Band

Cinema Bizarre was formed in 2005, when the five guys in the band started contacting each other over the Internet. Strify, the lead singer, joined up with Kiro, the bassist, and Yu, the guitarist, at “Animagic”, a well-known anime convention, while Shin, the drummer, and Luminor, the keyboardist and background vocalist, became part of the band after a series of chance e-mails.

“We simply got started. As a band, we have our own kind of energy,” tells guitarist Yu and Kiro adds; “It’s like fate stepped in, we just had to meet each other.”

Their bonding revolved around a similar love of “Visual Kei” a Japanese youth culture, based on individuality, rebellion, and self development, which seems evident in both Cinema Bizarre’s music and overall look, with their flamboyant clothing, elaborate hairstyles, and striking make-up. All this can be summed up with CB’s motto, “Style IS War.”

“Every one of us is fascinated with Visual Kei and it’s a part of us, together as a band, we’re taking it one step further and making something of our own out of it.” -Kiro

The band’s name, Cinema Bizarre, began with the boys suggesting the word, “Bizarre” as each of them really supported the idea of being different, and being proud of it. However, being just “Bizarre” wasn’t enough, so the band decided to add their mutual love of cinema to the name, becoming “Cinema Bizarre.” Ironically enough, this is also the name of a film genre in the 70s, which was a collection of movies that were far from mainstream, making Cinema Bizarre the PERFECT name.

“It was a starting sign for us. We could finally make an album that would turn the whole world upside down. Different, big and, to every fiber of one’s being; gripping. Simply Cinema Bizarre!” – Strify

In 2007, Cinema Bizarre hit the studios, and began recording their debut album, Final Attraction, working in studios in London, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Berlin. Their sound is unlike any other, ranging from pop to rock, and includes many influences, such as Glam, New Wave, Electro, and J-Rock, thus creating something new altogether. They have released one major album thus far, along with three singles, and are in the process of recording Toyz, their second album to be released in Spring 2009.

“Our sound stands for a big firework, musically and emotionally. We want to fascinate the people and lead them to another world with our songs.” -Strify

The band recently completed their first official European tour, “The Final Attraction Tour,” which kicked off in Denmark at the Skanderborg Festival on August 8th, 2008. During this tour, Cinema Bizarre’s keyboardist, Luminor was replaced by Romeo Nightingale (a close friend of the band), due to a health problem that was not revealed by the band. On November 28th 2008, Cinema Bizarre officially announced that Luminor would be leaving the band. It has not been made clear if Romeo will be joining the band, but the band is now planning their official debut in North America this spring (2009).