” or "フランス人形の呪い (France ningyou no noroi)", it was common for the band musicians to keep the distortion and zaniness set at 11, while Avu-chan did her thing. This flamboyant sound and aesthetic more or less continued for the next two mini-albums. It was the dry spell from 2012-2015 that seems to have had the biggest impact on the band’s sound. Since their return, it's not uncommon to see the band members with natural hair colors and sporting simple outfits, like suits. The sound also became uncharacteristically polished with songs like “スリラ (Thriller)“ or "金星 (kinsei)" ironing out the band’s signature fuzzy edge. Although Avu-chan now exhibits commendably more vocal control, the unpredictable melodies are all but gone. While I can see why the second wave of Ziyoou-Vachi has garnered more popularity (working alongside the likes of NEGOTO, Tokyo Jihen’s Ukigumo and the dresscodes’ Ryohei Shima; well-attended festival appearances; TV interviews and commercial work for Avu-chan; etc.), I think many of us here at MH miss the band’s former noisy glory.

@doombox's Pick
   
狼哦 (ハートレス) →TSUYOSHI (Unveil Raze)
Rouga (Heartless) → TSUYOSHI (Unveil Raze)
     Maybe since I'm still not finished emotionally digesting the ハートレス (Heartless) reunion I was able to attend last year (which also happened to be my very first visual kei concert experience in Japan, ayeeeeee) and witnessing the departure from what Heartless used to be to what the members are currently involved in really stayed with me. Especially guitarist Rouga's transformation to his current evolution in the band Unveil Raze where he performs under the name Tsuyoshi Ikeda. While his playing sounds like a natural progression from Heartless' more metal aspects, Tsuyoshi has fully dropped the flowery, melodic aspects that make visual kei what it is and has moved straight into hard rock and metal full-time. His physical changes are the most notable now that he's just about covered himself with tattoos, shaved off his hair (up until very recently started growing it back out again), put on some muscle mass, and dropped all of the heavy make up. It's always interesting to me to see how certain visual musicians would be when they aren't in full costume and if the reception of them would be more or less favorable. Tsuyoshi is a strong case in point that music will speak for itself in the end no matter how it's dressed up. Though, I remain a strong believer that a little eyeliner never hurt anyone.

@Zeus's Pick
  
XecsNoin → XECSNOIN
Let me recount to you a story of a band who was always behind the curve, and why only following trends will get you nowhere. XECSNOIN, originally stylized XecsNoin, formed in 1998 as yet another melodic rock visual kei band inspired by the Finnish and Scandinavian death metal scenes. A few things were working against this band from the very start, as their activities coincided with an overall shift in the sound and style of visual kei. The goth style was losing popularity and this left XecsNoin out in the cold. A rotating cast of members did them no favors as well; originally the group was LOKI (vocals), JIN (guitar), K (guitar), JUN (bass) and Yuzuki (drums) which is pictured left. Constant member changes plagued the band - they replaced five members in three years - and while the band was stable long enough to record their first album, vocalist LOKI quit and then drummer HiЯo was fired not long after. K, JUN, and  ZAKURO persevered, changed their name to XECSNOIN and their sound to death metal - because that was all the rage in 2005 - and found K.K. and ZEN for drummer and vocalist respectively. At some point around 2010 after releasing a single and EP with a more melodeath sound, both K.K. and ZEN left and were replaced by vocalist U (ex. THE EIGHT) and guitarist HIROKI (ex. EXCEPTION). Unlike THE EIGHT, XECSNOIN managed to put U to work and released their second album Corridor to the Sky. Even though they've changed radically, you can still hear the visual kei influence in "DISILLUSION", linked below. Unfortunately, troubles were never far and the Reaper of 2016 took XECSNOIN in his grip of disbandment along with other fan favorites. Perhaps this one was more merciful than most, but I believe XECSNOIN wallowed in obscurity precisely because all they did was follow trends. "DISILLUSION" is their most recent sound. "Spiritual Road" is as early as YouTube allows, but there's even older than this! Also the picture is very misleading but whatever.

@togz's Picks

てんてん (餞ハナむケ。→KuRt→朱ィ。→ケミカルピクチャーズ→kiss my way→My BACTERIA HEAT IsLAND→ラッコ)
Tenten (Hanamuke→KuRt→Benii→Chemical Pictures→kiss my way→My BACTERIA HEAT IsLAND→LACK-CO.)
Tenten (Taira Kazuhiro) debuted in the visual kei scene in the year 2000 with a little band called Hanamuke. That means our little (not so little anymore) buddy here has been at it for SIXTEEN YEARS! While his tendency to bounce from band to band may be an annoyance to some, it's a godsend to others. Generally the groups he partakes in only last a few years or are ideas that never fully surface, but his fans are left with the feeling he will always be back. Musically he's dipped his toes in a variety of styles. Hanamuke and KuRt have a similar sound and style while Chemical Pictures had a lighter look and less harsh vocals. He's always had a raspy feeling to his vocal technique and proved his skill to growl or scream, but over the past 16 years he has grown not only as a vocalist but as a person as well. His most recent project is LACK-CO. which includes other well-known faces in the scene such as IVY (ex. DIO, Remming), SAN (ex. NEGA/BFN), and Milk (fka Satoshi ex. para:noir) There is no telling for sure how long this act will last, but it's good to see him still active in the scene after all these years and bands.
 
@plastic_rainbow's Picks

怜 (Clarity → kannivalism → バロック → baroque → kannivalism → BAROQUE)
Ryo (Clarity → kannivalism → barokku → baroque → kannivalism → BAROQUE)
Where do I even begin with this guy? Ryo has gone through so many different transformations throughout his music career, both aesthetically and musically. If you've never bothered looking at his band history, you may not realize that he wasn't always that orange/brown haired punk with lip piercings or the simpler blonde-haired man that he now is. Believe it or not, Ryo used to dress-up in an old school visual kei style with his brighter orange/red hair in messy pigtails, wearing crazy colored contacts that is evident from his early days of Clarity (1998-2000), old kannivalism (2001), and very early baroque (2001-2004). Later, Ryo leaned on a more mature and manly appearance, growing a goatee in the late years of old baroque, and then gradually grew his hair out in second era kannivalism (2006-2011). All of that is now in the past though. Musically, his singing style follows the same trend as his appearance. Ryo began singing in quirks and cackles that are quintessential to older visual kei, which you can hear in "トリップショートケーキ (Trip Short Cake)". During some experimentation over the years, his vocals went from a deep to a rap-singing style, that is sometimes raspy, gentle, and whispery as he does in "Ila.", or just something completely fun and wacky like in "カスタリーンナ (Castarina)". Ryo is probably one of the most versatile Japanese vocalists that I know of and it's quite unfortunate that he now lazily employs autotune in the new BAROQUE (2012-present). It's true that he has used autotune before, but only to a lesser extent. The amplified autotune in a song like "DREAMSCAPE" for instance, camouflages all his singing talent in the years before. Who knows, maybe he'll make another abrupt change in the coming years. Whatever he does, I sure hope it'll be good.
 
 
悠希 (Crystallium(gt) → SUBDUAL → De stijllia → 人格ラヂオ → Solo)
Yuuki (Crystallium(gt) → SUBDUAL → De stijllia → Jinkaku Radio → Solo)
Although Yuuki performed in several bands before, he is most well-known as the vocalist, guitarist, and main composer of Jinkaku Radio (2001-2012). Jinkaku Radio was an indie duo which, at a glance, seemed to follow the string of dark and heavy suit-kei bands. However, what made them stand out musically from the rest was the softer, yet nasally vocals of Yuuki's. Their musical style was also less aggressive as Yuuki rarely screamed or growled, and mostly sang in anguish or grief along with heart-rending guitars and sad melodies, which in turn labeled them heavily as gloomy and depressing. Despite showing their brighter side during lives -- Yuuki manically flinging a cloth doll at the audience and fooling around with balloons -- the forlorn image from their music left such a strong impression that it became quite a shock to most fans when the duo started putting out happy-go-lucky music out of nowhere. It was as if they were injected with some happy oshare kei fluids and had magically recovered from all their misery. Although it's true that they released something cheerful before, which was basically a tongue-in-cheek song about bangyarus, it wasn't until the release of their second album Ichibyou in 2010 that they started writing upbeat music as part of their actual serious music. Currently, Yuuki continues writing music as a solo artist, and as he basically wrote all of Jinkaku Radio's songs he can still pull off some of the same sounds in his solo works. However, it's highly unlikely that we'll hear any more of those heart-wrenching and depressing songs like "姥捨て山(Ubasuteyama)" or "午後の落下(Gogo no rakka)" again, which essentially encompassed the melancholy and wistfulness of Jinkaku Radio.
 
 
悠璃 (9ミリ。) → ゆーり (イロクイ。) → おかゆさん (秘密結社パンピー)
Yuuri (9MIRI.) → Yuuri (Irokui.) → Okayusan (Himitsu Kessha Hanpii)
In the visual kei scene it's nothing unusual to see a male dress-up all feminine and girly. Yet, even though so many visual kei musicians wear dresses, frills, thick eyelashes, and lipstick as part of their getup, very few go as far as undergoing a sex change. Okayusan (or Okayu), formerly known as Yuuri from the oshare kei band Irokui. (2005-2011), was one of the few who did. It happened not too long after Irokui.'s disbandment in 2011 that Yuuri underwent surgery and even went into prostitution under the name of Yuu Takizawa for a while. Seeing that she gradually became less of a colorful punk and more of a gorgeous looking woman during the late years of Irokui., especially in their last look for Aimai Stripe before the disbandment, the sudden sex change did not come off as a huge shock to me. Still, the rumors of her being involved in prostitution shook fans in many ways. Even though Okayusan now lives her daily life as a woman and as a youtuber, it does not change the fact that she still holds the same passion for singing as she made a short return to the music scene in 2012 along with ex.Irokui. guitarist Hazuki to form Himitsu Kessha Panpii. Two years later, she also sang for one song in contribution with a producer named TACOS NAOMI, but as far as singing again full time goes, the idea seems to be nothing but a thing of the past.

-----------------------------------
We hope you enjoyed the list! Maybe we'll do another installment in the future!
Which of these transformations is most surprising to you?

https://thesmartset.com/why-music-ownership-matters/

A band I follow recently shared the article "Why Music Ownership Matters" and I thought it was an interesting read. Here are a few exemplary quotes, in case you can't read the entire thing:

So, what do you think, does this article have a point?

I must admit, the power streaming companies have over individual pieces of media can be scary and it's something I've thought about before. There was this one older German movie I really liked on Netflix streaming a while back. In physical form, the movie only exists on VHS in the US and region 2 DVDs in crappy quality. Netflix, for whatever reason, had some remastered version in pristine HD quality. But now that the film is no longer available in their online library (to quote the article: this particular movie likely didn't 'justify upkeep anymore'), it's like this HD version never existed. I would gladly pay for a Blu-ray version, but it's simply not offered. Maybe I'll never get to watch it again and that sucks. Sure, that's just one movie, but think about the bigger implications of streaming's role in archiving.

I will say, one aspect that seemed downplayed in the article is the material difference between downloading and streaming. Both are digital, rather than physical, but remember, this article is making the argument that the shift from 'ownership' to 'streaming' is the more significant one. So, I would think downloading technically falls under the category of 'ownership' (you have file ON your computer hard drive), rather than 'streaming.' These days, I would say about 80-90% of my non-Japanese music listening is done via streaming, like Spotify. Is there some difference in that culture of listening via streaming versus listening by downloading?

And since this is a Japanese music forum, what can we make of this article? Do you think the general 'Japanese music industry' or particular Japanese music scenes are still promoting music ownership over streaming?

Discuss!

Hmm this is interesting and I never thought to look at the big picture like that. I definitely stream a lot more now but I still buy things I really want to have a physical copy to. But I can see how you loose a sense of the artistic aspect too so it "looses its value" but there are even some bands that only release digital copies of stuff idk man this is tricky. 

https://thesmartset.com/why-music-ownership-matters/

A band I follow recently shared the article "Why Music Ownership Matters" and I thought it was an interesting read. Here are a few exemplary quotes, in case you can't read the entire thing:

So, what do you think, does this article have a point?

I must admit, the power streaming companies have over individual pieces of media can be scary and it's something I've thought about before. There was this one older German movie I really liked on Netflix streaming a while back. In physical form, the movie only exists on VHS in the US and region 2 DVDs in crappy quality. Netflix, for whatever reason, had some remastered version in pristine HD quality. But now that the film is no longer available in their online library (to quote the article: this particular movie likely didn't 'justify upkeep anymore'), it's like this HD version never existed. I would gladly pay for a Blu-ray version, but it's simply not offered. Maybe I'll never get to watch it again and that sucks. Sure, that's just one movie, but think about the bigger implications of streaming's role in archiving.

I will say, one aspect that seemed downplayed in the article is the material difference between downloading and streaming. Both are digital, rather than physical, but remember, this article is making the argument that the shift from 'ownership' to 'streaming' is the more significant one. So, I would think downloading technically falls under the category of 'ownership' (you have file ON your computer hard drive), rather than 'streaming.' These days, I would say about 80-90% of my non-Japanese music listening is done via streaming, like Spotify. Is there some difference in that culture of listening via streaming versus listening by downloading?

And since this is a Japanese music forum, what can we make of this article? Do you think the general 'Japanese music industry' or particular Japanese music scenes are still promoting music ownership over streaming?

Discuss!

https://thesmartset.com/why-music-ownership-matters/

A band I follow recently shared the article "Why Music Ownership Matters" and I thought it was an interesting read. Here are a few exemplary quotes, in case you can't read the entire thing:

So, what do you think, does this article have a point?

I must admit, the power streaming companies have over individual pieces of media can be scary and it's something I've thought about before. There was this one older German movie I really liked on Netflix streaming a while back. In physical form, the movie only exists on VHS in the US and region 2 DVDs in crappy quality. Netflix, for whatever reason, had some remastered version in pristine HD quality. But now that the film is no longer available in their online library (to quote the article: this particular movie likely didn't 'justify upkeep anymore'), it's like this HD version never existed. I would gladly pay for a Blu-ray version, but it's simply not offered. Maybe I'll never get to watch it again and that sucks. Sure, that's just one movie, but think about the bigger implications of streaming's role in archiving.

I will say, one aspect that seemed downplayed in the article is the material difference between downloading and streaming. Both are digital, rather than physical, but remember, this article is making the argument that the shift from 'ownership' to 'streaming' is the more significant one. So, I would think downloading technically falls under the category of 'ownership' (you have file ON your computer hard drive), rather than 'streaming.' These days, I would say about 80-90% of my non-Japanese music listening is done via streaming, like Spotify. Is there some difference in that culture of listening via streaming versus listening by downloading?

And since this is a Japanese music forum, what can we make of this article? Do you think the general 'Japanese music industry' or particular Japanese music scenes are still promoting music ownership over streaming?

Discuss!

Makes sense. Schoolboy's Q second album, I think, was removed from spotify with no explanation. At the time I didn't give much thought to it, but looking from the consumer viewpoint, that's pretty fucked up. I am not entitled to anything when I subscribe to their service, I'll have to listen to what they want to make available... I admit I'm becoming lazier and lazier, basically all my non japanese music is listened through spotify too, and yeah, we should be aware of that, indeed. Lucky for us, torrents are always there to save the day, I guess. I still buy physical copies of releases I like, but I also think that's a fading trend, pretty soon releasing physical copies of albums will be limited to collection editions and etc. abide to the technology revolution, I guess.
 
About the japanese industry, I think it's a matter of time. Japanese consumer base is the weirdest in the world. They are absolutely open to some technologic innovations, but extremely conservative to some others. They will resist while they can, but will succumb eventually, I think. And that is kind of positive for us in the west, more music will be available to us, when they finally decide to change.
 
 

https://thesmartset.com/why-music-ownership-matters/

A band I follow recently shared the article "Why Music Ownership Matters" and I thought it was an interesting read. Here are a few exemplary quotes, in case you can't read the entire thing:

So, what do you think, does this article have a point?

I must admit, the power streaming companies have over individual pieces of media can be scary and it's something I've thought about before. There was this one older German movie I really liked on Netflix streaming a while back. In physical form, the movie only exists on VHS in the US and region 2 DVDs in crappy quality. Netflix, for whatever reason, had some remastered version in pristine HD quality. But now that the film is no longer available in their online library (to quote the article: this particular movie likely didn't 'justify upkeep anymore'), it's like this HD version never existed. I would gladly pay for a Blu-ray version, but it's simply not offered. Maybe I'll never get to watch it again and that sucks. Sure, that's just one movie, but think about the bigger implications of streaming's role in archiving.

I will say, one aspect that seemed downplayed in the article is the material difference between downloading and streaming. Both are digital, rather than physical, but remember, this article is making the argument that the shift from 'ownership' to 'streaming' is the more significant one. So, I would think downloading technically falls under the category of 'ownership' (you have file ON your computer hard drive), rather than 'streaming.' These days, I would say about 80-90% of my non-Japanese music listening is done via streaming, like Spotify. Is there some difference in that culture of listening via streaming versus listening by downloading?

And since this is a Japanese music forum, what can we make of this article? Do you think the general 'Japanese music industry' or particular Japanese music scenes are still promoting music ownership over streaming?

Discuss!

Woah i forgot I helped with this before I left. Even though I did Tenten.. I'm going to say Ryo from baroque and kannivalism is the most surprising... Tenten changes so much it's lost it's wow factor. But with Ryo, I mean he's basically been in two generations of VK... Not to mention he was somewhat of a trend setter in his early days. I'm not sure what his popularity is now or how his struggles have effected it... but I know he went through some hardcore depression (I have like 3 copies of that book so I have two for sale? LOL anyway) I'm not sure how he feels currently or if he's still struggling and I'm unsure how that plays a role in his style and musical expression... 
 
 
But I feel like he's really had a special journey... so yeah that guy is something else. 

Another not-so-notable-but-nonetheless-equally-interesting evolution...by another legendary non-vk band
 
Hint: they started out as a no-frills Japanese DQN punk band circa late 80s early 90s, became semi-Buck Tick worshiping experimental-ish punk act afterwards (around the same time), and from different experiments with more simpler rockisms and hardcore stuff they adopted street fashion, new genre (digital hardcore with nu metal-ish tinge) around mid-90s and late 90s and basically became even more street-ier ever since then.
 
Merry's Gara surely loved vocalist's antics circa early-mid 90s ("the long hair" era btw)

Earl Grey (matina/eternal) also made pretty drastic changes in less than a year
 

my favorite
 

Very interesting topic. Thanks for making it!