Ken

Ken Kitamura (北村 健, Kitamura Ken?), known professionaly as ken, was born in Shiga, Japan on November 28, 1968. He is the guitarist of L'Arc~en~Ciel, a Japanese rock band. He is also the leader/guitarist/vocalist of his own band Sons Of All Pussys or S.O.A.P and solo album Speed.


Two months before his graduation, Ken dropped out of The Nagoya Institute of Technology (one of Japan's top schools in this field), where he was an architect major to join L'Arc~en~Ciel (ラルク アン シエル), or L'Arc or Laruku (ラルク), in 1992 at the request of his childhood friend Tetsuya Ogawa (aka Tetsu the bassist). It's rumored that as a result of this Ken's relationship with his parents turned sour. He has written multiple songs for L'Arc~en~ciel, including, but not limited to: "As If In A Dream", "Vivid Colors", "Niji", "The Fourth Avenue Café, "Shout At The Devil", "Kasou", "Lies and Truth", "Lover Boy", and "Twinkle Twinkle". Today he is known as one of the best guitarists in Japan.
In 2002 Ken's own band, S.O.A.P, became active as a result of a break in L'Arc~en~Ciel's activities, with ex-L'Arc~en~Ciel member Yasunori Sakurazawa (Sakura) as the drummer, and Ein as the bassist (a half japanese/german model who appears in a few L'Arc PVs). Each member contributed songs based on themes; Ken with love, Ein with Desire, and Sakura with his experiences in jail, and together they shelled out four albums; Grace, Gimme A Guitar, High! and Paradise. All S.O.A.P. activities have ceased since 2004.

On 23.08.2006 Ken released a solo album titled "Speed", referring to himself as just Ken and has taken a new, "clean" appearance similar to his early days with L'Arc~en~Ciel.

S.O.A.P. Albums

* GRACE ALBUM

1.GRACE
2.Every Second, I'm IN ROMANCE
3.A Song For You
4.PRIVATE RELIGION
5.S.O.A.P. YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!

* GIMMIE A GUITAR ALBUM

1.I love you,I need you,I fuck you
2.gimme A guitar
3.Tsumi No Nagame
4.Dunce
5.GO!GO!S.O.A.P.

* HIGH ALBUM

01.high
02.I wanna fly with your airplane
03.2 seconds to the top
04.red sky
05.S.O.A.P. 100%

* PARADISE SINGLE

01.Moving on
02.Paradise

Solo Albums

* SPEED

1.Speed
2.Empty Rooms
3.The Shadow Of Your Smile
4.Speed（karaoke）