L'Arc-en-Ciel (ラルク アン シエル raruku an shieru?, "the arc in the sky" or "the rainbow" in French) is a popular Japanese rock band, formed in 1991. The group has sold over 15 million albums, 30 million singles, and millions of other units, such as videos.[1] They were ranked at number 58, in a list of Japan
History
Formation
In February 1991, bassist Tetsuya Ogawa (Tetsu), later band leader, recruited vocalist Hyde along with guitarist Hiro and drummer Pero, and formed a band under the name of L'Arc-en-Ciel. After a year of gaining notoriety in their hometown of Osaka, Hiro left the band on June 12, 1992. Pero soon followed on December 30 of the same year, supposedly to join up with his friend Hiro again.[citation needed] To replace the two, Tetsu convinced his friend Ken Kitamura to quit his university studies (he was an architecture major at The Nagoya Institute of Technology) and join the band as the guitarist. Later, a new drummer, Yasunori Sakurazawa, was recruited after Tetsu saw him perform in a few shows.[citation needed]
Debut album and subsequent albums
On April 1, 1993, the band released their debut album Dune under the indie label Danger Crue. The album was a success and rose to number one on the Oricon indies charts, catching the attention of some major labels. In 1994, L'Arc-en-Ciel signed on with Sony's Ki/oon division, releasing their second album, Tierra that same year. Heavenly followed in 1995, and True, their first million seller,[citation needed] was released in 1996.
Sakura's departure
In February 1997, drummer Sakura was arrested for illegal drug possession,[citation needed] and officially quit the band on October 4, 1997. This proved to be the lowest point in the band's history. When news of Sakura's arrest became public, there was an immediate official response. CDs were removed from the shelves and any of their songs that were used as theme songs were quickly replaced, such as "The Fourth Avenue Cafe" for Rurouni Kenshin which was immediately replaced with former theme "Heart of the Sword" after only six episodes of running time. Although L'Arc-en-Ciel's latest album True remained on the charts for two years, their next single "The Fourth Avenue Cafe" was postponed.[citation needed] It was eventually released in 2006.
Break and comeback
Self-copy band The Zombies
Over the next few months the group continued to be featured in magazines, but only as a trio. They created their own cover band, The Zombies, and poked fun at their own songs.[citation needed] They also covered artists such as Marilyn Manson and Nirvana. The return from the break was marked by the appropriately named Reincarnation 97 Live in Tokyo Dome, with their new drummer, Yukihiro (former drummer with Zi:Kill and Die in Cries). The first concert had an attendance of 56,000, which sold out in a still-standing Tokyo Dome record of four minutes.[citation needed]
In 1997, "Niji", the first single after Sakura's departure, was released with Yukihiro listed as a supporting member. Not long after the release of the single, Yukihiro was signed on as the official drummer for L'Arc-en-Ciel. In 1998, L'Arc-en-Ciel released the album Heart.
1999–2000 projects
L'Arc-en-Ciel released three more albums of new material during the next few years. Ark and Ray were released simultaneously on July 1, 1999, and became the first Japanese albums to be released simultaneously in many other Asian countries. Both topped the Oricon music charts, with
"Stay Away" from the album Real was featured in Drummania 4th Mix, making the song playable on the machine.
L'Arc-en-Ciel's last new song before their hiatus, "Spirit Dreams Inside", was the closing theme song to the movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.
Solo projects
After "Spirit Dreams Inside", the band went on a hiatus as the members began working on various solo projects. Hyde released two solo albums (Roentgen and 666) and starred in the movie Moon Child with the popular Japanese soloist Gackt. Hyde also played the part of Adam in the movie Kagen no Tsuki, based on the manga by the same title. Ken founded Sons of All Pussys with L'Arc-en-Ciel's former drummer Sakura. Tetsu started Tetsu69 and Yukihiro sang with Acid Android. The compilation Clicked Singles Best 13 was released in 2001, with twelve songs chosen by fans online[citation needed] and an additional thirteenth song, "Anemone", the band's only new material during this span of years.
Second comeback
In June 2003, L'Arc-en-Ciel performed a series of seven concerts in Tokyo called the Shibuya Seven Days, during which they announced a new album for release the following year. The band released "Ready Steady Go" in February 2004, its first single in more than three years. It topped Oricon charts[4] and was used as an opening for a popular anime series, Fullmetal Alchemist. The single was followed by "Hitomi no Juunin", in early March. The album, Smile, was released on March 31. Shortly afterwards, on June 2, 2004, the single "Jiyuu e no Shoutai" introduced P'unk-en-Ciel, a partial change, for the first time on CD with "Milky Way". In the past, the band also played a punk version of "Round and Round" live called Round and Round 2005.[citation needed]
U.S.
A flyer for the band's 2004 performance at Otakon
On July 31, 2004, L'Arc-en-Ciel made their North American concert debut at the anime convention Otakon, held annually in Baltimore, Maryland. Approximately 12,000 people attended the concert,[citation needed] which was held at an outside venue for the first time in Otakon's musical guest history, at 1st Mariner Arena located near the Baltimore Convention Center where the convention is held. They were also the first Japanese act (and to date, the only) to perform at the Arena. On May 31, 2005, Tofu Records, Sony Music
2005
In 2005, the band released various singles, including "Killing Me", "
In August 2005, the band went on their Awake tour, which was limited to
Hyde singing "Revelation" during the 2005 Awake tour
Hyde's costuming for the concerts raised controversy among fans, and proved to be much removed from L'Arc-en-Ciel's earlier days. The Nazi uniform and the papal robes during the performance of "Revelation" were blatant social commentaries not seen before in the band's concerts.[citation needed]
The Japanese Awake tour was followed by the Asia Live 2005 tour, with performances in Seoul and Shanghai, closing with concerts in
Late 2005–2008
Following the Awake and Asia Live tours, L'Arc-en-Ciel's members turned their attention back to their solo projects. Tetsu began recording with a new band called Creature Creature. Yukihiro rejoined Acid Android, which released its newest single, "Let's Dance", on April 5, 2006. Acid Android joined Mucc, another Japanese rock band, to perform two concerts in
Hyde composed "Glamorous Sky", the theme song to the film adaption of the manga Nana starring pop singer Mika Nakashima. It was the first time Hyde composed music for another vocalist. Hyde's most recent solo singles are "Countdown", the ending song for the Japanese release of the American movie Stealth (released on October 5, 2005), and "Season's Call", the opening song of the anime Blood+ (released February 22, 2006). Both singles topped the Oricon charts.[citation needed] Hyde's latest solo album, Faith, was released in Japan on April 26, 2006, accompanied by a five month tour throughout Japan between April and August of 2006. After signing on with Tofu Records, four small concerts were scheduled in
On November 25th and 26th, 2006, L'Arc-en-Ciel played two shows at the Tokyo Dome to celebrate their 15th anniversary, entitled L'Anniversary. A poll was created on the official website during the weeks before the concert which allowed fans to pick which songs they would like to hear at the event.[citation needed] The concert was later shown on the WOWOW channel on December 23, 2006. It was also broadcast on February 8, 2007 on Korea MTV.
L'Arc-en-Ciel later recorded the song "Shine" to be used as the opening song for the NHK anime, Guardian of the Spirit. They kicked-off their Mata Heart Ni Hi Wo Tsukero 2007 tour in
Following the release of the album Kiss on November 21, L'Arc-en-Ciel announced the Theater of Kiss tour, which was held from December 22, 2007 to February 17. The band subsequently went on the Tour 2008 L'7 ~Trans Asia via
P'unk-en-Ciel
P'unk-en-Ciel is an alter ego of L'Arc-en-Ciel. Introduced in 2004, Hyde takes over guitar, Ken the drums, Yukihiro plays the bass, while Tetsu performs the vocals. P'unk-en-Ciel's songs have a more punk sound and their music is usually heavier and faster with a different tone due to Tetsu's vocals. Hyde wears a pirate patch over his left eye in P'unk-en-Ciel performances. Yukihiro is known to wear a gas mask; however, this has only been seen once at a live concert during their Smile tour in 2004.
Each member is called in capital letters Tetsu P'unk, Ken P'unk, Hyde P'unk and Yuki P'unk. Also, as a way to identify the songs from P'unk-en-Ciel, Yuki P'unk has to yell in every song "One, two, three four!". Each member produces one song of their choice, and they alternate their productions.
P'unk-en-Ciel is the revision of D'ark-en-Ciel, the former being a special event that took place during the early L'Arc-en-Ciel years when Sakura was the drummer. The only material released from them is the 18-minute B-side "D'ark-en-Ciel" found on the (then) unreleased The Fourth Avenue Cafe single.
Their songs are recorded and used as B-sides on singles from 2004 and their performances can be found as extras on Live DVDs. P'unk-en-Ciel also had a television appearance with the television personality Aoki (from Music Fighter) and performed live with her at Budokan performing Round and Round 2005.
Their recorded versions are:
- Milky Way found on the Jiyuu e no Shoutai single (Produced by Hyde P'unk).
- Round and Round 2005 found on the Killing Me single (Produced by Ken P'unk).
- Kasou Heisei 17 Nen (Flower Burial 2005) found on the New World single (Produced by Hyde P'unk).
- Heaven's Drive 2005 found on the Jojoushi single (Produced by Yuki P'unk).
- Promised Land 2005 found on the Link single (Produced by Tetsu P'unk).
- Honey 2007 found on the Seventh Heaven single (Produced by Ken P'unk).
- Feeling Fine 2007 found on the My Heart Draws a Dream single (Produced by Yuki P'unk).
- Natsu no Yuutsu (夏の憂鬱) [Sea in Blood 2007] found on the Daybreak's Bell single (Produced by Hyde P'unk).
- I Wish 2007 found on the Hurry Xmas single (Produced by Tetsu P'unk - it also has a PV).
- Dune 2008 found on the Drink it Down single (Produced by Ken P'unk).
P'unk-en-Ciel can be seen on live on:
- Smile Tour 2004 DVD performing Milky Way.
- Asialive 2005 DVD performing Round and Round 2005.
- Are You Ready? 2007 Mata Heart ni Hi wo Tsukero! (またハートに火をつけろ！) DVD performing Honey 2007 and Feeling Fine 2007.
- Tour 2007-2008 Theater of Kiss DVD performing Natsu no Yuutsu (夏の憂鬱) [Sea in Blood 2007] and I Wish 2007.
Members
Albums
- Dune (April 27, 1993)
- Tierra (July 14, 1994)
- Heavenly (September 1, 1995)
- True (December 12, 1996)
- Heart (February 25, 1998)
- Ark (July 1, 1999)
- Ray (July 1, 1999)
- Real (August 30, 2000)
- Smile (March 31, 2004)
- Dune 10th Anniversary Edition (April 21, 2004)
- Awake (June 22, 2005)
- Kiss (November 21, 2007)
Compilations
- Clicked Singles Best 13 (March 14, 2001)
- The Best of L'Arc-en-Ciel 1994-1998 (March 19, 2003)
- The Best of L'Arc-en-Ciel 1998-2000 (March 19, 2003)
- The Best of L'Arc-en-Ciel C/W (March 19, 2003)
Remixes
Singles
- "Floods of Tears"/"Yasouka" (/夜想花, November 25, 1992)
- "Blurry Eyes" (October 21, 1994)
- "Vivid Colors" (July 6, 1995)
- "Natsu no Yuutsu ~Time to Say Goodbye~" (夏の憂鬱 [time to say good-bye], October 21, 1995)
- "Kaze ni Kienaide" (風にきえないで, July 8, 1996)
- "Flower" (October 17, 1996)
- "Lies and Truth" (November 21, 1996)
- "Niji" (October 17, 1997)
- "Winter Fall" (January 28, 1998)
- "Dive to Blue" (March 25, 1998)
- "Shinshoku ~Lose Control~" (浸食 〜lose control〜, July 8, 1998)
- "Honey" (July 8, 1998)
- "Kasou" (花葬, July 8, 1998)
- "Snow Drop" (October 7, 1998)
- "Forbidden Lover" (October 14, 1998)
- "Heaven's Drive" (April 21, 1999)
- "Pieces" (June 2, 1999)
- "Driver's High" (August 11, 1999)
- "Love Flies" (October 27, 1999)
- "Neo Universe"/"Finale" (January 19, 2000)
- "Stay Away" (July 19, 2000)
- "Spirit Dreams Inside -Another Dream-" (September 5, 2001)
- "Ready Steady Go" (February 4, 2004)
- "Hitomi no Juunin" (瞳の住人, March 3, 2004)
- "Jiyuu e no Shoutai" (自由への招待, June 2, 2004)
- "Killing Me" (January 13, 2005)
- "New World" (April 6, 2005)
- "Jojoushi" (叙情詩, May 18, 2005)
- "Link" (July 20, 2005)
- "The Fourth Avenue Cafe" (August 30, 2006)
- "Seventh Heaven" (May 30, 2007)
- "My Heart Draws a Dream" (August 29, 2007)
- "Daybreak's Bell" (October 10, 2007)
- "Hurry Xmas" (November 14, 2007)
- "Drink it Down" (April 2, 2008)
- "Nexus 4"/"Shine" (August 27, 2008)
Home video
| Title | VHS release date | DVD release date |
| Touch of Dune | --- | |
| Nemuri ni Yosete (眠りによせて) | ||
| Siesta ~Film of Dreams~ | ||
| And She Said | ||
| Heavenly ~Films~ | ||
| A Piece of Reincarnation | August 11, 1999 - December 17, 2003 | |
| Heart ni Hi wo Tsukero! (ハートに火をつけろ！) | August 11, 1999 - December 17, 2003 | |
| Chronicle | ||
| 1999 Grand Cross Conclusion | ||
| Chronicle 2 | ||
| Club Circuit 2000 Realive -No Cut- | ||
| 7 | --- | |
| Live in | --- | |
| Smile Tour 2004 ～全国編～ | --- | |
| Awake Tour 2005 | --- | |
| Asialive 2005 | --- | |
| Chronicle 0 -Zero- | --- | |
| Live DVD Box "Five Live Archives" | --- | |
| 15th L'Anniversary Live | --- | |
| Chronicle 3 | --- | |
| Are you Ready? 2007 Mata Heart ni Hi wo Tsukero! in | --- | |
| Tour 2007-2008 Theater of Kiss | --- |
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