Jpop: Kiryū (己龍)

I often find Visual Kei bands to much about the, yes, visual keys, and to little about good music but Kiryū's new song Etsu to Utsu has both colors and an interesting soundtrack.

• Kiryū - Etsu to Utsu (悦ト鬱)
• Kiryū - Kyōsei (叫声)
• Kiryū - Oiran Tan (花魁譚)

Jpop: exist†trace

An all-female Visual Kei band from Japan, Exist Trace have been going "soft" the last few years which may make some fans mad, but its just part of a natural evolution for a musician and in ET:s case it is also a question of wanting to experiment. As they have been going on since 2003 it's just healty to change. I like the new "Great Spiral Battle/Spiral Daisakusen" and its balance of melodic and a little punkpop feeling.

• exist†trace - Spiral Daisakusen (スパイラル大作戦)
• exist†trace - Dream Rider (イグズィストトレイス)
• exist†trace - True
• exist†trace - Diamond
• exist†trace - Resonance
• exist†trace - Ginger

Jpop: Miyavi (石原 貴雅 / Ishihara Takamasa)

Miyavi's background as a Visual Kei artist evolved in a spectacular way with Horizon and Secret as the "latin-american" sexiness of the videos combiend with his intense guitar skills created a meld quite unusual for japanese music. Some of the female singers like Koda Kumi has done similar stuff, but the instrumental skills brings another dimension to it. It reminds me of the way Red Hot Chili Peppers communicated their music. With the new Guard You it is a more silent sensuality but still he has got that quality prescence that makes the music extra interesting.

• Miyavi - Horizon
• Miyavi - Secret (probably Not Safe For Work)
• Miyavi - Real?
• Miyavi - Guard You
• Miyavi vs Yuksek - Day 1