Aimi Mukohara presents Good To Be Home, vol.1

On January 13, 2019, I witnessed the birth of a new music concert series that started in Narita♪
It was called Aimi Mukohara presents Good To Be Home vol.1 "comfortable time and a space like home."

Aimi Mukohara is the diva of Narita.
Her powerful yet delicate, transparent and unique singing voice pulls you in immediately once you hear it. One of her latest works is the Japanese version of "Jump Up, Super Star!", the theme song from Nintendo Switch: Super Mario Odyssey, so you might have heard her singing voice.

We first met Aimi at the local event "Narita no Okage", and we asked her if we could help with equipment for her live event in her hometown, Narita.

The 1st set was held at the stylish bar Narita Radio Taps in front of JR Narita Station. We used the QSC TouchMix-16 mixer and the BOSE L1 Compact speaker, but suddenly a problem occurred. The mixer and speaker worked well for the rehearsal, but they started to turn on and off, and it went on during the show... (it was probably because the extension cable from the power strip was the issue.)

Despite the trouble, Aimi instantly responded smartly, "Let's go unplugged tonight♪ Everyone, listen." With guest vocals by Sarah and Ryo, we could finish the 1st set of the show without further trouble. The audience was wonderful, nobody complained about the trouble and just listened to the music. In such a crowded place, no one made a noise, and we just opened our ears to the ensemble of acoustic vocals, acoustic guitars, and acoustic piano in the calm and pure air… it was just amazing.

After the show, Masa and Nao from Narita Radio Taps were kind, and warmly said, "It was great enough with unplugged, and on the contrary, it was an unforgettable live performance." For some reason, the trouble happens during the show, but we should've prepared more, we will reflect upon that, and use it for next time.

For the 2nd set, we moved to Hashira Deli & Cafe, located just after the police box in front of JR Narita Station. We enjoyed the full band version of the live performance there, too. Here, we used the QSC K10.2 as the main speaker and the QSC K8.2 and CP8, CLASSIC PRO CPM110P and CPM108P for the floor monitors♪

From the K10.2 with a built-in 2000W amplifier, we could hear the detailed nuances of breathing to the powerful part of the hook easily. There wasn't much space on the stage, but the K8.2, CP8, CPM108P, and CPM110P are all small and save space, so we could set all of them up for each performer on stage.

I remember that it was also crowded and full of enthusiasm.
Marie Takeda's fantastic keyboard playing that made the keys dance, Daisuke Ishimoto's versatile guitar playing, Sarah Furukawa's cute and pretty voice in chorus, and Yushi Otsuka's dynamic percussion performance. Aimi’s singing penetrating voice was full of energy, and gently blended in the colorful sounds the band created was more wonderful than ever.

At the end of the show, it occurred to me that everyone here, including myself, was listening to the soundscape, and I was able to help with the important role of delivering the feelings of the musicians in a loud sound through the speakers and I was happy about it.

Aimi, all the musicians, Mr. Sugano who sponsored, Clover Home who cosponsored, Narita Radio Taps and Hashira Deli & Cafe who lent out their places, everybody from the Mirai School who provided beautiful handmade candles and helped us prepare the venue. There are a lot more people who made this event happen. I think it was a great success because everyone who was attracted to Aimi Mukohara and gathered at the same place had the same feelings of trying to make the moment better.

If there is an opportunity to help out with a wonderful event like this again, I would definitely like to join♪

Here are videos of the show taken with my smartphone♪
Please enjoy♪