Gackt
Gackt Camui (神威 楽斗, Kamui Gakuto?) is a Japanese musician, songwriter and actor. Usually referred to by his given 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.
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 lead Gackt to learn other instruments, with a focus on contemporary rock. He later resumed playing the piano.
Malice Mizer
In 1995, Gackt joined Malice Mizer as the group's vocalist, lyricist and pianist. 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. Malice Mizer released two albums with Gackt, Voyage ~Sans Retour~ and Merveilles. When Gackt began seeking further creative control over the group's compositions, as opposed to just writing the lyrics, he was removed from the group.
Solo
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, such as New Fist of the North Star, Texhnolyze, Bujingai and Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. He has also provided voice acting, motion capturing and his likeness for such works on several occasions[3][4] 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.[5]
In the same year, Gackt published his autobiography, Jihaku. For Caparison Guitars, he has designed two guitars, named "Marcury" and "Venus". [6][7] Since January 7, 2007, Gackt has been playing the warlord Uesugi Kenshin in the NHK drama Fūrinkazan.[8] Gackt's most recent solo release is the single "Returner ~Yami no Shuen~", released on June 20, 2007, which is the first in the artist's career (both solo and in a band) to reach the number one spot on the Japanese Oricon charts.[9] Gackt hast recently provided the voice for Malthazar in the Japanese release of the film Arthur and the Minimoys[10] and in October 2007, his back catalog became available in the iTunes Store.
On December 19, Gackt will release an album titled "0079-0088." It will contain eight tracks, all of which are related to Mobile Suit Gundam. In addition to the five theme songs Gackt provided for the three Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam movies in 2005 and 2006, three cover songs from Gundam will be included in the album: "Suna no Juujika," "Ai Senshi," and "Meguriai."
S.K.I.N.
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[12] and plans to release an album
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