WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.299 So imagine walking into this legendary underground 00:00:05.299 --> 00:00:07.980 rock club in Tokyo. OK, set the scene. Right. 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:09.980 So the crowd is packed shoulder to shoulder. 00:00:10.500 --> 00:00:13.699 And the vibe in the room is just pure Japanese 00:00:13.699 --> 00:00:16.660 visual kai. You're looking at elaborate gothic 00:00:16.660 --> 00:00:20.699 makeup, incredibly intricate, androgynous fashion. 00:00:21.849 --> 00:00:24.469 Massive, gravity -defying hair everywhere. Standard 00:00:24.469 --> 00:00:26.850 for the scene, yeah. Exactly. The lights go down, 00:00:27.010 --> 00:00:29.489 the crowd roars, and the band takes the stage, 00:00:29.789 --> 00:00:32.549 launching into this blistering, highly theatrical 00:00:32.549 --> 00:00:35.649 heavy metal anthem. And then you find out, and 00:00:35.649 --> 00:00:37.990 this is the crazy part, that band is actually 00:00:37.990 --> 00:00:40.289 from a small town in Italy that's famous for 00:00:40.289 --> 00:00:43.109 balsamic vinegar. I mean, it is just the ultimate 00:00:43.109 --> 00:00:45.049 subversion of what we expect from a cultural 00:00:45.049 --> 00:00:48.289 export. Yeah. Because we are so entirely used 00:00:48.289 --> 00:00:51.950 to this... one -way street where a specific country 00:00:51.950 --> 00:00:54.630 ships out a neatly packaged cultural product, 00:00:54.950 --> 00:00:56.890 like America sends out Hollywood blockbusters, 00:00:57.030 --> 00:00:59.189 Japan sends out anime and these very distinct 00:00:59.189 --> 00:01:01.270 musical subcultures. It's usually very linear. 00:01:01.630 --> 00:01:04.030 Right, but what happens when the internet allows 00:01:04.030 --> 00:01:06.730 someone completely outside that geographic origin 00:01:06.730 --> 00:01:09.609 to just intercept that culture, absorb it, and 00:01:09.609 --> 00:01:12.469 build something entirely new? Welcome to the 00:01:12.469 --> 00:01:14.819 Deep Dive. If you're joining us today, you're 00:01:14.819 --> 00:01:17.599 seriously in for a wild ride. Our mission today 00:01:17.599 --> 00:01:20.140 is to explore this fascinating story of cross 00:01:20.140 --> 00:01:22.500 -cultural reverse engineering in the music world. 00:01:22.659 --> 00:01:25.019 It really is a phenomenal case study. It is. 00:01:25.340 --> 00:01:28.299 We're looking at how a rock band from Italy managed 00:01:28.299 --> 00:01:30.859 to adopt a highly guarded Japanese aesthetic, 00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:34.040 aggressively mutate it into their own subgenre, 00:01:34.140 --> 00:01:36.879 and then successfully export it back to Japan 00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:39.709 and the rest of the world. And honestly, it challenges 00:01:39.709 --> 00:01:42.189 almost every assumption we have about authenticity, 00:01:42.829 --> 00:01:45.810 geographic borders, and just, you know, how art 00:01:45.810 --> 00:01:48.170 evolves in a hyper -connected era. For sure. 00:01:48.250 --> 00:01:50.709 So today's source material is a Wikipedia article 00:01:50.709 --> 00:01:52.969 detailing the history of the Italian glam rock 00:01:52.969 --> 00:01:55.689 band Dreams Now Reality, which is officially, 00:01:55.950 --> 00:01:59.129 and thankfully for us, abbreviated as DNR. OK, 00:01:59.129 --> 00:02:01.349 let's unpack this. Let's do it. Because to understand 00:02:01.349 --> 00:02:03.750 the sheer scale of what DNR accomplished, we 00:02:03.750 --> 00:02:05.629 really have to ground ourselves in their origin 00:02:05.629 --> 00:02:09.419 story. We're starting in 2008 in Modena. Now 00:02:09.419 --> 00:02:12.680 Modena is globally recognized for high -end sports 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:15.939 cars like Ferraris and just incredible culinary 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:19.099 traditions. It is absolutely not known as a hotbed 00:02:19.099 --> 00:02:22.159 for Japanese inspired underground rock. No, not 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:25.479 at all. And honestly, that geographic and cultural 00:02:25.479 --> 00:02:27.819 disconnect is the engine of their entire story. 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:31.620 When DNR formed in 2008, their sound was already 00:02:31.620 --> 00:02:34.139 this eclectic collision. Like a total mashup. 00:02:34.500 --> 00:02:37.400 Exactly. They were playing this chaotic, energetic 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:41.259 mix of glam, hard rock, indie, pop, and alternative 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:43.819 rock. But the music alone isn't what made them 00:02:43.819 --> 00:02:46.159 an anomaly. The real friction came from their 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:48.379 visual presentation and the identity they were 00:02:48.379 --> 00:02:50.580 trying to forge. Yeah, they boldly self -described 00:02:50.580 --> 00:02:53.099 their look and sound as Eurovisual. Eurovisual, 00:02:53.159 --> 00:02:55.180 right. Which is such a great term. But for anyone 00:02:55.180 --> 00:02:57.759 who hasn't fallen down the specific musical rabbit 00:02:57.759 --> 00:02:59.780 hole, let's paint a picture of what that actually 00:02:59.780 --> 00:03:03.270 means. Please do. If you take the gritty, dramatic, 00:03:03.689 --> 00:03:07.610 maybe slightly sleazy flair of Western 1980s 00:03:07.610 --> 00:03:10.469 glam rock think, the leather, the stadium anthems, 00:03:10.590 --> 00:03:13.349 the attitude, and you inject it directly with 00:03:13.349 --> 00:03:15.810 the DNA of Japanese visual key. That's a great 00:03:15.810 --> 00:03:18.229 way to put it. It's like a wildly ambitious culinary 00:03:18.229 --> 00:03:20.689 fusion, like taking a classic rustic Italian 00:03:20.689 --> 00:03:23.789 dish and aggressively seasoning it with an intense 00:03:23.789 --> 00:03:26.870 hyper -modern global flavor to create a completely 00:03:26.870 --> 00:03:29.219 new profile. I love that analogy. But for the 00:03:29.219 --> 00:03:31.180 listener who might be wondering, what exactly 00:03:31.180 --> 00:03:33.939 is visual key in its pure form? Well, what's 00:03:33.939 --> 00:03:36.120 fascinating here is that visual key isn't just 00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:39.800 a sound. It's an incredibly specific, deeply 00:03:39.800 --> 00:03:42.680 entrenched subculture that originated in Japan 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:45.300 back in the 1980s. OK, so it's got history. Definitely. 00:03:45.659 --> 00:03:48.039 To visualize it, imagine the heavy metal theatrics 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:51.099 of Western bands like Kiss or Alice Cooper, but 00:03:51.099 --> 00:03:53.319 filtered entirely through the elegant, dramatic 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:56.580 aesthetics of Japanese kabuki theater and like... 00:03:56.439 --> 00:03:59.939 Wow, so very highly stylized. Highly. It's heavy, 00:04:00.099 --> 00:04:02.520 often emotional music paired with a rigid dedication 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:05.020 to elaborate costumey and makeup. It's a spectacle. 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:07.719 And it is fiercely protected by its fans and 00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:10.360 its gatekeepers. So for a group of guys in Modena 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:13.460 to look at that highly guarded Japanese subculture 00:04:13.460 --> 00:04:16.079 and say, you know, we're going to do that, but 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:18.899 we're going to make it European requires a massive 00:04:18.899 --> 00:04:21.920 amount of audacity. Oh, massive. And consider 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:25.000 the timing here, too. This is 2008. The Internet 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:27.540 is certainly active, but we are not yet in the 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:30.800 era of TikTok, where global trends cross -pollinate 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:32.740 in a matter of hours. Oh, that's a really good 00:04:32.740 --> 00:04:36.170 point. You had to work for it. Exactly. Discovering, 00:04:36.189 --> 00:04:38.829 studying, and adopting a niche Japanese subculture 00:04:38.829 --> 00:04:42.009 from Italy required deep intentional immersion 00:04:42.009 --> 00:04:44.870 into early internet forums and obscure video 00:04:44.870 --> 00:04:46.930 platforms. You couldn't just casually scroll 00:04:46.930 --> 00:04:49.629 into it. No, they weren't just passively borrowing 00:04:49.629 --> 00:04:52.149 an influence. They were actively trying to claim 00:04:52.149 --> 00:04:55.209 a space within it by coining the term Eurovisual. 00:04:55.389 --> 00:04:57.769 Forging a brand new cultural identity like that 00:04:57.769 --> 00:04:59.750 is never a straight line, though. And looking 00:04:59.750 --> 00:05:02.410 at their early history, DNR's journey to finding 00:05:02.410 --> 00:05:04.490 their footing is perfectly mirrored in their 00:05:04.329 --> 00:05:07.189 incredibly chaotic naming conventions. Oh the 00:05:07.189 --> 00:05:09.329 name changes. Which honestly stresses me out 00:05:09.329 --> 00:05:11.769 from a branding perspective. I mean the evolution 00:05:11.769 --> 00:05:14.319 of their name... really is a story of its own. 00:05:14.339 --> 00:05:16.899 And it tells us a lot about the internal culture 00:05:16.899 --> 00:05:19.339 of the band during those formative years. OK, 00:05:19.339 --> 00:05:21.759 let's look at the timeline of that identity crisis, 00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:24.000 because they actually started out with a rather 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:26.939 dark, almost medical sounding name, Do Not Reanimate. 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:30.819 Very grim. Right. And under that moniker, they 00:05:30.819 --> 00:05:33.720 released their first single, Visual Evolution, 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:37.100 in 2008, and then followed it up with their debut 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:40.959 studio album, Visual Evolution Reloaded, in 2009. 00:05:41.180 --> 00:05:43.240 And that was released under an independent label 00:05:43.240 --> 00:05:46.860 called MiraLoop. Yeah, exactly. But then this 00:05:46.860 --> 00:05:49.839 massive shift happens. Their vocalist, Mantis, 00:05:50.060 --> 00:05:52.720 leaves the band. And the remaining members decide 00:05:52.720 --> 00:05:55.959 to completely change the name to Dreams Not Reality. 00:05:56.139 --> 00:05:58.920 While critically maintaining that DNR abbreviation. 00:05:59.160 --> 00:06:01.000 Right, but I have to push back on the business 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:03.379 logic of this move, though. Wait, from a branding 00:06:03.379 --> 00:06:05.300 perspective, why throw away your name recognition 00:06:05.300 --> 00:06:08.019 just because one singer leaves? It seems counterintuitive. 00:06:08.180 --> 00:06:10.040 You have an album out. You have a single out. 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:12.209 You have a label backing you. You are building 00:06:12.209 --> 00:06:15.449 actual momentum in a notoriously difficult industry. 00:06:16.129 --> 00:06:18.170 Why not just keep the brand you've literally 00:06:18.170 --> 00:06:20.810 just built? It seems like commercial sabotage 00:06:20.810 --> 00:06:23.629 to confuse your early fan base like that. Well, 00:06:23.790 --> 00:06:27.189 if you view a band strictly as a corporate entity 00:06:27.189 --> 00:06:29.829 selling a product, then yeah, changing the name 00:06:29.829 --> 00:06:32.449 after a debut album is a terrible strategy. Okay. 00:06:32.670 --> 00:06:34.870 But the sources give us a really vital piece 00:06:34.870 --> 00:06:37.949 of context here. The Wikipedia article specifically 00:06:37.949 --> 00:06:40.610 notes that the remaining members sought a, quote, 00:06:40.850 --> 00:06:43.889 more optimistic name after Mantis departed. Oh, 00:06:43.889 --> 00:06:46.430 interesting. Yeah. So this wasn't a cynical marketing 00:06:46.430 --> 00:06:48.550 pivot. This is a psychological reset for the 00:06:48.550 --> 00:06:51.930 surviving members. Oh. So the name Do Not Reanimate 00:06:51.930 --> 00:06:54.230 was carrying the heavy baggage of the old lineup 00:06:54.230 --> 00:06:56.829 and whatever internal friction led to the singer 00:06:56.829 --> 00:06:59.930 leaving. Exactly the case. When a lead vocalist 00:06:59.930 --> 00:07:02.500 leaves, especially a founding member who acts 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:04.620 as the voice and often the face of the project, 00:07:05.259 --> 00:07:07.300 the remaining musicians usually go through a 00:07:07.300 --> 00:07:10.160 profound existential crisis. Sure, you're questioning 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:13.319 everything. Right. And Do Not Reanimate sounds 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:15.899 like a literal medical directive for a corpse. 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:19.439 It's bleak. By changing it to Dreams Not Reality, 00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:22.420 they were signaling a massive shift in their 00:07:22.420 --> 00:07:24.259 internal culture. They were actively choosing 00:07:24.259 --> 00:07:27.829 optimism. Yes, they were choosing a future facing 00:07:27.829 --> 00:07:30.769 identity over clinging to a past that was no 00:07:30.769 --> 00:07:33.269 longer working, even if it meant taking a short 00:07:33.269 --> 00:07:35.449 term hit to their brand recognition. OK, that 00:07:35.449 --> 00:07:37.589 makes total sense when you frame it as internal 00:07:37.589 --> 00:07:40.350 survival rather than external marketing. And 00:07:40.350 --> 00:07:42.170 it's a great detail that they would later evolve 00:07:42.170 --> 00:07:44.589 the name one more time to Dreams Now Reality. 00:07:44.810 --> 00:07:47.269 Yes, the final form. They shifted from the negative 00:07:47.269 --> 00:07:50.769 word not to the present tense now, finally catching 00:07:50.769 --> 00:07:53.790 up to their own ambition. But the anger that 00:07:53.790 --> 00:07:56.709 DNR Deviation remained the constant through line 00:07:56.709 --> 00:07:59.110 so fans could still find them and that deliberate 00:07:59.110 --> 00:08:02.430 pivot toward optimism and a cohesive vision Really 00:08:02.430 --> 00:08:04.829 immediately started to pay dividends. Okay. Here's 00:08:04.829 --> 00:08:06.449 where it gets really interesting because once 00:08:06.449 --> 00:08:08.490 they locked in that positive identity They didn't 00:08:08.490 --> 00:08:11.310 just slowly build a local following from roughly 00:08:11.310 --> 00:08:14.230 2011 to 2012 DNR essentially starts gathering 00:08:14.230 --> 00:08:16.449 the Avengers of the glam rock and pop production 00:08:16.449 --> 00:08:18.550 world That's a perfect way to describe it. They 00:08:18.550 --> 00:08:20.649 go on this networking tear that makes zero sense 00:08:20.649 --> 00:08:23.410 on paper, but it's absolutely brilliant in execution 00:08:23.629 --> 00:08:26.589 How does a fringe Italian band playing a niche 00:08:26.589 --> 00:08:29.069 Japanese style get the industry to actually take 00:08:29.069 --> 00:08:31.709 them seriously? The sheer caliber of the people 00:08:31.709 --> 00:08:33.710 they brought into their orbit during this period 00:08:33.710 --> 00:08:38.429 is staggering. I mean, in January 2011, DNR releases 00:08:38.429 --> 00:08:41.750 a new single titled Beyond This World under Faster 00:08:41.750 --> 00:08:44.190 Master Records. Right. And the production credits 00:08:44.190 --> 00:08:46.149 on the video for this track are what make you 00:08:46.149 --> 00:08:48.909 do a complete double take. The names are wild. 00:08:49.029 --> 00:08:51.250 The video is produced by Matteo Cefali and Toby 00:08:51.250 --> 00:08:53.779 Chapman. Now, for For the listener who doesn't 00:08:53.779 --> 00:08:56.059 spend their weekends obsessively reading album 00:08:56.059 --> 00:08:58.840 liner notes, Toby Chapman is a heavyweight. An 00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:01.600 absolute heavyweight. He is a producer and session 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:05.600 musician who has worked with massive legacy mainstream 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:09.179 prop and rock acts. We are talking about Spandau 00:09:09.179 --> 00:09:12.240 Ballet, Lionel Richie. Tom Jones? Try to picture 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:14.399 that studio dynamic for a second. You have a 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:17.000 young, hungry Italian band trying to pioneer 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:19.860 a Japanese -inspired, highly theatrical, goth 00:09:19.860 --> 00:09:22.340 glam subgenre, and they are taking direction 00:09:22.340 --> 00:09:24.840 from the guy who helped produce Tom Jones. It's 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:27.600 insane. The juxtaposition is almost comical, 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.740 but it is deeply strategic. I just imagine Tom 00:09:30.740 --> 00:09:33.259 Jones's producer sitting at a mixing desk, you 00:09:33.259 --> 00:09:35.899 know, trying to... wrap his head around the concept 00:09:35.899 --> 00:09:38.779 of Eurovisual. Right. But they didn't stop at 00:09:38.779 --> 00:09:41.620 legacy pop producers. They balanced out that 00:09:41.620 --> 00:09:44.460 mainstream credibility by diving deep into the 00:09:44.460 --> 00:09:47.340 actual European glam scene. They did. They brought 00:09:47.340 --> 00:09:50.240 in Sebastiano Serafini, who was well known in 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:53.080 these circles as Sabah, to handle keyboards and 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:55.720 vocals. OK, getting some local scene cred. Furthermore, 00:09:55.899 --> 00:09:58.200 they collaborated extensively with Luminor, who 00:09:58.200 --> 00:10:00.440 was a former member of the German band Cinema 00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:03.340 Bazaar. And Cinema Bazaar was a massive deal 00:10:03.340 --> 00:10:05.879 in the European visual rock scene at the time. 00:10:06.059 --> 00:10:08.799 Very smart move. Yeah. And to solidify that connection, 00:10:09.059 --> 00:10:11.639 a bit later in 2013, they brought in another 00:10:11.639 --> 00:10:14.200 Cinema Bazaar alumnus, You Phoenix, to actually 00:10:14.200 --> 00:10:16.720 be their guitarist. It's a master class in building 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:18.940 a coalition. They aren't just writing songs in 00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:21.779 a vacuum. They are creating this structural bridge 00:10:21.779 --> 00:10:24.100 between two totally different worlds. Exactly. 00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:26.000 And if we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:10:26.740 --> 00:10:28.679 you can see the deliberate architecture of their 00:10:28.679 --> 00:10:32.049 career. How do you mean? By pulling in legacy, 00:10:32.649 --> 00:10:34.690 fundamentally Western pop rock producers like 00:10:34.690 --> 00:10:38.669 Chapman, alongside bona fide icons of the modern 00:10:38.669 --> 00:10:41.669 European goth glam scene like Luminor and Euphenix, 00:10:42.450 --> 00:10:46.090 DNR was legitimizing the entire Eurovisual experiment. 00:10:46.169 --> 00:10:49.669 Ah, I see. They were proving to the industry 00:10:49.669 --> 00:10:51.909 and to the fans that this wasn't just a cheap 00:10:51.909 --> 00:10:53.950 gimmick. They were getting heavyweights from 00:10:53.950 --> 00:10:56.129 opposite ends of the musical spectrum to buy 00:10:56.129 --> 00:10:57.970 into their vision. So they built the machine, 00:10:58.169 --> 00:11:00.690 they got the sound, they got the look. But all 00:11:00.690 --> 00:11:02.990 of this aggressive networking and blending of 00:11:02.990 --> 00:11:05.970 styles was leading them to an inevitable ultimate 00:11:05.970 --> 00:11:08.549 test. The final boss. Right. You cannot claim 00:11:08.549 --> 00:11:10.710 a Japanese aesthetic, build a brand around it, 00:11:10.769 --> 00:11:12.850 and call yourself authentic without eventually 00:11:12.850 --> 00:11:15.129 taking that act directly to the birthplace of 00:11:15.129 --> 00:11:17.929 visual key. Taking Eurovisual to Japan is where 00:11:17.929 --> 00:11:20.129 DNR transitions from being a very interesting 00:11:20.129 --> 00:11:22.990 European curiosity to actually making history. 00:11:23.149 --> 00:11:25.090 Yeah, they really leveled up here. The timeline 00:11:25.090 --> 00:11:27.409 of their international expansion from 2011 onward 00:11:27.409 --> 00:11:30.169 is just relentless. Let's walk through that gauntlet. 00:11:30.269 --> 00:11:33.250 Because in 2011, they secure a slot opening for 00:11:33.250 --> 00:11:36.549 the massive Japanese symphonic metal band Versailles 00:11:36.549 --> 00:11:39.129 when they played in Salerno, Italy. A great first 00:11:39.129 --> 00:11:41.610 step. A huge stepping stone. But then they cross 00:11:41.610 --> 00:11:43.850 the globe. They played the V -Rock Festival at 00:11:43.850 --> 00:11:46.570 the Saitama Super Arena in in Japan, which is 00:11:46.570 --> 00:11:49.350 an absolutely colossal venue. Massive. They play 00:11:49.350 --> 00:11:52.190 the V -Love Live International. Then, pushing 00:11:52.190 --> 00:11:55.590 into 2012, they opened for Ainaran on his Seven 00:11:55.590 --> 00:11:58.490 Samurai's European tour. And Ainaran isn't just 00:11:58.490 --> 00:12:00.870 anybody. He's the guitarist and co -founder of 00:12:00.870 --> 00:12:03.690 the legendary Japanese rock band Lunacy. Sharing 00:12:03.690 --> 00:12:06.110 a stage with Ainaran, even as an opening act 00:12:06.110 --> 00:12:08.889 in Europe, is a monumental stamp of approval. 00:12:09.149 --> 00:12:11.529 Lunacy helped define the visual kai movement 00:12:11.529 --> 00:12:14.330 in the 1990s. It's huge. But opening for legend 00:12:14.330 --> 00:12:16.149 still keeps you in the opening act box, right? 00:12:16.149 --> 00:12:18.629 That's their point. The absolute milestone, the 00:12:18.629 --> 00:12:20.769 moment they crossed over from students to peers, 00:12:21.250 --> 00:12:24.830 happens on May 13th, 2012. On that day, DNR becomes 00:12:24.830 --> 00:12:27.789 the very first non -Japanese band to ever perform 00:12:27.789 --> 00:12:30.889 at the stylish wave event at Akasaka Bialytsi 00:12:30.889 --> 00:12:33.730 in Tokyo. Such an incredibly specific and important 00:12:33.730 --> 00:12:36.269 milestone. So for someone listening who is entirely 00:12:36.269 --> 00:12:40.179 outside the ecosystem of Japanese Rock. Put that 00:12:40.179 --> 00:12:42.600 into perspective. Just how big of a deal is it 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:45.320 to get booked at Stylish Wave? It is difficult 00:12:45.320 --> 00:12:47.500 to overstate the cultural weight of that booking. 00:12:48.139 --> 00:12:50.100 Think of it like a country artist being invited 00:12:50.100 --> 00:12:53.340 to play the Grand Ole Opry or a totally unknown 00:12:53.340 --> 00:12:56.299 hip hop act being asked to headline a legendary 00:12:56.299 --> 00:12:58.440 historically significant venue in the Bronx. 00:12:58.500 --> 00:13:01.320 Oh wow. Stylish Wave is not just a generic rock 00:13:01.320 --> 00:13:04.379 concert. It is a foundational institution within 00:13:04.379 --> 00:13:07.320 the visual kai scene. It's the proving ground 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:09.639 where the vanguard of the genre is showcased. 00:13:09.659 --> 00:13:12.039 So it's heavily gate kept. Intensely gate kept. 00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:15.159 For a non -Japanese band, an Italian band from 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:18.419 Modena, no less, to be invited to perform on 00:13:18.419 --> 00:13:21.659 that specific stage represents the ultimate cultural 00:13:21.659 --> 00:13:23.639 validation. It's like they officially made it. 00:13:23.899 --> 00:13:26.440 Exactly. Breaking that specific barrier proved 00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:28.320 to the world that they were not a novelty act 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:30.740 mimicking a culture they didn't understand. They 00:13:30.740 --> 00:13:33.379 were respected, endorsed, and actively accepted 00:13:33.379 --> 00:13:36.019 by the absolute authorities of the genre. That's 00:13:36.019 --> 00:13:39.019 wild. They successfully reverse engineered an 00:13:39.019 --> 00:13:42.299 intensely regional culture, repackaged it and 00:13:42.299 --> 00:13:44.299 sold it back to the originators on their own 00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:47.039 home turf. It's an incredible triumph of sheer 00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:50.000 willpower and creativity. They pushed the boulder 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:52.279 all the way to the top of the mountain. They 00:13:52.279 --> 00:13:55.139 even successfully crowdfunded their second major 00:13:55.139 --> 00:13:58.860 album, Dreamfinity, via Pledge Music in 2014, 00:13:59.139 --> 00:14:02.059 showing they had a rabid, dedicated global fan 00:14:02.059 --> 00:14:04.559 base willing to open their wallets. They had 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:06.500 real momentum. But, you know, gravity always 00:14:06.500 --> 00:14:09.279 sets in. And after riding this historic high, 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:12.159 the momentum comes to a terrifying, crashing 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:14.620 halt. It is a very stark reminder of the physical 00:14:14.620 --> 00:14:16.779 realities of the music industry. Yeah, reality 00:14:16.779 --> 00:14:19.120 check. We spend so much time time analyzing the 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:21.559 high level strategies of success. The branding, 00:14:21.700 --> 00:14:24.159 the networking, the brilliant cultural synthesis. 00:14:24.700 --> 00:14:26.639 But we often forget that a band is ultimately 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:28.559 just a fragile group of human beings traveling 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:31.009 in a van or on a plane. Right. The Wikipedia 00:14:31.009 --> 00:14:33.909 sources note that in 2015, their drummer, Ash, 00:14:34.210 --> 00:14:37.990 was involved in a severe car accident. This catastrophic 00:14:37.990 --> 00:14:40.970 event forced the entire band into a temporary 00:14:40.970 --> 00:14:43.929 hiatus. They had to cancel highly anticipated 00:14:43.929 --> 00:14:47.149 performances, including a major return to Japan 00:14:47.149 --> 00:14:50.409 for the Visual Unite event. It's just devastating 00:14:50.409 --> 00:14:53.210 to read. It really forces you to pause and reflect 00:14:53.210 --> 00:14:55.950 on the sheer fragility of momentum. Yeah. You 00:14:55.950 --> 00:14:59.509 could spend seven years making historic, unprecedented 00:14:59.659 --> 00:15:02.240 cultural breakthroughs. You can build an international 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:05.039 bridge between Italy and Japan. And you can have 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:08.080 it all entirely halted by an arbitrary moment 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:11.000 of sheer bad luck. It's so unfair. The physical 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:13.240 toll of life, in this case a terrible accident, 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:16.059 just doesn't care about your cultural milestones. 00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:18.720 It's heartbreaking. But the true measure of a 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:20.820 band, or any creative endeavor really, isn't 00:15:20.820 --> 00:15:22.600 just how high they can climb when the wind is 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:24.559 at their back. It is how they recover from a 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:27.820 dead stop. And DNR, true to that optimistic identity 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:30.409 they fought so hard to build? didn't stay down. 00:15:30.649 --> 00:15:33.149 They really didn't. They bounced back hard. By 00:15:33.149 --> 00:15:36.029 2017, Ash has recovered, and they released the 00:15:36.029 --> 00:15:38.049 Dreamfinity Deluxe Edition, this time through 00:15:38.049 --> 00:15:40.789 an American label, Paris Records. Going global 00:15:40.789 --> 00:15:42.909 again. Right, and they get right back out on 00:15:42.909 --> 00:15:45.509 the road. But this is where I love their adaptability. 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:47.740 They don't just go back to playing strictly visual 00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:49.879 key shows, they secure a slot opening for the 00:15:49.879 --> 00:15:52.940 heavy metal band Lordy on their Sexorcism European 00:15:52.940 --> 00:15:56.000 tour. Which is a genuinely fantastic, almost 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:59.720 surreal detail. Lordy is a Finnish hard rock 00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:02.960 band famous for wearing incredibly elaborate 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:06.049 grotesque monster costumes on stage. Right. The 00:16:06.049 --> 00:16:09.090 monster guys. Transitioning from sharing a stage 00:16:09.090 --> 00:16:12.190 with sleek, elegant, androgynous Japanese visual 00:16:12.190 --> 00:16:15.230 key acts to touring Europe with a band of Finnish 00:16:15.230 --> 00:16:18.070 musicians dressed as literal latex monsters, 00:16:18.529 --> 00:16:21.210 it shows a profound, joyful adaptability. It 00:16:21.210 --> 00:16:22.809 really does. It proves they just want to put 00:16:22.809 --> 00:16:25.070 on a massive theatrical rock show completely 00:16:25.070 --> 00:16:26.769 regardless of who they are sharing the stage 00:16:26.769 --> 00:16:29.090 with. And that drive to perform continues to 00:16:29.090 --> 00:16:31.970 push them forward. Over 15 years after they first 00:16:31.970 --> 00:16:34.649 formed in Wadena, The Eurovisual experiment is 00:16:34.649 --> 00:16:36.750 still iterating. They're still going. Fast forward 00:16:36.750 --> 00:16:39.470 to 2024, the band introduces a fresh lineup. 00:16:39.990 --> 00:16:42.690 They add Pezi on guitar and Flo on vocals, who 00:16:42.690 --> 00:16:44.970 join the longtime foundational rhythm section 00:16:44.970 --> 00:16:48.409 of Kira on bass and Ash on drums. The machine 00:16:48.409 --> 00:16:51.940 keeps moving. So what does this all mean? Why 00:16:51.940 --> 00:16:55.679 does the saga of an Italian glam rock band matter 00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:58.480 to you listening to this deep dive right now? 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:00.679 That's the real question. Whether you are writing 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:03.220 a blog, designing clothing, trying to launch 00:17:03.220 --> 00:17:05.940 a startup, or just searching for your own personal 00:17:05.940 --> 00:17:09.680 aesthetic. The story of DNR is a master class 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:12.619 in creative permission. I completely agree. It 00:17:12.619 --> 00:17:14.700 proves that the internet has completely killed 00:17:14.700 --> 00:17:17.809 the concept of staying in your lane. You do not 00:17:17.809 --> 00:17:20.309 need geographical permission to participate in 00:17:20.309 --> 00:17:22.789 a culture that you love. Absolutely not. If you 00:17:22.789 --> 00:17:25.250 are passionate enough about a niche, even one 00:17:25.250 --> 00:17:27.210 that originates halfway across the world, even 00:17:27.210 --> 00:17:29.369 one that seems totally incongruous with your 00:17:29.369 --> 00:17:31.750 own background, you can carve out your own space. 00:17:32.029 --> 00:17:34.549 You can mash up your local identity with a global 00:17:34.549 --> 00:17:37.250 aesthetic, survive the inevitable setbacks, and 00:17:37.250 --> 00:17:40.190 actually make history. It is a powerful reminder 00:17:40.190 --> 00:17:42.450 that authenticity isn't about where you were 00:17:42.450 --> 00:17:45.869 born. It is about the conviction and the respect 00:17:45.869 --> 00:17:48.759 you bring. to what you create. Well said. And 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:50.180 this raises an important question, something 00:17:50.180 --> 00:17:52.680 for you to consider long after we wrap up today. 00:17:53.099 --> 00:17:55.640 Think about the concept of Eurovisual as a cultural 00:17:55.640 --> 00:17:58.220 mirror. In our hyper -connected world where every 00:17:58.220 --> 00:18:01.160 obscure subculture is instantly accessible online, 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:04.180 what happens when the cultural exports of one 00:18:04.180 --> 00:18:07.039 country are absorbed, remixed, and reflected 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:10.740 back by another? At what exact point does an 00:18:10.740 --> 00:18:14.579 adopted, borrowed aesthetic mutate into a brand 00:18:14.579 --> 00:18:17.579 new indigenous art form of its very own. It is 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:19.779 the loop -the -loop of modern culture. It means 00:18:19.779 --> 00:18:21.500 the neat one -way shipping routes of the past 00:18:21.500 --> 00:18:23.740 are gone for good, replaced by something much 00:18:23.740 --> 00:18:26.319 more chaotic and, honestly, much more beautiful. 00:18:26.940 --> 00:18:28.640 Thank you so much for joining us on this steep 00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:30.440 dive. We will catch you next time. Take care, 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:31.339 everyone. Keep exploring.