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 lesser-known Japanese musical acts that are definitely worth watching. We are now looking back on a couple of videos that were released in week 14 of the year 2021. Enjoy the new discoveries!
Chapman – yoake
Tokyo-based four-piece Chapman are a lyrically-oriented R&B band that got formed in the summer of 2018. They have been performing at SUMMER SONIC in 2019 and released their first EP in the spring of 2020, titled CREDO. This spring they released their third single. The music they produce is based on soul, funk, but also jazz, hip-hop, rock, AOR and City pop. — Recommended by Francisca
でかくてまるい。 (Dekakute Marui.) – 眠れない夜 (Nemurenaiyoru)
Based in Sapporo, the four-piece rock band Dekakute Marui. have been active since May 2019. They are a fun bunch of young students, who love to make guitar rock music with daily life as a theme and they describe themselves as a reverse visual kei band. Soon after forming, they performed at many live shows and even winning some competitions. They have only released one single so far, so it’s waiting for more! — Recommended by Francisca
よこスクロールズ (Yokoscrolls) – 我道中膝栗毛 (GADOUCHUHIZAKURIGE)
Yokoscrolls got formed in the spring of 2020 by Johnny Saito and Shouma Hirai. The sound of this music unit can be called digital folk, born from a fusion of ‘roots music’ such as folk and bluegrass, and ‘digital music’ that incorporates elements of hip-hop and video game music. From the start, they have been active with streaming on their YouTube channel from performances to playing video games. They recently released their second EP. — Recommended by Francisca
Noazami – scenario
Based in Kyoto, the rock band Noazami have been active for a couple of years now. To date, the band has released a couple of singles and an EP, last December they released their first digital single, which now has a music video as well. At first glance, it seems to be a traditional guitar rock band, but they state that they add unusual arrangements to stand out. The theme they use in their music is based on the words ‘Please get to know me better’. — Recommended by Francisca
メメタァ (Memetaaa) – やんなっちゃうよな (Yan Natchau Yona)
Formed in October 2009, Memetaaa can be seen as a skilful rock band, with quite some releases and performances on its name. The band is known for their catchy melodies and poppy sound accompanied by life-size lyrics, but also their passionate live performances. The band has decided on releasing 4 singles in consecutive months, starting from later this month. The song of this music video was included in their first album that was released in February 2020. — Recommended by Francisca
Atomic Skipper – スーパーノヴァ (Supernova)
Rock band Atomic Skipper got formed in April of 2014 with the coastal city of Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture as its home base. The four-piece has been releasing a couple of demos, EPs and mini-albums. One demo was got sold out after selling 1000 copies. Their latest mini-album was released earlier this month through indie label BUNS RECORDS. Nakyano’s expressionistic vocals in combination with the charming lyrics written by guitarist Jinmon make for a good chemistry in the songs. — Recommended by Francisca
HALZION – アルバム (Album)
Consisting of two members and a support member, HALZION can be best described as a guitar rock band. The band got launched in October 2020, making it a super brand new music project but they already have released one EP, titled Prologue, and a digital single. The slogan and/or theme of the band is ‘Singing about you on behalf of you’. It is impressive what they already produced in a short time and it is waiting and see what the next step will be for this young band. — Recommended by Francisca
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 for when you yearn for more musical gems!
