is a Japanese

visual kei , abbreviated , is a category of Japanese musicians that have a strong focus on extravagant stage costumes that originated in Japan during the early 1980s. Koji Dejima of '' Bounce'' wrote that visual kei is not a specific sound, but rather it " ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band formed in 1999. Its members are Aya, Daishi, Lida, Seek, and Yura-sama (Yuraサマ). Psycho le Cému distinguished themselves in the visual kei scene via their

cosplay Cosplay, a blend word of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and Fashion accessory, fashion accessories to represent a specific Character (arts), character. Cosplayers often i ...

, with their members dressing in colorful, extravagant outfits inspired by

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

and

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

characters. Psycho le Cému's cosplay inspired a dedicated niche fanbase, with fans who shared the band's interest in anime and cosplay, and some releases and events were done exclusively for members of Kronos, the band's fan club. The band creates a new set of costumes for each single. Promotional music videos often have storylines based on

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. The band also performs as an alter-ego band called "Bad Boys, Be Ambitious!" Each Band member has their own personality in each character, as well as their own color scheme. Example: the Bassist “Seek” is usually the “monster” or “villain” of the story.

History

Psycho le Cému formed in early 1999, and released their first maxi-single “Kronos” independently in March 2000. After playing a sold-out gig at Tokyo's famed visual-kei venue Rock May Kan, the band joined strong indie label Limited Records, who released their November 2000 maxi single “Risokyu Ryokou Guide Disc”. All 15 tour shows supporting this release were sold-out, including the finale at Shibuya's On Air West. In September 2001, Psycho le Cému released their first album, ''Doppelganger'', and began to play nationally and in larger venues. The group was managed by

specialists Sweet Heart, who have also managed

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 makeup and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most successf ...

Shazna Shazna (stylized as SHAZNA) is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band originally active from 1993 to 2000. Originally having a strong gothic rock, gothic/post-punk influence, the band's sound greatly shifted to a more New wave music, new wav ...

, La'cryma Christi,

Pierrot Pierrot ( , ; ), a stock character of pantomime and commedia dell'arte, has his origins in the late 17th-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a hypocorism, diminutive of ''Pierr ...

, and Plastic Tree. In 2003, Psycho le Cému was signed by major Japanese label

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

, and their next two singles went into the top ten of

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

's singles chart. In mid-2004 the band made appearances at Pacific Media Expo and Project A-kon and documented the trip in the form of the ''Psycho le Cému in USA Live & Document'' DVD, which was released in September 2004. The group also kept active in Japan, among other shows they appeared later that year at a festival sponsored by Japan's visual-kei oriented magazine Fool's Mate. The group returned to the States in early 2005 and performed at three anime conventions:

Katsucon Katsucon is an annual three-day anime convention held during February at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. It is traditionally held in February over Presidents Day weekend and was previously held in v ...

in Arlington, Virginia,

Megacon MegaCon, short for Mega Convention, is a large speculative fiction convention that caters to the comic book, sci-fi, anime, fantasy literature, fantasy, Tabletop role-playing game, RPG, and Video game, gaming communities, often occurring in sprin ...

in Orlando, Florida, and AOD: The San Francisco Animation Convention in San Francisco, California. On May 31, 2005, singer Daishi underwent a

urinalysis Urinalysis, a portmanteau of the words ''urine'' and ''analysis'', is a Test panel, panel of medical tests that includes physical (macroscopic) examination of the urine, chemical evaluation using urine test strips, and #Microscopic examination, m ...

that showed up positive for

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

and was arrested by

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

police. When the story broke in the media, all of the band's merchandise was removed from shelves in Japan. Daishi's solo tour was cancelled, and his solo EP was removed from shelves. On June 5, the band announced via their official website that they would be on hiatus due to Daishi's arrest. On September 30, Daishi was sentenced to one year and ten months

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

with a

suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

of three years by a court in Yokohama. The members have formed side projects in the meantime; Aya and seek are in the band

ISABELLE Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

with three other musicians, and Lida and Yura-sama are in Dacco. They have ended their relationship with their label, Crown Records, as well as with their management, Sweet Child Entertainments, and are pursuing their projects independently. Aya was in Isabelle before Psycho le Cému formed, and re-formed the group for a tour and a live DVD in 2005. Seek and Aya are currently in the group Mix Speaker's,Inc., and Seek is an active blogger. In May 2006 Psycho le Cému toured to support the release of new album ''~Epilogue ~ Kataritsugareru Monogatari''. In addition, all of the merchandise that had been pulled from store shelves was reinstated, and the ''Live in the USA II'' DVD, which was delayed due to Daishi's arrest, was finally released. Although as soon as the tour was over, Psycho le Cému went on what seemed to be a permanent hiatus. Daishi, now freed from jail, started a single career. On March 21, 2007, he released ''God Japanese Monster'', his first solo album, accompanied of a Japanese tour. In 2009, the group announced, through their Ameblo blog, "Psycho le Cemu will be going on a short tour to celebrate 10 years since their formation. The tour will be called 「Legend of Sword」, kicks off in June." As stated, Psycho le Cému members reunited again for the anniversary of the creation of the band with a tour called ''10th Anniversary - Legend of Sword'', with new costumes and, the tour started in June of that year. In 2015, Psycho le Cému reunited for three 15th anniversary concerts on February 11, 14 and 15. Later, the group announced a new single, ''Akiramenai Days'', which was released on September 16, 2015, as well as the return of the band. In 2017, they covered " Darlin'" by

D'erlanger D'erlanger (stylized as D'ERLANGER) is a Japanese rock band from Kyoto Prefecture, formed in 1983 by guitarist Cipher and bassist Seela. While they originally played speed and power metal, after recruiting drummer Tetsu and vocalist Kyo they s ...

for the ''D'erlanger Tribute Album ~Stairway to Heaven~''.

Members

Musicians credits' are as per the liner notes of the group's own records. Yura-sama is always credited with vocals, although his only lead vocal spot is the song "Area" and "Janus", which he shares with Daishi, while Lida is never credited with vocals, although he raps a verse in many songs. All members may take backing vocals. Many songs have a pre-recorded or sequenced backing track, to which Aya and Yura-sama will do choreographed dance routines with hand-movements during live performances, called ''furitsuke'' (or ''furi'' for short), which in the past have often been mistakenly referred to as

para para or Para-Para is a synchronized dance that originated in Japan. Unlike most types of club and rave dancing, Para Para features specific synchronized movements for each song, much like line dancing. Para Para has been around since the early 1980 ...

by international fans.

Discography

*''Doppelganger ~mou hitori no jibun~'' (26 September 2000) *''Prism'' (mini-album) (17 July 2002) *'' Frontiers'' (27 August 2003) - An original mini-figure was included with the first pressing *''Beautiful World ~Kono hitomi ni utsuranai mono~'' (11 October 2004) *''Psycho le Cemu Best'' (Greatest Indies Hits) (26 April 2006) *''~Epilogue ~ Kataritsugareru Monogatari'' - A card signed by all the members was included with the pre-orders between 20 February - 24 April (Only available through mail order in Japan) (15 May 2006) *''Psycho le Cemu Best'' (Greatest Major Hits) (23 August 2006) *''NOW AND THEN ~THE WORLD~'' (17 August 2016)Official Discography
, via PsycholeCemu.com. URL accessed November 4, 2016. *''Light and Shadow'' (9 May 2018) *''Twenty Story'' (3 July 2019) *''Resistance'' (13 September 2023)

Singles

*"-Kronos-" (21 March 2000) *"Risoukyou ryokou Guide Disc" (22 November 2000) *"A Trip to the Arcadia" (18 July 2001) - A double single disk set *"Remembrance" (8 January 2002) *"Ai no uta" (2 October 2002) *"Gekiai Merry-Go-Round / Shunkashuutou" (16 January 2003) *" Roman Hikō" (23 April 2003) - A limited first print had special packaging. *"Miracle High Tension!" (21 May 2003) *"A Trip to the Arcadia" (8 October 2003) - Re-Release *"Omoide aruki" (18 February 2004) *"Michi no sora" (9 June 2004) *"Yume kazaguruma" (6 October 2004) *"Love is Dead" (27 April 2005) *"Akiramenai Days" (16 September 2015) *"Ooedo Tabigarasu" (25 May 2016) *"Fantasia ~Yuuki no Gensoukyoku" (14 December 2018) *"Moichido Kuchizukewo" (25 August 2023) *"Shirasagi" (28 December 2024) *"ŚaktiŚaktiAsti" (9 June 2025)

Demo Tapes

*''Self Analysis'' (7 July 1999) *''Genesis'' (18 January 2001) *''Genesis'' (9 June 2001) - Re-release

DVD

*''Psycho le Cému Majikaru BOX'' (25 December 2003) - In addition to the DVD, it has five character figures of the band, a pen with a LED light, a traveling pouch, a "magical" towel, and a set of twelve post cards. *''Psycho le Cému in USA - LIVE & DOCUMENT -'' (15 September 2004) - Psycho le Cému's tour of two anime and manga conventions in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. *''~Risoukyou ryokou Zepp~'' (9 March 2005) - Live footage from their January 2003 performance at Zepp Tokyo. *''Psycho le Cému in USA II'' (19 April 2006) - Psycho le Cému's second DVD of their U.S. tour which took place between February 18, 2005 and March 6, 2005. Includes concert footage and behind-the scenes video. *''Psycho le Cemu ~Saishuu Banashi~ Mata Aeru Sono Hi Made... ~EPILOGUE~ Kataritsugareru Monogatari - Two-disc DVD covering their last tour through Japan. (October 11, 2006)

Books

*''Psycho le Cému Magical Party Daihyakka (Magical Party Encyclopedia)'' (30 November 2003) - A compilation of Party #'s 1-31 that were organized by B-Pass magazine. Includes a bonus DVD of Party 26-31. *''The Magical Photograph Daizenshu (The Magical Photograph Collection) -'' (25 June 2004) - Psycho le Cemu's first photobook. *'' Psycho le Cemu ~The birth of '' '' ~ '' (October 2005) - An artbook of original drawings by Lida of all of PLC's indies costumes up to Gobou Hoshi Fantasy. Included with the book was a 2-song CD by Lida titled "CRIMSON."

References

External links

Article and Press Conference from Pacific Media Expo 2004

Article and Interview from MEGACON by CosplayLab
{{DEFAULTSORT:Psycho Le Cemu Cosplay Japanese rock music groups Visual kei musical groups Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups from Hyōgo Prefecture 1999 establishments in Japan Nippon Crown artists