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Japanese rock

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Japanese rock is the Japanese form of rock and roll music, often abbreviated to "J-Rock" or "jrock", as "J-Pop" and "jpop" are used as an abbreviation of Japanese Pop. J-Rock is one of the most popular forms of music in its native Japan.

History

Birth: Through Psychedelic rock (1960s)

In the 1960s American and British counterculture figures created Psychedelic rock. However, in Japan, psychedelic rock took on a different flavor. While psychedelic rock was known for the drug intake of its performers leaving an impact on the hazy, drugged-out music, J-Rock performers tended to be drug-free, or even adamantly against the use of drugs (for example, Kosugi Takehisa, Haino Keiji, Nanjo Asahito).

Psychedelic rock first appeared in Japan in the mid to late 1960s. A few Group Sounds bands, including The Golden Cups, The Tempters, The Mops, The Dynamites and Jacks (whose "Karappo No Sekai" and "Marianne" were two of the first psychedelic recordings from the country) imitated their Anglo heros.

Like in the UK and US, the psychedelic rock scene was linked to a political movement involving young, spirited students. An economic boom brought many young people to universities, where radical politics abounded. Central to this movement, arising from the late 60s Kyoto student revolts, was the band Les Rallizes Denudés and the Taj Mahal Travellers, followed by Lost Aaraaff (whose lineup included notable avant-garde musician, Keiji Haino).

Evolution: Rise of Singer-songwriters & Progressive rock

In the 1970s, singer-songwriters like Kazuki Tomokawa and Kan Mikami became popular. As in the US and UK, Japanese rock spawned a folk-rock scene, there led by Magical Power Mako. At the same time, radical progressive rock was evolving, with distinctly Japanese bands like After Dinner, Cosmos Factory, Bi Kyo Ran, Kenso, and Ruins (band).

Emergence of Visual Kei (1980s)

From the late 1980s, popular rock bands such as X Japan helped define the Visual Kei aesthetic in Japanese rock and pop music. "Visual kei" is often focused upon in the West as a uniquely Japanese part of the Rock music scene.

A fringe movement from the late 1980s in Japanese alternative rock took the form of noise rock, a sound popularised by bands such as Boredoms.

Japanese rock in more recent times

A book on J-Rock titled jrock, ink.: a concise report on 40 of the biggest rock acts in Japan by author Josephine Yun was released in the autumn of 2005. The book features profiles, discographies and illustrations of some of the most popular Jrock artists of yesterday and today.

An English language print magazine entitled jrock ink magazine was announced in January 2006, promising to continue the propagation of J-Rock in Western countries.

Bands

See List of Japanese rock bands for a comprehensive list.


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