Lolita23q

In September 2004, five young musicians created a session band--these were the early stages of Lolita23q. The five held their first live on November 18th at Takadanobaba AREA. Then in December, Lolita23q released their first CD - Otanoshimi Enban. Lolita23q then brought the year to a close and played three more lives at the same venue. In February 2005, the group followed with Sui-Suiren-Ren no Heya. Both releases were available only during the concerts held at Takadanobaba AREA.

Still only a session band at the time, Lolita23q were welcomed warmly by the audiences at lives, so Sou, Yu≠ki, Megumi, Ryosuke and BAN decided to continue Lolita23q together as a full-time project. The first live after Lolita23q's official beginning took place on March 1st, 2005 at Takadanobaba tiny venue AREA. Later that same month, Lolita23q participated in an event commemorating the release of the omnibus album Hysteric Media Zone 6 through SPEED DISK. Not only were two Lolita23q songs featured on the CD, but there was also a free bonus DVD that included the Lolita23q's first PV for Ishoku Othello. This release helped Lolita23q to gain exposure as later, the five would sign to SPEED DISK.

Lolita23q were especially busy throughout the remainder of 2005. The five officially signed to SPEED DISK and debuted with a maxi-single, 23ku Kikagakukan, that completely sold out and reached ninth place on the Oricon Indie charts. Then in August 2005, Lolita23q ran a second pressing of their single, Retro Me:LoW, which was distributed for free by SHOXX magazine. Later, Lolita23q held its first entirely sold-out one-man concert, Metro Lolita Display Show at Takadanobaba AREA. A free DVD, At Random Kata Shikaku Enban, was given to everyone who came to the live and was available in three types. However, amidst all this success, Megumi decided to leave Lolita23q that very night.

The year 2006 was a fruitful one for Lolita23q, filled with plenty of releases and an equally busy schedule. In early February, the group released its first album, ～Murasuki no Yume～. The release managed to rank #157 on the Oricon major weekly charts. Following Lolita23q’s tour Shiranbanshow TOUR'06 #1, the five were able to film a one-man live which was released on DVD under the name Kakumeigo Yomatsuri" ～THE FILM [BEAUTIFUL GENESIS OF "la Re:volutionA"]～ on July 12, 2006. A special live edition Lolita23q‘s second album Kyuuyaku:Media Lolita, which was released a few weeks prior, was available for purchase at the live. The release, though, ranked a little lower on the Oricon charts, sitting at 288th place.

The remainder of the year was very live-orientated, with Lolita23q performing at an UNDER CODE PRODUCTION special event on June 11th where the guests would “battle” each other by performing well. This was held in two parts and led into the remainder of the Shiranbanshow TOUR'06 tour, held throughout August 2006. Lolita23q released one last album, Risou Kakuu Toshi under SPEED DISK, before the group’s planned departure from the label.

In May 2007, Lolita23qreleased its first (fifth overall) single, Jenosense, under the independently owned label, Brand New Ward. Lolita23q had previously been signed to SPEED DISK but had decided to create their own label to house its releases for unknown reasons. Jenosense was received rather well, charting at #88 on the Oricon major charts during its week-long run. At the end of May, Lolita23q followed up with another single, -Reimei-, which was written and composed by Ryosuke. The new single charted for a week and reached #81 on the major Oricon charts, matching a similar response to Jenosense from fans. Then in August and September, Lolita23q released two additional singles: Red Room and Mikansei Sapphire.

Lolita23q achieved elated success with single Hoshi no Kakera, released on March 5th, 2008. The release peaked at fourth place on the indies Oricon chart but only ranked 56th on the major Oricon charts, marking Lolita23q’s highest ranking single so far. In April 2008, Lolita23q released a compilation album that included tracks originally released between 2005 and 2006. SPEED DISK apparently still holds copyrights over these tracks despite Lolita23q being no longer on its label. Unfortunately, it did not rank as well on the Oricon charts, ranking only #242 place even after charting for a week. On a brighter note, the five played at Over The Edge 2008 Edition 1 at the end of the year, alongside an array of larger visual kei acts: Plastic Tree, MUCC,MERRY, D’espairsRayand Vidoll.

Similar to previous years, 2009 was also busy with a rather packed live schedule. Such a tight schedule impacted the band as Lolita23q ‘s original vocalist Sou left in 2009—likely due to health problems—but later joined Remming. Sou of course was soon replaced by Soshi (ex-Watashime Slug), who joined in July 2010. With a new vocalist, the band would more than likely change directions musically, but for Lolita23q, Soshi did his best to help make the group stronger.

Interestingly enough, Lolita23q traversed from visual kei into the mainstream gaming world. Soshi contributed vocals to the original soundtrack to "Minna no Rhythm Tengoku Zenkyokushu" with the track, Kanashimi no Squall. The Wii game of the same name, which was released with the soundtrack in July 2011, challenges users’ abilities to keep rhythm while playing a variety of mini-games. Bassist Ryosuke was a guest musician for Crack6’s live, VENUS～15th ver.～, joining SARASHI from HERO and -OZ-’s drummer, Zukki.

In preparation for releasing fourth single Bad City in early February 2012, Lolita23q members changed their image. The single was released in three types and later would be known as Lolita23q’s last single. The following month, drummer BAN decided he would try his hand at producing. He released a one-track demo CD, LIFE, under the name tamaban, which was available at Jishuban Club’s in-store event on March 3rd. A few weeks later on March 2nd, Lolita23q released the album WORLD end’s GALAXY with corresponding in-store events.

In mid-April 2012, Yu≠ki delved into the VOCALOID music world. He composed and arranged the original track Story of lie using Hatsune Miku’s voice software and was subsequently featured in a Gekkayo VOCALOID Fan article (Vol. 5) as a bandman-turned-newbie-vocaloid producer. His account and experiences were documented and published in the magazine plus the sheet music. In a blog entry of Yu≠ki’s, he suggests that Story of lie was inspired by the Lolita23q tracks HIKARI and BAD CITY.

Then in June 2012, Lolita23q contributed to an omnibus album, V-ANIME ROCKS!, that featured covers of popular and older anime songs by well-known visual kei artists, such as -OZ-, Sadie, DaizyStripper and more. Lolita23q covered Hohoemi no Bakudan from "YuYu Hakusho", originally recorded by Matsuko Mawatari. Throughout August, Lolita23q held a one-man tour across five locations in conjunction with the release of WORLD end’s GALAXY earlier in March.

Then just under a month later—completely out of the blue—Lolita23q announced that the group would go on an indefinite hiatus after being active for over eight years. Collectively, the members had decided that musically they had “reached their limits,” and it was time to move on, to focus on their personal lives outside the visual kei industry. Lolita23q held additional performances of their last tour WORLD end’s GALAXY, performed at Shinjuku BLAZE on August 26, with performances on September 9th, and 16, 2012. The group also released the live DVD, Kaihouku -THE FINAL WARD-—paying homage to the special 23 wards of Tokyo and the meaning of Lolita23q’s name— as a “memorial grand final’ performance at Akasaka BLITZ.

Since announcing an indefinite hiatus, Lolita23q members have kept a low profile. Bassist Ryosuke changed his name to RYO:SUKE and started a fresh solo project, WING WORKS. He already released an album in January 2013, and a single in June. Meanwhile, Ryuuto currently plays support guitar for WING WORKS and also for 168-one sixty eight-, aoi (ayabie)’s solo project. BAN joined another visual kei group, LOUD GRAPE. Nothing much is known whether the other two members are in other projects at this time.

Over the years, Lolita23q has been a key group in early oshare kei and visual rock. Since there was no disbandment but rather an indefinite hiatus, fans have a glimmer of hope for a revival in the near future. Perhaps after exploring other projects and ideas, the five might return to Lolita23q refreshed.