Besides music I have a second passion, Japan. I became interested in Japan several years ago and during my internship in Tokyo in 2014 I fell in love with the country. A big part of Japanese culture is formed by kawaii (かわいい), which translates best into 'cute' or 'adorable'. You can find this kawaii influence everywhere; from public transport mascots to clothing and of course in music. Lots of Japanese singers and groups incorporate kawaii into their songs and performances resulting most of the times in sugar coated sweet pop tunes. Even though I was aware of this phenomena I was still surprised to discover BABYMETAL. As the name implies this group, consisting of Suzuka (18), Yui (16) and Moa (16) makes metal music. However the shredding guitar riffs and rocking drumbeats are accompanied by happy J-Pop melodies and kawaii dancing. The whole show seems so absurd that you might think that these girls will never make it big outside Japan... think again. Their song Gimme chocolate!! gained massive attention and has currently over 50 million views on YouTube.
Starting
with a big concert in the Wembley Arena in London BABYMETAL is currently touring
all across Europe and the United States and have even appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Their
latest album METAL RESISTANCE has just been released and features the single
KARATE. Visit their official YouTube channel for more music.
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