GPKISM

GPKISM is a darkwave industrial duo formed in 2007 by an Australian musician going by the name of Gotheque Prince Ken and, later on, former BLOOD guitarist and mastermind Kiwamu. Recently the duo added the former Blam Honey member Ryonai to provide support at live shows.

Their style is decidedly dance oriented, through extremely dark and gothic. While Kiwamu does use his guitar skills to add to the mix, they are first and foremost a darkwave/electro/industrial outfit. Perhaps if the Pet Shop Boys collided headlong into a Lords of Acid tour bus, then skidded, ablaze, into an HR Giger exhibit, you might get something close to the GPKISM sound. On the one hand, they're campy and softly tongue-in-cheek while on the other, they portray a more dangerous and vampiric side. Most of their songs seem to be about lost loves or losing oneself to love, all with bloody overtones.

The music is mostly thumping kicks with a dense overlay of reverbed-out synths, arppegiating away in some ancient spaceship. There are also plenty of the requisite harpsichords, dripping with lace and dusty candlewax. That's not to say the music is harsh or abrasive. In fact it's all very pretty, with the corners rounded off. Even Kiwamu's hevily distorted guitar is downplayed in favor of more and more layers of plush synth upholstery.

Yet at the same time their tempos are generally high and pumping, with some songs turning up the distortion and letting the raw edges show. It feels as if the group is still trying to find their own special sound, which is to be expected with such a new group. Of course they've each been traveling the world playing in other bands for some time. It's only a matter of time before GPKISM solidifies in their mountain-top stronghold, allowing their dark influence to spread amongst the villagers.

BUY GPKISM RELEASES AT TAINTED REALITY, CDBABY, DARKEST LABYRINTH AND CDJAPAN

Synthesis



Official Site
MySpace

Members:
Gothique Prince Ken
Kiwamu - Guitar
Ryonai - Live Keyboards

Albums:
Atheos - 2009

Infernum


Illuminatium

Gonin-ish (五人一首)

Somewhere in between the almost incomprehensible progressive zeuhl sound of Koenjihyakkei and the straight up classic metal of Onmyo-za lies Gonin-ish. While they are more classically metal then the very arty former, they also crank things up more than a few notches from the latter.

Their origins and the thoughtfulness of their material is no less than complex than the material itself. First off, their name is a combination of "five people" and "one poem," meaning their singular work is the result of five people working closely together. They also choose to sing in an old version of Japanese that even most modern-day Japanese don't understand. The band actually directs listeners to simply close their eyes and imagine what the songs are about for themselves. They are also dedicated to producing everything themselves, from music to lyrics and recording, it's all done "in-house," so to speak. Perhaps most refreshing is their lack of over-the-top death metal styles, both aural and visual. The instead adopt a more traditional, albeit dark, style of dress and makup. Much like Onmyo-za or Inugami Circus Dan, they bring a very Japanese sensibility to their unique musical style.

This retention of all creative decisions leads to some very dense and challenging music, but they never let it get too far out. Again, they do manage to pull in the reigns more often than not, letting the songs breathe by breaking down into slower passages that are more like classic gloom and doom metal. Singer, front woman and guitarist Anoji sings in both a "normal" voice and the typical guttural metal growls, another tool to keep the songs in constant flux. Just when you start to think that there might be a bit too much Cookie Monster voice going on, she'll break into a naturally shrill but liquid register. They are first and foremost progressive, not death or black metal. Sure, they are pretty loud and have guitars tuned down to the center of the Earth, but they also have a lot of much lighter fare, allowing the listener to come up for air, before being buried under the next wave of metal mayhem.

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Live



Official Site

Members:
Masashi Momota - Piano, Synth
Anoji - Vocals, Guitar
Gaku - Drums
Fu-min Takahashi - Lead Guitar
Oyama - Bass

Albums:
Gonin-ish - 2000
Naishikyo-Sekai - 2005

Naishikyo-Sekai promo

group_inou

There's something very satisfying about seeing a couple Japanese kids list bands like DMX Krew, Cylob, Battles, and Kid 606 as influences. It's hard to describe, as if I feel proud of them or something. It's a strange feeling, because of course, why shouldn't they be into those amazing artists and bands? Maybe it's because I know that they had to do their homework in order to dig up some of the more obscure names. It's not as if they are unknown, but even in the States or the UK they are a little obscure. Add on top of the that the magic of seeing these guys rocking out in front of a small crowd of kids, in the middle of a field, and I can't help be feel some sort of kinship with them. They, in many ways, are an echo of my own musical discovery years ago, digging through rare albums and playing shows for a small crowd of enthusiastic friends.

But I digress...

group_inou is a duo consisting of Imai, the producer, and CP, the MC. Together the blend together old-skool 8-bit and retro synths with rap. The mix of slightly aggressive, certainly frantic rap lyrics over the top of music more normally associated with classic video games is rather unique. Most often you'll have other groups like YMCK, Halko Momoi or Perfume who either whisper or otherwise treat their songs as something pretty and precious and fun. group_inou definitely fall into the fun category, but they also bring in a little bit of punk and experimentalism. Their songs have plenty of noise and chaos to go along with the shimmering synths and precisely laid out beats. In a live setting, they bring a ton of energy, which also goes a long way in bringing that sense of unpredictability to their otherwise pre-determined tracks, something which can really be heard when comparing various live performances. Perhaps it's this engaging energy that also gets their crowds involved, something rather rare to see in other live Japanese performances where stolid, unmoving bodies are the norm.

This isn't to say that their songs are all noise and no musical content. In fact their songs are first and foremost cute little pop tunes. They would in fact find a fitting home in any of the aforementioned retro NES games, if it wasn't for all the rapping and screaming going on. Plus, they're not all simply cute little chiptune tracks. They also have some hints of Yellow Magic Orchestra in their slightly odd arrangements, or maybe Kraftwerk at times.

While, even after four or five years, their production has reminded suitably lo-fi and slightly under-produced, it fits well with their overall, grass-roots, art-house energy. If they manage to keep it together for a few more years, these guys could easily become the next huge electro movement to come out of Japan.

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"Maybe" (Live)



Official Site
MySpace

Members:
Imai - Producer
CP - MC

Releases:
Fan - 2008
System Kitchen - 2007
Foods - 2006

"Ship"


"Coming Out"


"Coin"


"Status (Loss Version)"

Gutevolk

Gutevolk is the music Hirono Nishiyama. She blends twinkling electronic elements with her soft, innocent voice to produce unique little electro-art-pop songs. Songs like "I Like Rainbow" sound similar to Mira Calix or Plone, something you might expect to see on Warp Records. This probably isn't too surprising considering arty electro pioneer Nobukazu Takemura is a sort of mentor for her. She has several releases on his Childisc label and has worked with him live. Make sure to check out her very well built (and super cute) site for sound samples.

Guitar Wolf

LOCK AN LOLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Guitar Wolf is the loudest, most noise driven puck rock band I've ever heard. Their music is almost constant feedback and distortion from beginning to end, at times obliterating all musical content. They have a strong rockabilly influence, as well as a strong Joan Jet influence. In fact, they use her name in describing themselves as "Jett Rock 'n' Roll." They band has been together for twenty years, suffering a major loss in 2005 when Billy (aka Bass Wolf) died of a heart attack. In addition to being (arguably) the loudest punk band ever, they also starred in the (arguably) best zombie movie ever made, Wild Zero. In it, they play themselves, saving the world from alien zombies through the power of rock and roll. If you haven't seen it, stop everything and track it down immediately!

The Guitar Plus Me

The Guitar Plus Me is the solo work of Yoichi Shiozawa. His band name is the perfect description for what it sounds like: simple little songs featuring acoustic guitars and Shiozawa's mellow voice, all very dry and stripped down. The folky tunes are often augmented with equally dry electronic sounds burbling away in the background, which adds a surprising amount of depth to what could otherwise be rather boring arrangements. In fact, his MySpace page lists influences from Simon and Garfunkle to Aphex Twin. You can hear some of his tracks here (warning! Windows Media!) and check out a streaming video here (again, Windows Media).

Going Underground

Much like Foot Stamp, Going Underground is another safe-rock band. I actually get the two confused from time to time. They also remind me of the ultimate in safe-rock rockers Spitz. Lots of happy-go-lucky tempos, mostly acoustic, earnest ballads, jangley instrumentation. They are the definition of inoffensive, but they can write a catchy tune. Sometimes that's all you need.

GO!GO!7188

I mentioned Yumi Nakashima's side project Chirinuruwowaka in a previous post. Her main gig is with GO!GO!7188. They have a vague surf-rock influence, mainly sticking to frenetic, driving rock songs. The vocals are bolstered by bassist Akiko's added harmonies (not to mention her impressive bass skills). In fact, Akikio has released two respectable solo albums of her own. While the band couldn't be considered indie rock (they are signed to Capitol after all), they maintain an air of street tough rebellion, along with a healthy dose of fun. Oh, and Akikio playing a Flying-V bass...hot!

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Goatbed

When I first heard Goatbed, I was fooled into thinking they were a sort of electro vis-kei. Their vocal style is certainly on-par with the usual nasal, nerdy-theatrics that plague the genre. Upon closer inspection, these are loafers. NO! I mean, they are really just an 80's emulating electro band. Sometimes Kraftwerk-esque with Flock of Seagulls vocals, sometimes sort of Devo-ish. They always have a rather dreamy, starkly electronic quality. You can hear some of their music here.

Gito Gito Hustler

One of the strangest aspects of picking up a lot of foreign music is that one often has no idea what the history of the band is. For instance, I had no idea that Gito Gito Hustler was an all girl group, no idea that they've been together since 1995, no idea that they actually have an American distributer (along with Electric Eel Shock), no idea that they've spent a huge amount of time touring the States, and no idea that they could rock so hard live. All I knew is that I really liked their mix of punk, metal and energetic pop. And really, isn't that the best thing you can say about a band? I like them because they're good.

Girls Tape Store

Girls Tape Store is a (rather tough to track down) indie electro band. Consisting of only two people, Takashi and Yuki, they produce mellow electro tracks ranging from mellow spacey, ambient songs to mellow dance tracks and all sorts of mellow sounds in-between. They would be excellent background music in a chic coffee shop or a beach-side cafe. You can (and should!) check them out on MySpace.

Galneryus

Formed in 2001, Galneryus is a relatively new band, though some of its members have been playing for some time. Their Wiki entry is a who's-who of Japanese metal. They sing in English, which to me makes them sound a bit like a German metal band. Blind Guardian or Helloween maybe? At any rate, their music is mostly progressive, epic, fast, soaring metal with a smattering of rather weak, slower ballads. You know, like just about all epic metal bands. In the past they verged on a sci-fi, vis-kei image, but thankfully they've toned that down in favor of a more "metal" metal image.

GagagaSP

GagagaSP are your standard punk band, though they are sort of "fun" punk as opposed to anything hardcore or angry. This is probably why they had a song used in one of the many Naruto endings. They are most recognizable for the way vocalist Maeda seems to try and sing four or five lines worth of words all at once, which I'm guessing is where the "gasp" comes from. All of their songs are rather anthemic and fist-pump worthy, which just adds to the good times.

Gackt

I'm a bit hesitant to include such a huge artist like Gackt in this list, but I must admit, I really like the guy's music. Let's face it, he's the most girlie of girlie-men pop stars. He probably has more plastic in his face than I have in my car. I've heard more than one person ask, upon seeing a photo of him, "Is that a woman?" I don't care. Gackt is awesome and that's the end of the debate. He started off his career in the always good for a laugh ur-vis-kei band Malice Mizer. He soon went solo and toned down the silly image, well, a little. His music ranges from crazy rockin' rock to super smarmy ballads. It's always very theatrical and over the top, but the songs are genuinely good and actually have a lot of depth when given the chance. His live shows are epic to say the least. He and his band all rode in on horses at full speed at the intro to his last show, then played an unrelenting set of music. Gackt may be cheese-ball pop-shlock incarnate, but he backs it up with true talent. Oh, and he was the model for Squall in "Final Fantasy VIII" and actually appeared as a character in "Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus," for which he contributed some music.

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