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YOSHIKI from X JAPAN Interview
The music of "X JAPAN" has surpassed national borders, race, and time
At a time when the term "visual-kei" didn't even exist, X appeared suddenly on the scene, upholding the catchphrase, "PSYCHEDELIC VIOLENCE CRIME OF VISUAL SHOCK". Along with their flashy makeup and costumes, their unique HR/HM sound surprised people throughout Japan, and later brought great reforms to Japan's music industry. Their groundbreaking existence has made them the original Jrock Band. YOSHIKI, who is already known worldwide as a musician, is in fact X JAPAN's leader and drummer.
In this memorable first issue of CureUSA we feature an interview with YOSHIKI who helped found visual-kei in Japan and currently knows every detail of the Jrock movement overseas. After about 10 years have gone by, he's carrying out new activities. What is the past, present, and future of X JAPAN, the band that from now on will spread its wings across the world?
-- YOSHIKI, I think the charm of the music that you create is that you adapt classical elements into rock music, along with the progression of melodies that could only come from Japan, but your music was a bit different from the mainstream HR/HM (hard rock/heavy metal) at the time.
"After all, I was a "maverick". Because my music didn't belong to any one genre, it didn't fit anywhere. We were in the situation where all we could do was establish our own genre of music. We also got criticized by critics In the midst of that, the only ones to stick by us were the fans, and we worked from the position of anti-industry/anti-critic. By the time we performed at Tokyo Dome an sold one million CDs, it was like Ihe critics had to acknowledge us."
-- It's amazing that you were able to do so much until it reached those circumstances. In those early days, it was rare for a rock band at the time to appear on television programs and received mass exposure in the media as you did, but by doing so you worked your way into the everyday lives of people who weren't rock fans, and I think X was the band that popularized the musical genre that today is called "visual kei".
"How did we do it? For example, when we appeared on ''Kouhaku uta gassen" (A national music television program broadcast in Japan on New Year Eve's, boasting a decades' long history) for better or for worse the response we got was huge. I think that was in keeping with our catch phrase "PSYCHEDELIC VIOLENCE CRIME OF VISUAL SHOCK", which we upheld since X first started. It's about giving a shock to one's sense of vision. We worked all along consciously wondering how those around us would evaluate what we did."
-- I see. Another thing that comes to mind with the mention of X is the huge achievement you left behind of creating a blueprint for going from an existence as an indies rock band in a scene that was still underground in Japan to stepping up to become major. I think things started for X when you made your way to the major scene, but after all, did you meet with harsh criticism ?
"Because it was a time when people said our music is not so-called "rock made for the major scene", we had all sorts of troubles. When we were asked to appear on television and thought we would do it we faced opposition, and when we made the appearance we got a lot of criticism. When we got criticized like that we ended up wanting to appear on television more. As we had absolute confidence in our music, no matter how we dressed or what we did, we put up a fight possessing a strong will that this is X's music."
-- Then, at the time when you began activities overseas, the band changed its name from "X" to "X JAPAN". These days lots of visual-kei bands are stepping foot overseas, bul X JAPAN set its sights overseas at a very early point in time. This is something astonishing.
"Be that as it may, in fact X JAPAN has never had a live outside of Japan."
-- What! That's surprising. But since that time you did recording overseas, and you gained quite a bit of recognition.
"That's certainly due to DIR EN GREY and other visual-kei bands coming to do many lives overseas, which I think lead people who were interested to investigate other things and find out about the existence of X JAPAN, That's why I must thank the people who are in visual-kei bands now. As for the time when X JAPAN changed its name, first of all we had a contract with the Atlantic label and planned to release CDs under them, but if we were going to pursue activities overseas I felt strongly that I wanted to do the songs in English, and because I started by studying English, it took a whole lot of time. But the people doing visual-kei today sing in Japanese, don't they?"
-- That's right, they keep the lyrics in Japanese.
"In that regard, as X used English lyrics since a long time ago, I think musically we're easy to accept. "ART OF LIFE" and other songs are completely in English. Maybe this is one of the reasons why X later became famous overseas."
-- Then, X JAPAN broke up in 1997. After that you moved to LA, making it your base and persued activities as a musician and performer, but what are your reasons fqr putting a stop to working as part of a "band" for awhile?
"When X JAPAN ended, parting ways with my childhood friend TOSHI, and HIDE's death...many things piled up and it was painful somehow.. The pain was too much. That's why, at any rate I wanted to go someplace different. Now X JAPAN has re-formed and I'm able to think, "Bands are great," "Rock is great", and after this I've been thinking about also making Violet UK into a band."
-- Speaking of which, what led to X JAPAN getting back together?
"It all started when TOSHI began contacting me every now and again. Then we met in L.A. and started talking about it. However, I thought it over for more than a year. We're exciting band, but there have being many times when we did things too exciting (laughs). First of all, to be able to play the drums I had to restore my physical condition. I had various problems, but in the end what finally got me moving was what I heard from the people around me. What the fans said especially was most important to me, and after all hearing so many people say that they wanted us to get back together was the most important reason for us deciding to re-form."
-- I see. Earlier this came up a bit in conversation, but now a Jrock movement is currently making waves overseas. YOSHIKI,you've been in music activities on a worldwide scale for a long time, but do you fell that circumstances surrounding Jrock before and after it started to gain popularity are different?
"They're different I would say. Even if I've been involved in music activities overseas for quite awhile, it was to the extent of doing Violet UK and distributing music though the Web. Despite that, since a number of years ago, more and more people have been coming up to me in all kinds of places asking me questions like, "You're YOSHIKI, aren't you?" and "May I take your picture?". When I went to Thailand about 3000 people had gathered at the airport and were singing "Tears". Also in Korea and other places, mainly in Asia this kind of thing has begun to happen, and this time when I went to watch lives in America people approached me. As you might expect, that makes me happy. Until now I've always had the intention of writing music that people can enjoy regardless of nationality or race, so for it to have penetrated like this after so long makes me so happy I could cry"
-- That's really wonderful. Then, the year before last, you produced the big event "Jrock Revolution" in order to help this movement go even further.
"Since quite awhile ago I've had a lot of people say to me. "Won't you do a big Jrock event for us?" Even when Japanese bands play overseas they don't perform on the same stage, and there was no one who was able to make that happen. That's why I would get asked, "YOSHIKI, can't you get many bands to perform together?". Beyond that, because Japanese visual-kei bands are practically divided into political factions, they said there is probably only one person who can overcome that (laughs). At that time I just asked the bands in a normal way and they were able to come together, but people said afterwards that it's unbelievable that this band and that band would perform together!"
-- Yes, it was really a dream line-up.
"Now that X JAPAN has started I can't work on it, but I think I definitely want to do it again. Last time it was in L.A., so next time I'd like to try doing it in New York or on the east coast."
-- I'm looking forward to it! Also, during the year before last I heard thai you participated in an anime convention as part of S.K.I.N., at which you of course performed live, but also held an autograph signing and other events. This is something unimaginable in Japan.
"Talking directly to the fans like thai it not something I find particularly unpleasant. I guess there's an image of me leading an existence something like that of an alien (laughs). But in fact that's not true. In the past, even in Japan I've done a hand shaking event, but tons of people came and my hand swelled up...so I can't really do it in Japan (laughs)."
-- Incidentally, are Japanese fans and American fans different?
"No, they're the same. I feel enthusiasm from them in the same way. I think it's great that I did it, and after this I want to continue to do this kind of thing."
-- Now let's move on to your plans after this. The other day you finished a countdown live at Akasaka BLITZ, and you've added six additional dome lives outside of Tokyo. Doing six large-scale performances in dome arenas is amazing!
"Last time at Toyko Dome we did three performances in three day, but even so it seems there where people who could'nt get tickets and weren't able to come, so I thought if we go to six places, won't everyone be able to see us? Also, since talk about this came from the concert promoter as well, I thought we should go for it."
-- This time holding lives in places outside of Tokyo should make it all easier for people to go wacth you.
"Honestly, I'd like to do a tour across Japan. Every time I go on stage with X, personally it's an act of suicide. I think whenever I die is fine, and because I play with enough energy that it wouldn't be strange if l die at any time, I can't do it that many times. When I perform one time, I can't move my body for two or three days. By the last day of Dome 3 DAYS we did earlier, the next day I couldn't get up from my bed. TOSHI also screams himself into a frenzy so his throat probably surpasses its limits...that's why this time for the six dome performances we planned the schedule leaving time in between."
-- I see...you are fierce, aren't you. Well then, what are your plans for activities overseas?
"Of course, I've been thinking to do it. As I never I knew that this many fans had a demand for us, this time I want to do it properly. I want people the world over to feel X JAPAN's concept and music through their bodies and understand us, so first of all I'm thinking we'll put out in album. I think it will be something like a best album, but of course I want to include new songs too. About 70% English, and 30% Japanese."
-- So can fans overseas expect it to come out this year?
"Yes. Also, there's a game called "Rock Band" that's popular in America now, and you'll be able to download X JAPAN songs as part of the game. I think that's something really lucky, and as I think it's a way of appealing to people beyond just Jrock fans, I'm very much looking forward to it."
--YOSHIKI, from now on how will your personal musical activities develop?
"I'm doing lots of music for movies, so I think I'll continue with those kinds of activities after this. I'll he happy if people who have taken an interest listen to this music."
-- Also, I think there must be a lot of fans who think, "I want to watch YOSHIKI's live" but is there any possibility of you doing live performances?
"I want to! I want to do lives that are not like the large-scale ones X JAPAN does as well. Before X JAPAN re-formed, for about 10 years I wrote songs for Violet UK then trashed them, wrote and trashed, over and over again, but out of all of that there are some songs that managed to take shape, so I feel that I want to perform those publicly. It's just that X JAPAN is a band that someone has to drag along,and because the person who been at the center making things move all along has been me, now that's what comes first for me. Violet UK comes second I would say. Because I think if I were to put Violet UK first X JAPAN would cease to be able to go on. There are probably people who have learned about YOSH1KI because they know X JAPAN, and now I think I want X JAPAN to form the main part of my activities."
-- And finally, please give a message to all of our CureUSA readers.
"X JAPAN has yet to have a live in America, and I'm sure there are people who don't know about us, but from now on we have various plans in store, so if you support us along with other visual-kei bands, I would be happy."
