Juka

Member: 

Vocal: Shaura (ex. Juka)

Bass: Kazuno (Support)

Guitar: Tetsu (Support)

Drums: Mikage (Support)

Status: Paused

Since: 2007

Juka - official site

Juka first became known to the public in 2002 when he was discovered and recruited by Mana (Ex-Malice Mizer, Moi dix Mois). Later he also became the vocalist for HIZAKI grace project before he went solo. He is gifted with a beautiful and emotional voice, which improves with every release.

If you like the music of HIZAKI and KAMIJO, you should definitely give Juka a try.

Juka was born in Yamaguchi, Japan on October 4th. He has been interested in music his entire life, and his first main influence was his father, who is also a skilled singer. Encouraged by his mother, he began learning to play the keyboards and various wind instruments. 

Juka's career began in 2002 when he was discovered by the famous visual kei artist Mana, who immediately recruited him for his solo project Moi dix Mois. His identity was kept a secret for several months before he was exposed to the public during the band's first live at Shibuya AX on July 31st. Juka, who was said to be a voice fusion of GACKT andKlaha—both former members of Mana's first major band, Malice Mizer—remained with the band for three years. He contributed to three singles, two albums and two DVDs. However, in April of 2005, he announced his departure fromMoi dix Mois, the reason being "disagreement in musical imaginations." He took his leave after the last concert of theInvite to Immortality tour, which took place the same month.

It didn't take long before he was heard from again: in October 2006 the guitarist HIZAKI announced that Juka would be the vocalist in his project HIZAKI grace project. With this band, Juka contributed to one album, a live DVD and a mini album. However, in February 2007 HIZAKI announced that he and KAMIJO (ex Lareine) would start the band Versaillestogether, while Juka would begin a solo career. These activities would take priority over HIZAKI grace project.

On March 28, 2007, Juka released his first single as a solo artist. Both HIZAKI and KAMIJO helped with writing and producing the music and also backed him on his next release, the mini-album Luxurious, which was released in June. The next month, Juka participated in a concert to celebrate KAMIJO's birthday and all three performed together withKaya (ex Schwarz Stein) in the rock musical Node of Scherzo. In October, he released SAINT CROIX, the first song he had written himself, but in December he announced that he would retire from the stage due to throat polyps. His upcoming project, the band Seventh Sense, was called off and the name instead used for his final release, a best-of album containing all songs from his short solo career.

It wasn't until two years later when we would hear from Juka again. In 2009, he picked up his activities again as vocalist, but this time under the name Shaura. With a new look and name, he started the duo XOVER with Kouichi(ex-Laputa). On May 10th they released their first PV Mezame and recorded their first mini-album, XGATE, with Masatoand Mikage as support members. At the end of October they released their first full album and started a tour around Japan. At the end of November it was announced that XOVER would disband, but they said that decision would be postponed until 2010.

Early in 2010, on January 5th, XOVER officially disbanded with their CLOSE THE GATE live. However, a DVD was released on March.

Nowadays, Shaura is the vocalist of VII Sense. VII Sense has already released a single, 「BLACK BIRD」, and done several concerts in the indie visual scene. In this new project Shaura works again with Mikage and Masato.

Moi Dix Mois

• Guitar: Mana
• Vocals: Shadow X
• Guitar, Vocals: K
• Vocals: Seth (Z)
• Bass: Sugiya
• Drums: Hayato
• Ex Member:
• Vocals: Shaura (ex. Juka) [2002 / 2005]
• Bass: Kazuno [2002 / 2005]
• Drums: Tohru [2002 / 2005]
• Moi dix Mois - official site
• Mana - official site
• Malice Mizer - official site
• Midi:Nette - official site

Moi dix Mois is the solo project of Mana (ex-Malice Mizer). He writes both the music and the lyrics, and arranges, produces and publishes the releases on his own record label, Midi:Nette. 

The concept of Moi dix Mois is a combination of opposites: beauty and darkness, elegance and aggression, creativity and destruction. Classical elements, electric guitars, harpsichord, church organs and deep operatic vocals give Moi dix Mois a dark, often hard and sometimes quiet, melodious sound. In keeping with their gothic image, Moi dix Mois' lyrics center around melancholy themes such as world-weariness, loss and death, but also self-awareness and critical thinking. 

Mana is also responsible for the band's costumes: he and the other members wear the designs of his fashion label, Moi-même-Moitié. With their performances not limited to Japan, but extending to Europe, Moi dix Mois shows great promise for the future.

Biograhpy

When Malice Mizer entered its hiatus in 2001, bandleader Mana promised to create "something new and shocking" and on 19 March 2002 - his birthday - Moi dix Mois was born. "Moi" (French: me) stands for Mana, the number 1 stands for beginning, the number 0 for eternity and "dix mois" (French: 10 months) for the duration of a pregnancy (which in Japan is counted as 10 lunar months, rather than 9 months).

The original lineup, consisting of Juka on vocals, Mana on guitar, Kazuno on bass and Tohru (ex-JILS) on drums, made its debut in July 2002 on Midi:Nette's concert Dis Inferno party, together with label mates Schwarz Stein. In November of the same year, Moi dix Mois released their first single, Dialogue Symphonie, followed by their first national tour.


On 19 March 2003, their album Dix Infernal was released, followed by another national tour in July, whose final was recorded for the live DVD Scars of Sabbath. The young band also gave an interview on the TV program "Hotwave" and performed at the Stylish Wave Mega Force and Stylish Wave ILLUSION events, which were sponsored by the music magazine Zy. In December, they had their second Dis Inferno party, this time together with LAREINE, and with Schwarz Stein and members of Fatima and Brain Hacker as guests.

In May 2004, the single Shadows Temple was released and in July Mana appeared as special guest at the Japan Expo in Paris, France, where he participated in a Q&A panel. From this point forward, Moi dix Mois would also release their CDs in Europe and Mana's fanclub, Mon+amour, was opened to international fans. Later that month, their second album, Nocturnal Opera, was released, followed in October by another single, Pageant. In December, they introduced their new second guitarist K at their Dis Inferno III party . 


In March 2005, their first European tour brought them to Germany and France and the sold out concert in Paris was released on the live DVD Invite to Immorality. Shortly after their return to Japan, however, vocalist Juka left the band, forcing them to pause activities.

In March 2006, they returned with a mini album, Beyond the Gate, and a new lineup: the "reborn" Moi dix Mois now consist of Seth on vocals, Mana and K on guitar, Sugiya on bass and Hayato on drums. In the same month, they played their second European tour and in June returned to Germany, where they headlined the Wave Gotik-Treffen, the world's largest Goth festival. A planned US tour had to be canceled due to problems with the organizers but in July Manaappeared as guest of honor at the Anime Expo in Anaheim, California, where he again participated in a Q&A panel. October saw the release of their fourth single, Lamentful Miss.


2007 began with an appearance at the Stylish Wave ILLUSION Vol.2 event, where they performed, among others, withMerry and Plastic Tree, and the release of their third album, DIXANADU. In August they performed together withD'espairsRay at the two man event Dark Sanctuary and in October they completed another successful European tour, which for the first time also took them to Scandinavia and Southern Europe. Finally, in December they welcomed Mix Speaker's, Inc. as guests on their Dis Inferno V party. Later, Mana was interviewed for "The Tokyo Look Book" by British anthropologist Philomena Keet and mentioned in several other books about Japanese fashion and subcultures.

2008 was a quiet year for Moi dix Mois. In January they performed at the Zy.stylish wave ILLUSION'08 Vol.1-2 event together with bands like D'espairsRay and Plastic Tree and released a live DVD of their Dixanadu -Fated "raison d'etre"- Europe Tour 2007. However, in March Mana revealed that, in addition to his work with Moi dix Mois, he would compose and produce for 19-year old vocalist and cellist Kanon Wakeshima, whose debut single, still doll, was released in May on DefSTAR Records, a sub-label of Sony. This new job kept Mana busy for most of the year, but in December he surprised and delighted fans with the announcement that Közi, the co-founder of Malice Mizer, would be this year's guest at Dis Inferno VI party. 


In January 2009, Moi dix Mois performed again at Zy.stylish wave ILLUSION and released their Dixanadu -Fated "raison d'etre"- Europe Tour 2007 DVD at last also in Europe. In February, Mana accompanied Kanon Wakeshima to Paris to celebrate the release of her debut album Shinshoku Dolce, which he had written and produced, on the French label Wasabi Records. Around the same time, he announced that he would step back from producing her in order to have more time for Moi dix Mois, but he would continue to compose music for her. He kept this promise with the songToumei no kagi, which was used for the online game AVALON no kagi.

In early July, Moi dix Mois finally played their first concert in the USA, when they performed as guests of honor at theAnime Expo in Anaheim, California. Moreover, the collaboration with Közi developed positively and at the end of July Moi dix Mois and Közi played a two city coupling tour together. At the same time, the well-known guitar manufacturer ESP, who produces guitars for both Mana and Közi, hosted an exhibition of their guitars. 


In October, Mana celebrated the ten year anniversary of his fashion brand Moi-même-Moitié with an event at the Christon Cafe in Tokyo and at the end of the month Moi dix Mois performed at the two day V-Rock Festival, together with Japanese greats such as the GazettE, La'cryma Christi and D'espairsRay, as well as international stars like Marilyn Manson. Both Moi dix Mois' performance as well as Mana's debut as catwalk model for Moi-même-Moitié were broadcast live over the internet. Only a few weeks later Moi dix Mois found themselves in the limelight again, this time as guests at Mad Tea Party, an event hosted by the band, D, before ending the year, as always, with Dis Inferno.

In 2010 the band gradually resumed their regular activities. Following the customary concert on Mana's birthday in March, they embarked in July on another six dates coupling tour with Közi called Deep Sanctuary 2. Special guest at their sold-out show at Akasaka Blitz was Yu~ki, Malice Mizer's bassist, who had been retired since 2001. Malice Mizerfans who had seized the opportunity to witness the reunion of the former band mates were treated to moving performances of Saikai no chi to bara, their comeback single following the death of drummer Kami, as well as Beast of Blood featuring Közi on vocals. December, finally, saw the release of Moi dix Mois's long awaited fifth album, D+SECT. The band commemorated the occasion by holding their first ever in-store events since starting their activities in 2002.


At their Dis Inferno party in December, Moi dix Mois had hinted at various activities for 2011, but the devastating earthquake which hit Japan on 11th March thwarted their plans. Mana's birthday concert, which had been scheduled for 19th March, was cancelled out of respect for the victims and eventually rescheduled to June. On his blog, Manaexpressed his sympathy and encouraged fans to write to him if they needed someone to share their thoughts with. In August the band kicked off the celebrations for their upcoming ten year anniversary with a concert in Shibuya. They also released the photo book Philosophy, which charted the band's history from the beginning to the present day, and announced an album with reworked versions of classic songs that had been recorded with the original lineup. The special feature of this album, which will be called Reprise, is that the songs were selected by the fans.

In 2012, the anniversary concerts continue to take place at regular intervals. At their concert in February, the band will welcome ALI PROJECT, whose vocalist Mana had met 2009 at V-Rock, as special guest. In addition to his work withMoi dix Mois, he also writes a monthly column about vintage computer games in the magazine Game Lab.

DEAD END

 

Member:

Vocal: MORRIE
Guitar: You
Bass: CRAZY COOL JOE

Drums: Kei Yamazaki [support member]

Ex Member:

Drums: Minato [1987 / 2009]
Drums: TANO [1984 / 1987]
Guitar: TAKAHIRO [1984 / 1986]

Drums: Shinya [2009 / 2009 - support member]

Status: Active

Since: 1984

Label Status: Major

DEAD END started their career in the eighties, but after a short but successful six years together, they halted activities. Even though they were active before the visual kei phenomenon came into existence, they helped shape the scene by influencing popular bands such as LUNA SEA and KUROYUME. Their producer was Hajime Okano, who also produced several releases from bands such as La'Cryma Christi, L'Arc~en~Ciel and Transtic Nerve.

Their music is typically a mix of dark eighties-style hard rock and heavy metal; melodic, with wild guitar solos. The band also drew much of their image from the eighties rock genre, with big hair and striking makeup. With the exception of vocalist MORRIE, however, the members have adopted a more subtle look in recent years.

DEAD END originally disbanded in 1990, but the band announced their revival in 2009, playing their first show in nearly 20 years at the JACK IN THE BOX 2009 SUMMER event.

Biography

DEAD END was formed in 1984 by MORRIE and CRAZY COOL JOE. Their line up was soon completed by TANO and TAKAHIRO. In this early period they were quite unknown, but they finally had their breakthrough when You replaced TAKAHIRO on guitar. Their look around this time was rather similar to that of X JAPAN at the beginning of their career, with big hair and heavy makeup.

Their first release came in 1986 with the album DEAD LINE, the cover of which was clearly a homage to the famous British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The next year, Minato replaced TANO on drums and, on September 8, the band released its second album, Ghost of Romance, which ranked 14th on the Oricon Charts.

The life of the band continued with more recordings and concerts. On May 21, 1988 the album shambara was released, followed by the single BLUE VICES in December. In the same month they also released Psychoscape, a live video of their concert at Shibuya Kokaido.

In 1989 DEAD END released their last album, Zero, which was recorded in London. There were many difficulties during recording, mainly because of the language barrier. During their stay they were joined by YOSHIKI from X JAPAN, who was in Europe to work on the recording of a PV in Paris.

After some more releases and a tour, DEAD END disbanded. Their last concert was on January 21, 1990 at the Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo. Even though the band didn't exist anymore, the single Good morning satellite and a live album were later released.

BMG, the band's label, went on to release and re-release several DEAD END DVDs and CDs. Amongst them was the INFINITY compilation album, which also contained a DVD. The booklet contained texts by artists who were influenced by DEAD END, including Kiyoharu of KUROYUME and SADS, SUGIZO of LUNA SEA, ex-Kagerou member Yuana and ex-La'Cryma Christi member Hiro.

After DEAD END disbanded, all four members continued their music careers, forming new bands or embarking on solo projects. MORRIE released three solo albums and participated as a guitarist on Kiyoharu's Poetry album before forming CREATURE CREATURE in 2005 with Tetsu of L’Arc~en~Ciel. You also started a band called Goat Core and embarked on a solo career. CRAZY COOL JOE played in various bands, including machine, and worked together with Pata of X JAPAN in P.A.F. Minato started many new bands as well, but none of them became as successful as DEAD END once was.

In August 2009, DEAD END surprised many fans by announcing their revival. They played their first live in nearly twenty years at the JACK IN THE BOX 2009 SUMMER event. That year also saw the release of a new album called METAMORPHOSIS. The band’s first three albums were also re-released on the same day. METAMORPHOSIS went on to rank in the top 20 of the Oricon Charts, showing that time has not diminished the loyalty and passion of their fans.

However, Minato did not participate in the tour to support METAMORPHOSIS. This led to LUNA SEA drummer Shinya briefly stepping in to help the band in 2009. Minato left DEAD END around this time and, since 2010, their current support drummer is Kei Yamazaki from Venomstrip.

Early 2011 saw the band support Acid Black Cherry on their the Sixth Sence ZEPP Live House tour. Towards the end of the year DEAD END began a three-single consecutive release campaign, with the first, Conception, being released in November. They also performed at V-ROCK FESTIVAL '11 and announced a nationwide tour that is scheduled to commence in March 2012.

D'espairsRay

 

Member:

Vocal: HIZUMI

Guitar: Karyu

Bass: ZERO

Drums: TSUKASA

Status: Disbanded

Since: 1999 - 2011

One of the first visual kei bands to greet their overseas fans, D'espairsRay has since returned to both Europe and North America multiple times, much to the delight of their international audience. Heavy, almost industrial gothic rock is their forte, with vocal work that ranges from growls and screams to low, melodious tones. Matching the music, their look has always been quite dark, although it's become less extreme in recent years.

Biography

Formed in September of 1999, with HIZUMI on vocals, Karyu on guitar, ZERO on bass, and TSUKASA on drums, D'espairsRay made an immediate impression on the visual kei scene. After a slew of demo tapes and multiband events, including their first live at the Takadanobaba AREA, the group released their first maxi-single, Kumo, at the tail end of 2000. The new year then brought fans a second maxi-single as well as the band's first mini-album, TERRORS. Roughly a month after its release, the band traveled back to the live hall where they'd had their start for their first one-man.

D'espairsRay spent much of the next two years touring, which included a special, free show at the Meguro Live Station in Tokyo. 2003 also brought fans two new maxi-singles: MaVERiCK and Garnet, both fan favorites and now thought of as some of their best work to date. At the end of the year, they took part in the event Beauti-Fool's Fest '03 alongside other bands such as Merry and MUCC.

Like the years before it, 2004 found D'espairsRay mostly on the road or on the stage. Surprisingly, and to the great pleasure of their international fans, not all of those stages were located in Japan as the band set their sights on Europe with D'espairsRay Europe Tour 2004 -Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben- that took place near the end of the year.

Nearly six years after they had started, D'espairsRay released their first full album, Coll:set, in 2005. That year, they returned to Europe for a coupling tour with Kagerou, but not before dropping in on their American fans with performances at a handful of conventions. All of these lives were very successful and so the band returned to the USA once more for a short tour in 2006, in addition to releasing their second live DVD, LIQUIDIZE.

2007 brought with it the maxi-single Squall and their second full album, the highly anticipated MIRROR, which was also released in the USA, as well as news of more tour dates. American fans of the band were delighted to see a stop on their shores included among them, as D'espairsRay performed on the second day of the J-Rock Revolution Festival held in Los Angeles.

In 2008, D'espairsRay received the opportunity to perform throughout the USA with the Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour, alongside fellow Japanese artists MUCC and the Underneath. Just over a year after their second album, they released their single BRILLANT, which was then followed by the maxi-singles KAMIKAZE and HORIZON. On the 4th of May, they played beside many fellow indie bands at the hide Memorial Summit in Tokyo for the memorial of the late guitarist of X JAPAN.

With a fan base that stretches across the globe, D'espairsRay was set to make 2009 a remarkable year with the release of REDEEMER at the beginning of March, and their PSYCHEDELIC PARADE IN EUROPE tour running a circuit through Spain, France, UK , Germany, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Poland and ending once again in Germany. The extra date in Berlin on the 28th was added to thank fans for the two sold out concerts in Germany.

Immediately after touring Europe, they flew back to Japan to begin their Japan wide tour, D'espairsRay Summer Tour 2009, which kept them busy until the end of August. To top off their year, D’espairsRay released their first major maxi-single, FINAL CALL, which was produced by abingdon boys school’s keyboardist and programmer Toshiyuki Kishi, and released on the 9th of September in celebration of their 10th anniversary. They also held a special anniversary concert in Tokyo at the beginning of October, which was recorded and would later be released on DVD. Until the end of the year, they participated in V ROCK FESTIVAL and held some more one-man lives. Then, in the midst of December, their first best of album was released along with the live recording of their anniversary concert in October.

D'espairsRay kicked off the year 2010 with new maxi-single and album recordings. These were only interrupted by a few lives: MEGA PORT MUSIC FESTIVAL alongside MUCC in Taiwan in March, and their two day live LIVE SHOW CASE "LOVE IS DEAD" in April. By the end of August, they had launched their first large world tour, Human-clad Monsters, which led them through Japan, the US, Europe and Taiwan. Their album MONSTERS was released just in time for the start of the tour. However, the band went on hiatus after the conclusion of the tour on the 30th of December, due to vocalist HIZUMI's medical treatment.

While fans around the globe are waiting for their return, D'espairsRay released another best of album titled antique in April 2011, as well as their latest live DVD of the tour final of their world tour.

Once HIZUMI is fully recovered, there will surely be a lot to see and hear again from D'espairsRay.

Defiance of Shit Bastards also known D.S.B

 

Member:

Guitar: HEAT
Vocal, Guitar: YO
Drums: EIJI

Ex Member: 

Bass: SINGOMAN [2006 / 2010]

Status: Disbanded

Since: 1990 - 2010

Label Status: Indies

D.S.B is a punk/hardcore band formed in 1990. Many things have changed since then, but what's remained the same is their love for playing lives. One can feel a nihilistic atmosphere and view of the world in their sound and art work.

At their shows they try to become as "primitive" as possible rather than convey their songs well, so such primitive vibrations will attack audience members and listeners indiscriminately, despite any differences in music knowledge, subculture, language, race and sex... And they will continue to pursue their vibrations radically and with infernal zeal.

Biography

D.S.B was created by two high school students KAZU (vocal) and YO (guitar) in 1990. They gave out their first demo tape, recorded with a simple tape recorder during one of their lives in 1991, at their concerts in Kokibinji Morgana, where they used to play at that time. They were still newbies who had been playing instruments for just a few months. The band name on the tapes the boys wrote themselves with a red pencil and they made several mistakes in only three words. Next the demo of 1993 was recorded in a studio and included four songs; the number of copies printed was a mystery even for D.S.B members.

Then the omnibus album In Search of Space, released in 1994, became a kind of milestone for the band. At that time they played not only in Santama (which is one of the suburban areas of Tokyo) but in downtown Tokyo as well. They were influenced greatly by all the music they heard around them and they easily picked up new styles. All those influences were reflected in the album, whose sound is sometimes even close to pop. The release was sold in a shop called "Disc Union" at a low price.

The tape NO FIGHT NO GET appeared in 1995; it included seven songs and 350 copies were made. The group began to play outside Tokyo and participated in some short tours around Japan. The tape caught the attention of Koketsu and Wedge (ex-H’100s/ NINE SHOCKS TERROR). At that time those two were living in Boston, USA, and they suggested releasing an EP under the same name but with the year of release - 1996 - and a couple of different jackets. Initially there was an intention to make the EP a split to the album of H’100s.

In 1997 the band participated in the recording of an omnibus EP, Santama City Hard Core 2, which was one of a fairly famous series on the label MCR. D.S.B got the opportunity to work alongside such bands as LESS HAZE, SLIGHT SLAPPERS, and CRUCIAL SECTION. Their song on the release was the English version of Never Die.

The Wings Continue To Strive With Unchanged Mind CD/LP included songs the band is still playing at their lives. That was the first release where the peculiar style of the band was finally formed.

To record the Radical Sharp Shot EP in 1999 the band worked together with Mr. Yanagida of OURHOUSE. The single included four songs, one of which (Freedom) was written with influences from the movie "Brave Heart" in mind. There was also a limited edition of the single printed on red vinyl.

In 2001 D.S.B went on a tour around Japan together with DEATHREAT. They also issued an EP, DOUBLE DEATH BLOW, with several new songs. At that time they got to know Billy from US label Partners In Crime and several American bands. They also began to think about touring abroad, and promised themselves to play a live in America in 2003.

In 2001 the band again participated in an LP omnibus, One Shot One Kill, with such bands as WARHEAD, EXTINCT GOVERNMENT, and ZONE. The songs for the release were already recorded in 2000 when they still had the initial line-up. But having grown tired of their old sound, D.S.B. ultimately rejected the idea of releasing the songs as they were. Besides they had enough time to re-record the material since the other bands weren't ready yet. So the songs were recorded with the following line-up: YO on vocal and guitar, KAZUFUMI on bass and SACHOU on drums. The resulting sound was a bit unusual but still in line with what D.S.B were typically playing.

The release of the EP Pure Cultivation was the real turning point in the band's career. It was the first single released and sold abroad. They worked on it together with the staff of Partners in Crime. At that time they wanted to concentrate on their sound instead of releasing another CD. Appearing in Japan, Europe and the USA, the EP is one of the most important works of D.S.B.

It required around half a year to have ready the next CD, Battle Into Invisible Zone. The working process in the studio was riddled with all kinds of accidents; the equipment broke, there was no way to mix the recorded material, sometimes the band had no time to meet in the studio to get down to work. So rather than record in July as originally planned, the recording was done only in November. One of the songs, HUMANITY, reveals the band's concept of "Melodic Punk Rock" and is a sequel to the song HUMANITY from Wings Continue To Strive With Unchanged Mind. A photo of ruins in postwar Afghanistan was used for the cover design. D.S.B's intent wasn't to make an anti-war symbol but to show the reality people had to face.

In 2002 the band released a series of three singles under the DISCRETE RECORDS label. Usually they had the time to release new material at their own pace, one of the benefits of staying indies. But still the band envied the majors a bit, because they had to release something new in fixed periods of time. That's why they decided to repeat what hard core punk bands in the 80's in the UK were doing and release three singles within a short period of time. As a result they issued Pure Cultivation (black), Battle Into Invisible Zone (red) and Wait Tremblingly!!! (white) – a set of three singles, each one with its own colour and sound. And finally the band toured the USA in 2003.

In 2005 and 2006 D.S.B didn't have a regular bass player, so they invited various session guitarists to record the new album Kill The Phantom City (2006). Later SINGOMAN joined the band and since then the line-up hasn't changed.

In February of 2008 D.S.B went on a short tour to Europe and played lives in Scandinavia, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. During the tour they released a demo of 300 copies and issued 200 more in May. That month the band started its world tour with some concerts in Japan, then moved to Europe. The tour final will be played in the USA at the end on November. Not all the dates of the tour are confirmed yet but that doesn't matter really because D.S.B are real punks!

D'ERLANGER

 

Member:

Vocal: Kyo
Guitar: Ichiro 'Cipher' Takigawa
Bass: Seela
Drums: Tetsu Kikuchi

Ex Member: 

Vocal: Kaoru Miyahira [1983 / 1984]
Vocal: Yoshifumi - Dizzy - Fukui [1984 / 1988]
Drums: Shi do [1983 / 1987]

Status: Active

Since: 1983

Label Status: Major

It seems that D'ERLANGER is one of those very early visual kei bands. Even though the term 'visual kei' had really not come up when they were around, they inspired and influenced other artists to create the kind of music that later became known as 'visual kei'.

Biography

The band was formed in December 1983 by Kaoru Miyahira, Cipher, Seela and Shido. About half a year later they had their first performance in May 1984 at the Osaka live house, Bourbon house. About a month later they had their first real performance at this live house as well. Cipher was only fifteen around this time! The first singer left the band, and in August 1984 he got replaced by Dizzy (Yoshifumi Fukui).

Their first two demo tapes The birth of splendide beast!! and Blue were finally released in 1985. On October 26th, 1986 they participated in an event at the Meguro Rock May Kan. New power metal audition was organized to celebrate the first anniversary of the independent label Mandrake root (the label is also known for its shop, Third Stage). On this label they released the single Girl, which was limited to 3000 copies and appeared in shops on February 20th, 1987. They also took part in the omnibus live album HUNGRY DAYS. Later they distributed a demo tape (100 copies) for free at concerts. It contained only one song: Sadistic emotion.

On August 1st, 1987, D'ERLANGER had their first one-man concert at the Meguro Rock May Kan. Not much later in October, Shido decided to leave the band. Tetsu (ex-Saver Tiger and Mephistopheles), who is from Kyoto, replaced him. With this new line-up they started their SCANDALOUS R&R SHOW XXXX (ikenai) TOUR.

While the band toured from one city to the next, Dizzy left the band in June 1988. A month later, on July 1st, Kyo, a young vocalist from Kyoto, became the new vocalist of the band. He had been with Tetsu in Saver Tiger, which was the former band of X Japan guitarist hide, as well.

On July 22nd they performed at the Osaka Bourbon House again, and on the 27th they had a one-man concert at the same place. The guys then decided it was time for their first album, which they released on the Danger Crue label in October. They went on tour again, this time the Sadistical punk tour '88. The tour had them as a support act for Reaction, a band on the same label. On December 31st they organized an event themselves, on which they had invited Rob (vocalist of Justy Nasty) as a guest.

Their next single La vie en rose was distributed for free in January 1989 (3000 copies). The album with the same name appeared on February 10th. The 3000 copies were sold out already with the pre-orders, and so they released another press in March, this time of 10,000 copies. Around this time D'ERLANGER participated in several events (especially with Justy Nasty) before they started on the second part of their tour Sadistic punk in June 1989.

On August 13th Kyo landed in the hospital after a rather silly accident. He had been drinking beer in a garden with his good friend hide (X Japan) and decided to climb a tree in order to better view a fireworks display. Unfortunately, he fell from the tree and broke a bone. He ended up in the hospital and left on September 16.

The album La vie en rose was released again on October 1st, this time at only 1000 copies, together with a single bearing the same name as a present (500 copies). On October 15th they released the video An aphrodidiac which contained three PVs. Danger Crue released 10,000 copies of it, which all sold out though pre-orders. La Vie en Rose was released once more, this time at 5000 copies which all sold out again in no time.

D'ERLANGER started on their Incarnation of Eroticism Tour, which ended at the Tokyo Hibiya yagai ongakudo. Because of the success of the tour, they retreated to the studio again and started to record their next album.

The year 1990 started well for the band as it saw them make their major label debut, signing with Ariola (a sub label of BMG). They released their first major single DARLIN' on January 24th, which ranked 9th on the Oricon charts. They started a nationwide tour entitled KID'S BLUE PYX '90. While they were still touring, they released the video Incarnation of Eroticism on February 7th, which was filmed on October 28th at the Hibiya yagai ongakudo in Tokyo. The video was a big success as well, and it ranked second on the Oricon charts.

Next to the release of the video, they also released their second album BASILISK on February 7th. It also did really well and it ranked 5th on the Oricon charts. In May they participated in a few events and also began making television appearances. Then, another tour followed: Ai to shi ti kou - Kotsu standing special tour.

D'ERLANGER's first photo book, named Kyomu no kumotsu was released on September 1st. Shortly after this, the single Lullaby -1990- followed. Afterwards, they turned back to the live houses with the MOON AND THE MEMORIES TOUR, which ended on October 31st in Osaka. During the tour, on October 3rd, they also released the video Kindan no tobira - Abstienences' door.

On November 19th the band announced they had reached a very hard decision, and the members of their fan club received a Christmas card with the following text: D'ERLANGER 1990/11/19 « kaisan »… To eternity. ‘Kaisan' means ‘to separate.' An official reason for their disbandment was never given.

Despite disbanding, they continued to release material over the years. First of all there was the photo book of the MOON AND THE MEMORIES TOUR, then on March 6th, 1991 they release two live videos: MOON AND THE MEMORIES TOUR… The Eternities - last live vol 1 and vol 2, which contained footage of their concerts from October 27th and 28th. On March 31st they released one video that contained both concerts. BMG released the indie-album La vie en rose on April 21st as a major version. Exactly four years later their two albums were once again released. In 2001, several of their videos got re-released on DVD as well.

So what became of them? Kyo formed part of Die in cries before venturing out on his own solo career. Recently he formed the band BUG (with Asaki, the guitarist of Guniw tool, Takashi ex- Die in cries and Furuton ex-Oblivion dust). Tetsu joined Zi:Kill for a time, and later with Cipher joined the band Craze (with the ex-singer of Zi:Kill). Seela became a support member for vinyl and formed some bands such as Fix, Atomic zaza and No stars innovation.

In 2007 D'ERLANGER returned to the scene in a big way, releasing Pandora, an album of old songs, and Lazzaro, a full CD of brand new material, both on March 14th. A little over a month later they played their first live in almost two decades in front of a packed crowd at Hibiya yaon Open Air with the same lineup they disbanded with: Kyo, Tetsu, Cipher and Seela. On September 22nd that year they hosted Abstinence's Door #1 with MUCC and Merry, which featured some covers of D'ERLANGER songs in their set lists. Kyo and Tatsurou had previously recorded a duet on La Vie en Rose which was featured on MUCC's 2006 album Cover Parade.

D'ERLANGER plans for 2008 to be a big year as well, planning to release another new full length album, The Price of Being a Rose is Loneliness, on April 30th. Shortly after they plan to hold their 25th anniversary live concert on May 6th, 2008. Both old fans and new have much to look forward to in the future as D'ERLANGER continues its amazing second life.

cali≠gari

 

Member:

Vocal: Ishii Shuuji
Guitar: Sakurai Ao (ex- KUON)
Bass: Kenjirou
Drums: Takei Makoto (ex- KJUN)

Ex Member: 

Vocal: Kureiju [1993 / 1993]
Vocal: Shin [1993 / 1995]
Vocal: Shuuji [1996 / 2000]
Bass: Keiji [1993 / 1996]
Bass: Kazuya [1994 / 1995]
Drums: Katsumi [1998 / 1999]

Status: Active

Since: 1993

Label Status: Major

Considered by some as the founder of the eroguro nansensu music style (a combination of the words "erotic" and "grotesque"), cali≠gari displays that particular style in nearly everything they produce. 

Antics such as bizarre makeup and clothing, along with odd gimmicks that includes a free condom in one of their CDs and a stage show featuring an almost naked transvestite comes courtesy of guitarist and leader, Ao, who also writes a great deal of the lyrics and music for the band. Just like their appearance, their songs are surprising, strange, and very different, and range in style from upbeat rock to typical visual kei, jazz to new-wave, and a bit of the experimental.

Biography

The concept of cali≠gari was already in the works in 1989 when Ao, guitarist and leader of the band, met drummer Katsumi. The project officially began in June 1993 when bassist Keiji and vocalist Kureiju joined the band.

With this complete line up, cali≠gari was born. They performed their first concert at Ikebukuro CYBER on September 11, 1993, just months after their formation. Two months later, the band line up changed with Shin replacing Kureiju as vocalist. Soon after, cali≠gari’s first demo tape Dai 1 Jikkenshitsu went on sale at Yokahama 7th Avenue.

Their next demo tape, Sennou, which was limited to 100 copies, was only available for sale at a concert performed at the famous Meguro Rock May Kan and included the song If. This song is of particular note because it marked the beginning development of Ao’s infamous performance style. It was later discovered that Shuuji, who was to be the band’s new vocalist, delayed joining the band for six months after hearing this song.

Keiji left cali≠gari just before the band embarked on their first tour of the Kanto area. He went on to join the band Valen Schtein and changed his name to Mitsuo.

In December 1995 Shin left the band and the remaining members decided to temporarily halt activities. During this hiatus, Kazuya also decided to part ways with the band. Remaining members Ao and Katsumi formed a band called Kashimiya with Heresey, the would-be vocalist of Jubilee, and bassist Ayan. Following another member change, Mitsuo became their bassist once again after leaving Valen Schtein and Parachute 2.

In January 1996, cali≠gari reunited with Shuuji at the microphone. A short time later, Mitsuo left again and Kenjirou of Eternal Flame joined the band as a support member in his place, soon becoming an official member of cali≠gari.

On April 4, 1997, cali≠gari held an anniversary concert at Motoyawata Route 14 to celebrate the first year of the band’s formation and continued this tradition in 1998 and 1999, marking each anniversary. cali≠gari's first tour outside of the Kanto area kicked off on August 21 with a gig at Niigata Juke Box.

Between 1997 and 1999, the Tokyo Chikashitsu event, considered the predecessor of Ao’s later annual music event, Yaneura Dai Circus, was organized ten times in Tokyo and once in Osaka. These events were some of the earliest gigs for bands such as VELVET EDEN and MUCC. Other well-recognized bands of the angura kei and eroguro nansensu scenes, such as la vie en rose and Guruguru Eigakan, participated as well. On 12th December, cali≠gari performed their first one-man concert in Shinjuku Loft.

On Halloween 1999, Ao organized the previously mentioned Yaneura Dai Circus for the first time at Shibuya On Air West. The event featured Ryutaro and Tadashi of Plastic Tree, VELVET EDEN, MUCC, Ya-foo!, Onan Spelmermaid, Full of Guniw Tools and Nookicky, and nearly every band that was ever mentioned in relation to cali≠gari. On this special night, Katsumi announced his departure from the band and Makoto of TECHNO URBAN took his position on drums.

One of cali≠gari's most famous songs, 37564, included on Dai 5 Jikkenshitsu, shows more of cali≠gari's strange sense of humor. The numbers spoken in Kanji would be: 3 = mi, 7 = na, 5 = go, 6 = ro, 4 = shi, forming minagoroshi, which translates as "massacre." The idea came to Ao while he was stuck at a traffic light in Shibuya and thought, "How would it be if I just kill everyone now with a machinegun, like in Full Metal Jacket?" In order to share his thoughts through music, he wrote the song in just three minutes.

Shuuji left cali≠gari on June 1, 2000 and was replaced by Shuuji of float. Due to their identical names, there was some confusion in the beginning. To avoid that, the new vocalist, Shuuji Ishii, always introduced himself as "the OTHER Shuuji."

With the new Shuuji behind the microphone, the band continued making an impact as an eroguro nansensu band, their reputation growing more notorious with the release of their album Blue Film, which is another name for adult movies. The second press of this album contained a pink condom and an instruction manual for using it.

cali≠gari's major album Dai 7 Jikkenshitsu was released in May 2002 under their own label Gai Records, a sub-label of Victor Records.

Less than a year later, during a concert in March 2003, cali≠gari announced that they would be taking a break. Their last concert took place at Hibiya Yagai Ongakudô and was later released on DVD. This is where cali≠gari paused their activities.

Following cali≠gari’s activity pause, Shuuji Ishii started a solo project called goatbead. Makoto followed Ao into his new project lab., but at the end of 2004, he left the group to join Cyanotype and has also played on Shuuji Ishii’s project. In 2004 Kenjirou changed his name to Samurai W. Kenjilaw when he joined heavy metal band SEX MACHINEGUNS. He is still with the band at present.

In 2009, it was announced that cali≠gari would be resuming their activities. In celebration of their revival and reunion of the members, cali≠gari released a greatest hits album and a DVD in April of that year. Their fan club was also revived. Later that year, the group released a full length album, 10 and marked a new release in six years.

By spring of 2010, the band hit the recording studio again and released the three version mini-album ≠. They remained quiet without live activity as Shuji joined and participated in XA-VAT, Közi's new band.

In February of 2011, cali≠gari released the two CD and DVD album Misshitsu Neurosis. Each CD was full length, as was the DVD featuring a live performance from a February 2001 performance at Liquidroom Ebisu. Soon after, the band announced that in June, they will be holding their 10th "Caliversary" two day events on June 18 and 19. The show, entitled Shintsuyu no yagai~ saiki do?~ will take place at Hibiya Yagai Ongakudo.