Ken (musician)

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This article is about the Japanese musician. For the Filipino musician, see Felip (musician). For the South Korean singer, see Ken (South Korean singer).
Ken
Also known asKEN P'unk, Kën D'Ark
Born (1968-11-28) November 28, 1968 (age 55)
Maibara, Shiga, Japan
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer-songwriter
  • record producer
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • drums
  • keyboards
Years active1992–present
LabelsDanger Crue
Member ofL'Arc-en-Ciel
Formerly ofSons of All Pussys
Websiteken-curlyhair.com

Ken (born November 28, 1968, in Maibara, Shiga) is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter, best known as guitarist of the rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel. After he joined them in 1992, they went on to sell over 40 million records,[1] making them one of the best-selling music artists in Japan. He has written a breadth of L'Arc-en-Ciel's material, including "Vivid Colors", "The Fourth Avenue Cafe", "Niji", "Kasou", "My Heart Draws a Dream", "Daybreak's Bell" and "Chase". Ken was also the vocalist and guitarist of the rock trio Sons of All Pussys (also known as S.O.A.P.), and has released a solo album entitled In Physical.

Biography[edit]

L'Arc-en-Ciel[edit]

Two months before his graduation in 1992, Ken left the Nagoya Institute of Technology, where he was an architect major, to join L'Arc-en-Ciel at the request of his childhood friend Tetsuya. On April 1, 1993, the band released their debut album Dune on the well-known independent record label Danger Crue Records. The album was a success and caught the attention of some major labels. In 1994, L'Arc-en-Ciel signed a contract with Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Ki/oon division and released their major debut album Tierra that same year. Their third studio album Heavenly followed in 1995. In 1996, their fourth album, True, became their first number one record on the Oricon Albums Chart and sold over a million copies.[2] However, drummer Sakura was arrested for drug possession in early 1997, and the band took a hiatus.

L'Arc-en-Ciel resumed activities as a trio with the October 1997 release of the single "Niji". It features former Zi:Kill and Die in Cries drummer Yukihiro as a support member. Sakura officially announced his departure from L'Arc-en-Ciel on November 4, and the band held their first concert back at the Tokyo Dome on December 23, 1997, entitled Reincarnation. It was the band's first performance at the venue and had an attendance of 56,000 people, with the tickets sold out in a record-breaking four minutes.[2][3] Yukihiro officially joined L'Arc-en-Ciel as their drummer on January 1, 1998. The single "Winter Fall", which was released at the end of the month, became the group's first number one on the Oricon Singles Chart.

L'Arc-en-Ciel went on to become one of the best-selling music artists in Japan. Their 1999 simultaneously-released albums Ark and Ray are each one of the best-selling albums of all time in Japan. In 2003, L'Arc-en-Ciel were ranked number 58 on a list of the top 100 Japanese pop musicians by HMV Japan.[4] In 2012, they became the first Japanese act to headline Madison Square Garden in New York City.[1]

Sons of All Pussys[edit]

In 2002, during a break in L'Arc-en-Ciel's activities, Ken formed the band Sons of All Pussys (S.O.A.P.) with ex-L'Arc-en-Ciel drummer Sakura, and bassist Ein (a half Japanese/German model who appeared in a few L'Arc music videos). Each member contributed songs based on themes; Ken with love, Ein with desire, and Sakura with his experiences in jail, and together they released three albums; Grace, Gimme a Guitar and High!, and one single, "Paradise". S.O.A.P. has been inactive since 2006.

Solo career and other work[edit]

On August 23, 2006, Ken began a solo career with the release of the single "Speed" by Danger Crue Records. But it was another two and a half years before second single "Deeper" was released on March 4, 2009. His first studio album, In Physical, followed on April 22. The album was supported by his first solo tour, Live In Physical, from June 8 to July 16, 2009.[5] Ken released the mini-album The Party on August 4, 2010. It was supported by the Hey! Join the Party! tour from October 5 to November 11.[6] Ken's first solo release in 10 years, "Ambient Before the Trigger (Live at Trigger in the Box 2019)", was released digitally-only on November 28, 2020. It consists solely of a nearly 50-minute ambient live performance that Ken performed with Baroque guitarist Kei at the Trigger in the Box event on December 28, 2019.[7]

Ken's mascot is a lion named C.H. Lion Rag Baby, or simply Rag Baby (ラグベベ).[8] He appears on the musician's merchandise,[9] at various mascot-related events,[8] and runs Ken's Twitter account. Rag Baby came in 10th place in the corporate category of the 2013 Yuru-chara Grand Prix.[10] In 2009, Ken began a column titled "Ken Gyūnyū" (Ken牛乳) for the magazine Ongaku to Hito and continued it for two years and seven months. It was collected and published as a book on January 25, 2013.[11]

Ken contributed guitar to the song "The Inside War" from Sid bassist Aki's 2015 album Ephemeral,[12] and produced Baroque's 2016 single "Girl".[13] Ken arranged the songs "Monokuro no Keshiki" and "Ryūsei" for Mucc's 2017 self-cover album Koroshi no Shirabe II: This is Not Greatest Hits, and also provided keyboards and programming to the former.[14] That year, Ken also contributed a cover of Mucc's "EMP" to their tribute album En.[15] In 2018, Ken produced Daizystripper's single "4Get Me Not",[16] and the songs "F+ix=You" and "Unreal" from A9's album Planet Nine.[17] He composed, co-wrote and co-arranged the rock opera-style song "The Love Letter" for Tatsuro's 2022 album Hikagaku Hoteishiki.[18]

Equipment[edit]

Ken is currently an endorser for Fernandes Guitars and is usually seen playing these guitars live. However he tends to modify his models instead of using them stock. For instance, in the past he used to use Van Zandt pick-ups heavily in his own personal guitars and has since moved on to Kinman pick-ups (this change having now been reflected in one of his more recent Fernandes signature models).

However he has also used many different guitars in and out of L'Arc-en-Ciel, including Gibson, Fender, and Steinberger models.

In 2010, he endorsed the American-based guitar brand Fender, Ken (together with Inoran from Luna Sea) was approached by Fender and signed the endorsement contract; his signature model is a Stratocaster.[19]

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

Mini-albums[edit]

  • The Party (2010.08.04) #18[20]

Singles[edit]

  • "Speed" (2006.08.23), Oricon Singles Chart Peak Position: #4[21]
  • "Deeper" (2009.03.04) #7[21]
  • "Ambient Before the Trigger (Live at Trigger in the Box 2019)" (2020.11.28, digital-only)

Home videos[edit]

  • Ken Tour 2009 "Live in Physical" (2009.11.18)

Other work[edit]

Mucc
Baroque
  • "Girl" (2016.10.26) – produced
Tatsuro
  • "The Love Letter" (2022.02.02) – composed, co-wrote and co-arranged

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "L'Arc-en-Ciel, Japanese Visual Rock Band, To Play Madison Square Garden This Weekend". Billboard. 2012-03-23. Archived from the original on 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
  2. ^ a b L’Arc～en～Cielのメンバー、プロフィール. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  3. ^ "L'Arc～en～Ciel: バイオグラフィー" (in Japanese). Barks. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  4. ^ "Top 100 Japanese pops Artists - No.58" (in Japanese). HMV Japan. 2003-10-04. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  5. ^ "Ken インタビュー／＠ぴあ". Pia (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  6. ^ "握手会も！Ken、パーティ感にこだわった新作＆ツアー". Natalie (in Japanese). 2010-06-01. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  7. ^ "L'Arc～en～Cielギタリスト・Kenのソロ名義タイトル「AWA」で解禁！さらに、約50分にも及ぶ最新曲も同時配信". PR Times (in Japanese). 2020-11-28. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  8. ^ a b "Kenマスコット・ラグベベが「ゆるキャラプロレス」で勝利". Natalie (in Japanese). 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  9. ^ "大人の普段使いに、ラルクKenマスコット・ラグベベのアパレルライン始動". Natalie (in Japanese). 2015-03-27. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  10. ^ "ラルク Kenのマスコット"ラグベベ"、ゆるキャラGP企業枠10位入賞". Musicman (in Japanese). 2013-11-25. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  11. ^ "Ken×SATOちコラボマンガも、「Ken牛乳」ついに書籍化". Natalie (in Japanese). 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  12. ^ "シド明希のAKi名義ミニアルバムにラルクKen参加". Natalie (in Japanese). 2015-11-16. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  13. ^ "BAROQUEニューシングル「G I R L」はラルクKenプロデュース". Natalie (in Japanese). 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  14. ^ "MUCCセルフカバー盤「殺シノ調べII」にROACH、ラルクKenら参加". Natalie (in Japanese). 2017-08-12. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  15. ^ "MUCCトリビュートアルバム全アーティスト＆演奏曲発表". Natalie. 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  16. ^ "DaizyStripper年明けシングルはラルクKenプロデュース、全国"パレード"も決定". Natalie (in Japanese). 2017-11-24. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  17. ^ "A9、ラルクKenとアルバム制作秘話トーク＆マニアッククイズ". Natalie (in Japanese). 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  18. ^ "MUCC逹瑯ソロアルバムにラルクKenが楽曲提供「どうなってんだこの曲!?」". Natalie (in Japanese). 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  19. ^ "Ken and INORAN get endorsed by Fender". Tokyohive.
  20. ^ a b "Kenのアルバム売上TOP2作品". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  21. ^ a b "Kenのシングル売上TOP2作品". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-06-04.

External links[edit]

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