Kagrra,

Kagrra, originally started out in 1998 as a band called ＣＲＯＷ under Key Party records. The band ceased activities after their last concert in Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall on March 3rd, 2011. Band members: Vocal: 一志 (Isshi), Guitar: 楓弥 (Akiya), Guitar: 真 (Sin), Bass: 女雅 (Nao), Drums: 白水 (Izumi). They released 1 mini album and a live DVD during the time as CROW, and toured with their 'brother band' Lar~Mia. CROW were known as the "Black feathers" and Lar~Mia the "white feathers". It was during this time that they wrote the popular song Hyakki Yakou. After being very successful, CROW changed their name, their record label, and left their 'brother band' behind. In 2000, they renamed themselves Kagrra under PS Company records. Kagrra is a deliberate misspelling of the Japanese word 神楽, or "kagura" (a traditional Japanese dance). It means "music of the gods". They joined teams with Dué le quartz and ASH for the TRIBAL WARNING tour, and together they released the WARNING! single in September 2001. It was also with this record label that they started working with their album cover designer Fukaya Yoichiro, and his work has become somewhat of a trademark within Kagrra fan communities. After signing under Columbia records in 2003, Kagrra added a comma (,) after their name to symbolize the dark side of the Chinese Yin Yang. In 2007, Kagrra, moved from the Columbia Entertainment label, along with fellow PSC artists Miyavi and The GazettE, to their new major label 'King Records'. Along with this move, they took a much more drastic change to image - wearing more 'high fashion' than anything considered 'VK'. With this change, the band also performed for the first time outside of Asia that Summer, taking stage at America's J-Rock Revolution, followed by PSCompany's group event J-Rock Invasion in Germany at the end of 2007. Then, in 2008, the band released their first English titled anything, CORE - their fifth album, and the first thing they'd released in nearly a year. Following, they announced their first European one-man tour to start in Sweden, August 2008. After the demise of Kagrra, vocalist Isshi has started a solo project called “Shiki-project”. Shin (koto/guitar) and Nao (bass) announced on the 1st of July 2011 that they have started a new support band, PLAYERS, that is signed under PS Company. Sadly, on July 18th, 2011, vocalist 一志 (Isshi) passed away in his home. The news was announced late Sunday (American time), early Monday (Japan time) on his solo project's website at http://www.shiki-project.com/news.php. Official Site - Official Myspace Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.