Code-Switching Geniuses

One Ok Rock

L-R: Ryota, Taka, Toru, Tomoya

Who are they?

    One Ok Rock is a rock band hailing from Japan.  The band comprises of leader Toru on guitar, Ryota on bass, Tomoyo on drums and Taka as the main vocalist.  Since their creation they have gone on to produce six full length albums.  Of the six, three of their albums have managed to land in the top five of the Oricon charts.

     The band was formed in the summer of 2005 when high school student Toru wanted to start a band after listening to bands such as Good Charlotte, Zebrahead and Fall Out Boy.  He asked his friend Ryota, who was in a hip hop dance group called HEADS, to learn the bass and asked fellow member Alex to join his band as guitarist as well.  They recruited drummer Tomo into the band.  However, Tomoyo replace him since Tomo left a year later to pursue a career in acting.  Taka was later added to One Ok Rock after Toru saw him in a cover band.  Toru insisted (forcefully) that he join.

     In April of 2009, guitarist Alex was arrested for sexual harassment.  He was caught “groping the leg of a twenty-one-year-old female student on a train”.  The case was later settled out of court, but as a result the band’s nationwide tour had to be cancelled.  It was later announced that Alex left the group.  One Ok Rock now continues to be a four piece band.

     So let’s learn about the members.  Lead singer Taka is the son of famous Japanese singers Shinichi Mori and Masako Mori.  Before joining One Ok Rock Taka was actually part of a boy band called NEWS.  He left News after rumors circulated that he was dating a women.  The agency stated that he left to "focus on his studies", but the agency is known for having a strict no dating policy… It’s an idol thing…  Thankfully he left and joined One Ok Rock where he writes most of the lyrics and does most of the composing.  

     Toru the guitarist is the leader of the band even though he is the youngest.  Before forming One Ok Rock, Toru was in the hip-hop group HEADS, along with Ryota, as HEADS they produced “six singles and an album before they disbanded in 2002”.  He even dabbled a bit in acting as he played the supporting character Ryugo in the drama Sh15uya.

     The bassist Ryota was childhood friends with Toru.  As I mentioned before, he didn’t even know how to play the bass prior to joining the band.  But with lots of hard work and dedication, Ryota has become a talented musician.  He once stated that he respected the band Red Hot Chili Peppers.

     And lastly there is drummer Tomoyo, the heart of the band.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find much information on him.  But he did attend the ESP Musical Academy.  Apparently he has the “most curious hobbies among the band members and [is] the eldest member “.  And luckily for fans, he is the one who posts the most updates on the One Ok Rock blog!

     So you must be wondering, “How on earth did they get that name?”  Well it is a play on One O’clock.  The band used to practice every weekend at that time.  However, in Japanese the Rs and Ls are often difficult to distinguish.  Hence, the "o'clock" is changed to "o'crock", which was separated to become One Ok Rock.  It’s simple but packs a punch.

The Music

     So you may be wondering why I titled this post "Code-Switching Geniuses".  If you didn't know, code-switching refers to  "switching between two or more languages".  So, many artists in Asia tend to incorporate english into their music (i.e. K-Pop).  However, One Ok Rock puts english into a large majority of their song and, fortunately, Taka's pronunciation and grammar is always spot on.  Unlike artists that put in English for the sake of having English lyrics, Taka uses English to express messages (eg. following your dreams, being genuine, individuality etc.) that are often "incompatible with Japanese culture".  Their song called Re:make is a good example of this.

     So who here remembers Nirvana?  Well, One Ok Rock actually did a cover of Nirvana's Smell Like Teen Spirit. 

      And lastly, here is Et Cetera.  This song is actually a live performance from their concert.  Despite being an in-your-face rock band, One Ok Rock can still tone it down and churn out beautiful music.

So what are your thoughts on One Ok Rock?

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Ok_Rock

http://www.oneokrock.com/english/

http://www.generasia.com/wiki/ONE_OK_ROCK

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takahiro_Morita

http://oneokrockfu.blogspot.ca/p/biography.html

http://www.jpopasia.com/group/oneokrock/

http://www.jpopasia.com/celebrity/taka/

http://kenryoku.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/live-report-one-ok-rock-start-walking-the-world-tour-live-in-singapore-june-30-2012/
http://www.jame-world.com/ca/articles-4982-interview-with-one-ok-rock-in-tokyo.html
http://prezi.com/rfpgpteuwmyo/one-ok-rock/

Who said Asians couldn't rock?

The GazettE

 

L-R: Aoi, Reita, Ruki, Kai, Uruha

Who are they?

     The GazettE is another visual kei band that shows how diverse the music under the vk genre can be.  They’re a quintet of lead singer Ruki, bassist Reita, drummer Kai, rhythm guitarist Aoi and lead guitarist Uruha.  The GazettE is one of Japan’s most popular edgier rock bands.

     The band was formed in 2002 by Ruki, Reita and Uruha.  They later recruited Aoi and drummer Yune, who left in 2003 and was replaced by Kai.  After experiencing many failures in the music scene with their former bands, the members agreed that The GazettE would be their last band if things didn’t work out.

     Since then The GazettE was reached massive success.  They’ve held many sold out tours and five of their six albums have reached the top ten on the Oricon charts.  It is an amazing feat considering that the Japanese market is flooded with many idol and pop acts.  As well, just a couple years ago they played a sold out live at the coveted Tokyo Dome.

     So some info about the various members themselves, Ruki was actually a drummer for his previous band.  He now works as The GazettE’s lead singer and is the primary composer for the band.  Before the success of The GazettE, Ruki’s relationship with his parents was actually quite tense.  His father even disowned him at one point.  However, the growing popularity of the band has helped to patch up their relationship.

     Reita is the band’s bassist who has a notable appearance.  You can never find him without his noseband.  He started wearing it in high school and it started to become his trademark.  In an interview he has stated his concerns for how much longer he has to hide his nose.  His other signature move during concerts is his knack for throwing his bass in the air and catching it (99% of the time).   It dropped once…

His nose is absolutely normal...

    Uruha is the band’s lead guitarist, who plays a majority of the solos.  He is also the second composer for the band.  You can tell if the song was composed by him since they tend to be very heavy metal-esque.  This is probably due to the fact that he has been influenced by metal bands such as Metallica and Slipknot.

     After Yune left the band in early 2003 to pursue his studies, Kai stepped in as drummer.  At a young age he showed an intrinsic interest in music.  He tried to play various instruments, such as the violin, before deciding on the drums.  Since he came from a single-parent home, Kai had to save up for years to buy a drum-set.  During that time he learned his skills by “bang on pots and pans and paper plates placed in the format of a drum set”.

     Guitarist Aoi decided to become a rock star as a middle schooler.  In a family where both of his parents had work (a rare occurrence in Japan), reaching his goals was difficult.  His older brother once gave him an electric guitar.  However, it was only after Aoi “lugged his mother out a few hours away to buy an amplifier and plugged it in” that he realize that his brother gifted him with a broken guitar.  After this realization, Aoi apparently "Just sat there in the middle of the room and cried".  As punishment, his mom forced his brother to give Aoi his acoustic guitar.  Since that time, Aoi mastered the guitar be learning songs by ear and receiving primitive instructions from his brother's cover-band band mates”.

The Music

     So this first song, The Suicide Circus, is one of their more recent releases.  Unfortunately, it suffers from a case of engrish, but it kind of makes it more unique... Anyway, unlike earlier songs, The GazettE added more electronic effects that don't detract from the raw rock sound unique to the band.

     This net song is called Chizuru, which roughly translates as One Thousand Cranes.  The lyrics of the song tell a story of losing a loved one, but without knowing the lyrics the emotions still come across. 

     After being a fan of The GazettE for about seven years now, I have to say my favourite song by them is Nausea & Shudder.  It's a high energy, head-banging inducing song.  What stands out the most in this song, is the fascinating use of the guitars.  It's sort of a call and answers technique as the lead and rythym guitars alternate with each other at various points.  As well, there is an amazingly, epic guitar solo.  Check it out.

     I would have put in more songs, but maybe that would have been too much...
So, what are your comments on The GazettE?

Sources 

http://www.jpopasia.com/group/thegazette/

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2012/10/18/music/fans-of-the-gazette-spread-news-abroad/#.UW13NYGRjTo

http://www.pscompany.co.jp/gazette/

http://visualkei.wikia.com/wiki/The_GazettE

http://chizuru-kei.blogspot.ca/2010/09/gazette-members-facts.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gazette_%28band%29
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=187389107963902

The Underrated

Donawhale

L-R: Jung Da-young, Yoo Jin-young, Kim Min-joon, Yoon Sung-hoon

Who are they?

     Donawhale is an alternative rock band from South Korea.  They began as a quartet of guitarist Yoon Sung-hoon, bassist Jung Da-young, pianist and vocalist Yoo Jin-young, and drummer Kim Min-joon.  Despite being structured as a typical rock band with “two guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, [and a] girl singer”, Donawhale separates themselves from the masses with their capabilities of “writing layered, textured, beautiful alternative pop rock songs”.

    Four years after the creation of the band, Donawhale released their first self-titled album Donawhale.  It was an exceptional album with songs ranging from “pseudo-ballads to even-tempo pop rock”.  It solidified the band as an exception in the indie scene as they not only use strong acoustic sounds, but also accompanying instrumental samples.  

     In 2009 Donawhale’s drummer, Kim Min-joon , left the band for early retirement due to personal reasons.  The band continued on as a trio and in the same year they released their second album, Dive to Blue.  Unfortunately, after their second album the band has been on an indefinite hiatus that still lingers today.   Guitarist Yoon Sung Hoon has started a “solo project called auhm before recently starting Modsdive”.   However, there has been no other news of the other members on re- entering the music scene, which is quite unfortunate considering their musical talents.

The Music

     Doawhale’s music is often described as soft with a “repertoire [that] masterfully draws the viewer into this dream world full of haze and sounds that feel just right”.  Even though the music seems to “play in the background”, it has the ability to grab the listener’s attention when changes in the “melody are picked up”. With the addition of “Yoo Jin-young’s soft, husky voice”, Donawhale’s tunes leave the listener with a memorable experience.

     So the first song I'd like to introduce is Bye Bye Waltz.  This song is written in the classic 3/4 time signature, the typical beat for a waltz.  However, Donawhale manages to create a whole different atmosphere to the songs.  Unlike the sound of a typical rock band, the song focuses solely on acoustics.  The acoustic guitar keeps the rhythmic 3/4 time beat while a brass instrument comes into fill it out along with a piano.  The vocals further emphasize the lullaby-esque feeling of the song.

     This next song by Donawhale is off of their first album and it's called Echo, which is a very befitting name for it.  The song uses a repetitive pattern of tones.  This is further emphasized around the two and a half minute mark as the song focuses on the repeating melody of the guitar.  And if you listen close enough in the background another repeating tone is present and is a sort of "echo".  Despite the heavy repetition, the song stays interesting and it's hard to pull away.

So what do you think of Donawhale?

Sources

http://seoulbeats.com/2013/03/k-pop-indie-gem-donawhale/

http://www.koreanindie.com/2012/06/29/introduction-donawhale/

http://www.last.fm/music/Donawhale

http://www.thesirenssound.com/2010/03/24/donawhale/
http://indiefulrok.blogspot.ca/2009/08/mini-interview-with-donawhale.html
http://www.sundrypictures.com/2010/11/music-crush-donawhale.html

Sore wa Arisu Nine desu.

Alice Nine

L-R: Saga, Nao, Shou, Hiroto, Tora

 

Who are they?

    Alice Nine is a Japanese visual kei rock band consisting of bassist Saga, lead guitarist Hiroto, rhythm guitarist Tora, drummer Nao and vocalist Shou.  Unlike many bands that were formed by high school or even college novices, the members of Alice Nine all had “professional experience”.

     Alice Nine formed in 2004 with founding members Shou and Tora.  After the disbandment of their band, Givuss, the pair continued their search for future band members.  These members being Saga and Nao, who were also looking for band mates.  The four eventually joined to form Alice Nine.  The last member to join was Hiroto, after the four spotted him performing with his band at the time.  I guess that you could say Alice Nine stole him…

     It only took a year for them to sign a joint deal between PS Company and King Records.  Then in the same year they kick off their first one-man live (concerts are called lives in Japan) across Japan.  But it wasn’t until 2007 that Alice Nine achieved mainstream success and popularity.  The release of their second full-length album, Alpha, charted at number 9 on the Oricon charts (an equivalent to the Billboard Charts).  The same year, Alice Nine had their first overseas performance at the “J-Rock Revolution” festival in Los Angeles, California.

     From this point on, Alice Nine’s success only continued.  Reaching their 10^th anniversary, the band’s subsequent albums have all charted high on the Oricon charts.  As well, they have had various tours and even performed at the Nippon Bodukan, a stage where the best of the best have performed.

     Alice Nine continues to persevere in a harsh industry.  They rely solely on their own talents.  They have faced many obstacles such as Tora being diagnosed with a spinal disc hernia; he “lost all sensations from his neck down to his left hand”.  Yet Alice Nine has succeeded and will continue to do so.  

The Music

      Alice Nine's music is hard to define, but it can generally be described as rock music "with touches of pop, and a few instances of dance music".  Their works include heavy metal influenced songs to slow ballads, light rock and medium tempo beats. 

     To start of here is the song Rainbows.  It starts of with a hypnotizing rift that seems to draw you into the song.  With an upbeat tempo, it's surprisingly catchy.

     This next one is called Kiss Twice, Kiss Me Deadly.  It's actually a remake of one of their own songs.  Originally it was quite similar to Rainbows, with an uptempo beat and loud guitars.  However, Alice Nine put quite a twist on it, making it more slowed down and a bit jazzy.

     

      This last song exemplifies Alice Nine's experimental musicality.  Called Hello World, the song deviates from the normal pop song structure.  The majority of the song actually consists of a the bassist Saga narrating a poem he wrote himself.

Sources 

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/alice-nine/id318548772

http://www.jpopasia.com/group/alicenine/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Nine

http://www.generasia.com/wiki/Alice_Nine

http://www.crunchyroll.com/group/Murai_Naoyuki

http://whiteinmiseries.blogspot.ca/2008/01/tora-of-alice-nine.html http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/497436-band-history
http://vimeo.com/61233652 [last video]