Esprit D'Air

Deai, The Hunter and Shizuku (2010–12)

The band met at a concert in London and made their debut in May 2010. At the time, the band had five members – Yosh (lead vocals), Kai (lead guitar and backing vocals), Ellis (bass), Yuki (rhythm guitar) and Daishi (drums). Esprit D'Air first released an EP entitled 'Deai' in October 2010, which loosely translates to 'encounter'. Kai described the name as a 'sort of like the first hello from the band'. They recorded the 3-track EP at Sarm East Studios in Brick Lane, London.

Since forming in 2010, the band performed at numerous shows in the UK and Spain and have been interviewed by Japanese video sharing website, Nico Nico Douga.

In early 2011, rhythm guitarist Yuki left the band due to personal reasons, leaving the band as a four-piece, whilst Yosh organised and performed at charity events in aid of Japan’s 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The band also announced news about their second release.

In February 2012, Esprit D'Air released The Hunter and performed two headline shows at Nambucca (London, UK) and La Farga (Barcelona, Spain) as part of their single launch. Tom Smith, the director of European-based independent record label JPU Records (The Gazette, Polysics, Ling Tosite Sigure), described the single as a release that 'excites them much more than any recent visual kei or J-rock from Japan'.

In June 2012, Esprit D'Air released Shizuku and offered the track free for a limited time.

Rock Band 3, Hiatus and Yosh's Departure (2012-13)

In early 2013, the band rose in popularity as Shizuku became the first playable Japanese-language track on the Xbox 360 video game, Rock Band 3 and the only track to be featured in the 'J-rock' category.

In late 2013, the band announced that they were on indefinite hiatus due to a number of personal commitments.

Due to personal reasons, Yosh was no longer a part of the band in early 2013 and returned to Tokyo, six months after the band announced their indefinite hiatus.

Coma, Hakuren and Disbandment (2013)

Coma and Hakuren joined as the new lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist respectively, in April 2013 making the band a five-piece once again. However, the band performed their last show with this line-up at Brighton Japan Festival in September 2013. A month later, Coma flew back to Tokyo, Japan without a definite plan to return. With the singer in another country, the band could not see a future together and decided to disband, despite having record label interest for their upcoming album.

Current Activity (2015-present)

In July 2015, Kai performed a solo set of Esprit D'Air songs at Hyper Japan and The Pipeline in London.

In March 2016, Esprit D'Air reunited for a one-off show to perform at a charity event in London, where all proceeds went to Aoba-gakuen, an orphanage in Fukushima, Japan. Through ticket, merchandise, food sales and donations, the event raised over £1,100 for the orphanage.

Past members

Discography

Awards