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Koshi Inaba
Background information
Birth name	Hiroshi Inaba
Born	September 23, 1964 (1964-09-23) (age 45)
Origin	Tsuyama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan
Genres	Hard rock J-pop J-Rock
Occupations	vocalist, lyricist, composer, instrumentialist
Instruments	guitar, piano, blues-harp, drum, maraca, mandolin
Years active	1988–present (B'z) 1997–present (solo)
Labels	Rooms Records Vermillion Records
Associated acts	B'z
Website	B'z official web site

Koshi Inaba (稲葉浩志, Inaba Kōshi^?, born on September 23, 1964 in Tsuyama, Okayama Prefecture) is a Japanese vocalist. His real name is Hiroshi Inaba (稲葉浩志, Inaba Hiroshi^?). He graduated from the Faculty of Education at the Yokohama National University, and has a degree in mathematics.

Musical career

Inaba is the vocalist and lyricist for the Japanese hard rock band B'z. Their debut album, B'z, was released in 1988, and he started his solo career in 1997 with album Magma. Whereas B'z songs are composed by Tak Matsumoto, Koshi composed songs for his own solo albums.

His musical influences are Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Queen, and Guns N' Roses. He respects David Coverdale, Robert Plant, and especially Steven Tyler as vocalists. He is a fan of Elvis Presley.^{[citation needed]}

As a vocalist, he is known for his wide vocal range, covering three and a half octaves. Subject matter of his lyrics include social issues ("Liar! Liar!"), war ("Ai to Nikushimi no Hajimari"), peace ("ROOTS"), lost love, and loneliness ("Itsuka no Merry Christmas").

Inaba sang on the Steve Vai song "Asian Sky" from the album The Ultra Zone in 1999. He has played with overseas musicians such as Greg Upchurch (Puddle of Mudd), Stevie Salas, and others. On September 29, 2009, it was announced that he would be featured in Slash's upcoming solo album, Slash, due for release in 31 March 2010. Inaba sang on the first single, "Sahara", released on November 11, 2009 in Japan.The song Sahara will be featured in the 14th track of Slash upcoming Album. ^[1][1] In february 2010, it was announced that single Sahara won the international single of the year 2010 at Japan Gold Disc Award 2010 held by RIAJ.^[2][2]

Discography

Singles

1. Tooku Made (16 December 1998)
2. KI (11 June 2003)
3. Wonderland (14 July 2004)

Albums

1. Magma (29 January 1997)
2. Shian (9 October 2002)
3. Peace of Mind (22 September 2004)

See also

• Tak Matsumoto

References

External links

• B'z official website (Japanese)
• B'z no bise (French)
• Off The Lock (English)