After listening to the first track from brand-new music unit BIJŪ, instant associations were being made with acts like Atari Teenage Riot, or possibly Japanese acts like BAAL and Despair. By now we are some months down the line and the new music unit has shown what else they have to offer. Soon, they will perform their debut performance on 7 October, which will be streamed live for those who cannot attend the event in person.
The electropunk trio was launched at the end of last summer and, notably, the vocalist of rock band 33Insanity’sVertebra, Nozomi, is one of the members of this new music unit. Besides Nozomi, the trio consists of vocalist and programmer Hideki Hoshi and vocalist Celinuntius Fujisawa, both of whom are also active in Osaka-based four-member alternative rock band RobotMeetRobo. It should be mentioned that Hideki Hoshi is at the heart of BIJŪ, fully expressing his vision. Also good to know is that 33 Insanity’s Vertebra is currently on hiatus, it will be interesting to see how Nozomi will develop in this new project.
Right from the start, BIJŪ got off to a flying start by immediately releasing singles to show how ambitious and idiosyncratic the music project is. The trio has since released seven tracks to give a taste of what to expect from BIJŪ. They offer a digital sound with a foundation of electropunk fused with elements of electronic music such as digital hardcore, industrial and acid techno. The most recent release, a double A-side single titled Durge/WITCH, was released at the start of October where the almost entirely instrumental track Durge pays tribute to 90s hardcore techno.
On 7 October, BIJŪ will take to the stage for the first time at the Digital Pogo event, presented by RobotMeetRobo, at the just-opened venue Umeda BANGBOO. The event will be streamed via Twitcast (formerly Twitcasting) and will feature a total of six performances.
The evening starts with a performance by the brand-new alternative idol duo TORAX, consisting of Ayaka and Yuzu. This performance will be followed by Mahiro Nozomi, a former member of groups 340.29m/s, Cure., Qppo, and POP iD Girls Unit. The third act is RobotMeetRobo, after which four-piece idol group Qppo-known as ‘Osaka’s most unsuccessful idol’-takes the stage. The second-to-last performance comes from NEMLESSS, the breakcore solo project of vocalist Yuki Utena. BIJŪ will close the evening. It will be interesting to see what the next steps will be for BIJŪ.
