is a Japanese songwriter, lyricist and the vocalist of

visual kei is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock. Some ...

band

Diaura is a four-member Japanese visual kei rock band, currently signed to their own record label, called NDG, they were formerly under Galaxy Inc. and then Ains. The band formed in December 2010 by yo-ka (ex-Valluna and Megamasso roadie), Kei (ex-Val ...

. He is the main lyricist of the band, but also composes music, along with guitarist Kei. He also works as a radio DJ. His birth name is not publicly known.

Life and career

He was born in a small village in Fukushima Prefecture. He has an older brother, his father is a chef. He attended a private Christian primary school. His parents liked listening to

folk pop Folk-pop is a musical style that may be 1) contemporary folk songs with large, sweeping pop arrangements, or 2) pop songs with intimate, acoustic-based folk arrangements. Recording production values created a unblemished style that appealed to ...

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, which made an early influence on yo-ka's own music taste. His favourite performers at the time were Kōzō Murashita,

Yōsui Inoue is a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, guitarist and record producer, who is an important figure in Japanese music. "Hailed as the Bob Dylan of Japan .. He is renowned for his unique tone, eccentric lyrics, and dark sunglasses which he alway ...

and the band

Anzen Chitai is a Japanese rock band, formed in 1973 by five musicians in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan. It debuted in 1982 in Tokyo, Japan. They became one of Japan's most successful rock bands in the 1980s. Members * - Vocals, Guitars & Percussion (1973� ...

. Yo-ka started liking

in middle school, where his biggest musical influence were

Pierrot Pierrot ( , , ) is a stock character of pantomime and '' commedia dell'arte'', whose origins are in the late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a diminutive of ''Pi ...

. He also liked listening to

Dir en grey Dir En Grey (stylized as DIR EN GREY and previously as Dir en grey) is a Japanese Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in February 1997 and currently signed to Firewall Div., a sub-division of Free-Will. With a consistent lineup of guitari ...

and

Kuroyume is a Japanese rock band formed in Nagoya in May 1991, initially with the vocalist Kiyoharu, bassist Hitoki and guitarist Shin. The group had a definite influence on the visual kei scene, being credited as inspiration to many bands of the late ...

. He first started singing in a band at the age of 13, covering

Luna Sea Luna Sea (stylized as LUNA SEA) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986. Due to the use of make-up and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most success ...

songs. According to him, his singing was "very bad" at this point. He was often made fun of being a singer in junior high school, thus he decided to learn playing the guitar and started composing songs on a guitar, however, he only learned about chords later on. After graduating from high school, he decided to study music at a college but after nine months he thought it was not possible to learn songwriting in school, and thus moved 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 ...

on his own to create a band. He worked in a

konbini A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...

to support his living. He met Yuu, with whom he founded a band that soon disbanded. Yo-ka then got to know Kei and found his music intriguing. They started playing together in Valluna, which also disbanded quite soon. Diaura was established from its former members, with the addition of Shoya on bass. Since August 2019, he is a radio DJ for Radio3 Sendai FM, together with Gotcharocka singer (and former singer of ヴィドール aka

Vidoll was a Japanese visual kei rock band formed in 2002. Their concept was "Occult Romance".www.cdjour ...

) Jui (樹威). The program is called and focuses on visual kei bands of the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku reta ...

. It airs every other Monday for half an hour.

Discography

Valluna

The discography includes official releases only. Records distributed for free at concerts are not listed here. ;Singles * (2009) * Parasite Eve (2009) * Promise (2009) * Neo Infernal (2010) * * Silent Prayer (2010) * Funeral Days (2010) ;Mini album * Distopia (2010) ;Compilation album * Complete (2011)

Diaura

Notes

References

{{Reflist, 2 1987 births Living people People from Fukushima Prefecture Japanese male rock singers Visual kei musicians Japanese songwriters Japanese lyricists Unidentified musicians