Locally Owned and Operated...Special Issue... Regular Issue Out June 14

Andrew Hunt11 hrs · I think I am pretty much used to daylight savings time by now. Instead of moving the clocks twice a year, screwing up our systems, they should have us moveour clocks about fifteen seconds per day. There will only be trace shocks to the body

Japanese Visual Kei bands Umbrella and Uchusentai:Noiz

Rock Anime North What is Visual Kei? Visual Kei is a Japanese music movement and subculture that has been popular since the 1980’s. The artists wear makeup, have elaborate hairstyles and costumes, usually coupled with androgynous aesthetics. More Japanese bands are venturing to North America playing alongside mainstream alternative bands or at convention such as Anime North and gaining popularity.

The Toronto Congress Centre was rocking with the return of two Japanese Visual Kei bands: Umbrella and Uchusentai:Noiz. For the first time, Anime North’s Fashion Show invited two J-rock bands to participate in the Visual Kei fashion segment scheduled on Saturday afternoon in Hall A of the TCC. The band members modeled their style of clothing each revealing their own personality on the runaway to cheering fans. It was a great way to kick-start their concert later that day.

A media press conference took place on Friday and I had the opportunity to chat with Umbrella and Uchusentai:Noiz.

Umbrella, originally from Kansai region the four band members consist of: Yui, vocalist; Syu, guitar, al, bass and Sho, drums. Umbrella has been together for five years having formed in March 2010. They have appeared at overseas concerts and have performed at Saitama Super Arena, and have hosted events and one-band concerts to one sold out show after another. The concept is an “umbrella over your heart”. Their style can be described as beautiful melancholy melodies with an alternative sound. Umbrella performed at Anime North two years ago. Their new look and mature sound was reflected in Hall C of the Toronto Congress Centre on May 23rd as they performed on stage in front of a cheering crowd where fans were singing along side with the vocalist, Yui. When asked what they were looking forward to their second visit to Canada, Yui explained: “It’s been a while since we were last here at Anime North. We hope to show the fans how much we have grown throughout the years. The last time there were lots of firsts and didn’t know how the audience would react. This time I’m looking forward to how they will perceive us because we’ve improved.” Hal mentioned how the fans bought their CD two-years ago and are familiar with the band. “Hopefully this will lead to more passion and will have more fun during the live and hope the Canadian fans will accept us even more so we can come back again,” said Hal.

Canadian fans embraced their music although Umbrella performed all their songs in Japanese. “The lyrics are in Japanese some people may not be able to understand them but we hope that fans will not just focus on the lyrics but also on the music and how we move on stage,” expressed Yui. Syu feels there are no boundaries when it comes to music. As far as adjusting their performance when travelling overseas, Umbrella doesn’t believe they need to adjust their concert. “Umbrella is good for what it’s always been good for and we shouldn’t have to change depending where I am in order to show how good the band is,” added Yui, vocalist.

What are their thoughts when it comes to attending an anime convention? “At an event like this everyone is doing what they really like and having a good time it’s a lot of fun being able to interact,” said Sho, the drummer. For Syu “I get to interact with a lot of different people.”Yui enjoys the entire anime and otaku culture including cosplay. “I don’t really understand the anime and otaku culture so when I come here and seeing if for the first time it’s a fresh experience for me. It’s not what I see in Japan,” said Hal.

One aspect of the Canadian culture that caught their attention is their love for “poutine”. This poutine loving band just can’t seem to get enough of it. At the meet and greet a fan asked what was their favourite English word and food other than “poutine”, Yui answered “poutine” for both.

You can expect a new mini album titled “Kinema Chromatograph”（キネマトグラフ） from Umbrella set for

release on June 21st. For more information visit their website at xxumbrellaxx.com or

Facebook/Twitter pages.

Locally Owned and Operated...Special Issue. Page 2

Andrew Hunt11 hrs · I think I am pretty much used to daylight savings time by now. Instead of moving the clocks twice a year, screwing up our systems, they should have us moveour clocks about fifteen seconds per day. There will only be trace shocks to the body

What’s not love about the Japanese visual kei band uchusentai:Noiz? “Uchusentai” is a Japanese word

meaning “space warriors” and their fans are called “Space Babies”. According to the band members

they claim to have come from outer space and have landed on the earth to protect peace through

music.

Formed in 1999, the band is composed of Angel-Taka (vocals), Kotaro (guitar), Kyo (bass) Masato

(guitar/vocals) and Yamato (drums). They are known for their energetic music, wild costume-like

outfits, and live shows full of energy. The band is notorious for its dedication to humanitarian aid,

visiting orphanages and typhoon-ravaged areas in the Philippines. In 2013, Angel-Taka went on a

humanitarian mission to Toclaban visiting the victims of “Typhoon Yolanda”. “Because of the

Typhoon their schools were pretty much blown away. However, the kids were still very cheerful and

positive. We collected money from friends and from our concert tickets to cover their tuition, provide

text books and notebooks for 2,000 children,” said Angel-Taka.

To date, the band has released ten albums thirty-three singles and four foreign songs cover videos.

Their highest charting on the Oricon album chart is number 73 for METEORS. Masato is the main

songwriter. When asked how their music evolved Angel-Taka replied: “We do concerts and fans get

mad at us and then we do more concerts. That’s how we grow and evolve.”

This was their second visit to Canada for Uchusentai:Noiz. They performed at G-Anime in Gatineau,

Quebec two years ago. This time around the band members were hoping Canadians would be amazed

by their live performance. They find fans are more passionate in Canada in comparison to Japan.

According to Angel-Taka “Japanese fans are very shy and they don’t look at us they prefer to dance

to the tunes however, Canadian fans all eyes are on us.”

When performing this band command the stage with their enthusiasm and powerful voices. The show

opened with a voice-over introducing each member as they robotically took to the stage. During the

concert, Angel-Taka motions to the audience his “beam of love” where fans scattered to the ground

from his passion. I asked if they had any anecdotes to share from their performances and Kotaro

expressed: “In the Philippines, we were performing in a very large hall. I was too excited during the

first song and I tried to swing my guitar and hit Yamato who was behind me.” For Masato he falls in

between the crowd and the stage. “Masato disappears a lot from the stage for no reasons,” said Kyo.

Angel-Taka added during one of their performances a fire erupted fueled by the passion in their hearts.

While in Canada the band members took time to savour our famous “poutine” and Angel-Taka fell in

love with “death by chocolate” a crepe filled with chocolate such as Nutella and brownies.

A trilogy of videos was released in April 2014, featuring covers of Filipino songs: Liwanag sa Dilim

by Rivermaya, Superhero by Rocksteddy, and Pinoy Ako by Orange and Lemons, to raise support for

the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. Shows are scheduled to take place in Osaka for July and August. For

the latest updates visit their website at www.uchusentainoiz.com or Facebook/Twitter pages.

Thanks to J-rock North Productions (www.j-rocknorth.com) and S. De Los Angeles for the fashion

show’s photos.

www.beachBOOSTERradio.com

Uchusentai:Noiz