Közi
Encyclopedia
Közi is a Japanese
musician who plays guitar
, piano
, keyboard
and synthesizer
. Közi is best known as guitarist for the visual kei
rock band Malice Mizer
. After the band went on an indefinite hiatus in 2001, he joined the industrial rock
act Eve of Destiny
and also started a solo career. As of 2010, Közi is in the bands Dalle, My Horror Revue and XA-VAT , while still working on his solo work.
During his time in Malice Mizer
, Közi often assumed the role of a pierrot
doll, dressing in clown-like costumes with large ruffs, always in shades of red, his favourite colour. In music videos and on-stage he would often make movements reminiscent of a marionette
(string puppet). Közi has continued this visual style to some extent, but his contemporary stage costumes are more gothic
. His work on the Izayoi no Tsuki
project was reminiscent of carnival music, and artwork for his projects usually follow a dramatic, theatrical theme. Very few details about his private life are known.
member Mana
and released two demo tapes. Mana and Közi left Matenrou after deciding they both had similar ideas about creating music. They formed Malice Mizer
in 1992. After Malice Mizer
disbanded in 2001, Közi joined Haruhiko Ash (from The Zolge) and created Eve of Destiny
, an industrial rock
band that toured outside of Japan
several times.
In 2002, Közi collaborated with Japanese author Minako, to provided the soundtrack, Izayoi no Tsuki
(十六夜の月), for her book of the same name. He then performed a special singing event in Japan, which cemented the fact that he was following a solo career. Közi's first solo release was the two-disc, double-single package, "Khaos/Kinema", released on November 1, 2003. On March 11, 2004, he released his debut album, Catharsis
. Közi's second single, "Memento", was released on December 1, 2004. The song is dedicated to the late Malice Mizer
drummer, Kami and was written by Malice Mizer's bassist, Yu~ki. On May 17, 2006, Közi released his second album, Loki N' Roll
.
On September 22, 2008, Közi joined the band Dalle, which consists of Satoshi on vocals, Atsushi on bass, Fuchi on drums and of course Közi on guitar. The band played its first live on October 18 at Shinjuku Marz during the "Tokyo Dark Castle ~ Halloween Special" event, which also featured Auto-Mod, Aural Vampire
, 13th Moon and Seileen, project of DJ SiSeN and Selia.
On December 27, 2008, Közi played on stage with, former Malice Mizer
member Mana
's solo project, Moi dix Mois
for a session gig at their "Dis Inferno Vol.VI ~Last Year Party~" event.
In 2009 he went on a short coupling tour with Moi dix Mois
called "Deep Sanctuary", on July 17 in Osaka
and the 19th in Tokyo
.
A year later in July 2010, Közi went on another tour with Moi dix Mois
, titled "Deep Sanctuary II". This tour had six shows, but the gig at Akasaka BLITZ
on the 17th was special, as former Malice Mizer
bassist Yu~ki, was a special guest. This was the first time in 9 years that the 3 remaining original members played together. They played "Saikai no Chi to Bara" and "Beast of Blood".
Around June 2010, Közi started to perform with a band called My Horror Revue.
Közi, also in 2010, formed the band XA-VAT, with Shuji Ishii (Cali≠gari, Goatbed) on vocals, Takao Koma (Goatbed) on drums, Sadie Pink Galaxy (Speecies) on rhythm guitar and Közi on lead guitar. They held their first performance on November 16, 2010 and released their first self titled single on December 2. They released their debut album Tsuya°C on March 26, 2011 in two limited editions, one with a live DVD, the other with a remix CD, and a regular edition.
Közi performed in Paris
, France
at Porte de Versailles on April 9 and 10, with guest Miyu from Royal Cabaret.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
musician who plays guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, keyboard
Electronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
and synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
. Közi is best known as guitarist for the visual kei
Visual Kei
is a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics. Some sources state that visual kei refers to a music genre, or to a sub-genre of Japanese rock, with its...
rock band Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer was a visual kei rock band from Japan. They were active from August 1992 to December 2001. Formed by Mana and Közi, the band's name stands for "malice and misery", extracted from "nothing but a being of malice and misery" — their reply to the question "what is human?"...
. After the band went on an indefinite hiatus in 2001, he joined the industrial rock
Industrial rock
Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused...
act Eve of Destiny
Eve of Destiny
Eve of Destiny is a Japanese industrial rock band founded in 1999 by Haruhiko Ash . For a long time, Eve of Destiny was a solo project of Ash, with not much real activity, but this changed in 2002, after guitarist Közi of Malice Mizer fame joined and they started to tour outside Japan on a regular...
and also started a solo career. As of 2010, Közi is in the bands Dalle, My Horror Revue and XA-VAT , while still working on his solo work.
During his time in Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer was a visual kei rock band from Japan. They were active from August 1992 to December 2001. Formed by Mana and Közi, the band's name stands for "malice and misery", extracted from "nothing but a being of malice and misery" — their reply to the question "what is human?"...
, Közi often assumed the role of a pierrot
Pierrot
Pierrot is a stock character of pantomime and Commedia dell'Arte whose origins are in the late 17th-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne; the name is a hypocorism of Pierre , via the suffix -ot. His character in postmodern popular culture—in...
doll, dressing in clown-like costumes with large ruffs, always in shades of red, his favourite colour. In music videos and on-stage he would often make movements reminiscent of a marionette
Marionette
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
(string puppet). Közi has continued this visual style to some extent, but his contemporary stage costumes are more gothic
Gothic fashion
Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical Gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, black lips and black clothes. Both male and female goths wear dark eyeliner and dark fingernails. Styles are...
. His work on the Izayoi no Tsuki
Izayoi No Tsuki
Izayoi no Tsuki is a soundtrack for the book Izayoi no Tsuki by Minako . It was composed by the ex Malice Mizer guitarist, Közi.-Track listing:#"Kakera"#"Izayoi no Tsuki"#"Zashikirou"#"Misemono Koya"#"Tsukiyo"#"Houmonsha"#"Akatsuki Yoru"...
project was reminiscent of carnival music, and artwork for his projects usually follow a dramatic, theatrical theme. Very few details about his private life are known.
Biography
Közi's career began at the end of the 1980s in Girl and Beyond The Reinsight. Information about this band is very scarce. In 1991 he joined Matenrou with future Malice MizerMalice Mizer
Malice Mizer was a visual kei rock band from Japan. They were active from August 1992 to December 2001. Formed by Mana and Közi, the band's name stands for "malice and misery", extracted from "nothing but a being of malice and misery" — their reply to the question "what is human?"...
member Mana
Mana (musician)
Mana is a Japanese musician and fashion designer, best known for his role as leader and guitarist of the visual kei band Malice Mizer. His clothing label, Moi-même-Moitié, helped popularize Japan's Gothic Lolita fashion movement. Mana is currently working on his solo project Moi dix...
and released two demo tapes. Mana and Közi left Matenrou after deciding they both had similar ideas about creating music. They formed Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer was a visual kei rock band from Japan. They were active from August 1992 to December 2001. Formed by Mana and Közi, the band's name stands for "malice and misery", extracted from "nothing but a being of malice and misery" — their reply to the question "what is human?"...
in 1992. After Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer was a visual kei rock band from Japan. They were active from August 1992 to December 2001. Formed by Mana and Közi, the band's name stands for "malice and misery", extracted from "nothing but a being of malice and misery" — their reply to the question "what is human?"...
disbanded in 2001, Közi joined Haruhiko Ash (from The Zolge) and created Eve of Destiny
Eve of Destiny
Eve of Destiny is a Japanese industrial rock band founded in 1999 by Haruhiko Ash . For a long time, Eve of Destiny was a solo project of Ash, with not much real activity, but this changed in 2002, after guitarist Közi of Malice Mizer fame joined and they started to tour outside Japan on a regular...
, an industrial rock
Industrial rock
Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused...
band that toured outside of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
several times.
In 2002, Közi collaborated with Japanese author Minako, to provided the soundtrack, Izayoi no Tsuki
Izayoi No Tsuki
Izayoi no Tsuki is a soundtrack for the book Izayoi no Tsuki by Minako . It was composed by the ex Malice Mizer guitarist, Közi.-Track listing:#"Kakera"#"Izayoi no Tsuki"#"Zashikirou"#"Misemono Koya"#"Tsukiyo"#"Houmonsha"#"Akatsuki Yoru"...
(十六夜の月), for her book of the same name. He then performed a special singing event in Japan, which cemented the fact that he was following a solo career. Közi's first solo release was the two-disc, double-single package, "Khaos/Kinema", released on November 1, 2003. On March 11, 2004, he released his debut album, Catharsis
Katarushisu
Katarushisu , or more commonly known as Catharsis, is Közi's 1st solo album, and was released on March 11, 2004. It features a re-arranged version of Promenade .-Track listing:#"Kinema"...
. Közi's second single, "Memento", was released on December 1, 2004. The song is dedicated to the late Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer was a visual kei rock band from Japan. They were active from August 1992 to December 2001. Formed by Mana and Közi, the band's name stands for "malice and misery", extracted from "nothing but a being of malice and misery" — their reply to the question "what is human?"...
drummer, Kami and was written by Malice Mizer's bassist, Yu~ki. On May 17, 2006, Közi released his second album, Loki N' Roll
Loki n' Roll
Loki n' Roll is the second solo album by ex-Malice Mizer guitarist, Közi.-Track listing:#"Cabinet"#"Loki n' Roll"#"Babylo"#"Que Sera Sera"#"Curious Nuance"#"Who's Mind"#"Night Creature"#"The Eyes"#"I'm Not"...
.
On September 22, 2008, Közi joined the band Dalle, which consists of Satoshi on vocals, Atsushi on bass, Fuchi on drums and of course Közi on guitar. The band played its first live on October 18 at Shinjuku Marz during the "Tokyo Dark Castle ~ Halloween Special" event, which also featured Auto-Mod, Aural Vampire
Aural Vampire
is a Japanese darkwave music duo consisting of Exo-Chika and Raveman . They hail from Tokyo, Japan and compose mainly darkwave music. Aural Vampire has toured Europe numerous times and been featured in magazines such as Astan Magazine and The Dose...
, 13th Moon and Seileen, project of DJ SiSeN and Selia.
On December 27, 2008, Közi played on stage with, former Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer was a visual kei rock band from Japan. They were active from August 1992 to December 2001. Formed by Mana and Közi, the band's name stands for "malice and misery", extracted from "nothing but a being of malice and misery" — their reply to the question "what is human?"...
member Mana
Mana (musician)
Mana is a Japanese musician and fashion designer, best known for his role as leader and guitarist of the visual kei band Malice Mizer. His clothing label, Moi-même-Moitié, helped popularize Japan's Gothic Lolita fashion movement. Mana is currently working on his solo project Moi dix...
's solo project, Moi dix Mois
Moi dix Mois
Moi dix Mois is a musical project founded by Japanese musician and fashion designer Mana in 2002 after his previous band, Malice Mizer, paused activities.- History :...
for a session gig at their "Dis Inferno Vol.VI ~Last Year Party~" event.
In 2009 he went on a short coupling tour with Moi dix Mois
Moi dix Mois
Moi dix Mois is a musical project founded by Japanese musician and fashion designer Mana in 2002 after his previous band, Malice Mizer, paused activities.- History :...
called "Deep Sanctuary", on July 17 in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
and the 19th in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
A year later in July 2010, Közi went on another tour with Moi dix Mois
Moi dix Mois
Moi dix Mois is a musical project founded by Japanese musician and fashion designer Mana in 2002 after his previous band, Malice Mizer, paused activities.- History :...
, titled "Deep Sanctuary II". This tour had six shows, but the gig at Akasaka BLITZ
Akasaka BLITZ
Opened in April, 1996, Akasaka BLITZ is a so-called music "live-house" in Minato, Tokyo, owned and operated by Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. Until the opening of Shibuya-AX in 2000, it was the only concert space that in the metropolitan area that could accommodate 1500 people...
on the 17th was special, as former Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer
Malice Mizer was a visual kei rock band from Japan. They were active from August 1992 to December 2001. Formed by Mana and Közi, the band's name stands for "malice and misery", extracted from "nothing but a being of malice and misery" — their reply to the question "what is human?"...
bassist Yu~ki, was a special guest. This was the first time in 9 years that the 3 remaining original members played together. They played "Saikai no Chi to Bara" and "Beast of Blood".
Around June 2010, Közi started to perform with a band called My Horror Revue.
Közi, also in 2010, formed the band XA-VAT, with Shuji Ishii (Cali≠gari, Goatbed) on vocals, Takao Koma (Goatbed) on drums, Sadie Pink Galaxy (Speecies) on rhythm guitar and Közi on lead guitar. They held their first performance on November 16, 2010 and released their first self titled single on December 2. They released their debut album Tsuya°C on March 26, 2011 in two limited editions, one with a live DVD, the other with a remix CD, and a regular edition.
Közi performed in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at Porte de Versailles on April 9 and 10, with guest Miyu from Royal Cabaret.
Albums
- Izayoi no TsukiIzayoi No TsukiIzayoi no Tsuki is a soundtrack for the book Izayoi no Tsuki by Minako . It was composed by the ex Malice Mizer guitarist, Közi.-Track listing:#"Kakera"#"Izayoi no Tsuki"#"Zashikirou"#"Misemono Koya"#"Tsukiyo"#"Houmonsha"#"Akatsuki Yoru"...
(December 13, 2002, soundtrack) - CatharsisKatarushisuKatarushisu , or more commonly known as Catharsis, is Közi's 1st solo album, and was released on March 11, 2004. It features a re-arranged version of Promenade .-Track listing:#"Kinema"...
(カタルシス, March 11, 2004) - Loki N' RollLoki n' RollLoki n' Roll is the second solo album by ex-Malice Mizer guitarist, Közi.-Track listing:#"Cabinet"#"Loki n' Roll"#"Babylo"#"Que Sera Sera"#"Curious Nuance"#"Who's Mind"#"Night Creature"#"The Eyes"#"I'm Not"...
(May 17, 2006)
Singles
- "Khaos/Kinema" (November 1, 2003)
- "Memento" (December 1, 2004)