Who loves kawaii Japanese nail art? I gave myself a cute manicure, inspired by these Giles Deacon nail art photos. I think the googly-eyed faces look a bit like Moomin, the Swedish hippo-like character. Using Daiso nail art polish, I painted white ovals and a black dot on top to create the eyes. Don’t forget to let the layers fully dry and apply a sealing top coat.

Blasting, flowing news: Yukiro Dravarious will be making a scandalous musical debut at Midnight Mess (Tokyo’s longest running Goth/Industrial club party) on July 31!

Tell me all about your project: how would you describe the concept and experience?
I would describe Dravarious as an art form that lets the audience get a taste of variation in music, visuals and of course elegance. Classical goth, Extravagant, Fashion-forward, Visual Kei, opera, tragedy, misfortune and scandalousness! I’ve always been a big Visual Kei fan so naturally I wanted to do something similar but with my own touch to it. The music I’m going to play is mostly covers, but also 1-2 original songs. Of course I’ve re-done the covers to make them more fascinating. I’m thrilled about finally entering the stage with my own project and it feels absolutely Freaking Fabulous.

Not everyone knows you write and perform music. How did you get started?
In my teen-days I had a dream of becoming a singer. I went to different auditions around the country but I was immature and didnt know how to sing. So I started to take lessons and even went to a musical school, then started making my own music. Lyrics and poems have I also written for a long time. But since I moved to Japan I put the songs on a shelf and focused on my model career, which seemed more appealing at that time. This year I started to take vocal training again and I’ve been so much happier since. I can’t really play any instrument (except piano) so I make it all by computer, with help from my dear friend Sebastien who’s been supporting me all the way.

Tell me about how you worked with Sebastian.
I told him what kind of feeling and atmosphere I wanted with the songs, and together we tried 10000 of different sounds until I was satisfied haha. He is very good to work with. Whenever we had technical issues he did quick research and fixed them smoothly.

Like Lady Gaga, fashion must be an important part of your performance. How do you integrate style into your performance? What can the audience expect?
Fashion is very important to keep the audience interested in watching you. You can’t just wear some old T-shirt or whatever. I think that its almost an insult to the audience who paid for their tickets to not dress up; if they wanted to just hear the music they’d might as well listen to it on their computer. A live show is really important if you wanna be successful. Lady Gaga knows this and that’s why she always puts 100% energy and effort into it. I can’t deny that I’m taking inspiration from her. I’ve designed some of the outfits I’m gonna wear for the show myself, and the result is stunning.

The promotional photos are stunning. SO Visual Kei, with the blue-black roses and disappearing nose. Who is the photographer, and what was it like working with her?
Thank you, I think they really captured the essence of DRAVARIOUS. They were taken in the notorious “Studio-Violet” in Shinjuku (same place were most Host/VK-boys take their promo photos for magazines) by the legendary host photographer Alice. She’s extremely talented and the photo-session went by ghastly fast. She’s a friend of mine and also designs the Tokyo Decadance flyers, so I’m so glad she had time to shoot us before the live.

The lady in the photo, Maria – what is her role in the performance?
She’s my dancer and partner in crime. She’s an official member of the band and hopefully I’ll get one more dancer for the show. I did her make-up for the photoshoot and it suits her supremely.

What are your next goals? How would you like to take this project further?
If the live goes as well as I want, I’ll try to get more gigs and we are in negotiation with a film-team to shoot our first music video. Also Sebastien said that he would help me with the music again, so I can start doing more original songs. My true goal is of course world domination. Mohahahhaaa!

I can also reveal that I’m scheming to perform a vulgar act never done before on stage. And it will be a one-time-only act because I don’t think I’ll ever do it again. It will be a great show and people will not be disappointed if they come.

So come to Mistress Maya’s Midnight Mess at Shinjuku Club Marz on July 31, and see Yukiro in all his glory! Seileen (DJ SiSEN and Selia’s group) is celebrating their album release, and Roge from Bar Tram will be doling out Skull Absinthe at a special booth. For prices, directions, a map and more, check out my Tokyo Goth club guide.

Will you be there, in person or in spirit? If you have questions for Yukiro about his music and concept, please feel free to leave a comment!

Japanese Word of the Day: Kimon = Demon gate
Song of the Day: Seileen – Yokubaku