Stage Name: Murasaki
Real Name: Tyran
Age: 21
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 170 lbs.
Blood Type: ???
Birthday: September 10, 1978
Birthplace: California, USA
Family: Father and Mother
Instruments Played: Piano/keyboards, violin, guitar, bass, recorders, shakuhachi
Favorite Visual Artist: Kasai Ayumi
Fav. Musical Artists: Haino Keiji, Malice Mizer, Gackt, Sugizo
Fav. Colors: sepia, purple
Fav. Food: Asian (Especially Japanese) and Italian
Fav. Movies: The Kingdom, Maboroshi no hikari
Fav. Director: Lars von trier
Fav. Actor: Udo Kier
Fav. Actress: Gong Li
Fav. City: Hiroshima
Fav. Authors: Sena Hideaki, Murakami Haruki, Hase Seishuu
Dream: To sing in Japan.

      Murasaki is a solo artist who writes and composes all the songs in his albums and singles. In addition, he plays all the instruments and does all the arrangements of his songs; one of the few artists in complete control of his music. Recording under his own independant label, "Maboroshi" Murasaki's mixing engineer Todji helps him with recording and mixing of his songs. Their recording studio is located in Arizona.
      Born in California on September 10, 1978, Murasaki grew up in various parts of the country. According to him, he has moved a total of 11 times so far! Murasaki's musical interests started at a very young age as a listener but it was not until high school did he start composing music. People often wonder how a Caucasian guy like him became a Japanese music lover. His interests towards Japanese Rock music started one day when he got bored of listening to American music. So he looked through his father's record collection and discovered classical music. "From that day, I became hooked on classical music. I started listening to my father's other classical records, and just fell in love with the beauty and uniqueness of the music". This explains why his songs are deeply embedded with the use of classical instruments. Thereafter, Murasaki developed a liking to contemporary classical music. He was amazed by contemporary composer's "fresh and pure outlook on the world". Soon enough, he picked up an interest in traditional Japanese music. "I found a CD of traditional Japanese music, and adored it instantly. It was so new, delicate, and gorgeous, and I listened to it constantly". A contemporary classical music composer, John Zorn was a composer that greatly fascinated Murasaki. John Zorn was a composer that was deeply influenced with Japanese culture. After being introduced to Japanese contemporary classical music, Murasaki began listening to many other musicians from Japan. "Zorn led my attention to the Japanese underground, and I began listening to many musicians from Japan. That was how I got into Japanese sub-culture". In high school, Murasaki's best friend who was from Tokyo, was an avid listener of J-Rock music. After hearing Laputa's "Venus", he was completely hooked onto J-Rock music. He quickly became interested in other Japanese rock bands such as Malice Mizer; "I then became interested in various other J-bands and completely surrendered myself to that world." In conclusion, that was a brief history of Murasaki's venture into Japanese rock music.
      As time progressed, Murasaki became deeply affected by Jrock music. As he said, it was shaping the way he was as a person, and influencing the way his mind thought. Since last year 1999, he started to write his lyrics in Japanese. His reason for writing Japanese lyrics? "I feel it is easier to express myself in Japanese than in English, at least poetically and lyrically, so I write my songs in Japanese." Many people might think "Murasaki" is a pretty eccentric stage name. Translated into Japanse, Murasaki means "purple". I mean, why would anyone want to be named "purple"? Doesn't the color purple have a double meaning? ^.~ Well, according to Murasaki, he nicknamed his electric violin "Murasaki" because it has a deep purple color. "When I began writing songs, the name 'murasaki' came immediately to mind for my stage name." Purple is a color that he feel represents his soul. "To me, purple is the ideal mood of who I am in visual manifestation."
      Music can be considered an essential and vital part of Murasaki's life. His life dwells on music, as it seems like all his time is either spent on listening, playing, or composing music. "I listen to music when I am doing homework, walking to class, or just to relax. It is a vital part of my life, because it is a physical part of my body". Gackt seems to be the biggest influence in the essence of Murasaki's songs. "[Gackt] has been such a profound creative inspiration in my life, and his entire realm of sound is so close and familiar to my heart that it is beautifully painful. His music speaks to me like no other and I would not want to imagine my life without the beauty he has brought into the world".
      People who have heard Murasaki's music relate his style to Gackt's. Many think that Murasaki tries too hard to emulate Gackt's style. However, I personally feel that Muraski's style is nothing like Gackt's style. When you hear Murasaki's songs, the overall feel is a little haunting, but the details are what makes the two styles different. "My music sometimes flows without a fixed melody or chorus. For example, in my single, 'junsui na yoru e' is very repetitive and cyclic, and has a defined chorus, with only one slight lyrical change...but in my piano solo 'fuyu', the melody is very abstract and constantly changing, as if it has a life of its own." While Murasaki uses patterns and repetitive phrases, Gackt is very non-repeptitive. Unlike Gackt's songs which uses many special voice effects, Murasaki seems to rely more on real instruments for accompaniment. Gackt's music has become very mainstream, producing many good singable-karaoke-type songs. Murasaki's songs remain very mysterious, characterized by an 'indie' sound to them. If you listen closely, you will also notice that Murasaki has a higher pitch voice than Gackt's voice.
      Aside from being musically inclined, Murasaki is also an artistic genius! If you have seen some of his sketches, you will also agree. His artwork is inspired by Kasai Ayumi, his favorite visual artist. You will find some of his sketches on the cover of his solo album and other singles. His drawings are all done in "monochrome" meaning that they are drawn in shades of black and white. The objects in his drawing are very unusual because it does not really depict 'reality' or real objects. On the contrary, they seem to be a portrayal of imagination and fantasy. For example, his sketch "Mienakunaru" shows a man with no lower body, whose arms are entangled by bird wings. It is about a dissapearing man from the viewer's perspective. The idea is abstract and very unique, illustrating emotions and imagination into visual sense. Murasaki's drawings dives into the realm of intangible concepts.
      On August 2000 Murasaki released his first solo album "Monochrome", recorded under his own indie label "Maboroshi". His second single "Buranko" was released in May 2001. As of right now, he remains as a solo artist. However, plans of joining or forming a band in the future might be possible. But we will just leave it up to here for his career to blossom, and hopefully he will successfully break into the Jrock scene in Japan.