are a five-piece Japanese

visual kei is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock. Som ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band, formed in 2013 in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

History

The formation of Arlequin was associated with the aspiration to be a band of a new generation of

Nagoya kei is a subgenre of the Japanese visual kei movement that developed in the early 1990s music scene of Nagoya, Japan. The term actually developed before visual kei was coined, and gradually died out as the latter gained more popularity. Often consi ...

, a dark subgenre of visual kei that emerged in the early nineties. Bands such as

Kuroyume is a Japanese rock band formed in Nagoya in May 1991, initially with the vocalist Kiyoharu, bassist Hitoki and guitarist Shin. The group had a definite influence on the visual kei scene, being credited as inspiration to many bands of the late 1 ...

Rouage Rouage (stylized as ROUAGE) was a Japanese visual kei rock band formed in Nagoya in 1993, active until 2001. They were an important band to the visual kei scene of the 90s, being credited as one of the founders of the subgenre Nagoya kei. Histor ...

and

Laputa Laputa uh·poo·tuhis a flying island described in the 1726 book ''Gulliver's Travels'' by Jonathan Swift. It is about in diameter, with an adamantine base, which its inhabitants can manoeuvre in any direction using magnetic levitation. The ...

served as models. The band's name corresponds to the French term for

harlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque dialect, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the ''zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian language, Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city o ...

, a clownish stage character whose origins are often located in the theatrical tradition of the Italian

commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...

. According to the members' own statements, it was chosen to give the band's image a touch of the "eccentric" and "toxic." Arlequin's beginnings were crowned with quick success: Their first single ''Arlequin'' (2013) reached #7 on the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...

, and within a year of its formation, the band managed to sell out a concert at

Shibuya Public Hall is a theatre located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It was completed in 1964 to host the weightlifting events in the 1964 Summer Olympics. The theatre was sponsored by Dentsu and Suntory, which paid 80 million to rename it C.C. Lemon Hall (after the ...

. According to various media, they achieved this feat faster than any other band in previous years. In April 2019, a Japanese music website ''Real Sound'' stated that Arlequin and

Dezert Dezert (stylized as DEZERT) is a Japanese visual kei rock band formed in 2011. Their current line-up features Chiaki on vocals, Sacchan on bass, Miyako on guitar and Sora on drums and they have released 7 studio albums to date. ''Real Sound'' ind ...

had the potential to rise and become the "two big guns" of their visual kei generation, like

X Japan was a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive soun ...

and

Luna Sea Luna Sea (stylized as LUNA SEA) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986. Due to the use of make-up and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most success ...

Dir En Grey Dir En Grey (stylized as DIR EN GREY and previously as Dir en grey) is a Japanese heavy metal band formed in February 1997 and currently signed to Firewall Div., a sub-division of Free-Will. With a consistent lineup of guitarists Kaoru and Die, ...

and

Pierrot Pierrot ( , , ) is a stock character of pantomime and '' commedia dell'arte'', whose origins are in the late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a diminutive of ''P ...

before them. In addition to a variety of singles and EPs, Arlequin has released five albums to date: ''Near Equal'' (2014), ''Utopia'' (2016), ''Bless'' (2018, mini-album), ''The Laughing Man'' (2020), and ''Monster'' (2022). Best-of albums were also released in 2017 (''Kachikan no Chigai wa Yuiitsu no Sukuidatta''), 2021 (''Pieces''), and 2022 (''Anthology'').Arlequin Discography
''jpopasia.com''. Retrieved July 4, 2021. Currently, the band is signed to indie label Goemon Records. Arlequin regularly undertook major tours of Japan and released several live DVDs. In July 2016, vocalist Aki was forced to withdraw from scheduled live performances to recover from chronic vocal cord inflammation due to overuse of his voice. Arlequin hosted the ''So no Sekai'' event at Nanba Hatch on August 27, 2022, which also featured acts such as

D'erlanger D'erlanger (stylized as D'ERLANGER) is a Japanese rock band from Kyoto Prefecture, formed in 1983 by guitarist Cipher and bassist Seela. While they originally played speed and power metal, after recruiting drummer Tetsu and vocalist Kyo they ...

Plastic Tree Plastic Tree are a Japanese alternative rock band. Formed in December 1993 in Chiba Prefecture, they released their first mini-album in December 1995, and in 1997, they released their first single on a major label. History Biography Plastic Tr ...

, and Kizu. On October 24, 2022, they took part in a two-man live held by

Deadman Deadman or Deadman's may refer to: * "Deadman" or "dead man", are alternative terms for a dead man's switch * "Deadman's foot" is another name for a Salamander in metallurgy * "Deadman anchor" is a buried object (log, concrete, block, etc.) used ...

at Shinjuku Blaze. On September 2, 2022, the band lost contact with Tamon. They decided to postpone the first three shows of their 9th anniversary tour, but the drummer got back in touch on the 5th. On January 20, 2023, Tamon reported that he was going to the hospital due to a fever and the band lost contact with him again. After he was absent from two events on the 21st and 22nd, he was fired from the band on the 23rd.

Style

Arlequin's music is conventional

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

(hard and fast guitar riffs,

growling Growling is a low, guttural vocalization produced by animals as an aggressive warning but can also be found in other contexts such as playful behaviors or mating. Different animals will use growling in specific contexts as a form of communicati ...

interludes), interspersed with poppy rock elements. The themes of their songs are often melancholic as well as of socio-critical and provocative character (''Dame Ningen'', ''Omit'', ''Makka na Uso''). The lyrics are mostly in Japanese, with rare English passages. As is common for visual kei bands, Arlequin's focus lies heavily on flamboyant, polished, and frequently varied optics, presented in a variety of music videos and other visual media. According to their band name, the members almost exclusively present themselves in heavy makeup and colorful, clownish costumes, with vocalist Aki miming the role of a crying clown. An important visual leitmotif, the

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

, has also been used on a larger scale in stage decorations at live shows.Arlequin recaps first show in 8 months on circus-themed stage
''jrocknews.com'' (November 21, 2020). Retrieved July 4, 2021.

Members

* Aki (暁) - vocals (2013–present) * Kuruto (來堵) - guitar (2013–present) * Nao (奈緒) - guitar (2013–present) * Shohei (祥平) - bass (2013–present) ;Past members * Tamon (堕門) - drums (2013–2023)

Discography

Source:

Albums and mini-albums

* 2014 – ''Near Equal'' * 2016 – ''Utopia'' * 2018 – ''Bless'' * 2020 – ''The Laughing Man'' * 2022 – ''Monster''

Best-of albums

* 2017 – ''Kachikan no Chigai wa Yuiitsu no Sukuidatta (価値観の違いは唯一の救いだった )'' * 2021 – ''Pieces'' * 2022 – ''Anthology''

Singles and EPs

* 2013 – ''Arlequin'' * 2014 – ''似非林檎-eseringo-'' * 2014 – ''Eclipse'' * 2014 – ''Stella (ステラ)'' * 2014 – ''Hakaana (墓穴)'' * 2014 – ''Ichijiku (無花果)'' * 2015 – ''Dilemma (ジレンマ)'' * 2015 – ''All I Need'' * 2015 – ''Douke no Hana (道化ノ華)'' * 2015 – ''Qualia (クオリア)'' * 2016 – ''Paranoia'' * 2016 – ''Karma (カルマ)'' * 2017 – ''Kageboushi (影法師)'' * 2017 – ''Makka na Uso (真っ赤な嘘)'' * 2017 – ''Puzzle'' * 2018 – ''Exist'' * 2019 – ''Razzle-dazzle（ラズルダズル）'' * 2019 – ''Anima'' * 2020 – ''Ikari (怒り)'' * 2020 – ''Veludo (ビロード)'' * 2021 – ''Sekai no Owari to Yoake Mae (世界の終わりと夜明け前)'' / ''Siren (サイレン)'' * 2022 – ''Monster'' * 2022 – ''Libra'' * 2022 – ''Pictures'' * 2022 – ''Chaosdive''

External links

Official website of Arlequin
(Japanese)

References

Japanese pop rock music groups Visual kei musical groups Musical groups from Tokyo Musical groups established in 2013