By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Japanese rocker Miyavi is expected to hold a concert in August in Seoul, as part of his ``The Beginning of Neo Visualizm Tour 2007.''
Miyavi's tour will kick off on July 17 at Club Lizard, Yokohama, with a total of 16 concerts scheduled throughout Japan and one concert in Seoul. He will perform at 6 p.m. on Aug. 4 at the Melon-AX in Gwangjin-dong, Seoul.
Miyavi is the latest in a string of Japanese pop and rock artists who have recently performed in Korea. His concert, organized by JVC Entertainment Korea, Seoul Records and Melon-AX, is part of the J-Pop Superstar concert series. Japanese star Gackt performed at the same venue last January, while rock band Dragon Ash also performed there early this month.
Miyavi used to be a former guitarist for the visual kei band Due le quartz. Visual kei means visual style in Japanese, referring to artists who adopt eccentric looks, elaborate costumes and wild make-up.
After the group broke up in 2002, he started a solo career. At first, Miyavi became known for his edgy, intense rock sound, but he continued to experiment with different kinds of music.
In 2006, he released two albums ``MYV POPS'' and ``Miyaviuta Dokusou,'' which had mostly acoustic music. He even visited Seoul last year to promote the release of his albums.
Miyavi is scheduled to release an album in July, titled ``7 Samurai Sessions _ We're Kavki Boiz.'' The album will include re-arrangement of his old songs.
His albums are already available on iTunes, the biggest online music store in the United States. He also performed in a mini-concert in Las Vegas last February.
Miyavi was born in Osaka to a Japanese mother and Korean father whose parents were originally from Jeju island. He cannot speak Korean, although he has said in earlier interviews that he would like to learn the language and visit Jeju island.
Tickets for Miyavi's concert cost 66,000 won. For more information, check out https://ticket.interpark.com.