When Laputa was originally formed in 1993, the band's lineup was Aki on vocals, Hiro on guitar, Kusuba on bass, and Tomoi on drums. With that member lineup Laputa released their first demotape "Saddistの夢 (Saddist no yume)" in September. In November of 1993, Hideno, previously in AI SICK FACE, joined Laputa as an additional guitarist. Laputa then released their second demotape "奈落の底 (naraku no soko)" in December of '93. Hiro left Laputa shortly thereafter. Junji, formerly of visual indie band Ad de Vidar, then joined Laputa in January of 1994 as a guitarist replacing Hiro. Laputa then released their first single "私が消える (watashi ga kieru)" in May of 1994. Hideno left Laputa in July of 1994, later joining visual band Merry Go Round. Kouichi, formerly in popular indie visual band Silver-Rose, joined Laputa in the same month replacing Hideno. Laputa released an indie video titled "Paradoxical Reality" in September of 1994. Kusuba left Laputa on January 7th of 1995, and would later be in the bands Lúcide and Kraidhearz. Junji then switched instruments and became Laputa's bassist, and Laputa then had the lineup they would keep for the rest of their career. In February of 1995 Laputa released their first indie album "眩～めまい～暈 (memai)" which met with success in the visual indie scene. Laputa shot a music video for the song "Vertigo" from "眩～めまい～暈 (memai)". In February of 1996 Laputa released the indie mini-album "眩めく廃人 (kurumeku haijin)" which featured three new songs and new versions of the popular songs "Vertigo" and "Insatiable" from the "眩～めまい～暈 (memai)" album. In July of 1996 Laputa released an indie live video titled "箱庭 (hakoniwa)" featuring performances from a concert at SHIBUYA ON AIR WEST from their Paradoxical Reality TOUR IV that year.
With their increasing popularity in the visual indie scene, Laputa caught the attention of big record companies and signed to the major label Toshiba-EMI in August of 1996. Laputa released their first major single "硝子の肖像 / GARASU NO SHOUZOU" in September of 1994, which peaked at #34 on the Oricon singles chart. In October Laputa's first major album "蜉～かげろう～蝣 / KAGEROU" was released, peaking at #24 on the Oricon albums chart. Laputa released their second major single "eve ~Last night for you~" in May of 1997, peaking at #33 on the Oricon singles chart. Laputa's second major album "絵～エマダラ～斑 / e.m.a.d.a.r.a" was released in June of 1997, peaking at #24 on the Oricon albums chart. In July of 1997 Laputa released a live video called "MOV(i)E ON DARKNESS" featuring performances from a concert at SHINJUKU LIQUID ROOM in April of that year. In November of 1997 Laputa released their third major single "meet again", peaking at #20 on the Oricon singles chart. In February of 1998 Laputa released their fourth major single "揺れながら… (yurenagara)", peaking at #25 on the Oricon singles chart. Laputa's third major album "麝香 / Jakou" was released in February of 1998, peaking at #10 on the Oricon albums chart. On the same day of Jakou's release, the video "CLIPS OF CRUNCH LOOP" was released, featuring Laputa's music videos for their first four major singles and one for the song "麝香 (Jakou)". From September of 1998 to May of 1999 Laputa released the four major singles "Feelin' the sky", "Breath", "Chimes", and "Virgin cry", which peaked on the Oricon singles chart at #15, #29, #25, and #23 respectively. Laputa's fourth major album "翔～カケラ～裸 / c.a.k.e.r.a" was released in June of 1999, peaking at #10 on the Oricon albums chart. On the same day of its release, the video "CLIPS OF CRUNCH LOOP II" was released, featuring Laputa's music videos for the four singles from the "翔～カケラ～裸 / c.a.k.e.r.a" album along with bonus videos for the songs "WITH the WIND" and "Pink animals". In February of 2000, Laputa released the album "Coupling Collection + xxxk [1996-1999 singles]", a collection of the c/w songs (B-sides) from their eight major singles, along with the new song "xxxk animals" and a new version of the song "BUZZ" which was originally featured as a hidden song on their "揺れながら… (yurenagara)" single from 1998. "Coupling Collection..." peaked at #43 on the Oricon albums chart. In October of 2000, Laputa released the three-disc best-of album "3DISC BEST ~1995-1999 except Coupling Collection~", which featured 32 songs in all including Laputa's eight major singles and 24 other songs ranging from their first indie album "眩～めまい～暈 (memai)" from 1995 to their "翔～カケラ～裸 / c.a.k.e.r.a" album from 1999. "3DISC BEST..." peaked at #41 on the Oricon albums chart. That was their last release for the Toshiba-EMI label which the band left, then signing to the smaller major label Nippon-Crown. Laputa released their ninth major single and their first single on Nippon-Crown, "Shape ~in the shape of wing~" in October of 2000, peaking at #26 on the Oricon singles chart. In December of 2000 Laputa released the video "CLIPS OF CRUNCH LOOP III", featuring music videos for all three songs on the "Shape ~in the shape of wing~" single and a Director's Cut version of the music video for "Shape ~in the shape of wing~". In February of 2001 Laputa released their tenth major single "Silent on-looker", peaking at #43 on the Oricon singles chart. In March of 2001 Laputa released their fiifth major album "楽～ヘブン～園 / Heaven", peaking at #50 on the Oricon albums chart. In November of 2001 Laputa released the live video "Heaven to Perfection [Tour001 Programized-Heaven final-mission]", which featured performances from their tour that year. In March of 2002 Laputa released the mini-album "glitter", surprising many by showing the band changing styles and moving in a more electronic-oriented direction. "glitter" peaked at #66 on the Oricon albums chart. A music video for the song "POPular UPrising" from "glitter" was released. In June of 2002 the band released the dance single "深海 (shinkai) / Brand-new color", peaking at #58 on the Oricon singles chart. A music video for the song "深海 (shinkai)" was released. In July of 2002 the band released the album "誘～New Temptation～惑", peaking at #50 on the Oricon albums chart. Kouichi, who had been Laputa's lead songwriter since the "蜉～かげろう～蝣 / KAGEROU" album writing about 80% of the band's music, was reportedly in a hospital or clinic for much of this time in 2002. Because of this, he wrote only two songs on the "誘～New Temptation～惑" album, and Laputa's tour for the album consisted of less than ten concert dates. Junji wrote more of the songs on "誘～New Temptation～惑" than any other member, and would remain Laputa's lead songwriter for the rest of their career. Tomoi even wrote his first vocal songs for Laputa on the "誘～New Temptation～惑" album, the music and lyrics for the song "Dummy", and the lyrics for the song "Last". Up until then Tomoi had only co-written the instrumental song "BUZZ" with Junji. In April of 2003, Laputa released the mini-album "Sparks Monkey", peaking at #75 on the Oricon albums chart. After a year of on-and-off touring, Laputa released the mini-album "Material Pleasures" in March of 2004, peaking at #89 on the Oricon albums chart. In May of 2004 Laputa announced through their fanclub that they were disbanding, citing a desire for each of them to evolve. They released a best-of CD+DVD of their material from their years on the Nippon-Crown label titled "BEST AL+CLIPS 2000~2004" on July 28th, 2004, toured from August to September, and played their last live on September 5th, 2004 at Shibuya Koukaido. A DVD of the last live titled "ALL BURST" was released on December 15th, 2004.
Since Laputa's disbandment, Aki opened an official site at akiakiaki.com, and has written in his site's diary about writing music for an upcoming solo-project. Kouichi has a solo-project called Everlasting-K which will release its first CD on March 30th, a five-track mini-album titled "voulez-vouz". Junji has an upcoming solo-project called HALATION with a website at halation.jp. Tomoi has a website called Tomoi's Room #34, though his future activities remain unclear.
ロゼ
Laputa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
後ろめたい味に飽きた
ヘテロドックス
故意に閉じた幕で気付卑しさを
月の光 遠い記憶 乳母の子守歌
君の微笑み
それは安らぎの繭の下であたためて
僕のユートピア
僕は飲み干すから
君を切刻むことを
薔薇の花と共に繭の下で...
恋に堕ちた雄蕊雌蕊 愁い顔
土の匂い 致死期を待つうわのそら
君の優しさ
それは悲しみの繭の下であたためて
僕のユートピア
吹き出す赤い血のワイン
僕が吐き出すから
君と切り刻むことを
薔薇の棘と共に繭の中で...
君の微笑み
それは安らぎの繭の下であたためて
君の優しさ
それは悲しみの繭の下であたためて
僕のユートピア
せせらぐ赤い血のワイン
僕は飲み干すから
君を切刻むことを
薔薇の花と共に繭の下で...
口の中に含む罪を転がした
後ろめたい味に飽きた
ヘテロドックス
The lyrics to Laputa's song ロゼ (Rose) describe a complicated and potentially violent relationship between two people. The first verse talks about the singer being tired of the guilt and shame they feel, and intentionally closing off their emotions. They mention memories of the moon and a lullaby, and how the other person's smile brings them comfort in their emotional cocoon. However, the chorus takes a darker turn with imagery of drinking red wine that symbolizes the other person's blood and cutting them up alongside roses in a cocoon. The second verse describes the sorrow and desperation they feel for the other person's kindness, but then again repeats the same chorus, with the singer now spitting out the wine and cutting up the other person. The final line is a repetition of the opening line, possibly suggesting that the cycle will continue and the singer is trapped in their own guilt.
Overall, the lyrics to ロゼ are quite dark and potentially disturbing. The language and imagery used may be difficult for some listeners to understand, especially those who are not familiar with Japanese culture or the gothic visual kei music movement that Laputa was a part of. However, the lyrics do demonstrate a clear emotional arc and paint a vivid picture of the turmoil and obsession that can come with intense relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
口の中に含む罪を転がした
I've been holding onto my sins, rolling them around in my mouth
後ろめたい味に飽きた
But I'm tired of the bitter taste of guilt
ヘテロドックス
My thoughts are unconventional
故意に閉じた幕で気付卑しさを
I intentionally close my eyes to the ugliness around me
月の光 遠い記憶 乳母の子守歌
Memories of moonlit nights and lullabies from my childhood
君の微笑み それは安らぎの繭の下であたためて
Your smile, like being wrapped in a cozy cocoon of calm
僕のユートピア
My utopia
せせらぐ赤い血のワイン 僕は飲み干すから
I'll drink the red wine of my flowing blood until it's gone
君を切刻むことを 薔薇の花と共に繭の下で...
I'll carve you up with the thorns of roses, under the cocoon
恋に堕ちた雄蕊雌蕊 愁い顔
I fell in love with both the stamen and pistil, with a sad expression
土の匂い 致死期を待つうわのそら
The smell of soil, waiting for its deadly moment
君の優しさ それは悲しみの繭の下であたためて
Your kindness, like being warmed under a cocoon of sadness
吹き出す赤い血のワイン 僕が吐き出すから
I'll spit out the red wine of my spurting blood
君と切り刻むことを 薔薇の棘と共に繭の中で...
I'll cut you up with the thorns of roses, inside the cocoon
君の微笑み それは安らぎの繭の下であたためて
Your smile, like being wrapped in a cozy cocoon of calm
君の優しさ それは悲しみの繭の下であたためて
Your kindness, like being warmed under a cocoon of sadness
僕のユートピア せせらぐ赤い血のワイン 僕は飲み干すから 君を切刻むことを 薔薇の花と共に繭の下で...
My utopia, I'll drink the red wine of my flowing blood until it's gone I'll carve you up with the thorns of roses, under the cocoon
口の中に含む罪を転がした
I've been holding onto my sins, rolling them around in my mouth
後ろめたい味に飽きた
But I'm tired of the bitter taste of guilt
ヘテロドックス
My thoughts are unconventional
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: AKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
エルアキ☆
Laputaの中でも名曲ですよね！この曲かなり好きです。
Aaron Choque Rodriguez
Buena banda
Eric
@eruaki01 thanks for comment!
Yuna.
strange name XD
Eric
Is for the "flying city" of Laputa, in the famous book of Jonathan Swift called "Gulliver's travells".