Miyavi

Miyavi (born September 14, 1981 in Konohana-ku, Osaka, Japan[2]) is a Japanese solo rock artist and former guitarist (under the name Miyabi ( Miyabi) for the visual kei indies band Dué le quartz, which disbanded in 2002. In the same year, Miyabi announced that he was going solo, changed his name to Miyavi, and released his debut album Gagaku. He soon signed a contract with PS Company.

In October 2004, Miyavi released his first major single Rock no gyakushū -Superstar no jōken-(under Universal Records Japan) and began to credit himself in the songwriting credits in his liner notes as "Myv". His first major album, Miyavizm, was released in June 2005.

Early life

Miyavi was born in Nishikujo, Konohana-ku, Osaka, Japan. His mother is Japanese and his father is a second-generation Zainichi Korean whose parents immigrated to Japan from the Korean island of Jeju. His family's Korean surname was Lee, (Korean: 이귀아, Hanja: 李貴雅, Lee, Gwi-Ah) before changing it after moving to Japan. Miyavi has stated that though he has never been to Jeju he would like to do so when he has the opportunity.Although Miyavi does not speak Korean, he has expressed interest in learning the language sometime in the future. Miyavi's parents divorced when he was young. Soon after, he moved with his mother to Kawanishi in Hyōgo Prefecture to live near his maternal grandparents. Miyavi claims that, as a child, he was a good student and enjoyed playing soccer. Miyavi started playing the guitar and writing music when he was 15 after a soccer injury left him unable to play.

Majors and Pop/Acoustic Era

Following his signing with Universal Records Japan in late 2004, he changed his name to "Myv" (an apparent shortening of "Miyavi"), although magazines and his website still refer to him as Miyavi.

He released his first major single, Rock no Gyakushū -Super Star no Jōken- in November 2004. His first major album, Miyavizm, was released in June 2005.

In late 2005 and for most of 2006, Miyavi shifted to an acoustic/pop sound reflected in his second and third albums, Myv Pops and Miyaviuta ~Dokusou~, released in August and September of 2006, respectively. He has said of Myv Pops, "It's like putting all the songs that I created, presenting my own attitude towards "popularity", into one album." About Miyaviuta ~Dokusou~ Miyavi says " for the album I wanted to fit in with the quality of the songs themselves and absorb myself into my performance, playing acoustic guitar alone."

Miyavi showcased his new acoustic stylings for the first time in his "25 Shūnen Kinen Koen Tokyo Geijutsu Gekijo 5 Days -Dokuso-" concert series held at Tokyo Geijutsu Gekijo for five days around his 25th birthday in September 2006.

Recent Events: US Debut, Neo Visualizm & Skin

On December 30, 2006 Miyavi put out a message that he would be joining a band. On May 25, 2007 at the J-rock Revolution concert organized by Yoshiki in Los Angeles, it was officially announced that Miyavi would indeed be a part of the "superband", named Skin, so far consisting of Yoshiki, Gackt, Sugizo, Miyavi himself, and Ju-Ken (Gackt's touring bassist). They performed their debut live at the 2007 Anime Expo convention in Long Beach, California on June 29, 2007.

On February 8, 2007, Miyavi announced via his online diary that he would be performing live in Las Vegas. The performance took place on February 17, 2007 at the Tabu Ultra Lounge in the MGM Grand.

In May 2007, Miyavi announced his fourth major album - as well as his first remix album - to be released in July. The album, titled 7 Samurai Sessions -We're Kavki Boiz-, will feature re-arrangements of his past songs and will feature a variety of instruments such as a turntable, various drums and tap dancing.The limited edition of the album will include a DVD with bonus studio recording footage. Miyavi's 7th major single (and 14th overall), a double A-side entitled Sakihokoru Hana no you ni -Neo Visualizm- / Kabuki Danshi, was released on June 20, 2007, and debuted at #4 on the Oricon Charts. The supporting tour, entitled "The Beginning of Neo Visualizm Tour", started on July 16th, and was planned for twenty venues in Japan and a stop in Korea in six weeks.

On September 3, a new single "Subarashikikana, kono sekai - What A Wonderful World" was announced, and it was released on November 14, 2007.

Shortly after this release, Miyavi announced a new single, entitled "Hi no hikari sae todokanai kono basho de", which was released on January 16th. It was a collaboration with fellow Skin guitarist, Sugizo. A new album was released in March 2008, titled This Iz the Japanese Kabuki Rock.

Miyavi announced "This Iz The Japanese Kabuki Rock Tour 2008", his first world tour, at a performance on December 25, 2007. Miyavi will be performing in North and South America, Europe, continental Asia and Japan.