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 35 of the year 2022. Enjoy the new discoveries!
Bialystocks – 灯台 (Todai)
Led by up-and-coming film director Sora Hokimoto as the vocalist, and Go Kikuchi as the pianist, Bialystocks got formed in 2019 for a live performance to support the film Haruneko, which is directed by Hokimoto. The band’s ability to effortlessly transition between genres thanks to the folky and soulful vocals and instruments with a jazz backbone has been dubbed both ubiquitous and radical. — Recommended by Francisca
CHOCHINES – EXTRA IMAGINATION
CHOCHINES are a brand-new two-piece rock band as they have officially started activities just recently. Almost directly with the start of the band, they released their first digital album, titled 2-6, at the end of August. Both members, guitarist and vocalist Hidekazu Bessho and drummer Kyousuke Ono, were previously active in the alternative rock band 完全にノンフィクション (Kanzen ni non fiction) which disbanded in 2019. — Recommended by Francisca
SleepInside – 奇怪な目 (Kikai Na Me)
The Tokyo-based band SleepInside can be best described as an alternative guitar rock band with a shoegaze/dream pop vibe led by Kohki Imai. He creates songs from his own bedroom. On his Twitter account he shared that he had a green image in his head while writing the song, which is the reason why the music video has this green filter on it. Apart from this band project which started four years ago, he has been working on several other music projects. — Recommended by Francisca
Johnnivan – No One is Going to Save You
With the second album on the schedule for this autumn, Tokyo-based five-piece Johnnivan – comprised of members from Japan, South Korea and the United States – have published a music video for their latest single, which is inspired by the 2000 movie American Psycho. The song is comprised of elements that are the base of the indie band; synth-pop, dance rock and post-punk. — Recommended by Francisca
9DayzGlitchClubTokyo – Drug Cocktail
9DayzGlitchClubTokyo can probably be best described as an alternative electronic idol group, with songs that combine EDM, dubstep, hip-hop, rock and more music genres with appealing lyrics, making simply said catchy tunes. Their newest mini-album, titled Drug Cocktail Collection, with record levels of aggression as the theme, gives you an insight into what way of catchiness they are working on. — Recommended by Francisca
踊れない僕ら (Odorenai Bokura) – シンデレラ (Cinderella)
The alternative indie pop band Odorenai Bokura started activities in 2021. The Nagoya-based quartet released prologue, their debut mini-album, earlier this year. All the tracks on this release combine the music genres pop and EDM elements, creating sparkling melodies and sounds, which ought to make it impossible for you to stay seated. Cinderella is the opening track of this mini-album. — Recommended by Francisca
ayatori – kiro
ayatori are a four-piece twin-vocal emo band from Osaka, the band’s backbone can be found back in the 90s to 2000s emo and Japanese guitar rock with the aim to fuse these two music genres with different turns pursuing the individuality of its sound. The band’s activities started in the spring of 2021, to date they have released two EPs, including a demo and kiro is their latest and first digital single. — 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.
