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Ken Morioka
Ken Morioka ( ja, 森岡賢; March 15, 1967 – June 3, 2016) was a Japanese musician, keyboardist, composer, and music producer. He died of heart failure at the age of 49. In addition to being a member of influential synthpop group Soft Ballet, he worked with numerous other musicians such as Kaya, Buck-Tick, and ZIZ (with ex-Malice Mizer member Közi). He was also in the bands minus (-) and Ka.f.ka. In 2006, he formed unit ''Gentleman Take Poraloid'' with Masayuki Deguchi is a Japanese singer and songwriter. He's best known to be a vocalist of a band ''Grass Valley'' (1987-1992) and for his solo project ''Rev'' (1993-1994). Biography In 1987 he started his career as leader of rock band ''GRASS VALLEY'' under ..., under indies label ''Palm Tree'' and in 2009 released studio album Orfeu. References 1967 births 2016 deaths Japanese male composers Japanese keyboardists {{Japan-musician-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minato, Tokyo
is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also called Minato City in English. It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Akasaka, Azabu and Shiba wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis. The modern Minato ward exhibits the contrasting Shitamachi and Yamanote geographical and cultural division. The Shinbashi neighborhood in the ward's northeastern corner is attached to the core of Shitamachi, the original commercial center of Edo-Tokyo. On the other hand, the Azabu and Akasaka areas are typically representative Yamanote districts. , it had an official population of 243,094, and a population density of 10,850 persons per km2. The total area is 20.37 km2. Minato hosts many embassies. It is also home to various domestic companies, including Honda, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, MinebeaMitsumi, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, NEC, Nikon, Sony, Fujitsu, Yokohama Rubber Company, as well as the Japanese headquarters of a number of multi-national firms, includ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 million residents ; the city proper has a population of 13.99 million people. Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, the prefecture forms part of the Kantō region on the central coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. Tokyo serves as Japan's economic center and is the seat of both the Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan. Originally a fishing village named Edo, the city became politically prominent in 1603, when it became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate. By the mid-18th century, Edo was one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of over one million people. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the imperial capital in Kyoto was moved to Edo, which was renamed "Tokyo" (). Tokyo was devastate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south. Japan is a part of the Ring of Fire, and spans Japanese archipelago, an archipelago of List of islands of Japan, 6852 islands covering ; the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa Island, Okinawa. Tokyo is the Capital of Japan, nation's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto. Japan is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the List of countries and dependencies by population density, most densely populated and Urbanization by country, urbanized. About three-fourths of Geography of Japan, the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keyboard Instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers which are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital pianos. Other keyboard instruments include celestas, which are struck idiophones operated by a keyboard, and carillons, which are usually housed in bell towers or belfries of churches or municipal buildings. Today, the term ''keyboard'' often refers to keyboard-style synthesizers. Under the fingers of a sensitive performer, the keyboard may also be used to control dynamics, phrasing, shading, articulation, and other elements of expression—depending on the design and inherent capabilities of the instrument. Another important use of the word ''keyboard'' is in historical musicology, where it means an instrument whose identity cannot be firmly established. Particularly in the 18th century, the harpsichord, the clavichord, and the early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synthpop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic, art rock, disco, and particularly the Krautrock of bands like Kraftwerk. It arose as a distinct genre in Japan and the United Kingdom in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement of the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Electronic musical synthesizers that could be used practically in a recording studio became available in the mid-1960s, and the mid-1970s saw the rise of electronic art musicians. After the breakthrough of Gary Numan in the UK Singles Chart in 1979, large numbers of artists began to enjoy success with a synthesizer-based sound in the early 1980s. In Japan, Yellow Magic Orchestra introduced the TR-808 rhythm machine to popular music, and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soft Ballet
Soft Ballet was a Japanese electronic group formed in 1987. The group consisted of three members, Maki Fujii, Ken Morioka, and Ryoichi Endo, though they employed extra support members for live shows. While Soft Ballet weren't necessarily chart toppers, they had a strong cult following and were considered pioneers of modern electronic music in Japan in the 1990s. History Formation and Alfa Records Years Soft Ballet was formed in 1987 as a side-project when Ken Morioka and Ryoichi Endo (who had already been working together in a band called Volaju) joined with Maki Fujii. That year, the trio released their first single ''Tokio Bang!'', which was released in very limited quantities, making it a sought after collector's item today. Ken Morioka at the time was also already in the band Granny Takes a Trip, which split in 1988. Afterwards, Soft Ballet became a full-fledged band. Their combination of light synthpop with hard European-style EBM attracted great attention for being a unique ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaya (Japanese Musician)
is a Japanese visual kei musician, a vocalist of the electro/darkwave duo Schwarz Stein, and a former vocalist of the bands Meties and Isola under the alias of Hime. He is also known for his androgynous appearance. Career In 1997, Kaya debuted under the name Hime as a vocalist of the visual kei band Meties, before later joining Isola. When Isola disbanded in 2001, Kaya became the vocalist for the darkwave duo Schwarz Stein, produced by Mana and signed to his label Midi:Nette. He also has been a solo artist since 2006, and in 2008 he made a major solo debut with the single "Chocolat". Originally on Mana's record label, Midi:Nette, Kaya later signed to Next Music Inc., and the label's name was changed to Next Media Communications Inc. The label however went bankrupt in the summer of 2009 resulting in Kaya having to go back to an indie label. On July 13, 2016, he held a special 10th anniversary performance at Shinjuku ReNY, titled "The Birth of DIVA", with Kamijo as a speci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buck-Tick
Buck-Tick (stylized as BUCK-TICK) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band, formed in Fujioka, Gunma in 1983. The group has consisted of lead vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, lead guitarist Hisashi Imai, rhythm guitarist Hidehiko Hoshino, bassist Yutaka Higuchi (musician), Yutaka Higuchi and drummer Toll Yagami since 1985. The band has experimented with many different genres of music throughout their three decade career, including punk rock, industrial rock and gothic rock. Buck-Tick are commonly credited as one of the founders of the visual kei movement. They have released 22 studio albums, nearly all reaching the top ten on the charts. History Formation (1983–1985) Buck-Tick was originally formed in 1983. All five of the band members lived in Gunma prefecture. Hisashi Imai originally had the idea for the band, and wanted to start despite not being able to play any instruments at the time. He recruited his friend, Yutaka Higuchi (musician), Yutaka Higuchi, and the two of them began to pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer (stylized as MALICE MIZER) was a Japanese visual kei rock band active from August 1992 to December 2001. Formed by guitarists Mana and Közi, their earlier music and themes were characterized by their strong French and classical influences, later moving away from deliberate French romanticism and incorporating Gothic aspects after several difficulties befell the band. Their official fan club is named "Ma chérie". Malice Mizer was as famous for their live shows as they were for their music, featuring lavish historical costumes and stage sets, short silent theater pieces preluding various songs, and even a particularly notable instance of the vocalist descending to Earth (the stage) as a fallen angel, only to ascend again at the end of the concert. Throughout their history, the band has gone through several different lineups and three drastic image changes. At their peak, they were considered one of "the big four of visual kei" alongside La'cryma Christi, Fanatic Cri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Közi
Közi is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter and DJ. He is best known as one of the guitarists for the 1990s visual kei rock band Malice Mizer. After they went on indefinite hiatus in 2001, he formed the industrial rock duo Eve of Destiny and also started a solo career. Közi is currently in the bands Dalle, XA-VAT, ZIZ and Vamquet, while occasionally performing solo shows. During his time in Malice Mizer, Közi often assumed the role of a pierrot doll, dressing in clown-like costumes with large ruffs, always in shades of red, his favorite color. In music videos and on-stage he would often make movements reminiscent of a marionette. Közi has continued this visual style to some extent, but his contemporary stage costumes are more gothic. His work on the ''Izayoi no Tsuki'' project was reminiscent of carnival music, and artwork for his projects usually follow a dramatic, theatrical theme. Very few details about his private life are known. Biography Early life Közi first lear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masayuki Deguchi
is a Japanese singer and songwriter. He's best known to be a vocalist of a band ''Grass Valley'' (1987-1992) and for his solo project ''Rev'' (1993-1994). Biography In 1987 he started his career as leader of rock band ''GRASS VALLEY'' under CBS Sony, in 1992 the band has disbanded. During band career has released 8 studio albums and 9 singles. In 1993 he started own solo unit ''Rev'' under Zain Records from Being Inc. recording company. On April he made major debut with single ''Amai Kiss Kiss'', in media it was used as a commercial song for Miki Corporation's ''Camellia Diamond''. The single reached No. 8 on Oricon Weekly Charts, charted for 9 weeks and sold more than 195,000 copies. On June, Masayuki participated in collaboration single ''Hateshinai Yume wo'' with Zard, the members of Wands and Zyyg as vocalist and as composer. The single was used as a theme song for NTV television sport program ''Geki Kuukan Pro Yakyuu93''. The single was recorded for the first time on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1967 Births
Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and commercial relations (not diplomatic ones). ** Charlie Chaplin launches his last film, ''A Countess from Hong Kong'', in the UK. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps, USMC and Army of the Republic of Vietnam, ARVN troops launch ''Operation Deckhouse Five'' in the Mekong Delta. * January 8 – Vietnam War: Operation Cedar Falls starts. * January 13 – A military coup occurs in Togo under the leadership of Étienne Eyadema. * January 14 – The Human Be-In takes place in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco; the event sets the stage for the Summer of Love. * January 15 ** Louis Leakey announces the discovery of pre-human fossils in Kenya; he names the species ''Proconsul nyanzae, Kenyapithecus africanus''. ** American footbal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
