Tourbillon

After appearing as a guest during RYUICHI’s last solo concert of 2004, INORAN finally wanted to create music with RYUICHI once again. RYUICHI agreed as well, and their band Tourbillon was born. They wanted to start a new super unit, one that would have the same power as their old material.

The band was officially announced in May 2005 after securing Hayama, a composer/pianist known for his work with D-LOOP and Namie Amuro. RYUICHI and Hayama had become friends after a golf tournament. After this meeting, Hayama helped with RYUICHI’s solo works. According to RYUICHI, all three men had selected a French band name to demonstrate that their music would be more mature-sounding than all their previous efforts combined. So they picked Tourbillon which means 'whirlpool' in French.

The band debuted live on July 2nd, 2005 at the Nippon Budokan. Fans were ecstatic, mostly because it was a nostalgic throw-back to the days of yesteryear. Although not the LUNA SEA reunion they had been hoping for, this was definitely the next best thing.

INORAN soon realized this band was truly what he wanted to concentrate on, so he announced his departure from FAKE? in August 2005. A month later, Tourbillon released its first single, Heaven. Sales surpassed expectations, and the same happened with their following singles, Your Place and Mou Ichido Kimi Ni.

The debut album, Heaven, was released on November 30th, 2005 and a national tour followed in December, ending on the 31st with a New Year’s Countdown show. Their first live DVD came out in March and they continued on touring. Their next album wasn’t released until November 8th, 2006, titled A Tide of a New Era. A tour of the same name soon followed.

Tourbillon’s next release wasn’t until March 2008 with the single Break the Chain. This was used as the theme for the live action television series “Kamen Rider Kiva” and the single soared to the top of the Oricon charts. Although this band has a great potential, all members seem to be focused on their solo careers after releasing their first album.

Despite their recent inactivity, Tourbillon’s unique sound ensures that they will also gather fans from across the J-music spectrum. It’s just a matter of time before they resume activities and dominate the scene, so keep your eyes and ears open!