L'Arc-en-Ciel, stylized as L'Arc〜en〜Ciel and abbreviated as Laruku, is a Japanese rock band formed in Osaka in 1991 by bassist Tetsuya and vocalist Hyde. Following the departure of original members Hiro and Pero, guitarist Ken and drummer Sakura were recruited to replace them in 1992 and 1993, respectively. While they first got their start as a visual kei band, L'Arc-en-Ciel have not had any association with the movement since their major label debut in 1994. Sakura left the band in 1997 and was replaced by Yukihiro in January 1998, completing the current line-up.
Hideto Takarai, known by his stage name Hyde, is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel since 1991, he is also the lead vocalist of Vamps and has a solo career.
Yasunori Sakurazawa, known by his stage name Sakura, is a Japanese musician. He is best known as former drummer of the rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel from 1993 to 1997. After leaving them he formed the supergroup Zigzo, the trio Sons of All Pussys, and his solo project Lion Heads. Currently Sakura performs with the bands Rayflower, the reformed Zigzo, The Madcap Laughs, and Gibkiy Gibkiy Gibkiy.
Dune is the debut album by Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel. It was released by the independent label Danger Crue Records, first in a limited edition on April 10, 1993, and followed by a regular edition on April 27, which contained an additional tenth track. The regular edition reached number 1 on the Oricon indies chart on May 10.
Ray is the seventh album by L'Arc-en-Ciel, released on July 1, 1999, simultaneously with Ark. It reached number two on the Oricon chart, behind only Ark, and sold over two million copies, being certified by the RIAJ.
"Stay Away" is the 21st single by Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel, released on July 19, 2000. On the same day, Japanese rock band Glay's single "Mermaid" was also released. Although "Stay Away" sold over 504,000 copies in the first week, "Mermaid" debuted at number 1 with the sales of over 525,000 copies. The second track "Get out from the Shell" is also included in their album Real as the English-language song "Get out from the Shell ". "Stay Away" was elected as "the best video of the year" at the "Space Shower Music Video Awards 00".
Tetsuya, formerly known as Tetsu, is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known as bassist and bandleader of the rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel. Formed in 1991, they have sold over 40 million records, making them one of the best-selling music artists in Japan.
Ken is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter, best known as guitarist of the rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel. After he joined them in 1992, they went on to sell over 40 million records, making them one of the best-selling music artists in Japan. He has written a breadth of L'Arc-en-Ciel's material, including "Vivid Colors", "The Fourth Avenue Cafe", "Niji", "Kasou", "My Heart Draws a Dream", "Daybreak's Bell" and "Chase". Ken was also the vocalist and guitarist of the rock trio Sons of All Pussys, and has released a solo album entitled In Physical.
The discography of L'Arc-en-Ciel, a rock band from Osaka, Japan, formed in 1991. The group has sold over 13 million albums, 16 million singles, and millions of merchandise, including home videos. In 2003, L'Arc-en-Ciel were ranked 58 on HMV Japan's list of the top 100 Japanese pop artists.
Yukihiro is a Japanese musician, best known as drummer of the rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel since 1998. He also sings and plays bass for his solo project Acid Android, and drums for the supergroup Petit Brabancon. Before joining L'Arc-en-Ciel he was in the popular visual kei bands Zi:Kill and Die in Cries.
"Ready Steady Go" is the twenty-third single by L'Arc-en-Ciel, released on February 4, 2004; it reached number 1 on the Oricon chart. The four alternate versions on the single omit each titular band member's contributions; for instance, the "Hydeless Version" features none of hyde's vocals, while the "Yukihiroless Version" has no percussion whatsoever.
"Niji" is the eighth single by Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel, released on October 17, 1997. It reached number 3 on the Oricon chart. It was their first release after Sakura's arrest and Yukihiro joining as the band's support drummer. The title track was used as the opening theme of the animated movie Rurouni Kenshin: Requiem for the Ishin Shishi, making them the only artist to contribute more than one song to the franchise. The single was re-released on August 30, 2006. The song is one of the band's signature songs, often played at the end of concerts.
"Honey" is the eleventh single by L'Arc-en-Ciel. It was released simultaneously with "Shinshoku ~Lose Control~" and "Kasou" on July 8, 1998. "Honey" was used as the main theme song and ending song for the TBS Television Football highlights programme "Super Soccer".
"Kasou" is the twelfth single by L'Arc-en-Ciel. It was released simultaneously with "Honey" and "Shinshoku ~Lose Control~" on July 8, 1998. The song was used as the ending theme to TV Asahi's Shinsou Kyumei! Uwasa no Flie. The single debuted at number 4 on the Oricon chart. It was re-released on August 30, 2006. The single was also rerecorded by P'unk~en~ciel in 2012 as "花葬 平成十七年", in the album "P'unk is Not Dead".
"Hurry Xmas" is the thirty-fourth single by L'Arc-en-Ciel, released on November 14, 2007. There are two editions of the original single, a regular and a special edition. The special edition was packaged in a gift box, includes a DVD with two music videos for the A-side and B-side, a photograph of the band, and a Christmas ornament.
"Home" is the twenty-fifth single by B'z, released on July 8, 1998. This song is one of B'z many number-one singles in Oricon weekly chart. Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel released three singles in the same day. Although L'Arc-en-Ciel's three singles—"Honey", "Shinshoku " and "Kasō"—passed the first week sales of 500,000 copies each and were ranked at number two, three and four respectively, the single "Home" managed to debut at the number-one position. The single sold over 961,000 copies according to Oricon. While they won "the artist of the year award", the song was elected as one of "songs of the year" at the 13th Japan Gold Disc Award.
"Pieces" is the seventeenth single by L'Arc-en-Ciel, released on June 2, 1999 it debuted at number 1 on the Oricon chart. "Pieces" was awarded "Best Video of the Year" at "Space Shower Music Video Awards 99". It sold 483890 copies in its first week.
"Neo Universe/Finale" is the twentieth single by L'Arc-en-Ciel. this Double A-side single was released on January 19, 2000, as the second single from the band's eighth studio album, Real (2000). It debuted at number 1 on the Oricon chart and sold 1,103,880 copies, as certified by the RIAJ. "Finale" was used as the theme song of Ringu 0: Birthday. The third track is an instrumental song called "hole" which also featured in Ringu 0: Birthday during the opening sequence, and the fourth is a remix version of the song "Trick" from the band's seventh studio album Ray.
"Yorokobi no Uta" is the fourth overall single by Japanese boy band, KAT-TUN, and the first from their third studio album, KAT-TUN III: Queen of Pirates. The single was released in two editions; a regular edition with the songs and its instrumental versions and a limited edition with a DVD of the music video.
The following is an overview of the year 2007 in Japanese music. It includes notable awards, lists of number-ones, yearly best-sellers, albums released, groups established and disestablished, deaths of notable Japanese music-related people as well as any other relevant Japanese music-related events. For overviews of the year in music from other countries, see 2007 in music.
