Moi dix Mois is a musical project founded by Japanese musician and fashion designer Mana in 2002 after his previous band, Malice Mizer, paused activities.
History
March 19, 2002, approximately three months after Malice Mizer announced their indefinite hiatus, Mana announced the formation of his solo project, Moi dix Mois. Their first single, “Dialogue Symphonie”, was released October 19 of the same year.
Moi dix Mois played their first concerts outside Japan in March 2005 in Munich, Germany and Paris, France as part of their “Invite to Immorality Tour”. After the tour’s final show on April 24, 2005 in Tokyo, singer Juka left the band.
A new phase of the band began on March 1, 2006, when they released the album, Beyond the Gate. This featured a new vocalist named Seth. Before the album was released, Mana indicated that the sound would be the beginning of a renewed direction for the band, possibly more integrated towards electronic music. After the announcement of the Beyond the Gate release was made, Seth was revealed as the new vocalist, and it was announced that Kazuno (bass) and Tohru (drums) were both leaving the group.
In June 2006, Moi dix Mois headlined the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig, Germany. They then returned to touring in Japan.
A prospective five city tour in the United States was scheduled for July 2006, but cancelled due to the band citing “differences in policies” with the tour organizer; however, Mana did make a U.S. appearance at the 2006 Anime Expo in Anaheim, CA on July 1, where he announced that Moi dix Mois was planning to tour America sometime “within the calendar year”. However, this US tour did not materialize in 2006.
On March 28, 2007, they released their fourth album, Dixanadu, the first with the current lineup.
On December 27, 2008, Moi dix Mois held the “Dis Inferno Vol.VI ~Last Year Party~”, where they played a session gig along with Mana’s fellow Malice Mizer guitarist Közi.
They performed at Anime Expo 2009, the largest anime convention in North America, on July 2 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Also in July they went on a short 2 gig coupling tour with Közi called “Deep Sanctuary”, playing on the 17 in Osaka and the 19 in Tokyo.
At the “V-Rock Festival ’09” on October 24, Moi Dix Mois played two new songs, “Dead Scape” and “The Sect”, and a new version of “The Prophet”.
In July 2010, they went on another tour with Közi, titled “Deep Sanctuary II”, this time with Malice Mizer bassist Yu~ki as a special guest at Akasaka Blitz on the 17. This was the first time in 9 years that the 3 Malice Mizer members were on stage together. Moi dix Mois’ fifth album, D+Sect, was released on December 15, 2010.
On August 27, 2011, Mana announced that Moi dix Mois will be releasing a compilation album as part of their 10th anniversary celebration. The album will be composed of re-recordings of older songs, from the groups first two albums, by the current line-up. Fans can request which songs are chosen through Mana’s blog.
Name
The band’s name, which literally translates from French as “me ten months”, has special meaning to Mana. “Moi” stands for his debut as a solo artist; “Dix” stands for the number ten and while one symbolizes the beginning of something, zero means something similar to “eternity”; “dix mois”, again, means “ten months”, the average time a baby grows inside its mother’s womb before being born (the Japanese traditionally count gestation in lunar months).
Project member history
Moi dix Mois has experienced numerous lineup changes.
Originally the lineup included:
- Mana – guitars, keyboards, programming
- Juka – vocals
- Kazuno – bass
- Tohru – drums, percussion
Juka and Kazuno were employed from Moi dix Mois’ conception, with Tohru being a support drummer originally. Tohru officially joined with the release of “Shadows Temple” in May 2004. K was introduced as guitarist and “death vocalist” with the Dis Inferno III event in December 2004.
At the end of the “Invite to Immorality Tour” on April 24, 2005, Juka announced that he would be leaving. It was announced that Kazuno and Tohru would also be leaving with the release of Beyond the Gate. At the same time, Seth was announced as being added to the project as vocalist.
Sugiya and Hayato provided live support until the release of “Lamentful Miss”, which included them for the first time as full members.
The current lineup consists of:
- Mana – lead guitar, keyboards, programming
- Seth – lead vocals
- K – rhythm guitar, vocals
- Sugiya – bass
- Hayato – drums, percussion
Discography
Albums
- Dix Infernal (March 19, 2003)
- Nocturnal Opera (July 20, 2004)
- Beyond the Gate (March 1, 2006)
- Dixanadu (March 28, 2007)
- D+Sect (December 15, 2010)
Compilation
- Reprise (TBA)
Singles
- “Dialogue Symphonie” (November 19, 2002)
- “Shadows Temple” (May 31, 2004)
- “Pageant” (October 6, 2004)
- “Lamentful Miss” (October 4, 2006)
DVDs
- Dix Infernal ~Scars of Sabbath~ (December 16, 2003)
- Europe Tour 2005 -Invite to Immorality- (July 27, 2005)
- Dixanadu ~Fated “Raison d’être”~ Europe Tour 2007 (January 30, 2008)
My Top Japan 
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