 | J!-ENT Interviews the Japanese Rock Band VAMPS by Wynne Ip |
July 1, 2009 by rabi · 2 Comments
Be ready to get bitten! Because VAMPS is coming to the U.S.
Popular Japanese rock band VAMPS has planned a 10-city tour in the United States, beginning with New York on July 11, 2009, and ending with Los Angeles on August 1.
The 2-member band, which consists vocalist/guitarist HYDE (L’Arc~en~Ciel), and guitarist K.A.Z (Oblivion Dust), was officially formed in 2008. But the two have been working together on HYDE’s solo work since 2003. Their first tour “VAMPS LIVE 2008″ was played in various Zepp live houses throughout Japan – a total of 46 sold-out shows over a span of three months.
Not only are they touring the U.S. in 2009, their first self-titled album, which was released on June 10th in Japan, was also simultaneously released in the United States via iTunes.
But this is not their first time performing in America. Back in July 2006, K.A.Z has accompanied HYDE in his solo tour “FAITH” as his guitarist, performing four sold-out shows in California.
In addition to the planned tour, VAMPS will also be stopping by Otakon the day after their performance on Thursday, July 16th at Baltimore’s SONAR. They’ll be answering fans’ questions and signing autographs at Otakon, a convention of the “otaku generation”, dedicated to everything anime, manga, and all facets of Asian pop culture! Otakon is one of the largest convention of its kind in the United States.
J!-ENT’s Wynne Ip was recently given the opportunity to interview VAMPS prior to their arrival in the U.S.
VAMPS (L-R): K.A.Z and HYDE
J!-ENT: Your fans in the United States are probably familiar with your music. But to those who are new to VAMPS, how would you describe your musical style?
HYDE: SEX BLOOD ROCK N’ ROLL!
K.A.Z: We both went through the golden age of Rock n’ Roll in the 80s and 90s, so we have absorbed various tastes. I think we created my own mixture by going though that era.
J!-ENT: Many of us are aware that the two of you collaborated on HYDE’s solo work and HYDE’s 3rd solo album “FAITH” in 2006. How did the idea to officially form a band come about? Who suggested it first, and how long did it take for you to decide? And why did you decide to form a 2-member band?
HYDE: Since HYDE’s second album, I have worked together with K.A.Z. When working together, I was thinking it would be fun to work with him, but let’s see how it goes… but his existence became so important to me that I decided to share one name with him, rather than using my own name.
K.A.Z: At first, I was a bit anxious while being excited about the idea. I was wondering what other people would think when my songs are created with HYDE as VAMPS’ songs. But I didn’t need to worry—It has been just fun.
J!-ENT: Who came up with the name “VAMPS” and why did you decide to go with this name?
HYDE: It’s from vampire. I love vampires. I like mysterious women, too [laugh]. I like horror.
J!-ENT: On June 10, 2009, VAMPS has released its self-titled debut album. What can we find in “VAMPS” that we cannot find from your previously collaborated album “FAITH”?
HYDE: We have more fun with sounds, say, sound effects. We created music especially for cool lives, so we have a lineup of good live songs.
K.A.Z: The fun part of this album is that it’s VAMPS’ first one [laugh].
HYDE: I think I am making the music that I used to dream of making in my teens. When I started the band, I liked hard-core bands with some horror taste. I feel like I am expressing the stuff I felt back then—maybe not really hard core.
J!-ENT: Can you highlight some of your favorite tracks on this album for us?
HYDE: SEX BLOOD ROCK N’ ROLL!
K.A.Z: I love them all! If I have to choose one, maybe “COSMOS.”
J!-ENT: Are there any interesting stories you can reveal to us during the production of this album?
HYDE: K.A.Z. likes spicy foods very much, but he is not good at handling them, so it was funny to see him screaming while eating.
J!-ENT: What was the inspiration behind covering songs such as “Life On Mars?”, “TROUBLE” on your recent singles, as well as “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”?
HYDE: God.
J!-ENT: Now that you are returning in July for “VAMPS Live 2009 U.S.A. Tour”, what made you want to come back to play in front of your U.S. fans again?
HYDE: Four lives in America were fabulous. That’s why we could come this time again.
J!-ENT: You are stopping at ten different American cities from coast to coast with venues of different capacities. When did you first start planning for this tour? How did you decide to tour these specific cities?
HYDE: Since the 2006 tour, we have anticipated this kind of tour.
K.A.Z: There are many places I’ve never been, so I look forward to visiting every city.
J!-ENT: In your mind, what would be a successful “VAMPS Live 2009 U.S.A. Tour”?
HYDE: I’m excited to visit cities for the first time and try new things. First of all, I look forward to lives in front of the American audience.
K.A.Z: I can feel how much American audiences enjoy the live. Their cheering voices are so loud! We get excited by that.
J!-ENT: We had asked some of your fans to send us some questions and comments for VAMPS. Mariko from San Francisco wanted to know if HYDE’s part as Kei in “Moon Child” has anything to do with the name “VAMPS”. She wanted to know if HYDE and K.A.Z believe whether real vampires exist.
HYDE: I love vampires and an intrigued by their never-ending lives.
J!-ENT: Jess from Ottawa, Canada, wanted to know what you think, if any, are the advantages and disadvantages for Asian artists to break into the North American market. What are your biggest challenges so far in this regard?
HYDE: I see more Japanese-American musicians, so I guess the music scene has been changing, but we don’t get the same treatment as American artists yet. There is no point of doing the same things that American bands are doing. I believe our band will be appreciated — judging from my own sensibility. Without living in America or lots of passion, it’s difficult for Japanese to obtain English skills. I might want to live there…
K.A.Z: Of course the language is important, but I don’t think you can’t make music without learning the local language. Because it’s music that counts.
J!-ENT: Last but not least, please say a few words to those who are coming to watch your shows in the U.S.
HYDE: Can’t wait to see you! Wait for a little bit more; I will bite your neck!
K.A.Z: Let’s have a fun party!
For VAMPS Live 2009 U.S.A. tour schedule, please see http://vampsliveusa.com/.
VAMPS official website: http://www.vampsxxx.com/
VAMPS official MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/vampsofficial
VAMPROSE: http://www.vamprose.com/
For J!-ENT’s previous articles on HYDE, please check out http://j-entonline.com/INTERVIEWS/HYDE/
Purchase the following VAMPS merchandise:
|
| THE PREDATORS – Kiba wo misero (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review) |
October 21, 2008 by rabi · Leave a Comment
“THE PREDATORS show their fangs with simple punk rock”
GROUP: THE PREDATORS
CD+DVD MINI ALBUM: 牙をみせろ (Kiba wo misero) [Limited Edition]
LABEL: DELICIOUS LABEL
CATALOG #: NFCD-27902
DURATION: 20:41
JAPAN RELEASE DATE: October 15, 2008
US/CANADA RELEASE DATE: October 28, 2008 (via iTunes)
OFFICIAL WEBSITE | OFFICIAL MYSPACE
CD TRACK LIST
- ROCK’N'ROLL LAY DOWN
- C.R.S
- LIVE DRIVE
- SHOOT THE MOON
- GUN LOCK
- ISLAND
- WILD TIGER
DVD TRACK LIST
- LIVE DRIVE (Video Clip)
- SHOOT THE MOON (Video Clip)
- ROCK’N'ROLL LAY DOWN (Video Clip)
After 3 years since their debut mini album “Hunting!!!”, THE PREDATORS returned with another fresh and simple mini rock album “Kiba wo misero”.
The three members of the rock band are the veteran vocalist/guitarist Sawao Yamanaka of the pillows, the energetic bassist JIRO of GLAY, and the hard-hitting drummer Shinpei Nakayama of STRAIGHTENER. While busy with their main bands, the three members managed to find time over the past year and produced seven tracks for this album.
Claiming to have a similar style as Nirvana in their first album, THE PREDATORS’ “Kiba wa misero” continues to be heavily influenced by the famous rock band, with the most obvious sound coming from “C.R.S”, and “ROCK’N'ROLL LAY DOWN”. Perhaps in their second mini album they also added an extra touch of the Ramones in it as well. One can find the similarities in the song “SHOOT THE MOON”.
All of THE PREDATORS’ songs are based on very simple chord progressions, with various singable melodies built on top of it, and a very rhythmic drum beat underneath. Their tunes are catchy, fun to sing along, fast tempo, making them my driving music of choice.
For this album, JIRO composed four of the seven songs, while Sawao Yamanaka composed the rest. All lyrics were written by Yamanaka. My personal favorites are “ISLAND”, a rather sorrowful medium rock song that is rather rare in the band’s young history, and “GUN LOCK”, which has a bit of a relaxing blues tune.
I especially like how the CD was imprinted with the three members in black and red, while the DVD disk has the colors reversed.
Speaking of the DVD, it comes with the music videos of three of the songs. In “LIVE DRIVE”, the members were playing the music in a warehouse with a spinning camera, and it also featured various individuals eating lots of food wearing pig masks. In “SHOOT THE MOON”, the members all dressed in wigs, sunglasses, and clothes very similar to the Ramones in “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School”. Last but not least, “ROCK’N'ROLL LAY DOWN” features a story in a video game world, with all the bands mentioned in this review making cameo appearances in the form of billboard signs. It’s really fun and well-executed.
As a fan of this style of music, I have to say I enjoy the high energy of this album very much, while the slower songs were able to provide me a slightly different perspective of the band. With the album also coming to the U.S. and Canadian iTunes store on October 28, 2008, if you enjoy Nirvana or the Ramones’ music, it’s definitely not a bad idea to spend a few dollars to download the songs by THE PREDATORS.
Buy this mini album:
CD Japan, Amazon.co.jp
Visit THE PREDATORS at their OFFICIAL WEBSITE and their OFFICIAL MYSPACE for more information.
|
| GLAY – Aka to kuro no MATADORA / I LOVE YOU wo sagashiteru (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review) |
September 10, 2008 by rabi · Leave a Comment
“GLAY delivers a Spanish-influenced rock tune and a grand ballad in this double-A-side single”
GROUP: GLAY
CD SINGLE: 紅と黒のMATADORA / I LOVE YOU をさがしてる
(Aka to kuro no MATADORA / I LOVE YOU wo sagashiteru)
LABEL: EMI Music Japan
CATALOG #: TOCT-40230, TOCT-40231
DURATION: 12:52
RELEASE DATE: September 10, 2008
- 紅と黒のMATADORA (Aka to kuro no MATADORA)
- I LOVE YOU をさがしてる (I LOVE YOU wo sagashiteru)
- SUFFRAGETTE CITY
The 4-member veteran rock band, GLAY, packed a variety of styles in their double-A-side 43rd single “Aka to kuro no MATADORA / I LOVE YOU wo sagashiteru”.
To summarize GLAY’s music style into a few words is difficult, because they have made so many great songs throughout their 20 years of formation, or 14 years since their major debut. But generally speaking, their rock numbers are what one might considered “pop rock”, often with a steady 8-beat backbone, and their slower songs are more of a “power ballad” that still contain electrifying guitar solos.
And when you least expect them to do something different is when they come out with a new song that would blow the audience away.
Such is the first track of the single, “Aka to kuro no MATADORA”. It starts out with a few measures of a quiet Spanish style guitar solo, then the full rock sound blasts right in with the main instrumental theme, alongside a string orchestra. And when it’s time for the vocalist to enter, everything turns quiet except for a steady bass line and occasion guitar distortions in the background, but gradually churning into its full strings plus rock band mode, all the while keeping the refreshing Spanish dance style in the background. What stands out for me in this track is the bass line, because it’s one of the more melodious bass lines I’ve ever heard from GLAY’s collection. It echos the main vocal melody. The strings also add a classical element to this very energetic, danceable rock tune. “Aka to kuro no MATADORA” is the theme song of the Korean film “Shukumei” (Destiny), in theaters in October 2008 in Japan.
The second track is an immediate change of pace, a grand ballad that once again features strings accompaniment. “I LOVE YOU wo sagashiteru” starts out low on the vocals, but eventually climbs to really high notes after a very appealing and memorable chorus section, showcasing vocalist TERU’s singing skills and emotions. It’s a slam dunk for GLAY to those of you who dig slow love songs. This song is the theme song of the TV Asahi drama series “Dageki Tenshi Ruri”.
The last track on the single features a cover of David Bowie’s number “SUFFRAGETTE CITY”, a 1972 release. This song shows yet another side of GLAY that is completely different than the first 2 tracks. For a cover song, GLAY definitely arranged it in their very own funky rock mode, filled with interweaving guitars, lively beat, and a catchy chorus. It might be hard to beat their previous cover song “WITH OR WITHOUT YOU” in the “VERB” single, but GLAY’s character definitely shines through.
The limited edition CD features a special packaging that folds out, with TERU and TAKURO on the front, and HISASHI and JIRO on the back side. The regular edition shows the same picture of all four members, but all on the front side. The beautiful photos on the cover, the inner cover, and the lyrics booklet, were all taken in Prague by famed British photographer Kevin Westenberg (MySpace), who has been photographing GLAY for many years.
As a fan of their music, obviously I have to say it’s awesome and you should go buy it. But as someone who has enjoyed their music for 8 years, I must stress that the first track “Aka to kuro no MATADORA” is really a gem, even looking back various singles in their recent years. So for that alone, I’d say definitely go check it out.
Find more of our reviews at J!-ENT’s World Groove
Buy this CD Single:
Aka to kuro no MATADORA / I LOVE YOU wo sagashiteru [CD]
GLAY
 Regular edition |
 Limited edition (back) |
 Limited edition (front) |
The new single is also available on iTunes but you can only purchase it if you have a Japanese account. It even comes free with a “Music Video Shooting” video that is 11:25 minutes long. If you don’t have a Japanese account, you can enjoy a 30-second preview when you load iTunes using the link above.
