Tokyo Gigs September 2026

SEP 1 HAMACHI/MOMOE YASUNAGA, OSHIMA/IKEDA/SHIBATETSU Oriental Force, Koenji ¥2,000

SEP 2 HARUOMI HOSONO Liquidroom, Ebisu ¥7,500

SEP 2 RACING MOUNT PLEASANT Unit, Daikanyama ¥7,500

SEP 3 KENT WATARI, TATSURO MURAKAMI, RYO SUGIMOTO Sanka, Shirakawa ¥1,500

SEP 3 SHOJI HANO/KENTARO NAKAO/SHINPEI RUIKE Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥3,500

SEP 3-4 THE ROOTS Billboard Live, Roppongi ¥17,900-¥22,000

SEP 4 BUFFALO DAUGHTER, THE HATCH Wall&Wall, Omotesando ¥4,800

SEP 4 AKIRAM EN, DJ SODEYAMA, EITA OGAWA (LIVE), &c. Womb, Shibuya ¥3,000

SEP 4 PSYK, IORI, YUKARI OKAMURA, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

SEP 4 SHIORIYBRADSHAW (ALL NIGHT LONG), MOEPIKA, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥2,500 (night)

SEP 5 KUNIKO KATO: STEVE REICH PROJECT Persimmon Hall, Meguro ¥4,500

SEP 5 SISTERS IN THE VELVET, AYATO Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥3,000

SEP 5 DONGKER, NI-HAO!!!!, TREAT, FOREBEAR, &c. Wall, Hatsudai ¥3,400

SEP 5 CARMEN STAAF/JORGE ROEDER Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥7,150

SEP 5 SHIKA UDAI/KUNIKAZU TANAKA Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

SEP 5 CURSES, MUSTACHE X, MANAHA, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

SEP 5 ARPY BROWN, GEE LANE, MR. DISCO KID, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥3,500 (night)

SEP 5-6 BILL LAURANCE TRIO Blue Note Tokyo, Minami-Aoyama ¥8,800

SEP 6 LORD SPIKEHEART, EYE Wall&Wall, Omotesando ¥7,000

SEP 6 KNUMEARS, SOCCER, KIIMA KARIIS Nine Spices, Shinjuku ¥5,500

SEP 6 KARL NYBERG/YUMIKO YOSHIMOTO/TETSU NAGASAWA Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥2,500

SEP 7 LEBANON HANOVER Shibuya Ongakudo ¥7,900

SEP 7 YUMIKO TANAKA/MASATAKA ABE/YUKIKO SHIINA SAKURAZAWA Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥2,500

SEP 7 SALSA, FALSETTOS, HAJIME SEKIGUCHI, &c. Three, Shimokitazawa ¥3,000

SEP 7-9 THE RESIDENTS: 'ESKIMO' Blue Note Tokyo, Minami-Aoyama ¥11,000

SEP 8 THEE MARLOES, MINAMI ISHIWATA SOUL INST. SESSION Haremame, Daikanyama ¥8,000

SEP 8 AARON MF OLSON, MMM Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥3,500

SEP 9 THEE MARLOES, TINY STEP "SOUTHSIDE" TRIO WWW X, Shibuya ¥8,000

SEP 9 CRACK CLOUD, TRAMHAUS Aoyama Moonromantic ¥8,000

SEP 9 ERMHOI Polaris, Minami-Aoyama ¥3,000

SEP 9 ADRIAN SHERWOOD, NIGHTMARES ON WAX, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥8,000

SEP 10 ELEPHANT GYM, MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS WWW X, Shibuya ¥5,800

SEP 10 NADJA: 'SEEMANNSGARN', NIJURASEN, RISA TAKEDA Theater Guild, Daikanyama ¥4,500

SEP 10 JIKSEONG LEE COLLECTIVE, NI-HAO!!!! Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥2,500

SEP 10 MUI ZYU, KUROIWA ASUKA TO YORU Aoyama Moonromantic ¥4,500

SEP 10 NIA ARCHIVES Zepp Shinjuku ¥8,000

SEP 11 AIDAN BAKER, SAYAKA BOTANIC, NOBUYUKI TERUI Chiteo, Otsuka ¥2,500

SEP 11 CYYNG, WINTER WAKES, BBUGS Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥2,300

SEP 11 SHOJI HANO/MAKOTO KAWABATA/MITSURU TABATA Polaris, Minami-Aoyama ¥3,500

SEP 11 TAKEO MORIYAMA/TETSURO KAWASHIMA/TAKUMI NAKAYAMA/&c. Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥5,500

SEP 11 SOLAR, SHHHHH, ZUNDOKODISCO, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

SEP 11 DAN SHAKE, DAZZLE DRUMS, U-HOLIC, &c. Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥3,000 (night)

SEP 12 NADJA: 'CUT'/'LABYRINTHINE', KAOGANAI, TATTERED THE WALL, &c. Soup, Ochiai ¥4,000

SEP 12 TAKEO MORIYAMA/TETSURO KAWASHIMA/TAKUMI NAKAYAMA/&c. Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥5,500

SEP 12 PILOT TO GUNNER, NIM, BARICAN, HANAO Nine Spices, Shinjuku ¥4,500

SEP 12 YUSUKE NISHIMURA/T.MIKAWA/KAORI KOMURA Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

SEP 12 YELLOWUHURU, SHT, YAMARCHY, &c. Womb, Shibuya ¥3,000

SEP 12 SCHACKE, KALI, KOSHIRO, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥3,000

SEP 12 CHASHIBU, VIS, NANO ODORINE WWW β, Shibuya ¥2,000

SEP 13 MEITEI, SUGAI KEN Wall&Wall, Omotesando ¥4,800

SEP 13 YUKO IKEMA, KOKYU WITH GYPSIES Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥3,000

SEP 13 ASUKA KURIHARA/LEO OKAGAWA Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥2,500

SEP 13 AKIRA SAKATA/EIICHI HAYASHI/JUNJI HIROSE/&c. Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥4,400

SEP 14 MASAYA OZAKI/LILJA MARÍA ÁSMUNDSDÒTTIR/KO ISHIKAWA/&c. Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥3,000

SEP 15 DAVID HELBOCK Haremame, Daikanyama ¥4,000

SEP 16 FISHBONE, MAYSON'S PARTY EX Theater Roppongi ¥8,000

SEP 17 ASH Unit, Daikanyama ¥8,500

SEP 17 CARCASS Toyosu Pit ¥9,500

SEP 17 TASHO ISHI, TAKAO, NANO ODORINE (DJ) WWW, Shibuya ¥2,800

SEP 17 TOTSUZEN DANBALL, ZOOCHEE4, LOOLOW NINGEN... Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥3,000

SEP 18 ASH Club Quattro, Shibuya ¥8,500

SEP 18 REMON NAKANISHI & SUZUME NO TEARS WWW, Shibuya ¥5,500

SEP 18 CARCASS Space Odd, Daikanyama ¥9,500

SEP 18 SUZUKIIIIIIIIII/YOUPY, THE OBEY UNIT, TAKAHIRO KAWAGUCHI Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥2,000

SEP 18 ANTIGONE, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

SEP 19 THE DAMNED Toyosu Pit ¥11,000

SEP 19 RIVER OF SNAKES, MARBLE SHEEP, SISTER PAUL, FRACTURE Earthdom, Shin-Okubo ¥2,700

SEP 19 HANAZONO DISTANCE, MIRUIZOKU Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥3,000

SEP 19 AKUTAGAWA FANCLUB, 5KAI Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥3,000

SEP 19 FIRST DAY BACK, FUTURINA Nine Spices, Shinjuku ¥6,500

SEP 19 KAZUO IMAI/TSUTOMU TOUDOU Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

SEP 19 RANDOMER, MARS89, AKEY, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

SEP 20 YUTAKA OYAMA/YUKIHIRO ATSUMI/HIKARI SHIRAFUJI/&c. Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥5,500 (afternoon)

SEP 20 ROUJIN NO SHIGOTO, SECOND TO NONE, TRIADOF13TH, &c. Earthdom, Shin-Okubo ¥5,500

SEP 20 GOAT, FLYING RHYTHMS Wall&Wall, Omotesando ¥7,000

SEP 20 KEIJI HAINO/RICO KOBAYASHI Gekkasha, Jimbocho ¥3,500

SEP 20 EIKO ISHIBASHI, HIROKO SEBU, TATSUHISA YAMAMOTO Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥4,000

SEP 20 PRASLEA, MASSA X JUNYA, MUDCAT, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

SEP 21 SHOTA WATANABE/SHUN ISHIWAKA/MARTY HOLOUBEK Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥3,850 (afternoon)

SEP 21 SEPTETO SANTIAGUERO Club Quattro, Shibuya ¥TBC

SEP 21 ROUJIN NO SHIGOTO, NEPENTHESS, AZARAK, OGAHM, &c. Earthdom, Shin-Okubo ¥5,500

SEP 21 ILL EVANS, SIKKSSENTH, P-IPLE, &c. Club Goodman, Akihabara ¥2,900

SEP 21 MARTY HOLOUBEK/EIKO ISHIBASHI/TATSUHISA YAMAMOTO Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥4,400

SEP 21 SAYAKA BOTANIC/MOMOSE YASUNADA/MASAYO KOKETSU Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

SEP 21 BAPTISTE SCHALLER, KALI, MINNA-NO-KIMOCHI, &c. Wall&Wall, Omotesando ¥2,500 (night)

SEP 21 A STRANGE WEDDING (LIVE), HERBALISTEK, OCCA, &c. Womb, Shibuya ¥3,000

SEP 22 IBOIBO TAIZEN, FUTENZOKU UFO Club, Higashi-Koenji ¥3,500

SEP 22 LUKAS LIGETI/KAZUHISA UCHIHASHI/YOSHIO MACHIDA Shichoshitsu, Jimbocho ¥3,500

SEP 22 RAI TATEISHI/AKIHIKO ANDO Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

SEP 22 MARTY HOLOUBEK/SHUN ISHIWAKA/MAY INOUE Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥4,400

SEP 22 WILL SAUL, CALPISS, CAIMANN, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

SEP 23 AOI TAGAMI/MASATAKE ABE/RYOTARO MIYASAKA/&c. Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥3,000 (afternoon)

SEP 23 ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO U.F.O. Club Goodman, Akihabara ¥2,900

SEP 23 IBOIBO TAIZEN, KATSUREI UFO Club, Higashi-Koenji ¥3,500

SEP 23 AOI TAGAMI/MASATAKE ABE/RYOTARO MIYASAKA/&c. Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥3,000 (evening)

SEP 24 BELLE & SEBASTIAN: 'TIGERMILK' Kanadevia Hall, Suidobashi ¥9,800/¥12,000

SEP 24 INARA GEORGE W/ DOUGLASS & LITTELL Haremame, Daikanyama ¥8,000

SEP 24 MASAKI HAYASHI/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE Polaris, Minami-Aoyama ¥4,500

SEP 24 SUN MI HONG/AKIRA SAKATA Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

SEP 25 BELLE & SEBASTIAN: 'IF YOU'RE FEELING SINISTER' Kanadevia Hall, Suidobashi ¥9,800/¥12,000

SEP 25 REJJIE SNOW Unit, Daikanyama ¥6,600

SEP 25 PEACH TRUCK HIJACKERS, MODERN JAZZ WAR, LIGHTERS Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥2,800

SEP 25 TOKUTARO HOSOI/AKIRA SAKATA/UMI OGIMI Velvet Sun, Ogikubo ¥3,500

SEP 25 SUN-MI HONG/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE Polaris, Minami-Aoyama ¥3,500

SEP 25 SHOJI HANO/MAD SAX/MITSURA TABATA Chitei, Otsuka ¥3,000

SEP 25 FORD TRIO, DIZKAR Aoyama Moonromantic ¥5,500

SEP 25 DINAMARCA, &c. WWW, Shibuya ¥3,000 (night)

SEP 25 .VRIL, ERIKA, AKIRAM EN, &c. Vent, Omotesando ¥2,500

SEP 26 KEIGO IWAMI/AKIHIRO ISHIWATARI/SHU AKIMOTO Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥2,500 (afternoon)

SEP 26 RAEIN, SANS VISAGE, LANG, HERSIDE, &c. Nine Spices, Shinjuku ¥6,000

SEP 26 PQ, SA YUU, NON-BOYCOTT Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥2,500

SEP 29 US Liquidroom, Ebisu ¥6,500

SEP 27 LEONARDO AMICO, LIEL FISHBEIN, LEO OKAGAWA Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥2,500

SEP 27 DEF DER DIE DAS, IN THE SUN, BLACKPHONE666, &c. Soup, Ochiai ¥2,500

SEP 28 SUZUERI/TAKASHI SUGAWA Ftarri, Suidobashi ¥2,500

SEP 28 SATOKO FUJII THIS IS IT! Velvet Sun, Ogikubo ¥3,500

SEP 28 HAMACHI/SHOKO NUMAO Bar Isshee, Sendagi ¥500 + tip

SEP 28 UGOSLABIER, G6PD, KOKESHI, KNOSIS Fever, Shindaita ¥5,000

SEP 29 JHARIS YOKLEY + BIGYUKI Blue Note Tokyo, Minami-Aoyama ¥8,000

SEP 29 TETSU NAGASAWA/MIYAMA MCQUEEN-TOKITA/FUMI ENDO Shichoshitsu, Jimbocho ¥3,000

SEP 29 CHS, MUCHAMUCHAM, HAPPFAT (DJ) Aoyama Moonromantic ¥5,500

SEP 30 KOICHI MAKIGAMI/MASAYO KOKETSU/SPECIAL GUEST Pit Inn, Shinjuku ¥2,000 (afternoon)

SEP 30 THE NOTWIST, DMBQ Fever, Shindaita ¥6,500

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

Tokyo Gigs October 2026

OCT 1 CAROLINE, MY NEW BAND BELIEVE Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥10,000

OCT 1 TOMO KATSURADA & JONNY NASH Noguchi Haruchika Memorial Listening Theatre, Komae ¥5,000

OCT 1 FENNESZ, KMRU Unit, Daikanyama ¥7,500

OCT 1 TOMORA Tokyo Garden Theater, Ariake ¥15,000/¥17,000

OCT 2 TOMO KATSURADA & JONNY NASH Scott Hall, Waseda University ¥6,000

OCT 2 EMMANUELLE BONNET/KEISUKE FURUKI/NOÉ FRANKLÉ/&c. Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥3,000

OCT 3 DĀM-FUNK, EGYPTIAN LOVER, ACTRESS, &c. Garden Shin-Kiba Factory Free (with registration)

OCT 3 MARK ROBINSON, TRUE LOVE ALWAYS, CINDY Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥4,000

OCT 5 VQ WWW, Shibuya ¥1,200

OCT 5 BASTARD COLLECTIVE, COFFINS, NOT NICE, &c. Bush Bash, Koiwa ¥3,000

OCT 7 LITTLE BOYS, BO-PEEP, MOJA Club Goodman, Akihabara ¥3,000

OCT 8 TORU TAKEMITSU: BEYOND THE CENTENARY VOL. 1 Tokyo Opera City, Hatsudai ¥5,000

OCT 8 SUDAN ARCHIVES Duo Music Exchange, Shibuya ¥8,500

OCT 8 GOLDMUND Immanuel Chapel, Yodobashi Church, Okubo ¥8,500

OCT 10 CINDY, APRIL MAGAZINE, THE MOMENT OF NIGHTFALL Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥3,500

OCT 11 MELT-BANANA, DEADBEAT PAINTERS, HYPER GAL, &c. WWW, Shibuya ¥3,000

OCT 11 MARK ROBINSON, TRUE LOVE ALWAYS, PERVENCHE Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥3,500

OCT 11 FREDDIE GIBBS WWW X, Shibuya ¥11,000

OCT 12 SUSO SAIZ Umewaka Noh Theater, Higashi-Nakano ¥8,000

OCT 13 EZRA COLLECTIVE Toyosu Pit ¥9,000

OCT 13 ANAMANAGUCHI, CHIP TANAKA Duo Music Exchange, Shibuya ¥8,200

OCT 13 MONDO GASCARO Aoyama Moonromantic ¥5,500

OCT 15 MARINA TANTANOZI, FRANTZ LORIOT, PHILIPP EDEN, &c. Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥3,000

OCT 15 SQUELETTE, THE DRUNKERS, J.COLUMBUS/BLAH-MUZIK, &c. Bush Bash, Koiwa ¥3,000

OCT 16 YĪN YĪN Spotify O-East, Shibuya ¥6,500

OCT 16 EIKO ISHIBASHI, KISEKI (TAIGEN KAWABE/FOODMAN), &c. Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥4,000

OCT 17 PEACH, 9991, FUCK ON THE BEACH, NEGATIVE SUN, &c. Bush Bash, Koiwa ¥3,000

OCT 17 TEXAS 3000, KANEKOAYANO, QIEZI MABO Club Quattro, Shibuya ¥4,500

OCT 21 TAMTAM, TAKOASHI EARPHONES, TOKYO SHIOKOUJI Aoyama Moonromantic ¥4,000

OCT 22 CA7RIEL & PACO AMOROSO Toyosu Pit ¥9,800/¥12,800

OCT 22 DMBQ, KANEKOAYANO Club Quattro, Shibuya ¥6,500

OCT 24 KEIJI HAINO/AYUO Nanahari, Hatchobori ¥4,000

OCT 24 ZERO LIFE, SUNDIALLL, ORPHIDS, TRIADOF13TH, &c. Forestlimit, Hatagaya ¥2,000

OCT 25 YUTA ORISAKA SGC Hall Ariake ¥8,500

OCT 25 GIANTS CHAIR, DIRT COPY, DON CARNAGE, MIRROR Era, Shimokitazawa ¥6,500

OCT 25 LILBESH RAMKO W/ FRIENDS, TOP SECRET MAN, LE MAKEUP, &c. WWW/WWW X, Shibuya ¥2,500

OCT 28 GNAW, LIGHTERS, ELSIE SUE Spread, Shimokitazawa ¥3,800

OCT 31 BRAINBOMBS, ZENOCIDE, MERZBOW, RAMPS Earthdom, Shin-Okubo ¥2,900

OCT 31 OGRE YOU ASSHOLE, D.A.N, WOOL & THE PANTS Liquidroom, Ebisu ¥6,000

OCT 31 R.A.P, JUN TOGAWA AVEC KEI OOKUBO, THE CALLINGS Club Goodman, Akihabara ¥4,000

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

Tokyo Gigs November 2026

NOV 1 HENRIQUE CAZES, ROGÉRIO CAETANO, QUARTETO GAIVOTAS Haremame, Daikanyama ¥4,800

NOV 4 THE MASTER MUSICIANS OF JOUJOUKA WWW X, Shibuya ¥22,000

NOV 4 M/LUE, KICELL Haremame, Daikanyama ¥5,000

NOV 6 TOUCHÉ AMORÉ Unit, Daikanyama ¥7,500

NOV 9 DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE Toyosu Pit ¥11,000

NOV 23 WOLF ALICE Toyosu Pit ¥9,900

NOV 23 BIG BRAVE, SALLT, PRAYMATE, SHINJI MASUKO El Puente, Yokohama ¥5,000

NOV 24 TYONDAI BRAXTON Sogetsu Hall, Akasaka ¥9,000

NOV 24 BIG BRAVE, SALLT, DMBQ, PREPARATIONSET Fever, Shindaita ¥6,000

NOV 24-25 IRON MAIDEN K Arena, Yokohama ¥15,000-¥30,000

NOV 25 QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE Zepp Haneda ¥11,000/¥13,000

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

Tokyo Gigs December 2026

DEC 8 JAMES BLAKE Zepp Haneda ¥14,000-¥16,000

DEC 9 MAYA ONGAKU The Garden Hall, Ebisu ¥5,500/¥6,000

DEC 14 DIE SPITZ Space Odd, Daikanyama ¥7,500

DEC 14 CAT POWER: 'THE GREATEST' EX Theater, Roppongi ¥12,000/¥14,000

DEC 15 DOMI & JD BECK Toyosu Pit ¥9,900

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

New (and old) music from Japan – 2025 addendum

A few more notable releases from the year gone by

While I didn’t feel much appetite for putting together a 2025 albums of the year list (I already compile a few for different publications and end up feeling dissatisfied with all of them), there were a bunch of releases that kept nagging at me to at least acknowledge their existence in writing. The attention economy means that a lot of music seems to disappear from view almost as soon as it’s been released, a victim of our appetite for newness. So let me just take stock of a few more worthwhile albums (and one single) from 2025, some of which didn’t get nearly the attention they deserved.

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

Notable releases I’ve finally got around to writing about

We’re deep into Album of the Year review season – The Wire and The Quietus both just dropped theirs – so what better time to publish an article I started working on back in, er, August? No idea why this took so long to come together, though the usual feeble excuses (work, travel, inertia) apply. Over the past week, I’ve found a bunch more releases I want to write about, so there may be more to come before the year is out.

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.