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.

It keeps going, with another installment of Bandcamp Friday happening today, Nov. 6. Great timing, because I think there’s been a particular proliferation of great Japanese releases over the last month (heck…the last week alone could fill up this piece). I’d recommend readers always be seeking out and supporting new music via the platform regardless of the day, but if you go particularly bananas on Bandcamp Friday, here’s a handful of works most certainly worth your investment.

Uchu Nekoko — Even When You Grow Up,The Night Is Still Dark

“Nostalgia” implies a longing for something in the rearview that usually didn’t exist. Doctors in Europe used to classify it as an honest-to-goodness disease, and in the modern times the feeling of wanting to return to some perfect past that never was feels akin to a fever, spread across so much culture. That’s distinct from a longing for something that was, and it’s that ache at the heart of Uchu Nekoko’s first album in four years Even When You Grow Up, The Night Is Still Dark.

This set from the shoegaze-adjacent project digs into memories but in a more thoughtful, emotional way than most remember-whens. The dedication “to the memory of mom and dad” hints at the album’s core, though from the opening piano hop of “Sunny On The Bike” we get something that sounds chipper but contains something more complicated via a chorus of “I want you / I need you.” From there it is a mix of buzzier guitar chugs (“Flowing In The Wind,” “on Blue”) to more spacious laments (“sora”) and sing-speak catharsis approaching poemcore with samples of train crossings and cats giving it a sense of place (“mahiru no tsuki,” “Sheep’s Dream”). The past lingers, but in a way that’s far more complicated than most modern nostalgia. Get it here. 

nagareyama righteye — all quiet in the nagareyama city

“Vocaloid shoegaze” might seem like a curveball at first brush, but really…imagine the different synthesized voices as pedals on an already-crowded board sitting in front of a brooding performer holding a guitar. That’s basically what it boils down to, with each character basically adding new texture and feel to music. Project nagareyama righteye understands that well, and they’ve rotated between digi-voices over the years to create specific moods matching the rock swirl around them. New album all quiet in the nagareyama city bounces between the frantic delivery of Otomachi Una SV for the set’s more uptempo moments, while the higher-toned appears for slightly more midtempo offerings. Both add to the sound around them, allowing nagareyama righteye to show off their melodic sharpness. Get it here.

Kenonary — unary

Ever want to listen to an album that sounds like being wrapped up by a boa constrictor? Kenonary has you covered with this set of claustrophobic avant-pop, where electronics close in on every song and even the melodic vocals that tumble out of all the noise end up feeling like they are closing in on you rather than offering escape. Get it here.

aus — mere meer

Long-running electronic artist aus explores the tradition of Kankyo Ongaku (environmental music) on new album mere meer. These compositions…guided by piano, electric hum, and voices sometimes creeping in like they are overheard through a wall… create a sense of space, enveloping listeners throughout and treating sound as something physical, meant to be experienced. Get it here.

Various Artists — ISOS five seasons: Natsu

The final installment in Minna-no-kimochi’s Mizuha imprint’s seasonal series spotlights summer. This isn’t beach-bound fun, per se, as the global artist gathered here also explore more ambient and heady sounds meant to capture the slower moments of the warm months, from the overwhelming zone-out of RougeHotel’s “Cold Summer” to the trippier vocal-slice-up of E.O.U’s “Watch Me Summer.” That said…the best track comes from RYOKO2000 deciding not to look at the sun creeping in the window and instead going out into it to party on “Flora2000.” I mean…it is summer after all, gotta get out of your own head sometimes. Get it here. 

Various Artists — Yukishirube feat. Yufu Sekka

This compilation finds 32 artists using the winter-themed Utau Yufu Sekka in a variety of ways, showcasing how much creative angles a single voice can reveal. It’s a great experiment in the singing-synthesizer scene to see how nearly three dozen creators approach the same instrument, some leaning into the chilly characteristics of the character while others embrace a more active sound to help propel her monotone forward (others…doing a little of both!). Get it here.

64controll — Turn It Up EP

It’s fun to overthink all this music stuff, but damn sometimes you just need to be swept up in some energy. TREKKIE TRAX always provides, and duo 64controll’s Turn It Up EP helps me turn the noggin off to get the body moving via Jersey Club-indebted rollickers incorporating elements of rave to create their most ecstatic set to date. Trick is, it takes serious brains to make something this physical. Get it here. 

koeosaeme — Makuhari

Anyone interested in or wrapped up in Japanese music has almost certainly had to go to Makuhari many times. Just outside of Tokyo, it’s a hub for live shows / music festivals / trade shows / assorted fan events owing to the hangar-like Makuhari Messe convention center. The area around it is…weird. The Pacific Ocean is right there, but it’s all surrounded by something more plastic thanks to the presence of Makuhari Messe, multiple malls, a Costco, office buildings and more. There’s a tension present.

The unease of navigating the area comes through clearly on producer koeosaeme’s Makuhari, an exploration of the modern city’s nature colliding with its origin as just another part of the sea. Every song title is coordinates to a part of the region (inside an Aeon Mall, or on a street outside a Tony Romas, or even near the convention center), where the electronic artist recorded sounds — I hear a lot of wind, which is on point — that he later joined with other noises to create woozy compositions split between the natural and unnatural. It can be skittery and busy like morning rush hour and, when venturing to seaside parks, calming and reflective. It’s all Makuhari, though. Get it here.