This magazine is part of a collection of magazines titled after the men and women of different eras (Showa 40 (1965), Showa 50 (1975)...) that usually showcases artists, creators or famous people of these generations and/or for these generations.
In this volume, the theme was the "Japanese music revolution of 1997". The theme of that volume was presented as such :
"The 1990s, when men of the Showa 50 era spent their youth in Japan, was an era of prosperity for Japanese music. (...) The theme of this issue is "1997 Japanese Music Revolution." Looking back at the hit charts in 1997, the "TK boom" was still alive and well, but R&B, idols, anime songs, TV programs, and indie bands also entered the scene. (...) Also symbolic was the Fuji Rock Festival, which began that year, a space where people could go wild about live music, transcending the boundaries of Japanese and Western music and genres. In short, the extremely natural mindset of "Just listen to what you like!" became the revolution. And we, the editorial staff, declare 1997 to be the year in which this revolution took place. In this issue, we delve into the Japanese music scene of the time with words from artists and people who were excited by this era."
Note:
Although the title of the magazine is Showa 50, this is not Mana's birth year as we do not know his real age. He is from that generation of people who would have been late teenagers in the early 90s, though, and that also had a phenomenal career in 97, which made him a perfect guest for this magazine as he fit the theme.
The Men of Showa 50
The Japanese music revolution of 1997 - The music that resonated with us
The unprecedented Visual Kei boom has struck!
Mana talks about the truth behind the band that surpassed the limits of mainstream.
Visual-kei, with its glamorous and flamboyant looks that transcended gender boundaries, shocked the music scene in the late 1990s. Although initially treated as something out of the ordinary, there was a firm conviction behind their boom. We take a closer look at the circumstances surrounding their breakthrough.
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| "Mana talks about the truth behind the band that surpassed the limits of mainstream" |
Among the four V-kei Icons who dominated the scene in 1999, Malice Mizer was one of the most original. At that time, V-kei was a rather hardcore world, with hard-rock and heavy metal as the mainstream of the scene, including fiery behavior behind the stage. Malice Mizer stood out from such a world with their gothic and aesthetic image and music reminiscent of medieval Europe, as well as their gorgeous stage set, which were all very alien to the scene at that time. Hence, they were called "the ultimate Visual-kei" and "the ultimate weapon of Visual-kei”. Like many others, I was a student at the time, and when I saw Malice Mizer for the first time, I was astonished and thought, "What the hell is this?” When I told this to Mana, the guitarist who led Malice Mizer, he said with a soft smile, "I really wanted to be able to give that kind of impact.”
Mana : “The theme of Malice Mizer was to break the concept barrier of rock music. We wanted to do something that had never been done before, both in music and visuals, and we felt that if we were stuck on that, nothing would get done. That is why we formed the group with the mindset that we were more like an artistic group than a band. The visual scene up to that point had been more of an culture sports festival* atmosphere, but Malice Mizer was more of a literary group. I didn't hang out with anyone very often. That's partly because I didn't have that kind of personality (laughs).” (*he refers to “sports day” in schools where classes play games together and are very active in sports, a kind of festival)
First of all, we will look back at the year 1997, the year of their major debut, which is also the theme of this current volume, as they aimed to become an expressionist group that was not bound by the concept of rock music.
Mana : We went to France to shoot a promotional video for our major debut single (*Bel Air) and were there for about a week. Starting from there, you’d think we would get busier, but going major didn't suddenly change the flow of my life. I started out as an indie artist and then moved on to the major label. It was a common belief that when you go to a major label, the record company will give you a lot of direction, but in the case of Malice Mizer, our opinions were usually all accepted.
Malice Mizer was completely self-produced, which was rare at the time, and Mana took the helm as the leader, but at the root of this project had a thorough DIY spirit. When they were an indie artist, they searched around for locations for photoshoots by themselves, and when they placed advertisements in magazines, he would submit the drafts himself without asking a designer as "letting someone else take charge of it was out of the question".
Mana : For example, when three bands are playing in a show (*taiban) everyone hates to be the first one to perform. But in our case, we wanted to be the first group to perform. We had prepared our own set, so we could set it up during the rehearsal if it was a reverse rehearsal (*The way of doing rehearsal in the reverse concert order, so the first performing band would be the last at rehearsal.). So we would set up things like the Parthenon columns, trees, and chairs from a European gardening set, and then could perform with it directly, being first. We also transported the entire set by ourselves, so we used two Hiace trucks for the tour (big white vans). One for the equipment and one for the set.
About whether or not their uniqueness was immediately accepted in their indies era, Mana says it “wasn’t really the case”
Mana : I think there was some rejection from people who came hoping to hear rock music. But I didn't pay much attention to those opinions. Criticism is bound to occur when you do something new, so people who think it is strange will think it is strange, and people who think, "I have never seen such a world !” were the kind of people I wanted to invite and welcome to an extraordinary world of fantasy and indulgence, so I was not phased at all.
Having been in the spotlight for 9 years at the time, the ultimate icon of the Visual-kei music scene lived through the lights and shadows of the unprecedented boom they went through. However, as with anything, when a band becomes big, it also creates distortions. In the midst of the unprecedented visual-kei boom, Mana touches on some of the lights and shadows that he lived through.
Mana : We said, "Cosplay is welcome at Malice Mizer's live performances”. Nowadays, cosplay has become a global phenomenon, but at the time, it was still underground. I wanted to raise the profile of my favorite culture. Along with that, I also wanted to root Gothic culture in Japan. I wanted to express the fashion culture in addition to the fancy clothes, so I launched the brand "Moi-même-moitié" in 1999 and launched the fashion culture of Gothic and Lolita. As a result, I think it has taken root well.
With the breakthrough of V-kei, all cultures and the people who gathered there were connected, and it became a big movement. It is typical of Mana, who doesn’t let himself fall under the weight of negative thoughts, to not be able to think of any dark times in contrast to such great times. The only episode that came to mind was this:
Mana : When I was in high school, I was in a punk band, had a red Mohawk and wore a studded leather jacket and stuff. I left my hometown as soon as I graduated from high school, so people who knew me back then and saw me for the first time performing the world of Malice Mizer dressed in feminine clothes must have thought like “....What the hell ?” All sorts of speculations were made and my parents were asked, "What's wrong with your son.....?” (laugh). That was the only thing that troubled me. But I guess it was more of a hardship for my parents than for me (laughs).
Although Malice Mizer was enthusiastically popular, the group ceased its activities in 2001 in order to allow each member to be free to pursue their own ideas. Mana then launched his own solo project, Moi Dix Mois. It is still active and will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2012. Coincidentally, next year (2022) will mark the 30th anniversary of the formation of Malice Mizer. With a live concert being held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of their formation (*Deep Sanctuary VI at Toyosu Pit 2018), one can only hope that there will be some movement in the future too. Twenty years have passed since 1997, the year of the unprecedented visual Kei boom. With the development of the Internet, there are followers all over the world, and V-kei bands have emerged from abroad. Many bands are still active today, some of which have performed at the Nippon Budokan. However, it is sad to see that V-kei has not reached the level of prosperity it enjoyed in the late 1990s.
From that time on, I always thought that there would never be another band that would surpass Malice Mizer. They were proud to be the "ultimate icon of Visual-kei," and since they were out in the world, I thought there was no way a band would come along that would surpass the impact of Malice Mizer, ever.
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| "I still wear heavy makeup and blue lipstick, and what I do has not changed in 30 years." |
Mana : ”I still wear heavy makeup and blue lipstick, and what I do has not changed in 30 years, and I have no intention of changing. This is what I love most, so I feel like that’s what I want to do forever.”
MALICE MIZER's 1997
The original members were Testu (Vo), Mana (G), Közi (G), Yu~Ki (B), GAZ (Dr), Kami (Dr) joined in 1993 and Gackt (Vo) in 1995. In 1997, the band made its major debut on Nippon Columbia. In June of that year, the band held its last indie concert at the Shibuya Koukaikan, which drew a great deal of attention with the members flying in the air and such. Immediately after that, they released their major debut single in July. They released a total of two singles and held a sold-out national tour and two days at Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall that year as well.
A Former Editor of a Specialty Magazine Speaks Out!
Television - In 1996, the members of Malice Mizer appeared on "Break Out" (TV Asahi) and "Laugh It Up! (TV Asahi) as well as music programs. In 1996, “Break Out” started with the concept of introducing indie bands, but at the time the indie scene was dominated by V-kei. From 1996 to 1999, the program became something like a V-kei specialty show. The "BreakOut Festival," an event featuring major bands from the program and popular indie bands of the time, toured the country, including performances at Shibuya Kokaido in 1997 and 1999. Non-V-kei bands also appeared at the various shows.
Magazines - From front pages of more mainstream magazines to V-kei specialized music magazines, sales got huge. “SHOXX", "FOOL'S MATE", and "Vicious" which had been published before the boom, were called the three major V magazines, and around 1997, other specialty magazines were launched and V-kei music appeared on the covers of general music magazines too, such as "PATi PATi" and "B-PASS”. Most of these magazines have ceased publication today, but the sales of music magazines at that time were huge and advertisements poured in. The June 1998 issue of "Vicious" was Malice Mizer's first cover. They went on location in Yamanashi, carrying the costumes for their album "Merveilles”. The budget was so generous that they were able to shoot on location for 12 hours, from early morning to late at night.
Radio - In the 90s, there was no such thing as Internet radio, and the only radio stations in the 90s were local AM / FM stations. FM in particular mainly played fashionable J-POP Western music, but with the V-kei boom, stations began to play their songs. The V-kei specialty program "BEAT SHUFFLE" (FM NACK5) started in 1998, and is still broadcasting well today. (*Note : Malice Mizer had two weekly radio shows on FM radio at different points in their career)
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