Baiser ( French for ''kiss'') was a Japanese

visual kei , abbreviated , is a category of Japanese musicians that have a strong focus on extravagant stage costumes that originated in Japan during the early 1980s. Koji Dejima of '' Bounce'' wrote that visual kei is not a specific sound, but rather it " ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band formed in 1991 by vocalist Yukari.cdjournal.com
''Baiser Artist Profile'' Retrieved Jan 23, 2010 They played concerts in the Tokyo area before debuting on an independent label in 1994.

History

The original line-up for Baiser featured Hiderou and Akane on guitar, and Haiji on bass. Gaz (former drummer of

Malice Mizer Malice Mizer (stylized as MALICE MIZER) was a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band active from 1992 to 2001. The band was notable for their music and their live shows, featuring lavish historical costumes and stage sets, with short silent ...

) was their support drummer until 1993, when he was replaced by Akihiro.Grass Thread
''Baiser's Page on Grass Thread'' Retrieved 8.15.2007 In 1993 they released their first demo tape "Daraku", distributing only 100 copies. Their second demo tape, "Fleurs des Fleurs", was released a year later. In 1994 they released their first album, ''Seppun Kuchizuke''. In 1995, Akihiro was replaced by Toshimi. Following this change, Baiser recorded their second album, ''Ash''. It reached number two on

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

album chart. They also released the video ''Pictures'', which they did everything by themselves, such as; filming, scripting, editing and mixing. That year, a few of their songs appeared on compilation albums such as ''Sacred Seed'', ''Turn Over Eagle Vision'' and ''Turn Over Crow Vision''. In 1996, Toshimi left the band and the other members decided to split up. However, Yukari began to recruiting members for a new Baiser. The band reformed in September 1997 with Shaisuke on bass (former

Penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of beta-lactam antibiotic, β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' Mold (fungus), moulds, principally ''Penicillium chrysogenum, P. chrysogenum'' and ''Penicillium rubens, P. ru ...

), Katsura on drums (former

Shazna Shazna (stylized as SHAZNA) is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band originally active from 1993 to 2000. Originally having a strong gothic rock, gothic/post-punk influence, the band's sound greatly shifted to a more New wave music, new wav ...

), and Mizuki and Rei on guitar (both former Iris). ''Vicious'' May 1999 pg 113 In 1998 Baiser released two singles, three mini-albums, a full album, and three videos. In May 1999 Baiser signed with the major label Fortune Records Japan (a division of

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

''Fool's Mate'' 217 November 1999 and released their debut single "Prism". "Prism" was used as the opening theme for the anime '' Gokudo''.www.dvdtimes.co.uk
''Gokudo (Volume 5: Lover Extraordinaire)'' Retrieved on 8.15.2007 and was produced by Hakuei of

. They released two more maxi-singles, "Angel" and "Doku", and their first and final major album, ''Hana''.''Fool's Mate'' 219 January 2000 That same year they also had their first major tour, Prismatic Colors. In May 2000 they released their last maxi-single, "Pegasus". Following a period of no releases, Baiser announced that they were going to disband on January 5, 2001.

After Baiser

Yukari and Mizuki formed the band Endorphine with two other members, but they disbanded in 2003 after only three releases.Grass Thread
''Endorphine's page on Grass Thread'' Retrieved on 8.15.2007 Rei, Shaisuke and Katsura stayed together as well, forming the band Swallowtail. Rei, who adopted the name Sin, became the vocalist, and former Baiser member Hiderou joined as their support guitarist. The group disbanded shortly thereafter. Katsura started the band Vinett in 2002, which disbanded in 2005.www.visunavi.com
''Vinett from Visunavi'' Retrieved 8.15.2007 Shaisuke died on July 16, 2001.shaisuke.at.infoseek.co.jp
''Shaisuke's Memorial page created by Yukari'' Retrieved on 8.15.2007 The cause of death was not released to the public. He had been checked into the hospital some 3 or 4 days prior. Yukari has remained active in the music scene and produced some of

Rentrer en Soi was a Japanese visual kei rock band active from 2001 to 2008. In French, the band's name can be literally translated as "to enter in yourself/entering yourself" although this is not grammatically correct. The band was composed of five members, ...

's releases.Grass Thread
''Rentrer en Soi's page on Grass Thread'' Retrieved 8.15.2007 Katsura had supported Rentrer en Soi as a session drummer in their beginnings too, before Mika joined. He appears on Rentrer en Soi's few first singles.

Discography

Single

*"Kuchizuke" (くちづけ) (July 29, 1998) Oricon Single Chart Peak Position: 40www.oricon.co.jp
''Oricon Single Ranking'' Retrieved Nov 12, 2010 *"Kuchizuke - Lawson special Edit" (Maxi-Single) (September 1998) *"Psychoballet" (November 26, 1998) Oricon Single Chart Peak Position: 59 *"Paradise Lost ~ The Case of Adam" (Maxi-Single) (April 1999) *"Prism" (May 21, 1999) Oricon Single Chart Peak Position: 50 *"Angel" (エンジェル) (August 11, 1999) Oricon Single Chart Peak Position: 92 *"Doku" (毒) (October 1, 1999) *"Pegasus" (ペガサス) (May 3, 2000)

Mini album

*''En Fleur'' (February 1998) *''Kaleidoscope'' (April 1998)

Album

*''Seppun'' (接吻) (June 12, 1994) *''Ash'' (February 1995) *''Terre'' (August 1998) Oricon Album Chart Peak Position: 37www.oricon.co.jp
''Oricon Album Ranking'' Retrieved Nov 12, 2010 *''La Luna'' (October 1998) *''Hana'' (November 1999)

Videos

*'' ictures-Virtue Style' (video) + CD '' ICTURES-Vice Style' (August 1995) *''Kaleidoscope Picture ~Kuchizuke~'' (Video) (April 1998) *''Kaleidoscope Picture ~Glass~'' (Video) (April 1998) *''Utopia'' (Video Box) (October 1998)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baiser Visual kei musical groups Japanese progressive rock groups Japanese pop rock music groups Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 2001 1991 establishments in Japan