Reita

(May 27, 1981 – April 15, 2024) was a Japanese bassist and composer best known for being a member of the visual kei rock band The Gazette. He produced his instruments under the Japanese brand ESP and also owned a clothing brand called Snaked Lows.

The Gazette is noted as one of the biggest visual kei bands of their generation, and several artists mourned Reita's death in 2024.

Early and personal life Reita was born in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 27, 1981. He lived with his mother and older sister and was close to his grandmother. He and The Gazette's guitarist Uruha were childhood friends and met at their school's football club. In an interview with JRock News, Reita said that, despite his family not having much income, his dream of being a musician was stronger:

One of his hobbies outside of music was boxing, and he went to the gym regularly.

Career Reita started playing guitar in his second year of high school, and after seeing Luna Sea, he switched to electric guitar with the intention of joining a rock band, and even became part of a Luna Sea cover band. In the third year, he switched to bass because he became frustrated with the guitar. On stage, he stayed on the right side along with guitarist Aoi. Like all the other members, he participated in composing the songs. He composed tracks such as "Malum" and "Karasu".

In 2012, the musician changed the writing of his stage name in Hiragana, Reita (れいた), to REITA, romanized and in capital letters.

The bassist was on the cover of Rock and Read magazine several times, including in August 2014 and 2017.

Style and equipment A Reita cosplayer on the Jingubashi Bridge in Harajuku, wearing the musician's signature mask. Reita's main characteristic was to wear a mask covering his nose, originally white and made of cloth. From The Gazette's Project: Dark Age in 2015, he changed to a black leather mask and in 2017, rearranged it so that it marked the shape of his nose. He commented in 2017 that he could not purchase an iPhone X because the cell phone could only be unlocked with facial recognition. In addition to the mask, he wore blonde and spiky hair, covering half of his face. He said to Bass Magazine that he mainly uses TWO NOTES/Torpedo Studio and EBS/ClassicLine 810 amplifiers with the Darkglass Electronics/Microtubes 900 top. For the recording of Mass, his last album with The Gazette, he bought new basses, specifically from the Canadian brand Dingwall, but went back to using Ampeg amplifiers, in addition to playing with a SansAmp pedal and increasing the sound distortions. It was noted that his last message on his social media was: "I hope The Gazette lasts forever."

Several artists mourned the bassist's death on their social media, such as Sugizo, Riko Kohara, Sho Ayanokoji and the production of the anime Black Butler (The Gazette composed the second season's opening song, "Shiver"). On the 17th, the other four members of The Gazette published their messages about Reita's death.