J-Rock
Japanese rock is the
Japanese form of
rock and roll music, often abbreviated to "
J-Rock" or "
jrock", as "J-Pop" and "jpop" are used as an abbreviation of
Japanese Pop. J-Rock is one of the most popular forms of music in its native
Japan.
Birth: Through Psychedelic rock (1960s)
In the
1960s American and British
counterculture figures created
Psychedelic rock. However, in Japan, psychedelic rock took on a different flavor. While psychedelic rock was known for the drug intake of its performers leaving an impact on the hazy, drugged-out music, J-Rock performers tended to be drug-free, or even adamantly against the use of drugs (for example,
Kosugi Takehisa,
Haino Keiji,
Nanjo Asahito).
Psychedelic rock first appeared in Japan in the mid to late
1960s. A few
Group Sounds bands, including
The Golden Cups,
The Tempters,
The Mops,
The Dynamites and
Jacks (whose "Karappo No Sekai" and "Marianne" were two of the first psychedelic recordings from the country) imitated their Anglo heros.
Like in the UK and US, the psychedelic rock scene was linked to a political movement involving young, spirited students. An economic boom brought many young people to universities, where radical politics abounded. Central to this movement, arising from the late 60s
Kyoto student revolts, was the band
Les Rallizes Denudés and the
Taj Mahal Travellers, followed by
Lost Aaraaff (whose lineup included notable avant-garde musician,
Keiji Haino).
Evolution: Rise of Singer-songwriters & Progressive rock
In the
1970s,
singer-songwriters like
Kazuki Tomokawa and
Kan Mikami became popular. As in the US and UK, Japanese rock spawned a
folk-rock scene, there led by
Magical Power Mako. At the same time, radical
progressive rock was evolving, with distinctly Japanese bands like
After Dinner,
Cosmos Factory,
Bi Kyo Ran,
Kenso, and
Ruins.
Emergence of Visual Kei (1980s)
From the late
1980s, popular rock bands such as
X Japan helped define the
Visual Kei aesthetic in Japanese rock and pop music. "Visual kei" is often focused upon in the West as a uniquely Japanese part of the Rock music scene.
A fringe movement from the late 1980s in Japanese alternative rock took the form of
noise rock, a sound popularised by bands such as
Boredoms.
The '90s
The '90s saw noise acts like the
Boredoms,
Melt Banana, and
Zeni Geva at their height. Alternative bands like
Number Girl,
bloodthirsty butchers and
Eastern Youth were becoming popular. Japan's Indie scene was growing.
Japanese rock in more recent times
A book on J-Rock titled
jrock, ink.: a concise report on 40 of the biggest rock acts in Japan by author Josephine Yun was released in the autumn of 2005. The book features profiles, discographies and illustrations of some of the most popular Jrock artists of yesterday and today.
An English language print magazine entitled
jrock ink magazine was announced in January 2006, promising to continue the propagation of J-Rock in Western countries.
Currently Indie bands are gaining a lot of recognition. Indie bands like
Asian Kung-fu Generation,
Ellegarden,
Zazen Boys,
Quruli, etc. have become very popular.
See List of Japanese rock bands for a comprehensive list.*
Cutie Morning Moon - Group Sounds.
*
J-Music Ignited - J-Rock Reviews and recommendations.
*
J-Revolution.com's J-Rock Section - Website for learning more about J-Rock bands.
*
Keikaku - Independent and little known Japanese Artist profiles, reviews, interviews and articles in English.
*
Nippop - Wide range of Japanese artist profiles in English.
*
centigrade-j- Extensive collection of original English translations for non-Japanese speaking J-Rock listeners
*
Party Radio - Internet radio station which streams J-Rock.
*
JrockNYC - Long standing source for concert & disc reviews.
*
Nippon Project- Association and artists database (English,Italian,French,German)
*
Visual|X- An online gallery dedicated to J-Rock.
*
musicJAPAN+ - Official J-pop Web Magagine
