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| From left to right: Hyde (Vo), Ken (Gt), Tetsuya (Ba) & Yukihiro (Dr) |
L'Arc~en~Ciel
(also known as Laruku (ラルク)
or L'Arc to their fans) can be translated as “the rainbow” and
that seems to fit the diversity of their music. This band may have
started out as a Visual Kei band in Osaka, but as they grew more
popular they adapted a more mainstream image. Naturally their music
changed along with their image. L'Arc~en~Ciel has a wide range of
sounds, varying from hard rock to ballads. Similar bands are LUNA SEA
and GLAY.
In February
1991 bassist en band leader Tetsuya (formerly known as Tetsu)
recruited Hyde (Hide back then) as the vocalist, Hiro as guitarist
and Piro as the drummer. After one year they had gained some
popularity in their hometown, Osaka, but Hiro left the band on June
12, 1992. Tetsuya convinced his childhood friend Ken to quit
university and join L'Arc~en~Ciel as the new guitarist. That same
year Piro also left the group on December 30. His replacement was
Sakura. Tetsuya had invited him to join after he had seen him play.
Before agreeing to anything Sakura came to a performance of
L'Arc~en~Ciel first. Sakura started as the band's new drummer in
1993.
On April 1,
1993, L'Arc~en~Ciel released their debut album “Dune” with record
label “Danger Crue”. The album was a success and reached the #1
spot on the Oricon indies charts. Laruku caught the attention of some
major labels in 1994 and signed a contract with Sony Music
Entertainment Japan's Ki/oon division. They released their second
album “Tierra” and their first major single “Blurry Eyes”.
The single was used for the anime “DNA²”. The third album
“Heavenly” was released in 1995. Those first 3 albums had “DEAD
END” vibe because most of the L'Arc~en~Ciel were fans of the band.
In 1996 the band changed their look, which ended their visual period.
After their image change, Laruku released their first million seller
album “True”.
February
1997 was a turning point for L'Arc~en~Ciel. Drummer Sakura got
arrested for heroin possession and he officially quit the band on
October 4, 1997. When news of Sakura's arrest got public, the band
had a hard time. L'Arc~en~Ciel CDs were removed from store shelves
and “The Fourth Avenue Café”, which should have been used for
the anime “Rurouni Kenshin”, was replaced. Even when the band had
hit a low point and had to postpone the release of “The Fourth
Avenue Café”, album “True” remained on the charts for 2 years.
There were a few months of uncertainty regarding the band's future.
They were still recovering from Sakura's drug scandal, but the
remaining 3 members formed copy band “The Zombies”. They sang
their own songs and also covered Marilyn Manson's “Irresponsible
Hate Anthem”.
L'Arc~en~Ciel
marked their official return with the “Reincarnation '97 Live” at
Tokyo Dome. 56,000 people attended the first show which was sold out
in the still-standing 4 minutes record. It was also the first time
that Yukihiro performed as L'Arc~en~Ciel's new drummer, even though
the single released after Sakura's departure listed Yukihiro as a
support member. It was only after the release of “Niji” that
Yukihiro had been signed as the official drummer.
The 5th
album “HEART” came out in 1998, and 1999 “Ark” and “Ray”
were released at the same time. Those albums were the first Japanese
albums to be released simultaneously in both Japan and other Asian
countries. Both of the albums sold over 2 million copies and topped
the Oricon charts at #1 and #2.
In 2000
released the album “REAL” before L'Arc~en~Ciel went on hiatus.
The members wanted to pursue their solo projects. The last song that
was released, “Spirit Dreams Inside”, was used as the closing
theme for the movie “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within”.
During the
hiatus Hyde released 2 solo albums, starred in the movie “Moon
Child” with Gackt and played the role of Adam in the movie “Kagen
no Tsuki”. Ken formed the band “SONS OF ALL PUSSYS” with former
drummer Sakura. Tetsu started his solo project as TETSU69 and
Yukihiro became a vocalist for the band “Acid Android”.
After a 3
year hiatus and a lot of speculation over a possible disbandment,
L'Arc~en~Ciel surprised their fans with the announcement of a series
of 7 concerts and the release of a new single. “READY STEADY GO”,
used as the opening for “Fullmetal Alchemist”, was released in
February 2004. It was thanks to the anime that L'Arc~en~Ciel gained
new overseas fans. The album “SMILE” was released on March 31st.
When Sakura
was still the drummer, the band released some songs under the name
“D'Arc~en~Ciel”. With the release of "Jiyuu e no Shoutai",
“P'UNK~EN~CIEL”. For “P'UNK~EN~CIEL” the members all switched
instruments and re-recorded L'Arc~en~Ciel songs.
On July 31,
2004, L'Arc~en~Ciel made their North American debut at the convention
“Otakon”. The concert was held at the “1st Mariner
Arena” and Laruku was the first Japanese band to perform there. Due
to the popularity they gained, Tofu records (Sony Music Japan's U.S.
Label), released a DVD of the Otakon concert on May 31, 2005. On June
25, 2007, L'Arc~en~Ciel signed a record deal with HMV America.
After the
Otakon concert, Laruku released many singles and the album “AWAKE”.
They also did the opening and ending theme for the “Fullmetal
Alchemist” movie released in the summer of 2005. The songs were
named “Link” and “LOST HEAVEN”. They held a nationwide tour
and went on an Asian tour to perform in Seoul and Shanghai, before
returning to Tokyo for the 2 final shows.
After the
Awake tour, the band members focused themselves on their solo
activities again. Tetsuya joined “Creature Creature” and released
a solo single. Yukihiro went back to Acid Android and joined MUCC for
2 performances in Shanghai. Ken released a solo single. Hyde composed
“Glamorous Sky” for Mika Nakashima. The song was featured in the
live-action movie of “NANA”. He also released 2 singles and the
album “FAITH”. The FAITH tour took him throughout Japan and to
California in the US.
On November
25& 26, 2006, L'Arc~en~Ciel played two shows to celebrate their
15 year anniversary, titled “L'Anniversary”. The shows took place
at the Tokyo Dome and the set lists were partially chosen by the fans
via an online poll. The tickets for these performances were sold out
in 2 minutes, so Laruku broke their own previous record. The concert
was broadcasted on channel “WOWOW” on December23, 2006, and also
on Korean MTV on February 8, 2007.
After the
release of 4 singles, album “KISS” was released in November 2007.
It was their first original album in over 2 years. In December 2007
Laruku started their “THEATER OF KISS” tour. That tour kept them
busy until February 2008. The first single of 2008 was “DRINK IT
DOWN”, used for the game “Devil May Cry 4”. It was released
right before “TOUR 2008 L'7~Trans ASIA via PARIS~”. L'Arc~en~Ciel
went to China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Paris for the very
first time. On May 20, 2009, the DVD of the concert in Paris was
released.
In 2010 the
members saw an other chance to continue with their own projects. Hyde
formed the band “VAMPS” with guitarist K.A.Z while Ken kept
himself busy with his solo project and producing for MUCC. Tetsuya
finally changed his name to “TETSUYA” and released new material.
Yukihiro went back to Acid Android.
On January
1, 2011, Laruku celebrated their 20th anniversary with the
concert “L’A Happy New Year!” at Makuhari Messe International
Convention Complex. In February 3 greatest hits compilations were
released. Each CD highlighted a distinct era of L'Arc~en~Ciel's
career. The box set “Twenity Box” was also released and included
3 discs and bonus items. They also made an other contribution to the
“Fullmetal Alchemist” franchise and held 2 “20th L’Anniversary”
concerts on May 28th and 29th. The first day was focused
on the band's early work while the second day focused on the recent
releases.
In 2012
L'Arc~en~Ciel went an a world tour that took them to Hong Kong,
Bangkok, Shanghai, Taipei, New York, London, Paris, Singapore,
Jakarta, Seoul, Yokohama, Osaka, Tokyo and Honolulu. On June 1 a poll
for a new world tour was created. If you want to vote for Belgium (or
an other country) you can go to: http://www.larc-en-ciel.com/voter/.
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