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Gackt Camui (神威 楽斗, Kamui Gakuto) is a Japanese musician, songwriter and actor. Usually referred to by his first name only, he is best known for his work with Malice Mizer and his subsequent career as a successful solo artist.
Gackt Camui was born in Okinawa, Japan, on a July 4 (year unknown), as the second of three children (he has an older sister and a younger brother). His father was a jazz musician who played the trumpet. According to his autobiography, he was a mischevious child and enjoyed taking risks; at age seven he nearly drowned while swimming off the coast of Okinawa. After this near-death experience, he claimed to have the ability to see and speak with deceased family members, a notion which was dismissed by his parents.
At the age of ten, Gackt was hospitalized with a gastrointestinal condition and had to remain at the hospital for a prolonged time. He made the acquaintance of several terminally ill children, some of whom died during his stay.
Gackt's musical education began at age three, when his parents initiated his classical piano education, of which he grew tired four years later. It would take another four years until his parents allowed him to quit. Competition with a friend of his lead Gackt to learn other instruments, with a focus on contemporary rock. He later resumed playing the piano and plays it in many of his popular songs, LAST SONG being the most known along with many songs when he was the vocalist for Malice Mizer.
Malice Mizer
In 1995, Gackt joined Malice Mizer as the group's vocalist, lyricist and pianist. Fan base and record sales grew substantially over the following years and the band became known for its distinct visual kei theme, with elaborate costumes, on-stage scenery and theatrics. Malice Mizer released two albums with Gackt, Merveilles and Voyage ~Sans Retour~. When Gackt began seeking further creative control over the group's compositions, as opposed to just writing the lyrics, he was removed from the group. Once his solo career started and he began his first solo tour, his friend Kami(the drummer for Malice Mizer) died in his sleep, thus ending Malice Mizer completely.
Solo career
Gackt launched his solo career on May 12, 1999 with the release of the EP Mizerable. Several albums, singles and videos (on VHS and DVD) have since followed. Gackt's music has also been featured as theme songs for anime and video games multiple times, such as New Fist of the North Star, Texhnolyze, Bujingai and Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. He has also provided voice acting, motion capturing and his likeness for such works on several occasions and co-wrote and co-starred in the 2003 movie Moon Child, which also features Hyde (vocalist of L'Arc~en~Ciel) and Taiwanese-American singer Wang Lee Hom.
In the same year, Gackt published his autobiography, Jihaku. For Caparison Guitars, he has designed two guitars, named "Marcury" and "Venus". Since January 7, 2007, Gackt has been playing the warlord Uesugi Kenshin in the NHK drama Fūrinkazan. Gackt's most recent solo release is the single "Returner ~Yami no Shuen~", released on June 20, 2007, which is the first in the artist's career (both solo and in a band) to reach the number one spot on the Japanese Oricon charts. Gackt will be providing the voice for Malthazar in the Japanese release of the film Arthur and the Minimoys, set for September 2007.
Skin
On May 25, 2007, the formation of the supergroup Skin was announced, which besides Gackt consists of fellow pop/rock artist Miyavi, former Luna Sea guitarist Sugizo, and X Japan co-founder Yoshiki. The group gave its debut performance at the Anime Expo convention in Long Beach, California on June 29, 2007 and plans to release an album.
