Visual Kei

For those who don't and do know about Visual Kei, I'm going to write a short post about it from information that I found on the internet and information that I already know. (credits: to homeless visual kids website and other websites where I checked up information verify that it was correct and for having the information about the different genres). Visual Kei is predominately dominated by males, although there are some female bands gaining recognition, some famous Female bands are

Visual Kei is about music and fashion, Visual kei started from Japan and its a type of genre of rock music with pop, hip hop, punk elements etc. Depending on the band, a different "theme" or "concept" will follow and using this theme or concept, bands will dress accordingly and their music will follow this theme or concept.

Its been said that X Japan first helped to create Visual Kei, they used to have spike up long hair and heavy make up during the start of their career, Yoshiki was the cross-dresser in the group and used to have long, blonde wavy hair and wore red lipstick. 

X Japan when they first started out.

"Psychedelic Violence of Visual Shock" - X Japan

This was how X Japan described what Visual Kei was and it was truly an explosion of colour, not just Oshare kei bands but other styles, too had colourful make up or clothes, or personalities... they were just caring as much music as about the fashion and stories they carried in their music.

Some sub-genres are (okay, I can't list all sub-genres because we would be here until next week and this post would be like 10 pages long and everyone would be bored to death) :

Oshare Kei- whilst Visual Kei is darker, Oshare Kei band members use bright colours and funky and cute looking accessories, so popular clothes in bright colours that I have seen them using include  red, pink, yellow, blue, green, purple etc. Make up is lighter so its more about enhancing thei face, and the fashion reminds me of some of the clothes the kids of Harajuku would wear. This is my personal opinion but Oshare Kei is more wearable compared to the other sub-genres. Famous Oshare kei bands include An Cafe, SuG,   Paradeis etc amongst others... some popular songs are "Smile Ichiban Il Onna by An Cafe" , " Sweet Toxic" by SuG. Also, the music has a more pop feeling to it.

  An Cafe

An Cafe

 SuG

  Sug

Paradeis

Kote Kei - Kote Kei is the opposite of Oshare Kei and has two sub genres black kei and white kei. Kote kei which is also sometimes written as kotekote, this type of kei is this most traditional kind.It is also the oldest style of visual kei. Some examples of this are "Lareine" , "Dir En Grey" amongst others.

Laraeine

Dir En Grey

Angura Kei - which comes from the English word "underground" , bands in this genre will wear more traditional Japanese clothing such as the kimono, some famous bands include "Kagrra" and "Inugami Circus-Dan".

Kagrra

I chose a few of the many different genres check out the "Homeless Visual Kids website - http://homelessvisualkids.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/a-look-into-visual-kei-sub genres/ - for more information and once again, credits for this website which gave me examples of bands and the differences between each style".

Also, credits to the owners of the pictures that are used for this post.

I'm going to finish with a few pictres with visual kei bands that I like because of their music or/and style of clothing/costumes.

 

   

 

Comment in the box below, your favourite styles ~ I don't know which style I would go with? >.< create, my own style... maybe? Good bye and stay happy ~~~ Prinxe Happiness.

~Versailles~



Last night, I had a dream that I was doing work experience (when you spend a week at a workplace instead of school, you don't get paid, it's just s chance to experiment what its like too work) with Kamijo of Versailles. I was kinda upset, I woke up before the actual work experience.

He's like one of my Japanese biases~ I have three Yoshiki (X Japan), hide (X Japan/Spread Beaver) and Kamijo (Versailles), I am fairly new to Versailles or Versailles-Philharmonic Quintet in America, they consist of six members, 5 on this planet and 1 watching over them, the five of them are Yuki on drums, Massashi on bass, Hizaki on lead guitar, Teru on guitar and Kamijo on vocals and Jasmine You who was on bass, I watch some of the episodes of their drama 'Onegai Kangete' (Grant My Wish Versailles) on YouTube, a lot were unsubbed and poor quality, instead I watched some of the 'making-of-scenes' of this drama and it's so funny and well heart-warming.

Kamijo and Hizaki look like brother and sister when they are playing with the swings and wheelbarrow, it's really cute~ and there's an epsiode when Yuki rides like a zip wire thingy and breaks a bulls eye that Teru and Massashi are holding on to it, and Kamijo was like 'You better not hurt Yuki, otherwise i'll hurt you kind of thing' and it's 'aww', I guess Kamijo is like daddy of the group~! and Hizaki is the mum! (Just my opinion of course)...

Anyways, I need some recommendations for their music because I've only listened to 'Reverant Choir' but I really liked it, I listened to the song in one of their live performances and also when they performed at the 'hide memorial summit' concert as well.

Overall, I really like this band and I doing more research about them, I kinda upset that they gone on a hiatus because I really liked them. >.< Lets hope that they will get back together soon! Once, they have completed any solo activities! ^_^

~Be Strong, Be Pop (LM.C Quote)~

Actually, I haven't got any drawings to show you but I wanted to draw some pictures of what I want my future band (Art Of Life) to wear, I like all the sparkly, jewel stuff that bands like Versailles where especially Teru and his white cape, I love Kamijo's shoes though!

I'll post the drawings once I've drawn them, any suggestions are welcome~ but I don't want anything too boring, after all I draw my inspiration from old and current VK bands~ always so dramatic and theatrical in their visuals.

Of course, music is most important aspect so people will buy your CD's and Concert tapes etc, right? BUT us VK fans love seeing their new costumes, new concepts and different hairstyles, I know I feel the same~ even for bands that I do not know very well like Ace or Paradeis, I enjoy seeing their new styles.

An Cafe's Amazing Blue clothes are really awesome, I think they look very hmmm what's the world, it kinda reminds me of clothes that a prince would wear, because it's elegant and sparkly ~ and I love Miku's hat. I guess Japanese people are very fashionable!

What about you? what kind of VK bands styles, do you like? >.<

Anyways a recommedation of a song that I really like 'Ghost' by Gackt !

Don't say I didn't warn you, when the song lyrics become really catchy and the dancing, well lets say that Gackt has his own style of dancing? shall we?

Please be patient and wait for my pictures, I'm very busy at the moment lots of sporting activities like swimming, tennis and squash :)

~My Discovery into Jrock~

So basically, lately I've become a huge Jrock fan, lately as in last six to nine months before I was a truly dedicate Kpop fan (I still am) to bands like Super Junior, actors like Jang Geun Suk and Lee Jun Ki, but with Lee Jun Ki entering military service and Super Junior members, my music switched towards Jrock, also during any stressful period listening to music that was too cheerful all the time didn't help~ please don't get me wrong, I'm still a dedicated 'ELF' and 'eel '(SJ+JGS fan club) and Lee Jun Ki etc.

I came across the Pink Spider (hide) through Kim Heechul of Super Junior, who is a Jrock fan himself (I'm not really sure what bands he likes) and he sang Pink Spider at one of SJ's concerts, although I haven't been able to find a clip of him singing this song, anyways I clicked on hide's page, this bright-haired, cute young man dressed in a red attire immediately I was intrigued by him.

I actually gasped when I read the personal information bar and it showed the day of his death underneath his date of birth, just 33 years old, hide had already gone, he spread his wings and left this world in 1998.

About six months later, I started listening to X Japan's song's Silent Jealously, then I stopped listening to any Jrock music for about a year? I think...last year I focused on a lot of pop, hip hop and rap music from Korea,  Taiwan and Hong Kong, then in the end of last year, I started listening to hide and enjoyed all of his songs, none of them left me any disappointment from the slow, paced simple PV of Goodbye then the fast movements, bright colours and fancy hairstyles of Dice and then in Jan-Feb, I started listening to X Japan's music and I really liked Endless Rain, Born To Be Free, Jade, Tears, Kurenai etc...beautifully composed songs~!

Now, I'm venturing into other bands and artists like Gackt (Vanilla, Ghost, Love Letter), The Gazette (Filth In The Beauty), Versailles (Reverant Choir), An Cafe (Ryuusei Rocket, Smile Ichiban Ill Onna, Snow Scene etc), SuG (GimmeXGimme), I hope I can listen to more bands in the future and also widen my knowledge, next on my list to listen too are Nightmare (Hitsugi, he's so cute and sweet despite his fierce makeup and numerous piercings), Buck Tick, Glay (got to listen to some of the legendary bands in this scene).

Any suggestions and songs? Everything is welcome! >.<