REPORT ｜ luvis – One man live –

Text by Naoya Koike
Photo by Rintaro Miyawaki

Singer-songwriter luvis held his first one-man live “luvis – One man live -” at WALL & WALL in Omotesando, Tokyo on Friday, December 13th.

Luvis, who was born in Uji, Kyoto and moved to Tokyo about two years ago, performed at the 2024 SXSW Music Festival held in Austin, Texas, USA in March of this year, and was also featured on the US public radio station NPR in August. He performed at his “World Cafe.” This performance will conclude such a breakthrough year.

According to him, the concept of the day was “to take the first step together with friends of the same generation who came to Tokyo.” The floor was filled with people even before the performance started. Since this is his first solo performance, the audience’s expectations are probably high.

The soothing sound of waves sounded, and Luvis, wearing a white shirt, took to the stage. The live performance began with “lullaby,” an arrangement that sounded more hazy than the original, with an introduction that sounded like a conversation while playing the guitar. A simple beat and blue lighting accompany the singing voice that will make you reaffirm the word “singing and singing.”

“Journey,” which began with a lively eighth-note synth bass, was so different from the original that you might have thought it was a different song, but halfway through it switched to the original beat. The restrained melody makes you feel the dawn of good old Japanese rock. The song finished with a stylish unison, followed by “Jamila,” a stylish arrangement that quotes this phrase.

The band behind the performance, which also features exclusive arrangements, is made up of the talented Naoki Takahashi (Dr.), Shota Koyama (Bass.), Gaku Kano (Key.), and Kazuya Takenouchi (Gt.). Their 8-bar solo relay shined through the catchy flow from “Linda” with a city pop flavor to “Period.”

“Whales” and “Dance” feature dancer mico. The song has a deliberately slow tempo, and rather than elaborate choreography, it expresses the contrast between stillness and movement in the song. I was impressed by the fantastic movement that luvis created in response to the guitar and singing, which changed from distortion to clean.

Then, the driving feeling of “Natsuhatsu” comes from the low string riff of the guitar. Furthermore, it features an exotic intro and a square 8 beat, and after enjoying the unseasonable “summer”, the MC begins.

“I’m my grandfather’s son, and when I was little he taught me how to catch red dragonflies.I think the reason so many people say that my music feels “feeling nature” is because he took me around.As expected. It’s my first one-man show, so I’m sure he’s watching from above. I’m going to sing this song for him.”

The melody of “Let’s meet at Somato”, which follows this episode’s talk, was deeply moving. The performance, which goes from cheerful to reggae to emotional, echoes the image of spinning lanterns. At the end, he invited the audience to sing along, saying, “Don’t be shy, it’s okay.”

At the end of the main part, luvis strummed in an octave style and then called out the title, “Blue.” The performance, which blended a wide range of expressions such as hip-hop, city pop, punk, and grunge, ended with a roaring roar. Ibuki Katagiri, the lighting that manually synchronized the lighting at the moment the sound disappeared, was also wonderful.

The encore is “Higher” from the latest EP. When the band’s performance is added to the inorganic beat, the sound lights up with a quiet flame that is different from the original. At the same time, the mirage-like singing voice seems to become more and more floating. Their performances weren’t exactly flashy, but they certainly had a spark. That was chic.

“The EP called “Blue Inside You” focused on sadness and blue emotions, and was about slowly regaining the light.Next year, I want to believe in that light and deliver it to many people. Please listen to the song I wrote with that feeling in mind.”

With that said, they played an unreleased song tentatively titled “The Light.” As the title suggests, the live performance ended with a song full of euphoria, as if grasping at a ray of light, and a song woven with positive lyrics looking toward the future.

Furthermore, the way he carefully introduced everyone from support members to related parties at the end was probably the embodiment of “love is”, which is the origin of his artist name.

When asked about his thoughts after the performance, Luvis said, “I knew it was going to be a good day the moment I stepped on stage. I was able to play freely, as if I had grown wings, and I was able to express my thoughts on this year’s theme, “Appreciate.” It was full of emotional moments,” he said.

Having successfully “started out” through 2024, where will he be headed in 2025? No matter where it is, I believe that it will continue to scream out love to you at the end of the road.

[Event information]

“luvis – One man live –”
Date and time: Friday, December 13, 2024 OPEN 18:00 / START 19:00
Venue: Tokyo, Omotesando WALL & WALL
Cast:
(LIVE)
luvis (Band Set)

(MEMBER)
Dr. Naoki Takahashi
Ba. Shota Koyama
Key. Gaku Kano
Gt. Kazuya Takenouchi
Dance. mico
Lighting. Ibuki Katagiri

■luvis:X (Twitter) / Instagram