Southern Anime

moi dix moisMoi dix Mois jump-started its career on March 19, 2002. The group's name is a term coined by Mana. "Moi" means "me" (that is Mana), and "dix Mois" means "10 months" in French. The implied meaning of dix Mois is the birth and the beginning, coming from the 10-month period of human fetal development as an embryo in the mother's womb. Also, the number 10 has been given a special connotation by Mana: a combination of "1" representing the start, and "0" implying the potential eternity or infinity.

Moi dix Mois's starting lineup consisted of three members. Obviously, we know that Mana himself plays the role of guitarist. But what of the other three members? Juka (whose voice is said to be a cross between that of Gackt and Klaha) lends his vocal talents to the group; and Kazuno (believed to have worked in Mana's clothing store) provides the bass. And Tohru, formerly of JILS, is the project's drummer.

moi dix moisMoi dix Mois released their first maxi-single, entitled Dialogue Symphonie, on 19 November 2002. And four months later, on Mana's birthday, the first album, Dix infernal, was released. Overall, their sound is similar to what Malice Mizer had achieved with the Beast of Blood single; with Mana's typical combination of rock elements with baroque elements, such as the harpsichord. After the release of their album, Moi dix Mois has pretty much been quiet (with the exception of live performances), until December of 2003, when their first live DVD was released. Entitled Dix infernal ~Scars of Sabbath~, the DVD features the final performance of the Dix infernal tour, performed at Shibuya AX on September 27. It also includes extras such as clips of previous performances and backstage footage.

Eight months after the release of the -scars of sabbath- DVD, Mana, in coordination with cdjapan/neowing, opened the doors of his fanclub, mon+amour, to his international fans. And to coincide with this venture, Mana has also started releasing MidiNette releases in Europe through French distribution company, Mabell. In 2004, Moi dix Mois released two singles (Shadows Temple and Pageant), and their second album, NOCTURNAL OPERA. It was also during this year, at Dis Inferno III, that Mana revealed the second guitarist/vocalist, K, and a third session guitarist.

moi dix moisDuring first-quarter 2005, Moi dix Mois traveled outside of Japan to perform in Europe. They put on shows in Paris, France (3/28) and Munich, Germany (3/26), and ended at Shibuya AX, on April 24. Unfortunately, however, the tour final at Shibuya AX also happened to be Juka's final performance as a member of Moi dix Mois. Kazuno and Tohru have also left the project in late 2005, each to pursue their own interests, and newcomer Seth has stepped up to fill the role of vocalist. There is a bit of speculation going around that Seth is Seiji (ex. AMADEUS), but I won't cast my vote until I have some sort of confirmation. I will, however, retract an earlier comment and apply it to the new album. In my mind, Beyond the Gate seems to be more similar to Beast of Blood than the other releases, particularly track three (deus ex machina). =)

The current lineup as of March 2006 consists of Mana (g.), Seth (v.), K (v. + g.), Sugiya (b.) and Hayato (d.).