Miyavi
Miyavi
Takamasa Ishihara, better known by his stage name Miyavi, is a Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actor. He has been active since 1999, first as guitarist for the now defunct visual kei rock band Dué le Quartz and then as a solo artist starting in 2002. In 2007, he became a member of the rock supergroup S.K.I.N., and in 2009 founded his own company, J-Glam. He toured worldwide several times, with over two hundred shows. After becoming a father...
NationalityJapanese
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth14 September 1981
CityOsaka, Japan
CountryJapan
Every country has a dark side of their history.
There's nothing that everyone likes in the world. People have different opinions. It's just the way of living. I know that there will be differences.
Michael Jackson had a stable vision. He had a strong message, not only pop. People just fainted at his concert.
I didn't want to represent any negative side of the country where I was born and raised.
I find a similarity between performing music onstage and acting - a reality of emotion.
The reason I put make-up on or wear the costume is to try and find my own style. It's like my guitar style - I'm just trying to be an original artist.
It's really important to create something, like with my creations as a musician. Just let it flow. Focus on how to deliver message to audience. Don't get ego.
Usually I go to the studio to write lyrics and compose music. I try to be a dad as much as possible at home.
Sometimes I just rely on technique on stage, but it's not about technique. It's about how much you want to deliver the message to the audience. That's all.
My philosophy is my learning process. Until you die, you must evolve and improve.
I really wanted to speak English because I started touring the world, and I wanted to communicate with people directly.
I'm trying to talk to my kids in Japanese, because I'm not a pro English speaker. My wife speaks to them in English. That's her first language. I don't want my kids to feel the same as me when I was studying English. It was so frustrating.
Then to deliver the message to the audience is our mission. I tried to imagine, if they killed my family, daughters, I would do anything to protect my family. It's insane but that's the situation everybody was in.
It feels like guitarists are samurais. You know, I'm playing a guitar, instead of a katana!