Formed: ????
Disbanded: ????
Members
Vocal: 怪 (Kai)
Vocal: NENE
Was in the band Amadeus before Art Marju Duchain, now solo
Chorus: オディティ (Oditi)
Chorus: MIYAVI
Was in the band Trance Art Lizard under the name KAMI:LU
Guitar: Hiro
Was in the band Divine Voltaire
Guitar: 雅 (Masahi)
Went to the band Lurid Aqua
Guitar: YUZURU
(see Zull’s profile)
Guest Guitar: Mana
Was in Ves.tearge and GIRL’e. Went to摩天楼(Matenrou) and Malice Mizer under the name of Mana. Now has his own band, Moi dix Mois.
Bass: RYU
Guest Bass: Haruki
Guest Bass: 迷la (Meila)
(see Peggy’s profile)
Profile: Visual goth band Art Marju Duchain were formed in 1995 in Osaka by Kai, but after the original line-up went their seperate ways, Kai moved to Tokyo and new band members were found. Kai became good friends with Dada (ex Velvet Eden) and was said to be somewhat influenced by both him and Mana (Moi dix Mois, ex Malice Mizer), the latter of the two even being a guest guitarist at one AMD live.
Art Marju Duchain played various lives alongside bands such as Velvet Eden, Jubilee and HYSTeRIC ARTS in venues such as Cafe Le Psyence and Roppongi Y2K. They also released a live DVD that is now extremely rare.
The mini-album "Demon est Deus Inversus", Art Marju Duchain's only release, came out in March 2000; the first press was limited to 2000 copies, the second to 3000 copies. A track from it, "Dark Icon Symphony", was also later featured on the various artists CD "CD Tokyo Undermap" in 2002.
The band's line-up has changed many times and according to their official site, the only member left is Kai and the band are on hiatus due to a lack of members, but they have not disbanded. However, since 2003 the site has no longer been updated. Although Peggy was never an official member of the band, he appeared in the promotional photos for "Demon est Deus Inversus" along with Kai and YUZURU (Zull).
Official Site: http://www.geocities.co.jp/MusicStar-Vocal/1029/art.html
Review:
I absolutely love Art Marju Duchain's music. The dark and strange atmosphere it creates is wonderful and Kai's voice, which changes between low gothic vocals to slightly higher vocals, compliments it well and the mix of synths and live instruments makes their sound more interesting, Although the sound quality could be better in places, the music is good enough that it doesn't matter. Unfortunately they only released one CD and it doesn't seem likely they'll release another, and so it's hard to say how they might have developed their style and progressed as time went on. Even so, "Demon est Deus Inversus" is definitely worth listening to if you like gothic music or darker visual kei.
Discography
00/3/23 – Demon est Deus Inversus
02/8/1 – ‘Dark Icon Symphony’ on the compilation CD東京UNDER MAP