J-skirt
J-Rock ( Japaneseジ ェ イ ロ ッ クjeirokku ), used as a short form for Japanese Rock Music or Japan Rock , is the common name in Japan for native rock music .
term
Outside of Asia, the abbreviations J-Rock and J-Pop are in most cases summarized as everything that modern Japanese music reaches Europe and America.
The Japanese themselves do not necessarily differentiate according to these terms, as these are more influenced and defined by the West. The sound repertoire of many Japanese bands often includes several styles compared to European or American bands . Starting with ballads, through pop , rock and metal elements to classical music , numerous other components are used that alternate from album to album, if not from song to song, and make a clear style definition almost impossible. It is not uncommon for different styles to be combined in one song.
Nevertheless, many bands can be assigned to the categories J-Pop or J-Rock, at least on the basis of the general understanding of rock and pop music . Often times, J-Rock has Shred elements with lots of complicated, high and fast guitar solos.
history
In addition to the traditional Enka music, Schlager ballads, which have been popular since the late Meiji period (late 19th century ), the modern Japanese music Kayōkyoku developed under the influence of Western music groups . This term serves as a generic term for today's music styles in Japan.
The development of Japanese rock music can be traced back to influences from important international musicians such as Bob Dylan , Jimi Hendrix , the Beatles , the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin , primarily to the introduction of psychedelic rock in the 1960s by American and British bands in Japan. There it was picked up and developed in a different direction, since Japanese musicians like Kosugi Takehisa , Keiji Haino or Nanjo Asahito wanted to be drug-free in contrast to the frequent drug use of Western performers.
Japanese music began with imitating the music of its western models. Groups such as The Golden Cups , The Tempters , The Mops , The Dynamites and Jacks were formed , whose songs Karappo No Sekai and Marianne were the first publications of psychedelic rock in Japan. Just like in the USA and Great Britain, the music was associated with student movements, with Les Rallizes Dénudés and Taj Mahal Travelers and Lost Aaraaff being the forerunners .
In the 1970s, the music scene became more and more differentiated. Magical Power Mako was the most famous interpreter of folk rock , the songwriters Tomokawa Kazuki and Mikami Kan became famous . More radical styles of music such as progressive rock were also on the rise with the bands After Dinner , YB02 , Kenso and Koenji Hyakkei .
Since the early 1980s, other styles of music have gradually emerged in Japan that are based on their Western models, such as Japanoise with projects such as Merzbow and Hijokaidan or Gothic Rock , with groups such as Phaidia , Gara and Nubile , as well as Japanese alternative rock .
Parallel to the ever-expanding rock scene, a separate Japanese style emerged in the 1980s , which was later referred to as visual kei according to the motto Psychedelic Violence - Crime of Visual Shock by the band X (later X Japan ), which made this style popular . Visual kei does not refer to an individual style of music, but rather the integration of music in an overall aesthetic concept, which is mainly reflected in the optics and stage show, but also in the texts, posters and covers, etc. This term therefore includes bands of many musical genres, although the main part is the hard and alternative styles. A characteristic of the visual kei bands is that they are optically and musically very experimental, mix many styles of music and often incorporate traditional Japanese influences. This style has been subject to constant changes since its inception. While the first bands like X or Luna Sea were still musically oriented towards hard rock in their beginnings , later bands like Malice Mizer , Due le quartz , Psycho le Cému , Supercar , Lareine or Madeth gray'll created a wealth of new sounds. However, they were denied international attention, only the newer bands like Dir en gray , D'espairsRay , The Gazette , MUCC or artists like Miyavi made it to Europe and America.
Since its inception, domestic Japanese music production has always faced strong competition from international stars who are also very popular in Japan. Nevertheless, the Japanese rock scene has grown inexorably and there is an abundance of singers and bands that is hardly manageable. Some of the most successful have been or include, for example, An Cafe , D = OUT , L'Arc ~ en ~ Ciel , LM.C , Pierrot , Vidoll and Girugamesh . In addition, different directions such as Oshare Kei or Angura Kei emerged in Visual Kei .
With the possibilities of the internet and the increasing worldwide marketing of Japanese articles of popular culture such as manga (Japanese comics) and anime in the 1990s, Japanese stars in particular managed to make a name for themselves in Europe and America for the first time since the turn of the millennium. Initially as insider tips among manga and anime fans, bands mainly of the visual kei style appeared at fan meetings . The Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra was the first Japanese band to perform in Europe in August 2004. The indie band Blood started in September 2004 in Germany. This was followed by concerts by the successful Japanese visual kei and rock bands D'espairsRay and The Gazette . Since then, Europe has been constantly visited by bands from Asia, which is attracting increasing media attention. The USA is also an increasingly open market, where famous bands such as Dir en gray and L'Arc ~ en ~ Ciel played.
marketing
In the 1960s, the biggest problem faced by local artists was the non-competitive international production prices. Western companies were able to produce records so cheaply that the manufacturing, shipping, duties, and earnings of the middlemen were still below the Japanese base price for the records. The Japanese situation only improved when the music industry took action.
Visual kei
Visual kei is a style mainly within the Japanese independent scene and has been popularized by bands like X Japan , Malice Mizer and Dir en gray .
There is no fixed look in visual kei, artists have no limits when it comes to appearance - whatever you like is allowed. The most varied of fashionable elements such as punk, new romantic and gothic, but also stylized school uniforms and fantasy costumes are combined with one another. Also, cross-dressing is in the mostly androgynous not uncommon acting male musicians.
Visual kei is not static, but changes with every appearance. The musicians also like to keep themselves silent about their biographies or give fictitious dates in order to maintain an opaque and changeable image.
Major and independent labels
Whether a band is called “ indie ” or “ major ” depends on the record label under which it is produced. Most rock bands have contracts with major Japanese record labels, which are among the four major labels .
The career begins either through relationships or by sending in demo tapes, some of which are first offered for sale in small numbers. Good bands are then usually produced by a manager under an indie label. If an indie band has gained enough recognition and fans, it receives an offer from a better-known label and can be called a "major".
Some labels also sell both types of bands, and still others are great artists' own labels. There are also major bands that take promising indie bands into their care.
In the visual kei scene in particular, indie bands have now almost developed into their own genre, which is limited to clubs and smaller events instead of large stages such as the very important Shibuya AX , the Tokyo Dome and the Budokan , to play.
Not all bands have an interest in becoming a "major" act, as they can also make a name for themselves in the indie sector and a change to a major often results in a style break (a major mostly markets commercial music suitable for the masses ). This is made easier by the fact that the marketing has also adapted to it. There are special clubs or venues, fashion magazines, and stores that are set up for this.
In Japan there are also cheap labels that promote bands that imitate both the music and looks of famous artists in order to make money.
In Europe and America, the Japanese indie label Free Will , founded in September 2004, distributes Japanese music by selected bands in European special editions, with translated texts and at European prices.
Texts
The lyrics of the songs are as diverse as the styles. The lyrics of the songs are often very poetic or even based on the pattern of traditional Japanese poetry ( haiku ) (e.g. number of syllables 7; 5). Often, of course, you can find love songs and outspoken songs about sex, like Gackt's song "Vanilla" . Many singers do not mince their words and create very clear images. On the other hand, there are also very nonsensical and funny texts.
It is noticeable that most of the song lyrics are written by the respective singer of the band, who sees it as his task or privilege, so to speak, to take on this role in the group, even if someone else has composed the music. In addition, the lines of the songs rhyme comparatively seldom, which can be traced back to the Japanese lyric tradition, in which rhymes were not common.
As in the modern Japanese language itself, there are hardly any texts that are not influenced by foreign languages. The greatest influence comes from English, but German, French, and sometimes Russian words or fragments of sentences also flow into the songs. Mostly these are just phrases or words. Many songs have foreign-language or partly foreign-language titles, even if they are entirely in Japanese. Songs that are sung entirely in a foreign language are rather rare. This may also be related to the sometimes very poor foreign language skills of the text writers or singers. English-speaking fans also call this English, which is often difficult to understand, " Engrish ". One of the few exceptions is Ellegarden , a band that stands out from the crowd with their lyrics, which are often completely sung in almost accent-free English, and which has found many fans, especially in the USA.
Sales and fan base
J-rock musicians are a common sight in the Japanese media world. The scale may not reach that of J-Pop , but the marketing of the artists still knows a dimension unmatched for the western world.
Especially among fans of visual kei there is a phenomenon called cosplay . The name is from "Costume" ( Engl. For costume ) (and "Play" Engl. For game ) together. In certain places in big cities, for performances by the artists and at fan meetings, people dress as naturally as possible based on the model of their idols - the more complicated the costume, the better. Some artists have already started making their costumes so detailed that perfect imitation is impossible.
Others have invented their own style, such as the " Gothic Lolita " - a girlish, sweet, yet dark style of dress with lots of black lace and mostly platform and gloves. Gothic Lolitas allegedly walk around the streets of the cities every day and can be photographed with tourists for money. The actual trend, however, does not come from a fashion wave, but from a guitarist named Mana ( Malice Mizer , Moi dix Mois ), who invented the style for his own costumes and now sells it in his own shop.
Like Mana , other musicians also have designer skills: the costumes for visual kei are designed by the musicians themselves and made according to their wishes. Ordinary J-rock and J-pop artists also design ties, guitar models and even underpants.
The goods are used for merchandising and promotion, as well as for artistic expression. As in western culture, Japan has its own regular genre magazines, such as Vicious or Fool's Mate , which offer interviews and photos of the stars. Furthermore, there are a number of music programs in Japan such as “HotWave”, “Bee Friday”, “Pink Paparazzi” or “Music Station”, in which stars perform, give interviews, play games or play new songs live. There are also several television channels on which video clips about the singles are broadcast. In the vast majority of radio shows, some stars have their own programs or moderate them.
Of course, Japan also has its own charts. The most important and most cited tables for J-Rock and J-Pop are the "Oricon Charts", which measure the success of a group or an artist on the sales of their goods.
In addition, there are advertising contracts and an expansion to other areas that the musicians use to express their art in other ways. You can find their voices in anime settings or as models on glossy magazines, read their biographies or listen to their settings in foreign books. In 2003 the film MoonChild was made with two of the most famous singers in Japan: Gackt , a pop idol of Japan, and Hyde , the lead singer of the band " L'Arc ~ en ~ Ciel ". This film is about a modern vampire story and was written by Gackt himself as part of a large project.
Most important for the promotion is probably the production of music videos of the singles for broadcasters like the Japanese MTV. They are called “Promotion Video” - or PV for short - and are at least as diverse as the videos that can be seen in Germany on “Viva” and “MTV”.
So you can see that J-Rock and J-Pop encompass a wide area that is very similar in form and diversity to Western music culture and sometimes goes beyond it.
Well-known J-rock groups / singers
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ian Martin: Supercar's 'Three Out Change !!' may be the most stunning debut in Japanese rock history. In: The Japan Times. October 4, 2017, accessed November 5, 2017 .