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What is pikopiko kei?

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inartistic
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OmoideNoKage
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The quick definition of pikopiko kei

Pikopiko kei (ピコピコ系) artists are visual kei artists that emphasize programmed electronic sounds with a low-fi or retro futuristic feel, and typically integrate retro futurism into their looks.

A brief history of pikopiko kei

The lineage of pikopiko kei starts with electropop pioneers YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA, who formed in 1978, and their [non-visual] followers P-MODEL and UCHOTEN (有頂天) in the 1980s. The latter is particularly noteworthy for their brightly-colored costumes that are often directly referenced by pikopiko kei bands, and for their association with “strange” indie label NAGOMU RECORDS (ナゴムレコード).

By 2000, a space was carved out in visual kei for bands with a similarly “strange” spirit: Misshitsu kei (密室系). In that environment, pikopiko kei bands emerged: METRONOME (メトロノーム) (1998), Shinjuku GEWALT (新宿ゲバルト) (1999), RYOUKITANTEISHA MACARONI (猟奇探偵社マカロニ) (2000), and PINOKIWO (ピノキヲ) (2001), among others. Many could be called Misshitsu kei (密室系) and/or shironuri kei (白塗り系), but stood out from their peers because of their retro electronic sounds.

While most pikopiko kei bands operated at the fringes of the scene, METRONOME (メトロノーム) flourished within orthodox visual kei spaces, and became the most successful. Their label ART POP RECORDS organized large vkei events like CRUSH OF MODE, and they were able to hold oneman tours by the mid 2000s. (And, after a revival in 2016, they became one of the few to go major.)

But there is an earlier electronic success story within visual kei: SOFT BALLET. They formed in 1987, went major in 1989, and were active until their disbandment at Shibuya (渋谷) Koukaidou (公会堂) in 1995. Similar to BUCK-TICK, they are now categorized as visual kei, but were so popular at at the time that they operated largely outside of the scene.

SOFT BALLET illustrates a “problem” with the term pikopiko kei. It specifically refers to the low-fi beeping sound of bands like METRONOME (メトロノーム), but excludes other electronic-heavy bands that might otherwise make sense to categorize together.

Those other electronic artists—like the electropop DASEIN, gothic BLAM HONEY or Schwarz Stein, neoclassical AMADEUS, digirock UCHUSENTAI:NOIZ, or glittering wonder【Age】plus+—tend to be lumped into subgenres like tanbi kei (耽美系) or kirakira kei (キラキラ系), or treated simply as non-denominational visual kei bands.

The more generic term uchikomi kei (打ち込み系) could perhaps group all of these electronic-heavy bands under one umbrella, but it is used so infrequently that we have opted to treat pikopiko kei as the subgenre, and the other electronic bands as a sidenote.

Back to pikopiko kei proper, its “height” was over by around 2010, at which point most early bands had stopped activity or become less popular. Although pikopiko artists still existed, it was more likely to see them playing with Misshitsu kei (密室系) or shironuri kei (白塗り系) artists. The electronic-heavy [but not at all associated with pikopiko kei] subgenre Kirakira kei (キラキラ系) also became popular around that time.

As of 2025, the remaining pikopiko kei bands tend to be associated with charismatic figures from earlier days: SHARAKU (シャラク) and FUKUSUKE (フクスケ) with a revived METRONOME (メトロノーム); EIJI (エイジ) from Himitsu Kessha CODOMO A (秘密結社コドモA) with MATSUTAKE WORKS (マツタケワークス); H∧L from Minus Jin-Say Orchestra (マイナス人生オーケストラ) with Hitotonari (ひととなり); and so on.

Why is it called pikopiko kei?

The term pikopiko kei (ピコピコ系) {pikopiko style} comes from the Japanese onomatopoeia for a beeping noise. It was used as early as 1979 to describe some of the songs of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA, an early pioneer of electronic music.

It was thus adopted to describe bands who heavily incorporate low-fi/beeping electronic sounds into their music.

What are the other names for pikopiko kei?

Pikopiko kei is not a perfect name: it implies a retro, low-fi sound that doesn't fully encompass the complicated computer-generated sounds that many of these bands employ. As such, the alternate terms uchikomi kei (打ち込み系) {programming style} or digi rock (デジロック) {digi\[tal\] rock} are also sometimes used.

Uchikomi kei would probably be the best name since it is fairly generic and all-encompassing, but it simply isn't used as often as pikopiko kei. Thus we have stuck with pikopiko kei for our lists just out of convention.

What does pikopiko kei look like?

Flexible in looks, but typically emphasizes the electronic element in some way. May feature references to millennial futurism; sci-fi and space aesthetics; or cyber goth. Typically includes bright and garish colors; costumes may directly integrate wires, floppy disks, CDs, or other technology. When paired with shironuri kei (白塗り系), may look more like Showa-era retroism. Live shows may make especially heavy use of lasers.

What does pikopiko kei sound like?

Rock, pop, or some combination thereof that is heavily reliant on digital sounds. May be intentionally lo-fi in nature (“8-bit beeps”), or may be layered within typical rock, or may be entirely made by physical synths and digital instruments, or may feature walls of digitally-generated noise. Regardless, it typically can't be played live without a backing track.

Is pikopiko kei a legitimate visual kei subgenre?

More or less. The only time it was a concentrated subgenre was mostly around shironuri kei bands, who tend to only be active at the fringes of the visual scene (or are not visual kei at all). But digital-heavy bands are a consistent presence in visual kei, even if in small numbers.

Pikopiko kei alignments

May not involve instruments, but short of pure pop.

Bands have a clear concept but songs may be realistic.

Designed costumes or heavily modified clothing.

Instrumentation tends to be simple.

Avoids some idol-like behaviors.

Rarely sad or angry -sounding.

Music often lends itself to energetic crowds.

No particular extreme.

When was pikopiko kei active?

The highest concentration of activity was around 2000~2006, but pikopiko bands have existed in small numbers since the mid 1990s and through 2025.

What are the representative pikopiko kei bands?

Representatives: METRONOME (メトロノーム), Himitsu Kessha CODOMO A (秘密結社コドモA), Shinjuku GEWALT (新宿ゲバルト)

Modern: MATSUTAKE WORKS (マツタケワークス), AINORI TECHNOS (アイノリ・テクノーズ), Hitotonari (ひととなり)

Edit History

  • 2025-01-31: removed non-pikopiko representatives to avoid confusion

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What is pikopiko kei?

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What is pikopiko kei?

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TЯicKY could go nicely on the playlist.

What is pikopiko kei?

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Not sure why E'm~grief~ is mentioned there at the end, there were definitively a tanbi kei metal band that employed experimental sound effects into their music. They were never primarily an electronic act, and there is absolutely no relation to pikopiko. It also seems strange to attempt to include a gothic category at all when it's clear that acts such as Schwarz Stein, BLAM HONEY, and GPKism are simply gothic dark wave/industrial/EBM acts that happen to be loosely affiliated with the visual kei scene. There is certainly no shared DNA with pikopiko among such acts, if anything they were primarily spawned from the non-visual goth scene and have some shared lineage with tanbi and kote kei.

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Hi, thank you for your input. The goth bands (etc) are included in an attempt to explain that there are electronic-heavy visual bands that are not included within pikopiko kei. But perhaps I missed the mark in how I worded that. I'll review and revise as necessary.

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