MUCC
Mucc ムック is a Japanese rock band formed in 1997.
Their name is a bit interesting in the sense that it carries two different meanings. First, it’s inspired by a Japanese children’s TV-show, and furthermore they are known as “69” too, since 69 can be pronounced as “muku” in Japanese.
Some would call Mucc a part of the visual kei movement while others would say they don’t qualify for that genre. However, the band is in the same “generation” as other famous visual kei bands and has played alongside with those. In Japan, those kinds of bands are fairly known, and are usually underground or for certain sub-cultures. The interesting thing is that a lot of those bands have become famous for a lot of sub-cultures in the world outside Japan, to the extent that they have been touring in both the US and Europe. Mucc is one of those bands, and that is partly why I find them interesting.
How to describe Mucc’s music. They can be categorized under genres such as hard rock and alternative metal, but their sound and melodies can also give you a hint of the 80′s or old school rock.
This song is titled “Libra” (2007) and is also part of their album Shion 志恩 that came out in 2008. It starts out with a distorted intro which afterwards turns to become harder. The verse is kind of calm and the vocal is somehow interesting in the way it is half-speaking and half-singing which will return to again later. The chorus is melodic and sing-along-like – somehow a bit strange in an interesting way. The song has a somehow dramatic effect.
Sora to Ito on Youtube
“Sora to Ito” 空と糸 (2009) is their newest single and part of the newest album Kyuutai 球体, which was released Mrach 2009. This songs features a guitar solo, and the sound is very typical for the lead guitarist. Fast and melodic, like most of Mucc’s songs are.
Last year Mucc was part of the “Taste of Chaos 2008” tour where they played in the US, and in the Fall of 2008, they visited Europe where Denmark also was a part of the plan. It’s very rare that Japanese bands choose to play a concert in Denmark, since the popularity is not as high as in our neighboring countries such as Sweden and Germany. But surprisingly they will come to Copenhagen again this year!
Check out their Website or MySpace for more information.
Next month (October 2009), Mucc is scheduled to tour Europe, and on top of this, they will give a concert in lille Vega, Copenhagen too!
So if you think this article was interesting, already like Mucc, or just want to try and listen to some different kind of music, you should definitely give them a try and get a great experience!
