Since it exploded onto the music scene a few years ago, Electronic Dance Music (EDM) has begun to be incorporated into the works of more and more rock bands. It makes sense then, that as members of one of the more abstract and volatile movements in the music industry, many Visual Kei artists have also added EDM to their bags of tricks. As the popularity of this musical mixture increases, entire bands are being formed around the concept of fusing Visual Kei's rock sound with sounds from dubstep, electronica, house, techno, and trance music. Enter Black Gene for the Next Scene, an indie rock band with a raver's mentality that has taken the Japanese underground music scene by storm. Today I will be showing you why their 2012 release Namida-kHz was one of the best Visual Kei releases of last year.
On paper, both B.F.N. and Namida-kHz should not work. As a small indie band that auto-tunes its vocals, overlays relatively simple instrumentation with electronic synth melodies, and uses a flashy visual look to capture attention, Black Gene For the Next Scene almost certainly seems doomed to be another sub-par glam band intent on selling out from the very beginning. But in practice, this band and this song are a delight to listen to. Namida-kHz is an extremely catchy song the features a very nice balance of rock and electronic music. The guitar chords and drums provide a solid background while the auto-tuned vocals and the bouncing synth melodies feel right at home with the rest of the song. Simply put, this song is auto-tune done right. It doesn't take away from Ice's vocals or make it seem like he's compensating for a lack of skill, rather, it enriches them. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but B.F.N. may have found the perfect chill-inducing auto-tune pitch level; every time the chorus comes in, the "Na" in "Namida" always sends shivers down my spine (listen with ear buds and you'll see what I mean).
The PV is pretty well done all things considered. It's obvious that there was a low budget funding the PV, but the band makes it work with flashy costumes, psychedelic color effects, and the fun personality of the band members. I personally appreciated the last countdown of "3, 2, 1, Go!", where it cuts from band member to band member counting down with their fingers ("3" fingers for 3, the devil horn rock sign for "2", and a good old-fashioned middle finger for "1") before ending with Ice shouting "Go!" while doing some sort of goofy Dragon Ball Z pose. It's nothing to stop the presses about; it's just nice to see bands display their personality like that.
The PV is pretty well done all things considered. It's obvious that there was a low budget funding the PV, but the band makes it work with flashy costumes, psychedelic color effects, and the fun personality of the band members. I personally appreciated the last countdown of "3, 2, 1, Go!", where it cuts from band member to band member counting down with their fingers ("3" fingers for 3, the devil horn rock sign for "2", and a good old-fashioned middle finger for "1") before ending with Ice shouting "Go!" while doing some sort of goofy Dragon Ball Z pose. It's nothing to stop the presses about; it's just nice to see bands display their personality like that.
With Namida-kHz, Black Gene for the Next Scene has shown that they are capable of creating a hit (the single made it into the Oricon Top 10 Indies Singles back in July). It's not the most technically complex song on the market, but having complexity doesn't make a song great. Having a great sound does however, and these raver-rockers definitely have that going for them. For those of you who (understandably) labelled this band as one who's concept was doomed to lead them to disbandment, take another look, because if they keep releasing songs that are this good, then Black Gene for the Next Scene isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
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