Nostalgia for the 1980s usually plays out more as an aesthetic than an authentic yearning to go back to the days of Rubik's Cubes and "Miami Vice." But that's not the case for Aiki Kiyohisa, 38.
"My dad's company collapsed in 1989, when I was 9. After that we lost almost everything ... our house, lots of money. I literally want to go back to the '80s, because it was the best time for me," the musician says, adding with a laugh, "I have no good memories from the Heisei Era."
The Reiwa Era has gotten off to a much better start for Kiyohisa, though. Earlier this year he launched a new '80s-indebted project called The Lethal Weapons, which finds him performing as a football-helmet-clad character named Ai-Kid. He's joined by an American playing a character named Cyborg Joe, dressed in homage to Marty McFly from "Back to the Future." The pair perform music built around DayGlo synthesizer melodies leading to the types of choruses meant to be hollered along to. Their debut full length, "Back to the 80's," features references to the decade's pop culture, from action film stars to extravagant club Maharaja.