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Luna Sea is a Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
ese rock
Rock music

Rock music is a loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950's. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues, country music and other influences....
 band. It was formed in 1989 by Ryuichi Kawamura
Ryuichi Kawamura

is a Japanese people singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of the Japanese rock band Luna Sea....
, Yasuhiro "Sugizo" Sugihara
Sugizo

, born on July 8, 1969 in Hadano, Kanagawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan), is a Japanese musician....
, Shinobu "Inoran" Inoue, Jun "J" Onose and Shinya Yamada
Shinya Yamada

, simply known as , is former member and drummer of Visual kei band Luna Sea. His wife is Aya Ishiguro.Shinya Yamada a Noh actor from an early age the influence of parents, from the ability to quickly oriented....
, a lineup that remained consistent until the band's breakup in 2000. They released seven studio albums and several singles and VHS
VHS

The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, is a recording and playing standard developed by JVC and launched in Europe and Asia in September 1976, and the United States in June 1977....
/DVD
DVD

DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
 releases throughout the 90s.

band was formed in August 1989 by J
J

J or j is a consonant in Esperanto orthography, representing a voiced postalveolar fricative , and is equivalent to the voiced postalveolar fricative, , or the voiced retroflex fricative, ....
 and Inoran when they were in high school, using the name "Lunacy." Together with some senior members, they played at occasional live houses and radio music contests.






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Encyclopedia


Luna Sea is a Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
ese rock
Rock music

Rock music is a loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950's. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues, country music and other influences....
 band. It was formed in 1989 by Ryuichi Kawamura
Ryuichi Kawamura

is a Japanese people singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of the Japanese rock band Luna Sea....
, Yasuhiro "Sugizo" Sugihara
Sugizo

, born on July 8, 1969 in Hadano, Kanagawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan), is a Japanese musician....
, Shinobu "Inoran" Inoue, Jun "J" Onose and Shinya Yamada
Shinya Yamada

, simply known as , is former member and drummer of Visual kei band Luna Sea. His wife is Aya Ishiguro.Shinya Yamada a Noh actor from an early age the influence of parents, from the ability to quickly oriented....
, a lineup that remained consistent until the band's breakup in 2000. They released seven studio albums and several singles and VHS
VHS

The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, is a recording and playing standard developed by JVC and launched in Europe and Asia in September 1976, and the United States in June 1977....
/DVD
DVD

DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
 releases throughout the 90s.

History


1989-90: The Origin

The band was formed in August 1989 by J
J

J or j is a consonant in Esperanto orthography, representing a voiced postalveolar fricative , and is equivalent to the voiced postalveolar fricative, , or the voiced retroflex fricative, ....
 and Inoran when they were in high school, using the name "Lunacy." Together with some senior members, they played at occasional live houses and radio music contests. When the senior members were graduated from school in 1989, Lunacy recruited Sugizo
Sugizo

, born on July 8, 1969 in Hadano, Kanagawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan), is a Japanese musician....
 and Shinya
Shinya

Shinya is a Japanese musician who is the drummer of Dir en grey. He has been with the band since its inception in 1997 and was previously a member of La:Sadie's....
 from the band Pinoccio to be guitarist and drummer, respectively. After searching for a few months, the band recruited Ryuichi from the band Slaughter to be the lead vocalist.

That year, Lunacy debuted on stage at the 100-seat capacity Machida Playhouse on May 29. They released their first demo including "Time Is Dead" and "Nightmare" for the sold out 100 copies. The band's second demo would be released three months later including "Suspicious," "Shade," and "Search for reason," which again sold out for 1,000 copies. On December 17, the band played their first official live concert at Machida Playhouse with all 150 tickets being sold out.

In 1990, Lunacy played a handful concerts with other popular bands such as Wood Pecker, Dools, Billy & the Sluts, Jooly Pickels, and Tokyo Yankees
Tokyo Yankees

Tokyo Yankees is a Japanese metal band that formed in 1988, signed to X-Japan's Yoshiki's Extasy Records label , and distributed by Sony Music....
. They released their third demo, "Lastly," and played an additional live at Machida Playhouse.

1991: Luna Sea

Lunacy were discovered by the late Hideto Matsumoto
Hide (musician)

, was a popular Japanese musician. More commonly known by his stage name hide , he was primarily known for his work as lead guitarist of the popular heavy metal band X Japan from 1987 to 1997....
 (then lead guitarist of X Japan
X Japan

is a Japan band founded in 1982 by Toshi and Yoshiki . Originally named X , the group achieved its breakthrough success in 1989 with the release of their second album Blue Blood ....
), and then signed by X Japan co-founder Yoshiki Hayashi to his independent label
Indie (music)

In popular music, independent music, often abbreviated as indie, is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels and an autonomous, DIY ethic to recording and publishing....
 Extasy Records
Extasy Records

Extasy Records is an independent record label founded in April 1986 by Yoshiki , co-founder of the group X Japan . The label's first release was the X single "Orgasm ", followed by the band's debut album Vanishing Vision in 1988....
, on which they released their self-titled debut album in 1991. Upon their first album release, the band's name Lunacy was changed to Luna Sea. After signing with Sweet Child label, Luna Sea held bigger live performances throughout the year with their first tour, "Under the New Moon Episode I-III" The band's popularity started looming when they played at the Nippon Budokan
Nippon Budokan

The , often shortened to just "Budokan," is an arena in central Tokyo, Japan.For many Westerners, the Budokan is synonymous with large-scale rock concerts....
 for the Exstasy Summit concert among other same-labeled bands including X Japan, Virus, Gilles de Rais, and Tokyo Yankees. At the end of the year, Luna Sea announced they had signed with MCA Victor.

1992: Image

After the official fanclub "Slave" was set up in January. Luna Sea released their first official MCA Victor-labeled album "Image" on May 21. It reachd No.9 best selling album in Oricon Chart. Luna Sea then held the concert "Luna Sea Concert Tour 1992 Image or Real" for 7 nights, where one of the events was taped and released in a VDO format, which reached No.1 in Oricon Chart. Correspondent to the looming popularity, the concert "After The Image Tour" would be held during October. Luna Sea closed the year with another Exstasy Summit concert at Nippon Budokan.

1993: Eden

During the band's short break, Inoran, J, and Sugizo helped collaborate in the new album "Dance 2 Noise 4". The song "Revive~walts for reminiscence of mind" was produced by Sugizo. Inoran and J joined hide
Hide

To hide something is to concealment it.Hide may also refer to:* Hides or rawhide, the skin of animals.* Hide , a Japanese musician, lead-guitarist of X Japan...
 to set up a temporary unit called "MxAxSxS" to produce the song, "Frozen Bug", which was later put in the album "Hide Your Face
Hide Your Face

Hide Your Face is the first solo album by Hide and was released on February 23, 1994. The cover art features a mask designed by H. R. Giger....
". On February 24, Luna Sea's first single "Believe" was released, reaching No.11 in Oricon Chart with the total sale of 200,000 copies. The band started working on its second album and held the album premier concert since April 16, "Luna Sea Concert Tour 1993 Search for My Eden" throughout the country. Their second album, "Eden" was released on April 21 where it reached No.5 best selling album in Oricon Chart. The band then released next single, "In My Dream (with Shiver)" on July 21, reaching No.9 in Oricon Chart. The concert "Luna Sea Concert Tour 1993 Search for My Eden Encore" was then held during August, with the final performance on August 30 was taped and released in the VDO format. Luna Sea then released "Sin After Sin" VDO which included performances from smaller venues during the year.

1994: Mother

Luna Sea held various live tours since late previous year until February titled "Luna Sea Concert Tour '93-'94 The Garden of Sinners". On February 12, they were supposed to play the final concert on time but had to delay for an hour due to massive blizzard nearby. This was the third time the band experienced this phenomenon, thus some media joked that Luna Sea were "the natural disaster" In any event, Luna Sea released their next single, "Rosier" which reached No.3 in Oricon Chart and sold more than 400,000 copies in its first week release. After a handful of live performances, the band released fourth single, "True Blue" which topped the Oricon Chart with more than 450,000 sales during its first week. Responding to the popularity, Luna Sea released their third album, "Mother" on October 26. The album sold 700,000 copies in the opening week and was No.2 in Oricon Chart. The release of album 'Mother' led the band into a more progressive rock approach with songs like 'Genesis of Mind', 'Face to Face', and 'Mother'. In any event, the video "Rosier" was awarded "The Best Music Video" from Nippon Award Taisho (Japan's record award) on December 31.

1995: First Live In Tokyo Dome

In January ,Luna Sea went to Ireland to film the video "Mother". The single was then released in the following month ,reaching No.2 in Oricon Chart with total sales of 300,000 copies. Between March to May ,the band had performed in the concert "Mother of Love,Mother of Hate" to promote the album. On May 24 ,the first video collection release was out with the title ,"Eclipse I" which reached No.1 in Oricon Chart. The same thing would happen to their next single ,"Desire" on November 13. This year ,the popularity had reached the point at which it would headline the Tokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome

Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat stadium located in Bunkyo, Tokyo of Tokyo, Japan. It is the home field of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team, and has also hosted basketball, American football and football games, as well as Professional wrestling in Japan matches, Mixed Martial Arts events, K-1, monster truck races, and music concerts....
, Japan's largest indoor live venue titled "Lunatic Tokyo". More than 55,000 tickets were sold out prior to the event.

1996: Style

The new single ,"End of Sorrow" was released on March 25 ,reaching No.1 in Oricon Chart. The same thing would happen to their fourth album release ,"Style" in May. On July 15 ,the single "In Silence" together with the Lunatic Tokyo live VHS were released. Luna Sea had performed in the tour "Unending Style" later that year ,with the encore live being held on December 23 titled "Unending Style Tour Final Christmas Stadium ~ Mafuyu No Yagai~" from an outdoor Yokohama Stadium. Luna Sea made an announcement during the concert that the band would plan for a temporary year break in 1997 for each member to pursue solo careers.

1998: Shine

Luna Sea returned with the releases of singles "Storm" and "Shine", both of which went to No.1 in Oricon Chart. In July, it was followed by additional single "I for you", which was the ending theme of the popular Japanese dorama (Precious Time) starring Takeshi Kaneshiro
Takeshi Kaneshiro

Takeshi Kaneshiro , born October 11, 1973, is a famous Asian actor of mixed heritage - his father is Ryukyuan people and his mother is Taiwanese people....
 and Kyoko Fukada
Kyoko Fukada

is an actress, model, and singer. In Japan, her name is sometimes Japanese abbreviated and contracted words to the nickname Fukakyon....
. The fifth studio album, "Shine" was then released and went to No.1 in Oricon Chart. The song "Breathe" was used in the Japanese release of Walt Disney's Mulan
Mulan

Mulan is a 1998 United States animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, and released by Walt Disney Pictures on June 19, 1998....
 animated movie. They started making frequent appearances on popular music television shows including Heyx3, CDTV, and Music Station. The band appeared at the Music Station's Super Live 1998 during Christmas following their concert from Yokohama Stadium titled "Manatsu no Yagai"

1999: 10th Anniversary

Luna Sea's popularity had reached overseas to neighboring countried in Asia ,including Hong Kong
Hong Kong

Hong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located in Southern China in East Asia, bordering the province of Guangdong to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west and south....
 ,Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
 and China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
. They held their first Asian tour in Taiwan ,Hong Kong and Shiang Hai ,respectively. To celebrate the 10th year anniversary of the band ,Luna Sea released the first live album 'Never Sold Out' along with the concert 'LUNA SEA 10TH ANNIVERSARY GIG [ NEVER SOLD OUT ] CAPACITY 8'. The concert was attended by approximately 100,000 people.

2000: The Final Act

After releasing nothing for 1.8 year, Luna Sea came back with a new single "gravity", which topped the Oricon Chart. Some of their songs were used in the movie including "My Lover", which was used in the movie Another Heaven. The song "Sweetest Coma Again" was also used in the Japanese release of the James Bond
James Bond

James Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections....
 movie, The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough

The World Is Not Enough is the nineteenth spy film in the James Bond James Bond , and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional character Secret Intelligence Service agent James Bond ....
. Following the release of singles "Tonight", Luna Sea released the sixth studio album 'Lunacy' in July. The album mixed the elements of progressive rock, hard rock, and metal. They held two concerts titled "Luna Sea Concert Tour 2000 The Brand New Chaos". During the latter concert, the band made the announcement they were "dropping the curtains" at the end of the year to pursue solo careers. The last single "Love Song" and album "Period" were then released. Luna Sea held their two-day farewell concerts at Tokyo Dome on December 26-27.

Solo Careers

Since then, the members have either pursued solo careers (Ryuichi and J), new bands (Inoran with Fake?
Fake?

FAKE? is a Japanese rock band. Their music has been described as alternative mixed with electronic sounds. Their sound has also been called "Mixture Rock" as well as an "alternative punk rock mix." Lyrics are mainly English and sometimes in Japanese....
) or collaborations with other musicians (such as the short-lived The Flare by Sugizo and Lazy Knack vocalist Yuna). Shinya, marrying Aya Ishiguro
Aya Ishiguro

is a singer, writer, TV personality and fashion designer in Japan, most famous for her participation in J-pop group Morning Musume). She was born in Hokkaido, Japan on May 12, 1978....
 of the pop
Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
 girl group Morning Musume
Morning Musume

is an all-girl J-pop group from Japan. They are sometimes also referred to as . Their act revolves around singing and dancing to generally upbeat melodies....
, has been playing drums for other musicians such as Nanase Aikawa
Nanase Aikawa

is a Japanese musician known for employing a variety of musical styles, most notably rock. She publishes her music under the Motorod label, a division of Avex Trax....
, Maki Ohguro
Maki Ohguro

is a Japanese pop singer and songwriter. She is from Sapporo in Hokkaido....
, and miyavi
Miyavi

Miyavi is a Japanese recording artist and entertainer. Currently the guitarist in Supergroup Skin , he is also the former guitarist for Du? le Quartz, which disbanded in 2002....
. More recently, Inoran has left Fake? and reunited with Ryuichi to form Tourbillon
Tourbillon (band)

is a Japanese rock music composed of Luna Sea members on vocals and INORAN on guitar and from D-LOOP on keyboard. They recently reached the top 3 of the Oricon Weekly Ranking Charts with "Break the Chain," the opening theme from the Japanese action series Kamen Rider Kiva, a first for any member of the band....
 in 2005, while Sugizo has joined the supergroup
Supergroup (music)

In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups." Supergroups tend to be short-lived, often lasting only for an album or two....
 Skin
Skin (Japanese band)

Skin is a Supergroup consisting of several Japanese Rock music musicians. Formed in Los Angeles, California in 2007, it includes Gackt, Miyavi, Sugizo and Yoshiki ....
 in 2007, which also features pop/rock artists Gackt
Gackt

is a Japanese musician, songwriter and actor. Usually referred to by his stage name only, he is known for his work with Malice Mizer and after leaving Malice Mizer started his career as a solo artist....
 and Miyavi
Miyavi

Miyavi is a Japanese recording artist and entertainer. Currently the guitarist in Supergroup Skin , he is also the former guitarist for Du? le Quartz, which disbanded in 2002....
, as well as Yoshiki.

2007-08: The Reunion

Luna Sea reunited for a concert on December 24, 2007. The concert was aired live on Japan's NHK
NHK

, or Japan Broadcasting Corporation, is Japan's public broadcaster. The NHK is financed by a television licence. This Japanese public corporation has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, NHK....
 BS Hi-vision Satellite channel, with a few songs cut from the track list. The full-length DVD
DVD

DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
 of the concert will be available on March 26, 2008 and is already available for order. Luna Sea will now only play live shows occasionally because they thought the reunion shouldn't be permanent.

Luna Sea performed at the "Hide Memorial Summit" on May 4, 2008. During recent oversea tour in Hong Kong, both Inoran and Ryuichi teased in their interviews regarding the possible reunion of the band in 2009.

Members

As with numerous other Japanese bands, the members of Luna Sea were usually credited with their given
Given name

A given name is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name ....
 or stage name
Stage name

A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, comedians, musician, and professional wrestling....
. – Vocals
  • Yasuhiro "Sugizo" Sugihara (???? Sugihara Yuune) – Lead guitar and violin
  • Shinobu "Inoran" Inoue (???? Inoue Shinobu) – Rhythm guitar
  • Jun "J" Onose (???? Onose Jun) – Bass
  • Shinya Yamada (???? Yamada Shinya) – Drums


Discography

Albums
  • Luna Sea
    Luna Sea (album)

    Luna Sea is the self-titled first album by Luna Sea. It was released on April 21, 1991....
     (April 21, 1991)
  • Image
    Image (album)

    Image is an album released by Luna Sea on May 21, 1992....
     (May 21, 1992)
  • Eden
    Eden (Luna Sea album)

    Eden is an album released by Luna Sea on April 21, 1993....
     (April 21, 1993)
  • Mother
    Mother (Luna Sea album)

    Mother is an album released by Luna Sea on October 26, 1994. The single "True Blue" reached #1 on the charts in Japan.Track listing ...
     (October 26, 1994)
  • Style
    Style (Luna Sea album)

    Style is an album released by Luna Sea on April 22 1996....
     (April 22, 1996)
  • Shine
    Shine (Luna Sea album)

    Shine is an album released by Luna Sea on July 23 1998....
     (July 23, 1998)
  • Lunacy
    Lunacy (album)

    Lunacy is an album released by Luna Sea on July 12, 2000. It was the band's last original studio album before disbanding in late 2000....
     (July 12, 2000)


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)


Compilations
  • Singles (December 17, 1997)
  • Tribute Spirits
    Tribute Spirits

    Tribute Spirits is a Hide tribute album released on May 1, 1999. It collects cover versions by various artists, among them most surviving members of Hide's former band X Japan....
     (1 May 1999)
  • Never Sold Out (May 29, 1999)
  • Period ~The Best Selection~ (December 23, 2000)
  • Guitar Solo Instruments 1 & 2 (December 19, 2001)
  • Piano Solo Instruments 1 - 4 (December 19, 2001)
  • Another Side of "Singles II" (March 6, 2002)
  • Slow (March 23, 2005)
  • Complete Best (March 26, 2008)


External links