Plunklock // “Music is the key that opens the door to our world.”

Plunklock is a relatively “new” ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) band on the scene, only officially starting in November of 2010. The four members decided they wanted to create a band that could inspire the world through it’s music.
Their music is characterized by aggressive instrumentals and a steady line of

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Kiwamu Kai // A sneak peek behind the scenes of Starwave Records

During the European tour in April of last year, we already got to sit down with Kiwamu for an interview regarding the tour and the activities of BLOOD at that time. But as mentioned in that interview, Kiwamu is probably just as known for his activities as the owner of not one, but two record labels in Japan:

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Kiwamu // “As a label owner I don’t see the music scene very well, that’s why I decided to bring back BLOOD.”

Today we managed to sit down with the founder and leader of BLOOD, Kiwamu.
This interview was quite a hassle to do, since let me tell you, getting dental work done mere hours before an interview isn’t the greatest idea someone can ever have, but there was no way around it. Luckily Kiwamu was very understanding

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ネガ (NEGA) // Combining vampires, horror and Visual Kei

With themes of horror, vampires and quite some gore, ネガ (NEGA) easily is the darkest artist signed to the UNDER CODE PRODUCTION label. (You might recognize this name because of it's owner KISAKI, who is probably most known for his work in Phantasmagoria, among other groups.)

The current European tour also marks the very first time here for the four members, but what do we know about these vampires, really? Despite this interview being done in a bit of a rush, I didn't want to keep anything from you.
So let's go!

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HITT // “I wanted everyone to aim their eyes at me since I was born.”

HITT is a multi-instrumentalist solo artist, who basically is a one-man-band because of that talent. Despite starting his career as a bassist, HITT now takes the stage with a multitude of instruments, as well as his own voice. His cheerful, high energy personality surely makes for an entertaining stage presence.

Before his show in P60 in Amstelveen I sat down with HITT to ask him some questions about the European tour, but also about himself as a musician. Because it's not every day that you hear someone say they're a multi-instrumentalist...

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-OZ- // “We just want our passports to be full of stamps!”

Starting in 2004 under the concept of “美と大敗” (Bi to Taihai) (or "Beauty and Decadence"), -OZ- have a darker and heavier visual presentation than the other bands signed to LOOP ASH RECORDS, but you won't hear their audience complaining about that.

The group released their very first album "VERSUS" in 2009, followed by "Rouge" in 2010. The latter is also the reason they're currently touring here in Europe.
This tour is their very first time outside of Japan, and we really wanted to know more about their impressions so far - among other things, of course!

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the fool // Three crazy frogs on a roadtrip around the world

It has been a mere 4 months since the fool last came to Europe, since last August they were on the stage in Utrecht and Bonn together with Luzmelt.

Our first interview with Gunji from the fool included vocalist yuhma from Luzmelt due to time constraints, and some questions from that list had to be cut on the spot.
Unfortunately I can't redeem myself with yuhma at this point in time, but I can with Gunji and the rest of the fool!
So let's go!

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Guren // A Belgian “family” inspired by Visual Kei

In all honesty, this interview wasn't planned at all. Until we got to the show for the fool in Amstelveen, we had no idea that there would be a local (Belgium is local to us, at least) artist supporting the three frogs from Japan.

Because of how enjoyable the three members of Guren were on stage, we decided to request an interview on the spot to learn a little more about them, writing the questions for this interview while the band was still on stage.

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El -Ethnic Legist- // Four mummies combining Egyptian music with heavy metal

What do you get when you combine ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) with Egyptian elements like folklore, fashion and music? You get El -Ethnic Legist-!
The four mummies are currently touring Europe to deliver us their music and stories.

We managed to get a hold of them in Liege (Belgium) for an interview, in which we talk about their choices for the band's concept and name, as well as their music influences. Are you ready for some Egyptian influence?

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ダウト (D=OUT) // “We draw inspiration for our songs from each other.”

I have a bit of a confession to make with this interview. This interview is actually heavily backdated, as it was not posted in 2010 originally.
In fact, this interview was done before Arlequin even launched officially. At this point in time I was still a student, which means that the questions aren't the same depth as they would be today.

Regardless, I did want to share this interview with you, since ダウト (D=OUT) were so incredibly nice and helpful, and they even liked the reason this interview was created in the first place. So, here you have it. Arlequin's very first interview, before it was even an official project!

View More ダウト (D=OUT) // “We draw inspiration for our songs from each other.”