%20Hikaru%20Utada%20-%20Bad%20Mode,%20Live%20Sessions%20from%20Air%20Studios%20%231.png "Hikaru Utada’s Live Sessions from Air Studios is now available on streaming | Random J Pop")
I’m really glad that “Bad Mode” is available for all to watch and hear, because it was a definitive highlight of the entire gig for me, along with “Dare ni mo Iwanai”. The percussion and the sax!?
*Wig is sent somewhere near Marseille*
“Bad Mode” was already a great song. But the warmth in sound that you get with this live performance just adds that special sauce.
One of my favourite things about watching the Live Sessions from Air Studios was watching the musicians. You can quite literally spot the moments when some of them get into their zone and just get lost in it all. It’s why going with such an intimate setting and making the band such a focus was such a great choice. But also, the band are one of the best things to have happened to Hikaru’s music.
Hikaru Utada has worked with more or less the same musicians for the past 6-7 years. A couple of the guys who were a part of this Air Studios session were musicians on Fantôme. And the hipster bassist, the daddy on the guitar and keys, and the Black drummer were all on Hikaru Utada’s Laughter in the Dark tour. I will always remember the daddy on the keys, because he kicked off “Colors” for the transition out of “Traveling”, and I really liked the T-shirt he was wearing.
Hikaru’s band feel like such a prominent part of their music. Live instrumentation has been a major and consistent thing in Hikaru’s music since Fantome. And Hikaru’s band has even featured in two of their music videos. You can tell there’s a real sense of trust and safety that Hikaru feels with some of these guys when it comes to their music. Even entrusting them to help shape songs and contribute to them, as we saw during the making of Hatsukoi, and as was probably the case with “Bad Mode” itself, as Hikaru’s music director and bassist is a credited songwriter on it.
“Bad Mode” sounds like a song which feels like a collective of talent, and you really get a sense of that in the performance, which I adore. And Hikaru’s bassist and music director Jodi Milliner also contributed to the lyrics of the “Bad Mode”, and I can’t help but wonder what his contribution was.
Quite a few of Hikaru’s band members are on the ‘Gram. So if you fancy checking out other stuff they’re working on, be sure to give them a follow and support their non Hikaru related endeavours.
🎹 Pianist: Rueben James @ reubenjames
🎷 Saxophonist: Soweto Kinch @ sowetokinch
🎸 Keys & Guitarist: Henry Bowers-Broadbent @ henry.bowersbroadbent
🥁 Percussionist: Will Fry @ will_fry_percussion
Keyboardist Ruth O’Mahoney Brady is the only member of this band who hasn’t worked with Hikaru before and wasn’t a musician on Bad Mode. But still...
🎹 Keyboardist: Ruth O’Mahoney Brady @ romy___ymor
Drummer Earl Harvin and Hikaru’s musical director and bassist Jodi Milliner don’t have public profiles on Instagram. And whilst guitarist Ben Parker Jr. (no relation to Spider-Man) wasn’t a part of the Air Studios gig, he still played guitar on the album, including “Bad Mode” itself. So...
🎸 Guitarist: Ben Parker Jr. @ benparkerjnr
And the title of this post wasn’t just referring to Netflix. Hikaru Utada’s Live Sessions from Air Studios is also available on music streaming services too, marking it as Hikaru Utada’s first live album to be released to streaming. A physical release of this at some point would go down a treat.
🔊 Stream Live Sessions from Air Studios: 🟢 Spotify | 🟣 Apple Music | 🔴 YouTube Music | ⚫ Tidal
🎛️ Kingdomkaru Heartada: The Sanctuary of Passion
💿 Singlekaru Reviewtada: Pink Blood | One Last Kiss | Dare ni mo Iwanai | Time
💿 Albumkaru Reviewtada: Hatsukoi | Fantôme | This is the One | Heart Station | Ultra Blue | Exodus | Deep River | Distance | First Love
🎧 Spotifykaru Playlistada: Slaykaru Queentada | Hikaru Utada: R&B | Hikaru Utada: Ballads | Hikaru Utada: Bops | Hikaru Utada: Remixes
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