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Japanese Rock Star Yoshiki on New Documentary and Fashion: ‘The Fans Are the Reason I’m Still Here’
Yoshiki, Variety's International Achievement in Music honoree, talks his new documentary, fashion line and appreciation for his fans.
About 10 minutes into the Feb. 22 presentation at the city’s museum of science and technology dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci, the throbbing, industrial EDM production subsided when Yoshiki sat down at his personally branded Kawai crystal piano, placed between two lanes of runway models. From genre-spanning music collaborations to directing a documentary to his fashion endeavors and philanthropy work, the soft-spoken, frequently sunglass-toting rock star masks a deeply creative soul.“I was hesitating to perform because I want the center of attention to be the clothes, not me,” Yoshiki reflects several days later over a late-night phone call from Tokyo. Though X Japan announced its disbandment in 1997, Yoshiki has balanced the group’s periodic reunions (most recently releasing their first new single in eight years, “Angel,” last July) with a range of projects that speak to his discerning, wide-ranging taste that’s expanded into a career encompassing film, toys, fragrance, food and drink, all in dedication to in bringing his best to his loyal fan base.
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