With a large music industry such as Japan has, the 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 52 of the year 2021 (and the first days of 2022). Enjoy the new discoveries!
Coll – enigma
While this band, consisting of two members, hasn’t been around for very long, formed in 2020, rock band Coll has released quite a bit of work. A number of singles and two mini-albums, the latest of which came out in August 2021, titled 追憶/再生 (Recollection/Rebirth). The song which has now received a music video can be found on this release. The band is supported by many guest musicians and the music has a lot of elements that can be found in various genres, but Coll decided to use the label math-rock. — Recommended by Francisca
Ellen Ripley hypersleep – walt
Exactly when the new year started, a new four-piece was introduced to the world, the band Ellen Ripley hypersleep (must be a reference to the Alien franchise). With the release of their first music video, they also announced their first EP, planned for release mid February. They classify their music as new wave and neo-psychedelia, to name a few. The four members are not unknown in the music scene as they are active in other bands, such as alicetales, Seventeen Years Old And Berlin Wall and I’d tap that. — Recommended by Francisca
NICOLASICKA – 彼岸の華 (Higan no hana)
The three band members of NICOLASICKA took to the stage for the first time in October of the last year after having recently come together. The band members have very diverse career backgrounds of which they are very open about on their social media accounts. The band states in their video description that they wanted a stylish song based on Debussy’s Moonlight, but it ended up with a frightening atmosphere similar to that of Ningen Isu’s music. — Recommended by Francisca
夜明けの明星 (Yoakeno Myojo) – 神様のラクガキ (Kamisama no Rakugaki)
Active for around four years, Yoakeno Myojo are a four-piece rock band based in Tokyo. To date, they have released two albums, a mini-album and a couple of singles, of which the latest received a music video. The band shared that recently they have been putting more effort into arranging and challenging themselves to create songs that are not confined to any genre. Just like last year, they have released a music video at the start of the new year to start it on a good note. — Recommended by Francisca
CDR – 38_56
Behind CDR is Hikaru Tsunematsu, who has been very active in the Japanese underground scene for over 20 years under many aliases. Given the fact that he has been active for so long, it is not surprising that he has a large body of music, including self-released music as well put out on labels, including his own RDCRECORDS. His music is characterised by fast breaks, sampled dialogues from Japanese pop music, TV and radio and transcends many genres which might be interesting for those who like to explore something else than popular music. — Recommended by Francisca
パラダイム (PARADIGM) – 脳内妄想 -type【C】- (Nounai Mousou -type【C】-)
PARADIGM’s newest release is the mini-album 御挨拶 (Goaisatsu) may be only available at live venues where the visual kei band performs. But luckily for those outside Japan, they can enjoy the music in the form of music videos (although some of the music can be found on streaming services as well). The visual kei band recently added bass player Reno to the line-up, making it a four-piece for the first time since its formation in 2018. — Recommended by Francisca
BabyFaith – Young
Tokyo-based loud rock band BabyFaith’s first steps were taken in the spring of 2019 under a somewhat different band name (BabyFace) and the band started its full-scale activities in January 2020. The band went through a couple of line-up changes while releasing several singles and two mini-albums. The five-piece has decided to rename the band BabyFaith from the beginning of 2022. — 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! Want to read more about how this project started or check out the YouTube playlists? Click here for all the information.
