Five Japanese artists and labels to support during Bandcamp Friday (February 2023)

Although we weren’t sure, we thought it was over after last December, but Bandcamp Friday will also return in 2023. Starting this month, there will again be a Bandcamp Friday every first Friday of the month, excluding June and July, with Bandcamp waiving their revenue share, meaning that there will be more money left over for artists and labels.

And considering Bandcamp Friday is coming up on 3 February, it’s time to mean this means we will highlight some Japanese artists and labels in an article. Do you want to know who we have highlighted in the past? Be sure to check to read our articles listed here.

LADY FLASH

Last month, Osaka-based indie band LADY FLASH released their second album by どこにもいけないドア (Dokonimo ikenai Door, The Door to Nowhere), seven years after their first album. It has already been noted that this band can be described as Kirby meets punk (Think of Kirby inhaling everything around him to use to kill his opponents, but punk), which might give a better idea of what they have to offer. The group calls themselves a plastic band where Yasuyuki Okamura and the Pixies meet and seems to enjoy indie pop, post-punk, and noise.

The Molice

Active since 2007, The Molice are an alternative post-hardcore/dance-core trio from Tokyo. The trio presents a hybrid sound by incorporating many different musical genres from elements that fall into music genres such as rock and roll, classical, dance, shoegaze, alternative and post-hardcore. In 2018 they moved operations to the United States in 2018, but due to the pandemic they are in Japan and worked hard on creating new music. The most recent releases by The Molice are compilations of studio session and prototype recordings that were shared on YouTube in 2022.

No Point in Living

The activities of Sapporo-based black metal band No Point in Living started somewhere in 2015 by multi-instrumentalist Yusuke Hasebe, who also has a second project, Retreat Neurosis. From the start, he has been creating music independently with depressive and other dark-themed lyrics in Japanese and English. Bandcamp is where you can find everything Hasebe has ever produced under the two monikers, which amounts to more than 60 releases since he never seems to stop writing new music. This includes his most recent mini-album, Pray.

SOM4LI

In 2021, members of Ms. Machine, Strip Joint, and KLONNS came together to create music under the moniker SOM4LI. The four members, Rio Shimamoto, Mako, Risako, and SHV, create alternative indie rock with a harsh energy that crosses witch house, hardcore punk, and post-punk by adding linear beats, noisy guitars, unusual chorus work balancing with global influenced sounds and up-front Japanese lyrics. They are not averse to experimenting. To date, the Tokyo-based band released a single and an EP, and you can find the EP on Bandcamp.

Gerpfast Records

Gerpfast Records is an independent alternative record label based in Indonesia and has since 2014 released quite some interesting cassette releases of Japanese bands, think of COLLAPSE, Asunojokei, TsuShiMaMiRe, and GALLHAMMER, to name a few. They have much more to offer, which is why we highlight their Bandcamp. In March, they will release the latest album of pop punk band PiGGiES, …And Now!, on cassette.

It is good to know that on Bandcamp Fridays, an average of 93% of your money reaches the artist or label (after payment processor fees). On other days, an average of 82% reaches the artist or label. Who are you going to support on the upcoming Bandcamp Friday?