Gackt - artist

Gackt Camui (神威 楽斗, Kamui Gakuto) is a Japanese musician, songwriter and actor. Usually referred to by his stage name only, he is best known for his work with Malice Mizer and his subsequent career as a successful solo artist. Besides Japanese, he has performed in Cantonese, English, French, Korean, and Mandarin.

Biography

[edit] Early life

Gackt Kamui was born in Okinawa, Japan, on July 4 (precise year not publicly known), as the second of three children, with an older sister and a younger brother. His father was a music teacher primarily playing the trumpet and his mother was a hairdresser. According to Gackt's autobiography, he was a mischievous child and enjoyed taking risks; at age seven he nearly drowned while swimming off the coast of Okinawa. After this near-death experience, he claimed to have the ability to see and speak with deceased family members, a notion which was dismissed by his parents. At the age of ten, Gackt was hospitalized with a gastrointestinal condition and had to remain at the hospital for a prolonged time. He made the acquaintance of several terminally ill children, some of whom died during his stay.

Gackt's musical education began at age three, when his parents initiated his classical piano education, of which he grew tired four years later. It would take another four years until his parents allowed him to quit. Competition with a friend led to Gackt taking back up the piano, and he was later encouraged to learn other various instruments, especially those used in a rock band, throughout the rest of his time in school.

Malice Mizer

In 1995, Gackt joined Malice Mizer as the group's vocalist, lyricist and pianist. Fan base and record sales grew substantially over the following years and the band became known for its distinct visual kei theme, with elaborate costumes, on-stage scenery, and theatrics. Malice Mizer released two albums with Gackt, Voyage ~Sans Retour~ and Merveilles, along with seven singles. According to Gackt, when he began taking on more of the responsibilities of the band, he was asked to leave the group. However, public statements from the band contradict this claim, as the other members state that he simply "disappeared" after waiting for him once their break was over.

Solo career

Gackt launched his solo career on May 12, 1999 with the release of the EP Mizerable. Several albums, singles and videos (on VHS and DVD) have since followed. Gackt's music has also been featured as theme songs for anime and video games multiple times, examples being New Fist of the North Star, Bujingai and Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, amongst others. He has also provided voice acting, motion capturing and his likeness for such works on several occasions and co-wrote and co-starred in the 2003 movie Moon Child, which also features Hyde (vocalist of L'Arc~en~Ciel) and Taiwanese-American singer Wang Lee Hom. Also in 2003, Gackt published his autobiography, Jihaku and for Caparison Guitars, he has designed two guitars, named "Marcury" and "Venus".

Since January 7, 2007, Gackt has been playing the warlord Uesugi Kenshin in the NHK drama Fūrinkazan. Gackt's most recent solo release is the single "Returner ~Yami no Shuen~", released on June 20, 2007, which was the first in the artist's career (both solo and in a band) to reach the number one spot on the Japanese Oricon charts. Gackt has provided the voice for Malthazar in the Japanese release of the film Arthur and the Minimoys and in October 2007, his back catalog became available in the iTunes Store.

On December 19, Gackt released an album titled 0079-0088. It contains eight tracks, which had either previously been used on the soundtracks of the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam movies or were covers of earlier songs from the Gundam franchise. It was created as a tribute to the creator of Gundam, Yoshiyuki Tomino, for his birthday. Gackt recently performed on the 58th Kōhaku Uta Gassen, the annual New Year's Eve special by NHK. and is currently recording new material. He has stated in an interview that he may decide to retire in 2010 depending upon how he is feeling at the time and the state of his health.

On May 21, 2008, Gackt will release the DVD, Amakakeru Ryu no Gotoku. This is a documentary/commentary on his time spent making the drama, Fūrinkazan.

Gackt will co-star with Josh Harnett in an upcoming 2009 Hollywood film titled "Bunraku".

Skin

On May 25, 2007, the formation of the supergroup Skin was announced, which besides Gackt consists of fellow pop/rock artist Miyavi, former Luna Sea guitarist Sugizo, and X Japan co-founder Yoshiki. The group gave its debut performance at the Anime Expo convention in Long Beach, California on June 29, 2007 and plans to release an album.

GacktJob

GacktJob is Gackt's live support band. Its current lineup is as follows:

* Yukihiro "Chachamaru" Fujimura – backing vocals, lead guitar
* You – violin, guitar
* Ju-ken – bass
* Nell – support bassist
* Minami – drums
* Igao – keyboard

Former members

* Masa – rhythm guitar
* Ren – bass
* Ryu – drums
* Toshi – drums
* Jun-Ji - drums

Gackt will co-star with Josh Harnett in an upcoming 2009 Hollywood film titled "Bunraku"

I almost choked on this....

O.O

Oh my Gackt! I hate those stupid people!!!

What stupid people?

American actors >.<

Me too....omg Gackt is becoming an american actor!

I know, he is a fool... Gakuto-san anata wa baka, baka, baka!!!

LOL could you tell that to him right into his face?

Yes, but then his bodyguards would kill me ^^'

or Gackts magnum would kill you.
Rise up,magnum xD

Lol, I don't want to be killed by Gackt's plastic magnum XD

LOL Hey....magnum upgrade??
Gackt flies over the mountains....xD

Gackt is an albino?(found it on Quizilla)
?lol

WTF? He is albino... He doesn't look like one XD

Do you like more Gackt from Malice Mizer, or Gackt when he is solo artist?

None.

He is gay? I didn't know that... I thought he had a wife, but he is divorced now... That's good, more Gackt for me XD

Yeah, he is... but we can't say if he's gay or not.... But, I believe he's not ^^