EBISU BATICA Interview: How a 15-Year-Old Venue Finds Tokyo’s Next Scene

Tomomi SatoAugust 22, 2026Updated August 23, 2026Exclusive Interviews24 min read

Key visual for EBISU BATICA’s 15th anniversary celebration in April 2026 — EBISU BATICA 15th ANNIVERSARY key visual. Visual direction by Hiroyuki Kishida; photograph by Kazuo Yoshida. Image courtesy of BATICA.

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EBISU BATICA, a live-music venue and club in Ebisu, Tokyo, marked its 15th anniversary in 2026. In April, it celebrated with the five-day EBISU BATICA 15th ANNIVERSARY.

BATICA has appeared in numerous music videos and is often described as a gateway to hip-hop. Yet that shorthand misses what matters most about the venue.

BATICA’s strength lies in its refusal to stay within any one category. Club and live house. Hip-hop and everything beyond it. Established artists and young acts still making their names. These things are ordinarily discussed in separate contexts.

But at BATICA they share the same night on the same floor. The way those boundaries dissolve is precisely what has made BATICA a place where the next scene can emerge.

A scene usually begins to move before anyone has given it a name. And the first to witness that movement is not critics or streaming numbers, but the people on the ground.

For the Japanese interview, Tomomi Sato spoke with two people rooted in that space: manager Kosuke Ichinose and staff member Saki Kiribe. What shifted between the summer and fall of 2025? Where did club culture and live-house culture intersect—and which artists did the staff believe could shape what came next?

Translation note: This English edition was translated and edited from the published Japanese interview. Repeated connective dialogue has been lightly condensed while the speakers’ meaning and the order of the conversation have been preserved.

Table of Contents

The Work Behind BATICA

Tomomi Sato: I think it can be difficult for the general public to picture behind-the-scenes work in the music industry. It’s hard to know what that work actually involves.

Recently, though, more young people seem interested in working backstage or organizing events. What kind of work do each of you do?

Kosuke Ichinose: There are a lot of different responsibilities. Looking at the food-and-beverage side, there’s maintenance and cleaning. That means keeping the venue hygienic and visually presentable.

Then music enters the equation. So we work with the PA engineers to maintain and repair the equipment.

Put simply, it’s about creating a space where customers always feel safe. They should have a good time whenever they come. I also manage the staff, draw up part-time shift schedules, and train the team.

On top of that, I handle everything from planning and booking ideas that people will find exciting. I also respond to event inquiries and meet with anyone interested in renting BATICA.

Saki Kiribe: My work is not all that different. Ichinose is the manager and I’m a staff member. So I support him with the booking, events, and venue management that he primarily oversees.

I’m responsible for the bar area and managing the alcohol inventory as well.

In between all of that, I also organize my own events featuring people I want to invite or artists who have caught my attention.

Tomomi Sato: How many years have each of you been working at BATICA?

Kosuke Ichinose: I started in August 2023, so it’s been just under three years.

Saki Kiribe: August 2024—exactly one year after Ichinose.

Tomomi Sato: I see. It hasn’t actually been that long, yet it sounds as though you handle just about everything. You’ve both become indispensable members of the BATICA team.

The Nights That Signaled a Change

Tomomi Sato: Were there any events or parties at BATICA that were especially memorable for you?

Kosuke Ichinose: Siero and jellyy’s release party on September 20, 2025. We have fun and interesting events every month. But this one felt like a moment when the culture—or the scene itself—was about to shift.

It felt as though a tremendous amount changed between the summer and fall of 2025, and I think this event was part of that.

About 150 people came. Every one of them headed upstairs because they wanted to see Siero and jellyy perform. The crowd got so dense that it genuinely felt dangerous.

We opened the upstairs floor because we wanted to respect the people who truly wanted to watch. We hoped to let as many people see the show as possible. It became completely packed anyway.

The moment Siero casually said, “Everybody, just come up onstage for now,” the audience surged forward.

We kept the show going while making sure the booth, equipment, and drinks remained protected. That way we would not have to impose restrictions.

Seeing Siero and jellyy draw that many people through the sheer force of the two of them made an impression on me. I felt a serious movement was beginning.

Only six months earlier, we held a Siero release party on a weekday. It did not quite reach 100 people. His momentum has been incredible. At the same time, I feel the youth culture around him rising as well.

There are also projects such as “UDG FRESHMAN CYPHER 2026 – JPN” from the she’s rough channel. I think more spaces are opening up for young people to shine.

Saki Kiribe: There was an event called CASK on May 28, 2026. Something about it really struck me.

To sum up how I felt, it was the kind of event I had wanted to create when I joined BATICA. It brought together the best of both clubs and live houses.

Live-house regulars do come to BATICA for band events, of course. But it is relatively unusual for live-house regulars to come to an event like that. It’s rarer still when that event features artists rooted in club culture.

That day, club culture and live-house culture were both present in a really well-balanced way.

Having watched all the work that went into the booking and everything else, I came away impressed all over again. It really was an incredible event.

Two June Events, Described Before They Happened

Editor’s note: This interview was conducted before nullpo on June 18, 2026, and Kaiyu on June 19. The answers below preserve the future tense used at the time. This English edition does not claim independently verified attendance or outcomes for either event.

Tomomi Sato: At the time of the interview, were there any upcoming events you particularly wanted readers to know about?

Kosuke Ichinose: For me, it’s a project called nullpo on June 18. It’s an event I’m organizing myself, and I think it’s going to be interesting.

We’ve invited an artist driving the scene forward: safmusic. Alongside him are ksr:3, There is a bus stop across the street, and others.

There is a bus stop across the street released a single and music video on April 10. It has the feel of an anthem for a new generation.

I can sense that more artists with this kind of sensibility are going to emerge—and that more and more people are going to connect with it.

We’ve invited several artists who fit that sensibility, including ksr:3 and safmusic, as well as DJs whose selections connect with their music.

It’s a day built around a shared sensibility spanning electropop, singer-led music, and related sounds.

If there is even one artist on the lineup you like, you’re guaranteed to enjoy it. I hope you’ll come!

Saki Kiribe: I’m organizing my own event the following day, on the 19th, called Kaiyu—a title that evokes circulation or migration. This was planned as its third edition.

The concept is to invite people working in all kinds of different places who, to me, share some underlying quality. Lilhana is one of them: a female artist from Nagoya who recently released an album.

I felt it would be a shame for her work to remain overlooked. P’ortable room™︎ is someone else we’ve been working with a lot at BATICA recently, and he held a release party here in April.

I wanted to bring in artists who seem capable of building a new scene.

True to its name, the event moves fluidly through different genres and communities. As Ichinose said, if there is even one artist you like, you are bound to find some connection elsewhere in the lineup.

I put this event together hoping people will make new discoveries, so if it sounds interesting, please come!

The Artists They Were Watching

Tomomi Sato: Are there any rappers or artists you are currently watching? I’m sure there are many, but please choose one in particular!

Kosuke Ichinose: The first person I want to champion is Tim Pepperoni. He has already had a fairly long career and is entering that mid-career stage. But I think he is massively underrated.

He has been releasing more music and appearing on more features lately. I can sense how serious he is becoming.

Whenever I have the chance to support him, I want to do it (laughs). He is one of the rappers I would love to see on a major stage.

My second choice has a different sound: tiea creator.

I wanted to highlight someone from another genre. He uses electronic-leaning sounds and flows with an alternative feel. He is competing outside the lane of straight-up hip-hop or trap music.

He has an EP called Here (Where), and it is incredible. I had already been listening to him on SoundCloud. But this was his first EP released on streaming platforms.

The tenderness and introspection that come through in his lyrics are matched by a genius for sound and production. I do think both his songs and live performances still have some rough edges.

But once he seriously refines them, he could become something extraordinary.

Tomomi Sato: Have both of them performed at BATICA?

Kosuke Ichinose: Yes, both of them have.

Saki Kiribe: I think lymph is the artist most likely to grow even further this year. He released an album called Yes no Yes around March. Every track is good.

I feel like the songs capture fragments of everyday life through words chosen in lymph’s own distinctive way. The music itself is great, of course. But his live performances are so free.

At a BATICA show, he might suddenly step off the stage and move all over the floor. Then he’ll sit on the sofa at the back and sing. Other times, he lowers his legs over the edge of the stage and sings slowly.

Once, when lymph came as a guest at a late-night event, he climbed onto the upstairs bar counter, sat there, and started singing.

Ordinarily, we would have had to stop him immediately, but he looked far too cool (laughs).

Ichinose and I exchanged a look and grimaced. But that is how much artistry and charisma he brings to a performance. I am watching him not only for his recordings but for the full live experience.

What They Want Artists and Audiences to Know

Tomomi Sato: Is there anything you would like people to know about BATICA—its strengths or anything else you want to get across? Feel free to say absolutely anything (laughs).

Kosuke Ichinose: If you want to throw a party at BATICA or do something interesting, it is an easy place to take that first leap. Please feel free to talk to us.

If you want to perform live, the best thing you can do is reach out casually or come hang out at BATICA and speak with us. We understand where you are coming from, and I think things will move quickly.

If there is something you want to do, please come and talk to us. We will keep putting on exciting parties, so please stop by! It is not a scary place—everyone is welcome to drop in.

Saki Kiribe: I want people to know that BATICA is a place of freedom. Being called a gateway to hip-hop matters. That reputation was built through the history created by the people who came before us.

But we do not want customers or artists to assume that makes it a stiff or intimidating place.

It is somewhere you can casually drop by and hang out. Once you look inside, you will find that we do plenty beyond hip-hop and keep creating fun experiences. I hope people come with a sense of excitement about what they’ll find.

Why BATICA Still Matters

Running through both of their accounts was the sense that BATICA is not a specialist venue devoted to any single thing.

Ichinose saw the beginning of a groundswell at Siero and jellyy’s September 2025 release party.

Kiribe saw a day when the boundary between club and live house disappeared at CASK.

Both observations spring from the same root: when separate worlds meet in the same place, the next movement begins to take shape.

The name of Kiribe’s event, Kaiyu, evokes that idea: circulation across places, genres and communities, then a temporary meeting on one floor.

The “gateway” label is merely something that followed later as a result. That is precisely why the two do not want it to make audiences or artists feel apprehensive.

BATICA is not a rigid place, they insist. It is a place of freedom.

Fifteen years does not represent time spent preserving a single style. It represents time spent continually crossing boundaries.

That movement across borders is what has allowed BATICA to keep creating a place in Ebisu. Here, scenes without names first reveal themselves.

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Editorial and source note: Interview and Japanese article by Tomomi Sato. English translation and editing by HIPHOPCs. The interviewees’ accounts of attendance, backstage decisions, artist relationships and event atmosphere are presented as their recollections. Venue information and the 15th-anniversary program were checked against the official BATICA announcement; Here (Where) was checked against its current Apple Music listing on August 23, 2026.

Featured image: EBISU BATICA 15th ANNIVERSARY key visual, courtesy of BATICA. BATICA’s official anniversary announcement credits visual direction to Hiroyuki Kishida and photography to Kazuo Yoshida. The English media record exactly duplicates the Japanese edition’s image and provides English title, alt text, caption, description and rights notes.