I wish to learn more about Laputa. There isn’t really a whole lot about them floating around on the most apparent parts of the internet, and I think the era they were active/the lack of a revival era has locked a lot of information about them in the past. The basics are on Wikipedia and the like, but only enough to get the broad picture.
I’m largely interested in the progression of their sound, namely the shift to Electronic Rock. Why’d they do it, what influences were they drawing from? It’s not like they were strangers to electronics, but Heaven through the end are a pretty dramatic shift. I know they switched record labels for Heaven, and the early 2000s were a time of change for the scene. Given the context of Everlasting K, it stands to reason that this is where Kouichi’s interests were at that point. They stuck to that sound after Kouichi stepped back from writing too, so it seems like it was a wider interest within the band. Their early years seem standard enough for a 90s VK band, but their later years feel different from their contemporaries - so I’m interested in getting more context for those later years.
I’m also generally interested in discussing the band, so feel free to drop your thoughts about one of the best classic VK bands; I’m here to selfishly accumulate lore, but any form of Laputaposting is more than welcome. I’ve been going through their stuff again recently. Before I was always inclined to stay in the pre-Jakou territory, but lately I’ve really been enjoying their later stuff. It does feel like they were petering out by New Temptation and Material Pleasures - but they were doing cool stuff around that time as well with Glitter and Sparks Monkey, and the major albums leading up to that period are so passionate and life-affirming.
I’m gonna drop some of my current favorites down here in the event that someone randomly clicks this topic without knowing Laputa:
Why does Sparks Monkey absolutely kill? Couple great tunes on that one. Really enjoyed Material Pleasures, too. Solid pop-rock with some cool synth elements.
Came across an audio recording of a Laputa concert that (I’m pretty sure?) wasn’t released on DVD or anything. So cool. Judging by the comments I think it may have been something distributed to their FC?
Laputa was absolutely one of the greatest bands to come out of that era. I first heard them in 1997 when I got their album Emadara off hearing their amazing single Eve. That album was incredibly dark and gritty in a way that I don’t think many visual bands has ever matched. I bought every album they released as they came out since that one. Like many of the best J-rock bands, their sound really evolved from album to album becoming more melodic and less “visual” but Kouichi’s guitar was always so good. My favorite album is Kakera. I remember them releasing the singles off that album one by one and just being blown away (I still have the mini-cds). My favorite track being Chimes. Their incorporation of electronic elements definitely had its detractors at the time. I think they still kept the balance relatively well with Heaven, but I remember when the super Techno EPs came out it felt like the band went off the rails. Listening to them now after 20-odd years I think they’re actually pretty good! Again, that guitar! But unappreciated, even by myself a huge Laputa fan, at the time. It’s so sad that Aki is gone now. Here’s one track I found featuring his truly unique vocals. It’s a cover of a Dead End song Sacrifice of the Vision, with Aki singing. This song is sooo good, and I think some Laputa fans might not know about it. I treat it like an extra Laputa song. https://youtu.be/us3Vy42-_Sk?si=7Ebcy2KlPZlfODm_
