Extasy Records is a Japanese

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

founded in April 1986 by

Yoshiki Hayashi , known as Yoshiki, is a Japanese musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is best known as the leader and a co-founder of the visual kei rock band X Japan, for which he is the drummer, pianist and main songwriter. He has been desc ...

, co-founder of the heavy metal band

X Japan was a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive soun ...

. The label's first release was X's 1986 single "

Orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region chara ...

". Over the next few years, the label signed several then-little-known bands, among them future million-selling

Glay Glay (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese rock band, formed in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, in 1988. Glay primarily composes songs in the rock and pop genres, but they have also arranged songs using elements from a wide variety of genres, includ ...

and

Luna Sea Luna Sea (stylized as LUNA SEA) is a Japanese rock band formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986. Due to the use of make-up and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most successful and inf ...

. Extasy along with

Free-Will is a Japanese independent record label founded in 1986 by Color vocalist Hiroshi "Dynamite Tommy" Tomioka, with branches predominantly in Japan and the United States, as well as previously in Europe. It also continues to co-manage many of its ...

are credited with helping to spread the

visual kei is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock. Some ...

movement. The label also hosted a series of events to promote the groups, called Extasy Summits, which would also feature formerly signed bands that had already moved on to a major label.

History

founded Extasy Records in Japan in 1986, using money he received from his mother when she sold her business. His band X Japan (then still named X) released their second single, "

", as the label's first release. In 1988, their debut album '' Vanishing Vision'' came out and was a huge success for an independent band. Over the next couple of years Extasy signed many bands that would go on to have varying degrees of success and produced their early records, including Zi:Kill, Tokyo Yankees and Ladies Room. In February 1991, Yoshiki's X Japan bandmate hide saw a band called Lunacy perform, and introduced him to them. Yoshiki signed them to Extasy, they changed their name to

and took part in the label's Nuclear Fusion Tour in March with Gilles de Rais and Sighs of Love Potion. On the tour, a 3-track sample CD including a song from each band was released. The following year Luna Sea's self-titled debut album was released and they held a successful 45-date tour, enabling them to sign with major label MCA Victor in May 1992. hide gave one of

's demo tapes to Yoshiki, who then brought an entourage to watch their October 1993 show, where he offered the band a contract to Extasy Records. Their debut album, '' Hai to Diamond'', was released on May 25, 1994. To promote their bands, the label organized concerts called Extasy Summits, which besides current contracted bands, also included former acts who had left for major record labels. The first was held at Osaka Bourbon House in September 1988, with several more held, including one at

Shibuya Public Hall is a theatre located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It was completed in 1964 to host the weightlifting events in the 1964 Summer Olympics. The theatre was sponsored by Dentsu and Suntory, which paid 80 million to rename it C.C. Lemon Hall (after the ...

in September 1989. Footage from two of the concerts was recorded and released on VHS (the second also on Laserdisc); recorded at the Nippon Budokan in October 1991 and recorded at

Osaka-jō Hall is a multi-purpose arena located in the Kyōbashi area of Osaka, Japan. The hall opened in 1983 and can seat up to 16,000 people. Built on a site area of 36,351 square meters, part of its form uses stone walls, modeled after those of the Cast ...

in October 1992. The October 1992 Summit was actually X Japan's first public performance with their new bassist

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

. The compilation album ''Lighting & Thunder'' was released in October 1998. On June 21, 2000, the compilation album ''History of Extasy 15th Anniversary'' was released. It includes 19 songs released by 14 different bands while on the label in celebration of its 15th anniversary. The album reached number 14 on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in ...

music chart. In 2000, Yoshiki signed a deal with

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

to distribute the record labels Extasy Japan and Extasy Records International. Records on Extasy Japan were distributed in Japan by Warner Music Japan and records on Extasy Records International were distributed in America by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, marking the first time the two companies worked together in this way. The first release on Extasy Japan was the July 2000 single "Pearl" by singer Shiro, while the first release on Extasy Records International was by singer Aja in 2001. In September 2007, Yoshiki announced that the soundtrack for the American movie '' Catacombs'' would be released on Extasy Records International. The soundtrack includes songs by Violet UK and Zilch. Yoshiki has referred to the first day, October 14, 2016, of the three-day Visual Japan Summit at

Makuhari Messe is a Japanese convention center outside Tokyo, located in the Mihama-ku ward of Chiba City, in the northwest corner of Chiba Prefecture. Designed by Fumihiko Maki, it is accessible by Tokyo's commuter rail system. ''Makuhari'' is the name of ...

as "Extasy Summit" as it saw X Japan, Luna Sea and Glay perform.

Artists

All of the following artists were at one point on the label:

Extasy Records

*Acid Bell *Brain Drive *Breath *Deep *Ex-Ans *Gilles de Rais *

*Hypermania *La Vie En Rose *Ladies Room *

*P2H *Poison/Poison Arts *Magnitude9.8 *

Screaming Mad George , known as Screaming Mad George (born October 7, 1956), is a Japanese special effects artist, film director, and former musician. He was born in Osaka, Japan, and emigrated to the United States, where he has become known for his surreal, gory spe ...

& Psychosis *Sweet Death/Media Youth *The Hate Honey *The Zolge * Tokyo Yankees *Velvet Blue *Virus *

*Youthquake * Zi:Kill

Extasy Japan

*Beast *Revenus *Shiro * Shizuka Kudō

Extasy International

* Abandoned Pools/Tommy Walter *Aja Daashuur *

Kidneythieves Kidneythieves are an American industrial rock duo from Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1997 by vocalist Free Dominguez and guitarist/engineer Bruce Somers, and throughout their existence have worked with a revolving door of session m ...

* Laura Dawn *Red Delicious *sub.bionic * Violet UK

Extasy Recording Studios

Extasy Recording Studios was a recording studio complex owned by Yoshiki Hayashi at 5253 Lankershim Blvd in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Formerly known as One on One Recording, Yoshiki bought it from the previous owner, Jim David, in 1992 and renamed the studio after his record label in 1999. Discussing the purchase in 2010, Yoshiki explained that in Los Angeles people told him that One on One had the "best drum-sounding room" and so he attempted to book recording time there. However, Metallica had it booked for "almost a year straight" for their self-titled album with numerous bands scheduled after that, and he was told sarcastically that the only way to get in was to buy it, so he did. Previously, well-known albums were recorded there, including '' ...And Justice for All'' and '' Metallica'' (better known as ''The Black Album'') by Metallica, '' When the Pawn...'' by Fiona Apple, '' Crazy Nights'' and '' Psycho Circus'' by

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

, and ''

Dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Dust: a gener ...

'' by

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...

. Since Yoshiki purchased the facility in 1992, X Japan and Yoshiki's related projects were the main recordings. Extasy Recording Studios was taken over by 17 Hertz, LLC in 2012 and is now known as 17 Hertz Studio. Yoshiki also bought Brooklyn Recording Studios, which housed the Los Angeles offices of

Maverick Records Maverick was an American entertainment company founded in 1992 by Madonna, Frederick DeMann, and Veronica "Ronnie" Dashev, and formerly owned and operated by Warner Music Group. It included a record label (Maverick Records), a film production ...

, in April 1998 from owners Madonna and Freddy DeMann. He renamed it One on One South, before using it as the headquarters of Extasy Records International.''Billboard'' 18 April 1998, p. 33

References

External links

* (expired)
Trademark registration dispute of Extasy Records
{{Authority control Recording studios in California Japanese independent record labels Japanese record labels American independent record labels Heavy metal record labels Punk record labels Rock record labels Record labels established in 1986 1986 establishments in Japan X Japan