He has also performed in side-projects such as the duo Schaft with Soft Ballet member Maki Fujii, the supergroup Schwein, and the rock trio Lucy.
But when he decided to start a band in high school, he was conscious that choosing the wrong handedness would cause problems, and ultimately went with left-handed.
[6] He has cited Akira Uno, Tadanori Yokoo, Salvador Dalí, Giorgio de Chirico, Hirohiko Araki and Tsutomu Nihei as artistic influences.
[14] In 2001, Imai and Sakurai teamed up with English and German industrial musicians Raymond Watts and Sascha Konietzko to form the supergroup Schwein.
[16] In 2004, Imai formed the rock trio Lucy with guitarist and vocalist Kiyoshi (Spread Beaver, Machine) and drummer Katsushige Okazaki (Age of Punk).
[19] Imai has also appeared on/composed for Mika Kaneko's Kick, Naoko Nozawa's Tonkichi Chinpei Kanta, Der Zibet's Shishunki II, Soft Ballet's Million Mirrors, The Stalin's Shinda Mono Hodo Aishite Yaru Sa, PIG's Sinsation and Wrecked, Yukinojo Mori's Tenshi no Ita Wakusei and Poetic Evolution ~With Eleven Guitarists~,[20] Guniw Tools's Dazzle, Acid Android's Code, the compilation Tribute to The Star Club featuring Hikage, and Tomoyasu Hotei's All Time Super Guest.
[2] Imai wanted to play the guitar with a bow during live performances, so its appearance mimics the shape of a violin, including having F-holes painted on it.
[2] Another of his signature model guitars is the Stabilizer, which he first used on the 1996 Chaos tour and has a very unusual shape in that it has a second piece (other than the neck) connecting the body to the headstock.
[25][26] During his time in the band Lucy (2004–2008), Imai and fellow guitarist Kiyoshi both used custom Fernandes guitars named Kanoke.
[27] Largely similar to the BT-MM in appearance, albeit with a leopard paint job that lacks F-holes, it also takes elements from the Dazzler.