Last year's Fuji Rock was the place to be for fans of 1990s punk act Hi-Standard. The event boasted separate sets from former guitarist Ken Yokoyama and bassist Akihiro Namba. If ex-drummer Akira Tsuneoka had been on the bill, Naeba very well could have seen a one-off regrouping of the popular Japanese trio.
Hi-Standard toured throughout Japan, the United States and Europe with punk heavyweights such as Green Day, The Offspring, and NOFX. They sold more than a million copies of 1999's "Making the Road" before disbanding in 2000. Wanting a change after Hi-Standard, Namba moved to Okinawa and started making techno tracks under the moniker Ultrabrain.
Relocating to Niigata two years ago, he began rediscovering his musical past. His 2010 "The World Is Yours!" solo debut was a poppy mish-mash of dance and rock sounds, while Namba's newly issued EP, "Punk Rock Through the Night," marks a full return to his punk roots.