I really had nothing to say about it, but y’all dragged me into the funeral.
Miyavi’s early career (2002-2004) was characterized by an intense passion and creativity that balanced out any of the shortcomings his vocal technique or production budget had. Those early tracks are layered and layered with so many interesting details, additional instrumentation, vocal harmonies, samples, that really set apart Miyavi from the traditional “2 guitar + bass + drums + vocal” recordings of his peers at the time. Even the B-sides on his early singles were brimming with energy and overflowing with ideas.
And though I have more of a mixed appreciation for his major releases in the coming years (late 2004-2006), like the albums MIYAVIZM, MYV POPS…
I thought his return (2006-2008) to a stripped down approach that highlighted his incredible solo guitar and vocal ability was an excellent choice! And this era really showed off his talents as a virtuoso (MIYAVIUTA, 7 SAMURAI SESSIONS, any of the Dokusou tracks).
Even 2010 What’s My Name? Miyavi, which is admittedly one of my less favorite albums, at least still held true to showing off his raw talent.
I just don’t get when he decided he needed to dumb things down and overproduce to get what he wanted? Couldn’t Miyavi have continued to grow overseas if he just kept cranking out songs on the acoustic these last 15 years? He’s such a talented singer and guitar player that you think he could develop a career with a big international audience just being respected as a singer-songwriter soloist.
i miss tech miyavi i miss emo miyavi