From
X-Japan to a piano concerto and a teamup with Gackt; that's been the
recent history of musician, composer and producer Yoshiki, who
attracted a big crowd of fans to his Otakon panel. Yoshiki's reputation
is linked to the success of X-Japan, years after the band broke up.
"X-Japan was my life and still is," he said. But when the band broke up
following the suicide of a band member, "I didn't want to do anything.
But since I was four years old, I played the piano - so I had to make
music. I didn't want to perform so I started producing." The event that
brought Yoshiki back to the stage was a rare commission from the
emperor of Japan to compose a piano concerto. "When the emperor asked,
we could not say no. It was great," he said about the composition that
mirrored concerti from the mid-19th century. "I realized that the place
I should be was on the stage." Yoshiki returned to performing and has
another album scheduled for the near future. At the panel, he joked
that he had been working on that music for ten years or so.
"I
love disruption," was how Yoshiki described his musical philosophy. "My
role in X-Japan, even when I was the leader, was to break everything -
the others just put it back together. I want to break it and create
something new." Part of the new ideas for Yoshiki is going to be a
collaboration with Gackt, the former frontman for Malice Mizer. "Last
night I talked to him and I asked if I could talk about it today, and
he said, `cool.'" One fan asked Yoshiki a question that suggested that
the collaboration might be a different kind of hookup, but Yoshiki said
the fan was wrong. "We are straight," he said.
Yoshiki also had a tale about meeting Michael Jackson earlier
this year when the American performer visited Japan. According to
Yoshiki, Jackson spotted what looked like wristbands and asked if he
could have them. "And I said yeah," Yoshiki recalled, even though it
wasn't an inexpensive gift. "It's a medical device. I have tendinitis
(because) I played the piano so long. I can play, but I have to be
extra cautious. I can play, but when I go to bed I wear them."
From
X-Japan to a piano concerto and a teamup with Gackt; that's been the
recent history of musician, composer and producer Yoshiki, who
attracted a big crowd of fans to his Otakon panel. Yoshiki's reputation
is linked to the success of X-Japan, years after the band broke up.
"X-Japan was my life and still is," he said. But when the band broke up
following the suicide of a band member, "I didn't want to do anything.
But since I was four years old, I played the piano - so I had to make
music. I didn't want to perform so I started producing." The event that
brought Yoshiki back to the stage was a rare commission from the
emperor of Japan to compose a piano concerto. "When the emperor asked,
we could not say no. It was great," he said about the composition that
mirrored concerti from the mid-19th century. "I realized that the place
I should be was on the stage." Yoshiki returned to performing and has
another album scheduled for the near future. At the panel, he joked
that he had been working on that music for ten years or so.
"I
love disruption," was how Yoshiki described his musical philosophy. "My
role in X-Japan, even when I was the leader, was to break everything -
the others just put it back together. I want to break it and create
something new." Part of the new ideas for Yoshiki is going to be a
collaboration with Gackt, the former frontman for Malice Mizer. "Last
night I talked to him and I asked if I could talk about it today, and
he said, `cool.'" One fan asked Yoshiki a question that suggested that
the collaboration might be a different kind of hookup, but Yoshiki said
the fan was wrong. "We are straight," he said.
Yoshiki also had a tale about meeting Michael Jackson earlier
this year when the American performer visited Japan. According to
Yoshiki, Jackson spotted what looked like wristbands and asked if he
could have them. "And I said yeah," Yoshiki recalled, even though it
wasn't an inexpensive gift. "It's a medical device. I have tendinitis
(because) I played the piano so long. I can play, but I have to be
extra cautious. I can play, but when I go to bed I wear them."
