miyavi is the type of artist whose music cannot be pinned down to a specific genre due to the plethora of styles he has experimented with: pop, rock, acoustic, blues, his own take on hip-hop, just to name a few. Along with the mix of genres, his visual style changes often, making him quite a unique character to watch as well.
Known for his elaborate guitar skills, interesting singing voice and charismatic personality, miyavi can easily grab the attention of any audience.
miyavi began his music career under the name miyabi in the band Dué le quartz. He was quickly noticed, not only for writing most of the songs and playing guitar very skillfully, but also for his rock star attitude.
He started his solo career by opening his website right after Dué le quartz had officially disbanded in 2002. In some ways, his continuation in the music industry seemed only natural, as he was a young artist with plenty more to offer.
As he continued alone, he changed the spelling of his name to miyavi and asked that his fans write it like that when referring to him during his solo career, which, according to him, looked more like himself. The artist is still very grateful to Dué le quartz and even has the band name tattooed on his hand, but as a solo artist he was free from compromises.
He released his first album, Gagaku, a rather dark and experimental work, in November 2002. Before the end of the year, he had also released three singles, all with drastically varying sounds. It is also noteworthy that in the early stages of his solo career, miyavi performed all of the instrumental recordings on his releases, in addition to being a vocalist.
Three more singles were released in the first half of a 2003, followed by a live DVD, Gekokujo, in July, and miyavi’s second full-length album, Galyuu, in December.
2004 saw the artist starring in his very own movie, Oresama before he released ashita, genki ni naare and Rock no gyakushuu -Super star no jouken- / 21sekikei koushinkyoku, two more singles, and signed with Universal Music, going major in November, just two years after debuting as a solo indie artist with PS Company. Along with his major label status came a new nickname, MYV, and a complete change in appearance.
In the summer 2005, miyavi’s large, yet playful ego got even bigger as he released the album miyavi – miyavizm – shugi. Around this time, he realized he couldn’t do everything on his own and began having others perform the instruments, with the exception of the guitar, during recording sessions. Two more new singles came in 2005, along with reissues of four previously released singles and both of miyavi’s indie albums.
2006 started off with the release of Señor Señora Señorita, a single infused with Latin flavor and saw the release of two more albums, MYV☆POPS and Miyavi uta – dokuso, before the end of the year.
At the end of the year, miyavi also participated in a charity concert for UNICEF.
In early 2007, miyavi performed in the USA for the first time, showing off his skills in from of a small crowd at Tabu Lounge in Las Vegas, Nevada.
On May 25th and 26th, he was in the states once more to perform at Jrock Revolution in Los Angeles, along with Merry, MUCC, alice nine., Vidoll, Duel Jewel, girugamesh, Kagrra and D’espairsRay.
Hitting more spots on the globe, miyavi also appeared at AnimagiC in Germany on July 29th.
That year also saw miyavi being named as one of the members of a “super group” called S.K.I.N., which consisted of himself, Yoshiki, Gackt and SUGIZO. The band performed only one show, for fans at Anime Expo in California.
In terms of releases, the start of 2007 was quiet. However, miyavi was back on the scene in June with the release of Sakihokoru hana no you ni / Kabuki danshi, followed by the mini-album 7 SAMURAI SESSIONS – We’re KAVKI BOIZ-. He also embarked on the 17-date The Beginning Of NEO VISUALIZM Tour 2007, which lasted from July 17th to August 31st.
A new album was released in March 2008, titled This Iz the Japanese Kabuki Rock followed by two announcements at the last show of his 2007 Asia tour at Shibuya’s C.C. Lemon Hall December 25, 2007: that of the release of the Official Bootleg Live at Shinkiba Coast Live DVD and of “This Iz The Japanese Kabuki Rock Tour 2008″, his first world tour with performances in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. The tour kicked off with a fan-club only event at the Shibuya AX in Tokyo, in May 2008. The circuit was composed of 33 cities in 14 countries over a 3 month period – a first in J-rock scene – with the distance traveled approximately 48,385 miles – equivalent to a full trip around the world. Majority of the concerts were sold out and covered extensively by more than 200 different media organizations.
The tour wrapped up with a performance in Tokyo on August 17, 2008.
On December 24th of the same year, Miyavi released: This Iz The Original Samurai Style, his world tour DVD, a remix album Room No. 382, and the Peace&Smile Carnival Tour 2005 DVD (rereleased after it initially sold out).
Miyavi started 2009 as the headliner for the PS Company 10th Anniversary Commemorative Performance at the Nippon Budokan on January 3, for which the 13,000+ tickets sold out within 3 minutes of going on sale on November 22, 2008. On the day of the live, fans were sprawled in a line stretching from the Budokan to Kudanshita Station.
Near the end of the show, Miyavi famously revealed that a DVD of the event, Peace&Smile Carnival 2009 would be released on April 5, 2008, by accident. Along with two books titled: PS Company 10th Anniversary Book Peace&Smile History 1998-2008 and Peace&Smile Carnival at Nippon Budokan scheduled to be released on January 23 and February 9, 2009 respectively. While the PS Company 10th Anniversary Book Peace&Smile History 1998-2008 will comprise of interviews with the participating artists (including Miyavi, Kagrra, Kra, the GazettE, Alice Nine, SuG and SCREW), and other such features, the Peace&Smile Carnival at Nippon Budokan will in addition contain: original photos, exclusive backstage images, live reports, as well as a company-wide questionnaire.
A live, NEO TOKYO SAMURAI BLACK -Tsuzu・Nariagari 2009- has been announced for April 5, 2009 at the Hibiya Park open-air concert venue.
With an extensive discography and the talent and charisma to entertain audiences all over the globe, anyone could find something to like about miyavi and his music. Always creative and surprising, there’s really no telling what miyavi will do in the future. Fans can only wait and see what new styles and sounds will emerge from this talented artist next.
~ 世愁歌
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