Gackt
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| Gackt | |
|---|---|
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| Origin | Okinawa, Japan |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Genres | J-Rock/J-Pop |
| Labels | Nippon Crown |
| Website(s) | Dears |
Gackt Camui (ガクト; but most often written in Latin alphabet, even in Japan) is a songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist. He began his rise to fame fronting the band Malice Mizer.
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[edit] Life
[edit] Childhood
Gackt Camui was born in Okinawa, Japan. Gackt claimed to be a vampire born July 4, 1540 until 2004 when he revealed he was actually born in 1973. He has an older sister and a younger brother. Although his mother's vocation is unknown, Gackt has stated on more than one occasion that his father was a jazz musician that played the trumpet. [1]
Gackt was a rambunctious child and enjoyed doing dangerous things. At seven years of age while swimming off the coast of Okinawa, he nearly drowned. After his near-death experience, Gackt said he had the ability to see the dead and speak with deceased family members. His family didn't take it seriously but as three years passed, Gackt began to feel uncomfortable with the dismissive treatment and perceived himself as an outsider.
Contrary to popular belief, Gackt has not been institutionalized for claiming to possess a sixth sense. When he was ten, however, he collapsed and was hospitalized for an unknown gastrointestinal problem. [2] According to his autobiography, he was isolated for an extensive amount of time in a pediatric ward of a hospital for extremely sick children. This was a very difficult time for him, as what few friends he had the opportunity to make died soon afterwards from terminal illnesses. He became mentally imbalanced and was denied release. Desperate to escape what he felt was a prison, Gackt imitated his doctors until he was released.
[edit] Musical Education
When Gackt was three, his parents initiated his classical piano education.[1] By age seven, he had tired of the piano lessons his parents forced him to attend and rebelled. Gackt fought with his teacher until when he was finally allowed to quit at eleven years of age.
Gackt's competitive streak drove him back to the piano at 14 when he realized how skilled one of his friends was. As a result, he began learning to play instruments that deviated from the classical standards of music, eventually focusing on contemporary rock. After many years of having no real interest in his parent's classical lessons, his competitive nature made him want to master the piano.
[edit] Malice Mizer
Gackt's musical career started when he became the drummer for Cains:Feel. He had started singing when Cains:Feel's guitarist YOU (who later became the guitarist for GacktJOB) jokingly put him up to it. He took on the task and continued with voice lessons. He was approached by Mana, who asked him to join the visual kei band Malice Mizer in 1995 as vocalist and pianist. His style at that point was considerably darker and more gothic than that of his work during his solo career.
His induction into Malice Mizer marked a new period for the band's musical and visual style, which became brighter, more romantic, and began to incorporate elaborate costumes and scenary onstage. Along with a change in style, the band's popularity also increased and they managed to secure a major record label contract. Along with this increase in popularity however, the differences between the bandmembers became greater. Gackt mentioned in his autobiography that he wanted to participate in creating music for the band, rather than just singing and writing song lyrics. There were other rumors involving affairs with the management that have, as of yet, been unsubstantiated. Gackt left Malice Mizer shortly after their last major single, "Le Ciel," was released and disappeared completely from the media for about 8 months.
[edit] Solo career
After leaving Malice Mizer, Gackt started his solo career in 1999 backed by "GacktJOB," initially consisting of You (violin/rhythm guitar), Yukihiro "Chachamaru" Fujimura (lead guitar/effects), Masa (rhythm guitar), Ren (bass), Toshi (drums), Yosh (choreographer/dancer), and Igao (keyboards). GacktJOB later added Ryuichi Ryu Nishida and Ju-ken.
Masa parted abruptly with GacktJOB accompanied by Toshi in early 2002 to pursue solo activities following the release of "Another World," the first single for Gackt's "Moon" Album. Although Masa has continued his own career, Toshi still occasionally provides percussion for Gackt in the studio. For live appearances and the majority of studio recordings, Ryuichi Ryu Nishida has otherwise taken Toshi's place.
Bassist Ren announced during Gackt's "Jougen no Tsuki" tour during the summer of 2003 that he would be taking a break. Later that year, Ren posted assurences to fans on his blog that he would not be leaving GacktJOB permanently but wanted to return less inundating indies scene with his own band, LiN Clover for a while.
Throughout the first and second quarters of 2004, magazine shoots were conducted only with the remaining four members until a TV appearance in March which featured a new bassist. This was later revealed to be Ju-ken, who has been GacktJOB's bassist since then.
Despite often being labeled as "pop", few of his songs can be clearly said to belong to that genre. Gackt's music is characterized by a wide variety in musical styles which can range from heavy rock to romantic ballad. Traditional instruments are often used to accentuate electric guitar, piano, and other modern instruments. For these reasons, it is difficult to clearly assign Gackt's music to a specific genre.
[edit] Other Media
Rarely seen sporting the same look in any appearance he makes, Gackt is considered by many to be the epitomy of change. Furthermore, he is known for his often androgynous image.
In addition to music, Gackt has been involved as an actor in various TV commercials (usually playing himself), and in the Japanese drama Hero's Hero. He also co-wrote and co-starred in the hit vampire themed movie Moon Child with HYDE, vocalist of L'Arc~en~Ciel.
Gackt is also officially an author, having written Moonchild: Requiem, and several as-yet unpublished short stories. In 2003 he published his autobiography titled Jihaku, in which he displayed deep thoughts and described events that had a profound impact on his life. Gackt has worked as a runway model for his favorite designer, Yoshiyuki Konishi; designed his own stage-wear and clothing line; and opened his own private, members-only restaurant and bar, Tamaly Bar, complete with his own personal and family recipies.
Gackt was also involved in the PlayStation 2 game Bujingai, for which he performed some of the voices as well as doing motion capture for the game's protagonist, Lau Wong, who is a redheaded vision of Gackt himself. He has also appeared in Japanese commercials for the hit game Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and his name appeared on a dog tag in the game. Other voice-over work of Gackt's included the character 'Seiji' from the anime Shin Hokuto no Ken (New Fist of the North Star), as well as singing the opening and ending theme songs. He also performed the ending theme 「月の詩」, ("Tsuki no Uta") for the anime Texhnolyze.
Rumors on the internet cite Gackt as the model for the Final Fantasy VIII lead character Squall Leonhart. In the game, Squall is wearing a jacket identical to one Gackt wore in his Malice Mizer days. Said rumors state that the designer of Squall Leonhart was a big fan, but Gackt has never been officially credited. Tetsuya Nomura, the character designer for Squall Leonhart, has stated that American actor River Phoenix was the basis for Squall, and that the jacket was intended to test the Playstations capabilities. However, Gackt still refers to Squall as "Gackt 2".
In early 2005 he was asked to write and perform the theme songs for the Gundam movie Zeta Gundam: A New Translation, a movie eagerly anticipated by the anime community. The songs were 'Metamorphoze' and a rearrangement of a previously released song, 「君が待っているから」 ("Kimi ga Matteiru kara").
A character with his likeness appears in Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-. The character is created using video-capture and digitally inserted into the game instead of the more traditional animation. Although having little direct involvement in the game, the character's background is revealed through various G Reports hidden throughout the game. Previews for the forthcoming PSP-based Final Fantasy VII prequel, Crisis Core have revealed that the character's name is Genesis and that he was the prototype for Shin-Ra's super-soldier, Sephiroth (or codename S).
On January 25, 2006 Gackt released his 23rd single, Redemption, which he composed and performed as the theme for Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-, and was released alongside the game (and its soundtrack).
On August 5th 2006, Yoshiki (formally of X Japan) announced he will be forming a band with Gackt in 2007.
[edit] Gackt Job
Gackt Job is Gackt's group of support members. Current members include:
- You (violin, guitar)
- Chachamaru (茶々丸) (bandleader, backing vocals, & guitar)
- Ju-ken (bass)
- Ryu (drums)
- Igao (keyboard)
- Yosh (choreographer)
Former members include:
- Ren (bass) currently in band LinClover
- Masa (rhythm guitar) who was in the band Spiky and is currently in DizzyDrive
- Toshi (drums) currently the drummer for Spiky
[edit] Discography
Further information: Gackt Discography
[edit] External links
[edit] Official
[edit] Unofficial Websites
- Gackt Lyrics: English Translations (English)
- Gackt Syndrome (Italian), (English), (Russian), (Spanish), (German)
- Euphoria (English)
- Jihaku: Autobiography of Gackt English Translation (English)
Other websites
