“Arlequin” was originally created by 雪 (Yuki) in 2009. The intention back then was to combine a love for Japanese ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) music and fashion with a love for (live) photography.
However, due to the addition of interviews and journalism the project grew bigger and bigger over the years, until it was no longer possible to continue as “just a photographer” in 2017.
The birth of creation
After a lot of discussion, the project officially upgraded from “photographer” to “online magazine” in 2021, and the name was officially changed to “Arlequin” to accompany this change. Due to the size of Arlequin itself we divide our works into three categories:
Arlequin Magazine, where we share all of our interviews, news posts, reviews and other interesting articles as well as general promotion for artists and their works.
Arlequin Photography, where we share our photos taken at live shows, themed events and occasionally even cosplay shoots.
And Arlequin Creations, where we shove all our creativity that we can’t place anywhere else.
A large part of our team exists out of creative individuals (and a graphic/web designer) who have been inspired by Japan, it’s (sub)culture(s) and it’s music, resulting in works that don’t fit under the other categories.
Usually we refer to each section by it’s type only, so “Magazine”, “Photography” and “Creations”.
“Arlequin aims to create a bridge between Japan and foreign countries.”
Our main goal is to create a bridge between Japanese artists and their fans located all over the world.
Arlequin is officially based in The Netherlands, but despite our location we initially offered our works in English only. About a year later we started to share our works in Dutch as well due to growing interest from our local audience, but after upgrading from photographer to online magazine in 2021 we slowly started to share our works in Spanish as well. Since 2023 we also try to share our works in Japanese as much as possible, completing the circle.
With this language selection we hope to not only reach as many fans all over the world, but also serve as a connection to fans who don’t speak the same language.
This means we currently offer our works in English, Dutch, Spanish and Japanese.
We primarily focus on ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) artists, but we also welcome artists from other genres like J-Rock, J-Metal, Idol, Pop, etc.
For a full list of artists and genres we currently offer, please refer to our “genre” and “artist” pages.
What is ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei)?
Simply put, ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) is a music genre that originates from Japan since the 1980’s, in which the visual image is just as important as the music these artists create. The name was derrived from “Psychedelic Violence Crime of Visual Shock”, a slogan that was seen on the cover of X Japan’s second studio album “Blue Blood”, released in 1989.
By combining the often flamboyant and androgynous looks with their music, they tell the story of their works in a more theatrical way than most other genres worldwide often do. The visual presentation of these artists also serves as a way for them to express themselves as individuals in their own creative style.
Overall, the genre takes a lot of it’s visual influence from the western “glamrock” genre, but the music these artists create can range from Pop to Heavy Metal and everything in between. This means their works also appeal to a wide range of people, and it’s not strange for fans to mention being a fan of an artist on the Pop-side of the genre as well as one from the Metal-side in the same sentence.
ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) is usually the term used to refer to the genre as a whole, but it knows many different subgenres, each with their own stereotypical looks and sound. What makes an artist a certain genre is a long and complicated conversation, but a short version for each subgenre we currently have an article for can be found on our genre page.
If you’d like to learn more about this unique genre, there is of course a Wikipedia page, but of course you’re more than welcome to ask us too! 😉
Our influence
The main influence for our works comes from the genre and artists themselves, because we would be liars if we claimed we aren’t fans ourselves. However, in Japan there have been a lot of magazines that featured these artists as well, like for example “SHOXX”, “Cure”, “Club Zy”, and our personal favorite and main influence: “ROCK AND READ”.
Unlike the other magazines mentioned, ROCK AND READ comes in a pocket-sized book-format for each edition, rather than a full sized magazine. They mostly feature individual musicians rather than their full bands, combined with a detailed interview and stunning private photoshoots. These interviews are often more detailed than usual, and focus on a wider range of events than what is currently going on in their careers.
Inspired by this style of publication, Arlequin aims to provide a similar formula for its interviews, while also trying to bridge the gap between Japanese artists and their fans all over the world by providing each of our interviews in multiple languages.
Throughout the years we have worked with ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) artists like ダウト (D=OUT), 摩天楼オペラ (Matenrou Opera), Versailles, Jupiter and JILUKA, but also J-Rock and J-Metal artists like ONE OK ROCK, 竜神 (RYUJIN), Crossfaith, NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST, Lovebites and BAND-MAID. Just to name a few.
(For a full list of artists we currently offer articles for, please refer to our artist list.)
What can we do?
Since we divide our project into “Magazine”, “Photography” and “Creations” we can offer the following services (but these can also be combined if needed):
Magazine
Journalism (interviews, news posts, release reviews, other informative articles)
PR/Media Services (communication, organization support, research, promotion)
Translation (Japanese → English, Dutch, Spanish – currently for documents only)
Photography
Live photos, behind the scenes/offshoot photos, private photoshoots
Video (live/documentary footage, assistance)
(Please note that our photographer is based in The Netherlands, but is open to travel internationally.)
Creations
Graphic design (flyers, pamphlets, posters, booklets, etc.)
Web design
Plush mascot creation (via Angry Juice)
If you’re interested in any of our services, feel free to contact us through our contact page, or shoot us a message directly at info@arlequin-magazine.com!