Chateau Agency

Sherow Artist Society was a Japanese independent music label associated with Kamijo, a vocalist and musician active in the visual kei and rock-metal scenes. Reference material places its operating identity between 2006 and 2016, after which it was known as Chateau Agency. The sources do not provide a confirmed legal incorporation year or a detailed corporate history, so the label’s development is best reconstructed through the career of its principal associated artist and the projects surrounding him. Kamijo entered the Japanese rock scene in the mid-1990s. While working as a roadie for Malice Mizer, he met guitarist Mayu, and the two formed the band initially called Laliene. The group changed its name to Lareine in 1996 and developed a visual kei style combining romantic imagery, elaborate presentation, and melodic rock. Lareine signed with Sony Music Japan in 1998 and released several recordings. During a temporary separation from Lareine, Kamijo formed New Sodmy, which issued albums and singles before disbanding. Lareine later reunited, but ended its activities after a final live performance in October 2006. The timing of Lareine’s conclusion coincides with the period in which Sherow Artist Society is identified as operating. In 2007, Kamijo co-founded Versailles with guitarist Hizaki, bassist Jasmine You, guitarist Teru, and drummer Yuki. Versailles pursued a highly theatrical form of symphonic power metal and promoted itself beyond Japan through internet materials, foreign-language web activity, international press interviews, and a relationship with German label CLJ Records. Its early releases included The Revenant Choir and the Lyrical Sympathy EP. Versailles became the most internationally visible project connected to Kamijo during the Sherow Artist Society era, although the available sources do not specify which individual releases were legally issued or administered by the label. Versailles paused activities in December 2012. Kamijo announced a solo career in January 2013 and released the single Louis ~Enketsu no La Vie en Rose~ in August of that year. His subsequent solo work included Symphony of the Vampire, Heart, Sang, Oscar, and Violet Dawn, along with numerous singles and live or compilation recordings. These releases continued a conceptually unified aesthetic built around historical drama, dark romanticism, orchestral scale, and theatrical performance. The public record connects Kamijo’s label activity with this period, but does not establish a complete division between label, management, distribution, and self-release functions. In December 2015, Kamijo’s twentieth-anniversary concert at Zepp DiverCity brought together members and formations from his earlier career, including reunited versions of Versailles, New Sodmy, and the classic Lareine lineup. Versailles fully resumed activities in August 2016. Around this same period, Sherow Artist Society was renamed or succeeded by Chateau Agency. The name change therefore occurred at a significant transition point: Kamijo was maintaining a solo career, Versailles was returning, and his artistic network was being presented under a new organizational identity. The available reference material provides no verified information about Chateau Agency’s current staff, ownership, offices, distribution agreements, financial performance, or precise corporate status. It also does not document a complete roster of signed artists. The label is consequently best described as an independent, Kamijo-associated Japanese music imprint whose historical profile is inseparable from visual kei, theatrical rock, symphonic metal, and international niche-music circulation.

• 2016

  Transition to Chateau Agency

  [1]Kamijo (musician)en.wikipedia.org

  The organization formerly known as Sherow Artist Society became known as Chateau Agency.

• 2013

  Kamijo begins solo career

  [1]Kamijo (musician)en.wikipedia.org

  Kamijo announced a solo career and released Louis ~Enketsu no La Vie en Rose~ in August.

• 2007

  Versailles is formed

  [1]Kamijo (musician)en.wikipedia.org

  Kamijo and Hizaki formed Versailles, a symphonic power-metal band that became a major artist project associated with Kamijo’s label ecosystem.

• 2006

  Sherow Artist Society era begins

  [1]Kamijo (musician)en.wikipedia.org

  Reference material identifies Sherow Artist Society as the name used for the organization from 2006.

Independent Japanese artist-led music label associated with visual kei, theatrical rock, symphonic metal, and international fan communities.

• Music recordings

  Recorded music releases

  The label’s principal public-facing output is associated with recorded music by Kamijo and related visual kei, rock, and symphonic-metal projects. Available references do not provide a complete release-by-release label catalog, so individual releases are not assigned to Chateau Agency unless supported directly.

• Artist and label activities

  Artist-centered music projects

  Chateau Agency is associated with an artist-led model surrounding Kamijo’s solo work and his connections to Lareine, New Sodmy, and Versailles. Such activity may encompass release promotion and related music operations, but the available sources do not define the company’s exact service scope.

• 2016

  Rename from Sherow Artist Society to Chateau AgencyStrategy

  Background

  The organization’s renaming occurred as Kamijo continued his solo career and Versailles returned to activity.

  Action taken

  The Sherow Artist Society identity was replaced by the Chateau Agency name.

  Aftermath

  Chateau Agency became the name associated with Kamijo’s continuing artist-centered label activity. The sources do not describe a change in ownership, legal structure, or financial effect.

  Source

1. 1Kamijo (musician)en.wikipedia.org