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Fan base and record sales grew substantially over the following years and the band became known for its distinct [[visual kei]] theme, with elaborate costumes, on-stage scenery, and theatrics. The members became very close friends with each other and were often seen joking around and laughing together. Gackt especially became very good friends with Kami, the talented drummer of the group. Those were bright times, and the band released several singles along with two albums titled ''[[Voyage ~Sans Retour~]]'' and ''[[Merveilles]]'', last mentioned being the most popular one. Their songs and albums became famous for "never being similar to each other", because they always showed up with a new style and type of music, something which is difficult to vary for most bands. At the end of 1998, they even performed at the [[Yokohama Arena]] with a spectacular live show including costumes. The same year, they also got their own radio show, which they used to discuss matters of the world and have a lot of fun. Gackt mostly wrote the lyrics for the songs, but sometimes he also created the music. The only song in which he did both is "[[Le Ciel]]", the 5th song in the Merveilles album.
Fan base and record sales grew substantially over the following years and the band became known for its distinct [[visual kei]] theme, with elaborate costumes, on-stage scenery, and theatrics. The members became very close friends with each other and were often seen joking around and laughing together. Gackt especially became very good friends with Kami, the talented drummer of the group. Those were bright times, and the band released several singles along with two albums titled ''[[Voyage ~Sans Retour~]]'' and ''[[Merveilles]]'', last mentioned being the most popular one. Their songs and albums became famous for "never being similar to each other", because they always showed up with a new style and type of music, something which is difficult to vary for most bands. At the end of 1998, they even performed at the [[Yokohama Arena]] with a spectacular live show including costumes. The same year, they also got their own radio show, which they used to discuss matters of the world and have a lot of fun. Gackt mostly wrote the lyrics for the songs, but sometimes he also created the music. The only song in which he did both is "[[Le Ciel]]", the 5th song in the Merveilles album.


Noone except Gackt and Malice Mizer themselves know 100% surely why this happened, but in January 1999, Gackt all of sudden left the band and started with his own solo career. Without any reasons stated, this has caused a total chaos of discussion among the fans for the later years. However, a while after Gackt's department, his autobiography (Jihaku) and a late published, yet old interview with the remaining four members clearly explains their side of the situation.
No one except Gackt and Malice Mizer themselves know surely why this happened, but in January 1999, Gackt all of sudden left the band and started with his own solo career. Without any reasons stated, this has caused a total chaos of discussion among the fans for the later years. However, a while after Gackt's department, his autobiography (Jihaku) and a late published, yet old interview with the remaining four members clearly explains their side of the situation.
According to Gackt, when he began taking on more of the responsibilities of the band, he was asked to leave the group.<ref name="jihaku"/> However, public statements from the band contradict this claim, as the other members state that he simply 'disappeared' after waiting for him once their break was over.<ref>{{cite web | title=''Article transposed to 2ch, most likely from a January 1999 Ma Cherie newsletter.'' | url=http://music.2ch.net/visual/kako/1036/10366/1036681228.html | language=Japanese}}</ref>
According to Gackt, when he began taking on more of the responsibilities of the band, he was asked to leave the group.<ref name="jihaku"/> However, public statements from the band contradict this claim, as the other members state that he simply 'disappeared' after waiting for him once their break was over.<ref>{{cite web | title=''Article transposed to 2ch, most likely from a January 1999 Ma Cherie newsletter.'' | url=http://music.2ch.net/visual/kako/1036/10366/1036681228.html | language=Japanese}}</ref>


Revision as of 17:06, 24 March 2008

Gackt

Gackt Camui (神威 楽斗, Kamui Gakuto) is a Japanese musician, songwriter and actor. Usually referred to by his stage name only, he is best known for his work with Malice Mizer and his subsequent career as a successful solo artist. Besides Japanese, he has performed in English, Korean, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

Biography

Early life

Camui was born in Okinawa, Japan, on July 4 (precise year not publicly known),[1] as the second of three children, with an older sister and a younger brother. His father and mother were music teachers who played various instruments with his father primarily playing the trumpet. According to his autobiography, he was a mischievous child and enjoyed taking risks; at age seven he nearly drowned while swimming off the coast of Okinawa. After this near-death experience, he claimed to have the ability to see and speak with deceased family members, a notion which was dismissed by his parents. At the age of ten, Gackt was hospitalized with a gastrointestinal condition and had to remain at the hospital for a prolonged time. He made the acquaintance of several terminally ill children, some of whom died during his stay.[2]

Gackt's musical education began at age three, when his parents initiated his classical piano education, of which he grew tired four years later. It would take another four years until his parents allowed him to quit. Competition with a friend led to Gackt taking back up the piano, and he was later encouraged to learn other various instruments, especially those used in a rock band, throughout the rest of his time in school.[2]

Malice Mizer

Main article: Malice Mizer

In 1995, after quitting his job at a casino to go to Tokyo, Gackt joined Malice Mizer as the group's vocalist, lyricist and pianist. He first met Mana, the leader of the band, through a friend and felt instantly drawn to him. Together they went out to eat and talk, but didn't have much of a conversation. Each of them thought the other was strange. The next day, they met again to let Gackt be introduced to the other members and start discussing the band. He liked how all of the members were totally different from each other, yet still worked together that great. Eventually, he joined them as their new vocalist.

Fan base and record sales grew substantially over the following years and the band became known for its distinct visual kei theme, with elaborate costumes, on-stage scenery, and theatrics. The members became very close friends with each other and were often seen joking around and laughing together. Gackt especially became very good friends with Kami, the talented drummer of the group. Those were bright times, and the band released several singles along with two albums titled Voyage ~Sans Retour~ and Merveilles, last mentioned being the most popular one. Their songs and albums became famous for "never being similar to each other", because they always showed up with a new style and type of music, something which is difficult to vary for most bands. At the end of 1998, they even performed at the Yokohama Arena with a spectacular live show including costumes. The same year, they also got their own radio show, which they used to discuss matters of the world and have a lot of fun. Gackt mostly wrote the lyrics for the songs, but sometimes he also created the music. The only song in which he did both is "Le Ciel", the 5th song in the Merveilles album.

No one except Gackt and Malice Mizer themselves know surely why this happened, but in January 1999, Gackt all of sudden left the band and started with his own solo career. Without any reasons stated, this has caused a total chaos of discussion among the fans for the later years. However, a while after Gackt's department, his autobiography (Jihaku) and a late published, yet old interview with the remaining four members clearly explains their side of the situation. According to Gackt, when he began taking on more of the responsibilities of the band, he was asked to leave the group.[2] However, public statements from the band contradict this claim, as the other members state that he simply 'disappeared' after waiting for him once their break was over.[3]

Five months after Gackt left, Kami died of a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Gackt was unable to attend his funeral because he was on a tour, but later he dedicated two songs to the late drummer("U+K" and "Emu ~For my dear~").

Solo career

Gackt launched his solo career on May 12, 1999 with the release of the EP Mizerable. Several albums, singles and videos (on VHS and DVD) have since followed. Gackt's music has also been featured as theme songs for anime and video games multiple times, examples being New Fist of the North Star, Bujingai and Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, amongst others. He has also provided voice acting, motion capturing and his likeness for such works on several occasions[4][5] and co-wrote and co-starred in the 2003 movie Moon Child, which also features Hyde (vocalist of L'Arc~en~Ciel) and Taiwanese-American singer Wang Lee Hom.[6] Also in 2003, Gackt published his autobiography, Jihaku and for Caparison Guitars, he has designed two guitars, named "Marcury" and "Venus".[7][8]

Since January 7, 2007, Gackt has been playing the warlord Uesugi Kenshin in the NHK drama Fūrinkazan.[9] Gackt's most recent solo release is the single "Returner ~Yami no Shuen~", released on June 20, 2007, which was the first in the artist's career (both solo and in a band) to reach the number one spot on the Japanese Oricon charts.[10] Gackt has provided the voice for Malthazar in the Japanese release of the film Arthur and the Minimoys[11] and in October 2007, his back catalog became available in the iTunes Store.

On December 19, Gackt released an album titled 0079-0088. It contains eight tracks, which had either previously been used on the soundtracks of the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam movies or were covers of earlier songs from the Gundam franchise.[12] It was created as a tribute to the creator of Gundam, Yoshiyuki Tomino, for his birthday.[13] Gackt recently performed on the 58th Kōhaku Uta Gassen, the annual New Year's Eve special by NHK[14] and is currently recording new material.[15] He has stated in an interview that he may decide to retire in 2010; he is not sure yet and it will depend on how he is feeling at the time and the state of his health.[16]

Skin

Main article: Skin (Japanese band)

On May 25, 2007, the formation of the supergroup Skin was announced, which besides Gackt consists of fellow pop/rock artist Miyavi, former Luna Sea guitarist Sugizo, and X Japan co-founder Yoshiki. The group gave its debut performance at the Anime Expo convention in Long Beach, California on June 29,2007[17] and plans to release an album.[18] According to a recent blog post by Miyavi, the band has already started recording.[citation needed]

GacktJob

GacktJob is Gackt's live support band. Its current lineup is as follows:

  • Yukihiro "Chachamaru" Fujimura – backing vocals, lead guitar
  • You – violin, guitar
  • Ju-ken – bass (currently touring with Anna Tsuchiya)
  • Nell – bass (filling in for Ju-ken)
  • Minami – drums
  • Igao – keyboard

Former members

  • Masa – rhythm guitar
  • Ren – bass
  • Ryu – drums
  • Toshi – drums
  • Jun-Ji - drums

Discography

Main article: Gackt discography

References

  1. ^ A tombstone used as a set piece during a live performance in 2004, which read "Gackt 1973–2007" (as seen on the DVD The Sixth Day & Seventh Night), has led to speculation that the artist was born in 1973. His website only mentions a month and day.
  2. ^ a b c Jihaku, Kobunsha Co., Ltd., ISBN 4-3349-7412-0
  3. ^ "Article transposed to 2ch, most likely from a January 1999 Ma Cherie newsletter." (in Japanese).
  4. ^ "New Fist of the North Star credits". imdb.com.
  5. ^ "Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII credits". imdb.com.
  6. ^ "Moon Child credits". imdb.com.
  7. ^ "Caparison Marcury". kyowashokai.co.jp.
  8. ^ "Caparison Venus". kyowashokai.co.jp.
  9. ^ "来年の大河ドラマ「風林火山」、主役に内野聖陽さん". asashi.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  10. ^ "Oricon compliments Gackt on his first #1 single". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese).
  11. ^ "News article on Arthur and the Minimoys involvement". tokyograph.com. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  12. ^ "Gackt to release "Gundam album"".
  13. ^ "Anime News Network- Gackt x Gundam for 0079-0088".
  14. ^ ""NHK reveals Kohaku lineup"". tokyograph.com. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  15. ^ "Dears Community Site Staff Blog Entry 1.19.08". gackt-and-dears.com (in Japanese).
  16. ^ http://www.tokyoheadline.com/vol337/inter02.html
  17. ^ "Anime Expo 2007 announcement". anime-expo.org.
  18. ^ "Yoshiki interview at JRock Revolution". jmusicamerica.com.
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