Hiroshi Kyono (born Hiroshi Kiyono March 31, 1969 in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

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 ...

) is the vocalist for

The Mad Capsule Markets The Mad Capsule Markets (originally known as The Mad Capsule Market's and Berrie) were a Japanese band that formed in 1985 and were active until 2006. The band became known for their experimental style, which melded various kinds of electronic m ...

Early years

Kyono claims that in his earlier years he was an

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

junky, in high school he started listening to Japanese punk like

Gauze Gauze is a thin, translucent fabric with a loose open weave. In technical terms "gauze" is a weave structure in which the weft yarns are arranged in pairs and are crossed before and after each warp yarn keeping the weft firmly in place. ...

The Stalin were a Japanese punk rock band formed in June 1980, by leader and vocalist Michiro Endo. After numerous member changes, he disbanded the group in February 1985. In May 1987 Michiro formed a group called Video Stalin, which mostly made vid ...

, Inu, and Aburadako. Then he ventured out into overseas punk like

Crass Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk s ...

and

The Pop Group The Pop Group are an English rock band formed in Bristol in 1977 by vocalist Mark Stewart, guitarist John Waddington, bassist Simon Underwood, guitarist/saxophonist Gareth Sager, and drummer Bruce Smith. Their work in the late 1970s crossed d ...

. Kyono's also states that the first record that he bought wasn't very 'punk inspired' as it was

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical a ...

's ''

Secret Messages ''Secret Messages'' is the tenth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1983 on Jet Records. It was the last ELO album with bass guitarist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and a full orchestra, and the last ELO album t ...

''. In 1985 he started the Boowy inspired punk group

Berrie The Mad Capsule Markets (originally known as The Mad Capsule Market's and Berrie) were a Japanese band that formed in 1985 and were active until 2006. The band became known for their experimental style, which melded various kinds of electronic m ...

with his high school friend

Minoru Kojima Minoru Kojima (born 11 October 1968) was the original guitarist for Japanese experimental punk band The Mad Capsule Markets. He is also known as Scene or Shin Murohime, which is apparently a conglomeration of characters from the names of different ...

(aka Shin.), and the group later was joined by bassist Takeshi Ueda and Seto. The group performed their first show during their senior year of school and were ventured out to

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 ...

and

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

. His image at this time was very punk and glam inspired and would often switch from a loud abrasive punk voice to very melodic.

The Mad Capsule Markets years

After Berrie had opened for the likes of The

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

, Berrie became The Mad Capsule Markets. The early incarnation of mad was still very much Boowy inspired, as Kyono and the band were still very interested in the band. After years of further

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

inspired material, the heavy 4 Plugs album was released. This was a big change for Kyono, as he had been listening to the likes of

Fear Factory Fear Factory is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial metal. ...

and hip hop music. Kyono's voice had become slightly gruffer, he often rapped rather than sang, and he sported skateboarder-esque clothing and a no longer had long hair. This style (and musical) change was well received by the fans, and Kyono's music taste became eclectic over the years.

Later years

Since the release of OSC DIS, his popularity as a vocalist increased, and he contributed vocals to several of Joujouka's songs, Sasori's ''Sasori'' and

The Crystal Method The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video gam ...

's ''Weapons Of Mad Distortion'' (which was featured during the Dracula/Blade fight scene in Blade: Trinity). When The Mad Capsule Markets were put on hiatus on 31 March 2006 (Kyono announced this on his birthday) Kyono created the WAG DUG unity website where he often posts diary entries of his latest DJ livesets in Japan and work on other projects, such as the wag dug clothing line. His recent musical activity includes appearing on the

Death Note ''Death Note'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to May ...

movie soundtrack with a song he contributes vocals to called HAKAI (Deathtroy). This track also features

Sid Wilson Sidney George Wilson (born January 20, 1977) is an American musician. He is the turntablist for the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #0. Wilson was the youngest member of the band until bassist Alessandro Venturella and dru ...

of Slipknot fame.

Wagdug Futuristic Unity

In 2007, Kyono released a

mini album A mini-LP or mini-album is a short vinyl record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A ...

Nu Riot ''Nu Riot'' (printed as ''NU ЯIOT'' and pronounced "New Riot") is the debut "mini-album" from Wagdug Futuristic Unity, released on October 24, 2007. Ill Machine was the only single from the album and also appears on the soundtrack for the new Ap ...

'' under the name of Wagdug Futuristic Unity. The album is considered as Kyono's solo project and not a new band as it featured guest appearances as opposed to a constant line up throughout the tracks. Guest appearances include;

Shitdisco Shitdisco were a dance-punk band from Glasgow, Scotland. They formed in 2003 while studying at the Glasgow School of Art, consisting of Joel Stone (bass, guitar, vocals), Joe Reeves (bass, guitar, vocals), Jan Lee (keyboards, backing vocals) ...

, Ultra Brain, Motor, DJ Starscream and Cycheouts G. In June 2008, Kyono announced that a full-length

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'' Hakai'' will be released on July 23, 2008. The first single will be "Systematic People" and will feature Ryo of

Maximum the Hormone is a Japanese heavy metal band from Hachiōji, Tokyo. Their lineup has consisted of vocalist Daisuke-han, drummer Nao, guitarist Maximum the Ryo-kun, and bassist Ue-chan since 1999. Each member alternates singing lead vocals, often within ...

. "Systematic People" has also been used as the opening theme for the

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series '' Kurozuka (novel)''. In the same fashion as ''Nu Riot'', the album will have guest appearances. This time, they include

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Chino Moreno Chino Moreno (born Camillo Wong Moreno, June 20, 1973) is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary lyricist and contributing guitarist of the metal band Deftones. He is also a member of the side-project groups Team Sl ...

(of

Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first five ...

Ceephax Andy Jenkinson (born 12 March 1979), known as Ceephax Acid Crew, is a British electronic musician and record producer who works primarily in the acid house and drum and bass subgenres. Jenkinson is also known simply by the pseudonym Ceephax, ...

, Numanoid vs. Mazda, funky gong (of joujouka), and the return of Sid Wilson and Ultra Brain. Wagdug Futuristic Unity has since released the follow up albums ''Ram The Crush'' and ''RAW'' as an actual band as opposed to the digital hardcore sound earlier material has had, and as from 2012 to 2013, Kyono has collaborated with the likes of DJ Baku to release the collaborative album "Unknown Music Allianz" and is a member of the Metalcore super group T.C.L (The Chunk Legend) which featured former Undown members TORUxxx and Yamada, to release the album Tremendous CLassixx.

Discography

KYONO

;Albums * YOAKE (October 17, 2018)

The Mad Capsule Markets

Wagdug Futuristic Unity

;Albums * '' Hakai'' (July 23, 2008) * ''R.A.M.'' (September 29, 2010) * ''ЯAW'' (April 27, 2011) ;EPs * ''

'' (October 24, 2007) * ''Destroy the Destruction -Mash Up & Remixes-'' (December 3, 2008) ;Singles * "Ill Machine" (September 26, 2007)

References

External links

Kyono's site

Wagdug Futuristic Unity official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyono, Hiroshi Japanese male singers Japanese punk rock musicians The Mad Capsule Markets members 1969 births Living people People from Yokohama Musicians from Kanagawa Prefecture