The Mancontrol – TV Crime (1999)

“Welcome to the Mancontrol”, 1999 Daipro-X.

The Mancontrol formed in 1996. The group released a few demos throughout 1997 and 1998, and later became a major act in the fall of 1998 and signed to Daipro-X. In January of 1999, The Mancontrol simultaneously released their first single, “Mancontrol”, and first full length album, “Welcome to the Mancontrol”, both of which were absolute flops in the major music market due to their unorthodox style, and The Mancontrol then ended up going on a hiatus by the summer of 1999. The only member of the group who remained active in the music scene was frontman Kaku, who retired from the visual scene and became a support musician for numerous artists, most significantly working with one of the most popular and iconic singers of the 1980s, Koji Kikkawa (吉川晃司). In 2002, The Mancontrol resumed activities, and the group would tour a bit throughout the next few years, but did not release any original material. In 2005, The Mancontrol disbanded for good, and Kaku then went on to continue his work as a support musician, which he is still active as today.