Aural Vampire

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The Japanese pair of Exo-Chika and Raveman is the brains behind Aural Vampire. The musical duo combines the dark side of the world of vampires with the gothic genre of pop music. An act that got their start on the Japanese indie underground, Exo-Chika writes all of the group’s lyrics and performs the vocals, while Raveman maintains full control of the sounding boards and mixing groups. 

The female Exo-Chika and male Raveman met while attending the same high school. Following graduation from high school, the friends took on performing musically on a variety of projects both together and individually. After discovering their talents, the duo combined their mutual interests of 1980s slasher films and more modern horror flicks, as well as a love for 1970s psychedelic art to create music. As a result, Aural Vampire was born in 2004. Currently, as of 2011, Raveman continues to perform individually as a DJ, and as the solo artist of his pet project, Futon Disco.

Using a blend of industrial pop and new wave sounds made completely with electronic instruments, Aural Vampire has paved their way as innovators of electro-gothic pop music. The group’s focus has always been on live performances rather than recording records in a studio. As of 2011, these "vampires" only released two full albums, as well as numerous digital singles and collaborations that have resulted from the band’s performances. 

They released ‘Vampire Ecstacy’ on March 22, 2004 and Zoltank on May 5, 2010. As an underground indie act, the duo remained unsigned by any record company until 2008 when they were picked up and signed by a major label, Avex Trax. Since then they have released four digital singles on iTunes: Aural Vampire (October 29, 2008), Aural Vampire II (November 26, 2008), Aural Vampire III (December 31, 2008) and Freeeeze!! (January 28, 2009). Other albums that the duo released include one mini album, Kerguelen Vortex (November 18, 2011), and a digital single ‘Death Folder’ (October 4, 2005).

The duo has also collaborated with dozens of artists on multiple projects. These include ‘Hot Blood Workout’ and ‘Yagi Parade’ with Choushi Geki Entertainment (November 2004); ‘V. Madonna Schizoid’ for Kaiki Drop (July 2005); ‘PNFPN,’ ‘Perservative Woman’ and ‘Vampire Ecstasy Remix’ with Astan 21 (June 2006); ‘Kaidoku’ for Moe TECHNOPOP (September 2006); ‘Close Your Eyes’ for MIND:STATE - bbbc2x (October 2006); ‘V. Madonna Schizoid’ with Astan 23 (January 2007); ‘Basra’ and ‘Murialism’ for Astan 24 (June 2007); ‘Vampire Ecstacy’ on TOKYO DARK CASTLE (October 2007); ‘Blast-O-Matic’ for BOSS ON PARADE (March 2008); ‘Shounan Zoku’ on beatmaniallDX15 (June 2008); ‘Tachyon Spiral’ with NECRO STELLAR (December 2008); and ‘Angelus’ on GPKISM (November 2009).

Exo-Chika exudes the image of a gothic fashion model wearing haute couture gowns flowing large and long, and topped by corsets and top hat fascinators. With her super long blonde locks that graze her knees to her pale white skin, Exo-Chika resembles a fashionable doll. However, when she opens her mouth to sing, it is clear about the origin to the band’s name as you see Exo-Chika’s distinct vampire fangs. 

On the other end of the spectrum, Raveman looks like a serial killer from a horror movie. Wearing a black hockey mask that completely conceals his identity, all that peers out to the audience is two red glowing lights. Sporting a Michael Jackson style motorcycle jacket and riding boots, Raveman adds a whole other level of horror to the stage show. Combined Exo-Chika and Raveman are a synth duo with an ostentatious stage presence that attracts throngs of vampire loving goth fans worldwide.

Their popularity increased substantially with the goth scene after they were featured on the cover of Astan, a major publication in the goth scene. As a result, Aural Vampire hit the mainstream. The group began touring overseas with shows in Germany in 2007. Following that they performed in Finland and the Netherlands, which garnered them a massive fan base via MySpace--they have more than 50,000 followers. 

This popularity earned the group the title of Japan’s most popular indie group. Since their rise to fame they have continued playing overseas with shows in France and a return to Germany where they have developed quite the fan base. By 2008, Aural Vampire arrived in the US with a performance at the Anime Matsuri conference. As a result in 2010 they made their first North American tour that included a performance at the well-known Anime Central conference. They continue to perform and build their ever expanding fan base globally with a focus on live performances.