The X Factor
To describe Yoshiki, founder of X Japan, as a rock star somehow seems woefully inadequate.
In addition to being the drummer, songwriter and pianist in the band, he’s performed classical piano concerts around the world, composed music for the Emperor of Japan, and inspired his own Hello Kitty figurine, Yoshi-Kitty.
At the very expensive London hotel where we meet Yoshiki, a grand piano has been installed in his suite - he says he’s practising some Rachmaninov - and several strikingly beautiful young women recline languidly around the room. The rise, spectacular fall and rise again of X Japan has been chronicled in Stephen Kijak’s documentary We Are X and it’s a tale that almost sounds too outlandish to be true.
The band split up in 1997 when vocalist Toshi was brainwashed into joining a religious cult, lead guitarist Hide died in 1998 having apparently killed himself, then former bassist Taiji hung himself in 2011.
I cut myself so many times on my cymbals
Tragedy has defined Yoshiki’s life - his father took his own life when Yoshiki was just a child and he turned to music as an outlet and escape. X Japan’s early style was a pummelling blend of thrash metal and glam rock imagery known as Visual Kei, although they’ve since moved towards symphonic, progressive rock.
Their legendary live performances have seen Yoshiki pushing himself to exhaustion and the years of headbanging and hard playing have taken their toll. He’s undergone surgery in 2009 and 2017 to repair the damage to his back and neck. But he’s not finished yet.
How far along is the new X Japan album? The band’s last studio release, Dahlia, was in 1996!
“It’s a matter of time, could be several weeks, to be done. Actually, I’m working while in England too. One song I started mixing in LA a week ago, I just came from Tokyo yesterday.
"I was mixing in Tokyo over the internet to Los Angeles, and I couldn’t finish it because I had rehearsals and a TV show and film premiere, then I came here so I want to finish that particular song. I’m on the road but I’m still working. It’s very close. People won’t believe me but it’s very close.”
In the 1990s when you first tried to break into the US, was the outrageous Visual Kei image a hindrance?
“I don’t think we were ready. Also, the world was not ready. First of all, we didn’t speak English. When I watch that film, oh, my English is terrible! My English is not perfect yet but that was terrible. It’s great we didn’t give up. After that X Japan broke up and then reunited and everything.”
Now you’re playing shows in Madison Square Garden and Wembley Arena. What’s changed?
“At that time, there was no internet, so our music, our culture didn’t spread throughout the world. It was just there in Japan. After several years our music started spreading throughout the world because of the internet, so that’s the biggest change I guess.
"Before, we had to just tour, we still do, all the bands from anywhere had to tour around the world to get recognised but these days there are different ways of doing that. I’m not saying that doing a world tour is a bad idea, we still have to do it, but we can do something different these days.”
Is the live show vital now album sales have shrunk in the streaming age?
“Yes. I think more people are listening to the music than before because it’s easier to access but at the same time, album sales have kept declining. Also, we’re losing the definition of what an album is. Why do we need to release an album? I was fighting with the label, ‘Why are we doing an album? These days people just listen to hit songs, singles.’ I still don’t have an answer.
"More people listen to us, so more people come to the concerts as well. Twenty years ago, it was almost impossible for X Japan to play Wembley Arena but because of the internet I think we can play that kind of place now.”
Your physical drumming style seems to have been very hard on your body?
“It’s quite a contradiction because I try to care about my health but at the same time I try to destroy my body. It’s so strange. I had a death wish. If I’m going to die, I’m going to die on stage, that’s how I was thinking, so that’s why I would jump into my drumset.
"I cut myself so many times on my cymbals, but when I’m in the right state of mind, I try to stretch, look after my body, go to the doctor. But when I’m on stage I’m very suicidal. It’s very weird. Our show is so intense, we play like there is no tomorrow, so we can’t do so many shows in a month.
"We have to take a break otherwise we’re going to be dead, it’s not easy for us to play show after show. We have to hit certain cities, major cities, of course you want to go to as many places as possible, but physically it’s not possible.”
Are there songs where you take a deep breath and think, okay, this is going to be tough?
“Art Of Life, which is originally a 30-minute song. These days we’re playing the third movement which is pretty tough. Also, there are some songs where I’m going back and forth between piano and drums. Drumming is like running, playing piano is like stopping and drinking Japanese tea.”
