During Luna Sea's momentary break in 1997, Ryuichi started his solo career. Going by his full name, Kawamura Ryuichi, he changed his vocals from the powerhouse rock sound everyone was used to from Luna Sea to more of a pop idol sound. ____________________________________________________________ ____ In 1997, he released 4 singles, one mini-album, one full album and started his own production house, appropriately titled "RK". He would later go on to produce such arists as Hideki, Azumama Toga, and even IZAM (ex. Shazna) in 1999. ____________________________________________________________ ____ After the disbanding of Luna Sea at the end of 2000, Ryuichi held a press conference on January 14th regarding his activities for 2001. He announced that he would embark on his first solo tour that he would create a subsidiary of "RK" intended for the production of film music. Shortly after, he composed music for the film So Faraway. ____________________________________________________________ ____ In mid-2001 the fanclub "RKF" (Ryuichi Kawamura Family) opened and was made available to his foreign fans. He then released the single Ne, which was used in the ending credits for an NTV drama. At this point, Ryuichi was very unsettled and unsure of what his future would be like. He went ahead and released the singles Shizuka na Yoru wa Futari Iyou and Julia, both of which received high praise from the fans and critics alike. ____________________________________________________________ ____ Every one of his releases thus far has made it into the top 6 thanks to his faithful and ever-growing fanbase. During this time, he made several appearances on popular music shows such as Music Station and Hey!x3. On October 28 he released Kimi no Mae de Piano wo Hikou and announced his role in the upcoming film Picaresque which was based on the life of Dazai Osamu. An accompaying tour also followed. ____________________________________________________________ ____ In 2002, Ryuichi traveled to Seoul for an exclusive concert as an attempt in gaining more international fans. When he returned to Japan, instead of touring he organized several meet and greet events in ZEPP Fukuoka and ZEPP Osaka. During these events, he sold special goods (including manga he illustrated as well as figurines, etc.) and talked about his upcoming TV Asahi drama series Kowloon de Aimashou. He was cast as the lead male and he also wrote the ending theme Sugar Lady. ____________________________________________________________ ____ Early 2003 saw the new tour Mahiru no Tsuki to Mayonaka no Taiyou as well as the release of a special photobook. The tour Kaze Special no Sasagaki to Kimi to Acoustic was held in many small, intimate venues across Japan and was an excellent chance to Ryuichi to get upclose and personal with his fans and vice versa. He later on performed two special concerts with an orchestra entitled Symphonic Night Cruising on August 8th and 21st. ____________________________________________________________ ____ Even after all of this, there was no news about a new album or single. Perhaps he was a bit preoccupied by his production company? At the time, he was producing artists such as Memory Cats and Kiyoshi, which left little time for his own solo career. ____________________________________________________________ ____ Finally in 2004, he released the single Spoon and the album Vanilla followed by the Vanilla Tsugi no Shuunan tour during the summer and the Still tour in October. He planned a special New Year's Eve live and Inoran (also ex Luna Sea) was there as a special guest. ____________________________________________________________ ____ He released a tape of his drama Number One in January. He participated in a series of solo concerts from March 20th-April 8th with the final entitled NEGRO SPIRITUAL DAY 2005-AKA TO AO. After this, he headed to Europe for a short vacation. ____________________________________________________________ ____ Upon his return to Japan, Ryuichi along with Inoran and H.Hayama announced the formation of their new unit-- Tourbillon. Their first official concert was July 2nd, 2005 in Nippon Budokan and it received high attendance and excellent reviews. Luna Sea fans everywhere were ecstatic about two of the ex members working together again as it brought back hopes of a Luna Sea reunion. ____________________________________________________________ ____ On January 23rd, 2006 Ryuichi shocked fans everywhere. He announced on his OHP that he had just married his girlfriend Sano Kumi stating that he wanted to "give a small part of my 24 hours to her." Even though many fans were saddened that he was no longer "eligible", the news was received very well and everyone sent their wishes to the happy couple. ____________________________________________________________ ____ Though his solo activities are not his main concern at the present, Ryuichi recently released a cover album. Entitled evergreen ~anata no wasuremono~, he covered songs by artists such as Ozaki Yutaka and Kobayashi Akiko as well as the song I for you by Luna Sea. ____________________________________________________________ ____ He also recently sang the Japanese National Anthem for the 7th Grand Prix D1 series and in celebration of his 10th Anniversary as a solo artist, he'll be holding a very special tour. The odd thing about this tour is the fact that it's not actually a tour, rather, it's an opportunity for Ryuichi's most dedicated (and wealthiest) fans to have a special tea or dinner date with him. It's not one-on-one but it promises to have a very intimate and quiet atmosphere. Tea with him will cost 18,000 yen while dinner will be 37,000 yen. The final date of this tour, however, will be a normal live and it will take place on New Year's Eve. ____________________________________________________________ ____ In addition, he's also still actively producing and appearing in the occasional drama. With Tourbillon's success thus far, it may be a while before he releases anything else as just Kawamura Ryuichi. However, his fans can still enjoy Ryuichi's voice in a different light alongside Inoran and H.Hayama in Tourbillon.
