Despite the ease of access that streaming has brought to the distribution of music, the volume that's released can make it a daunting task to find unique new stuff on a regular basis. This article recaps our weekly selections for the month of June 2026, 24 tracks we think definitely deserve your attention.
All songs featured in this recurring series can be found in our scrmbl selection June 2026 playlist on YouTube, Apple Music, or Spotify.
Batten Shojotai — “Sinra Bassho”
Ryo: Batten Shojotai return to party mode in their new one, and the idol group reunites with Kenmochi Hidefumi to kick off their summer. Instead of deep house, a familiar touchstone to a Bassho/Kenmochi collaboration, the producer’s love of club fuels this towel-twirler of a live-show record, full of bells and whistles: pitter-patter of drums, endless chirp of whistles, and a drilling beat drop made of micro vocal chops. “An endless carnival,” the idols say of their anthem, and they certainly bring back an exciting and refreshing sound after a series of cutesy synth-pop.
Billyrrom — “Boogie”
Patrick: Do you have a specific sound that acts as instant sonic catnip upon hearing it? For me, I could be listening to the worst song ever recorded but if some talk box popped up, I'm all in again. Rising funk unit Billyrrom's“Boogie” thankfully doesn't approach those depths, as at its core it's a grooveable dance-pop number showing the palm-tree-accented-shadow that Suchmos casts over modern Japanese rock. But it becomes irresistible from the jump when those robo-voices come in, adding great sonic texture (I mean, in some folk's opinions).
Chinza Dopeness — “Blue Flame”
Ryo: As the introvert meets hip-hop to help find a place to belong in Shadow Beat, what brings the story of the web anime series to life are the original songs commissioned for the show. DJ Mitsu the Beats sets a mood well-suited for a cast of moody protagonists with his production in “Blue Flame,” while Chinza Dopeness dials down his animated personality to match the producer’s dusky boom-bap sound. The latter rapper’s freewheeling style comes alive regardless with his verses resembling a mind gone a little far off to the deep end during the late nights.
cosmosy — “Paradise ~ I need you ~”
Ryo: Cosmosy puts in a lot of work on world-building when it comes to the presentation of their music. Cryptic song titles, face-averse album art and elaborate videos evoke in their work an art-house mysticism reminiscent of the vibes found in K-pop acts like Billlie. Their actual music, too, springs from a similar well with sensual R&B given a touch of deep house for an otherworldly feel. The anti-gravity garage beats in “Paradise ~ I need you ~” in particular go beyond aesthetics, expressing in the song the idols’ irrepressible desire as much as a chic new sound to the group’s impeccable palette.
CUBΣLIC — “Glitch&&Glitch”
Ryo: CUBΣLIC’s new one finds the jazz-funk to electro ratio of the idol group’s music losing equilibrium. When the two sides are levelled, their singles often resemble early Perfume at the trio’s most videogame-y. But as excitement gets the best of them, synths begin to fire off in hyperspeed. The electropop affair sounds like a motherboard malfunction, not just from the, well, glitching breakdowns but also from the idols’ computer-geek speak that soon turns to gibberish as they try their best to express how they feel.
cyber milkchan — “i don't wanna”
Patrick: A short but woozy transmission from the world of cyber milk chan, one that fits a lot of intrigue into less than two minutes. “i don't wanna” wrestles with worries over empty art and simply living over a zero-gravity synths, high-pitched vocal squawks and a beat helping keep everything moving forward. There's no definitive conclusions, just some self-affirmation (including a declaration of being “hyperpop”) and a peak into her mind palace, which is plenty intriguing enough. Listen above.
DE DE MOUSE and WaMi — “In Yr Dreams”
Patrick: DE DE MOUSE is so good at the neon-accented garage pop that makes you long for Shibuya streets that when he chooses to flip sounds around it's a genuine surprise. “In Yr Dreams” is another shimmering dance cut featuring declarations of longing courtesy of singer WaMi for about a minute. Post-last-train fantasia? Not quite, because then bass straight from someone's trunk soundsystem blurt across this fantasy. It doesn't disrupt the sweetness, though, but only turns it surreal.
foodman — “Hard Reclining”
Patrick: Never doubt the power of good relaxation. That's an ethos central to the music of Nagoya-based tinkerer foodman, whose wonky tracks and brain-wobbling percussive details often emerge from a pursuit of everyday chill. “Hard Reclining” takes that to its logical end, with a sampled voice saying “kimochi” (“feel great”) over and over again, stretched out and massaged until it turns into something approaching euphoria.
GSH Featuring tiger bae — “The Greedy Dog”
Patrick: Gather 'round children, because grandpa needs to reflect on Japanese chillwave for a second. Fifteen years ago an online niche genre of music inspired by slowed-down dance samples and a recession wowed the blog space. This style made its way to Japan, and no outfit did it better than Kyoto's Hotel Mexico. Today members from that project have split off into a variety of outfits, but they come together on “The Greedy Dog” as GSH (aka Great Silent Harbour) welcomes tiger bae over for a slightly more lively dance-rock affair. Built around guitar and swift electronic samples that ripple, it's a movable number still boasting a layer of gauze over it, not tied to the era they all emerged from but nodding to it.
Hakushi Hasegawa — “The Owner of Sadness”
Ryo: My image of a typical Hakushi Hasegawa song finds the artist on the piano, firing off these jagged chords and riffs that assemble into this madcap jazz-pop. The first of their upcoming album, Honest Feeling Album, scraps that whole impression in favor of Hasegawa now fronting a psych-rock band by the name of HaHa and the Hairpins. Yet from the sound of “The Owner of Sadness,” it makes no difference whether they play a piano or guitar: the result is all going to be so full of feeling that the emotions begin to warp the contours of the music, the instruments and their voice ringing thick with distortion. You might not place the exact genre, or pick up on the lyrics, but you definitely recognize the feeling.
Hoshimiya Toto, EAERAN & phritz — “Outline”
Ryo: Virtual singers Hoshimiya Toto and EAERAN sing quite a lot about endlessness in their new collaboration with phritz, one of the many producers behind PAS TASTA. But when they sigh into the track’s effervescent electropop, this imagery of them drifting out into the vast sea seems not of ennui but of them achieving an ultimate calm. If the twinkling downtempo feel reminds of the dreaminess behind the moody pop of Porter Robinson–an artist whose song phritz also covered in the past–it might be from them reaching for the same ends: masking the dark by letting the light in.
Japanese Ape — “Didier Drogba”
Ryo: Japanese Ape treats the slinkiest hip-house beats like how another similarly zen rapper would treat a drumless jazz loop: a canvas made not for commanding a dance floor but for lyrical shadowboxing. For his new song, go-to producer RhymeTube hands him one tricky beat where the skips of glitch-hop meets the off-kilter bounce of UK drill. But the rapper seamlessly finds the pocket, rhyming about how the pen is mightier than the sword without breaking a sweat.
Kaede Hirata — “anata no mono?”
Patrick: Electro-pop hides vulnerability under layers of buzzing synthesizers and machine beats, using the digital to conceal the very human. Kaede Hirata has learned from the best as “anata no mono?” springs ahead and can feel downright glowing when chimes deeper in the mix creep in. It's internet-era pop joy sonically, but Hirata's lyrics detail a more complicated reckoning with a dissolving relationship, going from pained to cathartic (“let's have the biggest fight in the world” delivered with giddiness).
killwiz — “cult”
Patrick: Following one of the year's fiercest and most emotionally raw releases of the year, Tokyo's killwiz returns with a buzzy dispatch reminding of her strengths. On “cult” she's bouncing over blown-out beats and steel rattles, yet she is able to add a melodic heart to this noise that gives it a catchy side without diluting the heaviness around it.
Miu Sakamoto - “Shokutaku”
Ryo: Miu Sakamoto’s first original material from her upcoming new album sounds refreshingly cozy. While still embellished with strings, it chirps like a porchside folk song in comparison to her recent orchestral ballads made for the movies. Perhaps sensed already from the title, the song naturally calls for a softer touch from the music with it based around a more homely set of lyrics from the singer. “Ah, for sad nights / a single word and a ‘welcome home,’” Sakamoto opens the song, and “Shokutaku” draws out a warm, enveloping atmosphere throughout, like a friend who’s there to just listen.
NOT WONK — “Grape”
Patrick: A nervous number that soon enough gives way to full release. Trio NOT WONK play the role of anxious recording artist well for most of “Grape,” complete with the sound of someone behind the boards telling them to do take one, giving this an immediate sense of place. The slight quiver in the singing only makes that feel more real. Yet it's all in service of letting the guitars pick up in force and eventually ripping apart in the end, sounding quite confident. Listen above.
The Otals — “Tarte Tatin Reverie”
Ryo: The Otals delivers that blockbuster feeling with the band’s shoegaze-driven power-pop glowing with so much color and pure sensation. For their new one, they roll out a scrappier sound that’s more indie-budget garage-rock than last year’s All Imperfect Summerland. Yet the song spills as much emotion as their usual big-screen new wave with a woozy rollercoaster ride of a guitar riff that channels their heart throbbing over a fat crush. They sound so dizzy and tongue-tied from the butterflies, but you almost want to stay feeling this sick when the headache rings this sweet.
Sara Wakui - “Koori”
Ryo: Like the quiet parts of this February’s utas EP, Sara Wakui’s new single sounds as though the singer wanted to put it out on a whim. “I want to pour warmth into a freezing body,” she sighs, hinting about her choice in outfit, and the hip-hop-laced jazz arrangement winds down into a dusky beat fit for this kind of late-night confession. If “Koori” seems to fade out a bit too soon, its brief stay might be intentional as the fleeting track feels like the TMI text you send to an admirer but quickly delete as you come to your senses.
Satoko Shibata - “Pool”
Ryo: Satoko Shibata has been out feeling the groove this year with her vibing to the bobbing beats of others like Kan Sano’s rich boom-bap and tofubeat’s slick electro-house. That dancing spirit drives the singer-songwriter’s new single where she swaps out the golden soul of 2024’s My Favorite Things for tropical house. The track’s balmy glow lends the funk to feel akin to the, well, poolside disco of chillwave, but Shibata also slips in a kind of lyrical irony familiar to the latter genre: she takes account of a seaside scene in “Pool” with a yawn, recognizing the sunlit beauty while being slightly detached from it all.
Spit lulu’s — “Tremble, and bloom / Ume”
Ryo: Spit lulu’s indulge in what’s almost post-rock in “Tremble, and bloom / Ume,” a highlight from the band’s new Mirumono subete? EP. Gone are the woozy riffs expected from this self-proclaimed “shoegaze-influenced alternative rock band.” (Check the EP’s opening track, “weird world, for those.) Gently-picked guitars instead set a breezy scene and soon stir up a quiet storm fitting with the song’s title. This slow-burning indie-rock still feels one with the band’s emo and shoegaze palette, though, particularly through its climax, where they bring back that familiar blizzard of a riff, except slower, rougher and more cathartic.
Tomggg and ena mori — “MONO TARINAI!”
Patrick: A fizzy gripe session built around borderline-cartoon sounds and some harder hitting elements. The latest collaboration between producer Tomggg and artist ena mori features the prior's playroom sparkle and harder bass zig-zagging over one another to create a disorienting atmosphere caught between Candyland and the club. For her part, mori skips along but doesn't let the mood stop her from dwelling on the negatives that stop a potential partner from being a real catch. “MONO TARINAI!” doesn't create tension between these two sides, but instead lets them mingle together to create something much more interesting.
TOWA TEI — “The Hot Summer Strikes Back”
Patrick: At some point in recent years, celebrated Japanese electronic artist TOWA TEI embraced a more left-field view on song construction. While present on last year's discombobulating AH!! it has been the releases since that find TEI creating works approaching sound collage that reveal a new perspective from the creator. “The Hot Summer Strikes Back” uses stitched-together samples to create a mood piece for the soon-to-arrive heat of the season, with the guitar strums and synth ripples turning this into something like a sonic mirage among high temperatures. Listen above.
Urakami Souki — “Saiko No Sweat”
Patrick: Urakami Souki really has fallen for someone, and they express that non-stop giddiness across “Saiko No Sweat.” It's a jaunty number featuring all kinds of sonic treats (lots of voice samples that add a fizz to this one) and great vocal touches courtesy of the singer-songwriter (check the slight snarl he brings to words at the very beginning of the song, like he's overly excited to the day). It all works together to turn into an ecstatic love letter of a tune that can barely contain its joy.
wanbed — “Beat”
Patrick: Fledgling Tokyo quartet wanbed sure know how to offer some twists on latest song “Beat.” What starts as a somewhat sparse rock ramble begins to coalesce into what could be another example of young emo-leaning rock coming out of the capital...until the tempo slows, the guitars rev up and the number turns into like a bouncy samba-inspired jaunt? Didn't see that coming, but it's nice revelry soon twisting into something more emotionally charged for its final stretch without losing the fun.
