Tag - indie

 
 

INDIE

Rock quartet Chai gained attention from fans and media in the late 2010s for its “neo kawaii” concept, which focused on self-confidence and celebrated individuality.
CULTURE
Mar 17, 2024
Champion of 'neo kawaii' Chai takes a final bow
The upbeat and eclectic rock quartet, which announced it would disband after its Japan tour, redefined what it meant to be cute.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 5, 2023
The farewell tour: Amid rising costs, a Canadian doctor ends his Japanese music festival
Once dubbed the "patron saint of Japanese indie," Canadian Steven Tanaka is ready to settle down for some "me" time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 23, 2023
Math rock act Jyocho provides a cheerfully chilling soundtrack to new Junji Ito series
The quartet brings its unique blend of frenzy and sweetness to horror artist Junji Ito"s new macabre Netflix series.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 10, 2019
Indie rockers Feeder bring 'Tallulah' to Japan
Feeder unleashes 10th album on Japan with live shows in Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 2, 2019
A musical pilgrimage to an adopted homeland with DYGL
Scroll through the comments under DYGL's videos on YouTube, and the same reaction comes up again and again: I could've sworn this lot were from England.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2019
Connan Mockasin finds his Japan groove ahead of his debut gig in his adopted country
"Sorry?" splutters Connan Hosford, better known as Connan Mockasin, as his bandmates cackle in the background. "Excuse me ... What did you say before?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 13, 2019
Chai's 'Punk' is an irrepressibly upbeat victory lap
For a band that made its name by bucking kawaii conventions, Chai can be awfully cute. On its second album, misleadingly titled "Punk," the quartet takes the giddy sugar-rush of 2017's "Pink" and distills it into a mixture so potent, it should probably come with a health warning attached. They ought to have called it "Pinker."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 31, 2018
Kate Sikora carves out a space in Tokyo's indie scene
Kate Sikora is an odd sort of import.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 23, 2018
It's pop, but complicated: Tokyo Shiokouji takes minimalism in new directions
Fuji Rock Festival's Rookie A Go-Go stage has served as a springboard for bands from Asian Kung-Fu Generation to Chai, but each year it draws a few acts with rather less obvious commercial appeal. The most peculiar group to appear this year was Tokyo Shiokouji, an eight-piece ensemble featuring percussion, trombone and vocoder, playing the kind of music that minimalist composer Steve Reich might write if he tried to make a pop album.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 11, 2018
The Lagerphones look to charm Japan one coffee shop at a time
If you're in a foreign band trying to plan a tour in Japan, you sometimes need to improvise when it comes to booking venues. That may be why you're more likely to find Australian six-piece The Lagerphones at a cozy cafe than a grimy Shibuya live house.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 10, 2018
Cero chooses a more complicated kind of pop on 'Poly Life Mutli Soul'
If you wanted to pinpoint the moment Cero broke the glass ceiling of Japan's indie music scene, it would be March 7, 2016. That's when the group — still cresting on the buzz generated by its "Obscure Ride" album the previous year — performed that record's signature singalong, "Summer Soul," alongside aging boy band SMAP on the latter's "SMAP×SMAP" show.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 10, 2018
'I can only speak my own truth': Otoboke Beaver rocks tunes not politics
More than 100,000 people are expected to attend this month's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the Southern California desert. While heavyweight North American pop stars such as Beyonce and The Weeknd are grabbing the most attention, the lineup also features dozens of noteworthy names — including two Japanese ones.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 28, 2018
'Sakana Zukan': Sakanaction excels when it wades through shallow territory
Now that Spotify playlists have supplanted albums as the preferred method of consuming an artist's work, the concept of greatest-hits compilations feels both prescient and redundant, like releasing DJ mix albums in the era of SoundCloud. For the musicians themselves, though, such compilations can offer an opportunity to reappraise discographies and reshuffle the pieces to more flattering effect.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 9, 2018
Rock act Chai has no time for your definition of 'cute'
The members of Chai aren't content with "kawaii." That word — meaning "cute," but in a kind of pitiable way — gets tossed around a lot in Japan and by people overseas, who use it to refer to almost anything Japanese.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 7, 2018
Father John Misty bets his music will not be remembered as 'an artifact of the year 2017'
Josh Tillman was in Japan when he made a life changing decision: to quit as drummer of Fleet Foxes and finally pursue the sort of music he'd always wanted to make. His swan song came in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 23, 2018
London is the place to be for Luby Sparks
Some bands have all the luck. While many of their peers will probably be toiling on the live circuit for years before gaining any recognition beyond their immediate circle of friends, the college kids of Luby Sparks are already going places.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 25, 2017
For Uhnellys, surviving Tokyo's live-scene circuit has been an exercise in perseverance
When you're an independent rock band, maintaining a do-it-yourself ethic long-term can be difficult. Many acts eventually have to scale back, and dreams of a musical career turn into the reality of having a really cool hobby. Uhnellys, however, have kept up the fight.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 18, 2017
Keiji Haino at 65: 'I want to be a bad boy, right until the end'
"I don't want people to treat me like a god," says Keiji Haino, chuckling. "I want to be a bad boy, right until the end."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 27, 2017
Tricot fine-tunes a formula that got the trio noticed overseas on '3'
It has never been easy for Japanese bands to find success both domestically and abroad. For the most part, they can muster notable attention on one side or the other, but rarely both — regardless of how many awkward English-language songs or cringe-worthy collaborations they attempt. However, tricot (pronounced tree-koh and spelled in lowercase) may have stumbled onto a winning strategy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 20, 2017
Honoring Hideo Ikeezumi, a hero to the Japanese underground
Few figures have played as pivotal a role in the recent history of Japanese avant-garde music as Hideo Ikeezumi, founder of P.S.F. Records, who passed away on Feb. 27 at the age of 67.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world