LUNAPARK ENSEMBLE

Lunapark Ensemble biography
In early 1980s, Tetsuto KOYAMA (bass) came across a pop-punk singer named RORIE on the stage of an old rock cafe Muon in Yokohama. Her loud voices could ring his bell soon and plant a strong intention to form a duo with her in his heart. On the other hand, Takashi Satoh, the owner of Pinakotheca Records, called Tetsuto for recording a solo single of Wataru OHKUMA (guitars, keyboards; ex-Zettai Reido) in 1982. Tetsuto got so immersed in Wataru's avantgarde guitar solo or performance that he finally got determined to form a rock quartet.

In the autumn of 1982, LUNAPARK ENSEMBLE were formed as a four-piece rock band and released their debut EP via Cragale Records, Muon's independent label. (This EP was included in the latter of their reissued album.) Although sadly Tetsuto resigned from this outfit for the reason of discrepancy of soundscape among the members in the following year, they could get more avantgarde and create works of originality around Wataru OHKUMA and RORIE.

In the summer of 1984 LUNAPARK ENSEMBLE released a 7-inch single 'Kawaii Watashi No Doppelgänger (Pretty My Doppelgänger)', featuring the brass & horn section or some junk instruments, in collaboration with some session musicians like Tori Kudo (trombone) or Masami Shinoda (saxophone). Recruiting the third LUNAPARKer Shin'ya KIMURA (drums, guitar,saxophone), they intentionally deviated from the 'as-it-is-said' normal style of rock band and broke an accepted theory in rock scene. In the meantime they released one and only mini LP 'Mushi-kui Mandala' (1986), that is even now much talked about as a masterpiece of Japanese Avantgarde Rock scene.

In the late 1980s LUNAPARK ENSEMBLE came back as a typical rock band but could not keep their activity for long and were disbanded in 1989. RORIE left the music scene soon but Wataru is still active as a session multi-player, sometimes gigging with Tetsuto in his band A-Musik.

Their mini LP 'Mushi-kui Mandala' was reissued in 1998 featuring an EP in their early days and some extra unreleased tracks via a Japanese independent label Wax Records.