Vocalist KAMIJO has been a fixture in the visual kei scene since the early 1990s. Now he has started a solo project and we take the opportunity to look at his career so far.
KAMIJO, originally known as Shoki, began his career as roadie for visual kei superstars MALICE MIZER. In 1994, he started his own band, LAREINE, together with guitarist Mayu and bassist Emiru, as well as a succession of different drummers. The band set the standard for his future work: a blend of romantic ballads and sometimes surprisingly heavy rock, but always carried by beautiful melodies, and lyrics brought to life with elaborate costumes. During the twelve years of its existence, the band suffered its share of ups and downs. It rose to major label fame, but all but disbanded at one point, leaving KAMIJO to carry on as a one man show before reuniting and then finally splitting up for good in 2006.
Between 2001 and 2002, while Lareine was effectively on hiatus, KAMIJO and Mayu formed the project NEW SODMY, which had an edgier rock style and perhaps foreshadowed the direction the blonde vocalist was to take with his next band.
Six months after LAREINE had been "laid to eternal rest", KAMIJO and guitarist HIZAKI, together with guitarist TERU, bassist Jasmine You and drummer YUKI, formed Versailles. With its heavy and lightning fast symphonic metal sound, the band's music was a far cry from the gentle tunes of LAREINE, but again its music was characterised by beautiful melodies and rounded off with flamboyant costumes. From the outset, Versailles received a lot of attention from domestic as well as international fans and media, but in 2009, shortly after they had signed a major recording deal, tragedy struck as bassist Jasmine You passed away. With Masashi as bassist the band went on to achieve international success, but in 2012 the members decided to pause activities. KAMIJO began a solo career while the other members recruited a new vocalist and started the band Jupiter.
KAMIJO's solo project is still in its early stages, but the signs are promising. In January 2013, he performed three songs at an event hosted by his fan club, KAMIJO World, and on 28th August he will release his debut single, Louis - Enketsu no La Vie En Rose. To give fans a taste of what's to come, he released a preview of the PV in July, which shows him alongside his former mentor, Mana of MALICE MIZER and Moi dix Mois. So far he hasn't announced any concerts, but given his past success there can be no doubt that exciting times lie ahead.
