When people learn that I'm the editor of an online music magazine, they generally give me one of two looks.The first being surprise (which I can't say I begrudge them.) The second is a sweeping, judgmental expression as their estimation of me suddenly rises exponentially. Then, in some cases, it plummets when I go on to say that the mag is about visual kei.
It saddens me that visual kei has such a poor image, especially here in Japan. That's not to say that there isn't plenty of bad with the good, as with all things in life, but there's so much more to this genre than people can learn at a first glance.
So, why VK? There are many things that dragged me into this genre and, perhaps shockingly, 90% of them are purely about the music.
Having spent my life training as a singer, vocals are a good place to start, of course. Naturally, the worlds of J-rock and J-pop have their talented artists, but what raises up many visial kei vocalists beyond them in my opinion is that they don't challenge themselves as singers. They have a comfortable range and tone and they stick to it. Then we turn to VK which is full of ridiculously fast lyrics, difficult key changes, fascinating but tough interval leaps, and gorgeously sustained high pitched notes. Sometimes these techniques aren't carried off perfectly but when they are, it's incredible and when they're not... I'd rather hear the failed attempt that listen to another flat, boring melody.
Of course, let's not forget the fact that many visual kei vocalists skip seamlessly from sweet, lilting tones one moment to gritty death voice the next, which gets me every time, even now.
VK also has its share of incredible guitarists. Guitar isn't my forte, so I'm not going to go into an explanation of why I like VK guitar more than other genres but let's just say that visual kei guitarists are also often required to be able to carry off all sorts of genres and styles from acoustic to jazz to climbing metal solos.
Actually, that said, it wasn't until I first began to listen to the band that originally interested me in VK that I began to pay attention to anything more than the vocal line in music. For the first time, I though "This instrumental tune is really catchy!" or "Wow, this guitarist is really amazing!" or "Oh, I like this drum riff!" or "Damn, this bass solo is hot!"Even the side of VK that wouldn't seem amiss as the music of a pop idol tends to stand out instrumentally and the range of talent available throughout the genre is simply undeniable.
One band in particular comes to mind to sum up all of these points, a band which features a strong vocalist and an unbelievable variety of sound and a vast variety of (rare) instruments, all played by the artists to perfection and sometimes even demonstrated live. It was listening to this band that prompted this blog because as amazing as their music is, I wonder if it could successfully belong to any other scene. Some scenes have their themed artists, but the shocking fact is that their popularity is usually in spite of a complete lack of musical talent. Yet it's visual kei that is looked down upon.
Speaking of genres... I've always been an eclectic listener. Once upon a time I had this gigantic playlist including everything from Mariah Carey to Pachelbel's Canon in D minor for piano, to the Lord of the Rings soundtrack to Linkin Park to KoRn to Weird Al Yankovich to Les Miserables etc. etc. etc. Oh, and I think Gackt was in there somewhere. The thing is... VK has all of that and more, not to mention some brilliant rehashing of classic sounds, the most popular being Jazz/swing but with plenty of throwbacks to polka, tango tunes, and all sorts. You never know what you're going to get on a new album and that's a big part of the fun, especially if you have varied tastes.
Recently, there are many bands new and old who nail most or all of the points I've covered in this little reflectional essay. People say that the VK era is over, but I disagree. With new talent springing up in the scene bordering on genius, and established artists setting a high standard, the world doesn't know what it's in for.
So, to wrap it up, here are the opening lyrics to a musical theater number called "Le Jazz Hots." I've always thought they were quite poetic and have often come to consider them with visual kei in mind rather than Jazz:
A lotta years ago, way down in New Orleans,
A group of fellas found a new kinda music,
And they decided... to call it... jazz.
No other sound has what this music has.
Before they knew it, it was whizzin' round the world.
The world was ready for a new kind of music,
And they played it from Steam Boat Springs to Lapaz....
(Verse: Oh won't you come and play me le jazz hot, baby cause I like my jazz hot...)