Takeshi Nakatsuka, Videobrother, Izumi Ookawara at Batica

Izumi Ookawara

Before I started this blog, before the 21st century even began, I used to go to music shows in Tokyo in the late 90's, and one of the bands I liked was called Qypthone.

A late-comer to the Shibuya-kei scene, they started out playing hyper tech music, then turned more mellow and jazzy, released a few good albums, then fizzled out.

...well, not completely.

Takeshi Nakatsuka

I was aware they still performed from time to time as solo acts. I found out they were playing at the Batica in Ebisu, so I decided to check it out.

The show was led by Takeshi Nakatsuka, who was the leader of Qypthone. He did an energetic, fusion-music set. The next act was videobrother, a lively brass band. Izumi Ookawara, the statuesque songstress of Qypthone, was the last act.

They all still looked like they used to, but it's strange--somewhere along the way, two decades had passed.

We hardly even stopped to think time was passing.

The year 1998 seemed so recent, but that world is gone. Back then they were young, and they seemed to want to create something new, via a musical explosion. Maybe that's still there, but they've added something mature and understanding. I liked it.

The air in the small performance space was perfumed with a pleasant scent. I didn't know whether it a woman's perfume, or they lit incense in the club.