Every month, scrmbl highlights some of the most noteworthy releases from Japanese artists available on Bandcamp. Sometimes, this coincides with the platform’s own Bandcamp Friday —an event where the company itself waives all revenue share and instead lets artists reap all the money made off sales.

Bandcamp Friday is back for May, arriving at the very start of the month to really get the next 31 days off to a strong start. It helps that the past month has seen a string of very strong releases emerge on the platform in April. Here’s just some of the Japanese highlights available on Bandcamp, which you should check out at any time you can but are especially worth opening up the digital wallet for today.

HYPER GAL — Our Hyper

Dissonance becomes dizzying in the hands of Osaka-originating duo HYPER GAL on fourth full-length album Our Hyper. Koharu Ishida and Kurumi Kadoya have always been able to corral noise into something manageable, but here they allow songs to reach a chaotic rattling and rushing without ever tipping over into a mess. A song like “HAZY” captures the tension well, with a plinky-plonky melody lurking beneath what sometimes sounds like industrial equipment whirring off into oblivion, but with both sonic sides coexisting. “I Said, You Said” raves out while being pushed ahead by a galloping beat, while “I do me” manages to imagine a malfunctioning NHK kids show theme (or like, CHAI) with pounding percussive touches. Get it here.

toiret status — 000up

The latest transmission from toiret status opens nervy cacophony turned catchy via stuttering syllables and what sounds like distorted chickens clucking inside a woozy funhouse on “#279” before surprisingly graceful notes pluck away. That’s the kind of sonic playfulness I expect from modern Japanese experimental types, but the rest of 000up shows how a usually nervy creator like toiret status can approach drone, with layers of electronics interrupted by some familiar sounds (dogs barking, that fairy from Ocarina Of Time yelling at you, but from like three rooms away) but focused more on atmosphere than anything else. Get it here.

DJ Nobu — Sho

Underground staple DJ Nobu offers up a spiritual journey in miniature via his latest release on fabric Originals. As laid out in the accompanying description of the album, Sho features tracks inspired by the Brahmaviharas. I will not pretend to know a lick about Buddhism, but the actual flow of the four tracks here convey it well. It starts rumbling and a little more patient (“Mudita”) before gradually ramping up to acid-spiked rush (“Metta”) and eventually boiling over into euphoric techno conveying inner realization (“Upekkha”). Songs like that finale work well alone, but the power here lies in how they grow from one another. Get it here.

Masayoshi Iimori — Feelin’ Down EP

Euphoria can be excavated out of bummer feelings. The titular and lead-off track courtesy of Masayoshi Iimori — featuring DJYOUTH — declares as such with its mix of direct samples leading to rollicking drum-n-bass inspired electronic revelry that flips those repeated phrases into something joyous. Iimori explores the ability of scrambling the bad into something party ready on the following songs, turning utterances from the less positive side of the club scene into pure energy. Get it here. 

Kan Sano — MOJACAT

Jazz-funk artist Kan Sano opens up to the ideas of others on latest album MOJACAT. Long describing himself as a “perfectionist” often pursuing his own sonic vision, his latest full-length is a deliberate effort to build off of others, whether that be guitarist Shingo Sekiguchi inspiring the main riff that would become the breezy “Coffee Break” or working with rising outfit luv to add some contemporary slink to “With Love.” There’s chances to let experience take over (as is the case on the high-stepping funk of “Utopia” featuring a particularly locked-in UA) and to hand the reigns over to others to reveal new perspectives (“White Out,” featuring a vocal feature from Satoko Shibata and production assistance from Maika Loubté, who strips away Sano’s original arrangement to create something sparse and hypnotic). Get it here.

Iroha Miyamoto — Midnight Downtown

I attended my first M3 last week, referring to the twice-a-year independent music market allowing creators of all types and sounds to offer new work to an eager audience. Seeing as this was my first visit, I did not anticipate a few details — such as needing a bunch of cash to get all the things on sale I’d see and want. This resulted in the rookie mistake of standing in line at a Lawson ATM for about an hour, cutting into time that I could have spent blowing a small fortune. Which is all to say…I missed the chance to buy Iroha Miyamoto’s shimmering dance-pop Midnight Downtown, but did not hesitate in nabbing it on Bandcamp once it became available, so I could enjoy the cheery neon-glow hooks littering her third EP. Get it here.

Looprider — LOVE

Tokyo band Looprider experienced a change in personnel ahead of the creation of LOVE, with one longtime member saying goodbye before another, guitarist Tacchi, joined the fold. That seemingly allowed Looprider to refocus and deliver a more bruising set of songs here, with the double-guitar barrage of the band coming off as more urgent on chugs such as “Chaotic Heaven” and “Nebula.” Here’s a heavy-hitting set serving as a reaffirmation of drive from the group. Get it here.

Tokyo Shoegazer — Remains

A band whose name makes it clear what their deal is, but even with such directness Tokyo Shoegazer deliver a standout in a style saturated in the city. The key to Remains lies in the way the group adds a flair for the emotional to all the distortion, with the tightroping-between-bliss-and-longing vocals courtesy of Kyoko Sahara adding an ache to songs such as “The Reckoning.” Coupled with a student-like skill for making the most out of guitar churn, Remains delivers something far more than expected. Get it here.

.｡*ﾟ+.*.Curren｡+..｡*ﾟ+ —  #Cuteness4U ☆ 

You do not need to know a lick of anything about Uma Musume or the myriad horse girls in its stable to appreciate the madcap rework dash that is #Cuteness4U ☆. A sample or two might vault over your head, but the high-energy remixes of pop and dance given a maximalist buzz can wow even those unfamiliar with any Pretty Derbies. Get it here.