Tokyo Gigs October 2025

OCT 1 HAIHEN (ATSUSHI ARAKAWA/AKIO JEIMUS/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE) Bush Bash, Koiwa ¥2,500

OCT 1 SHIBUSASHIRAZU ORCHESTRA Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥4,400

OCT 1 ERIC THIELEMANS/FUMI ENDO/TETUZI AKIYAMA Permian, Meguro ¥1,000-¥3,000

OCT 2 ERIC THIELEMANS/MYRIAM VAN IMSCHOOT/TOMOKO HOJO/&c. Permian, Meguro ¥1,000-¥3,000

OCT 2 LIMITED EXPRESS (HAS GONE?), NEMLESSS, AND MORE, &c. Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥3,000

OCT 3 MARTY HOLOUBEK/SHUN ISHIWAKA Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥2,750 (afternoon)

OCT 3 LANG LEE/HYEJI LEE Gloria Chapel, Shinagawa ¥6,000

OCT 3 MIZUKI AITA PERCUSSION RECITAL Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Recital Hall, Ueno ¥3,000

OCT 3 JOACHIM BARDENHORST/NANAO KOBAYASHI/AKAIHIRUME Hako Gallery, Yoyogi-Uehara ¥3,000

OCT 3 MARTY HOLOUBEK TOKYO MINYO CLUB Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥5,500

OCT 3 DIMMER, SCOT JENERIK, THOMAS DIMUZIO, &c. Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥1,500

OCT 3 MERMORT, HIDENORI NOGUCHI/CHUMAKINO, &c. Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥3,000

OCT 3 ZERO T, AYA, FONTS, VELOCITY, &c. Circus Tokyo, Shibuya ¥2,500

OCT 3 DJ DEEP, GONNO, VOYAGE VOYAGE, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥2,500 (night)

OCT 4 MARTY HOLOUBEK/ERMHOI Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥2,750 (afternoon)

OCT 4 VINICIUS CAJADO/ATSUKO HATANO/NAOTO YAMAGISHI Gekkasha, Jimbocho ¥TBA

OCT 4 MARTY HOLOUBEK/SHUN ISHIWAKA/HIMI Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥4,400

OCT 4 ERNESTO DEL PUERTO/CAL LYALL, &c. Permian, Meguro ¥1,000-¥3,000

OCT 4 COFFINS, FESTER DECAY, SECOND TO NONE, &c. Earthdom, Shin-Okubo ¥3,000

OCT 4 CUBFIRES, AONI, IRREVOCABLE, &c. Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥3,800

OCT 4 SKIN ON SKIN, TOHJI, UNDERSCORE, FUMIYA TANAKA, &c. Odaiba Aomi Area P Sector ¥9,000

OCT 4 DJ NOBU, GÁBOR LÁZAR, LYNNE & O-MA, &c. Unit, Daikanyama ¥4,500

OCT 4 RØDHAD, DJ MARIA, DANA NADA & DANDAN, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥3,500

OCT 4 FUMIYA TANAKA, &c. Circus Tokyo, Shibuya ¥4,000

OCT 5 THE GIN RICKY JAZZ BAND/YUSUKE SASE/SHUN ISHIWAKA Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥4,400 (afternoon)

OCT 5 LINDA SMITH, IAN SCHLEIN, USURABI Ongaku No Jikan, Mitaka ¥TBA

OCT 5 TAKU SUGIMOTO/SEAN COLUM Permian, Meguro ¥1,000-¥3,000

OCT 5 ZOMBIE-CHANG Wall&Wall, Omotesando ¥4,000

OCT 5 MARTY HOLOUBEK/MAY INOUE/SHUN ISHIWAKA Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥4,400

OCT 6 RILEY BANHART GEORGESON, YUMA ABE (BAND SET) WWW X, Shibuya ¥8,000

OCT 6 JAKOB BRO/MIDORI TAKADA Tessen-kai Noh Theater Training Hall, Minami-Aoyama ¥10,000

OCT 6 TAKUMI IKEDA/NAOKI NOMOTO/AKIHIRO KUBOTA Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥2,500

OCT 7 DMBQ, OOIOO, HOON Club Quattro, Shibuya ¥4,500

OCT 7 JUNNA & FOLK SHOW CREW Haremame, Daikanyama ¥3,000

OCT 7 BIG GHOST (AKIRA SAKATA/YONG YANDSEN/&c.) Koen-Dori Classics, Shibuya ¥4,500

OCT 7 MITCH & MITCH/TAKEO TOYAMA Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥3,000

OCT 7 JOACHIM BADENHORST/KO ISHIKAWA/RIUICHI DAIJO Permian, Meguro ¥1,000-¥3,000

OCT 7 M-ONZ, LUIS SANZ, MOXUS, TARO AIKO, &c. Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥2,000

OCT 8 JON SPENCER Club Quattro, Shibuya ¥8,500

OCT 8 RYOSUKE KIYASU (SOLO) Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

OCT 8 GIA MARGARET Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan, Nishi-Ikebukuro ¥8,000

OCT 8 LAURI HYVĀRINEN/NAOTO YAMAGISHI Permian, Meguro ¥1,000-¥3,000

OCT 8 BLACK ZENITH/CAL LYALL, TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA/AKIO JEIMUS Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥2,500

OCT 8-10 KASSA OVERALL Blue Note Tokyo, Minami-Aoyama ¥8,800

OCT 9 FLORIAN FAVRE, &c. Haremame, Daikanyama ¥3,000

OCT 9 FELBM, H.TAKAHASHI Yodobashi Church, Okubo ¥7,000

OCT 9 JOACHIM BADENHORST/TETUZI AKIYAMA Permian, Meguro ¥1,000-¥3,000

OCT 9 BLACK ZENITH, FALLOPIAN DISCO FORCE, ZVIZMO, &c. Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥2,500

OCT 10 REONA/KOJI OHTA Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

OCT 10 BLOODY MARY, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

OCT 10 DJ HYBRID, DJ YAHMAN, FELINE, &c. Circus Tokyo, Shibuya ¥3,000

OCT 11 ENVY, WORLD'S END GIRLFRIEND, BACHO Liquidroom, Ebisu ¥6,000

OCT 11 DMC WORLD DJ CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS FEAT. KIREEK, CRAZE, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥5,200

OCT 11 DRUNKEN FOREST/YU OGU, STRAYTONE/MASAYA KATO, &c. Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥2,000

OCT 11 ROSARIO GIULIANI/PIETRO LUSSU/TOKU Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥4,950

OCT 11 TETSU NAGASAWA/TETUZI AKIYAMA Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥2,500

OCT 11 PERFECT YOUNG LADY, SARAVÁ, &c. Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥3,000

OCT 11 KAORI KOMURA/MASATAKE ABE/LEO OKAGAWA Permian, Meguro ¥1,000-¥3,000

OCT 12 BERT SEAGER TRIO FEAT. KAZUMI IKENAGA Koen-Dori Classics, Shibuya ¥4,000 (afternoon)

OCT 12 YAHYEL Zepp Shinjuku ¥6,000

OCT 12 SHOJI HANO/KATSUO KUNINAKA Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

OCT 12 SAGOSAID, HOACH5000, IVY, PANDAGOLFF Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥2,800

OCT 12 WESTSIDE, AWICH, CFN MALIK, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥1,000 (night)

OCT 13 SETAGAYA TRIO Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥2,500 (afternoon)

OCT 13 NEW JAPAN PHILHARMONIC/JOE HISAISHI: GLASS, ADAMS Suntory Hall, Akasaka ¥4,000-¥12,000

OCT 13 THE CARDIGANS, CLOUDBERRY JAM, MEJA Tokyo Garden Theater, Ariake ¥12,000-¥28,000

OCT 13 KOTA YAMAUCHI/ASUKA MORI/RYOTARO MIYASAKA Hako Gallery, Yoyogi-Uehara ¥3,000

OCT 13 KOSETSU IMANISHI/VINICIUS CAJADO Permian, Meguro ¥1,000-¥3,000

OCT 13 ITAQ FEAT. ZACKMAN JR, YANAGAMIYUKI Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥2,500

OCT 14 VINICIUS CAJADO/AKIRA SAKATA Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

OCT 15 TERJE ISUNGSET Haremame, Daikanyama ¥4,000

OCT 15 SEIICHI YAMAMOTO Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

OCT 15 AKIRA SAKATA/VINICIUS CAJADO/TATSUHISA YAMAMOTO Hako Gallery, Yoyogi-Uehara ¥3,000

OCT 15 WACLAW ZIMPEL/MICHIYO YAGI/AKIO JEIMUS Star Pine's Cafe, Kichijoji ¥5,000

OCT 15-17 BILL FRISELL TRIO Blue Note Tokyo, Minami-Aoyama ¥9,900

OCT 16 ROSARIO GIULIANI QUARTET Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥4,950

OCT 17 SMTK Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥4,950 (afternoon)

OCT 17 ANGIE MCMAHON Unit, Daikanyama ¥7,000

OCT 17 NTSKI Circus Tokyo, Shibuya ¥3,000

OCT 17 KEIJI HAINO/SHUTA HASUNUMA Yodobashi Church, Okubo ¥6,600

OCT 17 NAOKI NOBA/TADAHIKO YOKOGAWA Permian, Meguro ¥1,000-¥3,000

OCT 17 SHUN ISHIWAKA/TAKURO OKADA BAND Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥4,950

OCT 17 THOMAS BULLOCK AKA TOM OF ENGLAND, MONKEY TIMERS, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

OCT 18 SHUN ISHIWAKA/TOKUTARO HOSOI Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥4,950 (afternoon)

OCT 18 MIYAMA MCQUEEN-TOKITA, TADAHIKO YOKOGAWA Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥3,000

OCT 18 MASAMICHI KINOSHITA/SHIBATETSU Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥2,500

OCT 18 RYOJI IKEDA, RYOTO & THE FRANCHISE OWNER, DOS MONOS, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥9,500

OCT 18 FERAL, HYPNOTIC BLACK MAGIC, YUKIMASA, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥3,000

OCT 19 TATSUO KONDO/SACHIKO M/NAOKO ETO Koen-Dori Classics, Shibuya ¥3,500 (afternoon)

OCT 19 SHUN ISHIWAKA SONGBOOK TRIO Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥4,950 (afternoon)

OCT 19 MEI EHARA WWW X, Shibuya ¥4,500

OCT 19 YUMA TAKESHITA, TADAHIKO YOKOGAWA Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥3,000

OCT 19 AKAIHIRUME/CARL STONE Hako Gallery, Yoyogi-Uehara ¥3,000

OCT 19 KYOTARO HORI/RYOTARO MIYASAKA Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥2,000

OCT 20 ANNIE & THE CALDWELLS Duo Music Exchange, Shibuya ¥7,000

OCT 20 HIATUS KAIYOTE Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥11,000

OCT 20 PEARL & THE OYSTERS, CHO CO PA CO CHO CO QUIN QUIN Fever, Shindaita ¥6,000

OCT 20 FUMI ENDO, SATSUKI TSUCHIYA, KANAKO NUMATA Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥2,500

OCT 20 RUBEN MACHTELINCKX/FREDERIK LEROUX/TETUZI AKIYAMA Permian, Meguro ¥1,000-¥3,000

OCT 20 KBSNK & ISLTR, MON/KU, TOMGGG (DJ), &c. Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥3,000

OCT 21 SWEDISH RADIO CHOIR: PÄRT, HILLBORG, &c. Tokyo Opera City, Hatsudai ¥3,000-¥7,000

OCT 21 GLASS BEAMS Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥8,800

OCT 22 KUNIKO KATO/STEVE REICH PROJECT Suntory Hall (Blue Rose), Akasaka ¥4,000/¥6,000

OCT 22 TRYANGLE (HIROSHI YAMAZAKI/NOBUYOSHI INO/EIICHI HAYASHI) Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥3,300

OCT 23 KEIJI HAINO, SHUN IKEGAI BAND Aoyama Moonromantic ¥4,300

OCT 23 KIYOHIKO SEMBA & KARUGAMOS Haremame, Daikanyama ¥4,000

OCT 23 THE JESUS LIZARD Duo Music Exchange, Shibuya ¥9,800

OCT 23 FRENTE CUMBIERO WWW, Shibuya ¥6,500

OCT 24 LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC: ADAMS, STRAVINSKY Suntory Hall, Akasaka ¥25,000-¥45,000

OCT 24 TATSUYA NAKAMURA/TAKEO MORIYAMA/KEISUKE OHTA/&c. Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥5,500

OCT 24 MAURICE FULTON, AN TOI, ANDY, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

OCT 25 TOE Ryogoku Kokugikan ¥8,800/¥9,800

OCT 25 FINALBY () Zepp Shinjuku ¥6,500

OCT 25 TATSUYA NAKAMURA/TAKEO MORIYAMA/KEISUKE OHTA/&c. Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥5,500

OCT 25 JAMES HULLICK/AKAIHIRUME/YASUMUNE MORISHIGE Permian, Meguro ¥1,000-¥3,000

OCT 25 BLACKPHONE666, HADES MAGE, KARNAGE, &c. Earthdom, Shin-Okubo ¥2,000

OCT 25 CHAMPION, NOWAY, VECSILLE, &c. Circus Tokyo, Shibuya ¥3,500

OCT 25 (SIC)BOY, VIVIDBOOOY, JUBEE, ONLY U, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥1,000 (night)

OCT 25 ANSWER CODE REQUEST, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

OCT 26 PERSIAN EMPIRE, SUBLETVIS, SOFHESO, &c. Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥2,000

OCT 26 RYAN KEBERLE/CAMILA MEZA/JORGE ROEDER Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥7,700

OCT 26 POT-POURRI, NOBUKI NISHIYAMA Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥2,500

OCT 28 SEPPUKU PISTOLS, KENTA NAKAGOME, MARS89, &c. WWW, Shibuya ¥5,500

OCT 28 JEPPE ZEEBERG AND THE ABSOLUTE PINNACLE..., WUJA BIN BIN Haremame, Daikanyama ¥4,500

OCT 28-29 AROOJ AFTAB Billboard Live, Roppongi ¥9,400-¥13,500

OCT 29 ENJI Baroom, Minami-Aoyama ¥8,000

OCT 29 TAKETERU KUDO/EIICHI HAYASHI/AKIHIRO ISHIWATARI Za-Koenji Public Theatre ¥4,000

OCT 30 YUTA ORISAKA SWU Hitomi Memorial Hall, Sangenjaya ¥6,800

OCT 31 SAGE HARDWARE, EULALIE, ANALSKULLFUCK, &c. Higashi-Koenji 20,000V ¥2,500

All prices are for advance tickets, unless otherwise noted. Schedules are liable to change at short notice.

Tokyo Gigs November 2025

NOV 1 CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH Club Quattro, Shibuya ¥8,000

NOV 1 TAKETERU KUDO/YASUAKI SHIMIZU/CARL STONE Za-Koenji Public Theatre ¥4,000

NOV 1 SCHIZOPHRAGM, TIALA, KURUUCREW, GREEN MILK..., &c. Bush Bash, Koiwa ¥3,300

NOV 2 HIROKO YAMAMURA, RISA TANIGUCHI, SAMO Club Quattro, Shibuya ¥5,500

NOV 2 JIKSEONG LEE COLLECTIVE, IN THE SUN, KASAI, &c. Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥3,000

NOV 3 NO.9 ORCHESTRA, HIROSHI WATANABE AKA KAITO, &c. Wall&Wall, Omotesando ¥4,000

NOV 5 PARLOR GREENS Club Quattro, Shibuya ¥7,000

NOV 5 ANAIIS & GRUPO COSMO, SESSA WWW X, Shibuya ¥8,000

NOV 6 ASOUND, TAMTAM Aoyama Moonromantic ¥4,500

NOV 6 ANORAK!, TEXAS 3000 WWW, Shibuya ¥3,500

NOV 8 SHIN-ONSAI 2025: TAKKYU ISHINO, SUNNY DAY SERVICE, &c. Loft, &c., Shinjuku ¥4,000

NOV 8 PRAHA DEPART, LOUPX GAROUX, THE HALCYON Club Goodman, Akihabara ¥3,500

NOV 8-9 ADDISON GROOVE, ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U, &c. Ohba Camping Village, Hinode ¥12,000

NOV 10 THE DARE, PENPALS Fever, Shindaita ¥4,500

NOV 12 MAGNÚS JÓHANN/ÓSKAR GUÐJÓNSSON Haremame, Daikanyama ¥3,500

NOV 14 SE SO NEON The Garden Hall, Ebisu ¥8,800

NOV 14 DEERHOOF, OONO YUUKI BAND Fever, Shindaita ¥5,800

NOV 14 MAYA ONGAKU, TOMO KATSURADA/JONNY NASH/KOTSUGUY Sogetsu Hall, Akasaka ¥5,000

NOV 15 SHONEN KNIFE Club Goodman, Akihabara ¥5,000

NOV 16 CHIP WICKHAM Club Quattro, Shibuya ¥7,000

NOV 17 DEERHOOF, HAINO KEIJI & THE HARDY ROCKS Fever, Shindaita ¥5,800

NOV 19 ADRIAN SHERWOOD (LIVE), MAD PROFESSOR, DENNIS BOVELL (DJ) EX Theater Roppongi ¥8,800

NOV 20 MARTIN MESSIER, EIKO ISHIBASHI/JIM O'ROURKE/JOE TALIA WWW, Shibuya ¥4,000

NOV 21 GOAT (JP), ALVA NOTO, GEZAN, MACHÌNA, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥4,000

NOV 22 NONOTAK, DAITO MANABE, JACQUES GREENE/NOSAJ THING, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥4,000

NOV 23 KYOKA/AMI KUSAKARI, OPEN REEL ENSEMBLE, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥4,000

NOV 25 L'IMPÉRATRICE Kanda Square Hall ¥9,500

NOV 25 PET SYMMETRY Fever, Shindaita ¥5,500

NOV 26 PARK STICKNEY Haremame, Daikanyama ¥3,000

NOV 26 ALEXANDRA GRIMAL/TATSUHISA YAMAMOTO/FUMI ENDO Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥3,000

NOV 27 PUULUUP Aoyama Moonromantic ¥5,500

NOV 27-28 OPETH EX Theater Roppongi ¥12,000

NOV 28 BALMING TIGER Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥7,500

NOV 29 SLUG, ZENOCIDE, PREPARATIONSET, &c. Earthdom, Shin-Okubo ¥3,000

All prices are for advance tickets, unless otherwise noted. Schedules are liable to change at short notice.

Tokyo Gigs December 2025

DEC 1-2 BETH GIBBONS Sumida Triphony Hall, Kinshicho ¥11,000-¥16,000

DEC 3 SOCCER MOMMY Liquidroom, Ebisu ¥7,000

DEC 4 RISARIPA, NIKUDOREI, BLACKPHONE666, &c. Earthdom, Shin-Okubo ¥2,500

DEC 8 DELTA SLEEP, MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS, &c. Club Quattro, Shibuya ¥4,900

DEC 8 KEIICHI SOKABE, YUKO IKEMA La.mama, Shibuya ¥4,500

DEC 9 SAYA GRAY Duo Music Exchange, Shibuya ¥7,700

DEC 10 BLACK COUNTRY NEW ROAD EX Theater Roppongi ¥8,800

DEC 10 HARU NEMURI WWW, Shibuya ¥4,000

DEC 11 CHANMINA, HANA, HITSUJIBUNGAKU, &c. Tokyo Garden Theater, Ariake ¥11,000

DEC 11 KIYOHIKO SEMBA, KOKAI SHAKO Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥3,500

DEC 16-17 GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR Kanda Square Hall ¥9,500

DEC 22 KAZUKI TOMOKAWA, KATSUREI, SOUICHI FUTABA Haremame, Daikanyama ¥4,000

All prices are for advance tickets, unless otherwise noted. Schedules are liable to change at short notice.

Tokyo Gigs January 2026

JAN 4 PET SHOP BOYS, UNDERWORLD, KNEECAP, &c. Makuhari Messe, Chiba ¥19,500

JAN 19 MOMMA Space Odd, Daikanyama ¥7,000

JAN 21 BAR ITALIA Liquidroom, Ebisu ¥8,400

JAN 22 MEN I TRUST, MEI SEMONES Tokyo Garden Theater, Ariake ¥9,800/¥11,000

JAN 23 MEI SEMONES Duo Music Exchange, Shibuya ¥7,800

JAN 23-24 KAKU P-MODEL Toyosu Pit ¥7,700

JAN 27 VIAGRA BOYS Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥7,800

All prices are for advance tickets, unless otherwise noted. Schedules are liable to change at short notice.

Tokyo Gigs February 2026

FEB 1 MEI SEMONES Duo Music Exchange, Shibuya ¥7,800

FEB 4 AUTECHRE Zepp Divercity, Odaiba ¥8,800

FEB 9 MY BLOODY VALENTINE Tokyo Garden Theater, Ariake ¥18,000/¥20,000

FEB 18 WET LEG Toyosu Pit ¥8,800

FEB 19 ALEX G EX Theater, Roppongi ¥8,000/¥9,000

FEB 19-20 GEESE Space Odd, Daikanyama ¥6,000

FEB 21-22 MAC DEMARCO Kanda Square Hall ¥8,500

FEB 27 LOLOET WWW, Shibuya ¥4,000

All prices are for advance tickets, unless otherwise noted. Schedules are liable to change at short notice.

New (and old) music from Japan – Spring 2025 edition

Notable new Japanese releases and reissues

This might be a return to regular programming, but no promises. Things have been quiet on the work front recently, which has given me more time to sift through my Bandcamp pile and ferret out the good stuff. Here are some of the releases and reissues from the first three months of the year (plus one straggler from 2024) that have grabbed me. I should note that some of these snuck up on me gradually, rather than revealing all their charms on first listen. An album as subtle and intelligently crafted as Eiko Ishibashi’s Antigone wasn’t designed for the streaming era, which is all the more reason to cherish it.

Notable Japanese releases from 2024

Good music from a (mostly) bad year

I fell out of the habit of posting album reviews during 2024, partly because I simply wasn’t listening to as much Japanese music as I had done in the previous few years. Still, it felt remiss not to acknowledge a few of the highlights of a year that, by most objective measures, was pretty wretched. I’m grateful to the handful of people who gave me a much-needed nudge to write this, and also to my friend Ian F. Martin for showing how it should be done with his defiantly unpunctual zine, Last Year’s Music. (I’d post a link, but I’m afraid you’ll have to seek out a physical copy.)

From the archives: Ichiko Aoba, 2016 Japan Times interview

“I get most of my energy for creating stories from dreams.”

Ichiko Aoba, 2016. Photo by James Hadfield

Ichiko Aoba takes her seat at an old-fashioned coffee house in Shibuya, and places a sketchpad and a plump pouch of rolling tobacco on the table. During the hour-long conversation that follows, the tobacco goes untouched, but the sketchpad gets a thorough workout. As she talks, the 25-year-old singer-songwriter reflexively scribbles drawings and kanji characters to elucidate what she’s saying, the way a university lecturer might.

From the archives: Fishmans, 2019 Japan Times interview

“We were ‘just doing it,’ but ‘just doing it’ takes real single-mindedness”

Kin-ichi Motegi of Fishmans, 2019. Photo by James Hadfield

In the eternal present of modern listening, when the entire history of recorded sound is just a few clicks away, some music reverberates for longer. That’s been the case with Fishmans, a cult 1990s act whose blend of dub rhythms and dream-pop reverie continues to lure new fans 20 years after the untimely death of frontman Shinji Sato.

Though they were able to sell out 2,000-capacity venues in their prime, Fishmans never enjoyed widespread commercial success. In an era when Japan’s top-selling artists were shifting millions of copies, they barely registered in the Oricon charts.

From the archives: Keiji Haino, 2017 Japan Times interview

“The difference is awareness”

Photograph by Kazuyuki Funaki

“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.”

An audience with the 65-year-old iconoclast, a towering figure on Japan’s underground music scene, is always memorable. When I meet him at a coffee shop in Kawagoe, ostensibly to talk about the vinyl reissue of his 1981 studio debut, Watashi Dake? (“Only Me?”), the conversation sprawls for well over two hours.

New (and old) music from Japan – Winter 2023 edition

Notable new Japanese releases and reissues

By far the most time-consuming thing I wrote this year was a guide for Psyche about listening to music in the age of abundance. It’s a subject that I think about constantly, and I’m still not sure if I have the answers (who does?). Looking through other people’s AOTY lists, I’m amazed not just by how much music the serious heads are managing to listen to, but that they manage to remember it clearly enough to compile a proper ranking. Patrick St. Michel’s exhaustive list for Make Believe Melodies runs to 100 releases, while Ryo Miyaichi has posted a bunch of 2023 round-ups on This Side of Japan, including a great rundown of his 60 best albums that are available on Bandcamp. I was planning to do something similar myself, but it would’ve meant relistening to a bunch of stuff from earlier in the year, and I honestly haven’t found the time. Instead, here’s a bumper wrap of some new releases and reissues from 2023 that I haven’t already written about on here.