Japanese singer-songwriter Kiyonobu Inoue (September 29, 1970), better known by his stage name Inoran, rose to prominence as the rhythm guitarist of the rock group Luna Sea, one of the most influential acts to emerge from the visual kei movement, Japan’s response to the Western glam rock scene. Born on September 29, 1970, in the city of Hadano, he formed the band Lunacy with high school friend Jun “J” Onose in 1986. After changing their name to Luna Sea in 1991, the five-piece went on to dominate the Japanese charts, releasing a total of seven albums before their breakup in 2000. Sou, his debut solo album, appeared in 1997 and peaked at Number 16 on the Oricon charts. In the years that followed, Inoran formed the projects Fake? with vocalist Ken Lloyd (of Oblivion Dust fame) and Tourbillon with former Luna Sea singer Ryuichi Kawamura. He resumed his solo career in 2006 with the album Photograph, followed by a series of reunion shows with Luna Sea throughout 2007 and 2008. Subsequently, Inoran continued to refine his eclectic brand of alternative rock on LPs like Apocalypse (2008), Teardrop (2011), Dive Youth, Sonik Dive (2012), which found him embarking on a national tour to celebrate his 15th anniversary as a solo artist. Other notable releases include Beautiful Now (2015), Thank You (2016), Libertine Dreams (2020), and Between the World and Me (2021). In 2022, his live album In My Oasis Billboard Session climbed to Number 44 on the Japanese Albums Chart.
