Events

Tomoyasu Hotei, best known internationally for his original song, ‘Battle Without Honor or Humanity’, instantly recognisable as the theme from Quentin Tarantino’s film Kill Bill, boasts a stellar career spanning more than three decades.

During the early years of his career, Hotei received inspiration from music and artists around the world and developed his own unique guitar style which would then revolutionize the aesthetics of music in his native Japan, generate multimillion selling albums, record-breaking chart releases, and inspire future generations of musicians.

A much sought-after collaborator both in the studio and live on stage, Hotei has joined forces with numerous and diverse international artists including David Bowie, Andy Mackay (Roxy Music), Jesus Jones, Brian Setzer, INXS, Blondie, Mike Stern, Asia, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Hugh Cornwell (The Stranglers), Ray Cooper, Joni Mitchell, David Sanborn, Darren Price (Underworld), Apocolyptica, Chris Spedding, Chicago, and many others.

Hotei has also received worldwide recognition for his work on film scores, most notably for the soundtrack of Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and for his original composition of the song ‘Battle Without Honor or Humanity’ which Quentin Tarantino personally proposed to use as the main theme song for his film Kill Bill. In 2011 he arranged the theme to the box office hit Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol, attending the Japan premier alongside Tom Cruise and performing live at the event.

Hotei’s career originally began as a guitarist in the legendary Japanese rock band BOØWY (pronounced Boy) in 1981, enjoying phenomenal success as one of Japan’s most popular rock bands in history. In 1988, Hotei established himself as a solo artist, kicking off with the album Guitarhythm, recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. This was the beginning of a series of albums achieving multimillion sales. In 1989-1990, Hotei formed the rock duo COMPLEX, releasing two albums which both went to number one in the charts.

An iconic and legendary star in his native Japan, Hotei currently lives in London and continues to be a forerunner in the industry, exploring new momentum in the global music scene.

www.hotei.com

A unique singer-songwriter of her own right, with a creative mind since childhood, her first pursuit was to study Fine Art in London.

After picking up a guitar quite accidentally at 17, she came up with 30 songs a month without any knowledge of chords; the demo caught the attention of Sony Music Japan and made her debut in 2004.

The journey took on after that, from performing with squatters to the legendary members of the Pretenders in London, releasing consecutive original albums and establishing as an authentic singer-songwriter inspired by the great female singer songwriters such as Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush.

She ambitiously pursues both painting and music through combining live shows with exhibitions and visual performances.

Her vocal hero is Karen Carpenter.

Rie will be playing some recent singles as well as unreleased, brand new tracks.

Originally formed in 2008 by sisters Be and Meana during their first year of high school, MUTANT MONSTER initially found inspiration from punk rock – particularly classic bands such as The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and The Ramones.

Later to be joined by drummer Chad (who was also a former classmate of the sisters) in 2012, the band built up a following on the back of an extensive number of live shows. They released their limited edition mini-album Follow Me in July 2009 and their first full studio album True Tone followed in 2011.

The trio made their first overseas performance at the Japan Expo in 2016, but also found time to perform in the UK the same year with shows in Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, London, and Brighton. In 2017, they also graced the stage at Hyper Japan.

Originally formed in 2008 by sisters Be and Meana during their first year of high school, MUTANT MONSTER initially found inspiration from punk rock – particularly classic bands such as The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and The Ramones.

Later to be joined by drummer Chad (who was also a former classmate of the sisters) in 2012, the band built up a following on the back of an extensive number of live shows. They released their limited edition mini-album Follow Me in July 2009 and their first full studio album True Tone followed in 2011.

The trio made their first overseas performance at the Japan Expo in 2016, but also found time to perform in the UK the same year with shows in Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, London, and Brighton. In 2017, they also graced the stage at Hyper Japan.

Originally formed in 2008 by sisters Be and Meana during their first year of high school, MUTANT MONSTER initially found inspiration from punk rock – particularly classic bands such as The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and The Ramones.

Later to be joined by drummer Chad (who was also a former classmate of the sisters) in 2012, the band built up a following on the back of an extensive number of live shows. They released their limited edition mini-album Follow Me in July 2009 and their first full studio album True Tone followed in 2011.

The trio made their first overseas performance at the Japan Expo in 2016, but also found time to perform in the UK the same year with shows in Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, London, and Brighton. In 2017, they also graced the stage at Hyper Japan.

Originally formed in 2008 by sisters Be and Meana during their first year of high school, MUTANT MONSTER initially found inspiration from punk rock – particularly classic bands such as The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and The Ramones.

Later to be joined by drummer Chad (who was also a former classmate of the sisters) in 2012, the band built up a following on the back of an extensive number of live shows. They released their limited edition mini-album Follow Me in July 2009 and their first full studio album True Tone followed in 2011.

The trio made their first overseas performance at the Japan Expo in 2016, but also found time to perform in the UK the same year with shows in Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, London, and Brighton. In 2017, they also graced the stage at Hyper Japan.

Originally formed in 2008 by sisters Be and Meana during their first year of high school, MUTANT MONSTER initially found inspiration from punk rock – particularly classic bands such as The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and The Ramones.

Later to be joined by drummer Chad (who was also a former classmate of the sisters) in 2012, the band built up a following on the back of an extensive number of live shows. They released their limited edition mini-album Follow Me in July 2009 and their first full studio album True Tone followed in 2011.

The trio made their first overseas performance at the Japan Expo in 2016, but also found time to perform in the UK the same year with shows in Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, London, and Brighton. In 2017, they also graced the stage at Hyper Japan.

Originally formed in 2008 by sisters Be and Meana during their first year of high school, MUTANT MONSTER initially found inspiration from punk rock – particularly classic bands such as The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and The Ramones.

Later to be joined by drummer Chad (who was also a former classmate of the sisters) in 2012, the band built up a following on the back of an extensive number of live shows. They released their limited edition mini-album Follow Me in July 2009 and their first full studio album True Tone followed in 2011.

The trio made their first overseas performance at the Japan Expo in 2016, but also found time to perform in the UK the same year with shows in Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, London, and Brighton. In 2017, they also graced the stage at Hyper Japan.

One of Japan’s emerging metal outfits, Lovebites have swiftly built up an impressive profile. Consisting of Asami (lead singer), Miho (band leader and the bassist), Haruna (drummer), Midori (guitarist) and Mi-Ya (guitar and keyboards), the Lovebites sound owes a debt to the many great overseas heavy metal bands that have directly influenced their writing. Coupled with their own unique take on music, with each members eclectic background and experiences, everything has culminated into forging a truly formidable group.

Lovebites started working on their first EP at the end of 2016, joined by amazing an engineering team of Mikko Karmila and Mika Jussila from Finland who are known for their work with Nightwish, Children Of Bodom and Amorphis to name a few. The Lovebite EP was the culmination of those sessions, released in mid-2017. In August, Mi-ya became a full member of Lovebites and, as a full 5 member group, they released their first full album, Awakening From Abyss, in October 2017.

This marks their first UK headlining performance.

Originally formed in 2008 by sisters Be and Meana during their first year of high school, MUTANT MONSTER initially found inspiration from punk rock – particularly classic bands such as The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and The Ramones.

Later to be joined by drummer Chad (who was also a former classmate of the sisters) in 2012, the band built up a following on the back of an extensive number of live shows. They released their limited edition mini-album Follow Me in July 2009 and their first full studio album True Tone followed in 2011.

The trio made their first overseas performance at the Japan Expo in 2016, but also found time to perform in the UK the same year with shows in Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, London, and Brighton. In 2017, they also graced the stage at Hyper Japan.

Hatsune Miku is a Japanese music sensation, a 16 year-old blue-haired girl with a unique voice and prodigious energy.

What makes her special is that she is not a human singer, but a virtual persona who uses a computer-generated voice and 3D graphics to perform on stage. With a repertoire entirely provided by individual creators, she is the first truly crowd-created virtual talent. But being virtual doesn’t stop her from filling up concert halls, or teaming up with major artists like Lady Gaga and Pharrell Williams!

Internationally popular with over 2.5 million followers on social media, the increasing demand for concerts overseas paved the way to MIKU EXPO, a tour that has so far taken Hatsune Miku to Indonesia, the United States, China, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Europe! In winter 2018, Miku is coming to Europe for her first-ever live concerts in Europe.