L'arc~en~Ciel article from mainsite

[Matsudayo]

Since not everyone who makes it here makes it to the main site not everyone gets to see the lovely informative articles there. And since I can't make updates at this time I'm posting the various articles in thier sections AND to those who have pending articles I'll make forums for your artists and I'll post those articles that you have so nicely submitted in those forums too. Once I get access to my server again I'll make the updates on the site and hopefully add those new articles too. Thank you for your patience.

L'arc~en~Ciel By: Mia Simmons

L'arc~en~Ciel (French meaning 'The Rainbow') is one of the most influential J-rock bands to date. With their rockin' beats and amazing vocals, how could any J-music fan not flop around to their music? With hits like 'Stay Away' and anime themes like 'Ready Steady Go' (from Full Metal Alchemist), they seem to dominate the charts. They have preformed various concerts across Japan and East Asia. They are also gaining steam among American fans especially after their 2003 Otakon concert.

The band started in 1992 with Tetsu (bass guitar and founder), Hyde (vocals), Ken (guitar), and Sakura (drums). They made a quick start and were performing songs from their first studio album, Dune, a year later. Their success was growing and everything seemed to be going great until Sakura was arrested for heroin possession in 1997. After firing Sakura the band recruited a new Drummer, Hiro. Larc resumed their careers and went acquired even more fame then they had previously known.

After that incident, three more albums came out. They were: Ark, Ray and Real, which sold like hot cakes. The band experienced a dry spot and didn't release any new albums; the members were all busy with solo projects. In 2003 Larc was back on track with an album, Smile, released in 2004. They're still going strong, and their band site can be found at www.larc-en-ciel.com/.

GREAT NEWS! Tofu Records: www.tofurecords.com has released Larc en Ciel goodies for everyone to buy! Here is the link to all the Larc en Ciel stuff currently availible: www.tofurecords.com/artists.php?artistid=larc. Check it out and get some Larcy goodness!

Please feel free to add on to this article by placing VALID information below. Further discussion of this band should take place within the forum and NOT in this topic. Thank you

-MH

[arachne]

I apologize for how this post came out, but I'm a die-hard L'Arc fan, so I not only corrected the errors I found, but made some additions as well. I hope the corrections are easy to spot and that what I wrote is coherent. (^_^

If you want a really in depth biography of the band, I suggest haruka's L'Arc~en~Cyclopedia. 2005 hasn't been added yet, for a multitude of reasons, but it's a great resource. Compared to what he's got, I've barely skimmed the surface with what I've written here.

admin said:

The band started in 1992 with Tetsu (bass guitar and founder), Hyde (vocals), Ken (guitar), and Sakura (drums). They made a quick start and were performing songs from their first studio album, Dune, a year later. Their success was growing and everything seemed to be going great until Sakura was arrested for heroin possession in 1997. After firing Sakura the band recruited a new Drummer, Hiro. Larc resumed their careers and went acquired even more fame then they had previously known.

The band formed in 1991, the original line-up being Tetsu (bass), Hyde (vocals), Hiro (guitar) and Pero (drums). Hiro left in June of 1992. Ken left his university career three years in after Tetsu begged him to help the band out, and joined at the end of June 1992. Soon after that, they released their first single, Floods of tears. Pero left them in December of 1992, on the eve of the recording of their first album, DUNE. Tetsu then called Sakura, who had no idea who they were, and convinced him to come check them out. He joined them and DUNE was recorded and released in April of 1993. It soared to #1 on the Oricon indies chart, and the band was signed to a major label not long after.

Their popularity steadily climbed through the following four years. Their third major label album, True, was their first release to sell 1,000,000 copies and hit #1 on the Oricon. Their success would be put on hold and then put to the test in 1997, when sakura was arrested for heroin possession. The release of the single "the fourth avenue cafe" was canceled and he left the band. The remaining three members regrouped, recruited yukihiro, an old acquaintance, and released niji that October. They held their comeback live, REINCARNATION '97, at the Tokyo Dome. They sold the venue out in a record four minutes.

admin said:

After that incident, three more albums came out. They were: Ark, Ray and Real, which sold like hot cakes. The band experienced a dry spot and didn't release any new albums; the members were all busy with solo projects. In 2003 Larc was back on track with an album, Smile, released in 2004. They're still going strong, and their band site can be found at www.larc-en-ciel.com/.

In January of 1999, yukihiro became a full member of the band with the release of winter fall. A year and day from the date of sakura's arrest they would release their first album since his departure- HEART. HEART was followed by a marathon release of singles- eight in all- before the double album release of ark and ray in July of 1999. The band set a record by simultaneously occupying the #1 and #2 spots (ark and ray respectively) on the Oricon album chart, with sales of over two million apeice . Their eighth album, REAL, was released in 2000, followed by a fan voted singles collection, Clicked Singles Best 13, in 2001. The band slid into an unannounced hiatus, releasing solo work, and creating side bands.

HYDE was an instant commercial success, as was TETSU69, while yukhiro released some solo work and then formed acid android. ken hooked up with sakura and a half-German, half Japanese L'Arc PV extra named Ein to form SONS OF ALL PUSSYS. Both acid android and SONS OF ALL PUSSYS are indie bands, managed and signed to Danger Crue Records, the same label that released DUNE. In June of 2003, L'Arc~en~Ciel reunited for "Shibuya 7 days", and announced that they would be releasing a new album in 2004.