This very interesting band suits this era perfectly, with a non-binary half Japanese vocalist and energetic music it’s no surprise they gained popularity all over the world, even in Japan where LGBT+ is still a taboo.
QUEEN BEE (in Japan known as 女王蜂, Ziyoou Vachi) formed in 2009 in Kobe, they weren’t popular at that time and even produced songs themselves under their own label “Ziyoou Record” which they sold at their lives. In 2011 they had their first album, Witch Hunt, professionally manufactured and distributed. Later that same year they signed a major label contract, making Ziyoou Record a sub-label of Sony Music Associated Records. Not much later after that more releases followed and their popularity increased. Five albums have been released so far and their songs are featured in movies and anime such as Love Strikes, Sadako, Tokyo Ghoul:Re and Dororo.
Members
Due to a hiatus and some switches the band is slightly different than when they started. The current members are:
Vocalist: Avu-chan
Guitar: Hibari-kun
Bass; Yashi-chan
Drums: Ruri-chan
All members of QUEEN BEE work under pseudonyms. Personal details as their age, sex, family and educational background are not officially stated, though have sometimes been alluded to in passing by members or addressed in their songs’ lyrics. What we do know is that Yashi-chan and Avu-chan are best friends.
Perfect mix of genres
Beside a mix of genders in their band there is also a great mix of genres in their music. When QUEEN BEE started their music was mostly focused on a rock/punkish sound. Later on they mixed it together with Kayouyoku (Japanese Popgenre) and Disco which we hear today, especially in songs like Fire and Hypnotize. This way the music appeals to a lot of different rock and pop fans and brings them together. Avu-chan uses female and male vocals to show what he is capable of and that gender doesn’t matter in music.
HALF
One of their most well-known song is HALF which we want to give some more spotlight than other songs. This song’s lyrics are written bij vocalist Avu-chan and is about prejudices from other Japanese people faced on account of being Japanese with a mixed-race appearance. The intention for the song is “to be seen as neither attacking nor protecting, but carving the path to fate to move forward.” It’s a great messages and hopefully this has opened a lot of eyes. I’m looking forward how they will grow, what kind of messages they want to share and what we can learn from them!
