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saiko

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Status Updates posted by saiko

  1. Does anybody knows who is the owner of Speed-Disk? Is it Yukika?

    1. IGM_Oficial
    2. Himeaimichu

      Himeaimichu

      Yukika from Etcetera or some other Yukika? I imagine there is probably more than one dude named Yukika

  2. Could someone upload stuff from Mask and/or Cynical Biscuit where Aoi has been involved before forming ayabie? Credits to the musical and lyrical composers of said stuff are very welcome, too!

     

    I'm not looking for entire discographies and/or .flac files. Just a couple of songs of quality decent enough to make it possible for me to pay attention to arrangements and suchs in the most clear way.

     

    I'm wanting to write some kind of "insightful" analysis from Ryouhei-era ayabie, as a first attempt to give shape to a series of analysis of some VK bands I've been into since my entrance in the fandom.

     

    Any material is welcome!

  3.  

    Since quarintine became a thing, some Japanese fellows on Youtube have been ripping and uploading a lot of VHS/DVD VK stuff they had collected. This user in particular shared the entire videography of Eins:Vier, and now this PV from a band I didn't know from its existence, but hey, what a great song! It sounds like your typical mid 90s underground VK artist in the claustrophobic post-punk line of Zi:Kill/Kuroyume, but those arrangements! Very inspired for a bunch of indie bandoman! Perhaps they could have done great stuff if they continued to work on together...

    1. Arkady

      Arkady

      Interesting music. The uploader did mispelled the romanization the band real name though, it should be Agnus∻Dei.

    2. Total Saikou

      Total Saikou

      Agnus Dei was one of the lesser known Key Party bands out there, but they really had some nice potential. Their Valse album was good but their demos are some of my favorites, it's a shame they never took off.

  4. Can you suggest names of VK bands that were growing up a following quite notably just before suddenly disbanding? I can think of Charlotte (しゃるろっと for the snobs).

    1. Show previous comments  10 more
    2. Rahzel

      Rahzel

      @nekkichi yea just guessing here based on that, I don't speak japanese well enough to know actual reactions to bands in Japan aside from subbed stuff so t'was kinda "ohh?" to me as I thought they were popular based on, uh, western internet (which doesn't always equal homeland Very Successful). But again lol shocked I am to know D'espairsRay only went major in 2011 (just found out they disbanded IN 2011 ?? Thats a lot.) bc they were very internet-relevant in early-mid 2000s (the fact that I wasn't In VK Fandom and remember the name says a lot.) and it's kinda how I feel about Sadie too, I think they lasted quite a bit (indeed they landed generic anime #178's ending and one of Togainu no Chi's 12 ending songs, of which even back in 2010 they were one of the few acts I had actually heard of so... typical kinda-successful late 2000s vk act?) 

    3. nekkichi

      nekkichi

      @Chell

      d'espairs ray were major since 2004, they got signed by universal before they dropped the visuals.

    4. Axius

      Axius

      @Chell Glad to help 👍

      Sadie grew in popularity at around 2008-2009 honestly. I mostly like there 2009-2010 era they reallyy came together then.

       

      I dont know much about D'espairsRay i know they were popular overall. I also like that release NUL. made. Thats D'espairsRay's vocalist's band he is in right now so i think i should check them out haha 😅Glad this was a suggestion. 

       

  5.  

    Another proof that even pros fail miserably sometimes.

     

    And I've always thought Kaoru's nervousness at 98' Budokan was an exception...

     

    1. Show previous comments  2 more
    2. Himeaimichu

      Himeaimichu

      Gladly it didn't fuck up the giant record deal they had at the time lol. Else they would've suffered the same fate as BODY

    3. saiko

      saiko

      What happened to Body?

    4. Himeaimichu

      Himeaimichu

      IDK exactly but something caused them to break up after like 3 concerts, even though they were supposed to make big money from their record deal lol

  6.  

    Best Visual Kei

    1. Arkady

      Arkady

      She is the french branch of Lareine. 😂 The song also has the same title/intro concept as Machi's solo song.

       

    2. saiko

      saiko

      I looked up for her immediatly after having read about into some Malice Mizer biography. 

       

      Her first two albums are insane. I'm spinning them a lot.

       

      The influence they had over MM and Lareine is clear. Core arragments of some tracks where clearly taken by Mana and Közi, and Kamijo and his colleagues as well if them being roadies for the firsts actually happened. 

       

      I think finding her should have made Mana and Kamijo go nuts! I mean, it's like Versailles no Bara going goth, what else could be a wet fantasy for them? lol

  7. When I suddenly remember that there still isn't any Starwave Records artist that reached at least a minimum level of relevance in the scene, I question myself how is it that this label still exists, and why would an artist decide to get signed to a house who hasn't managed to put out any decent production and market strategy for any of its members...

    1. violetchain

      violetchain

      I'd assume it's partially because most of them aren't going to get signed to any other labels, and partially because most Starwave Records artists get to go overseas at some point. In just the past few years, THE SOUND BEE HD went to the US and Mexico, Mikansei Alice went to Europe, and Scarlet Valse were set to go to Europe before COVID too.

      If you're a basically unknown VK band with 20 fans that dreams of performing in America or Europe, it's not the worst move you could make.

    2. Jigsaw9

      Jigsaw9

      BLOOD was pretty well-known in the overseas vk community at the time they were active I think (they even toured abroad a few times)... but other than that idk any newer bands with that level of "relevance" (if you can call it that, heh).

    3. nekkichi

      nekkichi

      blood were on darkest labyrinth tho... which is presumably most famous kiwamu associated act, mostly because the scene was doing better back than, they had the opportunity.

       

      starwave seems like a low-budget collaboration between kiwi and FWD where bands that no longer get kagerou sales numbers come to sizzle at.

       

      I'd say tokami were doing pretty well for a SW band, and they birthed zin who later went onto jupiter and w/e she does now.

  8. Today on Missing VK Children Radio: Have you ever listened to Yousei Teikoku or Asriel?

     

    I think the VK influence in both is pretty obvious judging by some core arrangements into their music, and also the looks on some of the male members. I wonder why they don't seem to have ever wandered a bit into the VK circuit. Judging by their respective wide catalogs of songs done for anime shows and videogames, and their live performances packed with dudes, I think they preferably managed to hook up an otaku audience, just as any other regular anison project. Also, it's obvious thath the fact of them both having a female singer sets this marketing strategy perfectly.

     

     

     

  9.  

    Aunt is bored

  10. MAKE VISUAL KEI GREAT AGAIN.

     

     

    1. nikuman

      nikuman

      Bring back lyric videos made in windows movie maker 2020

      ....also i miss ViViD 😭 https://youtu.be/BTHs6bRSJmE

  11. Returning to the idol kei topic.

     

    Nowadays, when I watch/listen back to ViViD —one of the first VK bands I came across and one that I enjoyed the most— I think I can acknowledge the hints that actually indicate how heavily they were produced to appeal to the crowds in an idol way. So, they surely weren't that pure and artistical about VK and stuff, and of course could have had more than one A-side produced by one or more ghost-writters...

     

    But, let's be honest: can we ignore the fact that the arranges of their songs were fucking brilliant, and so were their skills as interpreters? Many, many kudos to Reno's polished approach to shredded guitar, IV's hyper-melodic bass lines, and Shin's VERY well managing of the VK vocal traits —whose exaggeration in some cases ruined great capacities forever, like what happened with Nightmare's Yomi— while at the same time enduring a full show delivering a constant and massive vocal flow.

     

    This band was a fucking thrill, although the commercial intention of their project became so blatantly notorious in their last releases that many fans (myself included) lost interest almost inmmediatly.

     

    That said, I really wish that nowadays' idol kei bands, even if they put their efforts to make that kind of career into the scene, at least make something commercial in the level of the quality bands like ViViD did back in their time. 

     

     

  12. After listening PVs at random on Youtube, I decided to listen to a whole album of Lastier. I picked up their second. The first track kicked out, and the chords are killing me.  Fucking glorious.

     

     

    What the fuck, it's been so long since a band hooked up my ears like this. I hope this ride comes up with more great stuff!

    1. crucifiction

      crucifiction

      Lastier is pure perfection! You're in for a treat :D

  13. Is anybody here interested in making a post about the 90s softvi movement? Yesterday I've got very hooked by a bunch of guys that I've never given the chance to listen to yet: Lastier, Jurassic, Close, Waive, and many more. Since they clearly don't belong to the more serious, gothic stuff that the category of visual kei calls for most of the time, I've turned my sight off them because they were mainstream appealing and blabla. But hey, they sound amazing! They bring all that 90s anime opening sound, powerful and dramatic, with that awesome chords modulations that made myself interest in J-music as a kid. So, if there's anyone here interested into giving more insight over them and/or music recomendations, here's your chance!

     

    This is what I found on a brief research over softvi. Still don't know enough Japanese to go into more insightful sites, so my information may remain very little till somebody enlightens me more lol:

     

    *They formed a large group into the 90s VK scene, and also many of them received constant attention from media (judging mostly from magazine covers);

    *They had a kind of specific aesthetics for them, both visual and sound wise;

    *Most of them (if not all of them) were signed under a label named Break out.

     

    So they were a thing back then, so I think they are a key point to anybody interested in looking for VK's history (although they've fallen into the obscure side of the Western fandom's radar even to this day).

     

     

    1. Show previous comments  3 more
    2. robkun

      robkun

      Softkei is the best kei! Check out CHILD. My all time favs!

       

      Softkei developed in the mid 90s as kind of like an antithesis to VK. Guys like SOPHIA and CASCADE kicked down the door to make it acceptable in the mainstream, while underground guys like 16,Piano, OZWORLD and Dias Ray were pioneering it in the underground. It was such a juggernaut by 1997 that already established bands like Glay, L’arc and Luna Sea started flirting with it.

       

      Softkei reached its peak around 1999/2000 when guys like Janne Da Arc and e.mu started breaking the Oricon top 20 charts, while it took over the underground VK scene quite rapidly at around the same time with countless acts blossoming around then, some of the more noteworthy being JURASSIC, ~Akira~, Wyse and Waive, among dozens of others.

       

      Unfortunately, softkei took a strong downward dip in popularity around 2003 when more traditional VK started to become more dominant, after rivaling softkei for several years. The mainstream appeal for softkei practically vanished around this time following the split of former leading major bands like e.mu and CASCADE. The only flagship bands that were still active at this point where Janne Da Arc and SOPHIA, whose popularity was eons past the visual kei lump-in. Tie in the fact that oshare kei became a major player in the visual underground at this time as well, and softkei was all but extinct by 2005.

       

      Softkei will always be my favorite subgenre of VK. I guess I’m just a sucker for a nice hook, blonde bands and a sky blue aesthetic lol.

    3. saiko

      saiko

      @robkunwow, AWESOME! Also, very nicely written! Thank you so much!

    4. robkun

      robkun

      You’re very welcome!!

  14. Yesterday I realized I can say, sing and humb any word, lyric and sound fx of MM's Merveilles live, like I already did in my childhood with my 90s Disney cartoons VHSs hahaha. Same happens with Dir's 1999 Ousaka Jou live and An Cafe's Shikisai On. 

     

    Do you feel the same about any other live recording?

  15. I have a very soft spot for this kind of groove in the electric guitars and bass of a rock song. Luckily, 90s VK is plagued with this rhythmic pattern.

     

     

     

    Any recommendations of songs like this?

     

  16. Today I've found what seems to be two old web sites made by Western people that include information about J-rock/pop and/or VK, written by the owners.

     

    https://lerman.biz/asagao/

     

    http://members.tripod.com/shin_ueda/

     

    I decided to post this information via a status because I couldn't find the thread made by some user for the historical archive project. Could someone share the link for it here? 

     

    Btw, may the users interested in this matter report themselves here? Maybe we could meet to finally put our hands into some researching work. Although we all are grown-asses with their own full-dedication lives, I don't think it should take us much hardship. I mean, it shouldn't take more work than looking up for X site (perhaps we should figure out which search engine is the best; Google is not the best alliate for looking up for old web sites) and then simply save the sites' texts (downloading them as a *.pdf file is actually pretty easy, effective and tidy to archive, he).

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    1. Show previous comments  1 more
    2. chemicalpictures

      chemicalpictures

      @crucifiction biggest databases around would be grass thread, vkdb and that other one focused on live dates I completely forgot the name, but vk.gy is BY FAR the easiest to navigate/most organized out there. It just lacks the manpower to feed the data

       

      this is actually something we should incentivize as a community. I'll definitely try to help at least filling the pages of my faves

    3. crucifiction

      crucifiction

      grass thread is no longer around (and most stuff from it has already been added to vk.gy, from what I recall), vkdb lacks quite a lot of info and is a bit of a mess imho :P

       

      Imho, no other db is even close to vk.gy when it comes to the amount and quality of information, where - on top of general info, you can find HQ cover arts, flyers and such. Visunavi used to have a similar type of content but in much lower res.

    4. R/O

      R/O

      Here’s the link: 

      Thank you for pointing this out!

  17. Does someone have a playlist made with VK songs that sound rocky yet kinda 'soft'? Pretty much like La'Cryma in here:

     

     

     

    Or at least, does anyone have any recomendations on songs that could make said playlist? 

     

    I need something 'rocky' to catch up some motivation vibes, but not that over-the-top br00tal or dramatic to blow my concentration plus my head off lol

  18.  

    I didn't recall that La'Mule had a song called "eccentric Marxist". Lololololololol. Some great user here translated very carefully all their lyrics, so there's actually an English translation for this song with a funny name. I suggest you all go and read the lyrics.

    1. Peace Heavy mk II

      Peace Heavy mk II

      Hyura's great -- shame she doesn't seem to come around here all that often anymore.

    2. hyura

      hyura

      I'm kinda still lurking here and flustered to read this ☺️ 

      Actually I'd love to get around to be active /post translations again sometime but my time became very limited since then. 

    3. saiko

      saiko

      Omg, pleased to meet you @hyura!

  19. Never thought I might ask this, but is there any Aliene Ma'riage and/or Da'vid shito:al discography in 320 kbps around here?

    1. saishuu

      saishuu

      here in mh i'm not sure, but jpopsuki has the entire aliene disco both in 320 and lossless

  20. This song should enter every citypop top 5 ever made, yay or nay?

     

     

    1. colorful人生

      colorful人生

      The chorus is certainly memorable. I prefer the Akina Nakamori ver. b/c Takeuchi originally wrote it with her voice in mind. Nakamori has a sultrier, deeper voice, which with the instrumental, feels more appropriate to the lyrics. 

       

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF2uqXDmXAk

       

      As a side note, while the Plastic Love phenomenon was certainly great for the genre, its timeliness and rise still comes off as a bit bizarre/head-scratching to me. Great singer-songwriter becoming an incidental leading figure for a movement largely founded on vaporwave, a meme-driven plunderphonic genre initially meant to be western consumer-capitalist satire. Most video games consumed in the era were Japanese, and six degrees of kevin bacon later, here we are.

    2. YuyoDrift

      YuyoDrift

      Too R&B to be able to stay on anyone’s city pop top 5.

       

      Its gotta check all dem old school vibes, and so this will fall short once someone’s city pop collection gets more.....taste lol.

  21. I really doubt there's something more iconic in the scene's history than Atsushi Sakurai's gothic voice flooding the stage and making the crowd go crazy at 1:51. This is so much graciousness for me to put up with... 

     

     

    1. saishuu

      saishuu

      I watch this video at least once a year and it still gives me the chills to this day

  22. When I recall people in late 00's calling Visual Kei "dead" because hide was found dead and X and Luna Sea disbanded I think they didn't even imagined how much dead and full of absurd garbage could the scene be like it is right now lol

    1. Show previous comments  1 more
    2. Zeus

      Zeus

      vk is a phoenix. it dies and is reborn every 10ish years.

    3. nekkichi

      nekkichi

      vk died at hide's birth (cc @unpopular_opinions_thread )

    4. YuyoDrift

      YuyoDrift

      lol ouch

       

      you saying this timeline is worse than that day?

  23. Does anyone have an hypothesis about why Lin wasn't even a little succesful as Phantasmagoria? If Mago's sound managed to attract lots of fans, and if Lin sounded exactly like it, I can't figure out why Riku and Kisaki couldn't recover with Lin the popularity they had back in the track with Mago...

    1. suji

      suji

      think of Lin as a crappy sequel to a popular film. their modern sound doesn't compare to that of the classic kote sound of Phantasmagoria, especially with the lineup change in the 2nd half of their lifespan.

  24. Does somebody have a clue about the story into Sid's lastest pv?

     

     

  25. Is there any other well-know film-spot for VK PV's, aside from Lockheart Castle, Royal Chester and Oya History Museum?

    1. nekkichi

      nekkichi

      we had a thread on this, but looks like early youtube links have died off following either a forum update, or yt purging uploads:

       

      newer, less dead topic:

       

       

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