On the first Friday of every month, Bandcamp holds Bandcamp Friday. This event finds the digital music platform giving all revenue made from purchases over the 24 hours directly to artists. It’s a great day to support musicians using the site, many of whom operate independently and benefit greatly from direct purchases.
It’s also a fantastic time to catch up on new music, and in our case as a way to spotlight Japanese music just under the radar. Here’s some of our favorite Japanese releases on Bandcamp from the month of November.
Big Animal Theory — Twofold
Snap away from the rhythms powering mysterious electronic duo Big Animal Theory’s new album Twofold and you’re likely to stumble across an echo from your past. There’s plenty to enjoy even if you aren’t ready to face the ghosts of pop music past haunting the corners here. The anonymous pair behind these songs create swift dance tracks nodding to house, UK garage, dubstep and more, using vocals as a central warmth for the songs. As far as kinetic delights go, it’s tough to top the movement present in the title track or “Let Go.”
Yet the extra emotional ooomph comes from the samples of singing themselves, taken primarily form the earlier part of the 21st century and recontextualized here for a new audience. Listeners familiar with this period will probably have their own moment of shock-turned-wonder at hearing something from their youth warped for modern times — for me, closing number “Back To You” sounded eerily familiar, before it struck me that the main voice came from MTV-staple “Foolish” by Ashanti. It’s this ache of the early Aughts poking through that makes Twofold special. Get it here.
Fellsius — Blue
Producer Fellsisus has always loved playing around with texture. The new wrinkle he brings to latest album Blue is the utilization of more acoustic sounds alongside his usual whirlwind of synthesized sounds. At various points, he weaves in guitar melodies into the digi spin, and elsewhere sings for the first time to add a new dimension to his sound. These touches don’t appear on every song and aren’t always necessary — the skittering dance track “pure” is totally fine with samples and ping-ponging electronics — but they do add more variety to Fellsius’ already crowded palette. Get it here.
kinoue64 — after school
Artist kinoue64 caught attention by blurring the worlds of shoegaze and Vocaloid together. Their releases over the last few years stand as some of the decade’s best examples of this intersection, with releases such as 2022’s Kukan, Jijo, Jukan, Jishou standing as hallmarks of the genre. In recent times though, kinoue64 has wanted to put their own voice to the forefront of the guitar squall. Latest offering after school shows the project has plenty of juice when Hatsune Miku sits it out, with the artist’s own longing coming through across the uptempo rockers, the emotional impact of the style still hitting hard. Get it here.
Zamboa — Mirai
Zamboa used to go under the name Klan Aileen, releasing psych-glazed rock incorporating elements of traditional Japanese music and heavy metal to create creeping songs full of tension. The name might be different but the same sludgy pace remains on Mirai, utilizing space as a way to make the singing guitar march all the more unnerving. Get it here.
emamouse — Ude Ya Koe No Uta
Experimental staple emamouse rarely does anything that could be labelled “conventional.” Yet their latest album is probably the closest they’ll ever come to being a traditional singer-songwriter, though even then there’s plenty of quirks around the edges. As the title hints at, the eight songs here revolve around hands (as in, playing the guitar) and voice (as in, singing). While wonky keyboard touches nudge this to the odder side of the aisle, it is also emamouse playing around as a throwback singer, with songs of longing that aren’t far off from what you’d hear out of a snack bar occupied by retirees. It’s just delivered from their unique perspective. Get it here.
aus — Fluctor
The latest from FLAU founder aus started life as a soundtrack to a film, but have now been transformed into delicate pieces of chamber pop. Assisted by violinist Kumi Takahara and an assortment of guest vocalists (including some welcome wispiness from Julianna Barwick), aus constructs fragile piano numbers concealing a universe of emotions, at times wondrous and others melancholy. Get it here.
Toto Hoshimiya And SOZEN OTSUBO — Beyond The Binary EP
I’m so used to hearing virtual artist Toto Hoshimiya in the context of TEMPLIME songs that hearing her singing be smudged and scrambled into a new element of electronic texture totally caught me off guard at first. Yet that’s also the element that makes Beyond The Binary such a revelation, as the way SOZEN OTSUBO uses her voice — both the regular delivery and their own twist on it — gives the songs a dizzying quality. The more warped it gets the better…it’s telling that the weakest moment is when a guest comes in and sings untouched (“Origami Angels” with N33T), because it lacks the headrush the rest of the EP provides. Get it here.
Hideki Akiyama — Yumihamagasuri
KAOMOZI label always knows how to highlight tearing ripping apart familiar formulas. Artist Hideki Akiyama specifically revels in ripping apart tempo on Yumihamagasuri. Opening with something approaching a fakeout via an intro track closer to ambient, the rest of this release delights in off-kilter rhythm, whether moving at a breakneck pace on “Material” or something resembling fragmented jazz on “CJM-12425431 0.” Get it here.
Various Artists — Gochisousamadeshita
Long-running Sendai event / label Handaya Rave called it a day last year with one final get-together for independent electronic artists in 2023. Now, as kind of a souvenir not just for that finale but also its whole history, the folks behind it have brought together an array of creators associated with it — including J-core legend DJ SHARPNEL — for a compilation celebrating the energetic and often funny sonic world they created. Get it here.
Naco — Snakey EP
Let’s take a second to celebrate the dance scene out in Kyoto, a city few would instantly think as of a hub for club sounds but has absolutely fostered one of the strongest scenes in the country today. Alongside NC4K and Arkuda, 85acid is one of the labels helping to spur all this, giving creators from the city and the greater Kansai region space to shine. Here’s the latest from the imprint from producer Naco, who offers up rumbling tracks touching on dubstep, electro and more, built to get bodies anywhere moving. Get it here.
Hakushi Hasegawa — “Wonderful Christmastime”
Tokyo’s Hakushi Hasegawa creates dizzying, genre-breaking compositions that stand as among the best experimental music coming out of Japan today. Yet they also have a sweet spot for covers. Their entire 2023 set Bones of Dreams Attacked! consisted of takes on existing songs, including Disney classics. So tackling Paul McCartney’s often-derided (though not around these parts, a holiday jam according to this author) “Wonderful Christmastime” isn’t that big a shock, nor is the fact Hasegawa approaches it quite earnestly. Though they still have fun with it, warping their voice to offer a woozier interpretation. Get it here.
