KOKIA - REAL WORLD at the O2 Academy Islington, London

The intimate venue in Islington, London was only half full when KOKIA took to the little stage. This didn't lessen her enthusiasm as she cheerfully greeted the audience and introduced herself in fluent English, expressing her hope that "everyone will enjoy the show" before launching into the first song.

Birth fittingly started the set. Forgoing a backing band, she was simply accompanied by an acoustic guitarist throughout. The lack of instruments was not noticeable however as the diminutive singer's voice filled the small room easily. The audience was enthralled, and after the sustained note at the end there were a few seconds of silence before they thought to applaud. Afterwards, KOKIA discussed the song for those who might be unfamiliar with her work, but it proved unnecessary: her question of whether the audience knew about her latest album REAL WORLD was met with a resounding "Yes!" prompting from her a surprised "Really?"

As the guitarist began strumming the opening to the next song, KOKIA asked if the audience was "ready to go on a journey" before launching into the upbeat REAL WORLD. It was performed with great gusto, KOKIA dancing onstage with her feet bare. After this came the Eastern-influenced Hana, which although being one of her older songs still had quite an impact and fit in with the REAL WORLD concept. The similarly exotic usagi came straight after. The staccato, Spanish-style guitar accentuated KOKIA's playful performance of a vocally demanding song. At the end she introduced her guitarist, Katsuhiro Matsuo. As there was a short pause before she said his name, she sheepishly admitted that she sometimes forgot what he was called, to everyone's amusement.

The next song was said to be in the style of a Japanese lullaby, and whilst describing it KOKIA stumbled a little over her words and apologised; she was nervous about her first appearance in London. The song was the soothing KURUMARETE, and it was as comforting and enveloping as she had said. At first it was performed totally a cappella, allowing her pure voice to ring out in unadulterated glory before the guitar joined in quietly halfway through. The stillness of the audience demonstrated how captivated they were by the vocalist. This led seamlessly into the lilting introduction of Vladimir Vavilov's Ave Maria, during which KOKIA stood motionless with her eyes closed. This rendition of the song was given a slightly different vocal arrangement from the recorded version, and the guitar accompaniment had an interesting Latin influence. Probably the highlight of the evening, all were spellbound as she displayed her classical training with aplomb. Every note was tuned to perfection, from the soft opening bars to the rousing final note which left a lingering silence before applause erupted.

"Well known, ne? Thank God for that!" she giggled. Then she went on to talk a bit about her musical background, from her classical training in music school to her current unique mix of classical, pop and traditional Japanese sounds. Reverting to Japanese, she spoke about the next song, which was met with excitement by those who understood. The pre-recorded piano introduction to Chouwa oto ~with reflection~ then began, drawing cheers from the rest. It was sung well, as expected, but the backing track was extremely loud and unfortunately drowned out her voice during the chorus. The song could have been sung a cappella to much better effect.

The next song, Sekai no owari ni, was preceded by KOKIA's description of the inspiration for it: she wished to tell her listeners to treasure those around them, or suffer the pain of realising their worth after it is too late. The stripped down live version was performed with a lot of emotion, and as a result it was far more moving than its recorded counterpart. The depth and pain expressed in the heartfelt lyrics could be understood by all, and upon finishing the song the emotion was plain to see upon KOKIA's face. She had turn around to compose herself before beginning the more uplifting Infinity. During the lengthy guitar solo introduction, she came out to greet all the audience members in turn, smiling warmly with her free arm outstretched towards them. Following this beautifully sung piece, it was back to more material from REAL WORLD with the strong Watashi ga mita mono. The song was composed when she visited the Sahara, and the experience gave her the power to write; "Maybe everyone should go there," she suggested. At this point KOKIA took the time to introduce her photographer, who was standing beside the stage and was the one who took the Saharan picture which graces her REAL WORLD album cover.

Before Chiisana uta, KOKIA produced a piece of note paper with a handwritten message written on it. It was a translation of the lyrics and discussed the meaning of the song. She cleared her throat comically before reading the message about continuing to live, fight and love in the face of adversity, which were her reasons for living and singing and helping her feel truly alive. This sentiment was clearly expressed in the song, which was delivered passionately and with great belief and conviction.

The penultimate song was Kono chikyuu ga marui okage de, another Sahara-inspired song. During this gentle piece, KOKIA sang sections of the song to individual members of the audience, giving it a much more personal touch. Then she announced "it's almost over!" to mass disappointment. The final song was the old favourite Remember the Kiss. Halfway through, she bowed deeply and thanked everyone for coming amidst cries of "we love you!" from fans. There was no encore, but she did return for a signing session.

Despite the low turn out, this debut concert was in no doubt a success for KOKIA. The simplicity of the arrangements and carefully chosen set list allowed her voice to shine through, and at points moved some to tears. Her wish was not to bring in the largest audiences but to touch as many people around the world as she could with her well-crafted songs, and from the reactions of those present, she did not fail. The small but loyal following she had in London would gladly support her again.


Set list

1. Birth
2. REAL WORLD
3. Hana
4. usagi
5. KURUMARETE
6. Ave Maria
7. Chouwa oto ~with reflection~
8. Sekai no owari ni
9. Infinity
10. Watashi ga mita mono
11. Chiisana uta
12. Kono chikyuu ga marui okage de
13. Remember the Kiss