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 12 of the year 2022. Enjoy the new discoveries!
tambi – 眠れる君へ (Nemureru kimi e)
Soon the Tokyo-based three-piece guitar rock band tambi will release their second EP, titled zzz, the first release in about a year. The band has been active since 2019, so they are still in the early stages of their career but they’ve been bustling around performing in live houses and have recently announced their plans to promote their upcoming release with a tour in Japan. — Recommended by Francisca
PULPS – 夢で逢いましょう (YUMEDEAIMASYOU, Let’s meet in a dream)
Based in Yao City (Osaka Prefecture), the rock band PULPS got formed in the summer of 2020 by childhood friends from elementary school. While they have been active for a short time, they already have won a couple of major band contests in Japan. They are characterised by highly addictive melodies and nostalgic sounds and recently they are gathering attention in Japan’s rock scene. It is just a matter of waiting for a full album from this band. — Recommended by Francisca
POOL – META
In 2020, shortly after their official start, we wrote about POOL as an art collective creating music with clear influences of neo-soul, hip-hop, acid jazz and trap. Now the three-piece (including ex-mildrage vocalist MEG) are settled in the corner of alternative R&B, while still taking everything into their own hands, from composition to recording, design and mixing. — Recommended by Francisca
ゆきみ (Yukimi) – ふたり (Futari)
Yukimi is a singer-songwriter from Tokyo. Her introduction to music started young as she was only four years old when she started learning to play classical piano. In 2009, she formed the band Aikure, after the band’s activities got suspended in 2020, Yukimi began to focus on her already established solo activities. Her first release was made possible thanks to the support of her fans through a crowdfunding campaign. — Recommended by Francisca
XAVAK – MADNESS REEL
This brand-new Tokyo-based five-piece visual kei band consists of Japanese and American band members who will soon release their first single, MADNESS REEL, featuring four tracks and a contribution by Ray Luzier of KoRn on one of the tracks. According to the band itself on Bandcamp, they fuse visual kei, nu-metal and traditional Japanese music influences into their music. — Recommended by Francisca
yutori – キミニアワナイ (Kimi ni Awanai)
After having previously written about this four-member rock band last year, they released a few more singles and engaged in as many on-stage activities as possible to make their name more widely known. It is now waiting for more from this promising band that started activities at the end of 2020, whose average age is 18. — Recommended by Francisca
VOI SQUARE CAT – 冷炎 (Reien)
The Tokyo-based rock band VOI SQUARE CAT has been around since 2014, when the members were part of the same highschool light music club. After first being active in a cover band, they decided to create music themselves. After a few line-up changes, they are currently a three-piece with to date several singles, mini albums and an Early Years Best album in their discography. — 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.
