All About L’arc En Ciel (Profile and Photo Gallery)

Group Name : L’arc En Ciel a.k.a Laruku
Origin : Osaka, Japan
Genres : Alternative rock, hard rock, pop rock, art rock
Years active : 1991–present
Labels : Danger Crue, Ki/oon/SMEJ, Tofu, Gan-Shin
Member : Hyde, Tetsuya, Ken, Yukihiro

L’Arc-en-Ciel (ラルク アン シエル, Raruku an Shieru?, “The Rainbow” in French), usually stylized as “L’Arc~en~Ciel”, is a Japanese rock band that formed in 1991. The group has sold over 13 million albums, 16 million singles, and millions of other units, including videos. They were ranked at number 58 on a list of Top 100 Japanese pop musicians, provided by HMV Japan in 2003, and are among the most influential artists in the Japanese music scene.

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History
In February 1991, bassist Tetsuya, later band leader, recruited vocalist Hyde along with guitarist Hiro and drummer Pero, and formed a band under the name of L’Arc-en-Ciel. After a year of gaining notoriety in their hometown of Osaka, Hiro left the band on June 12, 1992. Tetsuya convinced his friend Ken to quit his university studies (he was an architecture major at The Nagoya Institute of Technology) and join the band as the guitarist, but soon Pero left the band on December 30, 1992. In 1993, a new drummer, Sakura, joined the band.

On April 1, 1993, the band released their debut album Dune under the indie label Danger Crue. The album was a success and rose to number one on the Oricon indies charts, catching the attention of some major labels. In 1994, L’Arc-en-Ciel signed on with Sony’s Ki/oon division, releasing their second album, Tierra that same year. Heavenly followed in 1995. True, released in 1996, became their first number-one, million selling album. In February 1997, drummer Sakura was arrested for illegal drug possession.[4] He officially quit the band on October 4, 1997. This proved to be the lowest point in the band’s history.

Album
* DUNE (April 27, 1993)
* Tierra (July 14, 1994)
* heavenly (September 1, 1995)
* True (December 12, 1996)
* HEART (February 25, 1998)
* ark (July 1, 1999)
* ray (July 1, 1999)
* REAL (August 30, 2000)
* SMILE (March 31, 2004)
* DUNE 10th Anniversary Edition (April 21, 2004)
* AWAKE (June 22, 2005)
* KISS (November 21, 2007)

Compilations
* Clicked Singles Best 13 (March 14, 2001)
* The Best of L’Arc-en-Ciel 1994-1998 (March 19, 2003)
* The Best of L’Arc-en-Ciel 1998-2000 (March 19, 2003)
* The Best of L’Arc-en-Ciel C/W (March 19, 2003)
* Quadrinity ~Member’s Best Selections~ (March 10, 2010)
* Twenity 1991-1996 (February 16, 2011)
* Twenity 1997-1999 (February 16, 2011)
* Twenity 2000-2010 (February 16, 2011)

P’unk~en~Ciel
P’unk-en-Ciel (パンク アン シエル, panku an shieru?) is an alter ego of L’Arc-en-Ciel. Introduced in 2004, Hyde takes over guitar, Ken the drums, Yukihiro plays the bass, while Tetsuya performs the vocals. P’unk~en~Ciel’s songs have a more punk sound and their music is usually heavier and faster with a different tone due to Tetsuya’s vocals. Hyde wears a pirate patch over his left eye in P’unk~en~Ciel performances. Yukihiro is known to wear a gas mask; however, this has only been seen once at a live concert during their Smile tour in 2004.

Each member is called in capital letters Tetsu P’unk (now T.E.Z P’unk), Ken P’unk, Hyde P’unk and Yuki P’unk. Each member produces one song of their choice, and they alternate their productions.

P’unk~en~Ciel is the revisitation of D’ark~en~Ciel, the latter a special event that took place during concerts in the years when Sakura was the drummer. The only official material released from D’ark~en~Ciel is the 18-minute B-side “D’ark~en~Ciel” found on the (then) unreleased “The Fourth Avenue Cafe” single.

P’unk~en~Ciel songs have been recorded and used as b-sides on singles since 2004 and their performances can be found on live DVDs. They also featured television personality Sayaka Aoki in the song “Round and Round 2005”.

P’unk~en~Ciel songs
Recorded versions released on singles:
* “Milky Way”, found on the “Jiyū e no Shōtai” single (Produced by Hyde P’unk).
* “Round and Round 2005”, found on the “Killing Me” single (Produced by Ken P’unk).
* “Kasou Heisei 17 Nen”, (Flower Burial 2005) found on the “New World” single (Produced by Hyde P’unk).
* “Heaven’s Drive 2005”, found on the “Jojōshi” single (Produced by Yuki P’unk).
* “Promised Land 2005”, found on the “Link” single (Produced by Tetsu P’unk).
* “Honey 2007”, found on the “Seventh Heaven” single (Produced by Ken P’unk).
* “Feeling Fine 2007”, found on the “My Heart Draws a Dream” single (Produced by Yuki P’unk).
* “Natsu no Yuutsu (夏の憂鬱) [Sea in Blood 2007]”, found on the “Daybreak’s Bell” single (Produced by Hyde P’unk).
* “I Wish 2007”, found on the “Hurry Xmas” single (Produced by Tetsu P’unk – it also has a PV).
* “Dune 2008”, found on the “Drink It Down” single (Produced by Ken P’unk).
* “Route 666 -2010-“, found on the “Bless” single (Produced by Yuki P’unk).

Commercially released live performances:
* Smile Tour 2004 DVD (“Milky Way”)
* Asialive 2005 DVD (“Round and Round 2005”)
* Are You Ready? 2007 Mata Heart ni Hi wo Tsukero! (またハートに火をつけろ！) DVD (“Honey 2007” and “Feeling Fine 2007″)
* Tour 2007-2008 Theater of Kiss DVD (Natsu no Yuutsu (夏の憂鬱) [Sea in Blood 2007]” and “I Wish 2007”)
* Tour 2008 L’7 ~Trans Asia via Paris~ DVD (“Feeling Fine 2007” and “HONEY 2007”)

Photo Gallery of L’arc En Ciel
Wanna See L’arc En Ciel in Original Size? Just Click One of Picture Below and You Can Get The Bigger Size.