Biography
Kōenji Hyakkei (Japanese: 高円寺百景, "Hundred Sights of Kōenji"), also known as Kōenjihyakkei, are a Japanese zeuhl band led by Tatsuya Yoshida, who is also known for his work with the band Ruins. Their music was inspired by the style developed by the French progressive rock band Magma.
The band was formed in 1991 by Tatsuya Yoshida (drums), Aki Kubota (vocals), Akio Izumi (guitar), Chie Kitahara (keyboards), and Kazuyoshi Kimoto (bass). The group's name derives from the Kōenji district of Tokyo, where most of the members lived. The term "Hyakkei" was inspired by Osamu Dazai's "One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji" and Katsushika Hokusai's "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji". The cover artwork of the band's debut album was based on "Totomi Sanchu" from Hokusai's series.
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Kōenji Hyakkei released their self-titled debut album in 1994, featuring Aki Kubota on vocals and keyboards. The band's music combines elements of progressive rock and zeuhl, and has been characterised by the use of unconventional modes and vocal chants performed in an invented language.
Tatsuya Yoshida has been the only constant member throughout the band's history. Bassist Sakamoto Kengo joined from the second album onward. Changes in personnel have been accompanied by changes in musical style, with the group's sound incorporating influences ranging from folk-inspired progressive rock and minimalism to jazz fusion. The addition of reed player Komori Keiko, who primarily performs on soprano saxophone, contributed to the sound of the 2005 album "Angherr Shisspa".
After a gap of thirteen years following the release of "Angherr Shisspa", the band issued "Dhorimviskha" on 27 June 2018.
The lyrics of Kōenji Hyakkei are generally written in an invented language rather than any naturally spoken language. This approach was influenced by Kobaïan, the constructed language created by Christian Vander for Magma. An exception is the song "Zoltan", a setting of the Kyrie included on the 1994 album "Hundred Sights of Koenji". The lyrics often consist of multisyllabic words containing multiple digraphs, and unlike Kobaïan, they do not employ diacritical marks.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Denji_Hyakkei
Studio albums
Hundred Sights of Koenj (1994)
Viva Koenji! (1997)
Nivraym (2001)
Angherr Shisspa (2005)
Dhorimviskha (2018)
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.