Laputa (band)

Laputa

Company type	Band
Industry	Music
Founded	1993
Defunct	2004
Headquarters	Nagoya , Japan
Products	Music albums, singles, live performances

Laputa was a Japanese Nagoya kei rock ensemble that operated between 1993 and 2004. Taking their name from the airborne island featured in Gulliver's Travels, the band sought to evoke an equally dreamlike atmosphere through their stage presentations. Their 1997 release Emadara earned acclaim as one of the premier albums spanning 1989 to 1998, according to the music publication Band Yarouze.

History

Established in July 1993 by high school acquaintances aki and Tomoi—who had previously played together in Ai SICK FACE—Laputa produced two demo tapes within the same year, collaborating with engineer Okazaki Yukito of Eternal Elysium. Their debut indie album Memai (1995) helped them gain momentum in the visual indie circuit, followed by the 1996 mini-album Kurumeku Haijin and a live video documenting their Paradoxical Reality TOUR IV.

Their growing recognition culminated in a contract with major label Toshiba-EMI in August 1996. Their initial major single, GARASU NO SHOUZOU, peaked at #34 on the Oricon singles chart. This success was succeeded by the album KAGEROU and four additional albums released over the subsequent four years.

In 2000, Laputa issued a compilation of B-sides titled "Coupling Collection + xxxk [1996-1999 singles]" alongside an extensive three-disc best-of compilation containing 32 tracks, which included eight singles released under a major label. Following this, they transitioned to the smaller major label Nippon-Crown.

While signed with Nippon Crown, Laputa brought out four albums or mini-albums and three singles, each securing positions within Oricon’s top 50 rankings. The mini-album Glitter (2002) signaled a stylistic shift toward electronic music elements.

Due to health complications in 2002, lead songwriter Kouichi’s involvement on New Temptation was limited. Subsequently, Junji assumed primary songwriting duties, with Tomoi also expanding his contributions to both composition and lyricism.

In May 2004, Laputa declared their dissolution to focus on personal development. They issued a best-of CD+DVD collection titled "BEST AL+CLIPS 2000~2004", highlighting their years with Nippon-Crown, embarked on a tour from August through September, and performed their final show on September 5 at Shibuya Koukaido. This concluding concert was later released as a DVD under the title "ALL BURST".

Following the breakup, all members continued their musical pursuits: Aki pursued solo projects; Kouichi established Everlasting-K; Junji formed HALATION; Tomoi became part of MILK FUDGE, supported JILS, and co-founded C4 in 2008 alongside Junji and others.

On August 29, 2023, Aki unexpectedly passed away at age 52.

Members

• aki – vocals
• Kouichi – guitar; formerly part of Silver-Rose, an influential band in the early Nagoya kei movement
• Junji – bass
• Tomoi – drums

Former members

• Hiro – guitar
• Hideno – guitar
• Kusuba – bass

Musical style and influence

The band's musical identity revolves around a fusion of "Dark, Hard, and Melodious" components, characterized by Kouichi's unique chord arrangements and aki's soaring vocal timbre.

aki

aki acknowledges Morrie from Dead End as a significant inspiration shaping his vocal approach. During his high school years, he performed covers of Japanese metal groups such as Dead End, Loudness, 44 Magnum, Gastunk, Reaction, Marino, Sniper, and Tilt.

Kouichi

Kouichi draws artistic influence from Yngwie Malmsteen, Takeshi Tsuji of Justy-Nasty, and hide, whom he regards as "my everlasting ambition." His high school musical preferences included bands like Vow Wow, Anthem, and Earthshaker.

Junji

Junji’s early musical tastes encompassed Duran Duran, Bon Jovi, Bauhaus, Dead Can Dance, and The Cure. Subsequently, he delved into genres such as electronic dance music and trip hop.

Tomoi

Tomoi’s style was shaped by Masafumi Minato of Dead End and Akira Ōta from Kinniku Shōjo Tai. He found inspiration in bands including Duran Duran, Toto, and Journey, and during his high school days covered Seikima-II along with glam metal tracks.

Legacy

Laputa is recognized for pioneering the early Nagoya kei genre alongside Kuroyume by merging elements of heavy metal with gothic rock.

Artists influenced by Kouichi feature Ruiza and Hide-Zou of D, Kei from Diaura, and Tsurugi from Sadie.

Takayoshi Ohmura of Babymetal has expressed deep respect for Laputa and subsequently became a member of C4. Umi from vistlip credits Laputa’s prominent single " (Glass no Shouzou)" as his introduction to visual kei. Yomi from Nightmare performed Laputa covers during his high school years. Kaya recorded a rendition of their track "揺れながら… (Yurenagara...)" for the compilation album "CRUSH!-90’s V-Rock best hit cover songs-".

Demos

1. (Saddist no Yume) (September 4, 1993)
2. (Naraku no Soko) (December 20, 1993)

Singles

Release Date	Title	Album	Oricon Singles Chart Position
May 5, 1994	Template:Nihongo2 (Watashi ga Kieru)	–	–
September 9, 1996	Template:Nihongo2 (Glass no Shouzou)	Template:Nihongo2 (Kagerō)	34
May 28, 1997	eve～Last night for you～	Template:Nihongo2 (Emadara)	33
November 12, 1997	Meet Again	Template:Nihongo2 (Jakō)	20
February 4, 1998	Template:Nihongo2 (Yurenagara...)	Template:Nihongo2 (Jakō)	25
September 23, 1998	Feelin' the sky	Template:Nihongo2 (Kakera)	15
January 1, 1999	Breath	Template:Nihongo2 (Kakera)	29
March 17, 1999	Chimes	Template:Nihongo2 (Kakera)	25
May 19, 1999	Virgin Cry	Template:Nihongo2 (Kakera)	23
October 25, 2000	Shape～in the shape of wing～	Template:Nihongo2 (Heaven)	26
February 21, 2001	Silent on-looker	Template:Nihongo2 (Heaven)	43
June 21, 2002	Template:Nihongo2 (Shinkai/Brand new color)	–	58

Albums

Release Date	Album Title	Record Label	Oricon Chart Position
February 24, 1995	Template:Nihongo2 (Memai)	–	–
February 25, 1996	Template:Nihongo2 (Kurumeku Haijin)	–	–
October 23, 1996	Template:Nihongo2 (Kagerō)	Toshiba-EMI	24
June 25, 1997	Template:Nihongo2 (Emadara)	Toshiba-EMI	24
February 4, 1998	Template:Nihongo2 (Jakō)	Toshiba-EMI	10
June 9, 1999	Template:Nihongo2 (Kakera)	Toshiba-EMI	10
February 23, 2000	Laputa Coupling Collection+×××k	Toshiba-EMI	43
October 25, 2000	Laputa 3DISC BEST～1995-1999 except Coupling Collection～	Toshiba-EMI	41
March 16, 2001	Template:Nihongo2 (Heaven)	Nippon-Crown	50
March 21, 2002	glitter	Nippon-Crown	66
July 24, 2002	Template:Nihongo2	Nippon-Crown	50

|- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" | April 23, 2003 || Sparks Monkey || Nippon-Crown || 75 |} |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" | March 17, 2004 || Material Pleasures || Nippon-Crown || 89 |} |- bgcolor="#F0F8FF" | July 28, 2004 || Best AL+CLIPS2000～2004 || Nippon-Crown || – |}