Tokyo's Coolest Sound

Last Sunday, February 5, was the release party for Love And Hates' 1st album "L.A.H." The event was held at Shinjuku Marz, starting at 5pm and to finish around 10! The venue was entirely decorated cute and girly style. The stage was very customized with large stars hanging from above, with a large banner that read "L.A.H. Show", and VJ team Onnacodomo contributed extra visual cuteness during the DJ acts.

We got there at 6, in time to catch part of Twee Grrrls Club's DJ set where 3 girls took turns selecting and mixing indie 7"'s. TGC is a collective to which Love And Hates' Yuppa (HNC) and Moe (miila and the geeks) also belong.

Then on stage was Kaji Hideki who appeared on his own. He explained that he had first planned to play the show just by himself, but after a song he soon introduced his usual flutist/saxophonist Nari-san (Scafull King). His set contained some of his less known songs that aren't often played on stage, and because he didn't have much stage time he did a medley to fit as many songs as possible. At the end of the set he was joined by Love And Hates for a song they sang chorus for on his album, and also "Mahna Mahna" from "L.A.H.", a surprising track in which we can hear an unknown side of Kaji-kun's voice.

This was followed by a short DJ corner where Love And Hates played some remixes of "Party Trash" and "Money" that they received for their remix contest. There were many fun and unexpected ones. It was just 2 days before the end of the contest, but I managed to finish mine the next day and hand it in. Other remixes can be found on Soundcloud and Twitter.

Next up was a band that I had long been waiting to see, The Suzan, a band of 4 Japanese girls based in New York and signed to Fool's Gold, a label run by fellow Montréalais A-Trak (who I've coincidentally been following since his early days). My hopes were high and I wasn't disappointed, the girls are all awesome musicians and they can all sing. They gave a great rocking and fun show, and had the audience singing along many times. Now I hope that they'll make a new album before too long.

The next appearance on stage was human beatbox Afra. He did his solo thing for a while, and was then joined by Love And Hates for their song "Kung-Fu Ripping".

Followed a set by Luvraw & BTB, the talkbox duo from Yokohama, accompanied as usual by their DJ Mr. Melody and funny MC and dancer Hyuhyu Boy. They played their sexy and groovy tunes that take you right back to summer.

The last act was of course Love And Hates. Yuppa and Moe were alone on the wide stage most of the time, but they made good use of the place, moving to the center for their singing parts. The show included many songs from the album, and also welcoming Luvraw & BTB back on stage for the time of "Eeny Meeny". The whole show was a really fun and crazy time, with Yuppa jumping off stage a few times to come sing from the middle of the audience (you may be able to spot me in this official shot).

The song that stuck in my head after the show was "The Drum", one of my favorites from the album. Oh and I was able to get a Love And Hates mini-tote bag that's just the right size to hold a lot of 7"'s, which is what I'm using it for.

Larger sizes and more photos at Flickr

Kaji Hideki "Passion Fruits"

The Suzan "Home"

Luvraw & BTB "Sunset"

Love And Hates "Kung-Fu Ripping feat. Afra"