It's almost impossible to add anything new to the staggering amount of information concerning one of the biggest pop-rock bands in Japan. When every breath and bowel movement of a band is meticulously recored and logged by its millions of fans, there's really no reason for anyone else to even bother. Besides, if anyone dares to do anything less than heap praise after praise on the band, one runs the risk of disappearing quietly and mysteriously from the face of the planet.
That doesn't mean that a band like L'Arc-en-Ciel doesn't deserve an entry here on the A-Z. Besides, I like them. Quite a bit, in fact. Not enough to dare call myself a fan, but yeah, I think Hyde has his moments and some of their songs are excellent.
So, just in case you've been living under a huge rock (a.k.a. anywhere other than Japan, Japanese music blogs or anime cons), and are completely incapable of using Google, here goes.
L'Arc-en-Ciel ("rainbow" in French) was formed in 1991 by bassist Tetsuya Ogawa. While they started out as a very visual band (a.k.a. vis-kei) they vehemently deny ever having anything to do with the genre, even walking off stage after an MC dared to call them such. To their credit, their music sounds (both then and now) nothing like the atypical vis-kei. Perhaps "glam" would be a better word to describe their early days.
While their outer appearance may have changed over the past 16 or so years, their music has not. Not in the slightest. Sure, they slide through a few genres on a song or two from album to album, breaking out of their usual arena rock for a trip into electro-town, but overall they play the same songs in the same way with the same signature style. Which is just fine. Their songs are often very strong and driving, with powerful singing from Hyde and solid backing by the band. Over the years they've become slightly more heavy and dark, yet they still focus mainly on the slower, syrupy ballads. When you buy a L'Arc album, you already know what to expect.
Perhaps this is why they've managed to last as long as they have. While they certainly don't take any risks, they do manage to keep the bar set rather high. For a band driven so much by the industry, they do manage to produce a lot of music worth more than their good looks. I mean "Jiyuu Eno Shoutai" is a damn good song. Actually all of Awake (2005) is impressive.
With the amount of momentum that L'Arc-en-Ciel has behind it, they could very well keep on rolling for another 20 years. The fans will certainly be there for them, and as long as the fans are there, so will the major label backing. L'Arc-en-Ciel may be the first entity in history to have invented the perpetual motion machine.
Jiyuu Eno Shoutai
Blurry Eyes
Vivid Colors
Flower
Stay Away
Spirit Dreams Inside
Ready Steady Go
Killing Me
Daybreak's Bell
Official Site
Members
Hyde – vocals
Tetsu – bass, backing vocals
Ken – guitar, backing vocals
Yukihiro – drums
Major Releases
Dune (1993)
Tierra (1994)
Heavenly (1995)
True (1996)
Heart (1998)
Ark (1999)
Ray (1999)
Real (2000)
Smile (2004)
Awake (2005)
Kiss(2007)
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