Luna Sea
| Luna Sea | |
|---|---|
 |
|
 |
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| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Visual kei , progressive rock |
| founding | 1989 |
| Website | http://www.lunasea.co.jp/ |
| Founding members | |
| J | |
| Inoran | |
| Current occupation | |
singing |
Ryuichi |
Guitar, violin
|
Sugizo |
guitar |
Inoran |
bass |
J |
| Shinya | |
Luna Sea is a Japanese rock band formed in 1989 . After X Japan, they are considered to be the pioneers of the visual kei style in Japan, but were also successful far beyond this scene. After an eleven year career, the members decided in 2000 to take a temporary break from the band.
Band history
In 1989 the two school friends J and Inoran founded the band Lunacy . Shortly thereafter, Sugizo and Shinya, both former members of the band Pinocchio , and Ryuichi, former member of the band Slaughter , joined them. With this line-up, which was retained until they broke up in 2000, the band renamed themselves Luna Sea and played their first live concert on May 29, 1989 at the Machida Play House . In the same year they released their first demo tapes Lunacy and Shade . Lastly followed a year later .
Initially, Luna Sea still had difficulties getting a record deal , as they were unusually conspicuous in the then very conservative Japanese music scene. They presented themselves in the visual kei style typical of the time, with black patent leather, very feminine, almost androgynous faces and long, dyed hair. This performance earned them the attention of X Japan guitarist Hide . This in turn introduced them to his bandmate Yoshiki , who signed them to his self-founded independent label Extasy Records .
On April 21, 1991 their first album Luna Sea was released. The album reached number 1 on the Japanese independent charts and earned the band the attention of several record companies . Luna Sea then signed a contract with MCA Victor and between 1992 and 1996 followed four studio albums and several singles.
1997 ushered in a significant musical turning point for Luna Sea. After the members had devoted themselves to their solo projects for almost a year, their musical and visual style changed significantly.
In 1998 the song "I For You" was used as an intro / outro for the TV series "Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake" ( God, please give me more time ).
Between 1999 and 2000 Luna Sea also played successfully for the first time in Hong Kong , Shanghai and Taipei .
In 2000 the band released their last album. With Lunacy the circle came full circle and marked the beginning of the band break. They produced one last single, Love Song , and on December 27, 2000 they played their last concert before the band break. Fans mourned the band as one of the biggest early acts in the visual kei movement as the members pursued some solo projects.
After being announced after a seven-year hiatus on the day of a lunar eclipse, the band gave a sold-out concert in the Tokyo Dome on December 24, 2007 in front of 55,000 visitors. They also performed with X Japan as headliners and bands like Dir En Gray , MUCC , D'espairsRay , Versailles , Phantasmagoria and TM Revolution at the Hide Memorial Summit on May 5 of 2008.
On May 29th the message "LUNA SEA REBOOT" was published on the official homepage and there is speculation about a restart of the activities.
After 3 past months and another full moon, the band announces an urgent press conference in Hong Kong - the place where they announced their "split" in 2000.
Towards the end of 2010 they embarked on a world tour, which began in Bochum on November 27th. It was followed by Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Taipei and finally Tokyo and Kobe.
After the catastrophe in Japan in March 2011, LUNA SEA released their first single in ten years as a download and donated the proceeds to the victims. Further publications followed and finally a charity concert was announced, which took place on October 22, 2011 in the Saitama Super Arena. This appearance has since been released on DVD and Blu-Ray.
music
Luna Sea's music varied significantly over the years and encompassed several musical styles such as progressive rock , hard rock , and alternative , but also pop and punk rock .
Band members
Ryuichi
Ryuichi ( Japanese河村 隆 一Kawamura Ryūichi , born May 20, 1970 in Yamato, Kanagawa ) is the singer of the band and was characterized in the early years mainly by his knee-length and wavy, black hair and a somewhat dark and rough voice. After 1994, however, his style normalized significantly. He cut his hair shorter and shorter and sang unusually brightly for his standards.
After the band broke up, he devoted himself to his solo career. In 2005 he joined forces with his former bandmate Inoran and with Hiroaki Hayama, former member of D-Loop , to form the band Tourbillon .
In 2010 he is still producing his own music and will release his album "Sora" on February 24th. From June 9th, 2010 he will appear in the musical "CHICAGO" in Japan alongside Yonekura Ryoko.
Sugizo
Sugizo (Japanese 杉原 康弘Sugihara Yasuhiro , born July 8, 1969 ) is the lead guitarist and violinist of Luna Sea. Of all the members, he retained his shrill demeanor and appearance the longest, not least because of his hair, which he wore dyed pink for a while in memory of hide's death .
In addition to his solo career, Sugizo also worked on a number of other projects, such as with singer Bice or the band The Spank Your Juice . Since 2007 he has been a member of the skin supergroup initiated by Yoshiki .
On March 28, 29 and 30, 2008, Sugizo performed as a guest guitarist with X Japan at the Tokyo Dome. He was also a support guitarist at later concerts, such as the hide memorial summit, the countdown live and the concerts outside of Japan. On May 1, 2009, he joined X Japan as an official band member. According to his own statement, it was not about reliving time with hide, but about a new section.
Inoran
Inoran (Japanese 井上 清 信Inoue Kiyonobu , born September 29, 1970) is the group's second guitarist and is also responsible for the rhythmic guitar. He was a songwriter and guitarist in the band Fake? which he founded with Ken Lloyd , a member of Oblivion Dust . In 2005 he left this project to found Tourbillon together with Ryuichi in November .
J
J (jap. 小野 瀬 潤, dt. Onose Jun , born August 12, 1970) was the band's bassist. Towards the end he was very much inspired by Californian punk rock, which is also strongly reflected in his solo project.
Shinya
Shinya (Japanese 山田 真 矢Yamada Shinya , born January 13, 1970) was the group's drummer. Since marrying and starting a family to Aya Ishiguro, a former member of the Morning Musume pop group , he has withdrawn from the limelight.
He has participated several times in smaller projects, for example he has accompanied Miyavi , but also Sugizo on their tours as a drummer. For a while he also supported pop singer Aikawa Nanase as a producer. In 2005 he founded the band Potbelly .
Discography
Demo tapes
- 1989: Lunacy
- 1989: Shade
- 1990: Lastly
Singles
- Believe (February 24, 1993)
- In My Dream (With Shiver) (July 21, 1993)
- Rosier (July 21, 1994)
- True Blue (September 21, 1994)
- Mother (February 22, 1995)
- Desire (November 13, 1995)
- End Of Sorrow (March 25, 1996)
- In Silence (July 15, 1996)
- Storm (April 15, 1998)
- Shine (June 3, 1998)
- I For You (July 1, 1998)
- Gravity (March 29, 2000)
- Tonight (May 17, 2000)
- Love Song (November 8, 2000)
- Promise (April 9, 2011)
- THE ONE -crash to create- (March 21, 2012)
- The End of the Dream / Rouge (December 12, 2012)
- Thoughts (August 28, 2013)
- Ran (November 13, 2013)
- Limit (June 22, 2016)
Albums
- 1991: Luna Sea
- 1992: Image
- 1993: Eden
- 1994: Mother
- 1996: Style
- 1997: Singles
- 1998: Shine
- 1999: Never Sold Out (live album)
- 2000: Lunacy
- 2000: Period “The Best Selection”
- 2001: Luna Sea Guitar Solo Instruments 1
- 2001: Luna Sea Guitar Solo Instruments 2
- 2001: Luna Sea Piano Solo Instruments 1
- 2001: Luna Sea Piano Solo Instruments 2
- 2001: Luna Sea Piano Solo Instruments 3
- 2001: Luna Sea Piano Solo Instruments 4
- 2002: Another Side of "Singles II"
- 2005: Slow
- 2011: Luna Sea (2011 version)
- 2011: 3D in Los Angeles (live album)
- 2013: A Will
- 2017: Windward
- 2019: Cross
VHS
- Image or Real (July 22, 1992)
- Sin After Sin (December 16, 1993)
- Eclipse I (May 24, 1995)
- Lunatic Tokyo ~ 1995-12-23 Tokyo Dome (July 15, 1996)
- Rew (May 21, 1997)
- 10th Anniversary Gig (Never Sold Out) "Capacity ∞ Infinity Live!" (September 29, 1999)
- 10th Anniversary Gig (Never Sold Out) "Capacity ∞ Infinity Document"! (September 29, 1999)
- Slave Gig 2000 (2000)
- Eclipse II (November 28, 2001)
- Luna Sea 1998 "Revive Manatsu No Yagai" (May 29, 2002)
DVD
- Under The New Moon Tour Episode I -1990-11-16 (June 22, 1991)
- Under The New Moon Tour Episode II -1991.09.19 (December 29, 1991)
- Slave Gig 2000 (2005)
- The Final Act Tokyo Dome (May 29, 2001)
- Eclipse I + II (November 28, 2001)
- Rew (May 29, 2002)
- Lunatic Tokyo ~ 1995-12-23 Tokyo Dome (May 29, 2002)
- Sin After Sin (May 29, 2002)
- Image Or Real (May 29, 2002)
- Unending Style Christmas Studiam (February 1, 2004)
- GOD BLESS YOU “One Night Déjàvu” TOKYO DOME 12/24/2007 (March 26, 2008)
- 10th Anniversary Gig (Never Sold Out) "Capacity ∞ Infinity" (May 30, 2010)
- Mafuyu No Yagai & Manatsu No Yagai (May 30, 2010)
- First Asia Tour 1999 in Hong Kong (December 15, 2010)
- Concert Tour 2000 Brand New Chaos Act II in Taipei (December 15, 2010)
- A Documentary Film of 20th Anniversary World Tour REBOOT -to the New Moon- (April 13, 2011)
- 20th Anniversary World Tour REBOOT 24th December, 2010 Tokyo Dome (April 13, 2011)
- Kurofuku Gentei Gig -the Holy Night- (April 13th 2011)
- GOD BLESS YOU Document Ichiya Kagiri No Fukkatsu Live LUNA SEA Chinmoku No 7 Nen Wo Koete (October 19, 2011)
- 3D in Los Angeles (February 22, 2012)
- LUNA SEA For JAPAN A Promise to The Brave 10/22/2011 Saitama Super Arena (March 28, 2012)
Web links
- Official website
- LUNA SEA on Myspace
Individual evidence
- ^ Extasy Records company history . EXTASY RECORDS CO, .LTD. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ↑ Japan Zone Entertainment News ( Memento of the original from June 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , May 18, 2008
- ↑ LUNA SEA Declaring Their "REBOOT !!" on Twitter! . Musicjapanplus . May 31, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ↑ Urgent Announcement from LUNA SEA on a Full Moon Night "on Twitter! . Music Japan Plus August 25th. 2010. Accessed August 25, 2010.
- ^ [INTERVIEW Looking Up at the Sky, at 'Sora'] . Musicjapanplus . March 2, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
- ^ Yonekura And the Musical "CHICAGO" Once Again in Japan! . Musicjapanplus . June 10, 2010. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
- ↑ We are the ones who can unite the world with music . Musicjapanplus . February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
