LUNA SEA Profile: A Legendary Band That Never Ends

luna sea profile

LUNA SEA Profile

On this occasion, we will share information about LUNA SEA profile.. LUNA SEA. Who doesn't know this Japanese rock band? Thick hard rock music, nasal vocals typical of the vocalist, and solid personnel who have never changed in it since its inception until now.

LUNA SEA Profile: A Legendary Band That Never Ends

Basically the band LUNA SEA was formed from two previous bands, namely the band LUNACY which was formed in 1986 with members Jun "J" Onose (bass) and Kiyonobu "INORAN" Inoue (guitar), and the band Pinocchio with members Yasuhiro "SUGIZO" Sugihara ( guitar) and Shinya Yamada (drums). The two bands actively played in various live performances and got to know each other. At high school graduation, when both bands faced the problem of losing personnel, Shinya sparked an idea to merge the two bands, under the name LUNACY in 1989.

During LUNACY's first live performance, Ryuichi “RYUICHI” Kawamura (then still using the stage name Rayla), vocalist of the band SLAUGHTER, was amazed to see LUNACY's performance and was determined to join the band. Previously, SUGIZO and INORAN, who had seen the live performance of SLAUGHTER, were also impressed by RYUICHI's performance. Because at that time LUNACY also needed a vocalist, RYUICHI finally joined LUNACY and left SLAUGHTER. The band's permanent members eventually formed; RYUICHI on vocals, SUGIZO and INORAN on guitars, J on bass and Shinya on drums.

They decided to move to Tokyo to further develop their career with LUNACY. At that time, around 1990, J proposed to change the name LUNACY to LUNA SEA as it is known today. After several live performances, they released their first demo tape entitled LUNACY which contained 3 songs totaling 100 copies and was successfully sold out. After releasing their second demo tape titled SHADE a few months later and again selling out 1,000 copies, they were discovered by hide (guitarist X JAPAN) and asked to join YOSHIKI's (leader X JAPAN) indie label EXTASY RECORDS. On the label they released their first album, LUNA SEA which catapulted their popularity. However, they did not stay on the EXTASY RECORDS label for too long, because in 1992 they moved to the major label MCA Victor which is a subsidiary of Universal Music and released their second album/first major album IMAGE in 1992, and formed their official fan club which was given SLAVE name. Their first concert tour was a concert titled LUNA SEA Debut Tour 1992 IMAGE or REAL. Since then the popularity of LUNA SEA has continued to increase. They released three more studio albums titled EDEN (1993), MOTHER (1994) and STYLE (1996), as well as holding several national scale concert tours such as LUNA SEA Concert Tour 1993 Search for My Eden in 1993, MOTHER OF LOVE, MOTHER OF HATE in 1994 and their concert at the Tokyo Dome, Japan's largest indoor live venue, entitled LUNATIC TOKYO, which over 55,000 tickets sold out, in late 1995, as well as their Un Ending Style tour concert in 1996 with a live encore held on December 23 with the title Un Ending Style Tour Final Christmas Stadium ~Mafuyu no Yagai~ at Yokohama Stadium. During the concert LUNA SEA issued an announcement that the band LUNA SEA would be taking a break for one year to give its members time to refresh and pursue their respective careers outside LUNA SEA.

LUNA SEA returned in April 1998 with the release of the single STORM which was their biggest selling single, selling over 720,000 copies. During 1998 they released three singles, namely STORM, SHINE and I for You which were very popular because they were used as the ending theme song to the famous drama Kamisama mou Sukoshi dake. In 1999 for the first time they did a concert tour abroad, namely in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shanghai. In May 1999, celebrating 10 years of LUNA SEA as a band, they released a live album called NEVER SOLD OUT and held a concert called CAPACITY∞. After releasing the album LUNACY in July 2000, LUNA SEA made the surprising decision to plan to disband. SUGIZO stated the disbandment was due to the fact that they have matured and are choosing to focus on other things at the moment, and also because they "wouldn't shine as bright as themselves if they were together". To close the book, they released a best-of album titled PERIOD ~THE BEST SELECTION~ in December. LUNA SEA also said goodbye to all their SLAVES in a 2 day concert at the Tokyo Dome entitled THE FINAL ACT on December 26-27 2000.

After holding a reunion concert titled GOD BLESS YOU ~One Night Déjàvu~ in December 2007, LUNA SEA made a comeback on August 31, 2010 and issued an announcement that they would be holding a world concert entitled 20th ANNIVERSARY WORLD TOUR "REBOOT" ~to the New Moon~ in several countries outside of Japan with a closing concert in Japan at the end of December. However, they then again issued an announcement on November 30 that they would be holding a free concert at the Tokyo Dome on December 25, under the title LUNACY Kurofuku Gentei Gig ~the Holy Night~. This time they held a concert using the name LUNACY (the name of their band during their indie period), and the songs they performed were songs belonging to them before 1995.

On December 1, LUNA SEA signed with Avex Group's record label HPQ. Their first release on the label was their first self-cover album, LUNA SEA, which was released on March 16, 2011. In late 2010 they held a two-day concert on December 30 and 31. Their December 31 concert entitled LUNA SEA 20th ANNIVERSARY WORLD TOUR REBOOT ~THE COUNT DOWN~ was the first new year countdown concert for the band.

Like other Japanese artists, LUNA SEA was quick to respond when the Tohoku earthquake/tsunami occurred on March 11, 2011. They decided to release a new song since the last 10 years. The song, titled PROMISE, was released on April 9 and is exclusively distributed via Amazon MP3 and LUNA SEA MOBILE as a digital download. All profits from the song were donated through the Japanese Red Cross to the victims of the Tohoku disaster.

Their concert in December 2010 in Los Angeles was filmed in 3D technology, and released in the form of a live album and film video. Equally titled LUNA SEA 3D in LOS ANGELES, the live album will be released on June 1, while the film will be screened in Japanese cinemas starting on June 4. But specifically for SLAVES, they can attend and watch the premiere of this film at a screening event that was held at Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills on May 29. During the event, LUNA SEA held a live streaming press conference and announced that they would be holding a benefit concert entitled LUNA SEA For JAPAN “A Promise to The Brave”. The concert, which aims to help rebuild Japan's infrastructure destroyed as a result of the Tohoku earthquake/tsunami, was held on October 22 at the Saitama Super Arena, with all profits from the concert, as before, again donated through the Japanese Red Cross.

On March 21, 2012, LUNA SEA released a new single after 12 years, titled THE ONE -crash to create-, a song of over 22 minutes in length.

On May 29, they announced that they would be holding a series of concerts entitled LUNA SEA LIVE 2012-2013 The End of The Dream which would be held at Osaka-jo Hall on December 23 and then at Nippon Budokan on December 11 to 13 and 18. until January 20, 2013. They also held a preliminary concert titled The End of The Dream ZEPP TOUR 2012 “Kourin” which will be held at Zepp Namba, Osaka starting on November 16, then successively at Zepp Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sapporo and ending at Zepp Tokyo on December 16th. Once again LUNA SEA will hold a charity concert as a sequel to the one they once held Saitama Super Arena. The concert, entitled LUNA SEA For JAPAN “A Promise to The Brave 2012 in Sendai” will be held at Sendai Sun Plaza on December 24, and again all profits from this concert will be donated to the victims of the Tohoku disaster including rebuilding all of its infrastructure. On 8 October they stated that they were back on the Universal Music label and would be releasing a double A-Side single titled The End of The Dream/Rogue on 12 December. They also announced that they are in the process of making a new studio album to be released in 2013, as well as their plans to be active again and will expand internationally. A new Asia tour has also been scheduled by them, starting on January 26 2013 in Taipei, heading to Hong Kong, Bangkok and ending on February 8 in Singapore.

MEMBER of LUNA SEA

1. RYUICHI (Vocal)

• Name: Ryuichi Kawamura
• Real name: Ryuichi Takano
• Place of birth: Yamato, Kanagawa
• Date of birth: May 20, 1970
• Zodiac: Taurus
• Blood type O
• Height: 171 cm
• Weight: 51 kg
• Hobbies: Surfing and boxing
• Favorite band: U2, The Beatles
• Favorite color: Red
• Favorite drink: Green tea
• Bands: SLAUGHTER, LUNA SEA, Tourbillon

Ryuichi Kawamura is a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, producer, racer, and novelist, currently under the avex trax label. He was the only child in his family, and his parents divorced when he was still a child. His debut in the music industry was with the band LUNA SEA under the name RYUICHI, although previously he had joined as a vocalist in a band called SLAUGHTER. In 1997, Ryuichi made his debut under the Victor Entertainment banner with the single I love you. In 2005, he and INORAN and Hayama Hiroaki formed the band Tourbillon.

When LUNA SEA took a break in 1997, Ryuichi had released several singles and an album, and was awarded the Best Male Singer '97. His position in Tourbillon is also as a vocalist. Ryuichi is married to Miss Japan 2002 Kumi Sano. Rumors were spread in the 90s that there was a love triangle between Ryuichi, Noriko Sakai and Shizuka Kudo. Ryuichi likes Noriko, while Shizuka likes Ryuichi. Ryuichi composed the songs Namida Iro and Butterfly for Noriko, and the song Love is… for Shizuka.

While at LUNA SEA, Ryuichi never dyed his hair because he didn't like other people touching his hair. Ryuichi likes to wear long sleeves to cover up his tattoos.

2. SUGIZO (Guitar, Violin and Backing Vocals)

• Real name: Yasuhiro Sugihara
• Other names: Yuune Sugihara, Yuu Sugihara
• Place of birth: Hadano, Kanagawa
• Date of birth: July 8, 1969
• Blood type O
• Height: 176 cm
• Music projects: SUGIZO & The Spank Your Juice, The FLARE, SHAG, S.K.I.N., JUNO REACTOR, X JAPAN, LUNA SEA
• Hobbies: Jeet Kun Do, yoga, environmental activism, humanitarian and anti-war, peace related matters, new age spiritualism, earth preservation and many more.
• Favorite artist: Kiss, Björk, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, YMO, Duran Duran and Culture Club.

SUGIZO is a musician, producer, as well as guitarist and violinist for the band LUNA SEA. SUGIZO grew up in a family where music was ingrained in him. With both his parents being members of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, from the age of 3 SUGIZO was taught to play the violin, until he became proficient at playing it at a young age.

SUGIZO formed his own label called CROSS then embryo, and a production company called InterLUXIZ. From there he collaborated with several musicians and successfully held several events. SUGIZO has helped several musicians such as yasu (Janne Da Arc), Acid Black Cherry, Miyavi, and D'espairs Ray.

SUGIZO has a daughter named Luna, and he once wrote a song for her as the last track on his solo album TRUTH? which was released in 1997. Outside of LUNA SEA, SUGIZO has proven his quality as a musical virtuoso from various explorations and experiments that produce various kinds of extraordinary musical colors.

3. INORAN (guitar)

• Real name: Kiyonobu Inoue
• Nickname: INORAN
• Place of birth: Kanagawa, Japan
• Date of birth: September 29, 1970
• Blood type: B
• Height: 170 cm
• Weight: 54 kg
• Hobbies: Sleeping, watching F1 races, traveling
• Favorite color: Purple
• Favorite anime: Tonari no Totoro
• Favorite manga: Yatterman series
• Favorite food: Curry, spicy Chinese food, natto
• Admired musician: Ichiro Takigawa
• Close friends: Ryuichi, Ken Lloyd & Nanase Aikawa
• Pets: Two cats

INORAN is the guitarist for the rock band LUNA SEA. After LUNA SEA disbanded, he founded the band FAKE? with Ken Lloyd of Oblivion Dust. After experiencing different musical directions with Ken, INORAN finally left FAKE? and founded Tourbillon with Ryuichi. His nickname, “INORAN” came about when he was playing baseball; he hit the ball and the crowd kept screaming “INO! RUN!!” which sounds like “INORAN”. INORAN suffers from claustrophobia (fear of small and narrow places/rooms), and because of that he wrote a song called Claustrophobia, a coupling for LUNA SEA's debut single, BELIEVE.

INORAN has two younger brothers. He attended the same school as SUGIZO and J. When he was at school, he befriended J and always stopped by J's house when he came home from school. It was his closeness to J that started him and J to form LUNACY. INORAN is the coolest member of LUNA SEA, he never says a word at concerts.

4. J (Bass)

• Real name: Jun Onose
• Nickname: J, Junjun, Mr W.U.M.F. (Wake Up Mother Fucker!)
• Place of birth: Hadano, Kanagawa
• Date of birth: August 12, 1970
• Blood type: AB
• Height: 179 cm
• Weight: 58 kg
• Hobbies: Soccer, cycling

J is a musician, singer, songwriter and record producer, currently under the label Blowgrow, a sub-label of avex trax. His debut in the music industry was as the bassist, founder and leader of the rock band LUNA SEA. In 1993, J collaborated with INORAN and guitarist X JAPAN hide to form the band M*A*S*S. The only material they released was a song called Frozen Bug. In 1997, J made his solo debut under Universal Music Japan with the single BURN OUT.

Since 1997, the name J has been prominent in the music industry due to his active collaboration with many musicians, including world musicians, whether appearing on their albums, participating as support musicians or as guest musicians in their concerts. Several names of musicians who have collaborated with J include Raymond Watts (PIG), Ray McVeigh (Zilch), Takashi Fujita (Doom), Scott Garrett, Billy Duffy and Ian Astbury (all three from The Cult), Steve Jones (The Sex Pistols ), Duff McKagan and Slash (both from Velvet Revolver), Franz Stahl (Scream) and Youjeen (Cherry Filter).

J has an older sister, it was she who influenced J to like rock music. When SD J was a very naughty child, he smoked cigarettes in the school gym and once almost burned down his own house. When SMA J met INORAN and formed LUNACY with him. INORAN is J's best friend, and J is the one who best understands INORAN's cool and mysterious personality.

5. Shinya (Drums & Percussions)

• Real name: Shinya Yamada
• Nickname: Shina
• Place of birth: Hadano, Kanagawa
• Date of birth: January 13, 1970
• Blood type O
• Height: 165 cm
• Heavy: ??
• Hobbies: Karaoke, cars and drums

Music projects: LUNA SEA, TOSHI with T-EARTH, Potbelly, Creature Creature, Pinnochio, YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz

While in high school, Shinya and his friend SUGIZO were in the power metal band Pinocchio. They were in the band Kashmir for a short time before finally joining LUNACY. In 1997, Shinya contributed his drums to help his LUNA SEA partner, J when J released his first solo album, PYROMANIA on the track BACK LINE BEAST. Also in 1997, Shinya started his solo career as vocalist and drummer in his first single entitled Rakkasuru Taiyou which was released on September 26. Shinya released an album called NO STICKS in the same year, but since then there has been no further news regarding his solo career.

When LUNA SEA disbanded in 2000, Shinya worked as a support drummer for musicians such as Miyavi, Nanase Aikawa and many others.

Shinya is the fourth of five children, he has an older sister, two older brothers and a younger brother. His father is a traditional Japanese musician, no wonder Shinya has been taught various percussion instruments since childhood until he finally became a drummer.

Shinya married a former member of the Japanese idol group Morning Musume, Aya Ishiguro, in May 2000. They have three children, Rimu, Sona and Youta.

LUNA SEA DISCOGRAPHY

Studio Albums

1. [1991.04.21] LUNA SEA
2. [1992.05.21] IMAGE
3. [1993.04.21] EDEN
4. [1994.10.26] MOTHER
5. [1996.04.22] STYLE
6. [1998.07.23] SHINE
7. [2000.07.12] LUNACY
8. [2013.xx.xx] Untitled

Best Albums

1. [1997.12.17] SINGLES
2. [2000.12.23] PERIOD ~THE BEST SELECTION~
3. [2002.03.06] another side of SINGLES II
4. [2008.03.26]LUNA SEA COMPLETE BEST

Other Albums

1. [1999.05.29] NEVER SOLD OUT (Live Album)
2. [2005.03.23] SLOW (Ballad Album)
3. [2007.12.19] LUNA SEA MEMORIAL COVER ALBUM -Re:birth- (Tribute Album)
4. [2011.03.16] LUNA SEA (Self-cover)
5. [2011.06.01] LUNA SEA 3D IN LOS ANGELES ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (Live Album)

Instrumental Albums

1. [2001.12.19] LUNA SEA PIANO SOLO INSTRUMENTS 1
2. [2001.12.19] LUNA SEA PIANO SOLO INSTRUMENTS 2
3. [2001.12.19] LUNA SEA PIANO SOLO INSTRUMENTS 3
4. [2001.12.19] LUNA SEA PIANO SOLO INSTRUMENTS 4
5. [2001.12.19] LUNA SEA GUITAR SOLO INSTRUMENTS 1
6. [2001.12.19] LUNA SEA GUITAR SOLO INSTRUMENTS 2

Demo Tapes

1. [1989.08.09] LUNACY
2. [1989.12.08] SHADE
3. [1990.06.10] LASTLY

Singles

1. [1993.02.24] BELIEVE
2. [1993.07.21] IN MY DREAM (WITH SHIVER)
3. [1994.07.21] ROSIER
4. [1994.09.21] TRUE BLUE
5. [1995.02.22] MOTHER
6. [1995.11.13] DESIRE
7. [1996.03.25] END OF SORROW
8. [1996.07.15] IN SILENCE
9. [1998.04.15] STORM
10. [1998.06.03] SHINE
11. [1998.07.01] I for You
12. [2000.03.29] gravity
13. [2000.05.17] TONIGHT
14. [2000.11.08] LOVE SONG
15. [2012.03.21] THE ONE -crash to create-
16. [2012.12.12] The End of the Dream / Rouge

Digital Singles

1. [2011.04.09] PROMISE

DVD / VHS / Blu-ray

1. [1992.07.22] IMAGE or REAL
2. [1993.12.16] Sin After Sin
3. [1995.05.24] ECLIPSE I
4. [1996.07.15] LUNATIC TOKYO~1995.12.13 TOKYO DOME~
5. [1997.05.21] REW
6. [1999.09.29] 10TH ANNIVERSARY GIG [NEVER SOLD OUT] CAPACITY∞ LIVE!
7. [1999.09.29] 10TH ANNIVERSARY GIG [NEVER SOLD OUT] CAPACITY∞ DOCUMENT!
8. [2000.08.xx] SLAVE Gentei GIG 2000
9. [2001.05.29] THE FINAL ACT TOKYO DOME
10. [2001.11.28] ECLIPSE II
11. [2001.11.28] ECLIPSE I+II
12. [2003.05.29] LUNA SEA 1998 REVIVE Manatsu no Yagai
13. [2008.01.16] Mafuyu no Yagai
14. [2008.01.16] Manatsu no Yagai
15. [2008.03.26] LUNA SEA GOD BLESS YOU ~One Night Déjàvu~ 2007.12.24 TOKYO DOME
16. [2010.05.30] LUNA SEA 10TH ANNIVERSARY GIG [NEVER SOLD OUT] CAPACITY∞
17. [2010.12.15] LUNA SEA FIRST ASIAN TOUR 1999 in HONG KONG
18. [2010.12.15] LUNA SEA CONCERT TOUR 200 BRAND NEW CHAOS ACT II in Taipei
19. [2011.04.13] LUNA SEA 20th ANNIVERSARY WORLD TOUR REBOOT -to the New Moon- TOUR DOCUMENT
20. [2011.04.13] LUNA SEA 20th ANNIVERSARY WORLD TOUR REBOOT -to the New Moon- TOKYO DOME
21. [2011.04.13] LUNACY Kurofuku Gentei GIG ~the Holy Night~
22. [2011.10.19] Ichiya Kagiri no Fukkatsu Live LUNA SEA Chinmoku no 7 Nen wo
23. [2012.02.22] LUNA SEA 3D IN LOS ANGELES
24. [2012.03.28] LUNA SEA For JAPAN A Promise to The Brave 2011.10.22 SAITAMA SUPER ARENA

Box

1. [2003.12.23] COMPLETE SINGLE BOX
2. [2004.05.29] COMPLETE ALBUM BOX

Closing

That's what we can share regarding the LUNA SEA profile, hopefully it will be useful and add insight to readers, more or less we apologize and thank you.

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