Inoran, best known as the guitarist from Luna Sea who is not Sugizo. You can't really hold that against him, as there are a lot of guitarists who are not Sugizo. As a huge Luna Sea fan this is obviously how I learned of Inoran, but he is an artist with an amazing body of art in his own right. The first solo album of his that I had heard was Photograph when it was released in 2006. The album has a hard to describe sound that has become the basis for his music on most subsequent albums. One song that I found memorable was "Lyrical Rampage"
The combination of guitar, turntables, and bittersweet melodies is something that I've really come to enjoy.
I have to admit that I have another reason for focusing on Inoran for my first real blog post here though. That is his first album, Sou. Fittingly enough, sou means conception. This album was the beginning of a lot of things for me and helped form a lot of my musical taste. Sou was co-produced with Inoran by renowned turntablist DJ Krush, and it definitely shows, especially comparing it to Inoran's other works. It was this album that got me interested in DJ Krush, trip hop, and music not related to rock'n'roll in general. On top of that the album features guest vocals on all but the title track. The song "Obscenity" features Malik B, best known as a founding MC in The Roots. This has led to my interest in The Roots and a general respect for hip hop that I did not previously have.
Another great song off the album. Inoran's Sou dramatically changed my views on music by introducing me to new things. Inoran's last album Shadow is an interesting departure from other albums in that it is a collection of (mostly) electronic instrumental songs. Inoran has been part of a staggering amount of amazing music, not only in his solo work but also as part of Luna Sea, FAKE?, and Tourbillon. But more on them later I am sure.
