XILT (ジルト) have shared their first music video for debut song ‘DYSTOPIA’, ahead of their first live at Tachikawa Live Bar HeartBeat on September 21st.
Formed on June 28th, the visual kei four-piece are vocalist Tsubaki, guitarist Mica, bassist Riki, and drummer Gou, and have framed their launch around a question: what does it mean to be V-kei in 2026?
Their launch material offers its own answer, arguing that even as eras and values change, the emotions and impulses behind visual kei, and the scene’s identity itself, do not disappear. The band also push against the pressure to compromise on individuality or conform to an expected “average”.
Tsubaki brought XILT together after approaching musicians he had met and spent time with previously. Their different musical backgrounds feed into a sound led by his vocals, with contemporary influences, visual kei aesthetics, heavy low end, and catchy melodies combined into what the band describe as harder alternative music.
Bassist Riki has spent close to three years working out what visual kei means for his own music. He began releasing solo material in September 2022 after the band he fronted broke up, with his official biography dating his full move into the genre to November 2023.
The switch came at an acquaintance’s suggestion, and meant learning visual kei from the ground up, including how much importance the scene places on presentation and the wider world an artist creates around themselves. In an August 27th interview, Riki described visual kei as “a genre that doesn’t hold together without love”.
XILT will be his first visual kei band rather than a solo project, but the group are not trying to distance themselves from the scene’s more familiar traditions. Riki has said they plan to play a more orthodox style of visual kei, including furi, the coordinated movements performed by audiences during songs, and hope to play a one-man show at a 100-capacity venue within six months.
‘DYSTOPIA’ explores the distance between an ideal world and reality, with its lyrics following someone searching for somewhere better without giving up on the future. XILT premiered the video on August 29th after reaching a target of 100 followers and a combined 100 likes and reposts on X.
Their first live will also complete Riki’s three-month Hitori Beya nite (In a Room Alone) series at HeartBeat, which began in July. Riki conceived the three events as linked shows beginning with the isolation of his solo work before ending with the announcement and live debut of a band.
That final chapter, titled “XILT Begins”, takes place at Tachikawa Live Bar HeartBeat on September 21st, with a TwitCasting livestream also available for fans unable to attend in person. The broadcast will remain archived for seven days.
XILT are scheduled to perform again on December 8th, with further details yet to be announced.
About XILT
XILT (ジルト) are a Japanese visual kei band formed on June 28th, 2026, comprising vocalist Tsubaki, guitarist Mica, bassist Riki, and drummer Gou. Tsubaki assembled the group after approaching musicians he had met and spent time with previously, and the four members' differing musical roots feed directly into the band's approach. The imagery attached to the band's name draws on a neon-lit nightlife district associated with alcohol, romance, desire, loneliness, and human sinfulness. Their launch material also cites GIL, the currency used throughout the Final Fantasy series, as one of the name's inspirations, representing their ambition to seize dreams and success and give everything they gain back to their fans. XILT frame their work around a question about what it means to be V-kei in an era of changing values, and their launch material also pushes against the pressure to compromise on individuality or conform to an expected "average". Bassist Riki began solo activity in September 2022 and has worked as a V-kei artist since November 2023, when he released his second EP and began his Bandless Visual tour. He has since organised events including Visual Solo Summit around solo performers in the scene. XILT are the first visual kei band he has played in.
