Cinema Bizarre

Cinema Bizarre. Who would have thought those two words could so perfectly sum up this five piece Berlin based band? The individual look, the explosive shows and the glamour of the movies tied in with a sound that refuses to be pigeonholed. First and foremost there is the music. Glam, New Wave, Electro, New Romantic, Rock. It’s a fusion of all of these and more! As lead singer Strify explains, “Our sound stands for a big firework – musically and emotionally. We want to fascinate the people and lead them to another world with our songs.”

Along with Strify, Kiro, Yu, Shin and Luminor found each other on the internet – a series of chance emails and a shared love of ‘Visual Kei’ the Japanese youth culture. It’s all about individuality, self development and rebellion and for many in Japan a way of showing the world that won’t be suppressed. The bond is natural. As bassist Kiro says, “Every one of us is fascinated with Visual Kei and it’s a part of us – together as a band, we’re taking it one step further and making something of our own out of it.” From cyberspace, they met up for the first time at a Manga/Anime convention and secured a record deal shortly after. Just three easy steps!

And then the album. Final Attraction. A collection of songs that reflect the individual music tastes of each of the band whilst still having that Cinema Bizarre sound! The album went Top 10 on initial release in the crowded album market at the end of last year whilst the first single ‘Love Songs’ followed the same path. And in keeping with all that Cinema Bizarre are about, the video for Love Songs has already been viewed over a million times on YouTube! The follow up single, Forever Or Never is showing the same credentials with over 100,000 views of the video in it’s first week!

And it is the internet where Cinema Bizarre has grown from the very start. Naturally, organically and at an incredible rate! There are websites and forums dedicated to the band all over the world. In far flung areas where their individual look and sound has been welcomed like an oasis in the musical desert. Over 10,000 visitors a day visit sites to find out the latest on Shin’s drum heroes, Yu’s piercings and tattoos and Luminor’s more than passing resemblance to Marilyn Manson.

And this interest and passion for the band has extended to luminaries like King of Punk, Malcolm McClaren, who has offered to write for the band and Depeche Mode, who gave the band rare permission to sample one of their hits, Everything Counts, on Escape To The Stars. Some praise indeed!

With this kind of backing coupled with a rapidly expanding army of Cinema Bizarre lovers around the world, 2008 promises great things for a band whose look and sound are undeniably different. The release of Final Attraction looks likely to turn into a case of First Love for anyone that hears it!

________________________________________________
Source