Category Archive for Visual Kei + Music
MARK LANE @ M/R/X: MINIMAL WAVE, ELECTRO POST-PUNK SYNTHPOP, CAMPY FASHION.
A while back, I wrote about Goth lipsticks and shadows. Last Saturday, I caked on two of my favorites: blue eye dust from Medusas Makeup, and dark blue lipstick from Make Up Forever Professional. I only had an hour between the airplane photoshoot and the party, so I threw on a Sex Pot Revenge t-shirt and some odds and ends…
All dressed up – where to go? How about the Wolfpak + M/R/X club night, described as minimal-electronic-wave-synth-punk-Goth, or “dancing with tears in our eyes”? And could there be a more perfect venue than El Cid Cabaret in Silver Lake: a replica of a 16th century Spanish tavern (complete with flowering courtyard and antique brick fireplace), built around 1900 by D.W. Griffith and used in his controversial film “Birth of a Nation”?
With a cherry on top: minimal-synth pioneer Mark Lane, performing live in LA for the first time in 24 years! (You can read a fantastic article about him on LA Weekly.) He thrilled me with his strong vocals and somewhat-tongue-in-cheek delivery, set to not one, not two, but FIVE keyboards (Moog, analog synthesizers, toy machinery…) You never knew which one Mark would attack next!
The fashion at the party was the best I’ve seen in LA: a meeting of debonair and Gothic, 1930s Weimar Berlin and 1980s Vivienne Westwood.
The men out-glittered the women with Boy George makeup and fox fur scarves (with head and feet still attached). The dandy on the right wasn’t satisfied with studding his top hat – he extended the decora onto his face!
The boys were especially dashing on the wood dance floor. The DJ was Veronica of East Village Radio – and I was in analog synth heaven. I’ve been listening to her weekly show, Minimal-Electronik Plus, religiously for the past few years. It’s hard to describe the sound of dark/minimal wave… you’ve simply got to tune in!
Decora nail art, undead elegance… M/R/X felt a lot like a Tokyo nightcrawl. It was a pleasure to meet Gloom (right) and a few other Angelinos who read this blog. I only wish I had more time in LA to venture into the night… I certainly don’t want to miss the Modern Romantic club night that the organizers are debuting soon.
In lieu of the Song of the Day, check out the video footage I took of Mark Lane’s performance (above) and stream Veronica’s Minimal-Electronik Plus radio show.
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VERSAILLES & HIZAKI GRACE PROJECT: VISUAL KEI BANDS, J-ROCK MUSIC PLAYLIST.
I’m jetlagged and in the midst of a writing frenzy, Basil Farrow is snoozing on my bed, and Visual Kei J-rock/metal is blasting from my computer speakers. Do you like to work while listening to music? My answer is most certainly yes. Writing isn’t a mystical process that requires log cabin solitude – at least not for me. I like banging on the keyboard while Yuki does the same on drums.
Here’s my current playlist: a combination of Versailles -Philharmonic Quintet- and Hizaki Grace Project (the solo work of the band’s skirt-sporting guitarist). Ah, what a treat it was to see Versailles perform live in Shibuya last month! It’s hard to believe that the group only got together in 2007. The Visual Kei genre will be batting its feathered eyelashes for some time yet…
Can you recommend some other Visual Kei playlists, podcasts, or streams? What are your favorite VK artists?
LA CARMINA
