Cö shu Nie

** Vocals, Guitar, Keys: 中村未来 (Miku Nakamura)

** Bass: 松本駿介 (Shunsuke Matsumoto)

** Support Guitar: Kaz Skellington

** Support Drums: 金澤 正允 (Masayoshi Kanazawa)

Ex members:

** Guitar: 森澤元 (Gen Morisawa; until November 5, 2011; rejoined in 2013 and left in 2015)

** Drums: 山﨑浩二朗 (Kojiro Yamazaki; 2011-2012)

** Drums: 井ノ口透 (Toru Inokuchi; support drummer from February 2012, official member from August 2012 until April 29, 2013)

** Drums: 藤田亮介 (Ryosuke Fujita; support drummer 2015-2018, official member 2018-2021, left due to health issues)

History:

Cö shu Nie formed in 2011, and, in their early years, independently released four mini albums. In 2018, Yamazaki was replaced by Fujita as the group signed with Sony Music Japan. Their debut album, Pure, (2019), peaked in the top 40 on the Oricon and Billboard Japan charts and was praised by music critics for its unconventional structure and sound. After Fujita left the band in 2021, their second and third albums, Flos Ex Machina (2022) and 7 Deadly Guilt (2024) were released to similar success.

In 2025 Cö Shu Nie left Sony and Miku Nakamura together with the solo artist Kaz Skellington founded their own independent record label called RVRNC (derived from the english word "Reverence").

2011–2017: Early years

Cö shu Nie was formed in 2011, the initial lineup being Miku Nakamura, Shunsuke Matsumoto and Kōjirō Yamazaki. Nakamura is the group's primarily vocalist, keyboardist and manipulator, while she and Matsumoto both perform on guitar. Yamazaki primarily performed on drums. Their early work consisted of producing and writing independently, debuting with the single "Maze" which was released that same year. The band released the mini albums Hydra and Org in December 2013, done through two separate labels (Silver Star Records and Vibrateshow Records, respectively).

Cö shu Nie would continue to work on small-scale projects, generally switching between Silver Star Records and Vibrateshow Records before they self-released their fourth mini-album, Overkill in 2017. That same year, it was announced Kōjirō Yamazaki would depart from the group.

2018–2021: Pure

Following a period of independent releases, Cö shu Nie would achieve their major breakthrough in 2018, following both their signing to the Sony Music Entertainment Japan label and the addition of member Ryōsuke Fujita, who performed on drums. Cö shu Nie released their debut extended play Aurora, which was their first work to achieve significant commercial success, making it onto the charts of Oricon and Billboard Japan. Following Aurora, the single "Asphyxia" was released, used as the first theme song for the anime series Tokyo Ghoul, which similarly earned positions on the Oricon charts and acclaim upon release.

In 2019, Cö shu Nie announced that their debut album would be released, revealing itself to be titled Pure and featuring their previous single "Asphyxia". The album peaked at number 29 and 27 on the Oricon and Billboard Japan charts respectively, particularly due to the international reach with the singles "Zettai Zetsumei", used as the ending theme song of The Promised Neverland's first season, and "Bullet", included as the ending theme for Psycho-Pass 3. Pure was acclaimed by critics and audiences, who highlighted how its "sense of unpredictability goes a long way to making Pure an exhilarating listen."

Cö shu Nie announced their self-titled Japan Tour, which sold-out tickets and was set for dates in 2020, however it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They began 2020 with the single "Flare", curated to inspire fans who were in quarantine resulted by the spread of Coronavirus. Their extended play, Litmus, was released thereafter to critical and commercial success, and includes "Flare" in addition.

In 2021, they performed the song "Give It Back" for Jujutsu Kaisen, which finished 14th on the Oricon Charts. That same year, Fujita announced his exit from the band. Billboard Japan announced that the drama series Women's War: Bachelor Murder Case will feature the band's single, "undress me", which marks their first live action feature, and was released in 2021.

2022–present: Flos Ex Machina and 7 Deadly Guilt

In 2022, Cö shu Nie performed the song "Sakura Burst" for Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, and also wrote the Eir Aoi single "Phoenix Prayer" which was featured in the anime. Also in 2022, they released their second studio album Flos Ex Machina, which finished 54th on the Oricon Charts and 44th on Billboard Japan's Charts. The album features "Sakura Burst", as well as their previous hit songs "Red Strand", "Give It Back" and "undress me". The single "Yume wo Misete" was released in 2022.

In 2024, Cö shu Nie performed their first solo concert in China. That same year, they announced a third studio album, later revealed to be titled 7 Deadly Guilt, which was released on September 11, 2024. No singles were released to promote the record. The album peaked at 43 on Oricon, but was the first of their albums to not appear on Billboard Japan.

Musical style and influences

Early in their career, Cö shu Nie's initial focus was "concentrating only on expressing small thoughts from our minds, like spreading spores from our own world that we created in our hearts." The group is recognized for their unique themes and frequent changes in aesthetic style; guitarist Matsumoto credited this primarily to Nakamura, stating that "The theme for each song is always completed in Director (Nakamura)'s mind beforehand. At the point in which we listen to the finished song, all of the members have shared her vision, and can conceptually understand what she’s trying to express, like "Oh, this is what you mean." However, her vision is never constant, and changes each time depending on her mood. Even I don’t know what will come next."

On their inspirations, Nakamura said that "Everything in life is an inspiration. Like how I'm talking with you right now, or what I eat, there are things that you can feel but can't verbally express, right? Those things keep getting stacked within me, and suddenly become music." Matsumoto later affirmed this by describing how "she would hit metal objects and record them for songs. Even now, when we go into the woods, she'd be recording sounds on his phone, and later show me the songs she'd made from them. So it really is true that everything in the world is an influence for her."

About the members

** Miku Nakamura – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Programming

Born September 13; from Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture. Nicknamed "Kantoku" (Director). She handles the band's songwriting, composition, and arrangement.

For song production, Nakamura takes tracks to a near-finished state using DTM (desktop music) software before passing them to the other members, who then add their own arrangements to complete the songs.

During live performances, she switches instruments depending on the song, performing as a guitarist-vocalist, keyboardist-vocalist, or solely as a vocalist.

She began composing music on the guitar at age 16; her first original song was "PERSON."

She cites Disney music, Björk, Flying Lotus, and Robert Glasper among her musical influences.

She pursues solo activities under the name "micoon," releasing the EP *FORK* in 2017. Additionally, she formed the duo "seeSea" with Daisuke Nakano (vocalist of the band Giraffepot) and released the mini-album *rain call*.

** Shunsuke Matsumoto – Bass

Born February 23; from Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture. He and Nakamura were classmates at vocational school but had little personal acquaintance prior to the formation of Co shu Nie. He initially joined as a support member before officially becoming a full member. Nicknamed "Shunsu." He cites artists such as Rancid and L'Arc-en-Ciel as influences. In his playing, he utilizes various techniques—including slapping, fingerstyle, and picking—within a single song.

Instruments Used

Sadowsky / Metroline MV5

Effects Pedals Used

Fender / Blender

ORIGIN EFFECTS / Cali76 TX

EVA Denshi / SSPH-HG2

Peterson / Stomp Classic

Strymon / OB.1

Fulltone / OCD v2

EVA Denshi / SMX-1

EVA Denshi / GERMASOUND OVERDRIVE

Microtubes / B7K Ultra

electro-harmonix / KEY9

EVENTIDE / H9 Max

Strymon / BRIGADIER

About ex members

** Gen Morisawa – Guitar (Original guitarist. Member until November 5, 2011; rejoined in 2013 and left in 2015)

** Kojiro Yamazaki – Drums (First drummer)

** Toru Inoguchi – Drums (Second drummer. Served as a support drummer starting in February 2012 before officially joining in August 2012. Member until April 29, 2013)

** Ryosuke Fujita – Drums ( Third drummer. Born on January 5; from Osaka Prefecture; graduated from Osaka University of the Arts and holds a music teaching license. Nickname: "F" (pronounced "Effu"). Served as a support member starting in 2015 before officially joining in January 2018. Cites Neil Peart (of RUSH) as an artist who influenced him. Became a TAMA Drums endorser on April 14, 2021. Left the band on June 1 of the same year due to poor health persisting since 2020.)

About support members

** seekx / Shohei Kishigami / Takayuki Shimada / Pikmin / Junya Kondo – Drums

** Hayato Isshiki – Guitar (Performed live with the band during their indie era.)

** Yumao – Drums (Drummer for Hitorie. Participated during the band's appearance on the TBS music program *PLAYLIST* on July 27, 2021)

** Leon Yuki – Drums (Participated as a support drummer for the 2022 tour "Cö shu Nie Tour 2022 Flos Ex Machina" [18])

** Amana Ishimura – Keyboard

** Takuro Tanaka – Drums (Participated as a support keyboardist and drummer for "A cöshutic Nie Vol.2" on November 7 and 10, 2022. Amana Ishimura participated in live performances as a support musician even during the band's indie era)

** Sara Wakui – Keyboards

** Seiya Kudo – Drums (Participated as a support keyboardist and drummer for "A cöshutic Nie Vol.3" on April 9 and 23, 2023(

** Sukemori Otsu – Drums (Joined as a support drummer for live performances starting with "MiMiNOKOROCK FES JAPAN" on May 13, 2023)

** beja – Keyboards/Guitar (Joined as a support keyboardist and guitarist for live performances starting with the "Cö shu Nie Live Tour 2023 -unbreakable summer-" on September 1, 2023. Also active as a member of the band "Khamai Leon")