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 25 of the year 2022. Enjoy the new discoveries!
pandagolff – ビンを落とした (Dropping the bottle)
The Yokohama-based post-punk band pandagolff started activities in 2019 and released two albums, with the third one on the way. The band states that pandagolff is not just another post-punk band, since the duo took the not-so-typical route and landed on the industrial post-punk path and picks out several elements from other musical genres, such as new wave, psychedelic, and techno, to name a few, to make it complete. — Recommended by Francisca
Aya Gloomy – IRO IRO
The intriguing music of self-produced singer-songwriter Aya Gloomy undoubtedly reflects a variety of inspirations, which is no mystery since she has confirmed this before. Many people adore her for her sense of fashion (be sure to visit her online second-hand clothes shop PomPom Shop) in addition to her music. The pop musician does not seem the person to stick with one certain genre or style, certainly a good way to keep it fresh for the listeners. — Recommended by Francisca
ヨークシン (Yorkshin) – REDLIGHT
This Okayama-based trio of alternative rock musicians, formed in 2019, has previously been featured on our site. After a demo and an EP, their debut mini-album, RED, which includes the song REDLIGHT, will be released in August. It is the first release in a year for the rock band. The group is working hard to grow and will shortly tour Japan. Hopefully, they will also vlog again during this tour. — Recommended by Francisca
RAYMEI – サースティ・レイディ (Thirsty Lady)
The visual kei band RAYMEI from Tokyo only got formed in December of last year and officially debuted in March of this year, so the group is still in its formative stages. Nevertheless, the four-member formation has already succeeded in producing three singles in this short time. Several of the band’s members had previously played in ALCYON, Marcadol, and ASTY, among other visual kei groups. — Recommended by Francisca
ステエションズ (STATIONS) – YOUTH
With the description of new school pop band, you don’t really get a good idea of what to expect from the four-member band STATIONS. With the band members’ diverse backgrounds, the band presents a unique blend of music combined with lyrics that share a particular view of the world influenced by literature, among other things. In April, the band started releasing singles for four consecutive months, YOUTH is single number three, so there is one more single to go. — Recommended by Francisca
PHAZE – Dangling
To promote its fifth single, the virtual band PHAZE unveiled a music video, bringing together three musicians with diverse backgrounds to produce an interesting mix of music. The trio is very active on the social platform VR Chat, and joins regularly virtual events which have gained them quite some momentum. In addition, before it was officially released, Dangling won an Excellence Award at SONICWIRE’s DTM music competition earlier this year. — Recommended by Francisca
神野メイ (Mei Kamino) – 溺る (Oboru)
In a search for a pleasing sound, singer-songwriter Mei Kamino finds himself to pick elements from his roots in Japanese pop, rock and dance music to create his songs. This specific song, which also received a music video, was the first song where he not only wrote the lyrics, but also arranged the song, which is according to the singer-songwriter the most time-consuming part of the music-making process. — 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.
