Okay, okay, we already hear you thinking: “this has nothing to do with ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) or J-Rock!”, and yes, that is absolutely correct. But we are interested enough in the project to bring it to your attention despite it not being our usual area of expertise.
ばんどごっこ (Bandogocco) is a musical band team that was launched by music producer 齋藤俊和 (Toshikazu Saito), who made his international debut by working on the theme song for the Chinese movie “静音的爱” (Jìngyīn de ài / Silent Love), which was released in June of 2022.
The project is centered around 歌謡曲 (Kayokyoku – a form of Japanese music that was on the rise during the Showa era) CityPop, a new genre that also has started to gain popularity overseas. This means that all songs and dance numbers used during the performance have been composed especially for this project, and will be performed live by a band during the performance. ばんどごっこ (Bandgocco) aims to convey their story and emotions through the music, dance and acting of the performance, intended to make the audience smile and bring back your power and a little bit of the driving force required for your daily life.
涙色の雨 (Namidashoku no Ame)
“A woman who lost her loved one gave up on her dream. Her remorse keeps tightening in her chest. It’s about to rain… The voice of the future pushes her back, and she chases her dream once again!
The story of 涙色の雨 (Namidashoku no Ame) is about a young woman who dreamed of becoming a singer, working hard in the music industry to make it with her natural cheerfulness. Her efforts were rewarded by the news of her debut, and she got married to the man she loved, had a child and lived a happy life. Until her husband died in a fire accident, leaving her behind with their child. She gave up on her dream as she grew older, until she herself is involved in an accident where she balances on the line between life and death.
She receives a call from her daughter, but she is no longer the hopeful young mother she was 30 years ago. Her daughter’s words paint a picture that is the exact opposite of her life right now. The worst situation in which she had to give up on her dreams, but still managed to live her life without giving up.
The cast exists out of 金 純樹 (Kim Junki), Nanae, ⻄山 康平 (Kohei Nishiyama), 大須賀 彩子 (Ayako Ohsuga), kyoco, 横尾 和則 (Kazunori Yokoo, MinoRi and 藤吉 久美子 (Kumiko Fujiyoshi).
The band exists out of 野村 大輔 (Daisuke Nomura) on guitar, 和尚 (Osho) on acoustic guitar, 白井 洋旭 (Hiroaki Shirai) on keyboards, 中野”tabby”マサヒコ (Nakano “tabby” Masahiko) on bass and Syu on drums.
And the dancers exist out of Suzu, 智子 (Tomoko), Misaki, こころ (Kokoro), スニョン (Sunyoung), 彩 (Aya), 春奈 (Haruna), masa, MIZUHO, Hirona and MASA.
Information & tickets
涙色の雨 (Namidashoku no Ame) currently has two performance dates scheduled: on June 8 and June 9 in 座・高円寺 (Za Koenji) in 杉並区 (Suginami City) in Tokyo.
Tickets are available through teket, and can be obtained here.
The main method of promotion for the project is through their Instagram account, which you can find here.
雪 (Yuki) is the owner and driving force behind Arlequin.
She originally started the project in 2009 as a photographer under the name of Arlequin Photography, but developed an interest in journalism and translation ever since. Because of these interests interviews and reviews were added to the project, until it eventually hit the limits as a "photographer" in 2021, and Arlequin Magazine was added to the mix.
雪 (Yuki) is a native Dutch speaker with a graphic design degree, which means she is also the main person behind Arlequin Creations.
After all these years she is still the main person who does interviews the interviews and live photos that you see on Arlequin, but also a large chunk of the reviews and behind-the-scenes work and communication goes through her.
She speaks Dutch and English on a native level, but also understands Japanese and German.