01Profile
A Kyohei Iwata Photo
Kyohei Iwata
Vintage and Used Clothes Shop Owner — Shibuya, Tokyo
03Interview
Name
Kyohei Iwata
What do you do?
Vintage and used clothes shop owner.
Where are you from?
Shibuya.
What's the best gig you've ever been to?
BOOM BOOM SATELLITES, a Japanese band that I have on my playlist. I went to see them at Makuhari Messe Event Hall around 2010 with my first girlfriend. I remember trying to really play it cool while watching the band, but she was a big BOOM BOOM fan, and in the end, we were both larking around so much that we lost each other in the crowd (laughs). I liked that it was a show with no need for pretense — you could just be yourself.
Which sub-cultures have influenced you?
It's another Japanese influence, but manga. The most influential has been 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.' He has such cool taste in clothes. When I went abroad to buy vintage clothes for my shop, I'd pick out the kind of clothes that JoJo would wear.
Of all the venues you've played, which is your favorite?
It’s closed now, unfortunately, but STUDIO COAST in Shinkiba. They had these red speakers hanging in the Octagon — the name for the venue's arena — and they were something else. The bass sound was so powerful that I almost threw up (laughs). I have so many good memories of seeing bands at that place — they are like milestones in my life. The walk to the venue from the station was also part of the experience.
If you could be on the line up with any bands in history?
It’s incredibly unoriginal, but I will have to say The Beatles. I used to play drums, but I’d like to play a different instrument as they already have Ringo. There is a manga called ‘Boku ha Beatles (We are The Beatles).’ It’s about a Beatles cover band who travel back in time before The Beatles hit the big time. The band decides to release The Beatles’ songs before the real Beatles do, and it’s about what kind of music Paul, John, George, and Ringo would have written in that scenario. That manga has been a big influence on me, so I’d like to play on ‘Love Me Do’ with the real band. Perhaps history would change if I did.
If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
Around 30 years ago, there was an event where the band Denki Groove and Japanese comedian Hikaru Ijuin played the sports video game 'Famista' at Seibu Dome baseball stadium. There's an anecdote that Pierre Taki (Denki Groove member) was banned from the stadium. I would like to join that event and then get banned myself.
Your greatest unsung hero (or heroine) in music?
It’s the Japanese artist Kido Yoji. He is on my playlist, but Spotify only had one album of his. I was working a part-time job over ten years ago, and a friend who I worked with told me about another Kido Yoji album. That album is pretty mellow without mood swings from dark to bright, meaning — in a good sense — it's music that I can have on in the background and relax to.
02Playlist
04Playlist Notes
What are the concepts / important points of the playlist?
I always listen to music while picking out vintage clothes to buy, so it's a collection of those songs. I kept the BPM pretty low, but the tracks still manage to raise my mood to a moderate level... I have my own special name for these types of tracks, "dam songs," and I loaded the playlist with lots of them.
The first track you played on repeat?
That would probably be Oasis. My mum used to listen to them a lot. The first time I went abroad and sang karaoke, I chose ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger.’ I thought it would get the crowd going, but I ended up just making a bit of a fool of myself (laughs.)
A song that defines the teenage you?
It’s by a Japanese artist, but the track ‘Bara Iro no Hibi (Rose-coloured Days)’ by THE YELLOW MONKEY. I went to an all-boys secondary school and this was a karaoke staple for me back then.
One record you would keep forever?
The Japanese group STEADY&CO and their album ‘CHAMBERS.’ It’s full of “d songs,” like I mentioned earlier, and It’s an album I’ve listened to since forever.
A song lyric that has inspired you?
It's another Japanese band; it's a track called 'funnybunny' by the pillows. I like the part just before the chorus and the chorus itself. It's a track I've loved for a long time, but when I opened up my shop, the song's meaning changed for me. I'm now in a situation where I'm responsible for everything that happens, and I've no one to blame but myself if things go wrong. The song is both encouraging and smarting at the same time.
Best song to turn up loud?
As I just mentioned, ‘Don't Look Back In Anger.’ It’s the only UK song I can sing.
A song people wouldn't expect you to like?
I don't think anything on the playlist is too surprising, but I'll say ORANGE RANGE. They first got popular around the time I was in the sixth form, but I was never really into them and had no idea how good they were. But when I was in my late 20s — a long time after they came on the scene — I listened to them and finally realized for the first time how amazing they were.
What new bands are you are listening to now?
Yanakoto Sotto Mute. They are classed as an idol group, but I think they connect with people who were into alternative rock in the noughties. It’s another band with many “dam songs,” including the one I put on the playlist.
03Interview
Name
Kyohei Iwata
What do you do?
Vintage and used clothes shop owner.
Where are you from?
Shibuya.
What's the best gig you've ever been to?
BOOM BOOM SATELLITES, a Japanese band that I have on my playlist. I went to see them at Makuhari Messe Event Hall around 2010 with my first girlfriend. I remember trying to really play it cool while watching the band, but she was a big BOOM BOOM fan, and in the end, we were both larking around so much that we lost each other in the crowd (laughs). I liked that it was a show with no need for pretense — you could just be yourself.
Which sub-cultures have influenced you?
It's another Japanese influence, but manga. The most influential has been 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.' He has such cool taste in clothes. When I went abroad to buy vintage clothes for my shop, I'd pick out the kind of clothes that JoJo would wear.
Of all the venues you've played, which is your favorite?
It’s closed now, unfortunately, but STUDIO COAST in Shinkiba. They had these red speakers hanging in the Octagon — the name for the venue's arena — and they were something else. The bass sound was so powerful that I almost threw up (laughs). I have so many good memories of seeing bands at that place — they are like milestones in my life. The walk to the venue from the station was also part of the experience.
If you could be on the line up with any bands in history?
It’s incredibly unoriginal, but I will have to say The Beatles. I used to play drums, but I’d like to play a different instrument as they already have Ringo. There is a manga called ‘Boku ha Beatles (We are The Beatles).’ It’s about a Beatles cover band who travel back in time before The Beatles hit the big time. The band decides to release The Beatles’ songs before the real Beatles do, and it’s about what kind of music Paul, John, George, and Ringo would have written in that scenario. That manga has been a big influence on me, so I’d like to play on ‘Love Me Do’ with the real band. Perhaps history would change if I did.
If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
Around 30 years ago, there was an event where the band Denki Groove and Japanese comedian Hikaru Ijuin played the sports video game 'Famista' at Seibu Dome baseball stadium. There's an anecdote that Pierre Taki (Denki Groove member) was banned from the stadium. I would like to join that event and then get banned myself.
Your greatest unsung hero (or heroine) in music?
It’s the Japanese artist Kido Yoji. He is on my playlist, but Spotify only had one album of his. I was working a part-time job over ten years ago, and a friend who I worked with told me about another Kido Yoji album. That album is pretty mellow without mood swings from dark to bright, meaning — in a good sense — it's music that I can have on in the background and relax to.
04Playlist Notes
What are the concepts / important points of the playlist?
I always listen to music while picking out vintage clothes to buy, so it's a collection of those songs. I kept the BPM pretty low, but the tracks still manage to raise my mood to a moderate level... I have my own special name for these types of tracks, "dam songs," and I loaded the playlist with lots of them.
The first track you played on repeat?
That would probably be Oasis. My mum used to listen to them a lot. The first time I went abroad and sang karaoke, I chose ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger.’ I thought it would get the crowd going, but I ended up just making a bit of a fool of myself (laughs.)
A song that defines the teenage you?
It’s by a Japanese artist, but the track ‘Bara Iro no Hibi (Rose-coloured Days)’ by THE YELLOW MONKEY. I went to an all-boys secondary school and this was a karaoke staple for me back then.
One record you would keep forever?
The Japanese group STEADY&CO and their album ‘CHAMBERS.’ It’s full of “d songs,” like I mentioned earlier, and It’s an album I’ve listened to since forever.
A song lyric that has inspired you?
It's another Japanese band; it's a track called 'funnybunny' by the pillows. I like the part just before the chorus and the chorus itself. It's a track I've loved for a long time, but when I opened up my shop, the song's meaning changed for me. I'm now in a situation where I'm responsible for everything that happens, and I've no one to blame but myself if things go wrong. The song is both encouraging and smarting at the same time.
Best song to turn up loud?
As I just mentioned, ‘Don't Look Back In Anger.’ It’s the only UK song I can sing.
A song people wouldn't expect you to like?
I don't think anything on the playlist is too surprising, but I'll say ORANGE RANGE. They first got popular around the time I was in the sixth form, but I was never really into them and had no idea how good they were. But when I was in my late 20s — a long time after they came on the scene — I listened to them and finally realized for the first time how amazing they were.
What new bands are you are listening to now?
Yanakoto Sotto Mute. They are classed as an idol group, but I think they connect with people who were into alternative rock in the noughties. It’s another band with many “dam songs,” including the one I put on the playlist.