With a large music industry such as Japan has, second largest in the world, it is inevitable that music fans will be inundated with a profusion of good (and also less good) music from this country. It is impossible to keep track of this and write a review about it per video. But to avoid missing out on gems, it is time for a weekly list of new music videos from Japanese musical acts that are definitely worth watching. We are now looking back on a couple of videos that were released in week 35.
CVLTE – bloodbath.
The Sapporo alternative rock band CVLTE consists of Aviel (Vocals, Synth, Composer), Yuhi (Drums), Takuya (Guitar), and Fuji (Bass). Active since 2017, the band has been releasing a couple of singles and EPs, with 616 being their latest EP. The band garnered some attention from major acts inside and outside Japan with the release of their second single in 2019 and played on the Sonic stage during SUMMER SONIC 2019. The band was also planned to perform at SXSW 2020, but this festival got unfortunately cancelled. — Recommended by Fran
evening cinema – 純愛のレッスン (Junai no ressun)
For those who crave the aesthetics of 80s neon and City Pop are at the right place with the band evening cinema. Their latest music video is in that style and their newest mini-album has the fitting title AESTHETICS. This band was formed in August 2015 by Natsuki Harada (Vocal and composer) when he was in university. The sound of evening cinema reconstructs 80’s AOR, light funk, and electric boogie (which is called City Pop collectively in Japan) into 90’s J-POP. — Recommended by Fran
COLLAPSE – MORPHEUS
Shoegaze band COLLAPSE made a video of the song that soon can be found back on the shoegaze compilation album Total Feedback 2020. The release for that album is planned in October. The band was formed in April 2013 with bass player and vocalist KOHEI as the core member. Currently a four-piece, they have been releasing a few EPs and singles. The latest single was a digital release in March of this year, titled DROWN. In 2018 and 2019, the band has been touring in China and South Korea. — Recommended by Fran
eau – +esc
Former staff members of the venue COLONY in Sapporo founded a new live house after to a crowdfunding project, named PLANT, but also started a label with the name TECTRUM RECORDS. The alternative guitar rock band from Sapporo, eau, will be the first artist to release from that new label. The song they want to release has already received a music video, seen below, but the official release will be on the 10th of September. The four-piece has been active for little over a year and the average age of the band is 21. — Recommended by Fran
hizume – 偽善者 (Gizen-sha)
Based in Osaka, hizume are a four-piece rock band that started in September 2019. Still at the start of their career, the band makes music that expresses emotions that arise in our daily lives. After changing the band line-up, the band had a small hiatus but restarted in May 2020. After releasing a demo, they released their first single, in June of this year, in which the title track also received a music video. — Recommended by Fran
eldaja – haze
eldaja is the solo project of vocalist Simona. With this music project, she mixes soul with pop, funk and rock music combined with ironic songs and straightforward ballads. Simona started with the project in 2011, in that time it was with bassist Sa-yan, who also worked on the song haze. Later on, it became a full-fledged band, but at this very moment it is a solo project. — Recommended by Fran
macico – aloe
The three-member music group macico is mostly active in Tokyo. The music of macico has a focus on J-POP with elements of club, lounge and R&B. In August 2019 they released a single and later on their first mini-album, titled Qi, in November of the same year. aloe is the newest addition to their discography. The concept of this song is how to live in the present moment through the experience common things suddenly disappearing and can be referring to the current ongoing situation. — Recommended by Fran
Next week we will be back for a new list of new music videos to check out. But you can also look back to the earlier editions of this weekly article series.
