Juka

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Juka
Background = solo_singer


Born = birth date and age|1981|10|4
Yamaguchi,, Japan
Instrument = vocals
Genre = Gothic metal, Symphonic metal, Alternative metal, Visual Kei
Occupation = Singer
Years_active = 2002–present
Associated_acts = Moi Dix Mois, HIZAKI Grace Project, Node of Scherzo and Solo-singer

Juka (Japanese. ジュカ, rumored to be named 藤本大樹, en. "Fujimoto Hiroki"; born October 4, probably 1981 in Yamaguchi, Japan) is a Japanese musician who came first into the scene when being recruited by famous Visual Kei artist Mana for his solo project Moi dix Mois.

Activities

Moi dix Mois

When Mana discovered Juka in 2002, nothing in particular was known about him. Like his band colleague Kazuno he was a newcomer to the Japanese music scene. While Juka was in Moi dix Mois, they produced three singles, two albums and two live DVDs as well as countless live concerts with the band, even in Germany and France. Juka left Moi dix Mois right after the "Invite to Immorality Tour Final" concert on April 30, 2005. The official reason given for his departure was musical differences. As a result of lacking a vocalist, Mana's fellow band members Kazuno and Tohru also decided to leave the band soon after. From there, Moi dix Mois had to be formed completely anew.

HIZAKI grace project

At the end of 2006, the Japanese guitarist HIZAKI announced that he would release a new album named "Dignity of Crest" in the beginning of 2007 with his solo project, HIZAKI grace project, which included Juka as their vocalist. The participation of Juka caused all copies to be sold out within two months (Source: [http://www.cdjapan.co.jp CDJapan.co.jp] ). A live DVD named "紋章" (en. "monshou") was released on May 5, 2007. It contains the complete live footage of HIZAKI grace project's Japan tour final concert on February 17. Furthermore, HIZAKI released a second album called "Ruined Kingdom" on September 19 which contained some tracks of the live again as well as three new songs featuring Juka in his last recordings for HIZAKI grace project. He officially left the band after the concert at Omotesandou FAB on October 5, 2007. During the "日本耽美革命" (en. "nihon tanbi kakumei") tour in November 2007, Juka performed as support vocalist along with KAMIJO and Kaya.

ノード・オブ・スケルツォ (Node of Scherzo)

In March 2007, the "ノード・オブ・スケルツォ" (en. "Node of Scherzo") event took place. Next to Juka, there were KAMIJO and Kaya as vocalists as well as HIZAKI and Jasmine You for instrumental support. According to KAMIJO, the show is supposed to be a theatrical show combined with music and illumination effects. While Juka and Jasmine You represent the dark side, KAMIJO and HIZAKI form their opposite as the light side. Between them stands Kaya personifying beauty. A certain focus is casted on the tragical love story of Juka and Jasmine You. When the three vocalists performed a new specifically created song at the end of the show, the song found so much approval of the audience, that they decided after a second Node of Scherzo show in May 2007 to record this song on a CD. It was finally released on October 31, 2007. The buyers of all Halloween releases by the labels "トロイメライ" (ger. "Träumerei", en. "reverie") and "Sherow Artist Society", which are "Carmilla" (by Kaya), "Saint Croix" (by Juka), "Lyrical Sympathy" (by Versailles) and for sure the "Node of Scherzo" single were given the possibility to obtain a special live clip DVD by sending all the coupons to be found on the "obi" slip wrapped around the CD case on a special slip of paper together with 5 80 Yen stamps to the label by December 12, 2007. The DVD contained a 5 minutes live clip accompanied with the Node of Scherzo song. Further performances of the song could be seen during the national tour "日本耽美革命" (translation see above).

olo career

In the middle of February 2007 Juka announced the start of his solo career while continuing the activities with HIZAKI. He also announced the upcoming release of his first maxi single "Aravesque" on March 28, 2007 which is produced by the vocalist of the Visual Kei band Lareine KAMIJO as well as HIZAKI and Juka himself. The three tracks provide a large style selection. While the first song "Aravesque" makes the listener remember of Mana's sinister gothic sounds, the second track "S" is definitely leading into the direction of metal music. The third track "aimless" has much in common with a French song called Chanson and doesn't share any kind of style with one of the first two tracks. Furthermore, all tracks are on the disc as instrumental tracks too. Another release called "Luxurious" in the shape of a mini album was announced for June 2007. However, the official homepage does not contain any live dates as of now. Juka released his second single "Saint Croix" on October 31, 2007. Juka announced he will be "pausing" all of his musical activities at the end of 2007 due to circumstances of personal matter; all future plans are on hold/cancelled.

eventh Sense

Seventh Sense was going to be a new band for Juka to sing for, tentatively featuring Kazuno, the first bassist of Moi dix Mois. However, due to Juka withdrawing himself from the music scene, this band is to be canceled and the new Omnibus that Seventh Sense would have been featured on, will now feature Juka singing "水面華" (en. "suimenka") instead. Juka will release a best album on February 6, 2008 called "Seventh Sense".

Discography

Earlier activities:
*"see:" Moi dix Mois
*"see:" HIZAKI grace project

Solo:
*"Aravesque" (March 28, 2007)
*"Luxurious" (June 13, 2007)
*"水面華 (en. suimenka)" (October 5, 2007) Live limited release at Omotesando FAB
*"Saint Croix" (October 31, 2007)
*"Node of Scherzo" (October 31, 2007)
*"裏貴族"日本耽美革命"ツアードキュメンタリーDVD(en. ura kizoku "nihon tanbi kakumei" tour documentary DVD)" (December 2007)
*"Seventh sense" [Best of Album] (February 6, 2008)

External links

* [http://juka.syncl.jp/ Juka's official webpage]
* [http://japan-media.narod.ru/catalogue_showbusiness_juka_interview_english.html The First Juka Interview For Russian Fans]
* [http://music8.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/visualb/1197556427/ 2ch Juka thread]