I
discovered this one very late, on December 30th, but it could’ve easily been in
my year end round-up selection if I had listened to it before.
meltia
was an indie aidoru group created in 2014 disbanded around two or three months ago, in October, but managed to
release one EP before disbanding. Overall, the story of the group is nothing
outstanding – with the only noticeable thing being their Gothic Lolita gimmick –
but their main song, called “Shirobana no Corsage”, is an interesting blast of
aidoru pop with classical touches that could have easily been a magical girl
anime theme.
The
vocals are not great, but it’s typical aidoru stuff. As for the song itself, it’s
very inspired composition and arrangement-wise. The chorus is killer and the
arrangement is rich in synthesizers, strings and even some haunting keyboards
in the background during parts of the verses. In the end, it surely smells like
indie stuff, but it’s not less interesting because of that. And I think it’s
amazing that the group managed to translate their Gothic Lolita thing into the
music in a very consistent way.
As for the girls, I
know one of the members, Ruruko (the girl who's in between in the album cover), still wants to be an aidoru and is constantly
organizing events with fans to eat meat with them. Really strange, but seems
like a nice picnic in some way (I’ve seen some pictures). Also, she models for
Gothic Lolita brands, so i think she’ll be allright. As for the other girls, I
don’t know what they’re doing.
Source: http://imgs.ototoy.jp/imgs/jacket/0066/00106888.1473742069.5741orig.jpg
Hi, Marcos, and thanks for writing about meltia. I had never heard of this group before and yes, there is a definite indie vibe about them. The ladies may have that Goth-Loli wear but there is a certain plainness about their looks and those scenes weaving between a dark stage and a regular streetscape which hint at that. Definitely not the usual AKB glitz.
ReplyDeleteThe impression that I've been getting about the aidoru scene over the last couple of years is that producers seem to be going for a more disposable yet very impressionable set of aidorus. They definitely leave a presence but don't overstay their welcome before breaking up with individual members hooking up to form new groups or leaving the industry altogether.
Hi, J-Canuck.
Deletemeltia reminds me of Wink's early days a little bit. Not sound-wise, but their images can be somewhat similar since Wink also adopted a little bit of Lolita fashion. Unfortunately, nowadays, every Lolita-inspired group that exists seems to be indie/underground (meltia is just one example).
I agree with you about the aidoru scene. Recently, I've noticed how the female aidoru boom slowed down, just like it happened in the late 80s. Sure, 48 groups are still popular, but to whom? They're niche groups, and that's why they sell so much CDs. It's only when they release a true hit song that a broader public pay attention to them. Other than that, they're only filling their fanbase.
The other aidoru units are, as well, worried about finding their niche. So, based on that, I do agree that it must be amazing to follow Japan's underground aidoru scene. Unfortunately, outside Japan, we can only hear glimpses of it.