This story begins seven years ago, in 1997, during Sugizo's Abstract Days tour while he was experimenting with his solo project. An avid fan of Luna Sea, Yuna was a fledgling guitarist and an ambitious vocalist who had been amazed by Sugizo's solo work, "TRUTH?". At the time, Yuna had just been a teenager, and it was by a twist of fate that he came upon meeting Sugizo through a mutual friend.

Instantly, the two found an affinity with one another -- connecting on many different levels through deep, insightful conversation about life, the world, and other shared interests (amongst which included music, astronomy, and chi kung).

Despite their dramatic age difference of ten years, the two became fast friends and maintained contact throughout the years as Sugizo returned to Luna Sea, and Yuna began to experiment with his own independant projects (R.E.D and Lazy Knack being the most successful).

With Luna Sea disbanding in 2000, Sugizo began to produce various artists, including Yuna's R.E.D. project in 2001. He also began his own project, 'Sugizo and the Spank Your Juice' that year, and starred in a movie ('Soundtrack'). Sugizo toured extensively with Spank Your Juice and worked with other artists on the side such as Miu Sakamoto, Nicholas Tse, and DJ Krush.

When the Spank Your Juice announced their indefinite hiatus in March 2004, Sugizo promised the world a new project -- one that featured Yuna.

In a world torn apart by war, where its inhabitants forget so easily about the beauty of life and of the world around them, Sugizo felt compelled to begin a project that could create a change within anyone who listened. This is a society so weighed down by depression and bitterness, where everyone is too wrapped up with the negativity of their lives to appreciate the miracle of living. A society that has forgotten the innocence of children and the glory of dawn's embrace.

With Yuna in mind, Sugizo set out to create The FLARE -- drawing the vocalist into the light of a major project sponsored by Universal Music -- a project that seeks to change the world through uplifting, positive music that has the power to heal broken hearts and erase scars. This is a project that reaches out to the souls of its listeners -- truly embracing them with warmth and strength through the power of music.

It is rare to find such a project like The FLARE in a world so overrun by negativity and pain. In a crumbling, decaying world destroyed by the cruelty of humanity, The FLARE is a ray of light cutting through a perpetually overcast sky, sending out strength and positivity through each lingering note.

You can contact The FLARE at mailtoflare@the-flare.com (in English or Japanese, as Sugizo is fluent in both) or through their diary.