Psycho le Cému

Psycho le Cému began back in 1999 when vocalist Daishi and guitarist Lida, both formerly of MYU, teamed up with guitarist Aya (ex-ISABELLE), bassist seek (ex-Sculp) and drummer YURA-sama (ex-Sculp roadie). The name Psycho le Cému is said to mean absolutely nothing and was created by simply combining the names of each member's former bands and projects.

The five of them first met up in March and by May had started performing around Himeji in Osaka. Self Analysis, a demo containing six tracks, was released on July 7th. Determined to make a name for themselves, they spent the remainder of the year performing and getting the band's name out to as many people as possible.

With the large volume of bands trying to make it in the business, the members of Psycho le Cému were well aware of the fact that they had to come up with something original in order to get them noticed. Starting with the release of their demo, they used outlandish costumes to garner attention and continued in this manner for the release of their new single, -Kronos-, the PV accompanying it gaining the band a fair amount of notice because of their eye catching costumes, but also the quality of the music and composition paired with Daishi's powerful vocals.

Following the release, they went on a tour with various bands in Nagoya and held their first one man, a sold out show, in November. Just days after, they released another new single and closed out the year with a fifteen-date, promotional tour that sold out completely.

Things picked up for the band in 2001 as all of their releases and lives sold out almost immediately. September saw the release of Psycho le Cému's first album and, in December, they were invited to share the stage with bands like La'cryma Christi, PIERROT and Plastic Tree as part of the Sweet Trance Main Stage: 2001 The Space Odyssey event.

Not wanting to waste any time, the band held a live at the start of January 2002 and released a mail order only mini-album called Prism, which was a huge success. All of the band's hard work and dedication finally caught the attention of Nippon Crown and, by October, they had achieved major label status. Psycho le Cému's major debut release, a single titled Ai no Uta, reached number ten on the Oricon charts.

Their success grew even more with the release of the double A-side single Gekiai merry-go-round / Shun ka shuu tou in January of 2003. In fact, Gekiai merry-go-round is frequently declared a favorite by fans.

In April they covered Roman hikou, a song by legendary band Kome Kome Club. In addition to performing it in the same style as their predecessors did, they also composed a rock version of the track. Following the hit, the band took on the alias Saikoro korokke to release a single used for the anime "Korokke!". In the later half of the year, FRONTIERS, the band's first major album, was released.

After several more successful releases and performances, Psycho le Cému decided to extend their reach to an overseas audience by performing in the USA on a mini tour called Psycho Invasion. The band performed at anime conventions in California and Texas, both shows boasting a very high attendance by both devotees and curious anime fans alike. Footage from these shows was later combined and released on the Psycho in USA -LIVE & DOCUMENT- DVD.

Choosing to show off a different, non-cosplay side of themselves, an alter ego band was created. They performed a few secret lives for members of their fan club and released a special, hard-to-find single, Bad boys, be ambitious!. Following the release of another album and corresponding tour, the band was invited to appear at Fool's Mate magazine's Beauti-FOOL's Fest '04.

Psycho le Cému returned to the USA in 2005 for another short tour, Psycho-logy, which took them to Virginia, Florida and back to California before the members went home to Japan for another tour and the release of their LOVE IS DEAD single and then announced a break to work on solo projects.

YURA-sama and Lida joined forces and became Dacco, while Aya revived his former band, ISABELLE, with seek joining him as a support bassist. Daishi decided to use his real name, Kajinaga Daishi, and released his first solo single, Jitsuroku Shounen Hanzai Ki Kagaku, produced by fellow musician and friend Miya of MUCC. He also went on a short tour to promote the release.

However, things went downhill when Daishi, who was said to have fallen ill and would be unable to appear at the last date of his tour, was later found to have been arrested for being in possession of methamphetamines. Nippon Crown was quick to cancel future shipments of Psycho le Cému's releases and stores also pulled the CDs from shelves. Due to the situation, the band reverted back to indie status, leaving their management and major label behind. Daishi went to trial and was placed on a suspended sentence while the other members continued on with their careers as best they could.

ISABELLE released a limited album that was only sold during the band's summer tour and later released a single, Automatic-Destruction, on the same day as Dacco's Koigaoka single.

When all signs pointed to Psycho le Cému being gone for good, the members announced their reunion in March of 2006. Despite all of their efforts, the separation and stress over Daishi's ordeal proved to be too much and the band just couldn't regain the magic they once had. Psycho le Cému disbanded in the first week of May, sending the members their separate ways.

YURA-sama and Lida continued on as Dacco and traveled to the USA in July for an appearance at San Diego, California's ComiCon. ISABELLE stayed active until June when they too disbanded. Daishi seemed to have completely disappeared until he decided to hold a solo live at Shibuya CYCLONE and announced more scheduled shows as well as new material.

Dacco is still active today and, while ISABELLE is no more, Aya and seek stuck together with other members of the project to form Mix Speaker's, Inc. late in 2006. The band is currently going strong. Daishi has since recorded his first solo album and formed another new project, The ROMEO, as a way to transition into being an actual band rather than a solo artist with session musicians.

All of the former members of Psycho le Cému seem to be enjoying their success with these separate ventures, but Psycho le Cému will always stand out as a unique and eye catching band that made music that still holds a special place in the hearts of fans across the globe.