On Saturday, September 21st, Kitri, a unit made up of older sister Mona and younger sister Hina, held a one-man live show “Five years pieces” at the Kyoto Educational Culture Center to commemorate the 5th anniversary of their major debut. It was a rich and special night that followed Kitri’s trajectory up until now while also presenting the latest creativity. This time, I would like to report on such a wonderful one-night-only live performance.
As the title suggests, “Five years pieces,” this performance will feature a collection of songs they have created since their major debut in 2019, as well as pieces from the live shows they have held. It was the culmination of what was happening at the moment.
The venue is the Kyoto Educational and Cultural Center in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto Prefecture. This cultural facility was established in 1964 by teachers and staff from public schools in Kyoto Prefecture. This is a quaint hall where you can feel the history of 60 years from its appearance. For Kitri, who lives in Kyoto, the fact that it was a local performance made it all the more special. In the lobby, there were many flowers lined up to celebrate the 5th anniversary, which had been delivered by people involved.
The stage was set up with a grand piano, two keyboards and synths in the center, and a cello, guitar, and mandolin. Supporting people on this day are Kira and Kira (Gt. & Mand./Houji to Ohana), who have always appeared in the one-man live “Kitori’s Concert” that was held twice a year from 2019 to 2022. Capital (Vc.). He and Kitri have a close relationship.
The live performance consisted of three acts, excluding the encore, tracing Kitri’s progress since her debut. There are almost no MCs. They carefully and stoically ran through the approximately two-hour concert, changing costumes for each part.
When Kate Bush’s “Night Scented Stock” plays and Mona and Hina appear, the audience greets them with loud applause. The theme of the first act is “Rouge”. Wearing red dresses, which was Kitri’s image color at the time of her debut, the two of them sat on a chaise longue in front of the grand piano. On the stage, which was dyed red by the lights, they immediately began to play duets. Mona, who was sitting on the left, was in charge of the low range, and Hina, who was sitting on the right, was in charge of the high range, each looping a phrase. As I was immersed in the beauty of the wave-like high notes that gradually increased in intensity, I heard Kira and Kira wearing red costumes join in. The thickness and expression of the sound changed all at once, and just as Mona and Hina’s choruses overlapped and reached a climax, the performance suddenly stopped, and a lingering sound enveloped the venue.
When Hina left the piano and moved to the keyboard placed in a V-shape in the center of the stage, the song began with Mona’s prelude to “Akari.” Mona’s relaxing and slightly hazy singing voice is beautiful and gives a sense of loneliness. Hina played the concertina and softly laid out the chorus, while Yoji and Kira supported their performance, creating a good atmosphere between the four of them in perfect harmony.
Mona turned around while sitting at the piano and said with a smile, “Everyone, welcome to Kitri’s “Five years pieces” today. I hope we can have a fun time together today. I hope you have a lot of fun.” I greeted him in a low-key voice. Hina also smiles. Both of them have a laid-back demeanor, but the gap in power and expressiveness they show during their performances is irresistible.
“Water and Symphonia” began with the counting of wool. Hina sits down next to Mona again and hits the keys in a bouncy manner. Mona’s refreshing singing voice filled the venue with a high-quality pop melody. It is also interesting to note that “Morning” from Grieg’s “Peer Gynt Suite” is incorporated in the middle of the play. The lyrics, “A dramatic journey” and “Let’s go little by little,” and the arrangement, which is lighter and more speedy than the original song, gave the impression that they were celebrating the beginning of today’s live performance.
Next was “Ningen Program,” in which Kira’s cello spread out at the bottom instead of the shuffle beat of the original song, giving it a strangely inorganic feel. Hina played the bongos, creating an exotic feel with its outstanding story and passionate harmonies. They have created a truly rich variety of songs, such as “Akai Tsuki,” which has a great melody, a gentle singing voice, and “Hikareinochi,” which has pushed listeners back with its highly empathetic lyrics.
He then sings “Toki no Uta,” which has not yet been released as a sound source but is popular among fans, on a woolen guitar. Her singing voice had a charm that drew you in, and the audience was completely enchanted by the arrangement, which became powerful towards the climax. The first act had a set list centered around songs from the albums “Kitrist” and “Kitrist II” released from 2020 to 2021. Mona and Hina quickly stand up and leave the stage.
The lighting changes to blue, and in a space that feels like the bottom of the ocean, wool and Kira play a relaxing tone to connect the scene, and then Mona and Hina, who have changed into black dresses, appear again, and the second act begins. Now onto the “Noir” part. In 2022, “Kitori’s Concert” will end, and the new “Blanc Noir” series will begin in the summer of 2023. “Noir”, which means “black, dark, poisonous”, was performed on a stage with just Mona and Hina, including songs that incorporated digital sounds and songs that felt the shadow side of Kitri.
The first song played was a new song that had not yet been recorded. Mona and Hina each stand in front of a keyboard and synth, and while using computer synchronization and controllers, they pump out low-pitched digital beats, transporting the audience to a world different from the first act. When they were playing the piano, their backs were facing the audience, but by facing forward, they could clearly see their hands, and the audience was as if to say, “Where is this sound coming from?” I was watching the performance like that. In the middle of the song, there is a scene where Hina goes next to Mona’s keyboard and plays a powerful duet, and I can’t hide my surprise at how many developments there are. It was a number that gave off a cool impression within its grand worldview.
Next up is the TV anime “A transfer student who doesn’t know the circumstances is coming.” “Kokorone” was written for “Kokorone”. Mona plays the keyboard over a recorded beat and smoothly delivers fast vocals. The chorus work in the second half showed a shocking level of technique, and I could really feel the talent that was backed up by the duo’s backgrounds. As I was fascinated by the way Hina used the controller to repeat phrases like a looper, I realized that before I knew it, I had seamlessly transitioned to the next song.
In this part, the sound didn’t stop even after a song was over, and they used keyboards and synths to connect songs between songs, like a club DJ. After the second song, a new song with an impressive dynamic beat, looping keyboard phrases, and speaking-like singing style, they moved on to “Contradiction Law”. I was shocked by not only Mona’s floating singing voice and good melody, but also the fusion with Hina’s chorus, which gradually rose in pitch. Lyrics that juxtapose contradictory things or things that are difficult to coexist, such as “vivid darkness” and “portable shrine in the jungle,” and sounds that embody the expressions “a new page drawn with sparks” and “sounds born from mixing.” Too many numbers and gimmicks. The expression “playing with sound” fits perfectly. At the same time, I had a strange feeling of being transported somewhere other than here.
The final piece of this part is “Rapincho”. The song was arranged by Kohei Kamiya, who also worked on “The Law of Contradiction”. The sound makeup that overlaps Hina’s real finger snaps with the synchronized finger snaps is also interesting. The second act ended with a melody line filled with bright hope, giving us a sense of the coming third act.
When Mona and Hina sang while the beat continued to play, the venue gave them a big round of applause, and in their place, Yoji and Kira, wearing white costumes, returned to the stage. During the costume change, the sheep generously show off their improvisational and super-technical techniques. Eventually, Kira’s warm and easy-going cello sound filled the venue, and Mona and Hina appeared, dressed in white dresses.
The third act is “Blanc”. The theme is “white, blank, spotless”. I thought they were going to continue performing the music from the third act, but they resumed their performance from the last part of “Rashindori”, “Nice to meet you. You are a compass bird. Just rely on the sound in your heart and fly away.” . Since “Blanc Noir” was a hybrid of two live styles, the two parts ended in succession.
MC time here for the first time in a while. Mona says, “I would like to introduce the members who are giving wonderful performances,” and begins by introducing Kira. Kira is confused when Mona rudely asks him to give her a PR point, but he can’t help but ask for help from the wool, and receives a PR point for “Kira-san is easy to ask.” In return, Kira says, “There are a lot of PR points about you, but if I had to say, I would say that you don’t miss anyone’s charming qualities and are quick to poke fun at them,” reassuring them with an anecdote that gives a glimpse of their true nature. Wool seemed dissatisfied with the fact that Kira was the only one who participated in 2022’s “Kitori’s Concert #6 “Three Sisters”,” but her behavior was somehow endearing, and you can see how close the four of them are. It was time.
Just as “Melody Blanc” from the “Blanc Noir” series was performed live in an acoustic style, this part of the song was performed at a slower tempo. Following “Rhythm” from “opus 0” released during the indie era, “Lily”, which has the flower language of “purity, dignity, and innocence”, is played by a superb ensemble, and the sound of the cello creates a magnificent world view. They created a powerful performance of “Fruitful Song” that fully demonstrated Mona and Hina’s vocal and chorus skills. Furthermore, she sang Tama’s “Parthenon Ginza Dori” from “Barcalole” and the cover album “Re:cover 2in1” produced by Ohashi Trio, carefully word by word, as if speaking to her. It was a wonderful moment that was so delicate that I wanted to listen to it forever.
The last song of the main story is “Owari no Tsuzuki” from the second EP “Secondo”. The piano, cello, and singing voice are simply gentle and beautiful. The lyrics “I have so many wishes, I won’t give up, I won’t give up until I touch them” feel like Kitri’s determination towards her future activities and creativity as she celebrates her 5th anniversary, and it really warms my heart.
The thunderous applause quickly turned into an encore. When Mona and Hina were called back to the stage, they said, “I would like to sing the new song that was released in July,” and performed the ending theme song “Mizutan no Swing” of the TV anime “Gimouto Seikatsu,” just the two of them, while also using synchronization. He sang proudly. Mona’s poetry that appeared in the second half and Hina’s chorus following Mona were both truly wonderful.
When I once again summoned the wool and Kira, Mona appeared wearing a 5th anniversary T-shirt with a self-portrait of Kitri on it. Mona, her cheeks relaxed with joy, said once again, “Since it’s our 5th anniversary, we’re really happy to be able to perform in our hometown of Kyoto first, and we’re encouraged by people coming to listen to our music.” As I always say, I want to do my best to make you listen to more and more interesting songs.It’s only the beginning of my 5th year, so I hope you’ll see both the new and the same Kitri. I think so,” he greeted.
The song that concludes the 5th anniversary live performance is “Transparent”, which was written as the theme song for the movie “Nagi no Shima” to be released in 2022. Mona’s whispering voice is accompanied by Hina’s chorus, which gently accompanies her while playing duet. The woolly mandolin added sparkle to the song, and Kira’s cello added dynamism during the interlude, demonstrating an outstanding presence. The heartrending high notes and melody that almost made me cry, as well as the clarity, all made me feel so happy that I didn’t want to miss a single note.
After finishing all their performances, the four members smiled with relief, bowed to three sides, and left the stage. Even though the backs of these four people could no longer be seen, the applause from the audience continued for a while.
In this way, “Five years pieces,” which commemorated the 5th anniversary of Kitri’s major debut, came to a close with a grand finale. It was an intense live show that fully conveyed Kitri’s track record and ability to create new and interesting music by crossing over various genres while keeping classical music as its base. It was also a live performance that made you feel the height once again. Kitri’s history of believing in the possibilities of their music will continue.
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Kitri Live 2024 “Five years pieces”
Saturday, September 21, 2024 Kyoto Educational and Cultural Center
[Set list]
1.Akari
2. Water and Symphonia
3.Human program
4. Red moon
5. Hikareinochi
6. Poem of time
7.New song 1
8. Kocorone
9.New song 2
10. Law of contradiction
11. Compass bird
12. Rhythm
13.Lily
14. Song of fruitfulness
15. Barcarolle
16. Parthenon Ginza Street
17.Continuation of the end
EN1. Aquarium swing
EN2.Transparent
setlist playlist
https://kitri.lnk.to/Fiveyearspieces
[Next live information]
“Kitri masterpiece cover concert Re:cover vol.2”
Performance date and time: Friday, November 22, 2024
Doors open 18:00 / Show starts 18:30
Venue: Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Small Hall (Address: 5-45 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo)
Ticket: All seats reserved 5,800 yen (tax included)
◆Fan club advance reservation period
August 8, 2024 (Thursday) 12:00 to August 22, 2024 (Thursday) 11:00
https://kitri.bitfan.id/contents/184834
◆General ticket sale date: Friday, September 13, 2024
Performance inquiries: Ro-On tickets TEL: 047-365-9960
◆Play guide
Ticket Pia pia.jp
Lawson tickets l-tike.com
eplus eplus.jp
Ro-On Tickets 047-365-9960 ro-on.tokyo
Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Ticket Service 03-5685-0650
【Information】
X (old Twitter) https://twitter.com/__kitri
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/__kitri/
TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@kitri_official
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KitriOfficial
Official website http://www.kitriofficial.com/
Label BETTER DAYS HP https://columbia.jp/kitri/
Kitrist Room (fan club)https://kitri.bitfan.id/
【profile】
Kitri
A unit consisting of Mona and Hina. As an artist who creates experimental music based on classical piano and has a unique presence, he made his major debut in January 2019 with his 1st EP “Primo” produced by Ohashi Trio from Nippon Columbia BETTER DAYS label.
TV anime “Komi-san has communism.” He was in charge of the ending theme for the first season and wrote the song “Hikareinochi”, which earned him high praise both domestically and internationally, and the TV anime “A Transfer Student Who Doesn’t Know About the Circumstances is Coming.” ” ending theme song “Kokorone” and this summer’s TV anime “Gimouto Seikatsu” ending theme song “Mizutan no Swingo”. He is also active in various fields, including providing songs for many artists and movies.
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