After a great start to Season III, we end 2016 on a high-note – paying tribute one of the most talented and prolific composer of music for shōnen anime, Taku Iwasaki, at Littlefield NYC in Brooklyn. And this time we were joined by the composer himself and the fantastic rapper Lotus Juice!
At our first composer’s concert, a trimmed down 10-piece iTSO invaded the unassuming Brooklyn music venue for a night of video-gaming and action-packed music. It was our first time collaborating with DJ LUNATiC who kept the crowd dancing to some of Iwasaki’s trance and hip-hop hits from Jormungand, C – Control – The Money and Soul of Possibility, and Heaven’s Memo Pad.
iTSO performed some of Iwasaki’s music from hit action series Akame ga Kill, Bungō Stray Dogs, Magic Kaito 1412, Kekkaishi, Noragami, and R.O.D. (Read or Die). Our special guest Lotus Juice joined us on stage for “Bahasa Palus” from Katanagatari, “Reverse the Destiny” from Persona -trinity soul-, “Psychedelic Souljam” from Soul Eater, and OVERDRIVE from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. This was our first collab with an anime industry fellow and Lotus certainly delivered with his signature flow, high-energy, and amazing stage presence! So many guest came just to see his first appearance in a New York venue.
But an even bigger surprise was the appearance of the composer himself! Iwasaki joined us for a pre-show Q&A session and performed 3 pieces on stage as an encore, including “Quiet Life” from Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal with our ensemble as backing musicians. Lotus and Iwasaki performed “Portrait of Love,” an original by Lotus that we helped arrange for the evening!
We hope to present more of these composer concerts with the input and talent of the composers themselves in the future. Thank you all for coming and though our shōnen tributes for this season are over, don’t miss our upcoming magical shōjo concerts in NYC and San José!
View more images on our Flickr Page.
View more tribute videos on our Videos Page.