An Cafe: One Year Later

On 4th January 2010, the internationally known 'Harajuku Dance Rock' band made its debut at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. After many years of steadily gaining recognition, An Cafe finally reached its goal of playing at arguably the most famous concert venue in Japan. Although this was an extremely happy occasion for An Cafe's fans and the band itself, it was saddened by the fact that it would be the band’s last performance before going on hiatus. After their emotional yet poised appearance at Budokan, each of the band members went their separate ways. As there have been many cases of musicians leaving the music scene after disbandments, many fans weren’t too hopeful for future activities. Barely weeks after going on hiatus, however, it was announced that Miku would be taking part in a new band and news soon followed of Teruki’s support drumming and kanon’s video game projects. Although An Cafe itself is on hiatus, Miku, takuya, kanon, Yu-ki and Teruki are certainly not.


Miku


Miku dove back straight away into the visual kei scene with the announcement of a new band, Lc5. In Winter 2010, Miku joined the band as the vocalist, along with several other familiar faces such as Reo from Guy’s Family and Yumeji from MELLO. As soon as it opened, Lc5’s website was flooded with views, mainly thanks to Miku’s popularity.

Lc5’s first single, Loveless, presented fans with a dark alternative to Miku’s previous work. Although the music wasn’t too heavy, the subject matter and visuals were much more somber than An Cafe’s characteristic playful exuberance. This was most likely a shock for loyal Cafekko after Miku’s love of childlike colourful fashion. Loveless differed not only visually, but also musically. Each of the three songs on the single would certainly not be classed as ‘Harajuku Dance Rock,’ with heavier tones and subdued melodies. If anything, the title song could be likened to AROMA, An Cafe’s recent turn to a visual, as opposed to oshare kei style. There was a slight feeling of uneasiness, probably because it was the band’s first release and it didn’t blend together as well as An Cafe’s music.Miku’s vocals were slower and deeper than usual and seemed slightly awkward. Lc5’s second single, STORY, released in December, was generally lighter and not as dark as Loveless, but certainly very different from Miku’s work as part of An Cafe. Lc5 is currently doing very well and has become quite popular, with Loveless already released overseas by European label Gan-Shin and the band often appearing in the media.

Miku is obviously expressing a very different part of his personality in Lc5 and as he has switched so suddenly from one extreme to another, it is a very surprising development in the visual kei scene. His new persona is so radically different that one may wonder if it is being used as an outlet for these particular characteristics rather than his true character. However, this may be temporary and as he proceeds with further work as part of Lc5, he might fine-tune this new style.


takuya


As An Cafe was guitarist takuya’s first appearance in the music scene, it’s understandable that he hasn’t been too active since the band’s hiatus. Although he took part in interviews with other members, takuya didn’t announce any activities or projects for a while after the live at Budokan.

It wasn’t until mid-2010 that takuya started appearing again in the music world. takuya began working as a support guitarist for singer Piko, who started his career thanks to the Japanese website Nico Nico Douga. Piko’s startlingly unique voice has lead to the nickname ‘ryoseiru,’ a reference to being able to sing in the ranges of both genders. After appearing in Piko’s PV for the single STORY in October, it was announced that takuya would be joining Piko in his performances at the Japan Anime Live events all over Europe.

Piko’s latest single, Wasurenagusa, was released in early December and the title track will be used as the ending theme for anime series "Tegami Bachi REVERSE."


kanon


kanon went into other activities soon after An Cafe’s hiatus began. Firstly, he announced that he would be working on a video game, which would be self-produced and focused around a visual kei band. The game, Pinky☆Distortion, was essentially a visual novel game, designed for mobiles and smart phones. The game revolved around a five-piece band, dis;code — whose members looked surprisingly similar to those of An Cafe — and their rise to fame, managed by the protagonist. As the game was very music-based, kanon actually put together a band to record the music and wrote the lyrics for the songs featured in the game.

Pinky☆Distortion was released under the label Studio Blue-3, which was created by kanon specifically for releasing his self-produced games. kanon will continue to work in this area even after An Cafe’s hiatus ends and seems very involved in this original project.

In July, kanon attended the Japan Expo to promote Pinky☆Distortion. He held panels and signing sessions and also took part in more leisurely activities, such as cosplaying. He visited local anime and Japanese fashion shops in Paris and seemed quite impressed at the popularity of Japanese pop culture in Europe.

kanon then went on to collaborate with singer and cellist Kanon Wakeshima in a project called kanonxkanon and released the single Calendula Requiem in November. Kanon Wakeshima was given training by Mana, a very prominent figure in the visual kei scene. With her characteristic Lolita style, she seemed a perfect choice for collaboration with someone with strong roots in the visual kei scene.

The PV for Calendula Requiem showcased something that is essentially at the heart of Japan nowadays — the mix between traditional and modern culture. Kanon Wakeshima and kanon of An Cafe were both shown in traditional Japanese dress, although with a modern remaking. Kanon Wakeshima represented the traditional side of Japan, surrounded by bonsai trees and other Japanese items, while kanon represented the modern side, wearing fashionable headphones and followed by PSPs and camcorders.

It seems that kanon has been exploring his ‘otaku’ side lately and his love of video games and anime seems to be becoming more and more a part of his identity. His appearances at anime conventions in the USA to promote his new video game and the project kanonxkanon hint at more involvement with this Akihabara lifestyle.

kanon has kept strong ties with the overseas fan base, something that he has earned thanks to An Cafe’s fame abroad. Appearances at conventions in Europe and America, a translated European release for Pinky☆Distortion and contact with overseas fans certainly shows which audience kanon is catering to.

kanon seems to be adjusting well to trying out different types of projects and out of all the members of An Cafe, he has spent his time in the most varied way. One even wonders in what direction he would take his career if he did not continue with An Cafe.


Yu-ki


Along with takuya, Yu-ki is rather new to the music scene. Even when An Cafe was active, Yu-ki did seem like quite a private person. It is therefore understandable that he hasn’t taken part in many projects or activities lately. He is also the only member that does not have an official account on a social networking site, which is a bit of a disappointment for overseas fans.

In mid-2010 it was announced through An Cafe’s official homepage that Yu-ki would play as support keyboardist for visual kei band Dacco. Since then, Yu-ki has regularly performed with this playful band, although not being overly public about it. Dacco seems like a good choice for the colourful, childlike, oshare keyboardist. They share an obvious love of playful, over-the-top styles while still managing to be surprisingly subtle and not demanding much attention.


Teruki


Soon after An Cafe’s blog became accessible through Japanese mobile phones only, Teruki opened his own official blog on livedoor in February. He became very involved with his fans, regularly posting replies to emails and photos sent in by the fans. He has even started posting an English translation along with his regular entries. This meant that his fans, especially those from overseas, could keep up with his current projects.

Teruki has stayed very involved in the visual kei indies scene since An Cafe’s hiatus, acting as a support drummer for many different bands. All through the year, Teruki has been attending a drumming school to help him to improve his skills and stated that he would be learning from scratch, emphasising the extent to which he would be focusing on his drumming through An Cafe’s hiatus.

One of Teruki's immediate projects was acting as support drummer for visual kei band Seven for a short time. Although this didn't last long, later in the year, Teruki started working with oshare kei indies band DOG in THE Parallel World Orchestra as a support drummer. Starting off by touring with the band, Teruki was then the support drummer for their two-month consecutive single release, Aozora Halation and POCKET☆ROCKET, released in September and October respectively. Teruki was even featured in the band’s PVs and seems to be quite involved. Style-wise, DOG in THE Parallel World Orchestra seems to be quite similar to An Cafe and Teruki’s fashion sense hasn’t changed in a noticeable way. His drumming has also stayed pretty much the same, only changing slightly to fit in with DOG in THE Parallel World Orchestra’s bright, childlike style, and his talent and skill still stands out miles above the rest.

Teruki has also recorded an album, DEATH POP THE PARTY!, with visual kei band Spyralcall, which was released in December. He has also been acting as support drummer for many of their lives as well as playing alongside the bullet regularly, another slightly darker band. Although Spyralcall and the bullet are not as well known as DOG in THE Parallel World Orchestra, they are still original and talented, giving Teruki a chance to work with more conventional visual kei bands.

Meanwhile, also in the world of visual kei, the well-known band Ayabie was going through some changes. In Summer 2010, their vocalist Aoi left and guitarist Yumehito took over on vocals. Aoi then began his solo career, releasing many singles in a short space of time. Teruki acted as support drummer on several occasions, one of which involved appearing in the PV for youth. The two musicians seem to be good friends and were interviewed together in SHOXX Glitter Pop magazine, reminiscing about old times.

Teruki is certainly showing his roots as a ‘classic’ visual kei musician. Rather than trying any drastically different projects, he has remained a drummer. Although he has been involved with bands from all over the visual kei spectrum, he has kept to the genre that he began with. From this, it can be deduced that Teruki must be very settled with his career and made the right choice from the beginning. He has certainly perfected his skills as a drummer and hopefully, he will continue on this path and be recognised for the talented artist he is.


In the past year the members of An Cafe have certainly lived up to their reputations as talented, varied individuals by each taking part in projects that suited their own characters. Fans of the Japanese music scene have a lot to expect for 2011, let's hope they will not be disappointed.