Ken Morioka Has Passed Away

It has been announced that Ken Morioka passed away on June 3rd due to heart failure. He was 49.

The news was reported by Morioka’s brother, who also expressed his gratitude to everyone who supported the artist. The funeral was attended by family and a “farewell event” will be held for fans, although no details have been revealed just yet.

Ken Morioka started his career in the 80s as a keyboardist of the synthpop group SOFT BALLET. In the 90s, he debuted as a solo artist. In 2014, he formed minus (-) together with SOFT BALLET's Maki Fujii. He was also a member of the supergroup KA.F.KA, and he worked with a number of popular artists over the years, such as BUCK-TICK, Tomoyasu Hotei, Kaya and ZIZ.

Morioka’s solo show Fresh 2016, which was scheduled for June 11th, has been cancelled. minus (-)'s minus(-) Tour 2016 "summer Voltaire" will be cancelled as well, with the exception of a performance at Akasaka BLITZ on August 8th. Additionally, minus (-) will make an appearance at J’s J 2016 LIVE 10 Days of GLORY -10 Counts for Destruction-", which will be held on November 19th at Ebisu Liquid Room. It was also announced that the group’s new album will still be finished.

We would like to express our deepest condolences to Ken Morioka’s family and friends.