Zwei

Zwei simply means "two" in German and of course, the band consists of two members.
Female band-members still seem to be pretty rare in Japanese rock bands but Zwei is an exception on the rule because both members are female.

They are produced by British producer Nick Wood, and you can really hear the European influence. Their music is described as a mix between Japanese pop and UK rock.

Zwei officially started in June 2003, but the two members actually met in spring 2002. Megu (bass) and Ayumu (vocals) met each other at a live show, and Megu (ex. Pineal) asked Ayumu (ex. Cherry Feel) to become the vocalist of the band she wanted to create.
Only a year later in June 2003 it became official when they were signed to the record label VAP.

However, it took quite a while before their first release. In May 2004 they released their first maxi-single, called "Movie star".

A few months later, in July, they released their second maxi-single, "Watashigai no Uta", and it didn't take long before their first album was released either.
"Pretty queen" was released on October 14. Containing eleven songs, it was an impressive first album for the band, featuring versatile styles from upbeat pop/rock songs to slow ballads.

After a brief period of silence, the band released their third single, called "Hikari" on March 23, 2005. Commemorating the release, the band set off on the "Zwei Live Tour 2005 ~Feel The Light~" tour in April, playing in live houses throughout Japan.

In July they kept the release pace with their next single, "Dragon", followed by the single "FAKE FACE" in November, and ended the year with their second full album on December 21 titled "Z (Zeta)".

In the New Year, they released their first DVD in February titled "Zwei in the Box". The DVD contained two discs, one containing five PVs, the other containing bonus live footage that included TV spots.

In the spring, the two began shooting the PV for the song "Denny" from their new album. The PV was quite controversial with imagery of graphic bondage between the two women that the PV has two versions; one that is shortened and severely edited, and the uncensored version that was obtainable only on their official website.

Later that fall, an announcement was made on September 2, 2006 that the band had been switched from VAP onto Universal Music Japan.

After another period of silence, the band promoted their first new single in almost two years titled "1+1=2 (Ichi Tasu Ichi wa Ni)" which was due for it's highly anticipated release on June 20, 2007. The release, however, did not have a large turnout as was hoped. 1+1=2 was soon forgotten in the list of many artists and singles coming from Universal.

On April 15, they participated in the live event titled "SHOCK TREATMENT" at Omotesandou FAB with other bands such as GLAMOROUS HONEY. June 16 they appeared at a second live event, "TRIANGLE FISCHER 003" with S.Q.F. and The Seventh Sense at Ebisu LIVE GATE TOKYO.

Then, almost a year after 1+1=2's release, Zwei released a new single titled DISTANCE/Koe. It was released this past June, with Zwei writing lyrics for the first time. (Koe). It is unknown if a new album will be made anytime soon, however, this single is more reminiscent of their earlier work.