Nagoya Kei: The Complete Analysis (Part 1)

This is a translation of an article from ROCK AND READ volume 093, published on February 16, 2021. For context, the cover boys of this volume were Nagoya band darlings lynch., which might help explain why they are used to open the article. This translation encompasses the article written by Fuyu-Showgun – the magazine also includes interviews with Kaiki, Kazuma, aie, and Engineer Sasaki from Nagoya’s MUTEC studio, but I would like to do those as a part two later on!


dark, underground, cult, grotesquerie-seeking, perverse, heteromorphic…
from Kuroyume to Silver~Rose, ROUAGE, Merry Go Round, deadman, and lynch.

NAGOYA KEI

a focused inquiry on a deep scene that surpasses an era

THE COMPLETE ANALYSIS

“Nagoya-kei”, the scene that started a big sensation in the 90s. During this time, bands based in one of Japan’s big three cities, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture (located in the space between Tokyo and Osaka), permeated the entire nation with a massive surge. While naturally all these bands had their differences, overall, many of them were deeply dyed in the color of the underground with a dark and maniacal musicality, boasting a sort of cultish popularity. So, what was this “Nagoya-kei”, particularly the “Nagoya-kei” that dominated the 1990s? How did it come to be, how did this idiosyncratic scene get built, and what about it drew people in? We investigate those questions in this article.

original text by Fuyu-Showgun (Jun)
translation by Emma


The Dawn of Nagoya-kei

“I don’t want Nagoya-kei to pursue a modern heaviness
I don’t want the tuning to be dropped more than half a step
That’s how it maintains its aesthetic”

These words were once said by Hazuki of lynch. on Twitter. Although these words imply that lynch. is not Nagoya-kei, they also show a reverence for Nagoya-kei at the same time. So then, are bands that down-tune and play heavy riffs not Nagoya-kei? And what is Nagoya-kei, to begin with?

Kuroyume, ROUAGE, and Laputa made their major debuts in 1994, April 1996, and September 1996, respectively. After advancing to a major label the next year in 1997, FANATIC◇CRISIS was called one of the “Visual Kei Big Four” along with MALICE MIZER, La’chryma Christi, and SHAZNA, dominating the era. In 90s Visual kei scene, the presence of the Tokyo and Osaka record labels was huge: there was Extasy Records, lead by X JAPAN and home to TOKYO YANKEES, ZI:KILL, LUNA SEA, and more, and Free Will, headed by COLOR and home to BY-SEXUAL, Kamaitachi, Decameron, and more. But bands like Kuroyume and the others just mentioned belonged to neither, instead hailing from Nagoya in the Chukyo region. “Nagoya-kei” – before long, this was what they were being called.

Originally, the term was used to mean “bands from the Nagoya scene”, but due to the numerous bands with a decadent and dark vibe, it wound up being used to mean “a beauty of style characteristic to Nagoya”. The presence of Kuroyume was instrumental in reaching this point. Their bizarre musicality, their melancholy lyrics, and their grotesquely theatrical worldview that pushed away viewers and listeners were something that further enriched upon the characteristics of the bands known as “kurofuku-kei”1 during the dawn of visual kei and had a great and diverse influence on later bands. These elements came to represent Nagoya-kei.

[1Kurofuku-kei is basically just early Visual kei that looks less gaudy hair metal and more mourning clothing – “black clothing style”. Early LUNA SEA is a classic example.]

Nagoya-kei’s Roots

               “Nagoya-kei” is not a word that directly indicates musical sensibility. But when speaking on the music, one cannot get very far without speaking on England’s gothic rock and positive punk2 (pojipan), born in the flow between post-punk and new wave.

[2While Japan loves the term “positive punk” coined by Richard North in NME, it hasn’t really stuck as much in the Western world, generally ignored for “gothic rock”, “goth”, and relatives like “death rock” and “post-punk”.]

               In England from the late ‘70s to ‘80s, gothic rock bands with a horror/sci-fi novel worldview reminiscent of “Dracula”, “Frankenstein” and “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde” incorporated into their music and fashion came onto the scene. These bands included the pioneers Bauhaus, the “Emperors of Goth”; Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees led by Sex Pistols follower Siouxsie Sioux; and Joy Division, the predecessor of New Order. In contrast to the punk movement born from anti-social sentiment, this gothic rock movement touted an aesthetic that closely adhered to culture and art, leading it to be called “positive punk” in the media in the sense that its bands were not negative in nature, unlike punk bands up to that point.

               In Japan, the pioneers of positive punk are AUTO-MOD, who started activities after member Genet was deeply impressed upon seeing Bauhaus in London. What was revolutionary about them was not only their dark musicality, but their live performances incorporating theatrical elements. Z.O.A. and ASYLUM of TRANS RECORDS (the label of first-generation “FOOL’S MATE” magazine editor Masashi Kitamura) also channeled positive punk into Japan.

The “Kuroyume” Revolution

               One band that was greatly influenced by these pioneers was the predecessor to Kuroyume, GARNET. The original vocal stylings of Kiyoharu that blend time-honored Japanese “kayou3 rock” with a bewitching English taste have become the model for not only Nagoya-kei but Visual kei vocalists as a whole in later years, but Kaoru Mamiya’s guitar was also something to behold. Influenced by Daniel Ash (Bauhaus), Tomoyasu Hotei, and Hisashi Imai (BUCK-TICK), his edgy sound and new wave playstyle were emblematic of the scene at the time.

[3Kayou rock refers to Japanese popular rock music from the Showa era. The band MERRY are probably the most easily recognizable VK band with big kayou rock influences, but it’s also seen in MUCC, early SID, and many more.]

               In 1991, GARNET disbanded. Afterward, with a substantial guitarist change, Kuroyume was formed, injecting heavily distorted guitars into the positive punk sound and highlighting their dark and extreme concepts of “the absence of dreams” and “death” on every front. The violent and driving two-beat, the bass that rumbles in your stomach, and the metallic guitar adding picking harmonics to the sound riled up the ensemble. Without ever getting too heavy, their edgy, punkish aggressiveness was something to watch. Additionally, Kiyoharu’s unique vocals give off an unfamiliar allure as one often cannot decipher if they are in English or Japanese. Crosses, coffins, candles, bandages, blood spatter, nooses… Their visuals built upon these icons also strongly represented their dark style.

               The theatrics of AUTO-MOD, the complexity of TRANS RECORDS groups, the core extremeness of bands like GASTUNK and DEAD END… The sublime sense of balance achieved by incorporating these various elements is embodied perfectly in the renowned but controversial “Ikiteita Chuuzetsuji” (1992), a work that became a landmark achievement for Nagoya-kei.

               The global emergence of alternative rock in the ‘90s was also greatly influential on the Visual kei scene, creating a flow into modern heaviness from industrial to mixture rock4. But despite the trend, the majority of Nagoya bands did not move in that direction. The reason is unclear, but perhaps it is because the landmark established by Kuroyume was rooted so strongly in place. I believe that leads us to the statement by Hazuki brought up in the introduction to this article.

[4Mixture rock is a Japanese word referring to rap-rock/rap-metal/nu-metal and its major players. The only mixture rock song you need to know is Butterfly by Crazy Town (just kidding, kinda).]

               The woman seen in the booklet of Kuroyume’s “Nakigara wo…” (1993) is GILLE’ LOVES vocalist, LUCI’FER LUCIOUS Violenué. GILLE’ LOVES once participated in an omnibus album, “Underground Romance” (1986). This omnibus, its cover recreating the banana jacket of The Velvet Underground and Nico, brought together bands from the Imaike (Nagoya) livehouse “HUCK FINN”, and as the title suggests, an underground vibe is concentrated within the album. What is interesting about this work is that it brings life to a unique atmosphere where the New York underground – no wave and London punk – new wave co-exist. This is something you can sense in that “aura created in a region that is neither Tokyo nor Osaka” as well, so I can’t help but think that the true essence of Nagoya-kei lies somewhere here.

The Revitalization of the Nagoya Scene

               The progression of Kuroyume revitalized the scene in Nagoya. Representative of this revitalization was “Yenbanya”, a CD shop once located in the Osu shopping district, and the live venue “Music Farm” located in Fujigaoka. Yenbanya was a CD shop that originally centered itself around English rock, but soon put its efforts into Visual kei, making a name for itself across Japan through magazine advertisements. Many bands made “Music Farm” their base of operations, to the degree that it was called the “holy land of Nagoya-kei”.

               ROUAGE bassist Kaiki (left in 1996, joined WITH SEXY that same year) presided over a label partnered with Yenbanya called “noir”, which proudly held the most influence in all of Nagoya. Led by ROUAGE, Shizuku… (produced by NAO of LADIESROOM), and Romance For~ (christened by Kiyoharu), it also sent FANATIC◇CRISIS out to the major leagues.

               Formed in 1993, ROUAGE and Laputa are bands that supported the genesis of Nagoya-kei. While ROUAGE were an orthodox positive punk band, Laputa frequently used irregular meters while revealing heavy metal/hard rock elements. Although they didn’t share a musical sensibility, they did not stand in opposition, with their overlapping fanbase revealing that Nagoya-kei was not a music genre. Kaiki and Kouichi, the guitarist who led Laputa’s initiatives, had both been members of Silver-Rose, something that was noted as a point in common between both bands.

               Silver-Rose formed in 1989. After their 1994 disbandment, Kaiki moved on to ROUAGE, Kouichi moved on to Laputa, and drummer KYO joined Merry Go Round. Their roadies Saki, Yasuhiro, and Yasumichi formed Sleep My Dear – Silver-Rose is an origin point anyone will surely reach when tracing the genealogy of Nagoya-kei. However, their orthodox beat rock5 musicality was quite far off from the Nagoya-kei beauty of gothic & positive punk. Still, a Nagoya-kei beat rock trend definitely existed, seeing as their disciples Sleep My Dear were exactly that. DIE-ZW3E, who were the epitome of what people called “bad boys”, and Of-J from Kiyoharu’s label La Miss, fit that description. It was well-known that Sophia’s drummer, Yoshio Kuroyanagi, once belonged to DIE-ZW3E, that Of-J was the band of Mamiya from GARNET and the former band of Merry Go Round’s bassist Junna and drummer Tooru Tomiyasu (Tohru – also known for JILS and Moi dix Mois).

[5Beat rock was a uniquely Japanese genre characterized by tight snares, diverse strumming styles and catchy/melody vocals. Bands considered part of this scene include THE MODS, ARB, BOOWY (perhaps the most important beat rock band of all), UP-BEAT, and early BUCK-TICK. It was also pretty damn important for the formation of Visual kei.]

               The impression of FANATIC◇CRISIS as a band with catchy melodies from their time as one of Visual kei’s Big Four remains strong, but in their indies days they were a band with a worldview emblematic of gothic Nagoya-kei. Their unsettling first album “Taiyou no Toriko” (1994) remains in the memory of not just Nagoya-kei but Visual kei as a hidden masterpiece.

The “Hidden” Nagoya-kei

               While the sunny surface of Nagoya-kei was advancing to major labels, the iconic goth presence of Nagoya-kei’s dark side was Merry Go Round. Formed in 1991, then pausing activities before resuming in earnest in 1995, Merry Go Round’s elusive and strange melodies and inscrutable progressions over top of their noisy sound… They were a band with a one-of-a-kind avantgarde and psychedelic atmosphere perfumed in an underground sensibility. Their works were circulated by major labels, but they did not make a major debut – they built a soundscape that couldn’t have been created in the major leagues on this complex borderline.

               It was the presence of Niigata bands that represents how Nagoya-kei came to mean a beauty of form with a gothic musical taste rather than bands hailing from Nagoya.  ryo’s (later of 9GOATS BLACK OUT) band D’elsquel and the devotedly gloomy babysitter were at the forefront of bands known as Niigata Nagoya-kei, as well as many others coming out of Niigata such as Lastier and L’luvia.

The “Complete Form” of Nagoya-kei

               As many bands advanced on major labels and into Tokyo, at home in the Nagoya scene, bands Lamiel and kein began full-scale activities. With the presences of frontmen Yuina (Lamiel) and Mako (kein), the limelight was once again set on Nagoya. This was when the inheritor of gothic/positive punk “Donuts Record West”, fondly referred to as “DoRec”, made its appearance. kein did not belong to DoRec, but the members of these bands were often entangled, such as guitarist aie formerly belonging to Lamiel. In 2000, both bands disbanded. At the end of that same year, deadman was formed by members of both bands. With a sound heavily colored by alternative rock, it could be argued that Nagoya-kei reached one of its complete forms.

               Dark and medium tempo, without incessant drums and shouted vocals, the musicality of Nagoya-kei pushed on mania-like along a rugged6 path at the underbelly of the flashy mainstream Visual kei boom. In the Visual kei scene noted for its many female fans, I have to agree when it’s pointed out that there are more male fans of Nagoya-kei. It was a backlash against the boom of Visual kei, a movement which tends to be judged based on appearances, and this rebellious spirit coupled with the regionality of an area between Tokyo and Osaka built the dark Nagoya-kei aesthetic. This was a very natural development, and it could very well be that it was not necessarily directly influenced by gothic rock or positive punk.  

[6The exact word used here is “kouha”, the opposite of “nanpa”. Kouha has the connotation of a man’s man, tough, rugged, stoic, while nanpa usually implies indulgence in fashion and women, as well as a generally more non-commital attitude. This is a very interesting parallel from the author especially given the discussion in the paragraph about the higher incidence of male Nagoya-kei fans.]

The Nagoya Scene in the ‘00s and Onward

               Moving into the 2000s, the transformation of Visual kei toward modern heavy music and the weakening of regionality in the scene due to proliferation of the internet cause Nagoya-kei to disappear. The hip-hop boom came to the city of Nagoya itself, and the influence of not just Visual kei but the band scene itself weakened.

               Presently, gibkiy gibkiy gibkiy, comprised of contributors to this grand movement – aie of deadman-the studs and kazuma of Merry Go Round-Smells – along with kazu (ex. Kagerou) and sakura (ZIGZO, Rayflower), play with a musicality evocative of the traditional Nagoya-kei aesthetic of the halcyon days, while Reo, who left a deep mark on the Nagoya scene in bands like kein and GULLET, pursues a different style that still keeps that rugged spirit in lynch..

               Although the eras and forms have changed, the spirit of Nagoya-kei is endlessly passed on, continuing to fascinate many fans even now.

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