pop

Jiluka

2 festivals played

Japanese visual kei group active since 2013, welding digitally processed heaviness to full theatrical presentation — costume and choreography played entirely straight.

Jiluka formed in Japan in 2013 and belongs to the harder end of the visual kei spectrum, the corner sometimes labelled loud kei. Their music leans on down-tuned, tightly gated guitar riffing and metalcore structures, layered with programmed electronics, synthetic textures and industrial-leaning production, with vocals that alternate between screamed passages and melodic choruses.

The presentation is as much a part of the act as the music: elaborate costuming, styled hair and makeup, and coordinated stage movement, all delivered without irony. That combination of digitally processed metal and full visual kei staging has given Jiluka an audience outside Japan as well as at home.