Kazuya Yoshii
| Kazuya Yoshii | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Yoshii Lovinson, Lovin, Robin |
| Born |
October 8, 1966 Kita, Tokyo, Japan |
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| Years active | 1986–present |
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| Website | www |
Kazuya Yoshii (吉井和哉? Yoshii Kazuya, born October 8, 1966 in Tokyo) is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band The Yellow Monkey. When they went on hiatus in 2001, before officially disbanding three years later, Yoshii started a solo career in 2003 under the name Yoshii Lovinson. He switched back to his old name in 2006 and The Yellow Monkey reformed in 2016.
Yoshii's first band was Urgh Police, which he joined in 1986 as bass guitarist under the stage name "Robin". After releasing a demo, an EP and one album, they disbanded. In 1988, Yoshii switched to guitar and formed a new group that included Youichi Hirose and Eiji Kikuchi, where he used the nickname "Lovin". When their vocalist left, Yoshii took over that position and recruited Eiji's brother Hideaki as guitarist. The Yellow Monkey had what is regarded as their first concert on December 28, 1989 at Shibuya La Mama.
The Yellow Monkey went on to have three consecutive number one albums and 17 top ten singles. With 10 million records sold, including 6.2 million singles, they were ranked number 81 on HMV Japan's list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts. The Yellow Monkey went on an indefinite hiatus in January 2001, before officially announcing their disbandment on July 7, 2004.
Yoshii made his solo debut under the name "Yoshii Lovinson" in 2003 with the single "Tali". He took the stage name from Mark Levinson Audio Systems.
He dropped the Yoshii Lovinson name in 2006 and began using his old name with the single "Beautiful". His first album with the new name 39108 was released on October 4 and was titled as such because he was 39 years old at the time and his birthday is on October 8.
Yoshii released his first live album Dragon Head Miracle on April 30, 2008. His January 2009 single "Biru Mania" included a cover of "Kuchibiru Motion", which Yoshii wrote for the duo PUFFY two years earlier. The single was followed by his fifth album Volt on March 18.
The single "Love & Peace" was released on February 16, 2011 and a cover of "Betsujin" was contributed to the Reichi Nakaido tribute album OK!!! C'mon Chabo!!! which was released days later. His sixth album The Apples was released on April 13, 2011 and followed by his first mini album After the Apples just seven months later.
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